Page 51 of This Christmas
“The farm is prime land. Someone could come from the city and turn the space into a subdivision. I don’t want to see that happen.”
“Where will you live?”
This time I’m grinning. “Honestly, sir. I’m hoping to live with Evangeline at the firehouse. I love her apartment. I’ve asked her for a job, so we’ll see if she’s going to hire me. If not, I’ll take a job in Albany or something. But ideally, Eve asks me to move in and we stay until we outgrow the space.”
“It is a very nice space.”
“The view, especially right now when it snows, is too good to pass up.”
Benny points to the folder. “What’s in there?”
I hand it to him but don’t let go. “This is my offer.”
Benny takes the folder, opens the flap, and reads. I don’t move my eyes from him, watching him study the one line of numbers. He closes the folder just as the waitress returns to take our order.
He orders a steak and egg combo and to make things easy, I do the same. When she’s gone, I look at the man who I hope will one day be my father-in-law.
“It’s too much.”
I do a double take. “I’m sorry. What?”
“Clara and I have a number in mind, and I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking this from you.” Benny opens the folder again, takes a pen from his shirt pocket, and scribbles on the sheet of paper. He nods at the file.
I hesitate for a minute, trying to understand what is going on right now. I take the folder, open, and grin. “This is what you want for the house, land, and Reindeer Ridge operation?”
“And not a penny more,” he says. Benny takes a drink of his soda. “Clara and I will also accept the invite to stay in the house when we’re in town.”
“Absolutely.” I reach across the table and shake his hand.
“The farm will belong to Evangeline?”
I nod. “Yes, it will. It’s the least I can do. We’d always planned on this—taking over our family operations—and I can’t think of a better time than now.”
“Once we get through the holidays, we’ll go through everything.” Benny chuckles. “There’s a lot that goes into running the farm. It’s not just a November to December operation.”
“Bring it on.”
On my wayback to Deer Ridge, my phone rings. Even though this is a rental, I hooked up the Car Play so I could utilize the large screen on the console. Caryn’s photo and number appear on the screen. Thesight causes a spike of anxiety. My heart starts to race and not in a good way.
Reluctantly, I accept the call, give it a few seconds to connect, and then say, “Hello?”
“Zane?”
“Hey, Caryn.”
My mind whirls with why she’s calling. We’ve ended. On neither good nor bad terms. Our relationship is over.
“What would you like me to do with your things?”
My “things” are mostly clothes. I have very few possessions because none of what I liked would ever go with Caryn’s aesthetic. I didn’t even have my own space in her apartment. The more I think about it, which I don’t like doing, I was nothing more than a roommate.
Going back to New York isn’t an option. There is no way I’d be able to convince Evangeline of this. Nor would I want to put her through any type of agony, wondering if I’m coming back.
“I suppose asking you to pack and ship my things to me is out of the question?”
“You want me to pack?”
“It would be like packing a suitcase,” I tell her. “Only in a box.”