Page 17 of Meet Me on Mistletoe Lane

The side door to the hall opened, and Mayor Moore entered the room, looking paler than the Ghost of Christmas Past. He gave a feeble smile to the town before stepping onto the podium at the front of the room.

I spun the claddagh ring on my finger, and not one chair squeaked or moved as he opened a green folder and took out a single sheet of white paper.

“Good evening,” he said before clearing his throat. “Thank you for coming here tonight on such short notice. I know this has not been an easy few days for any of us—”

“You can say that again!” someone shouted from the back of the room.

“I know this has not been an easy few days for any of us,” Sam whispered behind me, making me cover up my laugh with my hand.

“But I appreciate your patience as the council and I sifted through, well, a lot of paperwork and made some calls to the local probate court,” Mayor Moore added.

Whispers drifted around the room until the mayor continued.

“As many of you know, Mr. Paxton did not have any family.” The mayor paused and looked at the crowd, which had turned silent again. “He also, unfortunately, did not create a will.”

The room erupted in shouts and jeers.

Clearly, most of the room didn’t have a professional, eavesdropping bestie like Jo to deliver the deets ahead of time.

Mayor Moore raised both hands and waited till everyone quieted down again before he continued. “Be that as it may, the court has informed me that they appointed an administrator to Mr. Paxton’s estate. This person should arrive in Mullings Creek in a few days to see the property and let us know of a timeline involving its appraisal and next steps.”

“Next steps?” I whispered to Nona.

She frowned. “Probably selling it off in pieces, like fancy lawyers always do.”

Selling it in pieces?

To whom?

Isaiah’s comment from lunch about things looking and feeling different floated to the surface, making every part of my body go cold. The Market was the nucleus of our town. It had been for decades. Tearing it down and replacing it with some tacky, cheesy chain store would completely ruin the charm of Mullings Creek.

I flipped my notebook closed and shoved it back into my crossbody bag.

Screw writing an article about “embracing the winter winds of change.” Mr. Clark would have to pick another senior to write that piece. I was not the kind of girl to “embrace” something with more red flags than a new underground power line.

Mayor Moore held up a hand again. “I know you’re all scared about what this may mean for the future of The Market. But don’t worry yourselves—”

“Yet,” Bianca mumbled before putting her earbuds back in.

“This is the time of year when it’s important that we keep the faith, right?” The mayor paused like he had hoped someone would jump up with a resounding “Yes!” But the room had returned to its stony silence. “The best thing we can all do in the meantime is make sure our Market and the surrounding stores look their best. After all, Holly Days begins this weekend—our best time of year! I can’t wait to see what wonderful things our town turns up this Christmas season.” And with that, he put his paper back in his folder, stepped down from the podium, and walked out of the room.

“We are so screwed,” Marco said, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he slumped in his seat.

Jo hit him on the back of the head. “Must you always be so negative?”

Marco smirked but kept facing forward. “I wouldn’t be, if you would reply to my texts more often.”

Not the best time to flirt, bud.

Jo rolled her eyes and sat back, but not before I caught the way her cheeks flushed.

Nico ruffled Marco’s curls, which he knew he hated. “You gotta keep the faith, brother! I’m with the mayor on this one.”

But Marco just scowled, and said, “You keep the faith. I’ll be realistic.”

“I’m with Marco. This is the beginning of the end,” Sam said later as he, Jo, and I sat with our backs against one of the railings of the clock tower. Technically, no one was allowed up here, but my older cousin Francis “forgot” he still had a key from when he worked for the local Parks and Rec before college. No one had ratted us out yet, so we kept coming when we needed to get away without actually leaving town.

Besides the Fourth of July fireworks, the view of the town from up here during Christmastime was unmatched.