were warm and kind and always went out of their way to include her in activities.
“You did a great job of organizing,” Hope said now. “I couldn’t believe all the people who showed up. I met a couple earlier who drove all the way up from Utah because they love J.D. and his Wranglers. I hope you raked in the dough.”
“Everyone has been generous,” she said. “We should have enough to purchase the new piano we need in the elementary school with plenty left over for sheet music at the middle school.”
She still didn’t think it was right that the art and music programs had to struggle so much to make ends meet in this rural school system. Judging by tonight, though, many members of the community seemed to agree with her that it should be a priority and had donated accordingly.
“It was a great community event. What a great turnout!”
“Just think.” Hope grinned. “We get to turn around and do this again in a few weeks at The Christmas Ranch.”
Faith made a face. “You wouldn’t believe how many people have brought up that Christmas program to me tonight, and I’m not even involved in the show!”
“You’re a Nichols, though, which makes you one of the co-queens of Christmas, like it or not,” Ella said.
The Nichols family had been running The Christmas Ranch—a holiday-themed attraction filled with sleigh rides, a life-size Christmas village and even their own herd of reindeer—for many years. It was enormously successful and attracted visitors from around the region.
The popularity of the venue had grown exponentially in the last few years because of the hard work of the sisters.
A few years earlier, they had come up with the idea of providing a free catered dinner and holiday-themed show presented by area children as a gift to the local senior citizens and the event had become legendary in the community.
“We are so lucky that you’ve agreed to help us again this year,” Celeste said now to Ella.
“Are you kidding? I’ve been looking forward to it all year.”
The event—more like an old-fashioned variety show—wasn’t professionally staged, by any means. Rehearsals didn’t even start until a few weeks before the performance and there were no auditions and few soloists, but the children had fun doing it and the attendees enjoyed every moment.
The previous year’s performance had been a wonderful growing experience for Ella, serving as an icebreaker of sorts to help her get to know the local children better.
She hoped this year would only build on that success.
“Wait until you see some of the songs we have planned. It’s going to knock your socks off,” she said.
“How can you be so excited about wrestling seventy schoolchildren already on a Christmas sugar high?” Faith shook her head. “You must be crazy.”
“The very best kind of crazy,” Celeste said with a smile.
“You fit right in with the rest of us,” Hope assured her, then changed the subject. “Hey, did you see that good-looking guy who came in with Nate and Emery Cavazos? His name is Jess Saddler and he’s temporarily staying at their cabins. Em said he’s single and looking to move in and open a sporting goods store in town. He’s cute, isn’t he?”
She followed the direction of Hope’s gaze and discovered a man she didn’t know speaking with Nate and Emery, as well as Caroline and Wade Dalton. Hope was right, he was great-looking, with an outdoorsy tan and well-styled, sun-streaked hair that looked as if it had never seen a Stetson.
He also had that overchiseled look of people who earned their strength at the gym instead of through hard, productive manual labor.
“I suppose.”
“You should go introduce yourself,” Hope suggested, ignoring the sudden frown from both of her sisters.
“Why?” Ella asked, suspicious.
Hope’s innocent shrug didn’t fool her. “He’s single. You’re single. Em said he seems like a great guy and, I don’t know, I thought maybe the two of you would hit it off.”
“Are you matchmaking for me?”
“Do you want me to?” Hope asked eagerly.
Did she? She wasn’t sure how to answer. Yes, she was lonely. It was tough to be a single woman in this family-oriented community, where everyone seemed paired up. There weren’t very many eligible men to even date and she often felt isolated and alone.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about being the latest pity project of her friends. Did she seem desperate to them?
That was an uncomfortable thought.
“I don’t need a matchmaker. I’m fine,” she told Hope. “Even if I met the right guy today, I’m not sure I would have time for him, between working at two schools, doing music therapy at the senior citizen center and taking my dad to doctor appointments.”
“When you care about a man, you make time,” Celeste said.
“I don’t think the guy is going anywhere. After Christmas, you should think about it,” Hope added.
“Maybe.” She could only hope a bland nonanswer would be enough for them.
Hope looked disappointed but was distracted when another neighbor came up and asked her a question about a private company party scheduled the following week at The Christmas Ranch.
While she was occupied, Faith turned to Ella with a frown on her soft, pretty features.
“It sounds like you have too much on your plate,” Faith said. “Now I feel guilty we roped you into doing the Christmas show again.”
“You didn’t rope me into anything,” she assured her. “I meant what I said. I’ve been looking forward to it.”
“When will you have time to breathe?”
She didn’t mind being busy and loved teaching music. It had been her passion through her teen years and pursuing a career in music therapy was a natural fit. She had loved her job before she came here, working at a school for students with developmental disabilities, but there was nothing like that here in this small corner of southeastern Idaho. Teaching music in the schools was the next best thing. She had to do something with her time, especially considering her father continued being completely stubborn and unreasonable about letting her take over the ranch.
She was busy. She just wasn’t that busy.
“If you want the truth,” she admitted, “I may have slightly exaggerated my overloaded schedule to keep Hope from making me her next project.”
Faith looked amused. “Very wise move on your part.”
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s sweet of her and everything. It’s just...”
“You don’t have to explain to me. I totally get it.”
