“I can get it.”
With a look of exasperation, he hoisted the camel into his strong arms. “You shouldn’t have to. That’s why you hired me.”
Oddly touched and feeling more like a helpless female than she’d ever felt in her life, Lindsey traipsed along beside him. How could she not admire this man? Every time she turned around, he was lifting work from her shoulders, both literally and figuratively. She’d nev-er seen anyone work so hard for so little pay. And for all his silences and secrets, Jesse had a way of making her feel special.
Lindsey wasn’t sure if that was such a good idea, given the spiritual differences between them, but she liked Jesse Slater. And she loved his little girl.
As if he’d heard her thoughts of Jade, Jesse spoke. His voice came from the opposite side of the camel’s hump.
“Jade will be excited when she sees all this.”
“You don’t think she’ll be disappointed that we did so much without her?” She’d worried about that all day. After the way Jade had begged to take part, Lindsey didn’t want her hurt. But setting up the farm for Christmas took time.
“I explained to her last night that we’d have to do most of the work today. She was okay with it as long as she gets to do something.”
A jingle bell came loose from the saddle and Lindsey ducked beneath the camel’s neck to retrieve it.
“I promised to save the ‘best stuff’ until she gets here. She and I are going to put up the wreaths and decorate that tree up front.” She pointed toward the entrance, the bell in hand jingling merrily. “And she can flip on the lights as soon as the sun sets. I hope that’s enough.”
Jesse’s silver eyes, lit by an inner smile, slanted toward her. “You’re amazing with her, you know it?”
Buoyed by the compliment, Lindsey shook the bell at him and grinned. “I cheat. I use Christmas.”
The teasing admission moved the smile from Jesse’s eyes to his lips, changing his rugged, bad-boy expression into a breathtaking sight. That solitary action shot a thrill stronger than adrenaline through Lindsey. Someday, she’d break all the way through the ice he’d built around himself and make him smile all the time.
Startled at such thinking, Lindsey rushed ahead to open the gate. Where had that come from? Jesse was her employee and maybe her friend. But that was all he could be.
Heart thudding in consternation, she analyzed the thought. As a Christian, she wanted to see him happy. She wasn’t falling for him. Was she? She’d been in love with a man like Jesse before—a devastatingly handsome man filled with secrets. And Sean had betrayed her so completely she’d come home to the farm and promised never to fall for a pretty face again.
Jesse eased the camel into place alongside the rough wooden building that sheltered the baby Jesus and his earthly parents. He’d already positioned bales of hay around the site and spread straw on the ground. Later, he’d rig up the spotlights and the Star of Bethlehem to bring the scene to life.
In minutes, he had the camel bellowing and blinking.
With a grimace, he shut off the mechanism. “Jade will love that monstrosity.”
With laughter and a clap of her hands, Lindsey put aside her troubled thoughts. “I thought as much. We’ll let her turn it on as soon as she gets home from school.”
Jesse dusted his hands down the sides of his jeans, one corner of his mouth quirking ever-so-slightly. “What’s next? Singing Santas? Yodeling elves?”
“Nothing quite that fun. We’d better begin cutting and baling. I’d like to haul the first load tomorrow if we have enough ready.”
“So soon?”
“The rush begins on Thanksgiving. That’s only a week away. Stores and lots like to have their trees ready to sell.”
Switching off the last strains of “Silent Night,” he gestured in the direction of the trees. “Lead on, boss lady.”
Though disappointed to lose the beautiful music, Lindsey hummed Christmas carols as they began the process of cutting the marked and graded trees. Jesse manned the chain saw and as each tree toppled, Lindsey slid a rolling sled-like device beneath the pine and pulled it to the waiting baler.
Accustomed to lifting the heavy trees, Lindsey manhandled each one into the cone-shaped baler to be compressed into a tight bundle and secured with netting.
Saw in one gloved hand, Jesse poked his head around a tree. “Leave those for me to lift and bale.”
“We’d never get finished that way. I’m used to the work, Jesse. Stop fretting.”
But pleasure raced through her blood when he laid aside the saw long enough to lift the baled tree onto the flatbed truck. She might be accustomed to heavy work, but being treated like a girl was a novel and somewhat pleasant, if misguided, occurrence.
Following him back into the wide row, and lost in thought, Lindsey never saw the danger coming. One minute, she was examining a hole in her glove and the next she heard the crack and whine of falling timber.
“Lindsey, look out!”
She looked, but all she saw was green blocking the gray-blue sky and rapidly closing in on her.
Then all the air whooshed from her lungs as Jesse came flying and knocked her to the ground, taking the brunt of the felled pine across his back and head.
She tasted dust and pine sap. Prickly needles poked over Jesse’s shoulders and scratched the side of her face. Her pulse pounded and her knees trembled as if she’d done jumping jacks for the last hour.
One arm flung protectively over her head, his chest lying across her back, Jesse’s warm breath puffed against her ear. “Are you okay?”
He sounded scared.
“Fine.” She struggled to draw air into her lungs. “You?”
“Yeah.” Jesse’s heart raced wildly against her shoulder blades. The situation was anything but intimate, and yet Lindsey was aware of him in an entirely new way.
“You’re crushing me,” she managed.
“Sorry.” He shoved the tree to one side before rolling to a sitting position.
Offering a hand, he pulled Lindsey up to sit beside him. Breath coming in rapid puffs, his concerned gaze checked her over.
With a tenderness usually reserved for Jade, he stroked one calloused finger down her cheek. “You have a scratch.”
She studied his face, but resisted the urge to touch him. Already her skin tingled from his simple gesture, and her insides were too rattled from the accident to think straight. Her throat felt tight and thick. “So do you.”
He flicked one shoulder, tossing off her concern like an unwanted gum wrapper.
“I’ll heal.” He took a deep breath and blew
