Answer: C) This setting could be used to communicate a peaceful, comfortable mood.
Explanation: The setting of a story or a text is the place and time where the story takes place, it can also be the context of the story (political, historical, cultural, etc). In the given excerpt, the description of the setting is used to communicate a peaceful, comfortable mood, because of phrases like "The sun had just set and the heat of the day began to lessen," "the air was calm," etc.