“I sure have,” she said proudly. “I’m going to be working with them up at the Open-Air Market, setting up a first aid station. I’m a nurse now.”
“Nurses are always in demand,” Natalie said with clear admiration in her voice.
“Natalie,”someone called out from the plant center.“Sorry, but can you look at this for me?”
“Cassidys are in demand too,” Willow teased.
“On this farm, if no place else,” Natalie laughed. “See you around?”
“Definitely.”
Willow made her way down the line of Christmas trees, soaking in the upbeat noise of so many families shopping, until she found just what she was looking for.
The little tree was about three feet tall with cheerful green needles. It wasn’t the fullest, most luxurious specimen Willow had ever seen, but it would be easy to carry, and she knew it would brighten up the apartment.
“Charlie Brown tree, huh?” the young woman with a tag that saidMelodyasked her when she carried it up to one of the plastic tables where Cassidy Farm set up extra registers on busy nights.
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Willow laughed. “It probably just looks small because there are so many bigger trees nearby. It’ll look just fine all by itself.”
“That’s the spirit,” Melody said.
“Let me give you a hand with that,” one of the teen boys stationed near the tables offered.
“Her bags are probably heavier than that tree, Wyatt,” Melody called to him.
“I’ll get all of it,” the boy decided, heading over.
“Oh, I’m fine,” Willow told him.
“I’d better get something,” the boy said. “My dad will lose it if he sees you walking to your car with all of that by yourself.”
She followed his eyes over to the parking lot, where Shane Cassidy was directing a group of workers.
“You’re Shane Cassidy’s boy?” she asked, letting him take her little tree.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said as they set off.
“So then you know my old friend, Natalie,” Willow said, then immediately wished she hadn’t. Stepfamily dynamics could be rough, especially where teens were involved.
But luckily, that didn’t seem to be the case here.
“She’s the best,” Wyatt said immediately with a genuine smile.
“That’s good to hear,” Willow said.
“My dad is a lot more chilled out now,” the young man confided. “Plus, she knows how to play the guitar.”
“Right,” Willow said, smiling. “She was always amazing on the guitar. This is me.”
She pointed to her mom’s old station wagon. It was as ancient as the hills, but it still ran really well, and better yet it was free.
“You could probably fit this thing in the backseat, you know?” Wyatt pointed out.
“Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?” Willow replied, opening up the back, putting the bags inside, and grabbing a couple of bungee cords.
Wyatt hoisted the little tree up on top and they fixed it in place together. It really did look almost comically small up there. But the sight still made her smile.
“Thanks a lot, Wyatt,” she told him, fishing in her pocket for some singles.
