“Is everything okay?” she and Sophie asked simultaneously when he rushed over to them.
The music teacher raked his fingers through his wavy hair, explaining the wayward locks. “Not really. The kids on the debate team aren’t going to be back for the show.” Stress etched itself onto his face. “No one thought they’d make it to the state championship round tonight, but they have.”
“That’s wonderful.” At his fretful look, Isabelle added, “Unless you’re their music teacher and some of them are a key part of the choir concert. In which case, their making it to the championship is terrible.”
“Can’t the show go on without them?” Sophie asked, her eyes full of empathy.
No doubt at any moment her sister would be offering to bake cookies to cheer him. Sophie thought cookies solved everything. They often worked.
He nodded. “It’ll have to. I won’t have the kids disappointed. Ever since we realized the tournament was the same weekend as the concert, I’ve known this scenario was a possibility. Just—”
“No one expected them to make the semifinals, much less the championship round?”
“Exactly.” He sighed. “The show won’t be as I’d hoped, but it’ll work with tweaks and leaving off a few songs. All except the last number.” His face pinched. “I could leave it off, too, or just not have our nativity scene, but it’s the grand finale performance and is such a powerful way to end the show.”
He told her what was planned.
“You can’t leave it off,” Sophie insisted. “Izzy and I can help. We sing.”
Isabelle’s face burned. “We aren’t high school choir kids.”
“No, but we sing in church, and you’ve always had a beautiful voice.” Sophie clasped her hands together, smiling big at Trevor. “We’ve got this. Just tell us what you need.”
He didn’t look convinced. “Thank you, but it’ll take a lot more than just the two of you. There are several empty spots to fill in the original program.”
Deep in thought, Sophie put her finger over her mouth. “Fine. Cole and Ben are at the firehall tonight. They’ll be by but won’t be able to help in case a call comes in, but we’ll get volunteers.”
“I’m sure Zach will help.” Annabelle joined them and got caught up in Sophie’s excitement. “He’s always helping with something around the quilt shop.”
“Zach?” Isabelle frowned at her cousin as Sophie praised, “That’s brilliant. He’ll definitely help.”
“He doesn’t sing,” Isabelle insisted, not sure why it felt so imperative that Zach not be a part of the show.
Maybe because she’d just been thinking about how he’d infiltrated so much of her life, and she felt the need to protect this little part of it. Besides, he didn’t sing, other than off-key in the car. Although, she guessed he’d thrown his tone on purpose, trying to cheer her during their drive from Tennessee.
“I don’t need him to sing.” Trevor jumped on board with Sophie’s enthusiasm. “He just needs to stand there and be Joseph. Do you think he’ll do it?”
“No,” Isabelle said at the same time as Sophie and Annabelle replied, “Yes.”
They looked at each other and laughed.
Isabelle grimaced. “Surely, we could ask someone else?”
“Nonsense. I’m sure Zach will help us. Go talk to him and I’ll find the rest of our nativity,” Sophie assured.
*
“You want meto do what?” Zach’s expression hinted that he thought he’d heard Isabelle wrong. “I’m no Joseph.”
“Part of the kids are hung up at the tournament,” she explained. “They’ll be missed, but the show can carry on without them, except the nativity scene. For that, they need stand-ins and Sophie thought—”
“That I should be Joseph?”
Isabelle nodded. “Cole is at the firehall, or she’d have asked him, since she’s going to be Mary. You just have to stand there. It’s a nativity scene, not a major production.”
The glint in Zach’s eyes had unease rising in Isabelle’s stomach. “I’ll do it on one condition.”
*
