Bright Lights, Big Christmas(43)

Patrick extended his hand. “May I?”

She handed him the bike chain. He turned it over and over, then handed it back, his expression troubled. “When did this happen?”

“Last night. Sometime after I fell asleep. I think those two creeps across the street probably saw Murphy loading his stuff into the truck and saw their chance to mess with us.”

“Where did Murphy go?” he asked.

“He’s making a run back to the farm to pick up another load of trees.”

Patrick cursed under his breath. “That’s pretty bold, coming over here, with you asleep only a few inches away. Queenie didn’t raise the alarm?”

“No. We were both dead tired.”

“This is terrible,” Heinz said, tsk-tsking. “Does your brother know?”

“I called him a little while ago. He’s furious, of course, but he said it’s a waste of time to call the cops. He should be back late tonight or in the morning.”

Kerry shivered, stood, and went over to the fire barrel to throw on another log. Sparks rose into the chilly air. The reality of having thieves standing right outside the trailer the previous night while she was sleeping was just starting to sink in.

“I don’t like the idea of you staying here alone tonight,” Patrick said. “Maybe you should stay at our place until Murphy gets back. I can bunk in with Austin and you can have my room.”

“Yeah,” Austin said, hopping up and down with excitement. “A sleepover.”

The idea of sleeping in an actual bed, with working heat, in close proximity to a hot shower, with a bonus of being close to a hot man, namely Patrick, was oh so tempting.

“I can’t just abandon my post. What if they come back, to take something else, or do something worse? Besides, I’m not gonna let those two goons scare me away. I’m not just some sweet, shrinking magnolia. I’m from the mountains.”

She ran to the trailer and came back, brandishing the baseball bat, then stalked over to the edge of the sidewalk and, addressing the Brody brothers, shouted loud enough to be heard over the sound of the passing traffic. “I’ve got my daddy’s baseball bat, and I’m not afraid to use it.” She sliced the air two or three times in what she felt was a distinctly menacing fashion.

The skinnier brother’s response was lewd and direct, followed by a loud braying laugh.

“Y’all really don’t know who you’re messing with,” she yelled, then turned her back and walked away.

“I would not mess with you,” Heinz said, and he and Patrick laughed together, breaking the tension of the moment.

“I bet they’re mad because you sold more trees than they did,” Austin said.

“Probably so,” Kerry said.

“Mr. Heinz,” Austin said, looking up at the old man. “Did you buy your Christmas tree yet?”

“Oh no,” Heinz said. “I have a very small apartment, and live alone, so there’s really no need to indulge in such foolishness.”

Before the child could reason with him, he rose slowly and tipped his hat; a black wool Borsalino, with a tiny feather tucked into the band. He glanced down at his watch. It was thick and gold and looked like a fine antique to Kerry’s unschooled eye.

“I must be going now.”

Queenie had crept out from beneath the table, and now she gently nudged his hand with her nose and wagged her tail.

“Oh my goodness,” Heinz said. “I almost forgot.” He reached into his pocket and held out a small dog biscuit, which the dog gobbled down. He patted her head. “You take good care of your mistress tonight, will you? If anyone comes close, attack!”

Kerry had to laugh. “If anyone comes close, she’d probably lick them to death.”



* * *



Tree shoppers came and went from the stand, with Patrick acting as her assistant, loading trees onto cars and wagons while Austin kept the stand swept.

“What happened to your helper?” Patrick asked, after he added another tree to the stack to be delivered.

“His mom had other plans for him today, so I’m working solo,” Kerry said.

Patrick glanced at his watch. “My sister’s in town for the day and I promised to take her for a late lunch. After that, we’ll come back and help out.”

Austin flexed his muscles. “Me and my dad are really strong.”

Patrick struck his best strong-man pose too.

“Wow, check out the gun show,” Kerry said. “I’ll see you guys later.”



* * *



The temperature continued to drop for the next two hours. The sky darkened, and Kerry looked up in time to see the first flurry of snowflakes. She threw another log on the fire and stood over it, warming her hands.

She propped her phone on her worktable and tapped her Spotify playlist. Soon she had Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole crooning about sleigh rides and chestnuts roasting on an open fire as she was warmed by the sights and sounds of Christmas in the city.

Customers drifted in, most of them prompted by seeing AshleyActually’s Instagram post about the Tolliver Family Tree Farm. She sold six more trees, leaving her with only a total of seven left, and was grateful that all the customers didn’t mind toting their trees home themselves.