Page 55 of The Mistletoe Switch

She settles back into her seat. "Lay it on me. I love stupid ideas."

I relax. Clearly, Josephine is my people. "Your farm is amazing. What if you brought the school groups and the tourists here? Can you imagine it? A wagon ride around the farm, hot chocolate and buns for sale, Santa and Mrs. Claus, and at night… You could light the whole place up, have a bonfire and Christmas carols. This place could be a destination."

She looks out at her farm and smiles. "You think people would want to come here?"

I want to grab her shoulders and shake her. "Yes. This place is gorgeous. If I'd had the chance to come to a place like this as a kid…" I shake my head. "I might have believed in Christmas and Santa Claus past age five."

She turns to me, her expression sad. "I hope you find your Christmas spirit while you're here in Yuletide."

That she's deadly serious makes me even more excited. "That's why you are the perfect person to run this place. Yuletide is all about Christmas. You could make this place the North Pole."

She taps her fingers on the steering wheel. "Give me a plan, everything you think we might need and how much you think we could charge. I'll run the numbers."

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Xavier

When I pull up and park behind Josephine's trailer, she and Cherry are in animated conversation. Neither of them notices me. I take a moment to watch as Cherry, her face lit up, talks and waves her hands around. I guess she had a good day.

She laughs, tilting her head back as though the joy needs more space to leave her body, and I can't help smiling.

Damn, but I like her.

She glances my way and her eyes warm, her smile brightening, and my blood goes hot and cold at the same time. I could fall in love with this woman. A passionate, wild, ill-advised love, but a fun one.

And maybe it wouldn't be the most idiotic thing I've ever done, because she's got plans for the future that don't include me and I've got plans that don't have room for anything or anyone serious.

As I cross the snowy drive, her body turns toward me, even as she continues to chat with Josephine. I'm not sure Josephine has even noticed me. She's as captivated by Cherry as I am.

It's not until I'm standing right next to Cherry that Josephine pays any attention to me. She lifts her chin in greeting and turns back to Cherry. "You really think people want a wagon ride around the property? It's just snowy fields."

"Yes." Cherry swings her arms up for emphasis. "It's a part of like ninety million carols. Hay wagoning through the snow or whatever."

Josephine doesn't seem too concerned about Cherry's complete lack of correct song lyrics. "It's an interesting idea. I'll give you that."

"I'll do some research, make some phone calls, and I'll have a sketched out plan for you by the weekend, okay?"

Josephine's smile is wary. "Okay. I don't want to get too excited. I have to stick to my original plan until we're sure we can make this pay off."

"You definitely should. I could be way off base here, but if I'm not…"

Josephine nods. "Yeah. It could turn everything around."

"Thanks for a fun day," Cherry says. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She links her arm through mine. I wave goodbye to Josephine, and we get in my truck.

"What was that all about?" I ask as I start down Josephine's driveway.

Cherry, hands crossed in her lap, stares straight ahead, watching as big snowflakes drift down outside. The start of a snowfall, or maybe just a brief snow shower. "I don't want to say anything yet. Not until I'm sure it's going to work."

"Whatever it is, Josephine sure seems happy about it."

"Yeah." Her voice loses some of its brightness. "I hope I'm not setting her up for disappointment."

"She's a grown-up. She can handle it."

Cherry twists in her seat toward me. "How was your day? Did you have more customers?"

---