My Kind of Christmas (The Christmas Tree Ranch #1)(62)

“I haven’t given up on Hank. But I’m hoping I can at least count on you and Bucket.”

“We’ll be there with bells on! Let’s hope for snow. It won’t be the same if we have to pull the sled on the flatbed.”

“I’m afraid it won’t be the first time.” Maggie’s ears caught the sound of the ATV, coming from the direction of the trees.

“That would be Travis,” Conner said. “He’ll be here in the next few minutes. If you two want some time together, I can check out his customers and load their tree.”

“Thanks, I know you’re busy. I won’t keep him long.” Only now, as she was about to see Travis again, did Maggie realize how much she’d missed him. What had possessed her to think she could be apart from him for so long? She couldn’t wait to feel his arms around her. But she didn’t want to greet him with a yard full of people looking on.

“Tell him I’ll be out back,” she said, and walked around the house.

Moments later Travis drove into the yard with a young family in the back of the ATV and a freshly cut tree loaded on the trailer. Maggie stepped around the back corner of the house to watch as he stopped and climbed out of the vehicle.

Conner crossed the yard, touched his shoulder, and said something Maggie couldn’t hear. Travis turned and saw her standing just in his sight at the corner of the house. The surprise that flashed across his face warmed into a smile. Almost running, he strode around the house to where Maggie waited and caught her in his arms.

Driven by raw emotion, their kiss was long and hard and sweet. When they finally drew apart, she looked up into his face. The weary lines and shadows there told of exhausting days and sleepless, worry-filled nights.

“Damn, but it’s good to see you, Maggie,” he said. “I don’t think I could’ve lasted till Christmas.”

“Conner knows my excuse for coming,” she said. “But I had to see you, too.”

“If you’re wondering about my father, nothing’s changed,” he said. “I told you it was going to take time.”

“It’s all right. I understand.” Her arms tightened around him, holding on as if she never wanted to let him go. He’d be working hard right up until Christmas, but Maggie knew she couldn’t wait to be with him again. They’d already been apart too long.

“We need some quiet time,” she said. “Can you come by tomorrow night? It’s Sunday. You won’t be open for business.”

His lips brushed her forehead. “It might be late. We’ll have a lot of trees to trim and cut for the week ahead. But don’t worry, I’ll be there.”

“I’ll be waiting. Now, you need to get back to work.”

He walked her to her car. She smiled up at him as she slid into the driver’s seat. “See you tomorrow night,” she said.

“I’ll be there, come hell or high water,” he said.

She could see him in her rearview mirror, standing by the gate to watch her drive away. Everything was good, Maggie told herself. The Christmas tree business was growing; she had a solid backup plan for the parade; and there was reason to hope that Travis and his father might reconcile. Tomorrow night, she and Travis would get some serious time to snuggle and talk.

She had every reason to be over the moon. So why did she have this sense of a looming shadow that was about to change everything?





Chapter 15


On Sunday, Travis and his partners worked all day, trimming new trees, cutting most of them, and hauling them to the front yard for the late buyers. After darkness put a stop to their work, they sat around the kitchen table and took stock of their earnings.

So far, they’d sold 135 trees. At $30 each for most of them and $40 for the custom cuts, plus the money from the sleigh rides, the total, minus expenses, was only a few thousand dollars, far short of the rosy picture they’d imagined when they’d started.

“Well, at least we won’t starve,” Conner said.

“And I’ll know better than to buy a fancy truck,” Travis added. “But there must be some way we can make more money.”

“The season isn’t over.” Conner drained the last of his beer. “We should have another good week, at least, especially with the trees in Hank’s lot getting dry. But we can’t run the sleigh without snow. That’ll cut down our profits. Didn’t you say you have an old hay wagon, Travis?”

Travis nodded. “It’s out behind the barn. But the wagon’s too wide for that back road to the trees. If we did hayrides, we’d need someplace to go. But it’s a thought. Let’s keep it in mind. Meanwhile, with enough snow, we could keep doing sleigh rides all through the holidays. What we really need is another big storm.”

“What I need right now is a good night’s sleep.” Rush stood up and yawned. “I’ll see you two in the morning.” He tossed his beer can in the recycle bin and wandered off down the hall.

“Guess I’ll turn in, too,” Conner said. “It’s early yet, but I’m beat.”

“Then I hope you won’t mind if I take your Jeep to town,” Travis said.

Conner grinned. “So I guess you and Maggie are back on good terms. Sure. Take the Jeep, and don’t you dare hurry back.”