Group leader:Knox
Bernadette
Mellie
Cora
My mouth twisted into a wry smile as I saw Renata assigned to Vince’s group after his comments a moment ago, followed immediately by my stomach dropping into my ass when I saw Birdie’s name under my own.
Shit. Who made these assignments?I had been hoping she would be assigned to Oliver or Vince and Xavier, giving me a reprieve from the feelings that were becoming harder and harder to deny. But it seemed that today was not to be my lucky day.
“So we’re in charge of picking out the two most important trees, right?” Cora asked as she bobbed along next to me.
I chuckled. “I suppose you could say that, yes.”
“No pressure,” I heard Mellie mumble under her breath behind me. I waited for one of Birdie’s signature quips but was met with only silence.
Birdie didn’t seem to be herself today. She looked amazing, bundled up in a belted white coat and pale pink mittens and hat that contrasted with her mahogany hair. But as I had walked the three ladies through a standard set of safety guidelines for the day, I had noticed that her smile lacked its usual sparkle, and she was uncharacteristically quiet, instead simply nodding along with the group. I wondered if she regretted Thanksgiving. The thought didn’t help to ease my anxiety.
“Remind me what we’re looking for again?” Cora asked.
I suppressed a sigh. We had gone over this several times. “For the grand foyer, we want an equally grand tree. Something tall, probably around three to four meters. For the family’s tree, Queen Isobel loves a very full tree, usually around two meters tall.” I pointed to a nearby tree. “About that height, but much fuller.”
“I spotted a really beautiful one back near the barn that might work for the family’s tree,” Mellie said, motioning toward the farm’s entrance.
“Great, let’s go check it out,” I said. “Lead the way, Mellie.”
Mellie led us through the snow to stunning Scotch pine. It was about my height and easily four feet in diameter. The branches were full and pliable without any bare patches. I gave the tree a shake; only a small handful of needles floated down to the snow. Noah, the farm’s manager, ambled over from the barn to admire the tree with us.
Cora gasped. “Mellie, it’s perfect!”
“It sure is,” I affirmed. “I think this is the one. Let’s go ahead and cut it down, and they can start netting it up while we look for our second tree.” I lowered my pack, pulling out two pairs of work gloves and safety glasses. “All right, who wants to hold the tree while I start cutting? I’ll get it started and then you ladies can give it a go if you’d like.”
Cora and Mellie looked at me, eyes wide. Birdie stared at the ground.
“Birdie?” She looked up, trepidation on her face. “Do you want to hold the tree for me?”
She cleared her throat, plastering on a nervous smile. “Sure.” She stepped forward, sliding on the gloves and glasses I gave her.
Despite her obvious nerves, she moved as though she had done this before, reaching up to steady the top half of the tree without my instructing her further.
I pulled on my own gloves and glasses and picked up my handsaw. I looked at Birdie, catching her gaze. “You ready?”Are you okay?I asked with my eyes.
She hesitated, then nodded.All right, then.
Using the handsaw, I began cutting into the trunk of thetree close to the ground. I had only been sawing for a few moments when my gut told me to stop. I paused, looking up to see what had triggered my senses, when my eyes landed on Birdie. Her face was pale, eyes wide, and beads of sweat rimmed her brow.
I dropped the saw, leaping to my feet. “Birdie.” She stood as though frozen, her gaze unfocused. “Birdie,” I said again, louder this time. I took a step toward her.
She started, her hands dropping from the tree. They were trembling. Her eyes darted to me, then over my shoulder. “I…I…” she stuttered, peeling off her gloves and throwing down her glasses before running past me, making a beeline toward the barn.
Silence fell as Mellie and Cora stopped the conversation they’d been having with Noah. They watched Birdie disappear into the barn.
“What happened? Is she okay?” Mellie asked, turning to me.
I ignored her, turning instead to Noah. “Can you finish this up?”
He nodded, taking the gloves and safety glasses I handed him. “Sure thing. Ms. Schneider, can you hold the tree?”
