“Time to go to work,” he smiled. Then he moved away from her, heading closer to the stage.
Goldie sipped her hot chocolate as the mayor continued his show.
“Dad—make sure Patty’s hand is on the big switch. Now, let’s all count it down together, shall we? Here we go. Three! Two! One!”
The little girl threw the switch, which meant the city engineer watching her threw the real switch. In an instant, the twenty-foot-tall dark shadow of the tree came to life with hundreds of large-bulb multicolored lights. The crowd made a collective “Ooooo,” several flashbulbs popped, and a popular version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” started to play over the PA system. Goldie chuckled, sipped her hot chocolate, and drank everything in like a kid just discovering the North Pole. She let the Christmas bug nip at her toes just like the other tourists. After about a minute, she saw the sheriff moving through the crowd, followed by the two tough-looking men who helped him with the barricade. About ten seconds after this, Peter returned to her and retrieved his hot chocolate.
“I’m sure I could arrange a couple of minutes with our young Switcher of the Tree if you like,” he offered.
“In a minute,” she answered. “Who are those two guys over there with the sheriff?”
He looked in the direction she was pointing, then shrugged. “Tully and Crosby. Tully’s the one with the black hair, Crosby’s got the red hair and mustache. Tully worked in town for a while at a breakfast place, but I don’t think either one lives in town now. They do stuff for my dad.”
“Yeah? What kind of stuff?”
“I’m not sure. But between him being the mayor, president of the historical society, and owning a realty company, he’s got a lot of things going on.”
“I bet,” she agreed, slightly suspicious.
“C’mon,” he said. “I’ll introduce you to Patty.”
Goldie and Peter weaved through the crowd. Peter made the introductions, then Goldie spent a couple of minutes talking to Patty and her father. When she was finished, Charles Banyan came over to her. In the interim, Peter paused to take a photo of the happy faces in the crowd.
“So, Goldie. What do you think?” he asked.
“I gotta admit, Mayor, you throw a heck of a party.”
“And this is just the beginning. You go on and have fun now, and if there’s anything you need, just ask.”
As Banyan stepped away, she was sorely tempted to inquire about the two men Peter identified as Tully and Crosby, but her instincts told her not to. In any event, she noticed that the sheriff was now chatting with visitors some distance away, and the other two were nowhere to be seen.
Before Peter rejoined Goldie, his father caught his eye and subtly gestured to have a private word with him.
“Nice job with the speech,” the younger man began.
“I don’t think what you’re doing with Goldie is a good idea,” his father said flatly.
“What’s that?” Peter asked innocently.
“You know perfectly well what I’m talking about. Coming on to her, walking her home after Thanksgiving dinner, going with her into the mountains to get the tree, taking her out to lunch.”
“How do you know we had lunch?”
“It’s my town, Peter. I know everything. Now you’re sipping hot chocolate with her.”
“Don’t worry. We’re practicing safe sipping,” the younger one joked.
“I mean it,” Charles said seriously. “She could conclude you’re being attentive just because you’re my son and I want a good article out of her.”
“Oh, and shewouldn’tconclude that from the plane tickets, free hotel, meals, and clothing you’re providing?”
“That’s different, and you know it. That’s a business arrangement for the good of the community. A publication like hers expects a certain amount of preferential treatment. What you’re doing is personal.”
“Not as personal as I’d like it to be,” Peter smiled.
“I’m telling you, leave her alone!”
Peter turned and went back to Goldie. As he did, he noticed she’d observed some of the conversation with his father and, even though she was out of earshot, he could tell she knew it was a tense exchange.
