Haley sat down on her bed. “Mom, what is it? Is it Dad? Are you okay?”
Haley’s mom looked guilty. “Honey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Your dad and I . . . we’re fine. It’s the house . . .”
Haley groaned. “The Money Pit?”
“The Victorian,” her mother corrected her. “We had some pipes freeze and burst and now we’re trying to find a plumber because we already have some flooding that’s freezing. We need to get someone out here right away, and our usual guy is out of town and so is our backup guy. Then your dad remembered that friend of yours, that helped us last summer . . .”
“Michael?”
“Yes! Michael, that was his name. Do you think you could call him and see if he’s available to help us. We need to get someone out here right away. It’s supposed to get even colder tonight, and we don’t want any more pipes to burst.”
Haley started pacing around her room, “Michael’s in Florida right now, but I’ll see if he can recommend someone else.”
Haley’s mom looked relieved. “Honey, that would be wonderful. I hate to bother you when I know how busy you are with work. We just didn’t know what else to do . . .”
“It’s okay, Mom. I’ll get on it right now, and I’ll call you back as soon as I find someone. You have the keys to my place, right? You can just stay there if you need to.”
“We have them. Thank you. So, maybe we’ll see you tonight . . .”
“I’m actually not there right now. I’m up in the mountains . . .”
“With a client?”
Haley looked at the angel picture hanging over her dresser. “Not exactly, but I’m here hoping to land a new client. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back. I gotta go make some calls for you. I’ll call you back as soon as I can.”
“Thank you, honey. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Mom.”
As soon as Haley hung up, she called her friend Michael, praying he could help.
AN HOUR LATER, when Haley walked into the kitchen, the only thing she was wearing that was her own was her designer jeans. Everything else, all of it red, was what Jeff had loaned her.
When Laura saw her, she nodded her approval. “It looks like everything fits.”
Haley quickly modeled her outfit. “It does. Thank you again. This is great. So much better than what I brought.” She looked around. “Where is everyone?”
Laura pointed at a Santa clock on the wall. It said it was twenty minutes after nine.
“Oh no! I forgot! We were all supposed to meet at nine out front. Did I miss everyone?”
“Not everyone,” Laura said. “The rest of the group went ahead to stay on schedule, but Jeff waited for you.”
Haley’s smile faded. “Oh boy. I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”
Laura gave her a look that said she kind of was. “He doesn’t really like it when people are late.”
Haley took a deep, calming breath. “Okay, wish me luck.”
“Good luck,” Laura called after her.
Flying out the front door, Haley immediately found Jeff leaning against his truck, looking impatient. Seeing her, he checked his watch.
“I know, I’m late. I’m sorry . . .” She rushed up to him. But instead of responding, he just walked to the passenger side of his truck and opened the door. He wasn’t smiling.
Haley hopped in. “I can explain, and thank you for all the clothes.” She pulled her borrowed coat’s collar closer around her neck. “These are really great.”
As Jeff got into the truck, she continued.
“I’m late because my parents called with an emergency.”
Jeff’s expression instantly switched from annoyed to concerned. “Are they okay?”
“Thankfully, they’re fine, but the Money Pit isn’t—”
“The Victorian?”
“Right. Apparently, a bunch of pipes burst, and they couldn’t find a plumber. I had a friend they were hoping could help, but I couldn’t get ahold of him, and I’ve been frantically calling around, trying to find someone who can get out there today.”
“Don’t they have a general contractor who can find someone for them?”
“No, that’s the problem. They’re doing a lot of the restoration themselves to keep costs down, and every time we’ve tried to find a contractor, it’s been a nightmare. They’ve either quit halfway through a job or just don’t show up at all. Right now we’re on our own. So when something like this happens, it’s all hands on deck. I finally found someone but had totally forgotten about the time. I really am sorry.”
“Of course. I understand. Family first.”
Haley gave him a grateful smile.
“Where do your parents live?”
“About an hour outside of Boston.”
“I could give you the names of some good contractors I’ve worked with if that would help?”
Haley gave him a grateful look. “That would be amazing. Thank you. I would feel so much better if they had someone they could trust, and once I get this new promotion, I’ll be able to afford to hire someone to work with them.” She stopped talking. She looked a little embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m telling you all this . . .”
“Maybe because you know I can help. All this is in my wheelhouse.”
Haley nodded. “That must be it.”
“So, you’re good to go now?”
Haley put on her seat belt. “Yes, I’m good to go. We’re heading to town to get a Christmas tree, right?”
Jeff started the truck and gave her a smile. “The Christmas tree part is right.”
AS JEFF’S TRUCK followed a pretty, winding mountain road Haley looked around, confused.
“I thought we were going to get a tree?”
“We are,” Jeff said, keeping his eyes on the road.
“But isn’t town the other way?”
“It is.” He slowed down and turned off onto a one-lane dirt road that was now covered with snow.
“So, then what are we doing? I didn’t see four-wheeling on our activities list.”
“You’ll see.” Jeff turned up the radio. It was playing the Christmas song “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” He smiled at her. “Hey, listen, they’re playing your song.”
Haley gave him a look. “Very funny.” But then it did get funny when he started to sing, or at least try to.
“‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. Glory to the new-born King!’”
Haley laughed and cringed a little.
“What?” he asked with mock surprise. “You don’t like my singing?”
“Um, let’s just say, don’t quit your day job.”
“Okay, let’s hear you do better.” The look he gave her was a challenge.
Usually Haley was up for any challenge, but not one that involved singing. She knew she could never win a singing competition unless it was for the worst voice. So she shook her head. “Trust me. No one wants to hear me sing.”
Jeff grinned. “Oh, come on, you can’t be that bad.”
“Oh yes, I can!”
“Who cares how you sound. It’s Christmas. Everyone sings at Christmas.”
“Clearly not everyone . . .”
Jeff laughed. “Okay, but you’re missing out.” He continued to sing along. “‘Joyful, all ye nations rise. Join the triumph of the skies . . .’”
As he continued singing, Haley looked out her window and tried not to laugh. But when she glanced around and all she saw were huge fir trees, she was confused.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“We’re almost there,” Jeff said. Then he started singing again.
A few seconds later they’d come to the end of the road; several other cars were parked, but there were no people in sight. That’s when she spotted a sign that said FIR FOREST TRAILHEAD.
Haley’s eyes grew huge. “We’re not going . . .”
“Are you ready for some hiking?”
“Hiking . . .”
They both said “hiking” at the same time, but while Jeff was smiling, Haley was not.