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“My highest is achiever, then activator, and focus. I think maybe learner is up there, too. I enjoy learning new things but not so much that it hinders me from making moves in my business. I tend to decide and act fast, so I have to slow myself down sometimes.”
“Like when you left here last time in a rush,” Heath said.
I hadn’t thought of it like that. I just needed to escape. I didn’t trust myself to be around him and not tell him exactly how I felt. “What did you want to show me?”
“Nice diversion. We’ll circle back around to you running another time.”
I refrained from groaning, but just barely. I didn’t want Heath digging too deeply into my feelings. It wouldn’t take much to figure it out. I’d never gotten over him, and it was embarrassing. Who was still hung up on the guy they kind of dated in high school? We never went out on a single date in front of other people, yet it had felt like a relationship, with the full huge range of emotions.
I hadn’t needed the ice cream or movie dates or dances to feel like I was everything to him. It was too bad he was able to shut things down so easily. Over the years, I realized it was because he didn’t feel the same way. I’d been younger and naïve. A way to pass the time for him. I certainly wasn’t worth standing up to my brother.
He moved to another table that was covered in papers. “These are his designs.”
I stepped closer to him, trying not to breathe in his scent.
He rifled through the pages until he had the one he wanted. “Look at this. This is what he wants to do this holiday season. They’ll be lined along the new lane we just built. It’s an additional exit we added for when we have events on the property, like weddings. That way, the traffic won’t interfere with the tree people.”
I nudged my shoulder with his. “You call your customers the tree people?”
He braced his hands on the table, emphasizing his bulging biceps and the strong muscles on his back. “That’s what they are, aren’t they? They’re here to cut down trees.”
“I guess so,” I said, amusement tinging my voice. It was funny to hear Heath talk about the farm and his business. It was almost like he didn’t enjoy having customers on the farm. He liked the income but not what came with it. “When I coached people one-on-one, I found it draining. So, I came up with a way that I could reach more people without exhausting myself.” Heath was looking at me with curiosity in his expression, so I continued. “I started conducting webinars to large groups of people, then I put the videos together in a course. Once I learned that people would pay money for my content, it just grew from there, and I got away from individual coaching.”
“That’s kind of amazing. You saw an opportunity and monetized it.”
My face flushed. I didn’t have anyone in my life encouraging me or telling me that I’d done something amazing. I wasn’t even sure Aiden understood what I did. He just asked if I was okay and if I needed any money. He couldn’t understand that I made money teaching online. “It’s nice.”
“It’s more than that. I read the testimonials on your site. There are too many of them to just brush it off. You’re really helping people.”
“I enjoy what I do, and I love that I’ve changed people’s lives.”
“I can’t say we do that here. We create an experience and give them something to do each year, a tradition. You come to Monroe Farm to cut down your Christmas tree, and you get your hot chocolate, cookies, and maybe even an ornament to put on your tree. Then you don’t return until the next year. We wanted to add to that experience with the lights. Talon made one for Sarah and Addy to decorate their porch, and it kind of took off.”
“I think it’s going to be amazing. Can people walk through, or will it be for cars?”
“Both. I think. We’ll have certain nights where you can drive through the display and a few where we make it more of an experience. We’ll set up booths to sell ornaments, wreaths, and hot chocolate. We’ll play holiday music and set up some bonfires.”
“I got tingles listening to you talk. I think it’s going to be amazing.”
“You can get an idea of what it will look like here,” Heath said, pointing at the diagram.
There was a Santa on his sleigh with reindeer. A deer jumping over a gate, that he’d drawn lines as if it was in motion.
“This one is neat. Talon showed it to us last year. You can see the deer jumping.”
“I wish I could see it.”
Heath smiled. “Stick around for the holidays and you will. The inn should be done by then. You can stay here and spend the holidays with us.”
“Oh, I couldn’t impose on your family.”
“What do you do on the holidays?”
My heart rate picked up. “I usually talk to Aiden. That’s the highlight. We get pie and eat it together on the video call. He doesn’t get long to talk.”
I couldn’t look at Heath’s face. I didn’t want to see any pity there.
“This year, Aiden will be home.”
