AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I sat across from him with a water. “You need to take breaks to eat and drink. Maybe even shower occasionally. You stink.”
Talon balled up his sandwich wrapper and threw it at my head. I ducked, used to his reaction.
“Not all of us have time to shower and go out with women.”
“You could if you wanted to.” I had a feeling he buried himself in work so he didn’t have to deal with whatever happened between him and Holly.
“You asked me to get as many of these done as possible before Christmas.”
“I didn’t realize you’d make so many. Or that you’d sacrifice your health to get it done.” But I should have. That’s just how Talon was. He was a hard worker, but it was more than that. It was like he didn’t care about anything but his art. He didn’t make time for us, dating, or even Mom. Maybe he was still grieving Dad, and this was his way of avoiding having any feelings about it. Would anyone be able to deter him from his method of doing things? Would a woman change his life the way Sarah changed mine?
“You should be happy. I think we have enough to start a good display.”
“I thought you’d do just a few. I’d show Addy and Ember the lights, and next year we’d do more. It’s going to be amazing.”
“I hope so.” Talon’s shoulders lowered, and I wondered if he was more than just exhausted and overworked. It was like he was running or avoiding something—or multiple things. Eventually, it was going to catch up with him, and he was going to crash and burn. We needed to check on him more often and make sure he was taking care of himself. But at the end of the day, he was an adult who should be able to take care of himself.
I wished he’d let us in and give us a clue as to what was bothering him the most. Was it Dad, Holly, or both? Was it something else? He kept things so tight to his chest that it was hard to know.
I heard Heath’s truck pull up just as Talon finished his sandwich and drained the Vitamin Water.
When Heath walked in, he took in the metal pieces and Talon. “Where are we hauling these to?”
“Can we put them on the path by the waterfall?”
Heath walked slowly around the room, taking in each piece. “I hope they work.”
“They work. I tested them,” Talon said through gritted teeth.
Heath grunted. “Let’s do this. We might want to sell some trees at some point today, too.”
Sebastian showed up to help a short while later, and it only took a few trips to get all the pieces by the lane. Then we left Talon to set it up. He’d call us if he needed help, and we couldn’t leave the farm to run itself for long. Eventually, someone would need help to cut a tree or put it on their vehicle.
I couldn’t wait to show the lights to Addy. I knew she’d love them. Maybe we could make a party out of it. Then I remembered how I’d promised her a birthday party on the farm.
When there was a lull in customers, I went to the barn to talk to Mom.
“What are you doing in here?” Mom asked, knowing we all avoided the shop as much as possible.
“I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Let me get you some hot chocolate.”
I waited while she poured me a cup and handed it to me. “Now, what can I help with?”
“Addy’s birthday is the day after Christmas.”
Mom smiled. “How wonderful.”
“Planning a party is always difficult that time of the year. I was wondering if we could use the second barn for it. They’d want a bonfire and s’mores.”
“When were you thinking? Maybe that week between Christmas and New Year’s? We could make it a holiday slash birthday bash.”
“I think she’d love that.”
Excitement shone in her eyes. “We’ll have cupcakes made with snowflakes on top, the makings for s’mores, and maybe they could make those melted marshmallows in the cones? You guys always loved that. They could play games outside, too, if they wanted, capture the flag or graveyard tag.”
“I can’t believe you remember all of that.”
