Mason made a face. “Really? That’s a little sketchy.” And totally unnecessary, since just being in the booth next door meant they’d overhear pretty much everything anyway unless they were busy with a customer.
“I know. And I wouldn’t put it past him to try to reverse engineer their formula. Of course, you better not bring any of it to me, because I will not do that. I can make my own great formula. I just need a few more weeks.” Ginger sounded offended. “Anyway, enough about work. How are things going out there?”
Mason had told her about helping his father set up Tinseltown and the various holiday events he was getting involved with. “This town really goes overboard for Christmas. I went on a sleigh ride, if you can believe that.”
Ginger’s heavy sigh echoed through the phone. “It sounds just lovely. I’m jealous.”
Ginger had been rather envious when he’d mentioned he was going to help his father at Pinecone Falls. She loved small towns and Christmas. He’d actually invited her to come out and visit for the holiday. Her only relatives were on an island in the Caribbean, and she never went there for Christmas. She said it ruined the mood. But she’d been reluctant to barge in on Mason and Kent.
“I bet there’s lots of cute deer and wildlife in those gorgeous holly shrubs and majestic pine trees,” Ginger said.
“There is all of that. In fact, that’s actually one of the reasons I’m calling.”
“Really?”
“The Christmas tree farm in town seems to be having some sort of an issue with the pine trees. The needles are really dry. Any idea what might be wrong?” Mason wasn’t really sure why he was asking. He doubted that Kristen would appreciate him talking about it, but he felt a desire to help the Woodward family. Even though they weren’t acting as if anything was wrong, he’d seen the dry pine needles at the wreath-making contest and heard the talk around town. He knew it was none of his business, but if Ginger had a recommendation, maybe he could somehow slip that into his next conversation with Kristen.
“It could be a lot of things. Pine trees can be finicky. It might be too much of one nutrient in the soil or not enough. Can you get me a sample?”
“I’m not sure about that.” There was no way he could ask Kristen or Dorothy for that. “If I did, is there something you could do?”
“I could do some tests and maybe come up with something, but it would be best if I could come out to see them.” Ginger sounded ready to pack her bags.
“I might be able to arrange that. We can talk more tomorrow. Brad’s arranged to fly me in for an emergency meeting.”
“Emergency meeting? That sounds a bit worrisome.”
“I know, and believe me, I am a bit worried.”
Chapter 19
Kristen wasn’t making much progress on the skating-pond plans. She’d gone with a design similar to one her father had used with trees of staggered heights scattered around the pond. She planned to use all silver and white ornaments and white lights. It would be magical. If she actually had trees to put there.
She glanced out the window at Mason’s house across the street. The lights were on in the living room and one of the smaller bedrooms. Through the sheer curtains, she could see someone seated at a desk in one of the rooms.
George hopped up onto the table and batted at one of the colored pencils, watching intently as it rolled to the corner and teetered there. He snaked out his paw and gave it a whack, seeming satisfied when it fell to the floor.
“At least he’s not trying to unravel my scarf.” Her mother stood in the doorway with a sandwich plate in her hand. “I brought you a snack.”
Kristen smiled and patted the couch for her mom to sit down beside her. The family den, with its L-shaped comfy sectional, big-screen TV, and bookcases, was one of Kristen’s favorite rooms in the house. Except tonight. Tonight, she was in here trying to come up with the killer design for the skating pond, but nothing she tried seemed quite right.
She took the plate. It was a peanut-butter-and-red-raspberry-jam sandwich just like the ones her mom used to make for her when she was in school and trying to work out a problem. Apparently, Dorothy had sensed she was having a hard time with the design, even though she’d tried to hide it from her mother.
Dorothy glanced out the window too. “Mason seems like a nice guy.”
Kristen shrugged. She didn’t know why her mother’s approval of Mason made her happy. She didn’t want to admit she was starting to like the guy. They could only ever be friends and maybe even not that if he wasn’t in town that often. “Yeah, I guess not. I still want to win the contest for decorating the skating pond though.”
“I’m sure your design will be the best.” Dorothy tilted her head to look at the plans. “It’s just like one your dad would have made.”
Tears pricked Kristen’s eyes, and she swallowed to keep the emotion out of her voice. “Thanks. I tried. So you really don’t think Tinseltown will hurt our business?”
Dorothy picked up the pencil that George had rolled to the floor and set it next to the others that were lined up on the table. She settled back on the couch. “Not at all. People that want real trees want real trees. And there’s the wreaths and the garland—everyone knows there’s nothing like the scent of real evergreens at Christmas, so those will always be popular. But there might be some people that also want an artificial tree. Some even have two trees in their houses. I think there’s room for both. I think this will be a banner year for us once Ethan solves the tree problem.”
Kristen was encouraged by her mother’s optimism, and she certainly didn’t want to do anything to bring her down, so she pushed aside her worries. “I think so too.”
“I’m really getting into the holiday spirit this year. I wasn’t sure if I would, but you being home helps a lot.” Dorothy’s loving smile warmed Kristen’s heart. “I don’t know if I could go to all the various contests and promotional events for the business. The knitting club is more my style.”
“I’m happy to do it, Mom.”
