Holston and Ember were still working on updating the farm and growing the place every year. Each of the Halliday kids had taken a spot at Oceanview orchards, making it a real-life family affair. Half the time we argued over something stupid like what to paint the porch on the bed-and-breakfast, but the other half I loved working with my family. We were literally one enormous family at the farm.
Ember was amazing and always willing to help, even while she’d been pregnant last year. She fit into the Halliday family like a glove. I respected having her as a sister-in-law.
A young child with brown hair ran through the dining room, giggling the entire way as he darted toward the Christmas tree.
Ember laughed. “It’s a good thing you didn’t put any gifts under the tree yet. They wouldn’t make it.”
Mom handed Dad his piece of pie and cut another. “Where do you think I learned it from? Haden used to open his gifts early every year, even when I threatened to return them.”
Haden laughed. “I got fantastic at retaping packages over the top of your tape. You never noticed.”
Mon laughed, pursing her lips. “That’s what I get for trusting you kids.”
Another child giggled from the living room. They were gathering a crowd. One day, I wanted to have a child with Chance, but we weren’t rushing into it. We still had more fun to have as a couple before we settled down and started our own family. I had enough siblings and nieces and nephews to keep us busy for a while.
“How long are we waiting before we add to the family?” Chance whispered in my ear.
“A few more years,” I said under my breath with a smirk.
Chance released a held breath. “Good. Enough time for your father to forget about this.”
I laughed out loud and my mother glanced at me while handing Ember a piece of pie.
“Now that the bed-and-breakfast is officially finished, what are we going to focus on next?” Hale asked. “I’ve been thinking about a new fence around the tree farm. And an elf booth.”
“I am not working another year as an elf,” I said. It had only been the last two years that they hadn’t forced me to dress up as Santa’s elf for Christmas. They did not pay me enough to wear any more green face paint.
Chance had enough pictures of me in the embarrassing costume. I refused. They couldn’t make me.
My mother passed me a plate with pie, and I shoved my fork into its middle. Pie wouldn’t win me over.
“Don’t worry. We know how you feel about the elf costume,” Haden said. “Geesh.”
“You make a cute elf, babe,” Chance said.
I wagged my utensil at him. “You shut it.”
He could dress as the freaking elf if he wanted.
“Anyway,” Holly said, giving our mother her plate for pie. “We should talk about what we want to focus on in the new year. Just because things are running smoothly now doesn’t mean we can get ahead of ourselves. We need a to-do list.”
I raised my hand. “Molly is going to help us turn the small barn into a nature center for the kids. Some place with tables for classes and maybe an area with sensory bins.”
We’d discussed a ton of different ideas. Her teaching skills came in exceptionally handy. I never wanted to be a full-time teacher, but I enjoyed working with the children at the farm and planned to grow our program in the next year to offer more classes. A homeschool student program or something for after school with older kids. They could ride the bus here until their parents picked them up after work. The possibilities were endless, and I loved putting it together.
My dad huffed. “That’s going to require more insurance.”
I tapped Chance on the arm. “Good thing I know a guy who can write us a great policy.”
Chance was still working his way up in his father’s company, but eventually he’d be the owner of Pelican Bay Insurance. He made me proud every day.
“How are the kids, Molly? Were they excited about Christmas break?” my mom asked as she handed Molly a piece of pie.
She smiled. “Not as excited as me.”
A few of us laughed.
“We also need to work on redistributing the tree planting areas and check the harvest,” Haden said and everyone’s eyes glossed over.
