“Nonsense,” her mother said. “I wanted to spoil you now that you’re home for Christmas.”
Kristen filled her mug with coffee and sat down with a sigh of contentment. Her gaze drifted across the street, and her eyes narrowed. Had the neighbors put up even more decorations on their porch? It was looking a bit overdone.
“Eggs over easy?” her mother asked.
“Yes, please,” Kristen said, her mind still on the decorations. It was beginning to look like Santa’s workshop had exploded on their front lawn. Surely they weren’t going to try to outdo her family this year. The Christmas decorating competition was a tradition in their small town and one that she took very seriously.
“So,” her mother said, sliding a plate of bacon, eggs, toast, and pancakes in front of her. If her mother kept feeding her like this, she’d gain twenty pounds by New Year’s. “What are your plans for today?”
Kristen dipped the corner of a piece of toast in the egg yolk. “I called Ivy last night, and I’m meeting her and Julie Green for lunch. Julie just moved back to town too.”
“I know. I’m glad you’ll have some friends to catch up with,” her mother said, drenching the pancakes on her own plate in maple syrup. She’d already frosted them in butter. Kristen wondered, not for the first time, where her mother put all those calories. The woman ate like a lumberjack but still remained thin.
Kristen took a bite of bacon and nodded. “Yeah, me too.” It would be good to see her friends and start to feel like she belonged here again.
George hopped up on the hutch, looking as if he was going to try to smash more knickknacks.
Dorothy jumped up from her chair. “Oh no, you don’t.” She picked the cat up and deposited him on the floor.
“Meow!” George glared up at her then trotted off down the hall.
“What’s that on the hutch?” Kristen used her fork to point toward a pile of notebooks and day planners.
“I dug out your father’s planning books for all the Christmas events. Figured it might help you out.”
“It will.” Kristen grabbed them and brought them back to her place at the table. “I didn’t realize he kept such good notes.”
“He did.” Her mother watched her with a sad smile. “That’s how he was. Organized and neat.”
Kristen nodded and swallowed a bite of toast. It still hurt to think about her father and all the Christmases they’d had together. But looking through the books actually helped her to feel closer to him and to carry on his traditions.
“There’s pictures too.” Her mom flipped open a notebook with some photos pasted inside. “This is one of the gingerbread house contests.”
“Oh, and here are some drawings for the skating pond.” Kristen’s father had decorated the pond every year. She remembered him poring over designs. Each year, he’d done something different. Last year, no one had done it, and the skating-pond events had been pretty drab. “I guess I’d better talk to Irene Sanders to let her know we’ll do it this year.” Irene was the head of the Christmas planning committee.
“That’s a good idea. I think you can get the schedule of events from her too. I know you just got here and won’t have much time to settle in, but it’s important for the Woodward Tree Farm to participate in the town events.”
“I know, Mom. That’s why I came. I like to be busy anyway. And don’t worry. I’ll make Dad proud.”
Her mother squeezed her hand. “I know you will, sweetie. Now eat up before your food gets cold.”
Kristen dug in, flipping through the book as she ate. Running the tree farm was different than managing a department like she had before, but she could apply some of the same management techniques even if she was the only one on the team.
Her gaze slid out the window to the overly decorated porch across the street. Managing the tree farm had always been hard work, but now she was up against the new Tinseltown store with its fake trees and a potential problem with their own trees to boot. Even though Ethan had brushed it off as a minor issue, Kristen had sensed that he was more worried than he let on.
She couldn’t let those things get her down though. She’d just have to work extra hard to ensure their success. She didn’t have much of a choice. Everyone was counting on her.
Chapter 5
Irene Sanders’s office was the typical no-frills small-town office… except for all the plants. Spider plants hung from the ceiling, Swedish ivy trailed over the bookcase, and several philodendron dotted the tops of the five metal file cabinets that ran along the wall beside the windows overlooking the snowy town common.
The same old, dark wooden desk and Naugahyde chair had been in the office for decades, much like Irene herself.
“Kristen! I heard you were back in town. How nice!” Irene was in her early sixties, a pleasant-looking woman in a crisp blue blouse and tan slacks. Her shoulder-length gray hair was clipped back, and a navy jacket hung over the back of her chair. “How can I help you?”
Kristen took a breath. “As you know, my dad took part in all the Christmas festivities to help promote the tree farm.”
Irene’s eyes misted with sadness. “Yes, we will miss him. He was always so cheerful and helpful. He did so much for the town, I don’t know how we’ll fill his shoes.”
