Chapter 5
CHAPTER 5
LAURA
“H
ey.”
Ethan, looked up, only giving her a curt nod before going back to what he was doing, using a brass-bristled brush to clean one of the saw blades that customers would use to cut down their trees.
Laura’d been in Pueblo all morning filing paperwork, taking the first steps towards clearing up her grandfather’s estate. Thankfully, he had a notarized will, and Laura was the only beneficiary. While there were a few things to take care of with his insurance and getting everything changed over to her name so that she could then sell the business, the process was in motion.
Now it was all just a waiting game. Well, a waiting game with a judicious amount of nudges involved, but Laura knew how to handle that. Still, it was going to take longer than she’d expected, and she’d already contacted the firm to tell them she needed to extend her leave.
The fact that nobody really seemed to mind was a little blow to her ego, but she’d mull about that later. For now, she knew she needed to patch things up with Ethan.
The truth was, he wasn’t a bad guy.
Actually, in a lot of ways he was a really good guy.
Sweet, hardworking, handsome… and come on, the man had taken care of her feet with a lot of kindness the day before. And how had she thanked him? By insulting him!
“You know.” She tried again. “I used to soak those in a PVC pipe filled with gasoline. Broke down the sap, and made it easier to scrub the blades later.”
“We had an incident,” Ethan explained curtly. “Nearly set the farm on fire with it. And after some of the forest fires that tore up the area a couple of years ago, I decided it wasn’t worth the risk. Elbow grease isn’t going to set anything on blaze.”
“Look, I’m trying to say sorry, okay?” Laura said.
Ethan’s brush paused.
“I get it, this place is important to you. And I stomped on it a lot yesterday. And I know that me selling this place means… well, a good chance that you’re going to need to find a new job. That sucks, because you’re a really nice guy, and you’ve got a heart bigger than those biceps you’re sporting right now. I’m sorry. I’m… I’m really sorry.”
Ethan set the brush aside, and looked at his arms. “My biceps, huh?”
Laura shrugged, blushing a little.
“You’re wearing just your undershirt right now,” she pointed out. “I hadn’t seen you in anything but flannel yet.”
“I like flannel,” Ethan replied. “And thank you for your apology, Laura. I was thinking about it too, and I’m sorry I snapped at you too. I don’t agree with your idea of selling this farm, but I understand you’re going through a lot right now. Mr.Bennett was a great man, and you’ve got regrets there. And the hassle of settling his affairs. Can I ask, when are you doing a funeral? I’d like to go.”
“Actually, he wanted his body donated to the med school down in Pueblo,” Laura said. “That was part of what I did this morning, signing that paperwork. What they’ll do is have medical students learn from him, and then afterwards, he’ll be cremated. I’ll be notified when that happens.”
“Oh, I see.”
“But still,” Laura added, “I will hold a memorial gathering for him. I don’t know who of his friends are still in the Rockaways, but?—”
“I’ll take care of it,” Ethan said, and Laura smiled gratefully. “In some ways it’ll be nice. You’ll be able to see how Mr.Bennett played a role around the area. Where would you like to have it?”
“At the house?” Laura offered, and Ethan flashed her a thumbs up. “Maybe for Saturday afternoon?”
“Sure thing. Now, any other questions?” Ethan asked, and Laura nodded. “What’s that?”
“So where did you get those biceps from, anyway?” Laura asked, wondering if she still had the “oomph” to flirt. It had been a long time, if she was being honest. But Ethan smiled warmly, and his eyes sparkled when he did a little flex for her.
“Don’t think I got them just working here on the tree farm?” he asked, and she shook her head.
“I know the business, remember? You might need to put in one full day a week for three or four months out of the year, and sitting around watching trees grow isn’t exactly hard work.”
Ethan laughed softly.
“True, true. Mr.Bennett helped me find another part-time gig at the gym down in the shopping center. I help with maintenance there, and one of the perks is I get to work out for free. Not that I need it right now, work’s more than enough.”
“Okay,” Laura said, smiling. “So are we… you know, good?”
Ethan nodded. “I’m not giving up on trying to have you keep the farm, you know.”
“I know.” She whispered walking away.
What she didn’t say was that for the first time, her brain was kicking around ideas that might allow her to do just that.
T hat Saturday, the tree lot was closed as Laura gathered with Ethan and her grandfather’s friends to celebrate his passing. She was surprised by the breadth of friends he had, not just older folks like him.
“Laura, it’s been years,” Mrs. Brinkler, her eighth grade homeroom teacher, said as she dropped off a casserole.
She was the third person to do so, although Ethan told her he made it clear to everyone that this wasn’t that kind of party. Then again, it was just the thing to do. When people are suffering, in doubt, bring them a casserole. They won’t always feel up to cooking, and it’s better for them than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
“I’m so sorry about David.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Brinkler,” Laura replied. “Did you two stay in touch after I left for school?”
Mrs. Brinkler nodded, smiling. “He made sure to come to the school every year, both to deliver a tree for the school to use, and more. You know, he’s the reason we were able to keep the tree in the schools a few years ago?”
“Really?” Laura asked. “How?”
“We had some parents who were opposed to the tree, saying it was a religious item. According to them, it was the government endorsing religion. And, the district just didn’t have the money to fight it. So they had a board meeting, and were going to remove the tree, when David came in, dragging not one, but two trees behind him.”
“He what?” Laura asked.
“He was huffin’ and puffin’ when he got to the podium, I know that,” Mrs. Brinkler continued. “But he got up there, and he propped those trees up next to him, and he started talking about the history of Christmas trees. All of their history, from their pagan roots all the way up to the modern day. He finished with, ’these trees are for everyone in the Rockaways. They represent love, and hope, and charity, and togetherness. Not exclusiveness. And as long as any child in this area needs love, or hope, or just someone to tell them that life can be something worth smiling about, I’m going to keep bringing Christmas trees down to the schools. You can do with them what you want at that point.”
Mrs Brinkler nodded, her eyes shinning as she fought tears.
“That’s how the complaint was dropped, and even now, we’ve got a Bennett tree in the foyer of the school.”
And that’s what the whole afternoon was. People coming up to Laura, telling her how her grandfather had meant something to them, and how his Christmas trees gave more than just a decoration to people.
“Couple of years there, I couldn’t afford much,” one man said, shaking his head. “I felt terrible, in between jobs, struggling to put food on the table for my family. And David, he came through. One Christmas Eve morning he shows up with a tree in the back of that old pickup of his, saying he ‘had my order.’ It wasn’t no five-foot runt tree either, it was a beautiful seven footer, so tall that I had to lift my daughter up to put the star on top.”
He cleared his throat, and wiped at his eye.
“Afterwards, when I tried to thank him, he said that I’d left a bag of stuff at the lot, too. It was presents for all of us. I hadn’t cried since my own daddy died, but I tell you, David Bennett had me bawling like a baby that Christmas Eve I was so grateful. And when I tried to pay him back, he wouldn’t take nothin’. Thankfully, I did it in other ways, and nudged the scale in his favor when I got a job cutting meat at the butcher counter. And whenever there was a sale on some of his favorite things, I made sure to tuck one aside for him.”
By the end of the party, Laura felt like she’d been shown a whole world that she forgot existed. The warmth, the neighborliness, the togetherness she’d seen growing up, and had forgotten about in her pursuit of a law degree and of a lawyer status.
They even helped her decorate a tree, each person bringing an ornament from their own collection for the memorial. By the time they finished, she was in tears, and as everyone left, she felt like she was shaking from the inside out.
Ethan came up, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
She sniffed, wiping her nose.
“I miss him. I was a terrible granddaughter, and I miss him, and I won’t be able to tell him that any longer.”
“You’re being too hard on yourself.” Ethan turned her to face him. “He knew whom he had raised. He was proud of you, Laura. He knew he’d raised a smart, driven… and very beautiful woman.”
Time slowed, and Laura knew what was going to happen.
As Ethan tilted her chin up she leaned into him, and in slow motion their lips met.
It was a soft kiss, warm, and tender, and in that moment Laura trusted Ethan with everything. She leaned into him, opening up slightly, and he opened as well.
It was like a spark to gasoline. The touch ignited the heat within them, and he pulled her in closer, their bodies pressed together through his thick flannel work shirt, her in the black dress she’d packed for an occasion just like this. He ran his finger through her hair and she sighed, feeling his strength.
Too soon, Ethan pulled back, or more accurately, pushed himself away.
“I… I’m sorry,” he whispered, bending over and putting his hands on his knees. “This is Mr.Bennett’s… you know… you… me… I just…”
“I think my grandfather would have approved,” Laura replied, biting her lip. “He approved of you, after all.”
Ethan smiled, and stepped forward again. “Then one more kiss.” He took her in his arms. “But no more. You know what the best part of Christmas gifts are?”
“The anticipation?” Laura replied, putting her arms around his neck. “I agree.”
And by the time Ethan left, she all about anticipating… and questioning things in a way she’d never expected when she came back to the Rockaways.
Maybe staying for the entire holidays wasn’t that bad an idea.