The next threeweeks went by quickly. Snow came over most days to take more photos, editing them that night and sending them the next day. She kept Amanda busy producing more Christmas cards, and even gave advice on the editing of some of them.
Amanda’s favorite by far was the one of them kissing under the mistletoe. They had sent Bluebell to the kitchen with a hot chocolate for that photo. The kiss had been light but long, as they held it for Snow to take photos.
Once the photos were taken, Amanda had kissed Snow a bit more just because she could. The kiss had just started to get heated when they were interrupted by Bluebell asking for more milk in her hot chocolate.
Snow truly was a genius when it came to photos. She had endless ideas, and each one seemed to turn out better than the last. Amanda came to love being posed by Snow. As the season went on, Amanda needed to use her fake snow machine less, since real snow started falling.
Snow got some beautiful pictures of the snow-covered Christmas tree farm, but as idyllic as those were, they couldn’t compete with the popularity of Amanda’s family Christmas cards.
Amanda was practically raking in the profits for those. Snow was delighted by how well they were selling, and Amanda had to admit to herself that Snow’s happiness over the matter was even more satisfying than the money.
Snow admitted that she’d never had much money, and she was suddenly in a position where she had way more than she usually did. She was putting most of it toward a college fund for Bluebell, but Amanda convinced her to buy a few nice things for herself too.
The shutter clicked as Snow took the photo, this one of Amanda and Bluebell laying out cookies and milk for Santa. Bluebell was becoming quite the star through the Christmas cards.
“Perfect. I think… I think we’re done. Unless there’s anything else you’d like taken?”
Amanda shook her head. “You’ve captured everything perfectly. We’ve done all the shots we thought up in that brainstorming session, and I don’t think we’ll need anything further for this season.”
Next season, she fully intended to do another range of family cards, if Snow was willing. If she wasn’t, Amanda would go back to doing her Christmas cards with just her trees. She didn’t want to hire models to be on the family cards. It just wouldn’t be the same without Snow.
“We should do something to celebrate.” Amanda knew they had already celebrated the cards’ success a few weeks ago, but finishing the last of the shoot felt like it needed another celebration. Besides, it would be an excuse to see Snow again sooner. Amanda would need to come up with more reasons now that they weren’t seeing each other nearly every day for photos. It felt way too scary just to ask her out on an actual date without a business purpose. Amanda felt unsure of herself. She was so much older than Snow. What if Snow didn’t feel the same way?
“Yeah, we totally should! What do you want to do?”
Amanda thought about it for a moment. “How about we go hiking.”
“Hiking? I never pictured you to be the outdoor-adventure type.”
“I’m not really, but I know you love nature, and I figure you can show me a few things.” Amanda wanted to be part of Snow’s interests. She didn’t dislike the outdoors, she had just never really had a chance to explore it, other than her regular visits among her trees. That felt different, though, as it was all on her property. She had never really explored in the way Snow seemed to do.
“A hike would be perfect. I’ll get my mom to watch Bluebell for the day, so that we can go to one of my favorite spots. It’s a bit further out, but it’ll be worth it.”
“I’m not sure how far I can walk,” Amanda warned. “Remember, I’m not used to hiking.”
“Don’t worry, it’s not that far to walk. It’s about an hour’s drive away, but the actual spot is not that far from the parking lot.”
That was a relief. Amanda knew she needed to get fitter, and maybe Snow could help her with that.
“How about tomorrow?” Snow suggested.
“Tomorrow is perfect. Shall I pick you up?”
“Actually, let me pick you up. It’s a tricky spot to find, so it’ll be better if I’m driving.”
Amanda nodded. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Snow.”
After Snow left, Amanda went to the mall. There was an outdoorsy type store there, and she made a beeline for it. She didn’t have anything close to proper hiking clothes.
The store attendant was delighted when he realized that she didn’t seem to know what she was doing. He took the opportunity to pile her cart high with overpriced and probably unnecessary products.
Amanda didn’t want to take the chance that she would be unprepared tomorrow, so she just bought everything he gave her. With how well the Christmas cards were selling, she didn’t even feel guilty about the splurge.
When she got home, she was the proud owner of a hiking backpack, a special cooler water bottle, practical pants and tops, both long and short, a sports bra, a puffy thermal jacket, proper hiking shoes, hiking sunglasses (though she wasn’t entirely sure how these different from normal sunglasses), a picnic basket and blanket, a portable camping chair with an attached sunshade, a rain poncho and emergency fold up blanket, and an emergency flare.
Amanda chuckled as she looked at her outrageous purchases. Yes, the sales attendant had been lucky to have her.
She had also stopped by the grocery store to get some picnic food to add to whatever Snow was bringing.