Her Montana Christmas. Arlene James

he said.

      “Sounds like a plan.”

      “A plan that needs a lot of prayer if it’s to succeed,” he added with a chortle. “Now, about those pictures you brought with you...”

      She went to the credenza that stood against the wall and opened a file folder, spreading out several sheets of paper. Ethan hurried over to take a look. As he studied the pictures she’d brought, he casually unbuttoned his coat.

      One photo showed the inside of an unnamed couple’s cabin where a small, spindly evergreen tree had been decorated with berries, beads and bits of broken glass. Another showed the front railings of a porch swathed in evergreen boughs. An arrangement of candles and mistletoe on a fireplace mantel with an open Bible and a Christmas postcard was the focus of a third black-and-white photograph.

      The final offering had been shot right there in front of the church. It showed the pastor and two others in white smocks with big bows on them, presumably red, and the entire cast of a pageant, including two real sheep, a donkey and, oddly enough, a chicken. Most of the actors were garbed in blankets with lopsided halos and crowns, wings and sashes askew. Most wore cowboy boots beneath their tunics, and one mulish youngster sported his cowboy hat, too, and had a rope slung over one shoulder, despite the shepherd’s crook in the other hand. The youngest children all carried chrismon patterns—simple symbols of the Christian faith, such as the shape of a shepherd’s crook, dove, Bethlehem star or trumpeting angel. Ethan had to smile.

      “Now, that’s a congregation to keep a pastor on his knees.”

      “It looks like fun, though, doesn’t it?”

      “It does. Just look at the smile on the pastor’s face.”

      “I wonder what part the chicken played.”

      They both laughed over that. Ethan squinted at the tiny type beneath the photo.

      “Those are readers in those smocks. They probably read the Christmas story out of the Bible, and the cast acted it out.”

      “Makes sense.”

      “We could do something like that,” Ethan mused. “That way no one would have to memorize lines.”

      “I thought you might like to have these, too,” she said, offering him several more papers.

      “Chrismon patterns.”

      “They’d be very simple to make out of fabric. And you might want this.”

      The final sheet contained a list of websites where he could order modern versions of antique Christmas bulbs.

      “I think you can find everything else you need out there,” she said, waving a hand to indicate the great outdoors. “The various types of greenery have different meanings, you see, and the locals would have been aware of that back then.”

      “Robin Frazier, you are a gem beyond price. I don’t have internet access here, but I can find it. Now, I have just two more questions for you.”

      “And they are?” she asked cautiously, narrowing her lovely blue eyes at him.

      “First, will you serve on the decorating committee?”

      She blinked. “Pastor—”

      “Ethan,” he corrected automatically.

      “Ethan,” she began again, “I’m not even a member of the church.”

      “But you are the resident expert on historical Christmas decorations. Or as near as we can come to one.”

      She bowed her head, smiling. “I see. All right. In that case, of course I’ll help out. Just do remember that I have a full-time job.”

      “Of course. Which leads me to my second question.”

      “And that is?”

      “Are you free on Saturday for gathering greenery?”

      “This Saturday?”

      “It’s December 2, Miss Frazier. I’d like to schedule a Hanging of the Green service for a week from tomorrow. We have no time to lose, and you know exactly what sort of greenery people would have gathered a hundred years ago.”

      She looked around the vestibule before glancing at him once more and nodding.

      “Saturday would be fine.”

      “I’ll pick you up about 9:00 a.m., then. If you’ll just tell me where you live.”

      “Oh.” Smiling, she lifted a finely boned hand to press a fingertip to that exquisite little mole beneath her eyebrow. “That would help, wouldn’t it? I’ve taken a kitchenette at Fidler’s Inn. Room six, on the ground floor.”

      “Room six,” he repeated. “Um, if you have hiking boots, you might want to wear them.”

      “I can do that.”

      “And jeans probably wouldn’t hurt.”

      “I can do that, too.”

      “Okay, then.”

      She nodded, and they stood there smiling at each other until she suddenly said, “Well, I’d better grab something to eat and get back to work.”

      “Sure, sure.” He cleared his throat, nodding. “Thanks so much for dropping by.”

      “Thanks for showing me your view.”

      “Anytime.” She started toward the outer door, reaching into her pocket for her gloves, but he called her back. “Uh, Robin. The bell thing. I’ve told some others that I’m cleaning up the area and doing some research, but I’d really like to keep my plans quiet until Christmas Eve,” he reminded her.

      “That’s fine,” she told him. “Whatever you want.”

      Grinning, he couldn’t resist ribbing her a little. “Whatever I want, eh?”

      “Within reason,” she retorted through a smile.

      “I’m a very reasonable man,” he said, straight-faced.

      “What you are, Pastor Ethan Johnson,” she said, shaking a dainty finger at him, “is a tease.”

      “Maybe a little bit,” he admitted, smiling, “at least with you. It’s just that you’re so very serious. Sweet but serious.” And he should learn to keep his mouth shut. Her blue gaze clouded and skidded away.

      Long seconds ticked by before she said, “I have to go.”

      He followed her to the door, wondering if he shouldn’t enlist someone else to help gather the greenery and knowing he wouldn’t. “Goodbye, Robin.”

      “Goodbye, Ethan,” she whispered. He’d have missed it if the acoustics in the room hadn’t been so extraordinary.

      She pushed out into the December sunshine. He followed, calling after her as her footsteps fell swiftly across the plank walkway, “Nine o’clock, Saturday. Don’t forget.”

      “I won’t.”

      He watched her walk away, wondering if God was telling him that the past could finally be put away once and for all. Or had he come to Jasper Gulch to make another hideous mistake?

      * * *

      Robin did not next see Ethan Johnson on Saturday as she assumed she would; she saw him on Thursday evening. He called that day to say that he’d put together a committee to plan, design and construct decorations for the church, but because the ladies felt they hadn’t a minute to lose, they wanted to meet that night. What could she say, that she’d rather not see him again so soon because she found him entirely too attractive for her peace of mind? Of course, she said that she would attend the meeting, and then she prayed for some way to get out of it.

      While she was mentally sorting through excuses, her landlady, Mamie Fidler, stopped