Chapter 9
Daniel stood there frozen, his eyes darting to Penny, clearly unsure how to proceed.
Penny blushed as irritation and embarrassment surged through her. “Eva,” she said firmly, determined to put an end to the girl’s matchmaking assault. “Enough. We’re not going there. Asking that question is inappropriate.”
Eva’s eager smile faded. She lowered her phone, guilt flashing through her eyes. “I went too far, didn’t I?”
“You most certainly did.”
“I shouldn’t have gone there?”
“Most definitely not.”
Her lower lip was trembling. “Am I going to be fired?”
“That’s not for me to decide.”
Her anxious gaze shifted to Daniel. “Mr. Bedford, am I going to be fired?”
Daniel regarded her silently for a long moment, his expression unreadable. “No, you’re not.”
Eva’s shoulders relaxed, relief coursing through her. “Oh, thank goodness.”
“Here’s how I see things,” he said, his voice calm and level. “Right now, we’re getting to know each other and figuring out the best way to work together. We’re all here because we have jobs to do, right?”
“Right.”
“How about, going forward, we agree to keep our focus on doing our jobs as best we can?”
“Totally agree, Mr. Bedford,” Eva said. “Totally. Thank you. No more inappropriate questions from me, promise!”
Daniel turned to Penny. “Sound okay to you?”
“Sounds great, thanks,” Penny replied, pleased with how deftly he’d handled the situation. “Glad we’re on the same page.”
He stepped behind the sales counter and picked up a box of apple butters. “Here’s the box we came for. Let’s head back to the house.”
Penny and Eva quickly agreed and he ushered them out the door. After turning off the lights, he locked the door behind him and gestured across the parking lot toward the farmhouse. “Shall we?”
As the trio crunched their way across the gravel, a voice called out, “Hey, Danny!”
Daniel peered in the direction of the big red barn. “Gabe, that you?”
“Someone I want you to meet!”
The trio approached the barn door and peered in. At the far end of the barn, Gabe was standing with a fellow who Penny knew quite well, along with a third visitor who Penny had heard a lot about but had not yet had the pleasure to meet.
“Omigosh,” Eva whispered, then turned to Daniel. “Can we?”
“Of course,” Daniel said. “After you.”
Eva raced ahead, phone out, already filming.
“Danny,” Gabe said as they approached. “I’d like to introduce you to my friend and neighbor, Jeremiah.”
The man standing next to Gabe, a stocky fellow in his late forties with a brown beard and a round face built for smiling, stuck out his hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
Daniel shook Jeremiah’s hand. “Pleased to meet you, too.”
“Jeremiah,” Gabe said, “you know Penny and Eva, right?”
“Oh, of course,” Jeremiah said with a chuckle. “Good to see you both.”
Penny turned to Daniel to explain. “Jeremiah’s wife Nancy works at the bookstore.”
“Ah,” Daniel said.
“Eva,” Jeremiah said, “how’s nursing school?”
“It’s really good, Mr. Johnson,” Eva said as she moved around them, phone in front of her, focused on filming. “It’s hard, but I’m learning tons.”
“What are you doing there with your phone?”
“Mr. Bedford’s publisher hired me to get video of everything Mr. Bedford does during his visit to Heartsprings Valley.”
“Is that so?” Jeremiah said, his eyebrows rising.
“His publisher wants the world to know how much he loves Christmas.”
“Why do they want that?”
“You heard about what he wrote, right?”
Jeremiah shook his head. “What did he write?”
Eva glanced at Daniel. “Oh, gosh. It was, like, an essay? And basically he said that Christmas is … overrated.”
Penny suppressed a smile. Daniel had said a lot more than that in his Christmas essay, but it was interesting to hear Eva’s take.
Gabe jumped in. “Danny’s essay is what I’d call a … critique of the holiday’s commercialization.”
Jeremiah shifted his attention to Daniel. “So you got a few problems with Christmas.”
Daniel shrugged. “A few, yes.”
Jeremiah nodded. “Other folks feel the same, I suppose. Nothing in life is perfect, even the good stuff.”
“Unfortunately,” Gabe continued, “Danny’s essay upset some folks. Which is why he’s up here, discovering how good Christmas can be.”
“Got it. So what’s the program?”
“Well,” Gabe said, “since we’re lucky enough to have you here for tonight’s Wassail, I figured Danny needed to meet our star attraction.”
“Great idea,” Jeremiah said. “Danny, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to Bessie.”
And with that, everyone’s attention shifted to the beautiful gray-white horse standing next to Jeremiah.
Bessie gazed back with gentle eyes. Perhaps realizing that everyone was looking at her, she snorted a friendly greeting.
“Jeremiah lives two farms down,” Gabe said, “and offered to make Bessie available tonight, just like he did for the original Wassail four years ago.”
Penny said, “I’m so glad you brought Bessie. I’ve heard so much about her from Nancy.”
“You’ve never met Bessie?” Jeremiah said, surprised.
“Crazy as it sounds, I haven’t.” She gestured to the horse. “Is it okay if I…?”
Jeremiah smiled. “Of course.”
Penny approached, excitement fluttering through her, and cautiously extended her hand. Bessie leaned forward, gave her a sniff, and snorted a greeting.
“She likes you,” Jeremiah said encouragingly.
Penny stepped closer and stroked the horse’s neck, the soft hair wonderful to the touch. “She’s so beautiful,” she said reverently. “I love horses. I would have given anything to have had one when I was little.”
“Bessie’s about as sweet and gentle as they come.”
“Folks are going to love having her here.”
“Definitely,” Gabe agreed. “Especially when they see what Bessie’s pulling.” He pointed to a spot outside the back of the barn.
Penny inhaled as her gaze landed on a gorgeous, gleaming one-horse open sleigh. Painted a bold red with a row of golden bells draped over the back and an evergreen pattern running along each side, the sleigh looked perfect for a winter holiday ride.
“It’s beautiful,” Penny murmured. “Where did you get it?”
“Estate sale,” Jeremiah said. “An authentic Portland Cutter from the 1890s. I knew I had to get it as soon as I laid eyes on it.”
Penny moved to the sleigh and ran her hand over the bench’s red tufted upholstery. “I assume you fixed it up a bit?”
“I fixed it up a lot,” Jeremiah said with a laugh. “But it was worth it.”
“Danny,” Gabe said, “I figured, as part of your Christmas tour, you’d want to hop in and enjoy a holiday sleigh ride.”
Daniel nodded. “Happy to.”
Jeremiah beamed. “I’ll get Bessie hitched up.”
“Earlier today,” Gabe said as Jeremiah moved the horse into position, “Jeremiah and I packed down snow on a course through the orchard.”
Jeremiah finished buckling the horse in. “Okay, we’re ready.”
“So I should…?” Daniel said, gesturing to the sleigh.
“Yep, step right in.”
Daniel climbed in and sat down. “All right. What’s next?”
“Wait,” Eva said, frowning. “The sleigh is for more than one person, right?”
“Right,” Jeremiah said.
Eva turned to Penny. “You need to get in there with him. It won’t look good if he’s riding alone.”
Penny went still, aware that another meddling attempt might be in progress. “I….”
Eva gestured impatiently. “Up, up, up you go.”
“Are you sure? I —”
“I promise I’m not trying anything. This is about doing the job I was hired to do.” She pointed to her phone. “He needs someone in the sleigh with him. It looks better that way. My only goal is a good shot.”
Penny glanced at Daniel and was surprised to see him gazing at her with an expression of, well, hope.
He held out his hand, his brown eyes alive with anticipation, his smile encouraging. “Shall we?”