Page 67 of Fire in My Heart

I was confident that people would connect to the Calloways’ story. I wanted to add a bit about their mother dying, but I wasn’t sure the family would appreciate it. I thought it made their family so much more relatable. With their permission, I’d updated the images on the site with new photographs of the farm taken by Abby, and added pictures of the family from when the kids were little. They were adorable, and I knew customers would find it heartwarming.

They had this large barn space that was just begging to be filled with something. We could consign the vendors crafts and sell them inside. Expand the snack area. And even move the checkout counter inside to encourage more sales.

Excited to share my ideas with Teddy, I asked Al to meet us at the barn to discuss.

I waited inside where the Santa seat and boxes of decorations still sat. The barn was dim but we could hang more lights hanging from the rafters.

Teddy showed up first and drew me into his arms, kissing me.

I pushed him away. “Your dad could walk in at any time.”

He shrugged. “What did you want to talk about?”

I gestured around us. “This space.”

Teddy stiffened. “What about it?”

The barn door creaked open with a gust of cold air, and Al walked in. “Great numbers from the festival.”

“I thought so too. Even with a portion of the profits from the pictures going to Abby, there was a nice bit left for the farm,” I said excitedly.

“We sold a record number of trees too,” Al said.

“And if you continue to hold that event, it will only grow bigger. We can talk about other things to add, but I think that needs to be an annual thing going forward.”

“I liked seeing so many people enjoying a day on the farm. Not just buying a tree but staying to eat and get photos taken.” Al nodded. “It was nice to see.”

Teddy grimaced. “It’s a big event. Not so sure we can handle many more people.”

“We could open up another field for parking.” Al gestured in the direction of the parking lots.

Teddy frowned. “Do we want to do that though?”

It was Teddy’s first inclination to push back on any changes, but I thought we’d moved beyond that. “I think it’s a step in the right direction, right up there with the changes to the logo and website. You’re endearing your family to the community.”

Teddy’s nose wrinkled, and I knew he didn’t like that. “Is that necessary? We’re just trying to sell trees.”

This was in my wheelhouse, excitement flowed through me. “You’re not though. You’re selling an experience. People don’t just want to buy a tree. They want to get a wreath, some garland, and drink hot chocolate while nibbling on cookies. And if there’re Santa photos, the parents can check off one more thing off their long to-do list. When they leave, their kids are happy and tired. They’ll remember that day they spent on the farm, and how much fun it was.”

“I have to agree. I liked it more than I thought I would. It brought the farm back to life. We haven’t had that many people since before your mother died.”

They’d talked about how the business slid a bit afterward, but I hadn’t realized how much.

“It was hard to see people at the holidays after all we’d lost,” Al continued. “But now, I think we’re ready for this.”

“I don’t know,” Teddy said.

“I’d suggest you decide soon. That way people will talk about it all year. We’re already fielding questions about next year on the social media pages,” I said.

Teddy’s head tipped to the side. “I didn’t realize we were active on social media. I thought we set those up so our hours were visible and we could communicate easily about closings.”

“It’s so much more than that.” I opened one app on my phone so I could share the photos of me drinking my coffee looking out over the Christmas tree fields, and in front of the fire. It was like a day on the farm kind of thing. I was careful to trim the images so it only showed my feet in fuzzy socks or the festive mug in my hand. Followers seemed to enjoy it. I’d even posted videos on other apps.

“Who’s going to take care of it when you’re gone?” Teddy asked, an edge to his voice.

“We haven’t discussed those details yet.” I hoped his father would keep me on for updating those things and for planningevents for the year. I didn’t have to live on the property to consult.

“I think it’s important that any changes we make are easily maintainable when you’re gone,” Teddy went on.

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