AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And yet she couldn’t seem to get the strength to walk away. “Yeah, okay.” Her eyes followed him as he hurried toward the display of the oversized cookies, purchased one, and returned.
With one swift movement, he broke the cookie in half and held it out to her. She took a nibble, glancing at him once or twice as she tried to deduce what this meant. Probably nothing.
“Do you remember when we were teenagers how I told you about farming at my family’s ranch?”
She nodded.
“You were the only one who told me to go for it. Not even my dad approved.”
“I thought Brent was for it,” she said thoughtfully.
“Oh yeah. Him too.” Luke shifted in his seat, his expression brightening with an excitement she recalled all too well. He leaned forward and his voice lowered. “I’m trying something new.”
“Really?”
He shifted even closer. “It’s crazy. I’m sorta winging it and I haven’t told Brent about it yet.”
But he was telling her—the girl he passed up for someone else. She swallowed that bitter pill and forced a smile. “What is it?”
“Christmas trees.” He was practically bursting from the seams, and it was hard not to be infected by it. “I set aside some money last year and used some land we hadn’t allocated to anything yet so I can get them started growing. It’s not much, but it’s a start.”
“That sounds amazing. And Christmas trees! Yay!”
“Do you really think so? It happened so fast. But it just felt…right, you know? Growing my business is always on my mind and this was an opportunity I couldn’t walk away from.”
“Doesn’t it take a long time to grow them? How can you sell them this year if they’re not mature enough?” Allie tilted her head and squinted.
“Yeah, the ones I planted aren’t ready yet. I heard about an organic farm that’s failing. They wanted to sell their inventory because they couldn’t afford to keep their place going so I bought it.” Luke shrugged. “I helped them while taking a shot to learn about the sales part before I get ready with my own.”
“That’s interesting. I’m not sure I would have thought of that. Good for you, Luke.” She smiled and her eyes twinkled. “But doesn’t it take a while for trees to grow big enough?”
“It does take several years. I know mine won’t be ready right away so I agreed to fund the other farm until mine are ready. Now that I’m a partner in their business, I’ll probably offer those trees here for a while. It’s a work in progress for sure.”
“Impressive. Isn’t that what they call a win-win?”
He laughed and nodded. “It is.”
“So what you said about growth, that’s how I feel about teaching,” she offered him a reassuring smile. “I want to always be learning more so I can teach more. And it’s the right thing for me. When you know, you know.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” His smile was so bright he could have lit one of his new Christmas trees with it. Luke chuckled nervously and took a bite out of his cookie. “I just have to figure out how to tell Brent because with Thanksgiving coming up, I have a ton more to do than I realized.”
“Like what?”
“Build a stand, find some volunteers, get supplies to sell hot chocolate and cookies—”
“Volunteers? Don’t you mean employees?”
Luke shook his head. “I want to donate everything to the local children’s hospital this year. I don’t know if it will take off or anything. Before I figure out if it’s actually viable as a business, I’d rather not have to pay any extra employees.”
“I love that idea!” She moved to the edge of her seat. “Where are you going to set up your stand?” Her eyes widened and she made a small squeaky sound. “What if you asked about setting it up in the square? You could make signs and let people know that it’s for charity.” She gasped. “No, let the kids in my class practice their penmanship. They can make the signs for you.”
“The signs are a great idea! I know Molly will get a kick out of doing something like that. As for the square, I think we’re going to stick with selling at my farm. I’ve got all the specs ready for a micro farmer’s market area for my remaining produce and the trees.” He beamed at her. “I don’t think there’ll be room on the square anyway. The Santa’s Village takes up a ton of space and the kids will be running wild there.”
“Yeah, good idea to avoid that area to sell trees.”
They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. It was as if the coffee shop was a distant memory. The chatter and voices of the other patrons faded into the background and she could pretend this was the moment Luke fell in love with her.
He got to his feet first and she mirrored his movements.
