17. Axel
17
AXEL
A xel stood in the gymnasium the next day, waiting by the door for his fourth graders to pile in and trying not to think too much about the real date he had coming up with Eden.
Running to school with the children on their bikes, and keeping them busy throughout the day, along with all the chores he had lined up for himself back at the homestead kept him well occupied. But his mind couldn’t help wandering back to that little house on Rutgers Avenue every time he let his guard down. And it was practically impossible to think about anything but Eden when he lay down to sleep at night.
But she told him that she wanted to go slowly, and he was determined not to ruin his progress by overthinking it, or pushing her to move up the timeline, even though the week seemed to be passing at a turtle’s pace.
“ Coach ,” Benny Webb yelled as he ran in, out of breath and clutching a cardboard box. “ Coach, do you want to buy a candy bar? ”
“A candy bar?” Axel echoed.
“No, no, buy one from me,” Daniel Pierce yelped, trying to elbow his way past Benny with his own cardboard box.
“What is this?” Axel asked, as more kids came bursting in, many of them with boxes of their own.
“It’s a fundraiser ,” Benny told him. “So we can have our football club. And if you want a candy bar, you should buy one from me, because I asked first.”
“But you have like a million cousins and stuff to buy them,” Daniel pointed out to Benny. “I have to sell mine to my teachers if I want to get them all sold.”
The kid wasn’t wrong. The Webb family was as big as his own Williams crew. There would be no problem unloading a box of candy at one of those family gatherings.
Both boys frowned as two more kids ran up, brandishing two more boxes.
“Listen guys,” Axel announced quickly. “It’s time for gym class right now. But come see me afterward if you have candy to sell and we can do business. Sound good?”
The kids cheered and Axel smiled back at them, even though he was feeling a little heartsick.
Did children really have to sell candy to come up with money for simple activities these days? If Eden had said something, he could have just paid for whatever they needed himself.
Sighing, he shook his head and jogged out to the center of the space. As far as Axel was concerned, the best medicine for bad feelings was exercise and good company, and he was about to enjoy both. The fourth graders had a great energy and sense of humor. They would curb his racing mind.
When the day was over, Axel headed out to the parking lot, hoping as he always did that he might run into Eden and Jack.
But Eden must have been doing extra grading or planning, so he made his way out without a glimpse of his two favorite people, threw all his stuff in the back of his truck and hopped in. There were a couple of errands he could have run, but he’d been meaning to track down Ian Cassidy for a while now to catch up, and since the high school team didn’t have practice tonight, he figured this afternoon was as good as any.
Besides, his aunt loved Cassidy Farm’s pumpkin pies, and now that Thanksgiving was over, it was easy enough to pick one up from the bakery.
The drive out to the farm was as peaceful as ever. Axel put on the radio and listened to Elvis croon about being home for Christmas while he passed through the village, then past the community college campus, and out to Route One.
The familiar farmland spread out in front of him, and he let himself enjoy the sight of the holiday lights, pine wreaths, and other trimmings on the houses and barns along the way.
He’d celebrated Christmas all over the globe in his years serving, but there was no place like Trinity Falls this time of year. At times like this, he almost couldn’t believe he was really home for good.
At last, he signaled to turn at the old wooden sign with the apples and horse, and pulled down the sycamore-lined driveway into the big gravel lot that served the tourist farm.
Rows of cut trees outside the nursery reminded him that he had promised the chief he would take a shift selling trees at the Hometown Holiday Celebration. The Cassidy family always donated trees to be sold to benefit the fire station, and Axel was happy he could do something to help out.
He parked and hopped out of the car, heading into the big shop, where he figured he’d find someone from the family to let him know where to track down Ian.
“Axel Williams,” Joe Cassidy greeted him from where he was setting up poinsettias on an outside display. “Good to see you, son.”
“You look amazing, sir,” Axel told him honestly. He hadn’t seen the man in years, but the last news he’d heard was that Joe wasn’t getting around so well anymore. That certainly didn’t look like the case to Axel, and he was glad of it.
“Knee surgery put another twenty-five years on my life,” Joe declared with a wink. “I have Kellan Webb’s good advice to thank for that.”
“That’s great,” Axel said. “It’s a tough surgery though, right?”
“Well, you weren’t around two years ago to see me getting henpecked and sat down in a chair afterward,” Joe said, chuckling. “That was the hard part. Now, you and your schoolteacher will be at the Hometown Holiday Celebration, won’t you?”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Axel told him, feeling his chest warm at the suggestion that he’d be there with Eden. And he sure hoped he would be.
“Well, be sure and take her on a carriage ride,” Joe told him. “I’ll be over there with the horses, carting folks around like old times.”
“That’s great,” Axel said, meaning it. It was good to see Joe sounding and acting like the man he’d been back when he attended all the football games. “Hey, is Ian around?”
“Your partner in crime?” Joe teased. “He’s up in the Christmas-All-Year-Round shop.”
“Thanks, Mr. Cassidy,” Axel said, giving the old man a wave before heading inside.
A set of stairs led up to the second floor, and Axel had hardly taken a step into the staircase before the rich scents of the shop hit his nose. The downstairs smelled like good things baking, and the upstairs smelled like pine trees, cinnamon sachets, and homemade candles. It reminded him of coming here with his brother Tanner and their parents to choose a new ornament for the tree each year.
It was wild to think about Ian working up here though. Axel always pictured him out with the horses or cutting down trees.
“Axel Williams,” a familiar voice boomed when he made it to the top of the steps.
The place was transformed from the last time he’d set foot in it. The crowded mass of tables with a hodgepodge of items he remembered had been replaced with a beautiful display in the center, and Christmas trees all around the circumference. Each one seemed to be decorated with ornaments that were also for sale.
“Hey,” Axel said, when Ian came striding up to meet him. “This place looks incredible.”
They clasped hands and pulled each other in for a quick hug.
“I have my wife to thank,” Ian said proudly as he pulled back, gesturing to the little office by the back window, where a beautiful woman sat reading a story to a toddler boy.
Axel had to smile. He’d heard all about Ian’s wife and son around town, but it was still amazing to come here and catch a glimpse of them in person, and to see how different both his friend and the shop were.
“She’s very talented,” Axel said. “This place has never looked better.”
“I’m really glad you stopped by,” Ian said. “I’ll introduce you in a second, but I’ve been hoping we could get together. I’ve just had my hands a little full.”
“Hey, it’s the holidays on Cassidy Farm, and you’re a family man now,” Axel said, shaking his head. “You tell me when you’re free, and we’ll catch up then. I was just over here to grab a pie for Aunt Annabelle and figured I’d track you down and shake your hand.”
“Word is that you’re pretty busy these days yourself,” Ian said. “I heard you’re making quite the comeback.”
“I don’t know about all that,” Axel said, nodding. “I’m just volunteering at the elementary school.”
“That wasn’t what I meant, but I did hear that,” Ian said. “And that you’re going to expand it into a club. How’s that going?”
“We’ll see,” Axel said, frowning at the reminder. “The kids told me they have to sell like a million candy bars or something.”
“If it’s meant to be, it will happen,” Ian said. “My life is proof of that.”
Axel nodded, impressed that Ian had his priorities figured out well enough to accept the direction his life had taken in stride. This was wildly different from what the town had expected for their star quarterback, but it was clear that Ian was beyond happy, and that was all that mattered.
“So, what else are you up to?” Ian asked.
“Sam Green over at the center in town set me up with the volunteer gig,” Axel said, not wanting to talk about the fact that he didn’t have to rush to find other work. “She’s been sending me emails every day with ideas about what I could do, or what I could train for.”
“I hear she’s really great,” Ian said, nodding.
“She is,” Axel said, nodding. “Heart of gold, that one.”
“So… the new schoolteacher, huh?” Ian asked, lifting his brows slightly and grinning at Axel.
Axel wasn’t sure if he should share about Eden. On the one hand, he wanted to shout it from the rooftops that she was the one for him and he knew it. On the other, he was afraid he might scare off his good luck if he made too much noise about it. Blasting it all over town probably wasn’t her idea of taking it slow.
“She’s amazing,” he heard himself admit softly. “We’re going on our first official date on Friday, so I guess we’ll see how it goes. But… yeah.”
“That’s awesome, buddy,” Ian said, clapping him on the shoulder. “That’s your big comeback, right there.”
Axel thought about that for a second. In all his time trying to figure out where he belonged now that he was back, he’d only ever really considered what he was going to do, not who he was going to be. And suddenly, what he was going to do seemed a lot less important.
“You know what?” Axel said with a smile. “You’re right. This is my big comeback.”
“Come meet my family,” Ian said, clapping him on the shoulder.
As Axel followed his old friend back toward the little office, he felt a pang, wishing he could introduce Eden and Jack as his own family.
Take it slow, he begged himself to remember.
But he honestly wasn’t sure he was even going to make it to Friday without showing up at her house and shouting out his intentions for all the world to hear.