“Wait till I tell Murphy,” she said under her breath as she made change and processed credit cards.
At one point, when she had four people in line waiting to make their purchases, she happened to glance across the street. She noted that the Brody brothers were standing on the sidewalk, scowling at her. She gave them a triumphant finger wave.
“Um, Miss Kerry, ma’am?” It was Vic. He looked as tired as she felt. “Sorry, but I really gotta get home now. My mom’s been calling to ask where I am.”
“Oh, gosh, Vic. I’m sorry. I don’t know what we would have done without you today.”
He smiled a toothy grin, and began pulling fives, tens, and twenties from his jacket pockets. “Today was awesome! I bet I made over two hundred dollars, easy.”
“You earned it. Let me ask you something. There’s a chance Murphy might need to drive home and pick up another load of trees. If so, would you be able to help out full time?”
“Maybe,” he said. “Can I let you know in the morning?”
“Of course.” She patted him on the back.
For the first time that day, Kerry was alone. She slipped inside the trailer, which was rattling with her brother’s snoring. It was nearly six, but she didn’t have the heart to awaken him. Instead, she donned her warmest down jacket and returned to her post just as Patrick and Austin appeared. Patrick wore a sport coat under his jacket and she saw that Austin was wearing a snappy red bow tie.
“Kerry,” Austin called. “Are you ready for our date?”
She gasped. “Oh my gosh. We’ve been so busy, I totally lost track of time.”
“I’ve been texting you,” Patrick said gently. “I thought maybe we should come over and make sure you were still available. But if you’re too busy…”
She pulled her phone from her pocket and spotted three texts from him.
“I’ve been looking forward to tonight all week, but we’ve been absolutely crushed with business all day. I never even saw any of your texts.” She gestured around at the stand, which was looking notably emptier than it had been eight hours earlier.
“Wow,” Patrick said. “You must have sold a bunch of trees today. What happened?”
“AshleyActually posted a story on her Instagram feed and the masses descended. I actually had women fighting over trees.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
“Depends on how you look at it. Murphy says we might totally sell out of trees this weekend. And if that happens, he says we pack up and go home.”
“Home?” Austin yelped. “What about our story?”
“Hang on, pal,” Patrick said, putting a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Is it possible to buy more trees somewhere?”
“That’s what I suggested, but Murphy isn’t keen to sell just any old trees. He’s pretty picky about quality. I guess I agree. It’s the family brand, and we don’t want to harm that.”
“He’s got a valid point.”
“What about our date?” Austin clamored. “When do we eat? I’m hungry. Aren’t you hungry, Kerry?”
“You know what? I’m starved,” she said. “I didn’t even get lunch.”
“Then let’s go,” Austin said.
“Can you?” Patrick asked.
Kerry glanced at the trailer. She could hear her brother’s muffled snores.
“I’d have to wake up Murphy. He worked all day too.” She looked down at herself. Her jeans were smudged with dirt and her hands were sticky from pine sap.
She longed for a hot shower and the chance to show off her new sweater.
“Can you just close up the stand?” Patrick asked. “There aren’t a whole lot of trees left to sell tonight.”
“Look at me,” she protested. “I’m a hot mess.”
“We won’t go far,” Patrick promised.
She looked down at Austin, whose face was scrunched up with hope.
She untied her green Tolliver Tree Farm apron and tossed it on the back of the chair. “I’m officially off the clock. If Murphy wakes up, he can take the next shift.”
chapter 28
“Bernie’s Burgerz,” Austin said, as they entered the restaurant. “My favorite.”
Patrick offered Kerry an apologetic smile. “We usually go out to dinner whenever he’s with me, and it was his turn to choose, so here we are.”
A middle-aged Black woman with close-cropped silver hair came out from behind the hostess stand and greeted Austin like a beloved celebrity.
“Austin, where you been lately? I been missing you,” the woman exclaimed, kneeling on the floor and enveloping the boy in a hug.
“Hi, Bernie. I go to school now, you know.”
She ruffled his hair. “I knew there was something different about you since the last time you were in here. You’re all grown up.” She tapped his bow tie. “And all dressed up too. Like your daddy. Is it somebody’s birthday tonight?”
“No. Me and Dad are having a date with her.” He jerked his thumb in Kerry’s direction. “Her name is Kerry. She sells Christmas trees and draws pictures. And she’s my friend.”
Bernie took Kerry’s hand in both of hers and pressed them together. “Well, isn’t she a lucky lady? Y’all go on back over. I’ve got your favorite booth, right over there by the window.”
* * *
After they were settled with wine for the adults and lemonade for Austin, Patrick ordered an appetizer of chili-cheese-smothered tater tots.
“Oh my gosh,” Kerry moaned, at the first bite. “This is heaven.”
“The hamburgers are the best. In the whole world,” Austin advised.
“Of course, there are lots of other choices on the menu,” Patrick said. “Chicken, fish, steaks. They have great salads…”
“Who orders salad in a place called Bernie’s Burgerz? That would be an outrage. I’ll have a burger, medium rare, with all the fixings.”
“Don’t forget the French fries,” Austin said.
Once their orders arrived, it was all she could do not to fall on her burger and devour it like a half-starved hyena.
The flow of conversation over dinner was so relaxed and easy, she forgot about her usual first-date jitters. No sweaty palms, butterflies, or angsting over what she was wearing or how she looked. She was sure her father would have described her as looking “like you been rode hard and put up wet,” but Patrick didn’t seem to mind.
He was an easy conversationalist. “What was it like, growing up on a Christmas tree farm?” he asked.
“You’d have to ask Murphy,” Kerry said. “I haven’t lived on the farm full time since my parents split up when I was about Austin’s age.”
The boy looked up. “Kerry, did your mom and dad get a divorce too?”
She glanced at Patrick, who shrugged.
“They did.”
“Were you sad?”
“It was a very long time ago, but yes, I was sad at first.”
“Me too,” he said, in a matter-of-fact way.
Kerry chose her next words carefully. “My mom promised that she and my dad still loved me, but they just didn’t need to be married anymore. After a while, I realized my mom was happier, so that made me happier too.”
Austin gave that some thought. “Huh. I wonder when my mom will be happier again. She still yells at my dad and acts mad at him.”
Patrick winced. “She’s not mad at you, buddy. Neither of us is.”