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Knox smiled wide, and I wondered again what his intentions were. Did he truly want to be friends with us? Was Addy a convenient friend for Ember, or was it something more? Did he enjoy our company? My mind hurt from the questions swirling in my brain.
“We’re going to go that week after Christmas when things slow down for us.”
“That sounds perfect.”
“I don’t know about you, but I enjoy the holidays even more after Christmas.”
“You can slow down and enjoy it.”
“I think you’re right.” Knox smiled at me, and the effect was a zing of lightning through my stomach. This man’s smile was dangerous to my equilibrium.
We were walking as a group, but people had paired off to have their own conversations, leaving Knox and me in our own bubble.
“I think Ember and Ireland make Emmett like our holiday traditions more.”
“Was he a scrooge before?”
“That’s a good way to describe it. It’s not that he doesn’t like the holidays. He doesn’t enjoy crowds, and this is the worst time of the year for that here.”
“That makes sense.”
The girls squealed when we reached the top of a hill and looked down to see a few trees lit and decorated with garland and red and white bulbs.
The waterfall flowed despite the cold. “Does it freeze?”
“When it gets cold enough, we’ll turn it off,” Knox said.
We moved closer to the trees, where Emmett was explaining how each tree was named after one of the seven dwarfs. There were a few jokes from the brothers when he revealed one was grumpy and the other happy.
The girls were enthralled with the story and how he and Ireland decorated these trees during the snowstorm after Thanksgiving.
“The more I hear about Ireland and Emmett’s story, the more I can’t help but think how romantic it is.”
Knox chuckled. “Don’t tell Emmett that. That characterization doesn’t fit with his view of himself.”
“I think it’s sweet.” I thought it was nice how Knox had decorated my porch and invited my daughter to participate in their family traditions.
“What do you say, girls? Want to hunt for your tree now?” Lori asked.
I couldn’t help but wonder if it was their father who used to start it off. I wondered if it made them sad, but I’m sure having the girls here helped.
The girls talked to each other and then took off at a run. Sebastian followed them.
“Don’t worry. Sebastian will keep an eye on them. Plus, he has a GPS tracker on Ember just in case she gets lost.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better,” I said wryly.
“Ember knows this place well. She won’t wander off the paths.”
I shivered, despite wearing my thickest jacket.
Knox wrapped his arm around me.
“Who started this tradition? Do you remember?” I asked to keep my mind off any worst-case scenarios.
Knox was quiet for a few seconds. “I think it was my father. He wanted to make sure that we had time to celebrate. The farm business took over.”
“I can understand that.”
