“Any chance I could borrow you for an hour or two?”
Her eyes widened. “For what?”
“I picked out a tree last night, but it’s completely bare.” He frowned, playing his cards. “It’s not much fun decorating it by myself.”
“Do you have any ornaments?”
“A few. I found a box of Uncle Frank’s in his attic.” Emotions overcame him. “The last time we came here was for Christmas and we made salt dough ornaments. They’re all in that box.”
Her hand caressed his arm in a featherlight touch. “You were meant to find them.”
“It’s not enough to fill the tree.”
“Are you forgetting I own a store full of ornaments?”
“No, but you’re closed on Sundays.”
She pulled a set of keys from her purse. “Being the owner has its advantages.”
“You don’t have to do that. We can stop by the discount store and pick up a handful.”
Her eyes narrowed and she propped a hand on her hip. “Gabe Newton, take that back right this second, or I’ll change my mind about you being a decent person.”
“Okay, okay.” He chuckled and held his hands out in defeat. “We’ll stop by Mistletoe Mercantile.”
“Good. I’m glad you see it my way.” She tossed her hair behind her head and displayed a satisfied grin. “For the record, I have no problem with the discount store, but I have the perfect assortment in mind for you.”
“You’re the expert.” He held out his hand, angled to the door. “Lead the way.”
Chapter Seven
Cora stood in the living room of Frank’s house.Gabe’s house,she corrected herself. Her eyes skimmed the area, taking note of all the changes.
The clutter Frank was known for had disappeared. She doubted that Gabe had tackled that task, and she assumed it had been done before Gabe’s arrival. Frank had entirely too much stuff crammed in his house for any one person to clean it out in less than two weeks.
In place of the tartan plaid sofa set Frank had loved, a new brown leather sectional sat in the center of the room with a simplistic stained oak end table at each end. A handful of framed prints adorned the walls, several she recognized as Frank’s.
The others she could guess. She walked to one of a wheat field at sunrise, the golden rays of daylight only separated from the crop by a thin layer of fog. “Did you take this one?”
Gabe nodded. “It’s one of my parents’ fields. Of all the pictures I’ve taken around their farm, this one best captures the essence of its understated beauty.”
He came alive as he spoke, leading her from frame to frame, explaining the significance of each. Lingering longer at one of his family, homesickness crept into his voice. “They’re coming for Christmas. All my siblings, and my parents.”
“That will be nice. How many brothers and sisters do you have?”
“No brothers. Two younger sisters, Natalie and Alexa.”
“Are they married?”
“Oh no.” He laughed and shook his head with a fierce denial. “There’s a large age gap between me and them. Alexa is twenty and Natalie is eighteen. Both are in college and have sworn off serious relationships until they graduate.”
“The focus on their studies will serve them well.”
“Both are premed and determined to succeed. I have complete faith they’ll accomplish anything they want in life.”
She nudged his shoulder. “A supportive big brother always helps.”
“See, you get it. They call it being overprotective.”
