12 Christmas Romances to Melt Your Heart by Gayle Catherine & Davenport Jami & Ford Riley J. & Roman Emma & Adams Allie K. & Falkner Tammy & Kandle Tawdra & Keniston Chris & Regnery Katy & Vaughn Jodi & Boyd Becca

Author:Gayle, Catherine & Davenport, Jami & Ford, Riley J. & Roman, Emma & Adams, Allie K. & Falkner, Tammy & Kandle, Tawdra & Keniston, Chris & Regnery, Katy & Vaughn, Jodi & Boyd, Becca [Gayle, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Romance, Anthologies, Holidays, Genre Fiction, Literature & Fiction
Publisher: KS Publishing
Published: 2015-11-17T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 2

Trent

I sat in the cab of my truck, watching the pretty blonde hustle across the parking lot, not stopping even though the pavement had to be hurting her bare feet. A pang of regret stabbed my chest.

Damn. I hadn’t meant to be such an asshole. Or maybe I had, but I hadn’t realized she’d take it like this. I just didn’t want to talk about my life in Georgia, or why I was in Florida selling Christmas trees, or anything else about myself. I’d come down here to make a little money, get my head on straight, and once I was back in Michigan, I’d figure out what came next.

“Yo, Trent!” My uncle Nolan laid a big hand on the door of my truck. “What’s going on?”

I shrugged. “Long story. Tell you later, but it’s taken care of. Hey, is Joe back yet?”

“Yeah, he’s handing out keys to the motel rooms.”

“Okay. Thanks.” I pushed the door open, and Uncle Nolan stepped back. “I’ll make sure everything’s set up here, and then we’ll secure it for the night. We’ll put up the signs in the morning, if that sounds good.”

“That works. Logan says the local cops patrol around here pretty regular, so we should be okay.” He took off his ball cap and scratched at the thinning hair on his head. “Crazy thing, selling trees before Thanksgiving, huh? Up ‘til a few years ago, we never would’ve opened until Black Friday. Used to be, Ellie’d make Thanksgiving dinner for us to eat at noon, and we’d have the trailer all loaded up. No sooner we’d take the last bite of pumpkin pie, the boys and me would be on the road, driving all night to get here and set up to sell.”

“I’m glad you can fly home this year and eat with Aunt El and the kids. And no worries about anything down here, right? We’ll take care of the trees.”

He clapped me on the shoulder. “I know that. Can’t tell you what it means to me that I can get on that airplane Wednesday and have a real Thanksgiving with my family.” He leveled a steady look at me. “There’s no one else I’d trust, Trent.”

The weight of his trust was heavier on me than the hand that gripped my arm. “I won’t let you down.”

“Good man. All right, enough with the touchy-feely stuff. Let’s finish up here so we can get settled over at the motel.”

“I’ll be right there. Gotta talk to Joe real fast first.”

I made my way through the maze of trees, most of them still tied up, until I spotted the red-haired kid standing near the open trailer. “Hey, Joe. Remember those keys I gave you to take inside to the lawyer?”

Confusion clouded his round face for a moment before understanding dawned. “Aw, shit, Trent. Nolan asked me to give him a hand with the posts, and I stuck the keys into my pocket and just forgot. I’m sorry. Was the lawyer pissed?”

“She wasn’t happy.” I muttered the words under my breath and then forced a smile as I looked back at Joe.