Page 48 of Holly and Ivar
Rita: Chad and Rowan Hale.Parents passed away young (car accident).Kids grew up in boarding schools.No hometown.No community roots.Rowan spent several summers in Winterwood with her aunt.Chad (seven years older) didn’t.Spent summers at camps: sailing, hockey, horseback riding, etc.Betty Hale lived there all her life.Married once, but widowed at a young age.No children.Land goes back generations.
“So,” Ivar said as Holly climbed into his truck.“How did it go?”
She handed him the brochures.
He whistled.“This is bigger than we thought.He doesn’t care if the whole valley gets clear-cut.”
Holly nodded.“No.But Rowan might.She’s not as sold on this.And, this is going to sound weird, but Chad seems to hate the forest on a personal level.I also received some information from Rita.”She explained the Hale’s background.
He glanced at her.“What are you thinking?”
She smiled slowly.“We make them care.We show them what they’ve never had.”
“You mean a hometown?Community?”
“Exactly.”
“And you think that will be enough?”
“It’s a start.”
Ivar gave a dry chuckle.“You’re planning to save the forestandpull off a Christmas movie arc with them?”
“You say that like it’s hard.Remember, I’m a Kringle.But we will need help.”
“And who would that be?”
She gave him a grin.“Why, the Christmas Carnival Committee, of course.”
He shook his head.“You really are going to Christmas-movie the heck out of this thing, aren’t you?And before you say anything, yes, I know.You’re a Kringle.”
26
santa's little plan
Ivar
Marty,Tess’sbrother,ledHolly and Ivar to the brewery’s backroom.“Right back with a stout and a cider,” he said, already disappearing through the swinging doors.
Ivar noticed that the room buzzed with the quiet ease of friends who’d known one another forever.His sister was hunched over a stack of Carnival flyers, muttering about printer ink.Tess perched on a keg, twisting a candy cane between her fingers like a wand.Emma leaned against the wall beside the coat rack, scarf still around her neck, cheeks pink from the cold.
“Look at you,” Tess said, grinning at Holly.“Already in your unofficial Winterwood uniform of flannel shirt, sweater, and snow boots.”
“Just trying to blend in,” Holly joked.
“Good luck with that,” Emma teased.“You’ve got ‘project manager’ written all over you.”
Liv smiled without looking up.“If she’s volunteering for the Carnival, I’ll take her.”
“So what’s this all about?”Marty asked, placing the drinks on the table.“We’re busy tonight.I don’t have much time to spare.”
“Well, then.Let’s get down to business,” Ivar said, setting the brochures on the table.“It’s about Chad Hale’s proposed development.”
Word had spread quickly that he wanted to build a resort, but even the most pessimistic among them would not have anticipated how severely the Hale project would change the landscape.
“Surely this would never clear the environmental assessment,” Tess said.
Ivar glanced at Holly.“We have people looking into it, but don’t forget, they do too.Same with road capacity, electricity usage, water requirements.You name it, we’ve got someone working on it.”Sure, they were at some mysterious hidden village somewhere in the world, but he’d keep that between him and Holly.
