The effort had taken them all afternoon. They’d stopped for lunch—homemade vegetable soup and corn muffins Phoebe’s mother had sent along—but it was nearly dark by the time Ivy hung the last red and gold glittered ornament on the tree.

When she got off the ladder she glanced surreptitiously at her phone again, as she’d done several times throughout the afternoon, but there was no text message or missed call from Ezra.

He’s busy, she told herself. It’s just business.

“It needs something else,” Phoebe said, studying their handiwork.

“A skirt,” Ivy proclaimed. “And I’ve got just the thing.”

She went to the hall linen closet and brought out a red and white calico quilt. Parts of the old fabric had worn through in places, revealing the batting, but the colors were still vivid. Kneeling down on the floor, she draped it around the base of the tree.

“Perfect,” Phoebe said. “Don’t tell me the family left that behind too? Betty Rae Rose was in a quilting guild with my grandmother. I’d never think of giving up one of her quilts.”

“I know,” Ivy said. “I found a stack of them in a cedar chest in the guest bedroom. And thank goodness I did. This place is unbelievably drafty. Ezra says I’m probably going to have to have the farmhouse insulated. And a new furnace is definitely on my must-have list, as soon as I can afford it.”

“‘Ezra says,’” Phoebe teased.

“He’s a real estate agent,” Ivy protested. “And he knows a lot about old houses like this one.”

“What else does he know a lot about?”

“You’re utterly shameless,” Ivy said, shaking her head.

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Phoebe said. She pulled her phone from her pocket. “Yikes. I’d better go. I promised Gran I’d help bake cookies for tomorrow night.”

“Let’s talk about tomorrow night,” Ivy said. “I really, really don’t think your plan for me meeting Cody, instead of you, is a good idea.”

“But you promised,” Phoebe groaned. “It’s only for a few days. Until I can get up the nerve to meet him in person and come clean about everything.”

“It’s unfair to him,” Ivy said. “And it’s dishonest.”

“A promise is a promise,” Phoebe said. “Anyway, you have to do it now that I helped rebuild your chicken coop and decorated not one but two Christmas trees. You owe me.”

“I get it now,” Ivy said, walking her friend to the front door. “You were scheming this all along. Helping out the new girl in town and then—suddenly, boom—it’s payback time. I should have known you had an ulterior motive.”

“Me?” Phoebe feigned a look of innocence. “I was just trying to be a good neighbor, that’s all.”

“Whatever. I’ll call you tomorrow. Hopefully you’ll have changed your mind. But I might have to rearrange my plans. I promised to help Nancy Bergstrom work at her candy shop booth during the Christmas Stroll. But Ezra wanted to take me to dinner early—because he got roped into playing Santa Claus during the stroll.”