Page 73 of The Christmas Tree Farm

‘I know.’

‘But you have to promise me, you’ll go,’ she whispered. ‘After New Year’s, you’ll go back home to your real life. I might get selfish … fall back into old habits. I might try to keep you.’

He nodded, feeling his cheeks flush, liking the idea of her wanting him to stay a little too much. But no, he wasn’t going down that road again. ‘I’ll go.’ Of course he would go. He had a life to get back to. This was a vacation, a Christmas fling. Just because he wanted to extend it a little longer didn’t mean he’d forgotten the dangers of giving up everything to fit into someone else’s life. He was determined not to do that again.

No matter how tempting Kira might be.

‘Okay.’ Kira nodded. ‘Deal.’

‘There’s something else I have to tell you.’

‘Okay…’

‘The whole town thinks there’s a dead body buried somewhere on your farm, and they sent me here to find it.’

* * *

‘The whole town thinks what?!’ Obviously, Bennett’s solid body beneath her had impaired her hearing somehow, because what he’d just said made absolutely no sense.

He winced. ‘The town thinks the old owner buried a body here. They didn’t want you to find it and be … traumatized … I guess. Honestly, their reasoning is all a little fuzzy at this point.’

Kira pushed up on his chest, but she wasn’t in a hurry to move off of him completely. Bennett was very comfortable. ‘And why do they think this?’

‘Something about a cryptic letter left behind after he died. The town seems split between a possible dead body and some kind of treasure, or maybe money…’

‘Treasure?! Money?! Bennett!’

His eyes widened as her voice rose.

‘If there is a treasure on this farm, I need it!’

He let out a chuckle and she felt it rumble through her chest. ‘I don’t think there’s anything here, Peaches.’

She didn’t bother to correct the nickname. It was growing on her. The fact that he’d wanted to give her one was growing on her, too.

‘That’s probably what that cryptic list was all about, the treasure!’

‘Kira…’

‘And I found his will. Edwin didn’t have many relatives. He left a lot of stuff here in the house. Maybe thereissomething valuable here.’

‘It seems unlikely.’

‘Oh, and why is that, detective? You did such a thorough search while you were walking your dogs and banging around in my basement?’

‘What was I supposed to do? Start digging holes between your trees?’

‘You were supposed to tell me!’

‘Right. Sorry about that. But in my defense…’

She rolled her eyes but was having trouble keeping the smile off her face. Especially since Bennett had started rubbing up and down her back with his big warm hands.

‘You didn’t seem open to input when I first met you.’

She huffed and he laughed.

‘And after that, I just wanted an excuse to keep coming up here.’