Rescuelander

by Samantha Liddell

  Mum was impressed. “I knew you would, Letticia. You have always liked writing, it was how you expressed yourself. Don’t get me wrong, you don’t need help in expressing yourself in life, you do that pretty well—sometimes too well—but you have always written in a sort of way to make things more clear to you in your own head. Your writing allows you to speak in more of a calm and logical way. When you write, you are so focused, it’s the only time you really are focused, come to think of it,” Mum teased.

  “Mum, how dare you.” I laughed and leant over and gave my mum a hug. “Love you, Mum.”

  Dad, who was sitting on the opposite side to Mum, leant over and said, “Where is my hug, then?” So I got off my chair and walked around and gave Dad a hug from behind.

  “Love you too, Dad.”

  Dad turned to face me. “Love you too, buttercup, although I think I’m not the only one that loves you in this room, going by the looks of those two down there.” Dad pointed with his eyes, trying to be subtle but not really succeeding.

  “A Scottish lad and a Manchester lad, oh it’s a tough life, Letticia,” Mum teased.

  “Well you know me, and my weakness for anything Scottish. So really there is no competition.”

  Mum laughed. “Yes, and I do love Scott, and you two are made for one another, but I can’t help but admire Jim either. He has this sort of English charm about him, and he also has this sort of rough, mysterious, but at the same time, professional look about himself,” Mum confessed.

  “I know, right? It’s ever so enticing, yet confusing, isn’t it?” I said, agreeing with her observation.

  As mum and I agreed on Jim’s profound, enticing qualities, I grabbed a napkin and pretended to dab the saliva called lust that was running out of my mum’s mouth.

  “And there we have it, ladies and gentlemen, this is where Letticia Little gets her obsession for Scottish, Irish, and English men from—her mother, Olive Little.”

  Dad was just sitting there in amusement. He was used to us by now.

  “You really do have two well-respected and good-looking and intelligent men in arm’s reach, Letticia,” Mum continued.

  I couldn’t have agreed more; however, at that very moment, both Scott and Jim decided to prove our judgement wrong. They both pushed their chairs out from under the table, resulting in the chairs falling backwards onto the floor. They looked angry with each other, but to downplay their actions in front of everyone, Scott announced, “If you don’t mind, Jim and I are just going out for some fresh air.”

  I tried to cover up their rudeness by pressing Play with the remote that was beside me on the table, and purely by chance, the next song that played was “Walking in a Winter Wonderland.” Yes, that’s right, only the best ever Christmas song to be written. I decided to press repeat on the song so we could listen to it over and over again.

  Scott and Jim were now outside, standing in the freshly fallen snow. Their voices were growing louder, so my singing grew louder to counteract their arguing—“Walking in a winter wonderland, everybody now, walking in a winter wonderrrrrrlanddddddd.” I tried to get everybody to join in, but they too had all pushed their chairs away from the table, and now had their noses pressed up hard against the window, looking outside to get a better view of Scott and Jim.

  I turned up the music even louder, and asked Sophie to take the children into the back room so they wouldn’t see two men behaving very badly, then decided to go outside and see what these so-called well-to-do intelligent, good-looking men were up to. I couldn’t help but dance my way out, though, I don’t know why, but this song just spoke to me.

  My parents followed me outside for emotional and maybe physical support, depending on how bad this situation was going to get. They shut the door behind them, leaving the rest of our family and friends inside watching through the windows in the warmth. Scott’s parents looked just as shocked with their son’s odd behaviour as everyone else did but decided to let him work it out on his own, so they both stayed inside and watched through the window with the others. A very strange parenting style, completely opposite to how my parents would have reacted if it was I out there having a cat fight with one of Scott’s exes. But who am I to judge on parenting styles? Paul and I were not exactly parents of the year.

  I stood on the veranda, just above the top step that would have got me down and into my very own winter wonderland I had created weeks earlier, and in which now had two fully grown men wrestling each other in it. I decided to stay where I was and not enter into the ring of doom. My dad, on the other hand, moved towards the steps; he’d had enough of this silly nonsense and was about to put a stop to these men who were acting like children and fighting over his daughter.

  “Dad, you can’t go down there, it’s far too dangerous,” I said as I put my arm out to stop him from moving any further.

  “Too dangerous? Hardly. They look like two little schoolgirls out there fighting in the school playground while pulling each other’s pigtails, nothing dangerous about it.” Dad laughed.

  Mum, on the other hand, was rather enjoying this free entertainment that was full of drama. Yes, drama, my mum was always one for drama, and yes, that’s where I had obviously got my drama-filled life from also.

  “Well I do say, Letticia, you are a rather lucky lady to have a Scotsman and an Englishman fighting to the end for your love. It’s just so incredibly romantic, isn’t it just. You only ever see this sort of thing in the movies,” she said ever so dramatically.

  “Mum, nooooo, it’s not romantic at all, it’s outright ridiculous,” I replied.

  I decided to put an end to this before somebody got hurt, and by hurt, I meant received a scratch or a bruise. By the looks of it, they were not out to knock the other out, it looked more like they were dancing the tango with one another.

  I yelled out, “Stop it, stop it this very minute!” They didn’t hear me, or either chose to ignore me, so I picked up some freshly fallen snow that had landed on the top step, rolled two snowballs, and proceeded to throw them at them both. Bulls-eye, got them both right on their backs. My high school netball skills once again had been put to good use.

  Scott and Jim stopped and looked up at me at the impact of the snowballs hitting them where it hurt. “Men, or should I say boys, I would appreciate it if you would stop fighting in my winter wonderland. Everybody knows you go walking in a winter wonderland, in fact, I can hear the words right now coming from the inside surround-sound system, where only the best ever Christmas song is being played. Yes, that’s right, Jim, only the best ever Christmas song to ever be written. So if you would like to continue, please do it elsewhere, away from my winter wonderland, which took me a whole day to create, may I add, and I don’t really fancy you knocking down and breaking Santa’s sleigh, or pulling down all the lights that I so carefully detangled and put up.”

  Dad looked at me, confused. “Actually, I think what Letticia means, and is trying to say, is stop acting like children and start acting like men.”

  “Yes, you can do that also, please. But just don’t destroy my winter wonderland,” I repeated.

  Jim was the first to speak. “I’m sorry, Letticia, I didn’t mean to make such a scene in front of everyone. But truth be told, I did in fact come here to try and win you back, and I told Scott that at the lunch table—I mean dinner table, what actually was it?” Jim said, looking at his watch.

  “It was lunner, you know, a meal between lunch and dinner,” I said.

  “Oh, okay, I never knew such a meal existed. I like it,” Jim said.

  Scott stood there looking at us both dumbfounded. When we both caught sight of Scott’s expression, Jim and I refocused, and Jim continued. “But Scott didn’t let me finish before dragging me outside into your gorgeous winter wonderland, which I must say is a really magnificent winter wonderland.”

  Here he went again, using that English charm of his in the most inappropriate situation to do so, but somehow, I fell for it every time. I gave a little mod
est and innocent smile back to him. While Scott stood there still looking dumbfounded.

  Jim continued. “I did think my chances were pretty high also in getting you back and sweeping you off your feet, as I have done so many times before, and going by our track record with each other, I thought it was a very likely scenario. But when I arrived and saw how happy you were, and how in love you are with Scott—and what a beautiful, happy, and loving family you all were, and living in a stunning Scottish cottage in the woodlands—I knew, oh so well, I was too late. And I was sad and disappointed, if I was to be totally honest with you,” Jim confessed.

  I was a little taken aback from Jim’s confession; I didn’t know what to say, so I just let the words roll on out without really thinking first. “You were only eleven years too late, Jim. Do you know how long I have wanted to hear those words come out of your mouth? I did love you eleven years ago, I still do love you, Jim, I always will, but in a different way now. You do know I would have done anything for you, I thought the world of you, but you controlled that relationship. It was not a two-way relationship at all, it was all about you. I was love blind, though, and allowed you to do it. As I did with my ex-husband, Paul, too. It wasn’t until I met Scott that I realised that this is actually how a true love treats you. Scott and I are equals, we are a team, we give and take. It was so nice to finally be able to take in a relationship, and not always be the one giving or chasing,” I said.

  Jim looked over at Scott and put his hand out to shake it, call a truce. “You are one lucky guy, Scott. Don’t let this one get away, as I did. It is one of my biggest regrets,” Jim said with a look of sadness in his eyes.

  Scott accepted Jim’s hand of truce, and said, “Oh don’t you worry, Jim, I plan on growing old with my Sassenach. She is mine, and I am hers. And in a strange kinda way, I want to thank you for being so blind and not seeing what an amazing woman you had waiting for you all those years back, because if you had, and if you had treated her the way she deserved to be treated, then I would not be one of the happiest men in the world right now.”

  Scott meant every word he said, but it was also a little bit of a dig at Jim at the same time. Scott wanted to just double-check that Jim really did understand how much he had messed up, and what he had lost by taking such advantage of a young, naive Letticia all those years back, who had fallen so in love with Jim that she could not see that he was treating her so wrong.

  “Don’t you worry, Scott, I fully know that my actions in my past have caused me to find myself in this position today. I do, however, take comfort in knowing you are making an honest woman out of Letticia, and that you two were meant for one another, and I wish you all the best in the world.”

  Tears started welling up in my eyes, and I decided now was the time to walk into my winter wonderland and hug Jim. Okay, so I broke my very own rule and ended up running in my very own winter wonderland, and threw my arms around Jim and whispered in his ear, “I will always hold a soft spot for you, but you are right, my heart belongs with Scott.”

  I turned to Scott who was standing a few feet away. He had a confused look upon his face, wondering why I was in a hug with Jim and not himself. I unwrapped my arms from around Jim’s shoulders and turned to Scott, and without a single word, kissed him like I had never kissed him before.

  He pulled away at first, surprised, and cheekily said, “Well bonjour to you too,” before he came back in to finish the kiss off.

  With our love triangle finally sorted out, Scott and Jim were back on good terms. In fact, Jim stayed for a few drinks after the wrestling match in the winter wonderland and was one of the last guests to leave. Scott and Jim had actually arranged to meet up for a game of squash—that neither of them had ever played before, but after a few too many Christmas celebration drinks, decided they should have a game of. Lovely, my soon-to-be husband, and my ex-lover who had just confessed his undying love for me, were about to become best friends. Not sure how James was going to feel about that, after their bromance relationship had blossomed so nicely during Resculander while freeing Sophie and I from the villains, James and Milla.

  Come to think of it, nobody had heard from James and Milla since the adultnapping, not even Brysen. They had either fallen deeply in love with each other and eloped to Vegas, or they were where they belonged, down at their local pub drinking their lives and livers away. We didn’t really have the slightest bit of interest in finding out anyway, but I’m sure Brysen was rather confused with the whole situation.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Christmas Eve Night

  * * *

  “And to all a good night.” Scott had read the last line in Polly and Leah’s favourite Christmas book, and as he leant down to kiss them goodnight, to his surprise, they were both sound asleep. They had a great time at our Christmas Eve party while playing with the other children and eating far too much sugar, until they could take it no longer and crashed while Scott read.

  I, on the other hand, was still wide-awake, and had listened to every word of the story. Somehow he made the story even better than it already was with that sexy Scottish accent of his. It was rather turning me on a lot, so much so, I offered Scott to unwrap his present early, which came in the form of Letticia. He accepted, but first he needed to turn the dishwasher on, which we had both helped to stack before story time.

  I followed him out to the kitchen to ensure I didn’t lose him again. I was very turned on and needed Scott to unwrap me, or more to the point, rip my Christmas outfit off in one go.

  Sophie, James, Brysen, and Bonnie were still up enjoying my homemade eggnog. They sat around the fireplace, each couple wrapped in the other’s arms. And here I was following Scott off to the dishwasher. Oh, young love, no responsibilities.

  Just as we entered the kitchen, the doorbell rang. I stopped in my tracks and froze. “I am still on strike in opening doors,” I announced.

  “I am not opening another door either, the thought of finding another one of Letticia’s exes is too much to handle,” Scott teased.

  I gave Scott a friendly hit. “Oi, I don’t have that many exes that are still madly in love with me,” I teased back.

  Scott and I then decided it was James’ turn to open the door. “James, your turn,” Scott and I said together.

  “My turn? When did I get demoted to doorman of Swans Cottage, at least give me a top hat and a jacket with tails,” James joked.

  “You are on trial first, James, we will see how you go before you get a uniform,” I teased.

  “Aye, very well, then, but if I get adultnapped, it’s all your fault,” he said, looking over at Scott and I.

  Scott continued into the kitchen and switched the dishwasher on. I hovered in between the kitchen and the sitting room, not wanting to leave Scott’s side nor miss out on finding out who was at the door. I heard the door creak open, and James say in his very Scottish accent, “Hello, can I help you?” The person on the other side was yet to speak.

  “Aye, is all okay?” James said again.

  Then I heard the voice that I had heard for many, many years. “Ah yes, I’m looking for Letticia Little, is this where she is living?”

  Scott heard the voice and recognised it straightaway also. He came out of the kitchen and stood beside me, as if claiming his woman. “Really, Letticia, another ex? You are on a roll tonight.”

  I looked at Scott. “What on earth is he doing here? Promise me no more wrestling in the winter wonderland with this one, please,” I teased.

  James answered Paul. “Well that depends on who is asking, and you are?” he asked before thinking of letting him inside.

  “I am Paul, her ex-husband, and father to Polly and Leah.”

  James looked over his shoulder at me, waiting to get the okay to let him inside. I nodded my head, and James then proceeded to let Paul enter Swans Cottage. Another person from my past rocking up on the doorstep of Swans Cottage. But why, I was not sure about yet. But more to the point, what a great, professional,
and loyal doorman James was. He was hired, I decided, much to his disappointment no doubt.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Paul didn’t stay long, just long enough to have a cup of Scottish Blend tea and a shortbread. I did offer him a can of haggis, but he declined.

  He was over in Scotland to surprise Polly and Leah for Christmas. It would have been nice of him to have given me the heads-up also, but he obviously doesn’t roll like that. I decided no matter what I thought about his unexpected arrival, I knew Polly and Leah would be so excited, and love to see their dad turn up on Christmas day. So when Paul asked if he could pop around sometime the next day, being Christmas day and all, and give the girls a present, I, being the bigger person, allowed it. Scott being Scott, overstepped the mark, just as he had done with Jim, and went as far as inviting him for Christmas lunch. Really, Scott, have you not learned the outcome of inviting my exes or flings to stay for festive lunches? Scott really needs to learn from his mistakes.

  So it looked like we were about to have another place to be set at the King/Little Christmas lunch table tomorrow. Note to self: do not allow Scott and Paul to sit beside each other.

  After a very eventful and surprising day full of drama, much to my mother’s enjoyment, I was finally in our spare bed up in the loft, awaiting Scott to come up and join me, or more to the point, warm me up. I had even put on my new sexy Christmas lingerie to surprise him. But where was he? I thought he had said he would be up in a minute, and by my calculations it has been over five.

  I decided to read my journal instead. I liked to reread over my entries in the hope to piece things together, although I was still just as confused as I ever was.

  Then my sleigh bell text tone went off on my phone that was sitting on my bedside table. I leant over to pick it up and checked it, wondering who on earth was texting me at this hour. People only text at this time if there is an emergency, and as expected, by the sounds of it there was one. I read the text: