It was just after Thanksgiving, and that was the busiest time of year for the tree farm, sales-wise anyway.
People who came to get their trees came all through the month of December, with Christmas Eve being one of their busiest shopping days.
Judd shook out the paper, and it rattled and crinkled.
Roland took off his glove and grasped the sheet.
They had yet to get their first snow of the season, but the air was crisp and cool, well below freezing. If there had been any precipitation in the forecast, it would definitely have come down as the white stuff.
“Wow. That’s quite a list.”
“Don’t feel like you have to do everything, and don’t feel like you can’t ask for help. A lot of times, businesses are more than happy to donate if you mention that it’s for the Secret Saint, and you can get other people to ask for you, so it’s not you going around bringing a lot of attention to yourself. Terry helps, and your mom is really awesome, although she’s slowed down in recent years.”
Roland nodded. His mother was getting older. She was sixty now, and he supposed that slowing down was normal, although it was hard for him to picture his energetic, perpetually happy mother as anything other than elbows deep in whatever was going on around her.
“So I could go to you?” Roland asked.
“Yes. Me, your sister, your mother. I don’t know that I would asktoo many other people, because the more people you bring in, the more chance you have of being found out, and,” Judd smiled, “well, that would not be the end of the world, but it is nice to have that element of mystery. It makes a nicer story and gets people involved and talking. If everyone knew who did it, it would kind of be one of those things that are just the way they are, you know?”
“Yes, I can totally see the value of keeping it a secret.” That wasn’t hard at all. Even a guy like himself could see that.
“All right then, you can take a look at the list. You don’t have to go over it now, because I know you’re busy—you’ve got to get these trees delivered before six—but tomorrow when you have time, take a look at it and see if there’s anything there that you think you can do. If you need resources, whether it’s money or groceries or building supplies, check with me, and I’ll see what I can do. I have a network who knows that I work with the Secret Saint, but they know it’s not me. I’ve been very careful since I stopped to make sure that I am seen while the Secret Saint is on the other side of town doing something. That way, I’m a great contact person but not someone who is under suspicion.”
“That’s wise,” Roland said. Judd seemed to have everything figured out, and he had to admit that he was impressed.
They finished loading the trees, and Judd left while Roland got in the truck and spent the next few hours delivering them. By the time he got in, he was too tired to look at the list, although he set it on his dresser.
He lived with his mom, and he felt like he was a blessing to his mom as much as she was a blessing to him. Ever since their dad passed away, he had helped take care of all of the things outside and the upkeep of the house. Being that he was a pretty good handyman, he had completely redone their porch and installed new windows when the window seals around the current windows had started to rot out. He made sure she had plenty of firewood and provided fuel for the backup oil furnace. He also cleaned the chimney every year and did all the yard and outside maintenance.
He supposed if someone wanted to make fun of him for being thirty and still living with his mom, they could go ahead and do that, but it had always been his job to take care of her and the property after each of his siblings had left. He kind of liked the idea that it was his responsibility to take care of their mom. He also felt like he probably knew her better than any of his other siblings, especially now. But maybe that was the reason why only he seemed to notice that something more than just a little slowing down was happening, at least from what he could see.
Or maybe his position made him worry a little more about her.
Chapter Two
“That’s so nice that you’re able to take me, and I don’t have to drive myself. I really hate driving after dark nowadays,” Marjorie McBride said to Roland as they pulled up to Gilbert and Summer’s new home.
Gilbert and Summer had just gotten married, and Lucas, Marissa, and Robert, Gilbert’s children with his first wife, were adjusting well to their new stepmother.
The couple loved their new home and enjoyed hosting meals for everyone in the family.
It was tradition to have Sunday dinner after church at Marjorie’s house, although Roland worried that it might be getting to be too much for her. Still, he hadn’t said anything. But since Sunday dinner was taken care of, Gilbert and Summer often had something on a Friday night.
All their siblings were present, even Isadora, who had moved back in with Marjorie and Roland and looked terrible. It had been a while, more than a year, since her husband had left her, and emotionally she seemed to have gotten over it, but physically shehad lost weight, and she just seemed completely exhausted from taking care of her children and trying to work full-time as well.
“Welcome, come on in,” Summer said as they got to the door. They hadn’t even gotten to knock, which typically they just knocked and then walked in calling out that they were coming.
“That was pretty good timing,” Roland said as he took his mother’s elbow and held the door for his mother to go in first. Marjorie might not be hosting the meal at her house, but she had brought plenty of food to go around. Roland was carrying the dessert that she had made.
“It smells amazing in here,” Marjorie said, and it seemed like she sounded a little out of breath. Roland looked at her carefully. Was she pale?
“Thanks. The chicken pad Thai nachos really make the house smell delicious. And it’s a perfect meal for a lot of people.” She grinned. “Okay, maybe it’s a perfect meal for kids, because it’s basically finger food.”
Roland laughed along with her, but there was a part of him that wished that he knew what exactly was a good meal for kids, but since he didn’t have any of his own… He felt like he was missing out a little.
“Did Isadora drive herself?” Summer said as she closed the door behind them.
“She’s coming shortly. She had to stop in town and pick up a couple of supplies for one of the projects that her kids are supposed to make for school.”
