The Best Christmas Ever: a feel-good festive romance to warm your heart this Christmas

by Karen King

  ‘Of course I didn’t. I would never do that. I’m not vindictive. I just want to save the tree,’ she retorted.

  He ran his hand through his hair in exasperation. ‘Look, Lexi, you do realise that even if we manage to save the tree, it will be too late for the carol service to go ahead? There’s no way the council will be able to get the lights put on it in time. There will have to be a meeting about it, it’s not a decision just one person can make.’

  ‘Of course I know that,’ she snapped. ‘I’m just worried that someone will get hurt.’ She stopped and clamped her mouth shut as if regretting the words that had just escaped.

  Joel narrowed his eyes. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Nothing.’

  ‘Lexi?’

  She dropped her gaze. ‘I can’t tell you, I’d be breaking a confidence, but it is important that the tree is made safe.’

  Joel’s landline started to ring and he glanced towards it then back at Lexi. ‘Come in a moment, that could be Martin from the council now,’ he said. He’d given Martin his landline number as a backup, the signal was bad in the cottage because of the granite walls.

  Lexi hesitated then nodded. ‘Okay.’ She stepped inside and Joel indicated for her to go into the lounge as he picked up the telephone receiver in the hall.

  It wasn’t Martin, it was someone for Al. Joel explained that he was away for a few months, then went in to see Lexi. She was sitting in the armchair by the window, with Sweetie curled up on her lap.

  ‘Sorry, it wasn’t Martin.’ He sat down in the chair opposite her, noting that she looked a bit anxious. ‘What’s this about saving someone from getting hurt?’

  She twisted a strand of hair around her finger and was silent for a moment as if wondering what to do. Then she took a deep breath. ‘If I tell, you must promise not to say anything to anyone. I’m breaking a confidence here, but I really don’t know what to do.’

  ‘This sounds serious.’ Joel waited for her to talk.

  ‘Gran belongs to a group called the Yarn Warriors . . .’

  ‘What’s that, a knitting group?’

  ‘Yes, but more than that. They’re yarn-bombers. They’re responsible for all the yarn-bombings around the village. You know, the knitted figures and baubles that are decorating the postbox and lamp posts.’

  He shook his head disbelievingly. ‘And how old is your gran?’

  ‘Eighty-four. She’s a bit of a rebel. Likes to live life to the full.’

  ‘So it seems.’ He couldn’t help but smile to think that Lexi’s gran and a bunch of probably equally elderly villagers were responsible for the controversial yarn-bombings. He quite liked yarn-bombings himself, he’d seen quite a bit of it in Glasgow and Yeovil, but he knew that the council was annoyed by it and had threatened to fine the culprits. No wonder that Lexi was worried, but he wasn’t sure what she wanted him to do.

  Lexi raised her eyes to his as she fiddled with the sleeve of her coat. ‘The thing is, they’re planning on yarn-bombing the fir tree on Christmas Eve.’

  ‘What?’ Joel sat forward and clasped his hands together, leaning his elbows on his knees. ‘But it’s dangerous and the tree is cordoned off to stop people going near it.’

  ‘I know, but Granny Mabe won’t listen. She reckons a few woollen baubles dangling from the branches won’t do any harm. And that cordon tape won’t stop them.’

  This was serious. Joel kept his tone even. ‘You do realise that you’ve put me in a very difficult position by telling me about this. I really should mention it to the council. These old folks will be in danger. Now I know they’re planning that, I will be responsible for not preventing it.’

  Lexi glared at him. ‘You promised not to tell anyone! Anyway, you have no proof,’ she added. ‘Granny and her friends will just deny it. And so will I.’

  She was right; he had no evidence. ‘Then let’s hope that the council agree to me saving the tree before Christmas. If they don’t, then I’m sorry but I think the safest option is to make sure that the tree is cut down quickly, as Martin wants. Then no one can yarn-bomb it or do anything else to it.’ They were a stubborn lot in this village, he thought.

  ‘That’s why I started the petition, to make some noise, then the council might save the tree,’ said Lexi. Her deep-brown eyes looked pleadingly into his and Joel felt a stir deep inside him. ‘Please try and persuade them to.’

  ‘Well, you’ve certainly got a lot of interest already, but what the council will do is anyone’s guess.’ He could see that she was worried but her attitude had softened now. Pleased that they were on a friendlier footing and wanting to keep it that way he said. ‘I was about to make a cup of coffee. Would you like one?’

  She nodded, accepting his symbolic olive leaf. ‘Yes, please. Perhaps you’ll hear from our contact on the council while we’re drinking it.’

  After checking whether she took milk or sugar, Joel went into the kitchen to make the coffee. When he came back, Sweetie was fast asleep on Lexi’s lap.

  ‘She’s taken to you. Mind, she’s happy to let most people fuss her, it’s being alone she doesn’t like. I can’t understand it, Hazel and Al said she’s happy to be left for a few hours.’

  ‘Dogs like routine. I guess it’s because everything’s strange. Her doggy parents have gone, and you’re here, and the life she was used to has changed,’ Lexi said.

  ‘Do you have a dog?’ Joel asked as he handed Lexi her mug of coffee, then sat down in the chair opposite, cradling his own mug.

  ‘Not now, but we did when I was a child. We had a collie called Tess, she was gorgeous.’ She took a sip of her coffee.

  ‘Is there enough milk in it?’ he asked.

  ‘Perfect.’ She took another sip before saying, ‘I feel so sorry for Lloyd losing touch with his son, and being on his own for Christmas. I wish I could find Rocco and get him to come and visit his dad – or at least contact him – for Christmas.’

  ‘That would be a tough one when we have no idea where he is. Besides, maybe Lloyd wouldn’t want anyone to interfere.’

  Lexi seemed to mull this over. ‘I don’t think he would mind. He seems desperate to see him, and Christmas is the time for families to get together. I’ll see if Granny Mabe or my parents have any idea how I could contact Rocco. They’ve lived in this village for years.’

  ‘When did you move away?’ asked Joel.

  ‘When I went to university in Exeter. I trained to be a teacher and got a job at a school in Gloucester. I’ve been there ever since. How about you? I can detect a slight Scottish accent.’

  ‘Yes, I was born and grew up in Glasgow, my parents are still there. I worked for the Forestry in Scotland for a while, then moved down to Somerset and met my soon-to-be ex-wife.’

  ‘So, how did you end up in Lystone?’ she asked, idly stroking the still-asleep dog’s head.

  ‘Toni, my ex, found someone else and left me to live with them. I remained in the house to sell it. The sale had just gone through when Hazel told me about her and Al being offered work in Dubai by the hotel group they worked for. They needed someone to look after the house, and Sweetie, while they were away, and asked me to do it. It seemed like a good opportunity to sort myself out, and find out what I wanted to do with my life and where I wanted to live.’

  ‘I’m sorry your wife cheated on you. Ben, my boy— ex-boyfriend cheated on me too. I only found out on Friday. This would have been our first Christmas together.’

  Joel could see from the look in her eyes that this was still raw. ‘That’s rough. So you’ve only been split up a few days.’

  ‘Yes, but he’d been seeing this other woman behind my back for ages. I didn’t have a clue until I went to meet him from work and caught them snogging.’ She shrugged, but the wobble in her voice showed that it still hurt. ‘Love eh, who needs it? I’d much prefer a good friend. I never want to fall in love again.’

  ‘I’ll drink to that.’ He held out his mug.

  ‘Single’s best,’ she said and th
ey clinked mugs.

  Later, as she was leaving, Lexi gave her phone number to Joel and he promised to phone her as soon as he heard from the council.

  She hoped she’d done right telling Joel about Granny Mabe and her friends’ plan to yarn-bomb the tree, Lexi thought as she walked up to the bakery to see if her parents needed a hand.

  ‘Hello, love, have you come for a cuppa?’ her mum called as Lexi walked into the bakery.

  ‘Thanks, but I’ve just had one with Joel. I called in to see if he’d heard from the council yet about saving the Christmas tree, but he hasn’t.’

  ‘I hope they allow him to. It would mean such a lot to us all. I know that Jay really wanted Sonia to experience all the Christmas traditions, and was looking forward to taking her and Toby to the carol service. I haven’t told him that it’s been cancelled yet. I keep hoping something will come up to save it.’

  ‘People have come in talking about your petition, and we’ve got one on the counter, too.’ Her dad nodded at a clipboard on the counter, where Lexi could see several signatures. ‘I know there isn’t much time, but even if we can get them to postpone cutting down the tree until after Christmas then we might be able to stop it altogether.’

  Lexi was tempted to tell them about Granny Mabe’s plans, but what was the point of worrying them? She’d just have to keep an eye on her gran and make sure nothing happened to her.

  ‘Anyway, I’ve come to help out and I’m not going to be fobbed off,’ she told them. She went through to the staff quarters, took off her coat and hat, put on an apron, tied her hair back, washed her hands and came back in. ‘What do you want me to do?’

  Her father and mother exchanged a smile. ‘Stubborn, like you,’ her mother said.

  ‘Like the two of you,’ Lexi replied. It was true: both her parents could be very stubborn and neither of them liked to give in if they were having a disagreement over something. Lexi and her brothers had often mediated when they were younger, and she suspected that Granny Mabe did now. Although, her gran was stubborn too. In fact, it was a family trait, she acknowledged.

  ‘Could you give the tables in the tearoom a wipe, please, love? We’ll have our regulars coming in for elevenses soon. Then maybe you can give me a hand making some sandwiches, her mother called.

  ‘Sure.’ Lexi picked up a cloth and some antibacterial spray, and set off for the tearoom. The tables were all clean and tidy, but she gave them an extra spray anyway. Everyone was still extra careful about cleansing after the worldwide Covid outbreak.

  ‘Do you know anything about Lloyd’s son Rocco?’ Lexi asked when she’d returned, washed her hands again, donned latex gloves and was buttering bread ready for her mother to put in the sandwich fillings.

  I can’t remember much about Rocco, but I could ask the ladies in my group. Someone might know something. I’ll ask Granny, too.’

  Lexi buttered the last slice of bread. ‘I’d love to get them back together. It would be wonderful if Rocco could visit his dad on Christmas Day.’

  ‘It would, love, but we’ve only got a few days to go, so it’s highly unlikely. And maybe Lloyd wouldn’t want you to interfere in his life,’ her mum warned her.

  Joel had said the same, Lexi thought. ‘It’s not interfering, Mum, it’s helping. Sometimes people need a gentle push to get them back together,’ she replied.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Hazel had replied to Joel’s messages about Sweetie, she was concerned that her pet was so unsettled, and said she was happy for Lloyd to look after her while Joel worked, rather than the little dog be left barking but she reminded him that Sweetie was used to being left for a couple of hours and he wasn’t to spoil her by taking her everywhere with him. She wasn’t pleased about her sleeping in Joel’s room (he hadn’t confessed that Sweetie shared his bed, too). I don’t want her getting into bad habits, Joel. We never let Sweetie upstairs. She’s playing you. You must be firm. What if you get a girlfriend and want to bring her back?

  Joel read the message with amusement. ‘Be firm.’ Hazel obviously didn’t know how stubborn her little dog could be. And, yes, she probably was playing him, but he couldn’t let her bark all night, could he? Apart from the fact that he needed his sleep, and didn’t want her to disturb the neighbours, he hated Sweetie to be upset. And he knew that Hazel wouldn’t want her to be, either; his sister and her husband adored the little pooch. Obviously, Sweetie was much better behaved with them than she was with him.

  As for bringing back a girlfriend, that was laughable. The last year of his marriage and the divorce with Toni had been far too draining for him to want to get involved with anyone else for a long time. Joel liked a quiet life and wasn’t one to talk about his feelings. He got on with things, did what he had to do. That’s how he’d always been. But apparently that meant he was emotionally inadequate and too self-centred, according to Toni, anyway.

  He sent Hazel a quick reply back then checked his emails to see if there was a reply from Martin. If the council decided to take him up on his ridiculously low offer to make the tree safe in time for Christmas he had some hard work ahead of him and little time to do it in. The amount he’d agreed to do the job for would just about cover costs and Andy’s cut, which would mean that Joel was working almost for nothing. He must be mad. He still couldn’t believe that he’d offered to do it so cheaply, but after what Lexi had told him that morning, he was glad he had. He didn’t want people to get hurt, and that’s what would happen if the tree was left as it was and Lexi’s gran and her knitting group went ahead with their plans to decorate it on Christmas Eve.

  He should report them, but that would mean betraying Lexi’s trust – and, as she’d said, they would only deny it. Besides, he liked the sound of Lexi’s gran and her friends, still living their life to the full and fighting for a cause. He admired that.

  Admit it, Lexi’s somehow sneaked into a corner of your heart and you want to please her, he told himself. Yes, he could admit that he found Lexi attractive – who wouldn’t? – and her love of Christmas was starting to rub off on him, but that was as far as it went. She was only here for Christmas, and he didn’t want or need another relationship. And neither did she. They had both toasted to that this morning – even if it was only with coffee.

  Martin phoned Joel just before lunch. ‘I asked you for a quote for cutting the tree down, not pruning it,’ he said.

  ‘I know, but do you really want to antagonise the villagers when you can make the tree safe and let them have their traditional Christmas Eve carol service? I’ve kept the cost right down for you, as a special festive concession,’ Joel pointed out. ‘If you still want to cut the tree down later on in the year, you can, but to do it this close to Christmas is causing a lot of bad feeling. I presume you’ve seen the petition?’

  ‘Yes, I have, I’ve had the newspaper on the phone wanting a comment too. I could do without this.’

  ‘Christmas traditions mean a lot to people. Especially after the restrictions of last year.’ Joel couldn’t believe how much like Lexi he was sounding. ‘Why not let it carry on for this year, at least?’

  Martin was silent for a moment. ‘I guess you’re right,’ he agreed. ‘We couldn’t cut it down this side of Christmas anyway, because the boss wants an inquiry thanks to that darn petition. And I have to admit your quote is a good one. Are you sure that you can make it safe enough?’

  ‘I can,’ Joel assured him. ‘As I put in my email, I’ve checked out the tree and the ivy is only affecting the lower branches. It’s choking them, which is why they are dying back. I can cut it off and the tree will be fine. I could start it tomorrow and should be finished on Thursday morning.’ He knew that the council offices were closed from Thursday afternoon until Monday.

  ‘Okay. I need to call a meeting and get formal permission first. I’ve arranged one for this afternoon, so I’ll let you know how it goes. There’s a couple of members who want to keep the tree cordoned off until the inquiry in the new year. I’ll let you know t
he decision later today.’

  So, not cut and dried yet then, Joel thought, although Lexi’s petition had definitely caused a few waves. He had to admire her fighting spirit.

  As soon as the phone call was finished, Joel phoned Andy. ‘Fingers crossed, we’re saving the tree, starting tomorrow,’ he said.

  ‘Blimey mate, you’ve actually pulled it off.’ Andy sounded surprised. ‘How did you manage that? I thought that petition might persuade the council to postpone things until after Christmas, but I didn’t think they’d fork out money to save the tree.’

  ‘I gave Martin an offer he couldn’t refuse. We have to wait for the committee to make a final decision this afternoon, but I reckon it will go ahead. It’s caused too much uproar. It’s even been on the local news,’ Joel told him.

  ‘And what was the offer he couldn’t refuse?’

  Joel told him the sum he’d quoted and Andy whistled. ‘We’re not making much on that, good job we’ve got the necessary equipment between us.’

  ‘Don’t worry, you’ll get your fee. I’ll take the fall.’

  ‘Bloody hell, mate. What’s happened to you? Not only are you caring about a village Christmas tradition, but you’re practically working for free.’

  ‘I know. I have my reasons. Are you still in?’

  ‘Sure. No way am I going to miss Joel Dexter working on a “save the Christmas tree” project. I’ll be there tomorrow.’

  ‘Thanks. I’ll give you a call later when I’ve got the all-clear.’ Joel let out a sigh of relief as he put the phone down. It would have been awkward if Andy hadn’t wanted to do the job, he wouldn’t be able to do it on his own in such a short time.

  He dialled Lexi’s number to give her the good news, but it went straight to answerphone, so he sent her a quick text saying that Martin had agreed to put Joel’s quote to save the tree to the council and he should have a final decision later that day.

  Now, he had another job to finish today – the removal of a tree trunk in a neighbouring village. That should be simple, thank goodness. He’d have to start on the fir tree as soon as it got light tomorrow. He wondered if Lloyd would mind him leaving Sweetie with him tomorrow. He’d be working all day and didn’t want to leave the dog on her own. He’d pop in on his way home from work and ask him. He could perhaps leave Sweetie at home for a couple of hours in the morning, then take him over to Lloyd’s after lunch, that would give Lloyd time to go out to get some shopping if he wanted to.