Page 26 of Chasing Cheer
“Not usually. No time,” Ash said reluctantly then let out a breath like a low whistle. “I’d meant to have the sleigh sanded already but haven’t gotten around to it yet. I’ll get that done today so you can start painting tomorrow.” He waved his hand toward what Holly assumed was a sanding device. “But in the meantime, you can see what supplies we have here and let me know if there’s anything else you’ll need.”
Holly nodded and began to sift through the boxes while Ash put on safety glasses and plugged in the power tool. From the corner of her eye, Holly spotted some large conical shapes wrapped in glittery garland in the other corner of the room. Things were piled in disarray, so it was hard to tell, but it looked like there were tons of them.
“What are those for?” she asked.
Ash stood up from plugging in his equipment and smiled. “Those are for the holiday maze. With the Hallmark rep coming out this year, and since we’re in the running for Best Small-Town Christmas Faire, some of us on the council had the idea to build a large holiday maze in the clearing where we had the fall festival. The walls of the maze are going to be made mostly from those trees there. People can enjoy the maze and Christmas village in addition to the parade and tree lighting.” His face lit up as he explained, so Holly knew it wasn’t just something he did as part of his job or to help his community. He was invested.
“That sounds really fun.” The elves would enjoy a holiday maze.
“We’ve had various volunteers working on those trees for months. It was cheaper to make them and decorate them ourselves than to order in bulk. Most of the supplies have been donated by local businesses.”
“I’m sure it’s going to look spectacular,” Holly said.
Ash shook his head and laughed. “I’ll settle for functional this first year. But I’ll admit that with the Hallmark rep coming out, the pressure is on. We have to put on our best display ever.”
“We’d better get to work, then.”
ChapterTwenty-Two
Ash gave Holly a pair of disposable earplugs then settled in to work on the other side of the wood wall from where Holly was sorting through boxes. He wanted to avoid getting any spray from the sanding on her. The panels had been sanded before, and he wasn’t sure how many more seasons they’d be able to eke out of the sleigh before needing to build a new one.
The hours passed quickly as he worked, his mind jumping rapidly between the various tasks he needed to do. He had vendors to confirm, things to finalize with his employees for the Emerald House booth—all the normal, day-to-day operations at the house, which were ballooning with the influx of visitors at the restaurant plus all the dealings with the vineyard and the orchard.
They’d been impressed with the sales at the fall festival, but they were still dragging their heels on an exclusive. The Christmas faire was a way bigger draw, and Hallmark was in the mix. If everything went well, he had a feeling they could finally get an exclusive deal going on some of the vineyard’s local-favorite labels.
Around noon, he took out his earplugs and turned off the sander. Flexing his hands, he stretched out the muscles in his forearms. Holly popped her head around the wall, her arms full of fresh greenery. He jumped a little when he saw her.
“You’re still here! I figured you’d take inventory then take off for the day.” He watched as Holly stuffed the greenery into a large plastic tub and gently closed the lid.
“I’ve just been working on a few things for the float. Are you ready for a break?” she asked, straightening up. She’d shed her black puffer coat at some point, and she grabbed it from a nearby sawhorse.
“You read my mind. Lunch sounds great.” Ash hadn’t realized how famished he was until he’d stopped working. He slipped off his work gloves and tossed them onto a bench. “I’ve probably got a couple more hours of sanding this afternoon, but she’ll be ready,” Ash continued as the two of them carefully made their way out of the crowded workshop.
He tried to clear a path in front of them, worried Holly might trip on something.When did the workshop get so disorganized?He added the task to his mental to-do list.
They continued up the path to the Emerald House. Ash glanced out at the forest as they walked. An eerie feeling filled the air, and it was strange that it hadn’t snowed yet. They normally had a few good dustings by late December, and it didn’t bode well for the local agricultural industries the next summer, including the orchard and the vineyard. Holly caught his eye and smiled at him, and his shoulders relaxed.
He felt so relieved she had come back. She’d promised to return for the Christmas faire, but a small but overpowerful part of him worried he might never see her again. Women like her didn’t return to places like Emerald Hollow—not yet, at least. Her presence calmed him.
At dinner in the gazebo the night before, the lights had danced in her hair, and the conversation between the three of them had flowed easily. For a short while, his never-ending to-do list had paused in his head, and he’d been fully in the moment. He wanted more of that.
Ash followed her into the house, and they were soon settled into a booth in the restaurant. The place was bustling with the lunch rush.
“Hey, Tyler. I’ll take my usual,” Ash told the server when he came to greet them. The young man placed a mug of coffee in front of Ash, and he inhaled deeply, nodding in thanks.
“The club sandwich and chicken noodle soup, please,” Holly said.
Ash watched her as she spoke to Tyler, the light from the window highlighting her face.
“That’s my favorite soup here,” Tyler said to them. “She has good taste, Ash.”
He was a high school student who had been working for Ash for about a year and was in the running for a big scholarship. If he got it, Ash was sure he would go off to college and eventually get a job in a larger city. Ash was happy for him but still wished people with talent like his didn’t have to leave to find work.
Tyler elbowed Ash stealthily before leaving the table. Ash shook his head and suppressed a grin. Great, the staff were already starting rumors.
Ash cupped the mug of black coffee like it was the first he’d seen in weeks. The smell had him perking up already. He noticed Holly watching him then, a soft smile playing on her lips.
“What?” he asked, also smiling and unsure why.
