Page 52 of If You Give a Grump a Christmas Tree Farm
“I’m sure my little Gracie is going to want one. We plan to get a tree next week.”
“Fantastic. I’ll be excited to meet her.”
He breaks open a box and grins at me. “I gave some thought to your business and came up with these two ornaments. I think they’ll be a big hit as well.”
“I’m dying to see,” I reply.
He pulls out two ornaments, carefully unwrapping them. “Since your business is called Holly Jolly Christmas Tree Farm, I thought this one could be Holly and this one could be Jolly.” In one hand he holds up a girl elf holding a candy cane, and in the other he holds up a boy elf holding a stack of wrapped presents. “What do you think?”
I put my hands to my cheeks. “Oh, Miles. They’re adorable. I love them, and the idea of naming them—that’s brilliant.”
“I was able to get eight dozen of each.” He nods toward the truck. “I’ve got one more thing.”
When he returns, he’s holding a tall pole with wooden spindles sticking out. “I brought you one of my ornament displays to use.”
“That’s perfect. I’ll set it right by the cash register so everyone sees them, and maybe I’ll put a set right on the counter. How much do we sell them for? Should they be a set?”
“I think you’ll get more sales if you sell them individually, and I’d price them at fifteen dollars each.”
“I think you’re right.”
He puts his hands on his hips and takes in the place. I’ve decorated it with garland and twinkling lights and hand-painted candy cane signs.
“It looks great, Rebecca. Jim and Trudy never had anything like this.”
“Thank you.”
He pats my shoulder. “They left this place to the right person. You’ve done a great job with it. Everyone in town is talking about the trees you’ve set up in all the shops, plus that ad is a big hit.”
“I hope so. We’ve got some stiff competition from Angel Ridge.”
“That place is nice, but now that you’re up and running, I can’t see why you won’t get most of the town’s business.”
“That would be the dream. I hope you’re right, Miles.”
“Well, I’ll let you get back to it.”
I walk with him to his truck. He pauses before sliding behind the wheel.
“If you manage to sell everything, it should bring in almost three grand.”
“I’ll sell them. I’m sure of it. The elves are a fantastic idea, and they’re adorable. No one will be able to resist them.”
After Miles leaves, I get busy putting them on the tall display. The ornaments are breakable, and I try to be extra cautious with them. I’m almost finished when I hear JJ returning with the tractor and trailer full of cut trees.
I meet him outside the shed as the tractor rolls to a stop.
JJ looks good up there on the tractor in his thermal shirt and flannel shirt over it, the sleeves rolled up, exposing his tattooed forearms.
He walks to the trailer and tosses one tree over his shoulder, and I follow him to the lot where forty staked poles stand, with twenty still bare and waiting for a tree to be tied to them.
JJ drops the tree from his shoulder, and I dig a couple of zip ties from the cardboard box nearby, passing them to him.
“Thanks.”
When he gets them attached, we both stand back and observe the tree.
“This load is all Fraser firs,” he says.
