Page 33 of The Christmas Tree Farm

‘We had to come see you at your new job.’

‘Thanks, Janet. That’s sweet of you. I hope you’re all here for a tree, too.’

‘Of course we are,’ the shortest of the three said, with a laugh. ‘We left the husbands at home so we can pick the biggest ones!’

‘Perfect!’ said Iris, passing a saw for the women through the window. ‘Have fun, ladies.’

‘Will we see you on Sunday?’ Carol asked.

‘I wouldn’t miss it.’

The women all seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. ‘We were worried you were leaving us for this new gig.’

‘Never! I have plenty of time to do both.’ Iris smiled, and Kira wondered where she got all her energy.

‘Good, because the woman we had before you was just awful. No sense of humor.’

Iris frowned. ‘Did you push her in the pool, Marissa?’

Marissa didn’t even bother to look contrite. ‘She was asking for it.’

The three women burst out laughing and Kira made a mental note not to cross this crew. They took their saw and waved goodbye to Iris, smiling at Kira as they went.

‘Do you need help finding anything?’ she asked, now even more pleased with her decision to hire Iris, but also feeling like she should do something for her customers.

‘No, dear, we’ve been coming here for years.’ Carol stopped and patted her shoulder. ‘We are so glad you reopened the farm. A real piece of history here. We didn’t know if anyone would buy it after all those rumors about the former owner.’

‘The what? What rumors?’

‘Come on, Carol! We have trees to find!’ Janet called, already hiking down the closest trail.

‘Oh, it’s nothing to worry about, dear,’ Carol assured her as she followed her friends. ‘I’m sure it’s not true!’

Rumors about the former owner? What was she talking about? Kira was about to ask Iris why she hadn’t mentioned any rumors, when a family with three very excited kids came up asking about where to find a blue spruce, and then a couple who had driven over an hour to get here wanted to fit several trees onto their compact car, and then a family with a new baby who were looking for the perfect first Christmas-picture spot wanted her opinion. By the time Kira had handled all of that, she’d forgotten the rumor of rumors completely.

Iris was right about another thing, Dream Harbor showed up. By the time she could sneak in a quick lunch break in the cabin, Kira was pretty sure the entire town had stopped by to pick out a tree. It was a Christmas miracle.

Families were wandering between the trees in their matching Christmas sweaters, kids were squealing with delight as the trees fell, old couples were sipping cocoa while their trees were secured to their cars. The whole scene was like something out of a dream.

A new dream.

A dream in which Kira ran a successful farm and didn’t freeze to death.

She liked this dream. Maybe everything she’d told Chloe this morning was coming true. Maybe she was thriving here. Or she could, anyway.

This reckless idea might actually work out.

ChapterNine

Kira’s reopening announcement at the tree lighting had clearly paid off. When Bennett pulled up at the farm with Jeanie and Logan, the place was packed. He was riding shotgun in Logan’s truck and Jeanie stuck her head up from the back seat to talk to them.

‘Wow, it looks great!’

‘Crowded,’ Logan grumbled.

‘It’s festive!’ Jeanie said. ‘I love that she strung up all the lights and look at how cute the little cabin is!’

Bennett had to admit it all looked really nice. Even the cabin looked reasonably safe. Kira had set up a rocking chair on the front porch and a wreath on the door, so it looked more like a house than like a customer-service booth.