him.
“I didn’t realize Wade was a foster child.”
“Yes. Julianne is the only child nature blessed us with. The
rest came to us through the Litchfield County Social Services office. We had so
many over the years, but Wade, Brody, Xander and Heath were the ones who really
became a part of our family. It gave us a lot of joy to give a home to children
who really needed one. We’d hoped that one day we would be able to turn the farm
over to one of them, but that probably won’t happen. We raised them to dream
big, and they did. Unfortunately, none of them dreamed of being a Christmas tree
farmer.”
Tori took a bite of one of the warm cookies and nearly moaned
with pleasure. The cinnamon, sugar and butter were a divine combination. She’d
honestly never had a cookie this good before. “Oh, Molly, this cookie is
wonderful. I couldn’t have expected anything less with everything you have here.
I never had a Christmas tree growing up, but I always imagined buying one at a
place like this.”
“You’ve never had a Christmas tree?” Molly looked appalled.
“No. My family liked to travel. My mom homeschooled me so we
could move from one town to the next every few weeks. The camper wasn’t much
bigger than the one I have now, so no real room for a tree. Sometimes, on
Christmas morning, my parents would get up really early and decorate one of the
nearby trees in the RV park where we were staying.”
“Christmas in a camper.” Tori could see the wheels turning in
Molly’s head. “Then I suppose a huge turkey with all the trimmings and homemade
pies were out of the question.”
Tori chuckled. “Not once in my life have I ever had that. My
parents are hippies, really, so they were more into tofu and organic vegetables
when I was young. And, yes, even if she’d wanted to cook a turkey, my mom didn’t
have the room or the equipment. Sometimes we’d eat at a Cracker Barrel when my
dad got nostalgic for home-cooked food.”
At that, Molly paled beside her. The rosy cheeks had vanished
as though Tori had just told her there was no Santa Claus. “You’re coming over
to our place Monday night for Christmas Eve dinner.”
Tori’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, no,” she insisted. Wade
would think she’d deliberately done this. He’d make her miserable, glaring
accusingly at her across the table all night. “I couldn’t possibly intrude on
your family dinner.”
“Nonsense. Come up to the big house Monday night around five.
We’ll eat about six, but I want you to get there in time to meet everyone.”
“Everyone?” What had Tori gotten herself into?
“It’s just me and Ken and the kids. You’ll get to meet my other
boys. Brody will come up from Boston. He runs a software company. Xander is a
congressman, so he’s flying back from D.C. Heath, my youngest, will be up from
Manhattan. He owns an advertising agency. And my daughter, Julianne, will be
home from Long Island. She has a sculpting studio and art gallery in the
Hamptons. I’m so excited. I only get them all together once a year. Christmas is
a big deal for our family.”
Holy crap. Molly made them sound wonderful, but Tori wondered
if she wasn’t wandering into a trap. How many of them knew about Wade’s plans?
Would she have his four siblings staring her down, as well? Tori didn’t know if
she could refuse three powerful CEOs and a congressman if they ganged up on her.
She couldn’t help imagining herself being slipped a roofie in her eggnog, waking
up hog-tied in the basement and being forced to sign over her property.
“Really, thank you, but I already have plans.” It wasn’t
technically a lie. She had planned to eat chicken soup and peanut butter and
jelly sandwiches while watching old Christmas movies on DVD. Not good plans, but
plans. Hopefully it was enough to appease the older woman.
Molly arched an elegant eyebrow at her. “I have seen your
camper, dear. It’s really lovely, but I can’t imagine you putting together
“I didn’t realize Wade was a foster child.”
“Yes. Julianne is the only child nature blessed us with. The
rest came to us through the Litchfield County Social Services office. We had so
many over the years, but Wade, Brody, Xander and Heath were the ones who really
became a part of our family. It gave us a lot of joy to give a home to children
who really needed one. We’d hoped that one day we would be able to turn the farm
over to one of them, but that probably won’t happen. We raised them to dream
big, and they did. Unfortunately, none of them dreamed of being a Christmas tree
farmer.”
Tori took a bite of one of the warm cookies and nearly moaned
with pleasure. The cinnamon, sugar and butter were a divine combination. She’d
honestly never had a cookie this good before. “Oh, Molly, this cookie is
wonderful. I couldn’t have expected anything less with everything you have here.
I never had a Christmas tree growing up, but I always imagined buying one at a
place like this.”
“You’ve never had a Christmas tree?” Molly looked appalled.
“No. My family liked to travel. My mom homeschooled me so we
could move from one town to the next every few weeks. The camper wasn’t much
bigger than the one I have now, so no real room for a tree. Sometimes, on
Christmas morning, my parents would get up really early and decorate one of the
nearby trees in the RV park where we were staying.”
“Christmas in a camper.” Tori could see the wheels turning in
Molly’s head. “Then I suppose a huge turkey with all the trimmings and homemade
pies were out of the question.”
Tori chuckled. “Not once in my life have I ever had that. My
parents are hippies, really, so they were more into tofu and organic vegetables
when I was young. And, yes, even if she’d wanted to cook a turkey, my mom didn’t
have the room or the equipment. Sometimes we’d eat at a Cracker Barrel when my
dad got nostalgic for home-cooked food.”
At that, Molly paled beside her. The rosy cheeks had vanished
as though Tori had just told her there was no Santa Claus. “You’re coming over
to our place Monday night for Christmas Eve dinner.”
Tori’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, no,” she insisted. Wade
would think she’d deliberately done this. He’d make her miserable, glaring
accusingly at her across the table all night. “I couldn’t possibly intrude on
your family dinner.”
“Nonsense. Come up to the big house Monday night around five.
We’ll eat about six, but I want you to get there in time to meet everyone.”
“Everyone?” What had Tori gotten herself into?
“It’s just me and Ken and the kids. You’ll get to meet my other
boys. Brody will come up from Boston. He runs a software company. Xander is a
congressman, so he’s flying back from D.C. Heath, my youngest, will be up from
Manhattan. He owns an advertising agency. And my daughter, Julianne, will be
home from Long Island. She has a sculpting studio and art gallery in the
Hamptons. I’m so excited. I only get them all together once a year. Christmas is
a big deal for our family.”
Holy crap. Molly made them sound wonderful, but Tori wondered
if she wasn’t wandering into a trap. How many of them knew about Wade’s plans?
Would she have his four siblings staring her down, as well? Tori didn’t know if
she could refuse three powerful CEOs and a congressman if they ganged up on her.
She couldn’t help imagining herself being slipped a roofie in her eggnog, waking
up hog-tied in the basement and being forced to sign over her property.
“Really, thank you, but I already have plans.” It wasn’t
technically a lie. She had planned to eat chicken soup and peanut butter and
jelly sandwiches while watching old Christmas movies on DVD. Not good plans, but
plans. Hopefully it was enough to appease the older woman.
Molly arched an elegant eyebrow at her. “I have seen your
camper, dear. It’s really lovely, but I can’t imagine you putting together
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