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“I can’t believe you’re putting up a tree.”
“They love holiday stuff, and it’s an excuse to get them to my house.” I never had guests there. We usually hung out at the main house or the barn near Emmett’s house.
Heath sighed. “I don’t like that everyone’s starting to pair off.”
“We’re new, so it’s really just Emmett and Ireland.”
“I still don’t like it.”
“No one said you have to date or even be nice to people. You can keep being your grumpy self and warning everyone away.”
“I’m not grumpy.”
I lowered my voice so the customers wouldn’t hear. “You know you are. We all are. We like our solitude, and this time of the year messes with that.”
“I’m not sure it’s worth putting up with.”
“Mom loves it.” I nodded to where she stood with a tray of sample ciders to hand out to the kids waiting for their trees to be stowed.
Heath chuckled. “I do it for her. I want her to be happy.”
“Me, too.” If Dad had still been alive, we might not have felt the same way. We would have resisted any expansion, but we needed her to have the security that came from the farm. She wouldn’t want us to support her, even though we technically lived on the farm rent free.
Now that Dad was gone, she was our responsibility.
“You don’t think she’ll remarry, do you?” Heath asked.
I paused where I was securing a tree to a van and looked down at him. I’d never even thought about the possibility. “Why are you asking that?”
Heath shrugged. “It’s been a few years. She has to be lonely.”
“She loved Dad.”
“But he’s gone. He wouldn’t want her to be alone forever.”
The thought of Mom moving on hit me square in the chest. It was difficult to breathe as I finished securing the tree and hopped down. I told the man it was ready to go and to enjoy his holidays before turning to Heath. “I’m not ready for that.”
Heath just laughed. “I don’t think you have anything to say about it.”
“Did something happen? Is she dating?” I asked, lowering my voice.
“Not that I know of, and she’d probably keep it from us. Gauging by your reaction, Emmett, Sebastian, and Talon won’t be okay with it either.”
Mom greeted each child with a smile. She loved this time of the year. “She deserves to be happy.”
“Then when it happens, you won’t act like a spoiled child and tell her she can’t date.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
Heath just gave me a look.
I couldn’t believe Heath was the one of all of us who was emotionally mature enough to even think about Mom dating again. It chipped away at some of the anticipation I had about seeing Sarah later.
It made me rethink everything. Why did I think I couldn’t be in a relationship if Mom was moving on? I could still have someone in my life. I felt better knowing that Sarah and Addy would be at my home when I got off tonight.
When Emmett replaced me on the lot, I lingered for a few seconds.
“I thought you were all hot and bothered about seeing Sarah?” Emmett said, amusement tinging his tone.
