Page 20 of Mistletoe Sky
“She’s probably falling in love with it!” Gavin said. “Just like me. Ah, but she’s a city girl, isn’t she? You could never keep her in a place like this for long.”
Brian and Hannah exchanged glances. Willa thought she was going to melt on the spot.
“Are you a city girl?” Hannah asked, cocking her head.
Willa forced a soft smile. “I was raised in a small town. Gavin doesn’t know that. But I understand the dynamics better than most. How cozy it can be. How everyone knows each other.” She paused for a moment and narrowed her eyes. “How everyone gets in each other’s business.”
Gavin belted out laughter that the others at the table joined in on.
“Isn’t it nice, knowing people are looking out for you?” Hannah said.
“It is!” Gavin cried, giving Willa a look that meantWhat was that about?
Willa filled her mouth with tea and told herself to focus. She couldn’t give in to Hannah’s bait. She was a professional. She’d come here to do a job and get out of Dodge. But when she looked back down at her notes for Christmas commercial locations and story ideas, she stalled. Everything she’d written suddenly seemed so stupid, so uninspired. Hannah, Brian, and the other islanders had come to this meeting to see Willa again—after decades—and hear what they assumed to be genius pitches. But these pitches were far from genius.
Willa faltered. Before she knew what she’d done, she opened her mouth and said, “The Isaacson stables.” Oh no! She’d really done it now.
But Hannah and the rest of the committee leaned forward, furrowing their brows, tapping their pens on the edge of the table.
“What about them?” Brian finally asked.
“You’ve lived on this island for generations,” Willa said, gaining traction. “You’ve probably forgotten to question the fact that we—I mean, the island, still uses horses as a means of transport. We use horse, buggy, and a bike. It’s something incredibly specific about this place. And the island wouldn’t enjoy the ease of transportation that it does without the Isaacson stables. As far as I remember from my research, they have hundreds of horses up there. Many, many carriages. And it’s always decorated so beautifully around Christmas time, misty and stunning with the woods and the view of the lake just beyond.” Willa spread her hands out in front of her, visualizing the commercial for the first time. “That’s the first commercial. Picture it. One of the Isaacsons gets up before the crack of dawn, puts on his boots, and goes into the stables to prep the horses. We show every step: the gleam of the horses as they’re prepped for a hard day of work, the feeding, the polishing of equipment. And after that, we watch Mr. Isaacson draw his horse andbuggy out of the stables and into Mackinac Island’s gorgeous downtown, fully decorated for Christmas. We’ll use a tagline then. Something like: Magic Awaits on Mackinac.”
Everyone at the table was quiet, captivated. Even Gavin’s face was screwed up, as though he were still processing what she’d said. Willa’s heart raced. It was strange, coming up with an idea on the spot like that. But she could feel it in the air that they were pleased.
Hannah placed the tip of her finger on the table and said, “That’s exactly the kind of thing we’re looking for. That’s exactly what we wanted the famous Willa Caraway to bring to the table.”
Brian and the others in the committee clapped gently and raised their glasses of water or soda. Gavin was terribly pleased. He looked like he wanted to jump over the table and kiss her.
“I think we’d better get Marius on the phone pronto,” Hannah said, searching through her bag until she found her cell. “They’re always so busy up there this time of year. But I know he wants to help the island as best as he can.” Before she dialed, she glanced back up at Willa and asked, “You haven’t met him, have you? Marius Isaacson?”
Willa’s stomach thrashed. A small smile fluttered over Hannah’s lips. Before Willa could come up with an answer, Hannah had Marius on the phone. Gavin waved the server over, asking for another of his whiskey cocktails, prepared to enjoy the luxurious advertising life he felt sure everyone wanted. Willa gathered her notes and stuffed them in her bag.
“You’re saying you could meet with the director tomorrow afternoon?” Hannah asked, her eyebrows raised. “That’s wonderful. Ms. Caraway, how does two o’clock tomorrow sound?”
Willa nodded. “It’s perfect.”
“Two o’clock tomorrow it is, Marius,” Hannah said, smiling wider. “She’ll see you there.” She paused, wetting her lips.
When Hannah got off the phone, Willa flinched with alarm. “You won’t be joining us tomorrow?”
Hannah gave Willa a look of mock surprise. “Tomorrow I have to be at the dress shop, and Brian’s going to the mainland for supplies.”
The rest of the Christmas Festival Committee had plans as well—many of them Christmas Festival-related and terribly important.
“It’s coming up!” Hannah reminded them all, dropping cash on the table for the server and getting up. “I’d better get back to the store. Gavin, it was a pleasure to meet you in person. And Willa…” She looked Willa up and down.
Willa felt on display. She stood and drew her coat over her shoulders.
“It’s wonderful to welcome you to Mackinac Island,” Hannah said, her tone almost icy. “I bet you never imagined yourself here, did you?”
Willa took a breath. She had a flashing memory of running past Hannah’s dress shop in her Halloween costume—something princess-themed—and calling out, “Hannah! Hannah, come look!” Hannah and Brian hadn’t had children of their own, but they’d adored Willa and Amelie. They’d called them the princesses of Mackinac Island. Amelie hadn’t wanted to be a princess, but Willa had.
“Good luck with Mr. Isaacson tomorrow,” Hannah said. “Gavin, will you be sticking around for long?”
Gavin said he was already going out of town. He wanted to swing by and make sure everything was off to a good start for Willa and the Christmas Festival Committee, but he was needed elsewhere.
“You’re a busy man,” Hannah said. “We respect that around here.”
