Page 58

“Xander tried to get Felipe involved this fall when we were planning events, but he didn’t get very far,” I tell Gabe. The scowl on Xander’s face when he had to tell the rest of us that he’d failed to win over the farmer is etched in my memory. A base part of me was grateful to see our fearless—and usually untouchable—leader knocked down a peg.

“Felipe said he’d be willing to talk to us about our event,” Gabe replies.

“That’s more progress than Xander made.” I park off to the side of a modest but well-kept farmhouse. Its brown slat siding is punctuated with a painted emerald green front door. There’s a single wreath hanging from the center of it. To the right side of the house is a small plot of dirt and a larger barn. Adjacent to the barn is a fenced-in pen.

“That’s where the reindeer come out and play,” Gabe says, following my line of sight.

“How do you know?”

“I used to work out here.”

I spin to face him. “What? When?”

“I had to stop working on the farm before you and Jack moved to the Valley because I got so busy with high school sports and commitments, but starting in fifth grade, my mom sent me out here. I would muck stalls and help Felipe take care of the reindeer.”

“I had no idea.” My mind conjures up a picture of a gangly young Gabe, maybe a little scowl-y as a preteen, shoveling out farm stalls and feeding the animals. “Did you like it?”

Gabe shrugs. “At first, no. Mom worked out an arrangement with Felipe because I needed an intervention. There were some kids who were getting into trouble around town, and I was dying to be part of the in crowd. She caught me one night trying to leave the house with spray paint cans in my backpack. Some kids had dared me to tag some of the old train cars. She shut that down so fast, mostly by working with Felipe to make sure that my free time was spent out here. She’d drop me off at the barn, and I’d work for hours, and then she’d come back and get me. I was so exhausted by the end of the day I didn’t have the energy to make mischief.”

“So you stayed on the straight and narrow, and Felipe got free labor out of the deal?”

Gabe tips his head. “Well, he paid me . . . just not always with cash. He’d give us dozens of eggs from his chickens, which was a huge help. I was eating, like, six a day at that point.”

“Six eggs? Oh my gosh, Gabe!” I laugh.

“What? I was a growing boy.” He pats his belly before he turns serious. “Felipe always knew what we needed, both in terms of physical things and emotional support. I never figured out why he took a shine to my mom, but he did, and I benefited. He’s a quiet guy, Felipe. People don’t understand how smart he is. They just assume he’s weird. But if you give him a chance, when he does talk, you start to see that he’s super wise. I loved listening to his stories.”

I nod toward the front door. “Shall we?”

“Beth, before we go.” He puts his hand on my arm, halting me in place. “About Hidden Gems. I never meant to hurt you, and I’m sorry I—”

“It’s fine, Gabe. It’s the past. We’re friends now . . . friends again, right?” I force a smile even though that voice in my head tells me friends isn’t enough where this man is concerned. I want more, but more isn’t possible. At least I don’t think so, given our circumstances. “I don’t want to go backward and dredge it all up. Not here. Not right now.”

He stares at me, and I hold his gaze, willing him to believe me, even as I have a hard time believing myself.

“I don’t want to go backward either,” he says slowly. “But what if the future could be different?”

It feels like bottle rockets are pinging around my chest, and when I catch a glimpse of the small smile Gabe has hidden in the corner of his mouth, all the breath leaks out of my lungs.

The door to the farmhouse bangs open, and I jump, turning to see a stooped man with a graying head of hair and two squinting eyes. Felipe wears worn jean overalls with a faded navy collared shirt underneath. His hair is long and gray. He’s got it tucked neatly behind his ears. The way Xander talked, you’d think the man was repulsive, but Felipe doesn’t look at all off-putting to me.

“Gaber, that you?” he calls out.

Gabe grins, flicking his gaze to me. “We can talk more later. If you want.”

I roll my lips into my mouth and nod, afraid to speak.

Gabe flashes me a grin and turns to where Felipe has his arms stretched out wide for a hug.

In three long strides, Gabe stands in front of him. Felipe is probably about five foot eight. So he’s got several inches on me, but Gabe has to stoop to his level. My heart balloons at the sight of oversized Gabe wrapping his arms around the older man.

A sudden wave of nerves crashes over me. I want Felipe to like me. For the sake of the Christmas Dash, sure, yeah. But more than that, because it sounds like he matters a lot to Gabe.

Gabe, who wants to talk about a future . . . with me.

And now I’m just supposed to act all natural here on the farm?

Ho, ho, ho-ly cow.