The Christmas Tree Keeper: A Novel by Tamara Passey

Author:Tamara Passey [Passey, Tamara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christmas Romance
Publisher: Winter Street Press
Published: 2014-11-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

The fire department gave the clearance for residents to move back into the apartments not damaged by the fire. For a week, Mr. Buckley had encouraged Angela to stay in the larger, temporary apartment. He had valid reasons—there weren’t any prospective tenants interested in it, and the management company had approved the “emergency housing” stay for the entire month. However, she knew Mr. Buckley had at least one more reason—she was much closer to the office.

Living out of a backpack and sleeping on the floor was getting old for Angela, but Caroline loved her own room. Angela told her they would stay for a few more days and then move back.

“How about until the last day of school before Christmas break,” Caroline bargained.

“That’s a week and half away!” Angela noticed her daughter’s face and softened. “We’ll see.”

As for the rental office, she couldn’t complain about the convenience of the location or the hours. The “commute” consisted of a short walk, less than a block from her temporary apartment, and she could work during the time Caroline was at school. She only had to ignore one irritation.

“How are ya today, Angie?” Mr. Buckley asked when she arrived.

“Fine and you?” She managed to sound civil, though cheerful was a stretch.

Should I ask him to call me Angela?

“If you have a minute, I need to run something by you,” he said.

He’s in a good mood. Maybe he won’t be offended.

“Sure. What’s up?”

“You’re doing a great job here. I can’t tell you how nice it has been this week, having your help with things.” He rocked back in his desk chair. “You’ve learned the software better than me.”

That’s not hard to do.

“Anyway, Angie, I thought I’d check—”

She’d reached her limit. “I haven’t mentioned this before, but I prefer ‘Angela’,” she said as casually as she could.

“I—I didn’t realize.”

He looked a little wounded.

“My ex-husband used to call me ‘Angie,’ so I’d rather be called something else.”

“Say no more. ‘Angela’ it is. While we’re at it, you can call me ‘Don’.” He brightened. “No more Mr. Buckley around here.”

Terrific.

“So, like I was saying, I checked with our management company, and I worked out a deal for you. If you continue to work at least twenty hours a week, you can stay in unit 12 for a reduced rate.” He tapped his pen on the desk and looked expectantly at Angela.

“What kind of a reduced rate?”

I don’t remember asking you to work out a deal for me.

“That’s the best part. It turns out to be a hundred dollars less than what you’re paying in the one-bedroom. That’s a steal!”

“Yeah, that sounds good, but about the ‘twenty hours’ requirement,” she began. “Christmas break starts next week. Once Caroline is out of school, I won’t have a sitter. Mrs. Shaw won’t be back until January. I’m not in a position to commit to that many hours.”

“We can fudge it. I mean I’ll take care of it, and you can move the rest of your stuff this weekend.” He beamed.

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