“Don’t you live in town?” I ask her, frowning.
“We sold the house to pay for Tim’s college,” she says. “I’m in the sweetest little apartment over the clothing store now.”
She points to the fancy menswear place just halfway down the block.
“I’ll bring it over for you,” I tell her.
I turn to Taylor again. I know that I’m supposed to be here with her, and I don’t want to leave her hanging, but she just smiles and nods to me.
“You don’t have to do that,” Mrs. Chetfield says, but I can see that she wants me to.
“It’s no trouble at all,” I assure her.
“Thank you for sharing him with me,” she says, turning to Taylor.
It’s pretty clear that she thinks Taylor is my girlfriend. My stomach twists as I wait for Taylor to set the record straight.
“I think there’s enough of him to go around,” she says instead.
Mrs. Chetfield chuckles and Taylor smiles at her before heading back to check out the trees in the back of the lot.
I hoist the tree over my shoulder and accompany Mrs. Chetfield to her place. It’s not far, and she talks up a storm on the way, telling me about Tim’s kids.
“That girl back there is a keeper,” Mrs. Chetfield tells me quietly as I set the tree down in her tidy living room. “She really puts a smile on your face.”
“Oh, she’s not my girlfriend,” I say right away.
“Well, you’d better do something about that,” she says, fishing around in her purse and pulling out a dollar to offer as a tip.
“No, no,” I tell her, pushing her hand away and heading for the door. “It’s my pleasure. Thank you for buying from me. Means the world to the family.”
“Take care of yourself, Roan Connelly,” she calls after me. “And think about what I said.”
I don’t want to, but Idothink about what she said. I think about it all the way down the narrow staircase. I think about it as I walk down the street.
And I can’t help thinking about it when I spot Taylor holding out a small but perfectly proportioned Fraser fir. The lights glimmer in her dark hair and her smile is tinged with wonder.
Where have you been all my life?
I don’t know where the thought comes from, but I’m helpless to stop it as I stand there watching her eyes caress the little tree.
Suddenly, I want to be that tree—I want her to look at me like I might just light up her life.
She spots me, and I wonder if my thoughts are written all over my face.
“I think this is it,” she calls excitedly. “What do you think?”
“You have a good eye,” I tell her as my feet start moving again, bringing my brain along for the ride. “That’s a Fraser fir and it’s a really nice one. I thought you would pick something bigger though. You can choose any tree you want.”
“This is the one for me,” she says. “I don’t need a big tree. This one is perfect.”
“Let’s get it to its new home then,” I suggest.
She steps back so I can lift it up. It’s nice to just carry the tree next door without having to wrap it up in netting or anything.
Taylor jogs ahead and opens the door for me.
Once we’re inside, she points to a spot near the counter and I see right away that this really is just the right tree for the space.
