How To Bake The Perfect Christmas Cake. Gina Calanni

chortle. “I don’t think it would take much.”

      “You don’t like my sexy elf?” Jack jerks his head back in fake shock.

      “No, Jack it’s great…really.” I laugh. “Come on, let’s go look at trees.”

      Jack stands and we file out of the store with our cookies and cocoa in hand. The cold air immediately hits my face as we exit. I shiver. I’m glad I’ve got my navy wool pea coat on, but it’s got to be low forties, maybe even dropping into the thirties. Jack pulls me in close to him as we search for tractor number three. At the end of the row of tractors we find it. A hunter green tractor with a flatbed trailer attached to it.

      “Hop in my lady.” Jack waves his hand in front of the vehicle.

      “How funny, our first tractor ride together and it’s not in Texas.” I slide across the vinyl seat and put my hot cocoa in the cup holder. “Fancy.”

      “Our first of many, I hope.” Jack guns the engine and we both bounce in the air.

      “Many tractor rides? Are you planning on living on a farm?” I squint my eyes.

      Jack moves his head up and down. “I could see myself living on a Christmas tree farm like this.” His baby blues sparkle at me.

      “I didn’t realize you were such a Christmas guy.” I brush his arm. We are slowly moving farther away from the store and getting deeper into the forest. There are other people in tractors, group tractors, and some walkers with wagons.

      “Yeah, my mom always made a big deal about traditions around Christmas and one of them was that our family would trek out to a tree farm and cut down our own tree.” He rolls his lips.

      “That’s really sweet. My mom is big into Christmas too, well, she is big into all holidays.” The sides of my mouth pick up.

      “I remember at Thanksgiving there were a lot of interesting decorations, what was it, a DJ turkey on the doorstep?” Jack cocks his head to the right at me.

      I laugh. “Yes, it was. Wait till you see the Christmas décor.”

      “I’m waiting with bated breath.” Jack gazes at me.

      I laugh. “You won’t have to wait long, Christmas is only two weeks away.”

      “When do you fly in?” Jack grazes his chin with his thumb and index finger.

      “I’m not, I’ve decided to hire a bunch of different Uber drivers.”

      “Lauren, I thought I was your only Uber driver?”

      “Exclusivity in Uber transportation is not something to take lightly.” I turn my head and stare at his piercing blue eyes.

      “Agreed, can I offer you a sexy elf cookie in exchange for all of your Uber transportation needs?” Jack reaches down and takes the cookie package from the floor.

      I laugh. “I’m not really into sexy elf cookies, maybe you have something else to offer?”

      Jack stops the tractor in front of a sign with several arrows pointing out the direction of the various trees on the farm. “How about my expert tree-hunting skills. Are you a Spruce, Noble, Fraser, or Douglas Fir kind of gal?”

      I raise my eyebrows. I have no clue what type of tree to get. I usually buy whichever looks like it will fit on my car without too much effort.

      “If you’re an expert than you must know the perfect tree for me.” There, throw it back on him without admitting my ignorance to the various types of tree.

      “Fair enough.” He starts the engine back up and takes a left, we are either going towards the Fraser or Douglas Firs. We pass through what seems like endless rows of mint colored spikey trees, the grass is cut short. We haven’t really had any snow yet this year, so it hasn’t changed to pale yellow.

      After what seems like an eternity of grass and trees, Jack stops the tractor. “I think we’ll find the perfect tree for you in this row.” Jack squints his eyes at the vast forest as he points down a path.

      I take the final sip of my hot cocoa and climb out of the tractor. “Is your tree-dar beeping wild?” I laugh.

      “Yes, I have tree vision and I know it’s here, I can feel it.” He grabs my hand and laces our fingers. Even through my leather gloves his warm hands are sending tingles up my veins. From the back of the tractor Jack takes out a hand saw and some rope.

      “What kind of tree is it?” I peek up at him.

      “A Douglas Fir.” He raises his eyebrow and the sides of his mouth pull up at the corners.

      I nod my head. “Why not a Fraser?”

      “The Douglas goes better with your evergreen eyes and the needles are softer, like your skin.” Jack treks us down the empty path as if he is telling me about the weather. I’m a puddle trying to scoop myself up off the ground. Pull it together, Lauren.

      “I’ve never been compared to a tree before, I’m not sure if this is a good thing or not.” I rest my head on his shoulder.

      “Why not a tree, would you prefer I compared you to a summer’s day?” Jack stops and examines my face. “A Douglas Fir is green and soft, with an intense fragrance, it’s strong and beautiful. Just like you.” Jack grazes my nose with his index finger.

      I sneeze. “All right, well, we better get a move on or rough winds are going to shake the needles off this tree and she is going to freeze.”

      “Are you cold?” Jack inspects my coat. It’s my casual wool pea coat. It has just the right amount of warmth, I’ve never gotten into the idea of wearing a puffed parka jacket, I don’t want to look like a polar bear.

      “A little, it’s probably like thirty-something degrees out here, and in the forest I’m sure it’s colder.”

      Jack unzips his brown coat, drapes it over my shoulders and pulls me into a warm embrace. I’m heated all over as if I’ve walked into a sauna, the sounds of wood crackling are popping all around me.

      “Jack, I appreciate the offer, but then you would be without a coat?” I rub my hands over his biceps. They are hard.

      “I don’t need it. I’m about to get a major workout sawing down that tree.” Jack points to a tree in the distance. I know it’s not possible but it is almost like a little sparkle is glowing around the tree Jack is motioning to.

      I follow him and he gets down on the ground and studies the trunk of the tree. He stands back up. “This is the one.” He moves his head back and forth. “What do you think?”

      “It’s beautiful.” I size it up as I circle it in its entirety. It’s a gorgeous deep green with full branches and shaped like a cone. I inhale the aromatic scent is amazing. I make my way back to where Jack is standing and he gathers me into his arms.

      “Exactly.” He kisses me. Our tongues dance a tango of happiness. He releases me and picks up his hand saw. “All right, now I just need you to hold onto the top of the back of the tree, while I saw and then I will hop up to grab it when it’s ready.”

      “Yes, sir.” I motion a salute.

      Jack grins and grabs a pair of gloves from his back pocket. He puts his shoulder to the ground and begins sawing back and forth. I hum the Jeopardy final question tune out loud. I’m sure Jack appreciates this.

      “You realize this is going to take about ten minutes to cut down?” Jack peeks his head around the back of the tree and peers up at me.

      “Is my humming bothering you?” I jerk back my head in faux surprise.

      “No, Lauren, it’s really helpful, I was just thinking that maybe since we are cutting down a Christmas tree you could hum a Christmas song? You know to kind of go with the theme?” He winks at me and returns to sawing.

      I