Page 19 of Under the Mistletoe
Devin smiled as she brushed away a tear that escaped. “I read that on a fan board. The first chapter’s supposed to drop Thursday. But unfortunately, my problem is bigger than fiction. The board at LIFE might shut down the program here on the west side of the state.”
All humor dropped from Hannah’s face. “Oh, that’s serious. But you said ‘might.’ So there is a chance they won’t?”
“They aren’t happy with the response we’re getting. But my boss thinks if I can show growth by their next board meeting, then it could help, but that would take more activities. I brainstormed a bunch, but how am I going to pull them all off before Christmas? I’m only one person. And more activities alone won’t solve the involvement problem, so they also want me to visit every family door-to-door to personally invite them.”
“That doesn’t sound like a good idea.”
“Exactly.” Devin sank into a lobby chair and covered her hands with her face. “I don’t know how I can pull this off, but if I don’t”—she glanced at Roman chasing Joseph around—“they’ll end the program and send my job back to Detroit.”
“That’s a lot.” Hannah dropped into the chair next to her with a thud, her brow knit. “So you need events and help. You’re in luck. That’s my specialty. What events did you come up with so far?”
Devin pulled out the list she’d started on the back of an envelope and handed it to Hannah.
Hannah scanned the paper, then pointed to one of the items. “I bet you could do the ice skating at the Mathewses’ pond. They have people there all the time. It wouldn’t take a lot of planning, so you could do that first.” She glanced up at Olivia and Pastor Nate, who were walking by. “Olivia, is your parents’ pond frozen over yet?”
“Yup.” Nate brushed back his dark hair, then gathered his daughter Charis in his arms. The girl wore a Christmas dress and pigtails the same white-blonde as Olivia. “We were playing hockey on it yesterday.”
“What’s going on?” Olivia stepped closer with baby Talia in her arms. She wore a sweater and a maxi skirt that made her look even taller than her nearly six-foot height.
Hannah caught them both up to speed, then handed Olivia the list as Luke, Logan, and Libby’s family wandered over to join them. Logan wore a gray button-up today. He’d paired it with jeans, obviously committed to the no-dressing-up rule, but goodness if he didn’t look good. It took all her strength not to stare at him holding Sophie, who kept bouncing and saying, “Up.”
Olivia’s finger paused on the paper. “I bet Fallon James would host the stocking decorating event at the Sugar Shack at the tree farm.”
Devin’s head jerked back to the girls. “I couldn’t ask her to?—”
“Nonsense, she’d love it.” Hannah leaned over Olivia’s shoulder and tapped at the paper.
“And Cole would probably even dress up like Santa.”
“That would be perfect.” Libby claimed the list and scanned it. “I bet you could have the gingerbread house event at the community center. And we could all come help, but how will you make it work for that many kids?”
Devin took in the ladies all crowded around. “I looked up ideas on Pinterest. If I have a preassembled house for each of the kids, then all they have to do is add the candy. It seemed pretty easy and fun.”
“That just leaves the live Nativity.” Devin reclaimed her list as she scanned the group, briefly stopping on Logan, but he didn’t seem to be paying attention. “But that might be a long shot. I’m not sure where the closest petting farm is.”
“Let me put you in touch with the Millers.” Austin stepped into the conversation. “Mrs. Miller buys a lot of flowers from my greenhouse every year for her porch. They have a farm not too far from here. They might be open to helping.”
“And you can add the Christmas Adam dance. It’s a town event but still fun, and kids love it.” Olivia pulled out her phone and started typing on it. “I’ll talk to my parents about the skating party.”
“Did you say Adam dance? Adam who?” Devin paused writing and looked up.
“Christmas Eve is December twenty-fourth,” Hannah began.
“And Adam comes before Eve,” Asher jumped in. “December twenty-third.”
Austin rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “As a transplant like yourself, I just chalk it up to a Heritage quirk, like the mysterious moving Otis. Don’t try and understand it—just go with it. You’ll learn to love it.”
“I think you mean Heritage perk.” Olivia wagged her finger at him.
“Of course.” He set his squirming daughter down.
“And I can reach out to Fallon.” Hannah pulled out her phone. “Her stepson, Zane, is friends with Jimmy.”
“That leaves me with the gingerbread event.” Libby made a note in her calendar.
When Hannah said she wasn’t alone in Heritage, she was right. It was amazing if not a bit overwhelming. “You all really want to help?”
“Why not?” Hannah’s hand landed on her shoulder. “We want you to stay. You are making a huge difference here, and even if we weren’t all benefiting from the program, we care about you, Devin. So, we care about what matters to you. Life together, remember.”
