Penny kept her gaze on her friend. If everything was fine with Holly and her family, then what was she doing here? Something was up. The muffins, while welcome, were clearly a bribe. Her friend was here with a purpose — leading up to something but hesitant to ask.
Penny would have to prod. As Mom often said:When in doubt, ask. “So what brings you here at this hour of the day?”
“Well,” Holly said, glancing around, as if worried about being overheard. “I’m here because of Daniel, actually.”
Penny’s eyebrows rose. “Daniel Bedford? The author? What about him?”
“I’ve met him.”
“Oh? How?”
“Through Gabe. They’re friends from New York. They worked at the same company after college. We had lunch with him last year when we were down there.”
“That’s great.”
With a touch of nervousness, Holly said, “I suppose you heard about his Christmas article?”
“You mean, the one in which he said Christmas is expensive and boring and needs to be overhauled?”
Holly grimaced. “Yes, that one.”
“The group was barely able to talk about anything else. What in the world was he thinking?”
“I have no idea.”
“He really stepped in it with that essay. Like,reallystepped in it.”
“I agree. Which is why I’m here.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean,” Holly said, taking a deep breath, “I’m here to ask a favor.”
Penny went still. Whatever was coming wasn’t good. Holly’s nervousness and the box of muffins made that clear.
“Daniel has agreed, reluctantly, to take steps to repair the damage he caused.”
“Good for him.”
“He didn’t want to at first.”
“Stubborn, is he?”
Holly sighed. “He really dug in. Basically, his agent and publisher ganged up on him until he agreed to play ball.”
“Which means what, exactly?”
“Well, it means they’ve put together a plan, and they’ve persuaded him to follow it.”
“A plan?”
“Parts of which will be taking place up … here.”
Penny’s eyebrows rose. “Here? In Heartsprings Valley?”
“Yes.”
“But he’s from New York and the newspapers and TV networks are in New York and his publisher and his agent are also, I assume, in New York.”
