My Kind of Christmas

church?”
    “We pick every year,” the teenager said. “I’ve been picking
since junior high. Jerome has been picking for a hundred years,” he said,
indicating the older man. “Eduardo and Juan live down in the valley and the
apples here pay better than the vegetables. Juan’s wife has her own little
business—they’re doing pretty good these days, right, Juan?”
    The older Mexican gentleman nodded solemnly. Proudly.
    “Tom usually works around the grove—it’s usually Mrs.
Cavanaugh and her foreman, Junior, who handle the hiring.” The boy put out his
hand. “I’m Buddy Holson, by the way.”
    She took the hand with a smile. “Nora,” she said. “Nice to
meet you.”
    The latch to the door finally unlocked; the door opened a
crack. Jerome went in first. He came out just a moment later and then Eduardo
and Juan entered together. They were out in a second.
    “We’ve all worked here before,” Buddy explained. “Everything
is on file for the regulars. Good luck.”
    “Thanks,” she said. “Hope to see you around.”
    “You bet. Me, too,” he said, giving his hat a little touch.
And Nora realized, he probably thought she was much younger than she was. It
would never occur to him she was actually a single mother. “You must live around
here.”
    “Virgin River,” she said.
    “I’m in Clear River. I better go in—see you around.” And he
disappeared inside, but was back out in just seconds, slipping a piece of paper
into his pocket. With a handsome parting smile and another touch to his hat, he
headed for the last pickup parked there.
    Nora took a deep breath and pulled open the door. The man
behind the desk looked up at her and she froze momentarily. For no particular
reason, she’d been expecting a much older man—the husband of the Mrs. Cavanaugh
who usually managed the hiring. But this was a young man. And so handsome that
he almost took her breath away. He had wide shoulders, a tanned face, brown
hair, expressive brows and the kind of dark brown eyes that would glitter in the
sun. His features might be ordinary, but put together so perfectly, he was hot.
A hunk with that dangerous wholesome look about him—the look that had trapped
her in the past. Her face probably flushed before going completely pale. She had
had bad luck with such men and had no reason to assume her luck had changed.
    “Can I help you?” he asked.
    “I’m here about the job. The apple-picking job.”
    “You have experience with apple harvesting?” he asked.
    She shook her head. “I’m a very fast learner and I’m strong. I
have tons of energy. And I need a job like this.”
    “Really? What about this job seems right for you?”
    “Reverend Kincaid says it pays pretty well and is kind of
short. I’m a single mother and I can probably get help with the kids for a
while, then I have two part-time jobs in Virgin River to fall back on when the
harvest is over. Sounds perfect for someone like me.”
    “Well, it might be longer than you think. The end of August to
almost December, most years. So I guess it wouldn’t be right for—”
    “I might be able to do it—there’s a new day care and preschool
in town, if I can afford it.”
    “How old are you?” he asked.
    “Twenty-three.”
    He shook his head. “Already a divorced mother at
twenty-three?” he asked.
    The surprise showed on her face for less than a moment. She
stood as straight as possible. “There are some questions you’re not allowed to
ask me,” she informed him. “It’s the law. If they don’t pertain to the job…”
    “It’s irrelevant. I’m afraid I’ve already hired my max—all
people with experience. I’m sorry.”
    That took the starch out of her. Her chin dropped and she
briefly looked at the ground. Then she lifted her eyes to his. “Is there any
chance something might become available? Because there aren’t many job openings
around here.”
    “Listen… Your name?” he asked, standing from behind his messy
desk and proving that he was taller than she even guessed.
    “I’m Nora Crane.”
    “Listen, Nora, it can be back-breaking labor and I mean no
offense when I say, you don’t appear to be strong enough for a job like this. We
generally hire very muscled men and women. We haven’t ever hired kids or slight
women—it’s just too frustrating for them.”
    “Buddy’s been working here since junior high….”
    “He’s a great big kid. Sometimes you have to carry fifty
pounds of apples down a tripod