Page 9 of Once Upon a Winter
Rolling her eyes in surrender, Laura took his hand and followed him to crouch at the base of the tree. As she knelt on the ground, she grabbed hold of the tree bark and breathed in the sharp scent of pine.
“Okay,” Cooper began, his voice steady and patient as he explained the basics of sawing, demonstrating on the tree he’d selected for his mother. “You want to make sure you have a firm grip on the handle, then make your cut parallel to the ground. That’s it. Just move the saw back and forth.”
“Right. Back and forth. Got it,” Laura interrupted.
Cooper chuckled, dusting off his jeans before stepping back to give her room to work.
As she grasped the saw tightly, Laura took a deep breath and began. The blade snagged on the wood several times, but she refused to let her frustration get the better of her. Instead, she focused on her breath and the satisfying sound of the saw cutting through the wood. Her muscles strained with each pass, but she was determined to succeed.
Cooper grabbed the top of the tree and pulled on the opposite side from the cut. “That’s it. You’ve got it.”
She couldn’t tell whether he sounded amused or impressed, but it was oddly reassuring. As the saw shuddered through the last bits of tree trunk, the tree fell to the ground with a soft thud. With a rush of exuberance, Laura leaped to her feet.
“Ha! I did it!” She hopped up and down then did a victory dance. Then she spied Cooper staring at her with a teasing glint in his eyes.
“Sorry! I got a little carried away,” she stammered as a flush crept up her cheeks.
“There’s no need to apologize. It’s the lumberjack way—the tree-cutting victory dance,” Cooper assured her with a spark of amusement.
She narrowed her eyes and folded her arms. “Really? Let’s see yours.”
“Oh, I did it. You must not have been looking.”
Laura slowly nodded. “Well, that’s just a shame.”
“Isn’t it?” Then he asked, “You know what’s even more fun than cutting down trees?”
“Taking them back to the truck?”
“You’re catching on, city girl.”
“Yay.” Laura grinned and began dragging her small tree while Cooper hoisted his mother’s larger tree onto his shoulder.
Five
Once back at the pickup,Cooper secured the trees in the bed. They were about to get into the truck when his phone rang. He spoke briefly before turning to Laura with a smile.
“My mom just invited us for dinner,” he informed her. “She wants to thank you for helping pick out her tree.”
Minutes later, they pulled into the driveway of a modest house on the outskirts of town. Maggie, Cooper’s mother, welcomed them. She had the same warm blue eyes as her son.
“You must be Laura,” she said, her voice full of warmth. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Thank you for inviting me, Mrs. Cooper.”
“You’re so welcome, and please call me Maggie.”
As Laura followed Cooper inside the charming cottage, the scent of cinnamon and pine wafted through the air, mingling with the faint crackling of logs in the fireplace.
“Cooper, let’s see that tree.” While Cooper secured the tree, his mother filled the tree stand with water, and Laura directed Cooper until it was perfectly straight. Then they all stood back and surveyed their work.
“Cooper, it’s perfect.” Maggie gave her son a hug then said, “You two sit down. Dinner will be ready in a couple of minutes.”
“Can I give you a hand with anything?” Laura asked Maggie, rolling up her sleeves in anticipation.
“Thank you.” Maggie handed her an apron. “Why don’t you help me set the table?”
Cooper was close behind. “I’m not going to miss out on all this fun.”
