The Inn at Evergreen Hollow (Evergreen Hollow Christmas #1)

Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

It only took a couple of days after getting back to Evergreen Hollow for Nora to remember just how little there was to do in town. She’d stopped in at the grocery store and The Mellow Mug and the bookstore over the last few days, making the rounds as she tried not to be bored already, and all anyone could talk about was the festival. The ladies ahead of her in the grocery checkout line, a couple of girls looking through romance novels at the bookshop—even every single customer that stopped in at the Mug while Nora was having her coffee talked about it. She thought, wryly, that it was the most exciting thing in town. One event, once a year, and the whole place orbited around it.

She’d planned to go to the grocery store to pick up a few more things for her mother—Rhonda still wouldn’t let her do much to help out around the inn, but she could at least do that—and figured she would make a stop at Sugar Maple general store to see about grabbing a scarf. There wasn’t anything in the way of actual clothing stores in town, and the general store was her best bet. She’d forgotten how chilly it could get, walking around everywhere. In Boston she would have taken her car, but she didn’t have any means of transportation staying in Evergreen Hollow. The only option would have been her dad’s old truck, and there wasn’t a chance she could drive that. For one thing, she’d long forgotten how to drive a stick shift, and even if she could remember, she didn’t trust it in the snow.

There was a certain charm to Evergreen Hollow, she had to admit. Especially this time of year, all the rustic wooden buildings were covered with a frosting of snow, icicles hanging down off of some of the gables, the cobblestone paths cleared off neatly so that the remainder of the snow rose in drifts on either side. Without many cars in town, the snow stayed more pristine, so it didn’t get filthy and slushy the way it quickly did downtown in Boston. The town center of Evergreen Hollow could have been plucked out of a postcard.

Nora tucked her gloved hands into her wool peacoat, trying to ignore the few glances she saw tossed her way here and there. Everyone knew and remembered her, so no one said anything rude to her face, but she felt that she knew what they were thinking. She stood out, like varnish on old wood, and she couldn’t help it. Back home, her outfit would have been elegantly casual, but here it was blatantly overdone. Her clothes looked expensive, her hair too neat, and she knew she was out of place. It made her wonder every day if she should have just holed up in her apartment for the season.

Rob still hadn’t called or texted. She’d given up checking every morning, first thing, to see if he had. There was no point in it, and it just made her feel bad, seeing how easily he’d cut her out of his life. He hadn’t run back home with his tail tucked between his legs, seeking out some crumb of nostalgia to try and tape his heart back together. He was probably back from his work trip, and she winced as she walked into the Sugar Maple general store, trying not to wonder if Julie was there with him. That wasn’t a line of thinking that would make any of it better.

She waved to Leon, the owner, as she walked in. He was behind the counter, a Styrofoam container with a slice of lasagna and a salad in front of him, and he held up a hand in return greeting as Nora walked to the back. There was a shelf with folded scarves on it, in between a counter with baskets of handmade soap and a display of makeup, and Nora looked through them, trying to find something she would like. They were all handmade, soft angora and wool, but most of them were brightly colored. Other than a few jewel-toned items, most of her wardrobe was neutrals, and she winced as she looked past a stack that was entirely oranges and yellows.

“See anything you like?”

Nora jumped as she heard Bethany’s voice behind her, and quickly turned. “Bethany! I thought you’d be at work.”

“I closed up a little early today—no clients scheduled, and I figured any walk-ins can wait until tomorrow. Thought Leon and I could have a late lunch.” She stepped back, appraising Nora. “I’m so glad to see you! I’d heard you were back, but I hadn’t seen you yet. Leon!” She turned, shouting toward where her husband was sitting. “Did you see Nora’s back in town?”

“I waved to her when she came in.” Leon waved again, and Nora couldn’t help but smile. The homeliness of the town grated on her sometimes, but it was impossible not to like Leon and his wife.

“I’m headed over to Meg’s house,” Bethany continued. “Meg Lawrence. You remember her?”

Nora nodded. She remembered vaguely, and she figured that was good enough.

“That’s the other reason I closed up early, other than grabbing a bite with my old man. There’s a planning meeting tonight for the festival. Normally we’d have it at the event center, but the men are still working on getting it fixed up after that storm. Rhonda told you about that, right?”

Nora nodded again. Rhonda had mentioned it—a freak snowstorm that had swept through right after Thanksgiving. She vaguely remembered her mother leaving her a message, letting her know the inn had mostly been unscathed. She felt a flicker of guilt, remembering how long it had taken her to call back.

But she and Rob had just gotten back from visiting his family for Thanksgiving, and she’d had a pile of work, and…

She quickly shoved down the thought of Rob, and focused on what Bethany was saying.

“Anyway, those repairs should be done soon. They’ve been making great progress. And we need to get started planning! So we’re doing it at Meg’s tonight.” Bethany paused. “Want to come along?”

Nora wasn’t sure if she did, but there wasn’t anything else to do. Caroline had been particularly prickly earlier that day, and she thought that the two of them could still use some space from each other. Hanging around the inn would only invite more criticism—too much time alone in her room, too much time not engaging with the guests, or whatever else Caroline thought that she was doing wrong.

“Sure,” Nora said, snagging a navy-blue angora scarf off of the shelf. “Why not?”

She went up to the counter, handing Leon her credit card as she wound the scarf around her neck and tucked it into the collar of her coat. It was soft and warm, and she thought that it would be nice to have after she went back to Boston. A little reminder of home.

Bethany’s car was parked behind the store, and Nora breathed a sigh of relief as she followed Bethany out. She slipped into the passenger side, not at all surprised when Christmas music flooded the car as soon as Bethany started it up. She didn’t object, watching the town slide by as Bethany drove.

It wasn’t far to Meg’s, which was a gabled two-story brick house with an attic and a porch wrapped around it. There were several other cars out front, and Bethany parked behind a big truck, getting a bag of takeout from the grill as Nora slipped out. She followed her up the stairs, dusting her boots off as she stepped inside.

Nora was pretty sure half the women from the town, if not more, were gathered in Meg’s living room. It was a cozy spread—a bowl of spinach dip and crostini sitting on the coffee table side by side with a plate of meat and cheese, and another bowl of what looked like taco dip with tortilla chips next to it. She heard a few of the women exclaim happily when they saw that Bethany had brought takeout, and Nora stood back, shrugging off her coat and hanging it up as Bethany walked past her.

She felt a twist of anxiety in her stomach. Everyone would remember her, and she felt sure that they’d have opinions about her, where she’d been the last several years and what she did, even if they didn’t voice them aloud. All the same, she went into the living room, thankfully spotting an unoccupied armchair that would let her sit on her own and listen while everyone else chatted over appetizers and wine.

“Nora!” Valerie, one of the women she remembered, smiled brightly as Nora walked in. “It’s so good to see you. I heard you were back in town.”

I think everyone has, by now, Nora thought, but she smiled in return, hoping that everyone had the same bright view of her return. “I’m glad to be back. I just thought I’d make the trip for the holidays.”

“Well, we’re certainly glad you’re here.” Meg smiled at her as well, and there was a general murmur of assent around the room, everyone agreeing how glad they were to see her back. Nora hoped it was all genuine.

Bethany returned, an aluminum roasting pan full of takeout white chicken casserole in her hands, and she set it on the table with a spatula and paper plates. “Jonathan said this was the best one yet,” she said, cutting herself a piece and adding some spinach dip to the plate as she sat down. “He added green chiles, said it gave it a little kick.”

Nora’s stomach grumbled, and she got up, going to get a little of the food as well. She was sure that she’d have to get new jeans from the general store if she wasn’t careful—she hadn’t eaten so much rich food for every meal in years—and the thought made her go easy on the casserole. All the food was so good though, and at least she no longer had to worry about picking out a wedding dress in the spring.

The thought didn’t sting quite as much as it had before, and she hoped that meant she was coming to terms with the idea. She’d been excited about planning her own wedding. But surely it would be better, in the future, with a groom who was excited about it too.

Maybe that should go on my checklist, she thought as she sat back down. A fiancé who actually cares about our wedding.

“Who do we have for decorations?” one of the women asked, and Meg raised her hand.

“I still have some packed away from previous festivals, and Bethany does too. No reason to let them go to waste. But I know Valerie’s daughter is looking to be a florist. Maybe she can make some of the arrangements. Blake can get us a fresh tree. We’ll set that up in the middle of the event center, like always. And there are some garlands from the Winter Wonderland dance.”

“We’ll have the grill do the catering,” Bethany added. “Jonathan is working on the menu. He’s a little behind on it, with how busy things have been at the restaurant, but he’ll pull it together marvelously. He always does.”

“For music, the school band will play like they always do. It’s such a nice opportunity for the kids,” Meg added. “And as far as booths, we’re looking through all the applications now.”

Nora tried to keep the expression on her face blank, picking at her casserole. Her mind was already spinning, going through all the things that she would do if she were handling the event planning.

It was a nice idea to let Valerie’s daughter practice floral arrangements, but if they didn’t come out the way the others wanted, it would be too late to have a professional do it without an outrageous cost. Recycling decorations was a nice idea in theory, but she couldn’t help thinking that it was a part of the reason the festival always seemed a little outdated and tacky, and the catering made her wince.

She’d only needed to go to the grill once to know that while it was a good place to eat, it didn’t have the staff to handle an event of this size. Marie’s would have been a better choice, since it didn’t stay as busy as Rockridge Grill, but even they probably weren’t as equipped as they should be. Getting an actual catering service would have made more sense to her, and been more efficient, with no chance of running out of items or missing anything for the big day.

There was a reason why there were professional services for this kind of thing, Nora thought. Yes, they were more expensive, and they didn’t have the rustic touch of everyone in the town chipping in, but it made sure that everything ran smoothly, that everyone got exactly what they wanted, and the vision of the organizers was created flawlessly.

But this wasn’t her festival, and she hadn’t been put in charge. So she politely kept quiet instead, taking another bite of her casserole as she listened.

“Getting the grill to cater this year was my idea.” Sabrina Burns spoke up then, pushing her glasses up her nose. Nora recognized her as the owner of the newspaper in town, the Evergreen Hollow Gazette . Nora remembered her as someone with a lot of opinions, and she usually didn’t like having them argued with. She was nice enough, but Nora remembered that she also liked to pick things apart until they were to her liking.

Probably for the best, then, that she’d decided not to speak up.

“And recycling the decorations. Good for the planet, and all of that.” Sabrina beamed. “I think we’ll have the best festival yet. I intend to make sure of it.”

Nora smiled as a couple of the women glanced her way, nodding along. No one had asked for her opinion, so she thought it was probably better if she didn’t give it. But she saw Bethany glance over as well, her face brightening as if she’d suddenly remembered something.

“Nora works in event planning,” Bethany said, sitting up a little straighter and leaning forward. “I imagine she must have some great ideas. What do you think of the planning so far, Nora?”

Oh no. I’m not getting dragged into this. She had thoughts, but they were all going to be stonewalled by the fact that a festival in Evergreen Hollow was never going to be like an event in Boston. She was here on vacation, not work, and especially not to work on something that would resist any kind of change.

“I think it’s all great,” she said, as gently and sincerely as she could manage. But from the looks that flickered over a few faces, she thought she might not have concealed her reservations as well as she thought she had.

Sabrina sniffed, looking slightly annoyed. “Are you sure?” She looked at Nora, raising an eyebrow. “Is it up to the Boston standard?”

It was clear that she was trying to sound playful, but Nora could hear the offense in her voice. Maybe it was because she heard it so often in Caroline’s, but she knew she wasn’t mistaking it. Sabrina had clearly come up with a lot of what was being planned, and she clearly didn’t appreciate Nora not being as enthusiastic as the others.

It was easier to shrug off than Caroline’s disapproval though. She didn’t know Sabrina all that well, and it was easier not to take to heart. Nora just smiled, taking another bite of her casserole, and stayed quiet. It only took a moment for Sabrina to go back to the conversation, although her tone was still slightly peeved.

Nora stayed quiet for the rest of the meeting, trying to just enjoy being around the other women she used to know. She found herself relaxing a little, the friendly atmosphere reminding her of the parts of living here that she had liked. It could be suffocating sometimes, with everyone knowing each other and so much about everyone else’s business, but there were good parts too.

She just didn’t think she could ever do it again. She’d always felt on the outside, looking in, and nothing about that had changed.

Coming home for the holidays was one thing. Staying was entirely another. And by the time the meeting was finished and she went to get her coat, she was ready to retreat back to the inn.

The festival would go off exactly as the residents of Evergreen Hollow planned it. And, since she was no longer one of those residents, Nora saw no reason to involve herself in the planning more than necessary.

It wasn’t as if they really needed her anyway.