By nine-thirty, plenty of folks had already staked out front-row places next to the barricades and set out camping chairs. The review started at eleven o’clock; by ten there wouldn’t be many front-row spots that hadn’t been taken. The new way of doing things.

“Sasha’s going to wait somewhere along the barricade once the kids finish seeing Santa at the school to try to save a front-row spot,” I said to Quinn after we’d gotten our hot chocolate and were walking back to the parking lot behind the Red Fox Inn. “Eli will bring them to the parking lot with us so they can pet the hounds and see the horses up close. They’ll leave early and join Sasha so they can be in place to watch the review. We’ll catch up with them after the Master of Foxhounds gives the Christmas toast.”

Eli, Hope, and Zach found Quinn and me standing on a grassy knoll with a good view of both the parking lot and the street below where the Goose Creek Hunt would gather before arriving at the Red Fox for their annual pre-parade Christmas greeting to the town. My sweet, dark-haired niece, whose cheeks were flushed pink with excitement, wore a bright red winter parka, a hat with ears, whiskers, and a face that looked like a cat, bright green leggings, and knee-high boots. Zach was dressed in camouflage pants, a navy jacket, and a bright yellow hand-knitted hat with a smiley face that Sasha had made for him. Quinn and I got hugs and kisses from both of them before they abandoned us to join friends who were also waiting for the hounds.

The folks who turn out for the gathering of the Goose Creek Hunt at the Red Fox before the parade starts are a fairly intimate group of friends of the Hunt, townspeople who know about the charming annual tradition, and a few out-of-towners who have stumbled upon it by accident and return year after year.

“Hey,” Eli said, nudging me after he finished off my now-tepid hot chocolate. “Look who’s here.”

“Who?”

“Victoria Barkley and Bianca Avery. Across from us.”

“Probably because Clay and Scotty are riding in the review like they always do,” I said.

“No Alex or Kellie,” he said.

“Maybe they have other plans,” I said. “And Victoria and Bianca obviously have the hearing of bats because they’re staring at us as if they know we’re talking about them.” I raised my hand and waved.

Bianca waved back. Victoria gave me a hard stare and turned to her future daughter-in-law.

“She doesn’t look very happy,” Eli said.

“Half the town thinks her fiancé killed his stepfather,” I said. “Would you look happy?”

“Hey,” Quinn said, “here comes the Huntsman with the hounds.”

Eli pulled out his phone. “I gotta go take pictures. And videos.”