“Rowan. Hello.” He sidestepped from his companion, leaving the woman’s hand hanging in midair.
“Ah…hi, Gavin,” said Rowan, coming to a halt. “And, um…”
The other woman looked Rowan’s way, eyes sliding up anddown in appraisal as she lowered her hand to cross it over her front.
“Hayleigh,” she said, flashing white teeth. “Nice to meet you, Ronan.”
“Rowan,” corrected Gavin. “Rowan Midwinter.”
“Midwinter? As intheMidwinters?” Hayleigh’s voice took on a note of amusement, her smile sliding back to land on Gavin with a hint of mischief.
Had they been talking about her family? Had they beenlaughingat her family?
“Rowan’s mother runs the festival,” said Gavin.
“Are you two here for the show?” asked Rowan, doing her best to keep her tone neutral.
“I was dropping this guy off,” said Hayleigh, settling her hand on Gavin’s forearm. “We had a couple of drinks and unwound together after some meetings.” Rowan’s brain latched onto the idea that they had “unwound together,” offering unhelpful suggestions about what that might mean.
“Do you work for Mr. McCreery?”
“Forhim?” Hayleigh laughed, exposing those perfectly straight and eerily white teeth again. “No, I’m with the Goshen Group. You might have heard our company has taken an interest in the future of Elk Ridge, this festival in particular.”
Every inch of Rowan’s body ran cold. “Yeah, I heard.”
“I was showing Hayleigh how invested the community is inallthe festival’s traditions,” said Gavin. “I’ve been trying to convince her to stay for the Solstice parade.”
“Isn’t he just the sweetest?” said Hayleigh, touching the chest of his jacket again. “Always looking out for the little guy. Why, he has spent the whole day trying to convince me of every little special interest being catered to here.” She locked eyes with Rowan. “Even when it’s clear they’re not only costing much more than they bring in but leading to the exclusion of a much larger audience.”
Rowan blinked. “Are you trying to argue that by being more inclusive, the festival is somehow excluding people?”
Hayleigh’s laugh was high and airy. “I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that most people are tired of getting treated like they committed a crime if they say ‘Merry Christmas.’ ”
“I promise you,” said Gavin with a patient smile, “no one who says ‘Merry Christmas’ is going to get anything but well-wishes in return.”
“Those special interests you mentioned,” said Rowan, “represent the sincerely held beliefs and cultural traditions of people who live here. Are you saying we should just ignore that?”
“I’m saying that most Americans are interested in a good, old-fashioned American Christmas. And they don’t want to be vilified for remembering the reason for the season.” Hayleigh leaned toward Rowan. “You can pretend it isn’t true, but look around you. It seems like this festival’s woke is, well, making it go a wee bit broke, and taking this beautiful town with it. Many,most,people in this community agree with me on this. Shouldn’t they have a say too? If something’s best for most people, isn’t it a bit selfish to ignore that for your own sake?”
Rowan opened her mouth to reply, but her heart seized. Was there a chance Hayleigh was right? Was this what most people wanted?
The Wassailers hummed their first notes. “Well, that’s my cue,” said Hayleigh. She turned back to Gavin, smoothing his coat one more time. “See you bright and early tomorrow.”
Gavin nodded with a small smile. “Good night.”
Hayleigh glanced Rowan’s way one more time. “Nice to meet you, Ronan—”
“Rowan,” she said, unable to hold back her irritation.
Hayleigh didn’t correct herself, only finished with a bright “Merry Christmas!”
And then she was gone, leaving them to await the start of themusic in silence. Gavin stood with his hands in his pockets and his eyes fixed on the stage, while Rowan rocked back and forth on her heels.
A chill wound its way into her bones, and her teeth chattered as her body gave a shudder. Gavin glanced to the side with an arch of one dark eyebrow and seemed to prepare to say something, but at that exact moment, the leader of the singers stepped forward.
In a jolly faux-British accent, he called, “Welcome, welcome! We are so pleased you have joined us for this evening of merriment!”
After a brief introduction, the Wassailers launched into their first song, a rousing rendition of “Here We Come a-Wassailing.”
