“Are you going to the gingerbread contest? We could ride together.”
Mason’s brows scrunched together. “Gingerbread contest… Oh! I forgot all about that!”
He had? That was odd since he’d seemed so gung-ho about it at the wreath-making contest. “So you’re not going?”
He shook his head. “Can’t. I’m going out of town.”
“Oh.” Kristen wasn’t sure what to say. He hadn’t mentioned anything about going out of town. In fact, he’d practically raced her to the sign-up sheet for the contest, so why would he be leaving now?
And come to think of it, he was acting a little weird, avoiding eye contact and glancing down the road. What was he standing out in the driveway for anyway?
Yesterday, when he been at the house, he’d seemed very friendly, and at the skating pond that night in front of the firepit, she’d thought she felt some kind of connection, but now she got a weird vibe, as if he was trying to avoid talking to her.
It was probably just her imagination. After the big breakup with Brian, her radar about interpersonal relationships was a little off.
“Okay, well, have a nice trip,” she chirped with a friendly smile.
She got into her car and drove off, trying to shove thoughts about Mason out of her mind.
Why was he taking up so much of her headspace anyway? Much better to focus on the gingerbread-house contest and hanging out with Julie and Ivy.
The gingerbread-house contest was held in a large meeting room at the town hall. The air was spiced with the sweet smell of gingerbread, and the atmosphere was festive and cheerful. The gingerbread pieces had been freshly baked at the Pinecone Falls Bakery, and everyone was supplied with the parts necessary to build a house. Bowls of icing and piping bags waited at each seat.
There were also bowls of various candies that everyone could use to decorate—ribbon candy, red hearts, mint patties, M&Ms—but contestants were also encouraged to bring their own.
Kristen had brought one of her favorite candies—chocolate nonpareils. The flat, round chocolates with tiny white candy dots on the top would be perfect to shingle the roof, and she’d managed to pick up a bag of white-chocolate candy kisses for accents. Maybe she could use them to depict snow-covered shrubs around the edges of the house.
Like the wreath-making contest, this one was for the business owners in town. The purpose was twofold: the gingerbread houses would help decorate the town, and they gave the business owners another way to advertise that didn’t actually seem like advertising. So many tourists flocked to Pinecone Falls during the holiday season that the chamber of commerce was always trying to come up with ways to advertise without being too pushy. The contest was pretty crowded with everyone wanting to get their gingerbread house placed in the best spot.
Julie waved her over. “We saved you a seat.”
“Thank you.” Kristen set her bag of goodies down next to the gingerbread-house kit. “This is going to be so much fun.”
“I know,” Ivy said. “I’m excited to see what everyone comes up with.” Naturally, Ivy had brought little paw-shaped chocolates to decorate her house with.
Irene appeared at the front of the room. “Welcome to the seventy-fifth annual Pinecone Falls gingerbread-house contest. Everyone, please find a seat!”
Chairs scraped, and the conversation quieted as everyone found a spot.
Once everyone was seated, Irene continued. “As you know, the gingerbread houses are displayed around town in prominent places. It helps spice up the town and helps the shop owners get free advertising. This year, the winner will be placed on a special table at the skating-pond event, complete with a full placard advertising their business.”
Everyone clapped, and Irene smiled at them for a few seconds before continuing.
“Elsie Golden will be the judge.” Irene gestured toward a woman who had to be a hundred years old if she was a day. Elsie had been a favorite teacher in town for as long as anyone could remember and always had the honor of judging this contest. Everyone applauded for Elsie.
Irene let the applause go on for a while, and Elsie looked quite pleased. When it died down, Irene said, “And now... begin!”
Everyone got to work, and soon, the hum of conversation and laughter filled the room as people caught up with each other and shared Christmas plans.
“Are you starting to make plans for the Christmas Eve party at the inn?” Ivy asked Julie.
“Yep. Just figuring out the decorations and catering. Oh, and Kristen, we want to get a tree from your farm this year. Gramps used to cut them from the yard, and Nolan and his dad said they’d help, but we just don’t want to cut another tree down.” Julie sprinkled silver sugar balls on top of the roof she’d just iced. “Much easier to get one from your lot.”
“Great! I’ll have Ethan set aside some good ones for you to choose from!” Kristen wondered if her voice sounded overly exuberant. She hoped not. She also hoped there would actually be trees for Julie to choose from.
“Thanks. We’re decorating the mantels and stairway, and I need some garland for that if you have some. Gram always says there’s nothing like real pine garland,” Julie said.
“I can bring some by the inn later. I haven’t seen the place since you reopened and would love to see what you’ve done.” Last year had been the first Christmas without her father, and none of them had wanted to attend the Christmas Eve party. She’d felt bad that she hadn’t made the effort to check out Cozy Holly Inn, but everyone understood.
