Cozy Hometown Christmas, page 9
It didn’t really matter. He couldn’t pursue a bond with Kristen Woodward because he didn’t live in town, and it would be really bad to start something up with the woman who lived across the street from his dad when nothing could come of it.
“How long has your family been here?” Mason gestured toward the house.
“Oh, gosh, over a hundred years. My husband’s great-grandparents started the tree farm,” Dorothy said proudly. “They actually used to own more land, but some was sold off over the generations. We always kept the acreage that grows the trees. Trees are a big part of the Woodward family.”
“There’s nothing like a real tree.” Mason wanted to be diplomatic. “My dad has the artificial ones, but I imagine he won’t sell too many of those. Still, I hope you think his ornaments and lights are a good complement to your gorgeous evergreens.”
Dorothy nodded. “I agree. Maybe we could do some marketing promotions together.”
Kristen frowned. “Aren’t promotions my department?”
Dorothy laughed, and Mason relaxed. He was glad Dorothy was considering working together. It was important for his dad to get along with the Woodwards, and any joint promotions would be good for his business.
Mason stayed long enough to eat another cookie as Dorothy and Kristen told him about the various town holiday festivities.
Finally, he pushed up from the table. “Well, I better get back.”
“Thanks for bringing George home. Kristen, why don’t you walk Mason to the door?” Dorothy took their mugs to the sink.
Mason thought that was a little funny. He could find his own way out. Maybe Dorothy was just being polite. Kristen must have thought so too, because she rose to her feet after casting a strange look at her mother.
She led the way to the front door and leaned against the doorjamb as he stepped out onto the porch.
“That was nice of you to bring George back. Thanks. My mother dotes on that cat.”
Mason turned to face her. He was only a foot away, the first time he’d been this close in the daylight. He noticed how the sunlight turned her eyes to more of a sapphire color and how the cold made her cheeks pink. It was weird because it almost felt like the end of a date. The part where he would kiss her goodnight.
Nope. That was not going to happen. There would be no dates between him and Kristen, so he simply smiled and said, “You’re welcome.” Then he turned and walked back to his house.
Kristen watched Mason walk back across the street. It had been nice of him to return the cat. Her gaze narrowed on the tinsel tree lying on their porch. Had George knocked that over? If so, she was surprised Mason and his father hadn’t just chased the cat off.
Weird, though, that her mom had invited him in for hot cocoa and just happened to have fresh-baked cookies on hand. Then again, her mom was like that. Dorothy loved having people around her kitchen table and feeding them.
Another weird thing: standing in the doorway with him had felt almost like a date. Especially after the previous night at the firepit.
Kristen closed the door, a smile on her face as she remembered how Mason had insisted on following her home in his car even though it was only about a quarter of a mile, and there was never any crime in Pinecone Falls, and they lived across the street from each other anyway.
She got back to the kitchen just as Ethan was coming in through the back door. He narrowed his gaze on the three cookie-crumb-littered plates still on the table and then glanced across the street, where Mason was still on his porch, picking up the tinsel tree.
“Did you have the guy across the street over for cookies?” he asked his mother.
“I was only being polite. He returned George. The cat had been over at his house. Wreaking havoc, probably.”
“So you’re making friends with the enemy.” Ethan grabbed a chocolate chip cookie off the large plate on the counter. It sounded like he was joking but maybe not.
Dorothy turned to look at him. “Well, I wouldn’t exactly classify them as the enemy. I mean, some of the things they sell are complementary to our business. In fact, we were just talking about that.”
“They sell Christmas trees. We sell Christmas trees. Only so many people in town want to buy Christmas trees,” Ethan mumbled through a mouth full of cookie.
Dorothy shrugged. “They have different kinds of trees. Like the silver-tinsel one on the porch. Maybe some people prefer an artificial tree. Some apartments don’t even allow real trees. And some of those artificial trees are nostalgic. I remember when I was a little girl, my parents had a silver tree like that one over there. Of course, once I met your father, I would always have a real tree, but sometimes, I get a longing for the same kind of tree I had as a kid.”
Kristen had never thought about what type of Christmas tree her mom had had as a kid. She’d always assumed that everyone’s Christmases had been just like her own.
Dorothy continued, “Anyway, maybe there’s room for both. All the more reason for us to get our trees out on the lot ASAP.”
Ethan grimaced. “Right. About that. I was just showing Kristen what I’m doing with the trees. They’re not quite ready, but I’m still hopeful they will be in tip-top shape in a few days.”
“And don’t forget about the tree lighting in the town common. Dad always saved the tallest tree for that. People are expecting us to provide that tree.” Dorothy got a misty look in her eyes as if she was remembering Christmases past and the giant tree her husband had always been so proud of.
“Don’t worry, Mom. I know you’re counting on me, and I won’t let you down.” Ethan didn’t sound so sure of himself.
Even George must’ve noticed. He trotted over and started circling Ethan’s ankles.
Kristen expect him to shove the cat away as he had done a few times before, but instead, he bent down and petted him.
“Don’t worry, George. I’ll make sure there are plenty of trees to buy so you can keep getting that expensive cat food Mom likes to spoil you with.”
Chapter 18
Mason was sitting at the table, daydreaming instead of working on the skating-pond plans like he was supposed to be doing, when his phone rang. It was his boss, Brad.
“Hey, Mason, how’s your vacation going?” Brad asked.
“Okay. I’m helping my dad get his store set up, and he’s doing pretty well.” Mason sensed something in Brad’s tone that made him wary.
“Good. Good. There’s a big trade show on the twenty-eighth, and I just wanted to make sure you’d be good to go by then.”
The twenty-eighth? That was just a few days after Christmas, and Mason had planned to be helping his dad with the post-Christmas inventory and restocking. Brad was well aware that setting up for a trade show took several days, and Mason insisted on overseeing all of that. That meant Mason would have to leave right after Christmas to get things ready.
“I don’t know about that. My dad needs a lot of help here still.”
“Well, I did think you were going to come back after Christmas anyway, and this is a very important show.” Brad sounded a bit annoyed.
“Why? What’s going on?” Mason sensed there was more to it.
“Bursting Blooms is going to be there. As you know, we’ve been losing market share to them, especially when it comes to the rosebush formula. I’m going to need my best man there to attract the customers away from their booth and into ours. And you’re my best man,” Brad said, ever the salesman.
Mason sighed. How could he argue with that? He wasn’t really swayed by Brad’s compliment though; he knew he was the best salesman, and he wanted the company to be successful too.
“I guess I can rearrange my schedule…” Normally, Mason would have been excited at the challenge of besting their competitor in the trade show, but the way Brad was pushing and the fact that he was enjoying his time in Pinecone Falls had him thinking otherwise. Come to think of it, he was starting to resent the way Brad couldn’t care less about his personal life, always expecting him to interrupt it with business.
“I knew I could count on you. Let’s not forget, our booth needs to be more attractive than Bursting Blooms’. I’m trying to get some intel on what their booth might look like ahead of time. We might even be able to use that information to figure out how to make theirs less appealing.” Brad lowered his voice. “If you get my drift.”
Was Brad suggesting Mason do something to the competitor’s booth? Hopefully, he just meant that they would beef up their booth after they saw what the competitors had planned. There was no way Mason would tamper with someone else’s booth.
This conversation wasn’t sitting right with Mason. Suddenly, he realized that his job had changed over the last year. Brad had been asking for things that bordered on unethical.
Mason didn’t want to rush out of town right after Christmas. He’d barely have time to go home to his apartment in the city. Funnily enough, he actually hadn’t missed his apartment or the city, with its honking horns, smog, and hustle and bustle. Pinecone Falls had been a nice, relaxing respite from all of that.
“Anyway, I was hoping you could fly in tomorrow so we could discuss it in person.”
“Tomorrow?” Mason was due to hand in the skating-pond plans the day after that, and he still had a lot of work to do. “I’m not sure about that. I’m kind of busy here. Can’t we just discuss it now over the phone?”
“I’d kind of like to talk face to face. It’s just for a couple of hours. I’ll send the limo to your house for pickup and drop-off. There’s plenty of flights, and you can do it in one day. You’ll hardly even know that you were out of town.”
Mason could tell Brad wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “Okay. If it’s that important, I’ll be there.”
“Good man! I knew I could count on you.”
Brad hung up, and Mason stood with the phone in his hand for a few seconds. He could push hard on the skating-pond design and hand it in to Irene early just in case the “afternoon” trip turned into a few days. That way, he wouldn’t risk missing the deadline. But he had to wonder, what did Brad have to say in person that he couldn’t just say over the phone?
If anyone would know what Brad was up to, it would be Ginger. Mason called her.
“Hey, how’s things in Middle-of-Nowhere, Vermont?” she asked.
“Snowy. How are things back at the ranch?”
“You’ll be sorry you asked.”
Mason could hear her chair squeak as she spun around, probably to water one of the many plants she’d overloaded her office with.
“Brad’s up to something, isn’t he?” Mason asked.
“You could say that.” Ginger’s voice was lower, almost a whisper. “Remember how I told you he was getting obsessed with Bursting Blooms the other day? Well, it’s getting worse. He can’t stand that their fertilizer is outselling ours, and of course, it’s all my fault.”
“What? I hope you don’t believe that.” Ginger was about the best agricultural scientist out there. And he wasn’t just saying that because she was his best friend.
“Nah. But you know how he is. I’m working on it, but he’s worried. And you might want to be worried too.”
Apparently, Mason’s instincts had been spot on. Brad was up to something, and Ginger sensed it too. “Why do you say that?”
“He’s getting all worked up about the trade show. I really think he’s going off the deep end. I heard him talking to Stephanie about hanging around outside the Bursting Blooms booth and listening in on what they tell the customers.”
Mason made a face. “Really? That’s a little sketchy.” And totally unnecessary, since just being in the booth next door meant they’d overhear pretty much everything anyway unless they were busy with a customer.
“I know. And I wouldn’t put it past him to try to reverse engineer their formula. Of course, you better not bring any of it to me, because I will not do that. I can make my own great formula. I just need a few more weeks.” Ginger sounded offended. “Anyway, enough about work. How are things going out there?”
Mason had told her about helping his father set up Tinseltown and the various holiday events he was getting involved with. “This town really goes overboard for Christmas. I went on a sleigh ride, if you can believe that.”
Ginger’s heavy sigh echoed through the phone. “It sounds just lovely. I’m jealous.”
Ginger had been rather envious when he’d mentioned he was going to help his father at Pinecone Falls. She loved small towns and Christmas. He’d actually invited her to come out and visit for the holiday. Her only relatives were on an island in the Caribbean, and she never went there for Christmas. She said it ruined the mood. But she’d been reluctant to barge in on Mason and Kent.
“I bet there’s lots of cute deer and wildlife in those gorgeous holly shrubs and majestic pine trees,” Ginger said.
“There is all of that. In fact, that’s actually one of the reasons I’m calling.”
“Really?”
“The Christmas tree farm in town seems to be having some sort of an issue with the pine trees. The needles are really dry. Any idea what might be wrong?” Mason wasn’t really sure why he was asking. He doubted that Kristen would appreciate him talking about it, but he felt a desire to help the Woodward family. Even though they weren’t acting as if anything was wrong, he’d seen the dry pine needles at the wreath-making contest and heard the talk around town. He knew it was none of his business, but if Ginger had a recommendation, maybe he could somehow slip that into his next conversation with Kristen.
“It could be a lot of things. Pine trees can be finicky. It might be too much of one nutrient in the soil or not enough. Can you get me a sample?”
“I’m not sure about that.” There was no way he could ask Kristen or Dorothy for that. “If I did, is there something you could do?”
“I could do some tests and maybe come up with something, but it would be best if I could come out to see them.” Ginger sounded ready to pack her bags.
“I might be able to arrange that. We can talk more tomorrow. Brad’s arranged to fly me in for an emergency meeting.”
“Emergency meeting? That sounds a bit worrisome.”
“I know, and believe me, I am a bit worried.”
Chapter 19
Kristen wasn’t making much progress on the skating-pond plans. She’d gone with a design similar to one her father had used with trees of staggered heights scattered around the pond. She planned to use all silver and white ornaments and white lights. It would be magical. If she actually had trees to put there.
She glanced out the window at Mason’s house across the street. The lights were on in the living room and one of the smaller bedrooms. Through the sheer curtains, she could see someone seated at a desk in one of the rooms.
George hopped up onto the table and batted at one of the colored pencils, watching intently as it rolled to the corner and teetered there. He snaked out his paw and gave it a whack, seeming satisfied when it fell to the floor.
“At least he’s not trying to unravel my scarf.” Her mother stood in the doorway with a sandwich plate in her hand. “I brought you a snack.”
Kristen smiled and patted the couch for her mom to sit down beside her. The family den, with its L-shaped comfy sectional, big-screen TV, and bookcases, was one of Kristen’s favorite rooms in the house. Except tonight. Tonight, she was in here trying to come up with the killer design for the skating pond, but nothing she tried seemed quite right.
She took the plate. It was a peanut-butter-and-red-raspberry-jam sandwich just like the ones her mom used to make for her when she was in school and trying to work out a problem. Apparently, Dorothy had sensed she was having a hard time with the design, even though she’d tried to hide it from her mother.
Dorothy glanced out the window too. “Mason seems like a nice guy.”
Kristen shrugged. She didn’t know why her mother’s approval of Mason made her happy. She didn’t want to admit she was starting to like the guy. They could only ever be friends and maybe even not that if he wasn’t in town that often. “Yeah, I guess not. I still want to win the contest for decorating the skating pond though.”
“I’m sure your design will be the best.” Dorothy tilted her head to look at the plans. “It’s just like one your dad would have made.”
Tears pricked Kristen’s eyes, and she swallowed to keep the emotion out of her voice. “Thanks. I tried. So you really don’t think Tinseltown will hurt our business?”
Dorothy picked up the pencil that George had rolled to the floor and set it next to the others that were lined up on the table. She settled back on the couch. “Not at all. People that want real trees want real trees. And there’s the wreaths and the garland—everyone knows there’s nothing like the scent of real evergreens at Christmas, so those will always be popular. But there might be some people that also want an artificial tree. Some even have two trees in their houses. I think there’s room for both. I think this will be a banner year for us once Ethan solves the tree problem.”
Kristen was encouraged by her mother’s optimism, and she certainly didn’t want to do anything to bring her down, so she pushed aside her worries. “I think so too.”
“I’m really getting into the holiday spirit this year. I wasn’t sure if I would, but you being home helps a lot.” Dorothy’s loving smile warmed Kristen’s heart. “I don’t know if I could go to all the various contests and promotional events for the business. The knitting club is more my style.”
“I’m happy to do it, Mom.”
“Great. Now don’t forget the gingerbread-house-decorating contest is tomorrow. What’s your strategy?”
