The Christmas Tree Farm | Laurie Gilmore
"the lies we tell ourselves are often stronger than the truth."
For those
readers who read the second installment “The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore”, we met
Kira at the end, when she comes into town to take possession of her property
and makes it clear to everyone that she will not be selling Christmas
trees.
Kira, a
transplant from Georgia, who has never lived on her own or run a business,
bought an abandoned Christmas tree farm, with its run-down and dilapidate
house. She is grieving the loss of her best friend and sister – who got married
and moved to Denmark with her husband! Yes, our protagonist is a bit immature
and self-absorbed to begin with (and is a bit of a recluse), but she comes to
her senses pretty quickly and realizes that the inheritance money that she used
to buy the farm and house is not going to last long if she doesn’t find an
income source. So, she quits her whining and wallowing and she does what she
needs to do to get the tree farm up and running.
Bennett,
who is in town visiting his sister Jeanie (from “The Pumpkin Spice Cafe”), is
staying in her apartment above the cafe as she moved in with Logan. Bennett is
a “tech bro” from California who has a terrible record with the women he dates.
He is the proverbial “too nice guy” who women always seem to take advantage of.
He has vowed that he is going to stop being so nice and letting women walk all
over him. However, old habits are hard to break, and Bennett can’t stop himself
from offering to help Kira with stuff around the farm. This wouldn’t be a Dream
Harbor story without the smoking hot chemistry and insta-love.
The
two come together to open and improve the Christmas tree farm and open it to
customers in time for the holiday season. Kira opens up to the new community
she has found and slowly grows out of her spoiled ways, as Bennett wrestles
with what he wants. Is his desire to stay with her genuine or another
reappearance of his people-pleasing tendencies? And will Kira let him uproot
his life for her?
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