Finally, right after an S curve that scared the bejeebies out of her, lights lit up the sky. There had to be a hundred vehicles parked in the lot in front of the biggest red barn she’d ever seen. Horses hitched to wagons full of people clip-clopped by the truck, headed for the hill.
“Are we going for a wagon ride?” She couldn’t hide her delight.
“Unless you’d rather walk up the mountain.”
“I’m all for horsepower.”
“I’ve noticed,” he said as he got out of the truck. “You’re really going to have to tell me how you like that Tesla sometime.”
She met him at the tailgate, kind of wishing she’d never driven the Tesla to Chestnut Ridge. “Owning one of those was never on my radar, but it was just too good a deal to pass up.” She told him the story while they waited their turn for the next wagon up the mountain.
“I would have had to make that investment too. You’ll make a bundle on the resale.”
She nodded. “Without question.”
The team hitch pulled up, and a guy dressed as an elf helped them climb up the podium to board. They nestled side by side onthe straw bales, and as soon as the wagon was full, the cowboy holding the reins gave a command and they lurched forward. A moment later, they were on their way up the hill.
“This is fun!” She looked around at all the smiling faces. The paths were lit, and Christmas music filled the mountainside. She giggled, nudging Tucker at how cute the little boy and girl were seated across from them. “There are so many trees. They seem to go on forever.”
“It’s a big tree farm. They supply one of the biggest grocery-store chains too. This is just a side hustle for the locals, although it’s not a very well-kept secret, as you can tell by the number of cars in the lot.”
“It looks like people are coming from miles away.”
“They are. You’ll see when we check out. They have a big map on the wall where people can mark where they came from. It’s surprising.”
The two draft horses came to a stop at the cowboy’s command, and the elf hopped down and began setting up for their disembarkment.
Tucker steadied her from behind as the elf took her hand to help her descend from the wagon.
As they walked, people kept stopping to say hello to Tucker. It was a little like being with a rock star.
Crisscrossed wooden signs with colorfully painted road names not so different from the ones at the Christmas Tree Stroll pointed the way to trees by type and size.
“They ought to do the Christmas Tree Stroll here,” she said.
“We used to, but it actually complicated business for Joe, and then when we had more and more tree farms popping up, thetown felt like they needed to give them all fair support. Joe is still everyone’s favorite, though. At least to the locals.”
“Sounds smart.” She eyed the signs. “So, which way should we go? How tall of a tree do you need?” He could definitely do a tall one with the high ceilings, but what a bear to decorate.Who’d want to do that?
“I was thinking about a twelve-footer. This way.”
Of course he was.“You’re going to need a tall ladder to top that thing.” She took long steps trying to keep up with him, since he was a good foot taller than she was.
“I’m going to put the tree where the room opens up below the upstairs. We can just reach over the railing.”
“We?” She shook her head. “I’m not dangling by my ankles over your railing. That is not going to happen.”
“Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“It got up and left.”
“I’ve done it before,” he said, with confidence. “You’ll see it actually works out quite well, and the chandelier adds another dimension of lighting that is really amazing.”
“I can’t wait to see that.”
By the end of the evening, they’d ridden on the wagon, picked out a tree, chopped it down, because of course why would he let them just take the easy route with a chain saw, and watched the tree get dragged down the hill behind a horse on a sled.
Then they met Santa in the big barn and watched kids whisper their hopes and dreams for Christmas morning into his ear. He was a good Santa. Real beard and the jolliest ho-ho-ho she’d ever heard.
