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“But you were a teenage girl, and he was a man looking at his so-called golden years,” Ethan said kindly. He reached out, and put a hand over Laura’s, and she paused, looking up at him gratefully. “I get it. Really. Actually, now that I think about it, Mr.Bennett and I may have used your old rifle a few times. Just plinking in the back yard, you know.”
Their meal came, and Laura told herself she didn’t need to worry about her calorie count for at least a few days. Still, she wasn’t looking forward to trying to fit into her work skirts when she got back. “Hope this is worth it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I’ve got a very decent work wardrobe back in the city that isn’t tailored for enjoying barbecue.”
Ethan lifted an eyebrow.
“Lawyers don’t burn as many calories as tree farmers.”
“Still, you sound like you’re worried about your weight, or your figure,” Ethan said. “I just… don’t understand why. You’re very…”
He didn’t finish his words, but Laura blushed anyway, knowing what he was going to say. It felt good to hear someone say it, and as they dug into their plates of barbecue, pork for him, beef for her, she felt a certain warmth and closeness that she hadn’t felt in a long time.
“So when did you move out of his house?”
Ethan took a sip of his soda, and set his glass down.
“After the first Christmas season with him,” he said. “I was working hard, and since I could see that it was taking something out of him to still be so involved with the business, I started asking if I could close up, or handle the labor, stuff like that. He didn’t say anything, but I could tell he was grateful. Anyway, a couple of times right around Christmas itself, you know how those last two weeks are, I was so tired that I just slept in the office trailer. I didn’t mind, but Mr.Bennett didn’t like that. He didn’t say anything, but after Christmas, he introduced me to a friend of his who had a trailer that was sort of halfway between the house and the farm. I got the point, and since then, that’s been home.”
“A trailer?”
“It’s not a bad one,” Ethan said. “I live near the woods, I’ve got peace, it’s convenient to the rest of the Rockaways, and I can’t beat the rent.”
Laura nodded, and was about to ask another question when her phone buzzed, and she took it out. Reading the text involved, she growled softly.
“What is it?”
“My plans are blowing up in my face,” Laura said honestly. “I’d hoped to be able to handle Paw-Paw’s estate relatively quickly, at least the basics. But it seems that the county courts are taking their holiday season vacation seriously.”
“Not surprised,” Ethan said. “So are you going to go back east, or…?”
Laura thought, then sighed. “I was advised to take my foot off the gas by my mentor, so it’ll probably be better for me to stay here,” she said. “I’ll talk with her in the morning.”
“If you’re not too busy then, maybe you’d like to help out on the farm?” Ethan offered. “After all, if you’re worried about the barbecue and your work wardrobe….”
Laura chuckled. “Thought you said I didn’t need to worry about my weight.”
Ethan nodded.
“You’re right, you don’t. But I get it, skirts don’t care about what you look like. They only care about the tape measure. So… what do you say?”
It was a pretty bold offer, but that seemed to be his style.
Surprisingly, Laura liked it. “Sure. I’ll be there tomorrow.”
CHAPTER 4
ETHAN
The trailer was huge, a full fifty feet long, and looking at the empty space in the wire caged device, he knew he was in for a long, long day.
“You didn’t bring anyone?” he asked the driver, who shrugged. “Why?”
“Because the board voted themselves a billion dollars of stock buybacks that they used on themselves while forgetting to budget for holiday staffing,” the man said. “I just know I’ve got a three-man crew and a trailer full of trees to pick up.”
Ethan groaned, and looked behind him. The growth lot behind him was one of three that he was selling this year, a full acre of a thousand trees that had to be handled. “What about netting?”
