AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Drew's eyes never wavered from hers. "You aren't playing fair again."
Hope nibbled the inside of her lip as she cocked her head to the side. "Is that a yes?"
The corners of his mouth tilted a fraction. "I guess," he conceded. Despite the rueful shake of his head and dramatic sigh, Hope noticed the glimmer in his eyes. "But you owe me."
Her insides tingled. "I promise you won't regret it," she replied, flashing him her brightest smile.
He kissed her. Hard and quick. "And I'll be holding you to that."
* * *
They found Alex and Zach in the machinery barn, "helping" Reese change the oil in one of the tractors. Since he didn't want to mention anything to his nephews about going on the Christmas tree-fetching expedition before clearing it with their father, Drew pulled Reese out of the boys' earshot to make sure it was okay first.
Reese couldn't have been more relieved. Once Drew informed Alex and Zach of his and Hope's plan for the day and invited them to come along, both boys pleaded with Reese to agree.
"You'll mind your manners and do what your Uncle Drew and Hope tell you?"
Their dark heads bobbed up and down. "We promise," Alex solemnly vowed with an elbow nudge to his little brother. "Don't we, Zach?"
"Yeah, we promise." Zach crossed his finger over his chest as if that was all it took to make their assurance legit.
"Then I guess it'll be okay."
Alex and Zach jumped up and down with unadulterated excitement punctuated by "yays" and high fives between the brothers. Just witnessing their elation made Drew glad Hope had suggested bringing the boys along.
"You sure you two realize what you're getting yourselves into?" Reese asked, his voice low amidst his sons' whooping and hollering.
No, Drew wasn't sure about much of anything. Well, other than how elevated the energy level of his surprise excursion promised to be with Alex and Zach in tow. Even then, he hadn't expected going from zero to Mach three million by simply issuing the invitation.
Still, seeing his nephews so excited made Drew glad Hope had made the suggestion.
"We'll be fine," Hope answered for them. Obviously, she was much more confident than he was. Smiling, she elbowed him in the ribs, which Drew correctly interpreted as his cue to offer his brother reassurance as well.
"Yeah," he obliged. "We'll be fine."
A flicker of amusement lit Reese's eyes for a hot second. "If you say so," he murmured before returning his attention to the tractor.
It took about twenty minutes to drive out to the section of Lone Oaks dense with coniferous and deciduous trees in every size, shape, and form. The exact spot where his parents brought him and his brothers to pick out their Christmas trees for as long as Drew could remember.
Once he stopped the truck, everyone tumbled out. The boys, still vibrating with excitement, hadn't stopped jabbering since they'd left the barn. If only they could bottle all that energy, no one in the Blackwood family would ever have to work another day in their life.
"Zippers up," Hope instructed when they were all standing by the pickup, awaiting their directions.
Both boys gave Hope the eye roll all children seemed to master at an early age but they complied without any fuss.
"Gloves?" Hope plucked a pair from her shearling jacket and slid her hands into them as Alex and Zach reluctantly did the same with theirs. "Hats?" she prompted, pulling a knit cap down over her own head. The two braids dangled past her shoulders, and the only part of her face still showing was from her eyebrows down.
"Do we haveta?" Alex bemoaned.
"Yes. Youhaveta," Drew answered as he yanked a baseball cap on his own head and shaded his laser blue eyes with a pair of wraparound sunglasses.
"Good job, men." Smiling, Hope slid her own Ray-Bans into place. "Okay, Uncle Drew. Lead the way."
More than anything, Uncle Drew wanted to haul Hope against him and kiss her senseless. But under his nephews’ hawk eyes, Drew decided that wasn't the brightest idea if he didn't want to be bombarded with a boatload of questions he was in no way prepared to answer. Instead, he hefted the chainsaw and the rest of the tree-cutting equipment out of the pickup's bed. He handled the bundle of rope to Alex. "How about you carry this?"
As if he'd just been handed over the crown jewels of the kingdom, the seven-year-old beamed and threaded his arm through the loop, adjusting the knotted portion on his shoulder. All something he'd likely seen his father or grandfather do a hundred times.
"What about me?" Zach wanted to know.
