“Yes, thank you, Mayor Thompson,” Ginger said politely, though inwardly, she cringed. She disliked his veiled reminder that her stay here was temporary.
“Glad to hear it!” the mayor said. “Say, I wanted to ask about that special balsam fir you mentioned. I’d love to get a look at that tree.”
Kristen and Mason tensed, avoiding each other’s gaze. There was no special balsam fir.
But Ginger smiled. “How wonderful! That particular tree is being saved for you, Mayor Thompson. We’ll let you know more on Friday.”
“Splendid!” The mayor tipped his hat again. “You folks have a lovely day. And do give my regards to young Ethan!” He strode off, whistling a carol.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Kristen smacked Ginger’s arm. “Are you crazy?” she whispered. “Promising him a tree we don’t even have?”
Ginger winced. “I panicked. I’m sorry! But don’t worry… I have an idea.”
Chapter20
Ethan sat in the living room, petting George, who sat in his lap. “What a mess this is, George.” He sighed. “If we can’t fix those balsam firs…”
Just then, Kristen burst through the door with Mason, snowflakes melting in their hair. They were both grinning, eyes bright. Dorothy came out from the kitchen, carrying a tray of frosted sugar cookies and mugs of hot cocoa.
“Cookies and cocoa, anyone?” Dorothy asked.
Ethan took a snowman cookie and bit off its head, thinking his mother seemed determined to fatten them up for winter.
“Where have you two been off to?” Ethan asked between bites of cookie.
“We took Ginger for a sleigh ride!” Kristen said. She gazed up at Mason adoringly, and Ethan felt a pang of longing for the kind of partnership his sister had found.
“It’s good to see Ginger out enjoying the town, even with her broken leg,” Dorothy said, handing Ethan a mug. “No sense cooping her up in that little cabin! A sleigh ride was perfect.”
“The doctor says she can start using crutches for a few hours soon,” Kristen said. “So maybe you can have your place back again, Ethan!”
Internally, Ethan thought he’d be glad to escape the farmhouse and go back to his cabin. But the idea of Ginger moving out gave him a strange sense of loss he didn’t want to examine too closely.
“You should join them next time, Ethan,” his mother said, handing him a mug of cocoa. “Some fresh air would do you good.”
Ethan frowned at the thought of being a third wheel, though escaping the farm troubles did sound tempting.
The phone rang, and Ethan answered to hear his friend’s grim tone. “Ethan, how’re things over there? I heard you’ve had some… issues with your trees this year?”
“Just a little glitch. Nothing we can’t handle,” Ethan said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt.
“Well, the mayor’s been asking after your balsams,” his friend said. “I can’t stand the guy, so I’ve been putting him off. But, Ethan… is everything really all right?”
“Don’t worry. We have it under control,” Ethan assured him. “I’ll let you know if that changes.”
After hanging up, he noticed Kristen and Mason’s smiles had faded. “What is it?”
Kristen winced. “We ran into the mayor in town, and he asked about that ‘special’ balsam fir Ginger mentioned…” Kristen told him about Ginger promising the mayor their best balsam fir.
Ethan rubbed his forehead, feeling a stress headache coming on. Though part of him wanted to groan at Ginger’s quick promise, he knew Kristen was right—the mayor had put her on the spot. And really, what else could she have said?
“Ginger made a concoction that we hope will fix things, and we applied it last night,” Ethan said. “I guess now we’ll see if it worked.”
“I sure hope so,” Kristen said. “For Ginger’s sake.”
“Be optimistic!” Dorothy said. “Things have a way of working themselves out.”
Ethan nodded, hoping his mother was right. The future of their farm rested on those balsams making a turnaround.
