“Well, we’re a package deal, and besides, you own Evergreen Haven. It’s not like we’re going somewhere he wouldn’t be welcome.”
“I’m the owner. He’s unwelcome,” he deadpanned.
“You don’t count. He was a part of our deal,” I dismissed before moving to the side and gesturing with my arm for him to lead the way. “Now, how about a tour of this place?”
He growled before he moved toward the Polaris side by side next to the house. Tony hopped in the back, tongue lolling out of his mouth, while I got in the passenger seat. Lachlan started down the first of the dirt paths through the trees surrounding his cabin, heading toward the Christmas tree farm on the other side of the woods. Tony shoved his head through the back opening and rested it on Lachlan's shoulder, giving him puppy-dog eyes with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Lachlan tried to nudge Tony away, but Tony just continued to get more and more in his business. I couldn’t stop my chuckle when Tony started climbing over the back seat to sit between us. Lachlan seemed irritated, but he couldn’t hide the tiny uptick of one side of his mouth as he kept driving.
Once we made it to the thick rows of trees, Lachlan parked next to a small shed that looked like a miniature barn. He sauntered over to it and pulled out a few tools while Tony explored.
“We’ll need to weed and shear the trees today,” he said, and my eyes widened.
“All of them?” I asked, glancing to all of the rows.
“As many as we can,” he confirmed and started moving to the first fir, and I followed him. I watched him work as he showed me step by step what to do.
“Don’t you have any employees to help with all the responsibilities of this place?” I asked while we both moved onto our own row, working our own trees.
“I used to, but now it's a one-man show around here,” he answered, not looking up from his work.
“Why?”
“Employees cost money.”
“Well, what about just seasonal workers for the holidays? That would save money throughout the year, right?” He didn’t give me an answer, just kept working. “What about marketing? Maybe throwing some ads around could get Evergreen more business.”
“Again, money.”
“Oh, what about—”
“Logan.” He eyed me as if telling meless talking, more working,and I rolled my eyes and started on the next tree, and then the next one and the next one. Eventually, I became faster than he was and, in my head, turned it into some kind of race to get to the end of the rows first. Lachlan wore his serious face initially, but once he realized what I was doing, his movements got quicker.
“Whoever finishes last owes the other a drink!” I shouted, moving on to another tree. The work flew by until eventually Lachlan got ahead and then dropped his shears and raised his hands in the air in victory, a smile on his face that made me smile, but he went right back to his normal, grumpy self right after.
“Looks like I owe you a drink,” he said, and my brow furrowed. He nodded to a tree he’d missed, and then it was my turn to raise my arms in victory. I looked to Tony, who was living his best life sprawled out under a tree after getting the zoomies earlier.
“Looks like you’re getting a pup cup, Tony.” His ears lifted with his name as Lachlan gathered the tools and started the trekback to the shed to put them away while Tony and I started walking to the side by side. The afternoon chill in the air was growing colder now, and I wrapped my arms around myself. Lachlan closed and locked the shed and then walked over to Tony and me.
He started unbuttoning his plaid shirt, shrugging it off his shoulders and then wrapping it around me without a word. It smelled of pine and sweat and man, and all it did was make me imagine what it would be like to feel his arms draped around me again, like they’d been in the kitchen. I sat down in the vehicle.
“Thank you,” I said as he started up the engine, and he grunted as he took off toward what I assumed was the office of Evergreen Haven. It was a cabin similar to the one he lived in, but this one was a little smaller and cuter.
There were white string lights around the top that branched out and connected to posts around the trees closest, giving it a very cozy feel. When we made it to the front, a large wooden sign was there, marking this as the entrance. Thick posts were wrapped in garland, and there was a holiday-themed wreath on the large front door—big enough for two people to fit through.
Lachlan parked and hopped out, Tony and I following behind him. We walked in, and the office was one large room with a big check-in desk on one side and a wide sliding door large enough for multiple people to be able to go in and out when business was in full swing. But this place didn’t look like it’d been getting much business at all. The desk was dusty with large stacks of paperwork all over it, and the computer had sticky notes haphazardly stuck to it. Everything looked disorganized and messy.
“So, what are we doing here?” I asked as Lachlan went to take a seat in the office chair, and it was in that moment I noticed just how tired he looked. Dark circles were under his eyes. His hair was mused, his shoulders hunched as he turned the computeron. He had pulled a double at the firehouse yesterday, and it seemed today would be no different.
“I need to check emails and voicemails. I haven’t made it down here in a while so I need to catch up, and you said you wanted a tour, so I figured you seeing the office was a part of that. Maybe sometime next week, I can show you the cabins on the outskirts of the property. Real Camp Crystal Lake vibes there.”
I chuckled and ran a hand down my face as he started scrolling through a list of unanswered messages.
“Don’t you have work in the morning at the fire department?” I asked, watching him over the glow of the computer screen.
“Yeah, but I really need to catch up here.” His voice was gravelly, worn down by too many late nights and too much responsibility. He glanced around the room like it personally offended him. I couldfeelthe tension clinging to him.
“Why don’t I do this, and you go back to the house, shower, and sleep?”
“I can’t let you do that,” he dismissed immediately, as if admitting he needed rest was a sin.
