“It’s wonderful.” Kristen gave Mason a raised-brow glance when her mother looked away.
“I’m even going to knit a little Santa outfit for George,” Dorothy said.
George let out a meow. His head jerked up, and he glared at Dorothy. He was still curled in Ethan’s lap, and they could just see his face over the top of the table. The look in his eyes made it seem as if he’d understood what Dorothy had said and had no intention of wearing a knitted suit.
Everyone laughed, and Ethan removed his hand from the mug and petted the cat on the top of the head. “Don’t worry, buddy, she’ll never be able to get you into it.”
“We’ll tackle that when we come to it.” Dorothy stuffed her project back into the bag. “Anyway, I can’t wait to see all of you skating and whirling about with your scarves flying in the wind.”
Ethan snorted. “Not me.”
Dorothy gave him a look. “You could try to join in.”
Ethan looked down at his mug, and Dorothy’s face softened. There was a story there, but Mason sensed it wasn’t his place to ask. Dorothy turned her gaze on Mason, and his heart sank.
“Mason, you’ll be there skating, won’t you?”
“Uh… I’ll be there but not skating.” Mason fidgeted.
“Why not?” Dorothy asked.
“I never learned how.”
“Oh! Don’t worry about that. Kristen is the best teacher. She’ll have you doing figure eights in no time.” Dorothy picked up the pencil and the piece of paper. “Now, let’s get going on that list.”
Chapter 29
The skating party took place on a clear, crisp winter night, and the skating pond was alive with holiday cheer. A bright crescent moon shone in the sky amid twinkling stars. Kristen and Mason had wrapped tiny white lights around the trunks and branches of the majestic oaks and maples. Ethan had cut some of their mid-sized blue spruces, and those were mixed with the white artificial trees from Tinseltown to form a ring around one side of the pond. More white lights had been draped on the trees. Silver ornaments hung everywhere, reflecting even more light. It looked magical.
The air was filled with the scent of cinnamon and fried dough from the log-cabin-themed food stands at one end of the pond and mingled with the wood smoke from the firepits that blazed on the other end.
Laughter rang out from the ice, which was filled with skaters in puffer jackets and Nordic sweaters. The pond was covered with couples holding hands, kids laughing as they tried to stay upright, and friends skating backward while they talked. It was impossible not to get into the holiday spirit, and Kristen felt happier than she had in a long time.
She spread her arms to indicate the area and did a half twirl. “Can you believe we did all this in two days?”
Next to her, Mason was smiling. “Hard to believe, but it looks amazing.”
Kristen had to agree. She’d been relieved when Ethan had found several trees that could work in their design. Working with Mason had been easy. They’d agreed on practically everything and made a good team. Her father would be proud of her, she thought as she glanced at the sign Irene had put up, which gave credit for the decorating to the Woodward tree farm and the Tinseltown Christmas shop.
They’d worked for two days, putting in almost twenty hours a day, but it hadn’t seemed like work. They’d never argued about anything, each playing off the other’s ideas, and she felt that she and Mason had become close friends. Kristen was wondering if it might turn into something more. She kind of got that vibe, but so far, neither of them had made any advances toward romance.
“Your mom sure made a lot of scarves in a short amount of time.” Mason nodded toward the hot chocolate stand, where her mother was handing a blue scarf to Ida and a green-striped one to Myrtle.
Kristen looked down at her own scarf, done in bright-red yarn. She liked the color, but the scarf left a little bit to be desired. It zigged and zagged, and the ending was a bit abrupt. Of course, she’d gushed about it and put it on because she didn’t want to hurt her mother’s feelings. Mason had done the same with his oddly shaped yellow scarf, and the kind gesture toward her mom had warmed Kristen’s heart toward him even further.
“Even Ethan is wearing his.” Kristen pointed toward her brother. He’d been reluctant to come, but she’d talked him into it. At first, he had just lurked at the edge of the crowd, but now, he was standing in a group with his best friends and laughing. How long had it been since he’d even seen them? He looked at ease and happy, so maybe there was hope for him yet.
“At least your mom didn’t bring George in his Santa outfit.”
“Don’t laugh. She tried to. But when she tried to force him into it, he ran and hid, and she couldn’t find him!”
“Maybe he was the smart one.” Mason glanced over at the food booths. “Do you want hot chocolate?”
“We just had one. I think you’re trying to put something off.” Kristen held up the skates that Ethan had lent Mason. “If you’re going to live in Pinecone Falls, you need to learn how to skate.”
Mason grimaced and took the skates.
“Come on. It won’t be that bad.” Kristen led him over to the bench.
