by Heidi Swain
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
‘Where?’ I gasped, ‘doing what?’
‘Housekeeping,’ she giggled, ‘in a boarding school down south.’
‘But when? How?’
She refused to tell me any more for fear of jinxing her good fortune, but she did explain that she was hiding more than money away upstairs, getting ready for the day she’d go. The person in charge of the school was sympathetic to Mum’s situation and everything was all arranged. Mum looked and sounded like a completely different person. She was a different person.
‘I’m not telling you any more,’ she said, ‘because it’s best if you don’t know anything when your dad comes calling. You better get off, he’ll be back soon.’
I left her with the present, made her promise not to open it until she was settled, and to call me at the hall as soon as she was on her way.
‘It’s going to be an adventure,’ she told me, ‘and it’s all down to you, love. I hope you’re every bit as happy as you deserve to be.’
Given everything that had happened since I moved out, I wasn’t sure if I was, but there was hopefully still time to make it all right.
Chapter 26
With so many other things happening in my life, it would have been all too easy to let the situation with Gabe just carry on drifting, but I wasn’t prepared to let that happen. I didn’t want anything to dull the excitement of the Winter Wonderland and I reckoned that if I could clear the air between us, curb his passionate outbursts and convince my heart to take a break, then settling for friends would be a halfway decent compromise.
I was still astounded that the last thing I thought about at night was what a serious relationship with Gabe might look and feel like. I had been adamant that quick flings were the way forward and yet, within days of catching Gavin with his trousers around his ankles, I had made a complete U-turn and fallen for a man I hardly knew, who was nothing like my usual type.
‘Right, folks,’ boomed Angus early on the Monday morning as we began preparations for the Winter Wonderland, ‘this is it.’
‘From today,’ joined in Jamie as he consulted his bulging clipboard, ‘it’s all hands on deck. The trees for the competition will be going up in the hall and groups will be popping in and out all week to decorate them. Dad and I are going to oversee the positioning and check everyone is happy with their spot, and then we’ll leave them to it.’
‘I’ll check up on things when I can,’ Dorothy offered, ‘and if there’s a problem I’ll give you a shout on this contraption.’
The ‘contraption’ was an ancient walkie-talkie. Angus had dug half a dozen out of his man cave and set them up, again proving that not all of his hoarding was without merit.
‘Thanks, Dorothy,’ said Jamie, before turning to address his brother. ‘Archie and Molly, we were wondering if you would be happy to make a start on converting the fern garden into Santa’s grotto? I’ve already put the boxes of lights and decorations in the summerhouse.’
‘Sounds good to me,’ beamed Archie.
That was a huge relief. Molly would look far better in stripy tights than I would.
‘Mick, you’re in charge of sorting the ponies and sleigh, and Gabe and Hayley,’ he said, finally turning to us, ‘as you’ve worked together on planning The Snowflake Trail, we’re hoping you two can set it up and double-check the features on the map match up with the path the visitors will take. There’ll be extra manpower to help erect the tarp for the crafting area and so on, but do you think you can handle the rest?’
Given that he had been largely responsible for the argument and witnessed the fallout after the greenery gathering, he didn’t sound sure that we’d be up for pulling together, but I was game if Gabe was.
‘I don’t see why not,’ I said keenly.
I didn’t much fancy spending the week freezing my bits off in the woods, but if it meant I would have the chance to make my peace with the Wynthorpe woodsman, then so be it.
Jamie looked relieved.
‘Whoever finishes first will be assigned to help those with the most left to do,’ he went on, ‘but if we all knuckle down then we should finish ahead of time, which will save a lot of stress all round.’
‘Who’s stressed?’ shrugged Angus.
‘Catherine and I will be putting the finishing touches to the party plans,’ Anna reminded us, ‘and decorating anything in the hall that isn’t already bedecked in baubles, but after that we’ll muck in with everyone else.’
Thanks to Jamie’s organisational skills balancing out his father’s exuberance, everything was set to run like a well-oiled machine. Well, in theory, at least.
‘Oh,’ piped up the mischief maker himself, ‘and there is just one more little job that will need sorting, but I’ve got some chaps coming from town to help, so if you see a couple of strangers milling about, don’t panic.’
‘What is it, Angus?’ Catherine was the only one who dared to ask.
‘Reindeer,’ he beamed, his excitement shining as brightly as the Christmas star. ‘One of the places I talked to originally has had a cancellation, so they’re setting up here, next to the owls, hopefully, for practically nothing. They’re bringing three adults and one calf and have gone through all of the formalities on our behalf!’
‘Was it just my take on the situation,’ I said to Gabe in a friendly tone as we loaded up the trailer with all the things we would need to create The Snowflake Trail, ‘or was no one surprised that Angus has managed to bag himself a Blitzen or two?’
‘You’re right,’ he agreed with a smile, ‘I know I haven’t been living here long, but I’ve already worked out that Angus is pretty good at getting his own way.’
‘He’s not selfish though,’ I was keen to point out. ‘The things he wants are always ultimately for everyone’s benefit and enjoyment.’
‘I know that,’ Gabe snapped. ‘I wasn’t suggesting he was.’
There was a sharp and defensive edge to his tone, which I was determined to soften.
‘Gabe,’ I said, biting my lip.
‘What?’
‘About that kiss,’ I said, ‘the one in the woods,’ I added to stave off any confusion.
‘Do we have to talk about it?’
‘Yes,’ I swallowed, ‘I think we do.’
He pulled on his quad helmet, passed the spare to me and fired up the engine, which made it impossible to carry on talking. He jumped aboard and patted the seat for me to join him.
‘Let’s find somewhere without an audience then,’ he shouted.
The snow in the woods had all but gone, and Gabe drove carefully to the clearing we had allocated for his wood-crafting area. Fortunately, his steady driving meant I didn’t have to hang on to him, which was a relief. Wrapping my arms around his strong body would have done nothing to strengthen my determination that I was happy settling for friendship.
‘So,’ he said as he cut the engine again, ‘what about it?’
Now I finally had the opportunity to sort things out, I was too afraid to speak for fear of messing it all up again. Perhaps I had hung on to more of the new Hayley than I realised, because the old one would have simply charged ahead like a bull in a china shop.
‘Well,’ I eventually began, pulling the helmet off again and ruffling my flattened hair, ‘Anna and I did have a bet. I lost and the forfeit was to kiss you under the mistletoe at the greenery gathering.’
‘I know that,’ he said, sounding sullen.
‘But if you remember,’ I reminded him, ‘it was actually you who kissed me.’
Gabe frowned but didn’t say anything.
‘I was going out of my way to avoid having to do it.’
‘Thanks.’
‘But not because I didn’t want to.’
‘Why then?’
‘Well,’ I stammered, ‘because . . .’
‘Look,’ said Gabe, ‘let me say something before you tie yourself up in an even tighter knot.’
I scuffed
the sodden leaves with the toe of my boot and waited.
‘Hayley,’ he said, ‘I know I’ve done nothing but make a fool of myself over you since the moment we met, and I’ve sent you so many mixed messages you’ve probably lost count by now.’
He was right about that.
‘But given that you’ve banged on about not wanting anything heavier than a quick fling I can’t see why you’re all that bothered about it all. I would have thought the old Hayley would be able to brush all this off without a moment’s hesitation.’
He was obviously still determined to wear his hair shirt, even though I didn’t know why, and it was glaringly apparent that he hadn’t believed I had changed at all since those first few post-Gavin days.
‘But I said I’d be willing to change, if the right person came along,’ I reminded him. ‘What is it that’s made you think I was lying about that?’ I asked.
He shook his head, refusing to answer.
‘Come on,’ I goaded, ‘tell me.’
He looked right at me, biting his lower lip so hard that I thought it was going to bleed.
‘I saw you climbing out of Gavin’s van down Lovers Lane,’ he croaked. ‘And I heard what he was suggesting to his mates in The Mermaid after the tree auction.’
I felt my face start to burn. That was the last thing I had been expecting him to say.
‘I know I told you I’m not looking for a relationship, Hayley, and I’m not, but if I was I wouldn’t be thinking about having one with you now. As far as love is concerned, I know that we’re poles apart—’
How dare he judge me on an assumption and a smutty suggestion. He hadn’t even bothered to ask for an explanation before making up his mind.
‘Well, I know that you had some woman staying at the cottage the weekend of the switch-on,’ I blurted out, my upset getting the better of me. ‘So how can you stand there and tell me our expectations are so different when actually, if what appearances suggest are true of both of us, then you’re no better than I am.’
I was so angry that my sole motive was to hurt him, give back exactly as good as he was giving me, and see how it made him feel.
‘Oh, Hayley,’ he sighed, ‘if only you knew.’
Exasperatingly, he sounded resigned rather than cross. My cutting comments hadn’t had the desired impact at all. If anything, they had made me feel worse than Gabe, and that hadn’t been my intention at all.
‘So, tell me then.’
‘I can’t,’ he shrugged.
‘You won’t, you mean.’
Apparently, we had reached an impasse. I knew about his house guest and he had believed Gavin’s laddish innuendo. My ex had promised he had just been winding me up when we last met in pub, but apparently the temptation to further embellish his reputation had proved too much. I didn’t think he would ever grow up, but at least his cheeky charm had put me on the path to Jemma and furthering my artistic ambitions.
‘Right,’ I said, pulling off my glove and holding out my hand to Gabe before my annoyance with Gavin caused an even bigger rift between us. ‘I’m sick of this. It’s ridiculous, we’re just going around in circles. Can we just forget everything that’s happened during the last few weeks and start again?’
‘As friends?’
‘Yes,’ I said, swallowing down my disappointment. ‘As friends. Let’s see if we can get through Christmas without you kissing me whenever the mood takes you, and I can convince Molly to come up with a spell to shrivel Gavin’s balls to the size of sultanas because, believe it or not, Gabe, whatever he was saying about what happened that night was a lie.’
Gabe grabbed my hand and pulled me in for a hug, which did nothing to strengthen my resolve that, from now on, I was going to resist him and his manly charms.
‘Now, come on,’ I said, breathing him in before I pulled away, ‘let’s get on. We’ve got work to do.’
Chapter 27
Wynthorpe Hall was the perfect setting for a Winter Wonderland. That was what I, and everyone else, hoped would be the headline the press went with, because the entire event was truly spectacular. We had all worked our butts off to make it happen, but it was worth every gruelling hour, and the gently falling snowflakes, which made a return appearance just as the reindeer were being installed, was the prettiest icing imaginable.
Before we opened the gates and Catherine cut the ribbon to officially get the weekend underway, we took a collective walk around to check everything was perfect. We started in the festively decorated hall, which was aglow with dozens of extra strings of twinkling lights and an unusual array of decorated trees that formed the community group’s competition.
‘I’m pleased we don’t have to pick a winner,’ sighed Angus, who was clearly in love with them all, ‘these sticker sheets are a far easier option than heaping the responsibility on one person’s head.’
The idea was that everyone would take a sheet, which listed all the trees, and put stickers next to their top three choices. At the end of the weekend, the tree with the most stickers would be announced as the winner.
In the area directly in front of the hall, which marked the access point to the festive fun, Angus’s beloved sleigh shone and the ponies in the paddock were whickering in anticipation. Clearly, they were as excited as the rest of us. The Cherry Tree Caravan also looked the part; bedecked in festive snowflake bunting and bathed in the subtle sounds of Mr Bublé, it matched the similarly decorated ticket kiosk beautifully.
‘Morning, Angus!’ called one of the WI ladies who had been drafted in by Dorothy to help out. ‘Morning, everyone! Are we all set?’
‘I think so, Mrs Harris,’ Angus called back. ‘And if we aren’t now, we never will be.’
I took the momentary interruption to have a quick word with Jemma. I wanted to warn her that Gavin was, in spite of his promise not to, gossiping behind my back.
‘Don’t you worry,’ she said patting my arm. ‘I soon sent him packing once I heard what he’d got to say.’
‘Well,’ I told her. ‘I’m relieved about that, even if I am embarrassed.’
‘There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,’ she said, rushing away to help Lizzie string up yet more bunting, ‘it’s all in the past now and is no one else’s business. There was no real harm done so it’s all best forgotten. It won’t make any difference to our little venture.’
I went to call after her, but there was no time as Angus was ushering the troops together again. Clearly Jemma and I weren’t talking about the same thing, but there wasn’t time to get to the bottom of it. It would have to keep for now.
‘What was that about?’ frowned Anna.
‘I haven’t the faintest idea,’ I shrugged, deciding to put it to the back of my mind for the next forty-eight hours at least.
We set off into the woods, the path indicated by dozens of red and white striped wooden candy cane markers that had taken Gabe and I hours to paint, but were certainly worth the effort. The snowflake stamps for the maps were all in boxes to protect them, should the weather turn inclement, and Gabe’s reindeer kits were lined up and ready to go under the large tarp that had been lashed between the trees and would provide the perfect dry spot for any woodwork enthusiasts who came along.
‘Do you think we’ve set out too many?’ he asked anxiously, frowning at me. ‘Looking at it all now, there seems to be an awful lot.’
‘I wouldn’t worry about that,’ said Jamie before I had a chance. ‘If anything, you might find you end up needing more.’
‘Really?’
‘Really,’ said Angus. ‘We’re expecting hundreds of visitors rather than dozens, you know.’
‘Well, I do have enough wood to make more,’ said Gabe, sounding far from relieved.
His hands looked as raw as mine felt, so I hoped we wouldn’t have too many more to prepare.
‘Listen,’ said Molly. ‘Can you hear that?’
A few more steps along the path led us to the source of the screeching and the spot where Ed and his mum,
Mags, had set up their beloved owls. Ed, his curls dampened by the snow, which was falling thicker by the second, was checking things out with what appeared to be a crow sitting on his shoulder, pirate-style, but with a twist.
‘How’s it all looking, Ed?’ Gabe asked, striding up to him and shaking his hand.
Clearly, they were peas in a pod.
‘Wonderful,’ beamed Ed before turning to Angus. ‘Thank you so much for letting us come, Mr Connelly.’
‘I do wish you’d call me Angus,’ Angus laughed. ‘Is everyone happy here? Have you got everything you need?’
‘Yes,’ said Mags, ‘but I’m pleased we decided to bring the canopy. I didn’t think we were forecast snow.’
I looked at the array of owls on display. The barn owls were beautiful. One had been rescued after a collision with a car and was still happily recuperating in Ed’s care, and the other had been hand-reared by someone but then abandoned because the responsibility of looking after it had proved too much. They were both very calm and I imagined the young lad as some modern-day Dr Doolittle. The little owl was obviously the comic of the group, with his furrowed brow and haughty looks, but it was the plump tawny with the large dark brown eyes that melted my heart.
‘You can hold her if you like,’ said Ed as if it was the most natural thing in the world. ‘She’s very friendly.’
She stared up at me and slowly blinked, her behaviour conveying just how unflappable she was.
‘Maybe later,’ I said, ‘thanks, Ed.’
I wasn’t sure if I was brave enough to do more than just look.
‘She won’t bite,’ said Gabe, who had competently taken charge of the hand-reared barn owl.
Suddenly there was a flapping of wings, but not from the little tawny. The owl Gabe was holding thought Bran looked like a far more comfortable perch than Gabe’s hand and had quickly made himself very much at home, wrapping his talons around the dog’s wide leather collar.
‘Kindred spirits,’ said Molly dreamily when Bran didn’t so much as flinch.
‘Actually,’ smiled Mags, nodding at the owl now nestling companionably in Bran’s wiry coat, ‘we’re looking for a home for him.’
