Page 81 of Holly and Ivar
“The trail?”
“No,” Holly said gently.“The land and your absence from it.Your property is… special.This might sound strange, but hear me out.One of your relatives, Cornelius Hale, discovered how special it was and vowed to protect it.I don’t know how to explain this exactly, but Cornelius could feel the land.It has a rhythm, and I think that sensitivity to it runs in your family.”
Chad scoffed.“Who do you and Ivar think you are?”
“What do you mean?”Rowan asked.
“She’s trying to trick you, the way Ivar tried to trick me last night,” Chad said, though the color had drained from his face.
“Trick you?”
“Yes.”He leaned across the table toward his sister.“He kept trying to convince me that the forest was warning me of danger.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”Rowan asked.
Chad exhaled, his voice quieting.“He knew about something that happened when I was a kid.Something no one should have known.I was playing in the forest, and something scared me.Ivar said the forest was protecting me from danger.Not trying to frighten me.It sounds insane, but he described everything right down to the color of my boots.”
“So someone lives in our forest?”Rowan asked.
“No,” Holly said softly.“It was the forest.”
Rowan frowned.“I still don’t understand.”
“Start by reading Cornelius Hale’s journals,” Holly said.“After that, either Ivar or I can answer your questions.Our families are connected, and one day, I’d like to tell you the full story.”
“Okay, I guess,” Rowan said, who was clearly still processing.
“There’s one more thing,” Holly added.“And maybe this is just small-town intuition”—she smiled, borrowing Liv’s phrase—“but you both belong here.Chad, you mocked that hometown feeling because you never really had it.Now’s your chance.Stay in Winterwood for a while.Explore your family’s past.Reconnect with the town, and especially with each other.Maybe that’s the project that brings you closer.”
“You know, you and Ivar are something else,” Chad said to her, but there was no anger in his voice.
“Oh, you have no idea.”Holly stood, pushing in her chair.
Rowan reached for her hand.“Thank you for this.”
Holly squeezed Rowan’s hand back, hoping she’d made a difference.“You’re welcome.”
As she turned to leave, she used a bit of Santa magic so that, when Rowan and Chad glanced down at their lattes, the foam now held the faint outline of the Yule Tree.She hoped it would leave them in wonder and somehow serve as a reminder of what mattered most.
***
When she stepped through the inn’s front door, she was feeling a little lighter.She hadn’t solved Rowan and Chad’s problems, but maybe she’d given them a nudge in the right direction.
To her surprise, Liv was waiting with a mischievous grin and an armful of sweaters.
“Holly Kringle,” she declared, “you cannot attend the Winterwood Carnival Dance without proper Christmas attire.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, Christmas sweaters are a must tonight.It’s tradition.So, you’re borrowing one of these.”
Holly looked over the selection.One was embellished with a moose tangled in lights, another with a grinning Santa that saidSleigh All Day.She couldn’t picture herself in either.If she had to wear a novelty shirt, she at least wanted one Ivar would appreciate.
“Oh,” she said suddenly.“I’ve got it.”
“You have one?”Liv asked.
“I do.”Or she would by tonight.
