1225 Christmas Tree Lane - Debbie Macomber [4]
“Have you found any yet?” Bailey asked.
“No…but I’ve put out the word.”
“You’ll do it, Mom,” Sophie said confidently. “I know you will.”
“How old are they?” Bailey stroked a soft, floppy ear.
“Ted thinks about two months. Between six and eight weeks, anyway.”
“They’re irresistible. You won’t have trouble finding homes,” Sophie said.
Beth wished she had even a fraction of her daughter’s faith. In October, she’d found homes for four part-golden-retriever puppies. Coming up with those homes had been hard enough—and now ten more. She hoped the season would help.
She’d offer assistance with training if the new owners wanted it—and she’d push the all-important spay-and-neuter message. Ted had promised to give the owners a break on the price, too.
Working together, Beth and the girls corralled the puppies and got them back inside the laundry room. Then they washed up for lunch. Thankfully the girls’ favorites didn’t require much effort; the tomato basil soup and toasted cheese sandwiches were on the table within minutes.
“Now I truly feel like we’re home,” Bailey said, spooning up the thick soup.
Sophie sighed contentedly. “This place is starting to feel more like home all the time.”
Beth had moved to Washington State following her divorce. For fifteen years she’d taught business and management classes at an agricultural college outside Sacramento. After she and Kent had split up, Beth felt she needed a change. A big one. An escape. She’d read about this Christmas tree farm for sale while browsing on the internet and had become intrigued. As soon as she’d visited the property and toured the house, she was sold.
Her general knowledge of farm life and crop cultivation had come in handy. She knew just enough about trees not to be intimidated. Besides, Wes Klein, the previous owners’ son, had helped the first couple of years. She’d soon picked up everything else she needed to know. She hired the same crew each season and was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly things had gone this year, the first year she was on her own.
In addition to Christmas trees, she sold wreaths and garlands, which were created by three members of her staff who devoted all their time to this endeavor. The Kleins used to have only a handful of orders for holiday wreaths. Beth had turned that into a thriving aspect of the business. Plus, overseas sales of Christmas trees had doubled in the past three years. Beth had always enjoyed the season, but never more than now. She felt she was actively contributing to a lot of families’ happiness this Christmas.
The girls cleared the table and put their plates and bowls in the dishwasher.
“I’ve got to get back outside, but before I go, I need you to tell me what’s going on with your father.” From the girls’ startled expressions Beth realized she should have led into the conversation with a bit more finesse. But subtlety wasn’t exactly her strong suit and she was short on time.
“Dad wanted to come for Christmas,” Bailey answered, as if that was all the explanation required.
“Did he give you any particular reason?” she asked suspiciously.
Sophie shook her head. “None that he mentioned.”
That wasn’t too helpful; still, Beth persisted. “But why this year?”
Bailey shrugged. “Don’t know. All I can tell you is that he said he missed us and asked if he could join us for Christmas. We couldn’t say no. You wouldn’t want us to, would you, Mom?”
“Of course not.” Beth looked from one daughter to the other. “He didn’t say anything more than that? You’re sure?”
“Positive.” Both girls widened their eyes, expressions innocent as could be.
Convinced there was more to this sudden desire to be with them—and remembering Grace’s suggestion that the girls might be more involved than they were letting on—Beth hesitated. She wanted to probe deeper but really needed to get to work. As it was, she’d lingered with her daughters well into Jeff’s lunch hour.
“You’ll be okay without me?” Beth asked, abandoning all inquiries for the moment.
“Mom,