‘How did you guess? But they're expecting you back…’
‘No,’ he said angrily. ‘They won't miss me, don't worry. I'm more concerned about you right now. What did this bloke do to you?’
‘He… dumped me on our wedding day. The wedding was on Christmas Eve, so that's why I haven't celebrated Christmas in four years and that’s why I haven’t been back since then. It’s been so hard to show my face around here knowing what people know.’
‘He did what to you? The bast…’
‘I've called him worse, believe me,’ she wiped away tears with the sleeve of her jacket.
‘Well, he didn't deserve you. I'm just sorry you didn't know he was coming. Hell, I didn't even know.’ He smacked the steering wheel. 'I can't stand that bastard either.'
‘You can't? I'm not surprised. I wasn't entirely sure if they were the same Summers. It's been almost five years, ' she sniffed.
Aidan parked the car on a quiet street. ‘Maybe a walk and fresh air will help.’
‘Is that a request or demand?’ She managed a smile.
‘You choose, but I'm not leaving until I show you the South Beach at night.’
‘Fine, you win.’
‘I always do.’
‘Is there anyone waiting for you tonight then?’ She asked as they approached a bench.
‘What? My dog? She’s probably is wanting food, but no,’ he laughed. ‘There’s no girlfriend if that’s what you’re asking. It's just me and my dog,’ he shrugged, putting his hands into his jacket pocket. ‘Cold, isn't it? I wonder if we'll have a white Christmas this year.’
‘I have a feeling we might.’
‘So you've got a radar to detect the weather, then?’ He laughed
‘No. Don't be silly. I just, I know things. Even though they sort of don’t make sense at the time.’
‘Ah. The Merrygale touch I've been hearing about.’
‘Don’t tell me we're the subject of local, idle, gossip are we?’ She teased.
‘No… Well, maybe.’
‘Then I hope it isn't bad.’
‘I wouldn't have it,’ he turned to face her. ‘You see that rock over there?’ He pointed to Caldey. ‘Have you ever heard about the mysterious couple who are supposed to appear there when people get lost at sea?’
‘Oh, I remember the story, yes. It was my great great aunt, Lily Merrygale. She wanted to get married to this sailor but his family forbade it because they thought she was a witch.’
‘Well she was a witch though, wasn’t she? I don’t mean in the derogatory term, but your family is pretty special, my grandfather always used to tell me. He lived in Tenby when he was younger. It’s probably the reason why my parents came back, to take over his pub. But the story always fascinated me. Do you remember it?’
‘I haven’t heard it in a long time…’
‘It was Christmas Eve and Lily and Frederick were going to elope and so he borrowed a boat from his uncle. It was only an old fishing boat, so it wasn’t very sturdy, however, a storm that came from nowhere began turning the sea into a monstrous beast. People around here say it was the worst storm in years and that they never had any chance out there in that small boat. Unfortunately, they were found the following day, lying dead on the beach and after that whenever someone had got lost at sea in this area, they were always mysteriously found alive.’
‘And they never knew how or why they were saved. Yes, I’ve heard this many times. We used to have a picture of them both, but my mother thinks it was tucked in some old book she sold.’
‘That’s a shame. I wonder where it could’ve gone.’
‘It’s long gone by now. My mother used to talk about Lily a lot. She said our gifts came from her.’ Zoe’s eyes welled with tears.
‘I think you’re pretty special. So don’t let that sod upset you any longer, he’s not worth it.’
She nodded. ‘You’re right. I think I came back to heal and you have helped me with that, so thank you.’
He squeezed her hand. ‘You’re very welcome.’
Chapters Twelve
‘I am so sorry,’ Rachel burst through the shop door, ‘if I had known…’
In the middle of packing orders that came in through the website, Zoe swung around. ‘Don't be daft, you weren't to know. Maybe I should've asked who your husband was in the first place. Thinking on it, I feel like it was kinda rude of me not to.’
Rachel closed the door. ‘Rob told me what happened. I would never have thought James was capable of doing anything like that. He's always been so nice. To me, anyhow.’
Zoe cleared her throat. ‘He was a nice guy in the beginning but then the business went to his head. So did he show up last night?’
‘Yeah, he did. He's staying for a few days. He's on business or something. Gosh, I feel so guilty about that…’
Zoe laughed. ‘Rach, it's fine, honestly. I acted like a silly teenager last night and I'm not proud of it. But, you know, he was the love of my life and it's been difficult to get over him’
‘Are we still friends?’ she asked.
Zoe laughed. ‘Of course you silly bugger.’
‘So what are you doing?’
‘Christmas orders. I seem to have had a load overnight,’ she shrugged wondering how that was possible.
‘Hey that's good, isn't it? You'll be needing an assistant before long.’
‘Let's not get too carried away. I'm sure this is just a one-off.’ She heard a notification on her phone. ‘One minute,’ she said to Rachel and reached across the counter for her phone.
‘Okay, I take that back. Another order.
‘Oh one other thing,’ Rachel turned back. ‘How is Aidan?’ She teased, playfulness in her tone.
‘I have absolutely no idea.’
‘I think you're lying, Miss Merrygale, but I will find out,’ she smiled. ‘Ta ta for now.’
‘See you,’ she said as she was leaving the shop.
It was then Zoe recalled her meeting at The Seashell later on and thought she wise the shop a little early. It wasn't as though it was heaving with customers.
Clutching an umbrella, Zoe walked along the pavement towards The Seashell, doing her best to avoid the puddles. As she approached she heard a commotion outside. Under the lights, two men were having a heated argument. One raising a balled fist to the other.
‘James?’
It was only when he turned around at the sound of his name that she saw Aidan in a fit of rage. The instance Aidan saw her, he pulled back and lowered his hands.
‘What's going on? Aidan, what's he doing here?’ She nodded to James.
Before Aidan had a chance to speak, James walked calmly toward her, with a wide grin on his face.
‘Zoe, it's been years hadn't it? How are you? Look, I really should apologise for the way I treated you. It was wrong of me and I realise that now.’
Taken aback by how casual and creepy he was being after everything he had done to her, Zoe felt her blood boil. ‘Stay away from me, do you hear? Because if you come near me or my shop again I’ll make sure you’ll regret it.’
‘You heard her stay away,’ Aidan shouted, coming towards them.
James raised his hands in the air. ‘Okay, okay, I'll go.’ As he stepped off the pavement, he turned sharply and winked at her.
‘You're a creep James,’ she yelled.
Aidan came closer to her putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
‘I'm sorry you had to see him, do you want to come inside. I think you could use a strong drink.’
Shaking with rage, Zoe nodded. ‘I do, yeah. What was he doing here?’ She asked as they both stepped into the hotel foyer together. ‘It looked like you were both about to have a bloody fight.’
Aidan took a deep breath and turned to the woman on the desk. ‘Carol, could you cancel his cards, please? Thanks. Come into the restaurant, Zoe, we can talk there.’
Zoe followed Aidan into the restaurant desperately trying to hold it together. She realised
she hadn't been here since she left. It had a clean, modern look to it now the old dark oak had gone.
Aidan picked a table at the far end of the room and called for the waiter.
‘Let me get the chair for you,’ he said.
Surprised, as James never did any of the traditional things, Zoe thanked him and sat down.
James took a seat opposite her and put his hands into a steeple by his mouth. ‘I'm sorry about all that, are you okay now?’ He asked, genuinely concerned.
‘Kind of. So what was he doing here?’
‘He had booked a room without me knowing so when he came back this evening I asked him to leave, he wouldn't, so I threw him out.’
‘Help me out here, why do I get the feeling this wasn't just about me being here?’
Aidan turned to the waiter standing beside the table ready to take their order. ‘Rich, could I have a whiskey,’ he looked at Zoe. ‘What would you like, it’s on the house.’
‘I'll have a glass of white wine, please. I wasn't going to drink but after seeing him…’
‘I may not have been entirely honest with you,’ Aidan shifted uncomfortably in his chair. ‘I was dating someone around the time you left James because… he was seeing her behind my... our backs.’ His eyes lowered to the empty plate in front of him.
Now it made sense, Zoe thought. Surprised and sickened by what she heard she shook her head at him. ‘I had no idea. I didn’t stay to find out who he had shacked up with, I left for London that evening. I’m sorry he did this to you, too,’ she gently touched his arm.
‘I didn't know it was you that was linked into any of this until you told me that night. When I did know I just didn’t know how to tell you. It took me ages to open up to anyone about it.’
‘I'd like to know why he's back. In fact, I think I'm ready to sort this out once and for all,’ she reached for her glass the waiter had put on the table and with jittering hands, took a large swig.
‘Fighting spirit, I like it,’ he raised his glass, smiling. ‘Now what are we going to do about finding Father Christmas?’ He said amusingly.
‘Is there anyone around here that fits the bill?’
‘Don't look at me. I'm not that grey yet,’ he ruffled his dark locks.
‘I didn't mean you, but we could always get you a wig?’
‘Thank you, but no. Maybe there is someone. You could say he's the real deal but lately, he's been a bit of a recluse…’
‘Who? Can we call him?’
‘He's off the grid, unfortunately. But we can go there if you want?’
Chapter Thirteen
‘You're going where with moody?’ Asked Felicity sliding a mug of tea across the counter towards her.
Zoe opened her purse, trying not to laugh. ‘Moody? Well… I wouldn't exactly call him that,’ she handed her a five-pound note and realised she shouldn't have said anything to her as she knew she wouldn't stop asking questions.
Felicity’s eyes lit up. ‘So he's not moody now?’ She teased.
‘I've had a chance to get to know him, alright. I suppose we shouldn't judge so quickly, eh?’ She thanked her for the tea and left the cafe, heading to the shop. Rachel waved at her from the window and Zoe waved back, resisting the temptation for a cinnamon doughnut she saw advertised on a poster in the window.
She fumbled in her pocket for the keys, turned the lock and saw a bunch of envelopes on the welcome mat. She stooped down to pick them up and closed the door behind her.
‘Bill's, bills, adverts…’ she flicked through them and came across a letter addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Merrygale behind the plastic window, but it was the return address that struck her as odd.
Summers and Son Estate Agents.
Zoe realised it wasn't a circular and that her parents intended to put the shop up for sale. It made sense after the debt letter she had found. She threw the letters onto the counter and pulled her phone from the coat pocket.
Mam, what's going on with the shop? Are you selling?
She hit send on the message and shrugged off her coat with annoyance. How could they not tell her? The temptation to open the letter got too much and she ripped it open to find that James had offered to buy her parents out, including the business they had spent thirty years building. No, she couldn't let this happen. The Spell was a family business and that's how she intended it to stay.
‘So that's why you're back in town you slimy…’
She threw the letter, watching it fall to the floor, pushed the curtain and stormed into the back room surrounded by boxes of stock. ‘I have to do something,’ she muttered to herself but she didn't know what. What she did know was that she needed to calm herself down. She reached for the camomile tea on the shelf and switched on the kettle before she opened for the day.
To her surprise a steady flow of customers came in soon after opening, all wanting one of her gift bags.
‘Excuse me, how did you hear about these?’ She asked a young woman talking excitedly to her friend.
‘Holly's Blogs on YouTube. She's like… huge. Didn't you know?’
‘No. Oh, I think she's the one that came into the shop that day.’ Zoe had a spark of an idea forming in her head. ‘Thanks, I hope you enjoy them.’ When she returned to the counter she saw a reply from her mother.
Zoe, we meant to tell you before we left but it was so hard too. Sorry, you had to find out the way you did. James's father offered to buy it from us and we are considering it. At the moment it's the only choice we have.
‘Not if I got anything to do with it.’ She told herself determinedly.
Zoe zipped up her jacket and slammed the shop door closed. The twinkling lights in the window brightened up the darkened street. She tucked her hands in her coat and made her way to Tina's cafe.
She pushed the door open with such force, Tina stopped abruptly holding a tray full of empty dishes.
‘I thought there was a storm blowing through the door for a minute.’ Her brows creased together. ‘What is it, love?’
Zoe let her bag droop down her shoulder and she slung it on the nearest empty table. The restaurant was fairly busy. ‘You’re not going to believe your ears,’ she seethed, pulling out a chair.
‘Give me five minutes and I'll join you for tea or are we going to need something stronger?’
'Do you have a licence to sell alcohol?'
'No, but an extra strong coffee should do the trick.'
Tina took the empty dishes to the kitchen and Zoe took out her phone.
Meet you in half an hour. Aidan had messaged her.
Hi, meet me outside Tina's.
No problem.
She put her phone on the table and took off her coat, draping it across the back of the chair.
‘Right, tell me what's got you in such a state.’
Zoe reached into her coat pocket and passed Tina the crumpled letter.
‘They're considering selling to Summers and Son. Can you believe they'd do that after the way he treated me?’
Tina flattened out the paper on the table. ‘Are you serious?’
‘What? You really didn't know?’
‘No. I'm as much surprised and shocked as you are. How could they do this?’ She fumed.
‘They say they have no choice.’
She knew that she would miss the shop if it were sold. ‘I know I haven't been home in a while and… yeah, I admit I was glad to get away but. I can't let them sell. Especially not to him.’
‘You're quite right, you can't let them. So what are you thinking?’
‘Right now I'm thinking about how much money I have in the bank. Which isn't a lot.’
‘I think we need a little Christmas magic, don't we?’
‘I think I need to get out the big cauldron,’ she smiled wryly.
‘I'm sure we'll figure something out.’ Tina looked over Zoe’s shoulder. ‘Is that your lift?’
Zoe swung around. ‘Yep, we're on the hunt for Father Christmas and a tree for the town. Don't ask.’
<
br /> Chapter Fourteen
‘Your chariot awaits,’ Aidan hollered from the car as she left the cafe.
Cheeky bugger, she thought as she crossed the road with two polystyrene cups. As she approached, Aidan got out of the car.
‘Allow me,’ he said coming around to the passenger side.
‘I could get used to this treatment,’ she joked, handing him one of the cups.
Aidan’s eyes crinkled as he smiled. He opened the door and gestured her inside. ‘I'm sure you could…’ he closed the door. ‘... and I wouldn't mind,’ his voice dipped to a whisper.
‘What did you say?' She asked.
‘Nothing, no worries.' he slammed the door closed.
'So where are we going exactly?’
‘Preseli. Have you ever been there?’
‘Not to my knowledge but we do sell Preseli Bluestone in the shop.’
‘And what does that do?’
Zoe wasn't sure if he was teasing her.
‘You're really interested?’ She asked watching him smirk.
‘I'm intrigued. Your mother is a very interesting person. I've had lots of conversations with her when she's helped me out at the pub.’
‘Wait. What? My mother has been working for you?’
‘Oh shit. She asked me not to say anything. Look, it was only temporary so she could make a few bob. It shouldn't be a surprise to you anyway. You know the shop is in difficulty.’
‘Yeah, it is. And do you know who she's thinking of selling it too? Summers and Son.’
‘You're joking? That scumbag?’
‘That scumbag, but not if I've got anything to do with it. He won't be setting one foot in my shop.’
My shop? She thought. She'd never imagined herself saying that, but she had to admit that the past week it had felt like her own, and she wasn’t going to give it up without a fight.
Aidan switched on the radio. ‘Do you mind? I just want to check out the weather. I've heard a storm is coming.’
‘A storm? And we're heading to the mountains?’
Christmas Magic at the Tenby Crystal Shop Page 5
