Chapter 6
SIX
Burk
“Take a quick lunch break,” my cousin hollers at me after I load what feels like the thousandth tree so far today. “Gram made some chicken noodles and mashed potatoes up at the house. Take the UTV.”
“I was gonna go in a bit and help a friend take her tree home,” I tell him, earning me a look that tells me he’s going to want more details.
“You can do both. Gram is waiting for you with some food, and then she’s gonna run to visit Gramps. Run up and eat and then you can still take the tree when you need to.”
I nod and wave, letting him know I heard him loud and clear. Pulling my work gloves off, I make my way to the UTV parked beside the big barn. Once I hop inside, I fire up the engine and take off toward the old farmhouse I’m currently staying in, my stomach growling from hunger.
Parking beside Gram’s SUV, I turn off the machine and make my way into the garage. I take off my boots so I don’t track snow inside the house before heading to the kitchen. “There you are,” Gram says with a smile as I enter.
“I heard you made lunch,” I say, leaning in and giving her a kiss on the cheek. “I only have a minute.”
She spins around and grabs a bowl. “I sure did, and you need to take a few minutes to eat. I know today is one of the busiest days of the year, so I wanted to do something for you all before I left for the hospital.”
“How was he this morning?” I ask, knowing Gram has already been in touch with the nurses on his floor.
“Ornery and itching to come home,” she states with a chuckle.
I may not know my grandpa as of the last decade and a half, but I can see it. He was always the life of the party, the boisterous man with a work ethic that wouldn’t quit. I’m sure it’s killing him to be laid up in a hospital bed right now, especially this time of year. “I bet.”
She fills my bowl to the brim and hands it off, scooping the rest of the pot into a plastic storage container to put in the fridge for later.
I take a seat at the small island and shovel my food into my mouth.
It’s just after two in the afternoon, and the line of customers flocking to the farm shows no sign of slowing down.
“It looks pretty busy out there,” Gram says, glancing out the kitchen window that overlooks the farm entrance.
“I don’t remember it being like this when I was young,” I confess.
She turns her attention my way and smiles. “It was, but you were usually running through the rows of trees, playing hide-and-seek, and helping yourself to cocoa and cookies from the snack shack.”
I chuckle and nod. “Yeah, Klint and I had a lot of fun back then.”
Gram is silent for a few seconds before she adds, “He really missed you when you left.”
My throat grows dry as I gaze her way. “I missed him too.”
Her smile is small and sad. “I’m glad you’re here, Burk. We all are.”
The dryness in my throat turns into a massive lump, which makes it a little difficult to breathe. “I’m glad to be here and help. I really missed this place…and you all.”
“Well, you’re here now, and that’s what’s important. What happened in the past stays there, right?”
I nod before taking another heaping forkful of mashed potato and chicken noodle goodness.
“Speaking of past, rumor has it you’ve reconnected with the Campbell girl.”
My fork stalls halfway to my mouth. “Where’d you hear that?”
She just smiles back at me without saying a word.
“Right. Small town.” I clear my throat. “I haven’t talked to her in years. We’re just catching up.”
Gram nods and leans against the counter, watching me. “I understand that. You two were thick as thieves back in the day.”
I continue to shovel my food into my mouth, not really knowing what else to say.
Yes, Joy and I were good friends growing up.
We played together all the time, especially at the tree farm.
But we’d also ride bikes in town, play at the park, and watch movies together in her living room.
We had a lot of fun, and I certainly missed that friendship after we moved away.
“You know, she hasn’t dated much in the last few years. I’m sure it has a lot to do with opening her bakery and whatnot, but even before that, she didn’t have many boyfriends. And when she did, it never seemed very serious.”
My fork abandoned, my gaze returns to the woman standing before me. “Why are you telling me this?”
She shrugs. “Thought you’d want to know.”
While a part of me does want to know if she’s been dating anyone recently, it feels wrong to be discussing her like this in my gram’s kitchen. I feel like any talk about her dating history should come from her, but I also can’t help asking, “Anyone I know?”
Gram nods. “A few, I’m sure, since you went to school with most of them, but the one that sticks out was that Bransen boy. What’s his name?”
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up, because only one name comes to mind, and it’s not a good one. “Eli?”
“Yes, that’s it!” Gram proclaims. “What a strange young man.”
Well, that piques my interest, because in the years I knew Eli, I would never have thought he was strange.
Cocky, yes. Opinionated, definitely. He was popular and bossed everyone around like they were his little school-aged minions.
I never got along with him, mostly because everything I said was always wrong in his eyes.
Before I can ask more questions, my walkie-talkie squawks to life. “Burk, you’re being summoned to the tree farm. There’s a beautiful young woman here, ready to pick out her tree,” Ray says, making me smile. Instantly I know he’s talking about his youngest daughter.
“On my way,” I reply, shoveling the rest of my lunch into my mouth and quickly chewing.
“How you can eat like that is beyond me,” Gram mutters, shaking her head.
“I had to eat fast when we were younger or Klint would have taken my food,” I retort. Klint had a huge appetite when we were kids, always eating twice as much as the rest of us. How he doesn’t weigh twice as much as he does is still unknown.
Gram laughs hard. “That boy could sure eat, right? He ate everything that wasn’t nailed down,” she teases, taking my bowl off the table.
“I can rinse it,” I state. “You don’t have to pick up after me.”
She just grins that grandmotherly little smile I remember from my childhood. “Hush, boy. I haven’t seen you in a few years, so if I want to take care of you, I will.”
It was more than a few years, but who’s counting…
“Thank you for lunch,” I tell her, meeting her at the sink and pressing a kiss to her cheek.
“You’re very welcome. Now, go so you can help that pretty young woman with her tree selection,” Gram says, and by the gleam in her eyes, she knows exactly who I’m off to assist. “Tell Joy I said hello.”
“I will,” I reply, moving to the door so I can put on my winter clothes and boots. “Tell Gramps I said hello too.”
“As soon as he moves to the rehab facility, he would love a visit.”
Again, my throat gets a little tight from emotion. “I’d like that.”
“Good,” she replies, reaching for a hand towel and swinging it at me. “Now, go. Help Joy with her tree.” She throws in a wink for good measure before returning her attention to the dishes in the sink.
I quickly go to the garage and redress before heading out to the UTV. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a little extra spring in my step—or a little extra speed in my drive—as I make my way to the barn. Parking the utility vehicle, I smile the moment I see Joy over by her dad and walk that way.
“Hey,” I say as I approach.
“Hi. Sorry to interrupt your lunch,” Joy replies.
“You’re fine. Gram just made me eat before she went to the hospital to visit Gramps.”
“I’ll leave you two to it,” Ray announces, leaning in and kissing his daughter on the cheek before patting me on the back. He takes off toward the pay hut to help the next customer, leaving us alone.
“I expected your dad to help you pick your tree,” I tell her as we make our way to retrieve one of the sleds.
“Umm, he told me it would be easier if you did it.”
I stop walking and just look at her. “What?”
Joy shrugs and chuckles. “Honestly, I think this was his way of, well, like, putting us…together.”
A huge smile stretches my lips. I knew I liked that man. “Well, I’m happy to help cut it down and then deliver it to your house.”
“If you don’t have time, we can just throw it in the bed of Dad’s truck and I can take it to my apartment, like I had planned.”
Reaching the rope of one of the remaining sleds, I say, “No, you’re fine. I only took about ten minutes of lunch time, so it’s no big deal to help you get it into your place.”
“If you’re sure,” she says, falling in line beside me as we head toward the sections of trees available to cut down. “You’re pretty busy today.”
I nod. “They were lined up when I got up here to open the gate.”
“Dad always says this weekend and the one right before Christmas are the busiest, and that’s always weird to me. I mean, why wait until right before the holiday to decorate a tree? You’re missing out on so many nights of prime tree light enjoyment.”
I have to grin, because of course she would feel that way.
I’m surprised she doesn’t have her tree up before now, if I’m being honest. But I suppose she already has one in her bakery to enjoy all day long.
“I’ll take your word for it,” I state, thinking back to my small house back in South Carolina and the lack of a Christmas tree over the last few years.
She stops walking, halting my own progress. “Burkey Turkey, I need to ask you a very important question, and I need you to be one-hundred-percent honest with me.”
The corner of my mouth ticks. “Of course.”
“Do you put up a tree? Back home?”
I swallow hard and meet her gaze. “I’m usually too busy to worry about it.”
She gasps so loud, I swear you could hear it in the next county. “What?” She starts marching away toward a section of Fraser fir trees.