“I’ve, um, never had a real one before,” she admitted, feeling a little embarrassed.
It wasn’t that she was ashamed of her family or their financial situation. They weren’t so much worse off than many of their neighbors back home.
It was just that here, in this beautiful place, it seemed like no one ever struggled or did without. She wondered if Grayson would think there was something wrong with her for not having what seemed like a very common luxury for the people of Trinity Falls.
“Oh wow,” he said, looking pleased. “Then we’re going to get the biggest one we can find and really do it right.”
Relief washed over her and she smiled up at him, totally smitten.
Stop that,she told herself.
But there was something about the quiet kindness of the big man with the tiny baby strapped to his chest that tugged at her heart.
After wandering the rows of trees with Grayson examining and rejecting several that Evangeline thought were absolutely stunning, they finally stopped in front of a row of monstrously large offerings.
“Oh, wow,” she said. “These are probably so expensive.”
“I have a high ceiling,” Grayson said, ignoring her comment about the price. “One of these will be perfect.”
After another few minutes, he finally found a tree that met with his approval. Evangeline couldn’t even imagine the cost of the thing, but Grayson didn’t even look at the tag. He simply called over an attendant who took Grayson’s name and assured them that the tree would be ready for them by the registers in ten minutes or so.
“Perfect,” Grayson said. “We’ll just go get some decorations.”
“There are tons in the nursery,” the young man told them. “My grandma ordered extra this year.”
“Wait, you’re not Wyatt Cassidy, are you?” Grayson asked in wonder.
“Yup,” the boy said, nodding. “I guess you haven’t seen me since I was little.”
“You get that a lot, huh?” Grayson chuckled. “Well, your family is lucky you’re here to help out.”
“I like it,” Wyatt said. “I help in the bakery too.”
“Tell your dad I said hello,” Grayson told him.
“Okay,” Wyatt said.
“I guess everyone literally knows everyone here,” Evangeline observed as the boy hurried off through the trees.
“It’s not such a bad thing,” Grayson said. “It means we all look out for each other, too.”
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all,” Evangeline said. “I’m from the city, so literally millions of people live in my town. But our block used to be really close like that. We would have barbecues and picnics and we looked out for each other too.”
“That sounds pretty much like here,” Grayson said with a warm smile.
“Oh, it’s nothing like here,” Evangeline said, looking around at the beautiful views over the farm, the decorations and trees, and all the well-dressed people who looked like they didn’t have a care in the world.
“You might be surprised at how folks struggle sometimes,” Grayson said softly. “And when you’re out in the country, it takes more of an effort to notice if your neighbor is in trouble.”
“I never thought of that,” she said, frowning. “On our block we used to know right away if something was wrong.”
“Not anymore?” he asked.
“Things change,” she said softly.
She wanted to say more, but suddenly there was a lump in her throat and she was afraid that if she did, she might start to cry.
What’s gotten into me?
