The boy’s face lit up.
Gabe returned to the living room with mugs of coffee, cream, and sugar on a tray, which he set on the coffee table. “Joshua, your banana and juice are in the kitchen.” The boy clambered off the sofa and raced into the kitchen while Gabe set his phone on the coffee table. “Dialing now. I’ll get the pie.”
After a ring, a familiar voice with an English accent said, “Good afternoon, Gabriel!”
“Afternoon, Nigel,” Gabe said from the kitchen. “Can you hear me okay? You’re on speaker with Daniel and Penny.”
“I hear you perfectly,” Nigel said, his crisp voice coming through loud and clear. “Any troubles on your long journey north, Daniel? I hope the drive wasn’t too arduous?”
“All good,” Daniel said. “The drive was smooth.”
“Hmm,” Nigel said, not sounding convinced. “Well, what matters is that you reached that remote outpost safe and sound, without incident. Penny, thank you for joining Daniel and Gabriel today.”
“Of course.”
“Let’s review what’s already on the schedule. First up is tomorrow’s Wassail event. Gabriel, my team is busy lining up social media support. We’ll let you know as soon as we lock that down.”
“Great,” Gabe said as he returned with plates of apple pie for Penny and Daniel.
Penny brought the pie to her nose, loving the smell. “So, Nigel,” she said as she dug in for her first bite, “when you say you’re lining up social media support, what do you mean?”
“Video, mostly. We’re looking for a local who knows how to use their phone to shoot video.”
“You’re hiring someone to film Daniel at the Wassail event?”
“Oh, yes. Daniel has traveled to your charming hamlet to immerse himself in holiday activities and discover the truemeaning of Christmas. The world needs to know that. Every activity he’s part of will be filmed.”
“I suppose I should have realized that social media would be part of your planning, but….”
“Are you worried about being filmed?”
“Well, not really, but….”
“Fear not,” he said. “My team will ensure that everyone who appears in the videos — you included — is shown in a positive light.”
“Thank you.”
“Now,” Nigel said, “next on the schedule, after the Wassail, is an afternoon of Christmas tree cutting at Abner’s Tree Farm, followed by tree decorating at the Heartsprings Valley Cafe. Gabriel, where are we on that?”
“At the cafe, Holly has cleared a space for a second tree.”
“And the tree farm?”
“You said your team was going to call Abner and let him know you’re coming.”
“Ah, yes, that’s right,” Nigel said. “I spoke with the fellow myself. Not very talkative, I must say. After offering him a detailed explanation of what we’re planning, all he said in reply was, and I quote, ‘You want a Christmas tree, we got one for you.’”
“Sounds like Abner.”
“Which brings us to the final event currently on the schedule —a book signing and press event at The Tattered Page.”
Penny swallowed a bite of pie and said, “We do readings and signings often, so the event won’t be anything out of the ordinary for us. If you let me know the day before how many reporters and cameras we can expect, I’ll make sure we have everything set up properly.”
“Thank you, Penny,” Nigel said. “We’ll be sure to do that.” After a brief pause, he added, “Daniel, you’re being rather quiet.”
All eyes swung to Daniel. He’d been leaning back on the sofa, listening intently, his expression hard to read. There seemed to be a reserve, a hesitation, in his manner.
“Everything you’re setting up sounds good,” he said. “As promised, I’m here to fulfill my part of the bargain.”
