Page 229 of The Pucking Coach's Daughter

“I can wait. I had a sandwich before the exam.”

As in, Carter appeared at my library table with food an hour and a half earlier, saving the day because I hadn’t made time to get myself food. Very thoughtful of him.

She smiles and nods, and we head to the tree farm on the edge of town. I haven’t been to it—I just remember some kids at SJU talking about it last year. The ones who lived here full time or commuted from home. But apparently it also did a walk-through with lights and decorations, and that was a popular winter activity.

I don’t know. I haven’t heard of it, didn’t bother looking into it. My holiday cheer is much lower this year than previous—for good reason. There’s been a lot of shit going on.

But… I can do this. We’ll go pick out a tree, take it back to Dad’s house, decorate it.

Easy.

The farther out of town we get, the more pretty it gets. The snow clings to every tree branch, transforming the woods around us into a world of glistening ice.

Perri pulls into the tree farm. It’s busy, even for the middle of the day, and she squeezes into a spot between two cars. There’s a building with a low porch just in front of us, and a woodchip path to the left that goes under an arched fence opening. Through there are the trees.

“I got tickets online for if we want to do the walking portion after finding the tree.” She shoots off a text. “And your dad is here, too. Perfect timing.”

I bundle up and climb out of the car. Dad approaches from a few cars down, and he hugs me first, then kisses Perri. He shows us a hand saw and grins.

“Who’s ready to cut down the perfect tree?” he asks.

I smile.

We enter and wind our way through the rows of trees. The ones up front have already been cut, but Dad just shakes his head and moves farther into the thick of it. Perri drops back, but Dad loops his arm through mine and leads me along.

“How’re things with your boyfriends?” he asks.

I choke. “What?”

He side-eyes me. “Oliver, obviously. Penn… And Carter.”

My stomach flips. “I don’t know how to answer that.”

He lifts a shoulder. “Convince Masters to transfer to FSU, sweetheart, and I’d be fine with you dating all three. If they make you happy. If not, we know where they’ll end up.”

On the ice, skating for their lives.

Dad being accepting of three… not something I ever could’ve predicted.

“Ah.” He points. “What do you think about this one?”

We stop in front of a medium-sized tree. It seems full, with only a few extra long branches that could easily be trimmed. Good height… Who am I kidding? I have no idea how to pick out a tree.

“It looks perfect,” I say.

He grins.

“Per!” He cranes around. “Can you go find her? I’ll get to work cutting this down.”

I leave him there and cut through the rows, but there’s no sign of her. Her footprints are in the snow, though, clear as day. I’m assuming they’re hers, anyway, so I keep going, glancing around. There are string lights wound around a cluster of trees ahead.

I hit a patch of woodchips without snow, losing her trail.

Brows furrowed, I head in the direction of the lights.

It forms a framed-in pathway of sorts.

Intrigued—and more than a little suspicious—I head down it. The path curves. I should call out her name, but something stops me.