A Heart for Christmas (5 page)

“My son mentions everything to me…well at least the important stuff,” she
winked.  “I’m Margaret Darcy.  Welcome to Winter Wishes Tree Farm.”

“
Uh…oh,” Yvette stammered.  She shook hands with Christopher’s mother.  “I’m sorry…he didn’t mention that this was his family’s farm.  It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Darcy.  She clasped Lacey’s hand and eased her closer.  This is my daughter, Lacey.”

Margaret reached down and hugged her.  “It’s wonderful to meet you, Lacey.  I’ve heard such wonderful things about you.”

Her eyes lit up.  “Really?  Like what?”

“That you love our Penguin ornaments, all things Christmas, and you’re in the market for the perfect Christmas tree to take home.”

Yvette observed her daughter while she conversed with Mrs. Darcy.  She was a tall, shapely woman, with vivid brandy-colored eyes and timeless beauty.  Her light brown skin was flawless, with only a hint of wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.  She reminded Yvette of the dance instructor she had when she was six-years old. 
Christopher’s mother
. 

Hurt
welled up inside her. 
He didn’t tell you
.  Her conscience piped up loud and clear.  Yvette took a few steps away to get a handle on her emotions. 
Why wasn’t he truthful with her?
  She wondered.  What was the reason behind his omission?  Did he think she was superficial or something?

Well, you were shocked that he worked in a tree lot
.  She told herself.  “Surprised, yes, but not put off,” Yvette whispered aloud.  In the larger picture, where Christopher worked did not bother her.  That he wasn’t honest did.    

Just then Christopher walked in.  Yvette’s eyes connected with his.
  She watched him saunter over to their group and did her best to keep her mixed emotions at bay.  He had some explaining to do.

“Good morning
, lovely ladies.  I’m glad you made it safely.”

“Yes, we did. 
We’ve just been met your mother, too,” she said, staring right at him. 

The air suddenly crackled with tension. 

Margaret glanced between her son, and Yvette.  She reached down and grabbed Lacey’s hand.  “Lacey, I’ve got a great idea.  Would you like to help me round up the elves?  Their break was over a few minutes ago, and they’ve got mistletoe to hang.”

“Ooh,
mistletoe,” she squeaked. 

“
You two excuse us; we’re going adventuring for a while.”

“Of course,” Yvette replied bending down to give Lacey a hug.  “You have fun, sweetheart.”

“I will,” her daughter said with confidence.  “It’s like we’re at the South Pole.”

“
The moment her daughter turned the corner and was out of sight, Yvonne rounded on Christopher.  “Why didn’t you tell me your family owns this farm?”

Gazing around the crowded store, he said, “How about we go someplace quieter to talk?”

Yvette nodded and let him guide her out of the store.  He walked over to where his truck was parked and opened the passenger door.  Yvette stood rooted to her spot.

“Please?” he implored her.

With a sigh, she got up in the truck and fastened her seat belt.  Christopher climbed in and turned the engine over.  He eased out of the crowded parking area and drove down a side road.  With her arms folded across her middle, Yvette didn’t say a word; she just looked out the window as they passed field after field of trees.  As far as her eye could see there were rows of Fraser firs.

Forgetting her
annoyance, she turned to him.  “This place is…huge.”

“We have about one thousand acres of land, though less than 100 acres are utilized to grow Christmas trees.
  We also have horses, cows, chickens and other farm animals, but those are mostly to provide us with our own source of food.  My mother wants to be as self-sufficient as possible.  She makes soaps, cleaning supplies, and the best food you’ve ever tasted.  You should see her garden,” he chuckled.  “There’s not much we have to go to the grocery store for.”

“And on top of that you have the trees?”

He nodded.  “We have all sizes of trees, some growing to over twenty feet.  We get a few requests for trees for large scale parties and buildings with a lot of ceiling height,” he smiled. 

“How…how long have you been doing this?”

“The tree farm belonged to my mother’s family.  When my grandparents died a few years ago, my mother inherited the farm and all their other assets.  She’s their only child.  My father and I had been here a few times, but when my parents decided to combine their efforts and make a go out of running Winter Wishes, it was all in…for everybody.”

“That was a big decision,” Yvette said softly.  “So that’s why you quit your job.”

“Yes.  Family comes first.  We have employees to help with running the farm.  Some have been here since my grandparent’s time.  There’s seasonal help, too, but this has been a family-owned business since my grandparents first bought this place sixty years ago and planted their first Fraser Fir.  Our goal is to keep it that way.”

Christopher parked the truck and got out.  He walked around to
open Yvette’s door.

“There’s something I’d like to show you,” he said holding his hand out.

Yvette placed her hand in his.  Their fingers connected and he helped her down.

They walked in silence down a long path. 
It wasn’t snowing at the moment, but the weather could change at any time.  Luckily, Yvette had on knee-length boots, a North Face snow jacket with a hat and gloves.  It wasn’t as cold as it could get at this time of year, and at this elevation, but she was prepared.

They kept walking for well over a quarter of a mile.  They were off the road by now and still Christopher kept walking.

“Are we there yet?” Yvette asked, and had to laugh because she sounded just like her daughter.

He peeked over his shoulder. 
“Almost,” Christopher replied with a chuckle.

“You do know there’s no way we’re getting a cell signal up here if something happens,” she warned.

“Relax, Yvie.  It’s fine.”

She was getting more skeptical by the minute.  Did he have emergency supplies in his truck?  An emergency blanket?  A flare gun, satellite phone, food and water?  Yvette started imagining all sorts of things that could go wrong with this impromptu nature hike
in the frozen tundra.

“Do you carry emergency supplies in your truck?  You know, in case of…emergencies?”

“Yes I do, but we won’t need them.  We’re here.”

Christopher walked into a clearing and Yvette followed cautiously behind him.  “Because you know, all it takes is a stump or tree limb sticking out from
under the snow and pow,” she said for effect.  “Twisted or broken ankle.”

Yvette glanced up at one of the largest trees she’d ever seen.  It looked like the father of all the trees on the Darcy’s farm.  Next to it were four more trees, though none of them nearly as tall as the first.  Something about them seemed very regal to Yvette.  She
spun around a few times and was surprised to hear absolutely nothing.  No noise of any kind.  Not even birds or woodland creatures.  Wind didn’t even permeate the grove making her certain it was sacred.

“Christopher, this place is…special,” she said with reverence. 

“It is,” he agreed, his voice almost a whisper, too.  “I’ve always felt that.”  Christopher pointed upward.  “The biggest tree here is named Aloysius.  It was my grandfather’s middle name.  It was the first tree he ever planted when he bought this land.  The one to its left is Corona, after my grandmother’s mother.”

“And the three here?” Yvette inquired.

“That’s my mother’s tree, Comet, after her first horse.  She helped plant it when she was three years old.  When my parent’s got married, my grandfather insisted that my dad have his own tree,” he said pointing to the next in line.  “That’s Colonel,” he laughed. 

“And this must be yours?” Yvette pointed to the final tree.  It stood tall, and broad.  It was a perfect tree.

“Yep.  I planted it when I was six-years old.”

“And his name?”

“Actually, it’s a she.” Christoper touched the thick trunk.  “I named her Jessie.”

A smile tugged at Yvette’s lips.  “Was it homage to someone?”

He shook his head.  “No, it was the name of a girl in a book my mother was reading to me at the time.  She was on a safari in Kenya.”  He looked sheepish.  “Hey, what can I say, I was six.”

“Well I think that’s a great name,” Yvette said softly.  She gazed up in the sky at the huge Fraser Fir.  “It looks like your tree liked it, too.” 
 

He stared at her.  “I’ve never shown anyone my tree before.”

“Then I’m honored,” she replied.

Suddenly, Christopher dissolved into laughter.  “I can’t believe I said that.
”  Continuing to laugh, he wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.  “It sounded really lame.”

Yvette joined in. 
“No it didn’t.  I’m glad you showed me your family trees.  They’re special to you.  It means a lot that you trusted me with that.”  Suddenly she turned serious.  “I’m just sorry you felt you couldn’t open up about all this earlier.  You let me think you just worked at a tree lot, Christopher.  Then it turns out it’s a family business—a pretty large one at that.”

“I know.  I just…you can’t imagine how often I’ve been dated for dollars instead of substance.  It’s become almost second nature for me not to disclose
what the real deal is when I first meet a woman.  I’ve had a few whose eyes actually glazed over trying to figure out my net worth.  That was before we’d even ordered appetizers.”

She
glanced down at her booted feet.  They were buried in snow.  “I understand why you felt the need to be cautious, but…it still hurt.”

“You and I didn’t spend that much time together in college, but you never gave me the impression that you were shallow.”
  He sighed loudly.  “I shouldn’t have assumed you’d be that way now.”  He placed a gloved hand under her chin to tilt her face up to meet his.  “I’m sorry, Yvie.”

She managed a smile. 
“It’s okay.”

Christopher could feel the pull of attraction between them.  He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her, but knew it was too soon.  This was only the third time they had met.  Still…the need to do just that was overwhelming.  He didn’t want to do or say anything to scare Yvette away.  The truth was that he liked her…a lot…and wanted to see if something developed between them.  Antsy, Christopher needed something else to take his mind off of his baser desires. 

Dropping his hand back to his side, h
e jogged away from her.  “Time to go.  Hey, I’ve got an idea.  Let’s take a sleigh ride.”

Yvette took off running to catch up.  When she heard that she skidded to a halt.  “Wait, you have a sleigh?”

“Hello, tree farm,” he teased.

Christopher bent down and picked up a wad of snow.  It took him seconds to form a good sized snowball and lob it at her.
  “Come on, slow poke.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Yvette dodged the snowy orb.  “You’re going to get it,” she warned.

It didn’t take her long to make a few of her own.  She threw them in rapid succession.  When one connected, she shouted with triumph.  “Who’s slow now?”

They hurled snowballs back and forth at each other for a few minutes.  Finally, Christopher threw his hands up in surrender.  “I quit, but demand a rematch later on.”

“Not before you tell me how wonderful I am at snowball fights,” Yvette called from behind the safety of a fallen tree.

“There is no one more wonderful at a snow battle than you,
Yvette Stilwell,” he yelled at the top of his lungs.  “Now can we go?”

“Yes, before you start an avalanche,” she shot back.

They both called a cease-fire and walked toward the truck.  Minutes later, they were driving down a road past the main store to the parking lot. 

“Where are we going?” Yvette asked.

“To pick up your car, and then head to the house.  By now, Mom will have taken Lacey there, and I guarantee she’s been fed, met my dad, our dogs Jingle Bells, and Bandit, and is snuggled up on the couch watching an old Christmas classic on DVD.”

She giggled.  “Sounds like Lacey will be spoiled rotten by the time we arrive.”

“What would you expect from Mrs. Clause?” he replied.

Yvette followed Christopher down a winding lane and up to a detached three-car garage and parked.  She saw her Aunt Addie’s car and beamed.  She couldn’t wait to see her.  By the time Christopher walked over, Yvette had already gotten out and retrieved her purse from the back seat.  As they walked, she stared at the sprawling white farm house in front of her.  It looked like every light in the house was on, and a Christmas decoration hanging from each window.  Since dusk was settling in at this point, it was a beautiful sight.  There was a large porch that wrapped around the entire front of the house.  It was lined with red rocking chairs and a bench swing on each side.  Poinsettias flanked the staircase leading up to large front door.  It was a beautiful black door with beveled glass and matching sidelights.  The whole house looked like something out of one of those Christmas movies she watched on television each year.  She told Christopher as much.