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

by Karen King

  ‘Oh, Lexi, you’re a lifesaver!’ her father said as Lexi stepped through the door. To her astonishment, the café was packed and both her dad and Claire were rushed off their feet. ‘Would you mind serving in the tearoom for a while? I was tempted to ask your mother to come in, but I know she’s got lots to do at home.’

  ‘Of course.’ Lexi had her coat off, hands washed and apron on in a flash. She picked up a notebook and pen from the counter and went to take orders from the tearoom.

  Every table was full, and she soon found out that most of the gossip was about the fir tree being rescued. ‘We hear that it was thanks to you, dear,’ one of a group of women said as Lexi went over to take their order.

  ‘It’s Joel – the tree surgeon – and his partner Andy who’ve saved the tree,’ she said.

  ‘But you’re the one who persuaded him.’ This was from a man.

  ‘I pointed out how important the carol service was to people in the village, yes, but Joel was the one who agreed to do it at such short notice. And for a reduced fee, too,’ she added.

  ‘Well, we’re all very pleased. It won’t be the same without the Christmas lights, but at least we can still have the carol service,’ someone else said.

  ‘Exactly.’ Lexi gave them all a big smile. ‘Now, what can I get you all?’

  It was two hours later before the rush subsided. ‘Thanks for your help, love,’ her dad said. ‘Now, why don’t you sit down and have a break. I’ll make you a cuppa, and grab yourself a cake.’

  ‘Thanks, but can I take it out? I thought I’d take a coffee and a cheese and ham roll to Joel and Andy – they’re still working on the tree. Unless you still need my help?’

  ‘Brad will be here in a few minutes, so we’re fine. You go and take refreshments to those two men, we all appreciate what they’re doing.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Lexi made two rolls, poured three coffees, and set off.

  She parked opposite the green and walked over with the coffee and rolls, then stood outside the barrier, waiting for one of the men to notice her, pleased to see that Joel was now working on the lower branches, so was standing safely on the ground. Andy spotted her first and waved. He turned off the chipper and called to Joel, who glanced across and waved, too.

  Andy walked over and took the coffee-holder off her. ‘Thanks so much. This is really appreciated.’

  ‘You’re welcome.’ She looked over to see that Joel had now downed tools and was also making his way over. ‘Is it safe to come round?’

  ‘Yep.’ Andy looked at her thoughtfully. ‘It’s not like Joel to lose his rag, but he was worried.’

  She nodded. ‘I know. It was entirely my fault.’

  They moved away from the equipment, and both men removed their helmets when they were a safe distance from the tree.

  ‘How’s it going?’ Lexi asked. She knew that Martin needed assurance that the tree was safe to be emailed to him by noon, and it was almost twelve now.

  ‘Almost done. I’ve emailed Martin.’ Joel took a swig of his coffee. ‘Thanks so much for this.’

  ‘So the carol service can definitely go ahead?’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘Thank you, both of you. You’ve made a lot of people happy. Everyone’s talking about it,’ she said sincerely, wanting them to know how grateful she and the villagers were.

  ‘You’re welcome.’ Joel unwrapped his roll. ‘I was thinking, I might even come to the carol service myself.’

  Andy was about to take a bite out of his roll, but he paused, mouth open, to stare at Joel. ‘You, go to a carol service?’ He sounded astonished. ‘Who are you and what have you done with Joel?’

  Joel grinned. ‘There’s a first time for everything.’

  Seeing that Joel’s attitude to Christmas had softened, Lexi seized the moment to mention her family’s invitation for Boxing Day.

  ‘Lloyd told me you’d invited him around for Christmas Day. That’s really kind of you.’

  Joel chewed some of his roll and nodded. ‘Seemed a shame for him to be on his own, and he’s been great with Sweetie. I figure I owe him.’

  Lexi bit the bullet. ‘My folks have asked me to invite you and Lloyd over for Boxing Day,’ she told him. ‘Fancy it? It’ll be really relaxed: a buffet and a few drinks.’

  Andy looked at Joel with amusement. ‘Sounds like you’re definitely celebrating Christmas this year, mate.’

  Joel looked a bit wary. ‘Thank them for me, please, but I think I’ll have a quiet Boxing Day on my own.’

  Lexi tried to hide her disappointment. ‘Of course. I hope Lloyd still comes, though. We told him that we were inviting you too, we thought that he might feel more comfortable if you were there.

  Joel looked a bit guilty. ‘Oh, well, maybe I could pop in for an hour? If it means Lloyd will accept.’

  ‘Great. We won’t pressure you to stay, I promise.’

  Joel’s eyes met hers, and she felt a shiver of awareness. Feeling awkward, she switched her gaze to the tree and all the needles, branches and pine cones underneath it. ‘Is there anything I can do to help? Perhaps I could rake up some of the needles?’ She knew that they’d both been working since early that morning and must be exhausted. And they were doing it all for a reduced fee, too.

  ‘That would be very helpful. If you’re sure you don’t mind?’ Joel said. ‘I’ve got spare protective gear in my van.’

  ‘I’d be happy to help. Let me text my dad first to let him know the carol service tomorrow is definitely on. So many people have been dropping into the bakery this morning to ask.’ She took out her phone, and sent a quick text to her dad. Then she picked up the empty coffee cups and other rubbish. ‘I’ll put these in the bin, then I’m all yours.’

  Joel’s eyes met hers again, there was a spark of amusement there at the double meaning of that remark, and she turned away quickly so that he couldn’t see the flush she could feel heating up her cheeks. She really had to choose her words more carefully.

  Joel got a spare helmet, gloves and hi-viz jacket out of his van and gave them to Lexi to put on then continued sawing off the diseased branches at the bottom of the tree, while Lexi raked up needles and cones from the branches he’d pruned earlier, and Andy put them in the chipper. The sawdust then came out of the spout and sprayed into the box attached to the back of his van.

  ‘That’s clever,’ she said.

  ‘It saves a lot of work,’ he told her. ‘Sawdust is a lot easier to get rid of.’

  Joel had finished now, and was using a leaf blower to clear the grass, while Lexi did a final sweep up. She raked the branches over to Andy to put in the chipper, then gasped in horror when she saw sawdust all over the road. What had happened?

  ‘Andy, there’s something wrong with the machine!’ she shouted.

  Andy came running over to investigate. ‘The spout on the chipper has come loose and it’s all going onto the road instead of into the box!’ he said with a groan.

  Joel sprang into action, placing cones and danger signs around the heap of sawdust on the road, to warn any traffic. Then they set to cleaning it up.

  Finally it was all clear, and the cones, signs and tape were all in the back of Andy’s van. Joel pushed his safety helmet back and wiped the back of his hand across his forehead. ‘That’s it. All done’ He turned to Lexi. ‘Thanks for your help.’

  ‘You’re welcome.’ She took off her protective gear and handed it to him. ‘Best be off, my brother and his family arrived from Canada last night and I promised to go shopping with them this afternoon. Have a good Christmas, Andy. You too, Joel, if I don’t see you beforehand.’

  ‘I reckon you’re in there, mate. You’ve even had an invite to the Boxing Day family get-together,’ Andy said as Lexi walked over to her car.

  ‘Rubbish, Lexi’s like that with everyone. She thinks Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, and wants everyone else to be caught up in its spell, too,’ Joel told him.

  ‘She’s definitely interested in you, and I
reckon that you’re interested in her, too. Why fight it? She seems lovely. You could do a lot worse.’ He pulled off his hat. ‘Actually, you have done a lot worse.’

  Yes, I have, Joel thought, his mind drifting to Toni and their messy marriage and even messier divorce. ‘She’s nice, but she’s only visiting. And even if she wasn’t, I wouldn’t want to get involved. I’ve had enough of relationships to last me a lifetime.’ Not that he thought that Lexi was the slightest bit romantically interested in him. She was one of those people that was naturally friendly and drew others to her. She treated him the same as she treated Lloyd, and probably everyone else she met. Besides, he had a feeling she wasn’t over that cheating boyfriend of hers yet.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Joel was relieved that he couldn’t hear any barking coming from the cottage when he parked his van outside. He had left Sweetie at home, not wanting to wake Lloyd up so early, and she hadn’t whined at the door this time after he went out. Was she finally settling down? As he put his key in the door, he heard her bark, and she was waiting, tail wagging, when he went in. He made a big fuss of her, then thought that maybe he should have checked around and made sure she hadn’t chewed anything first. Luckily, she hadn’t. He let her out for a few minutes, then showered and got changed. He had one more job before Christmas, and this one was a lot easier as it didn’t involve any climbing up trees and cutting branches. A man called Jim Robinson, who had recently taken over a local country estate, had contacted him to ask for advice on what kind of trees to plant in a wooded area they were planning. Joel really enjoyed this sort of work and after a bit of a discussion with Jim had agreed to go over today, asking if it was okay to bring his dog with him. Jim had agreed so Joel securely fastened Sweetie in the passenger seat of the van and set off.

  As he pulled into the driveway of the house, he saw a van parked outside. It looked like a workman’s van – not surprising as Jim was having a lot of renovations done.

  As Joel walked past the van he noticed ‘R.Winston & Co, Painters and Decoraters’ written across the side in big black letters. He paused. Lloyd’s surname was Winston and his son was called Rocco. He was sure Lloyd or Lexi had said that Rocco was a painter and decorator. Could it possibly be his van?

  The front door opened and two men came walking out, chatting. Joel took one look at the black curly hair, brown eyes, big smile and mocha-toned skin of one of them and knew he was Lloyd’s son. There was no mistaking the resemblance. Should he say something?

  If Lexi was here, she would go straight over to the man and ask him if he was Rocco. Joel wasn’t as impulsive as that, but he knew how much Lloyd wanted to see his son again and felt that he had to at least try to make that happen.

  ‘Wow, you’ve got to be related to Lloyd Winston, you’re almost his double,’ he blurted out, in what he hoped was a light-hearted way.

  The man stopped and stared at him. ‘You know my father?’

  So, he was Lloyd’s son, then. ‘Yep, I live next door but one to him. Lovely man. He sometimes looks after this one for me when I’m working.’ He indicated Sweetie who was now pulling at the lead and sniffing at some flowers. ‘You must be Rocco. He’s talked about you.’

  ‘He has?’ Rocco looked surprised. ‘How’s he keeping?’

  ‘Good. He gets a bit lonely, though.’ Joel put a smile on his face so that Rocco wouldn’t take his words as a dig. ‘Look, it’s none of my business, but I know you two had a bit of a disagreement and he’d love to see you.’ He held up his hand, palm outwards. ‘Just thought you might want to know.’

  Rocco narrowed his stare. ‘Did he tell you what we argued about?’

  ‘Nope and I didn’t ask. Not my business. I’ve only mentioned it in case you were missing him, too, but didn’t want to make the first move because you didn’t know what your reception would be – well, it would make his Christmas.’ He nodded and walked inside to talk to Jim. He’d done all he could. It was up to Rocco now.

  ‘Good to see you, Joel.’ Jim shook Joel’s hand. ‘Let me tell you what I’d like done and you can tell me how feasible it is, and what trees I should plant, and then give me a quote for the job. I’d be looking at you starting in the new year. Can you do that?’

  ‘I sure can,’ Joel replied.

  When he returned from talking to Jim, the decorator’s van was gone. Would Rocco take any notice of what he’d said? Joel wondered. All he could do was hope. He said goodbye to Jim, promising to have the quote to him in a few days – allowing a break for Christmas – then put Sweetie in the van and set off back home.

  On the drive home, his thoughts drifted to the carol service the following night. He knew that the villagers were planning on taking some of their own decorations, and hoped that none of them were intending to climb the tree and put them higher up. Someone could get hurt. An idea occurred to him. As soon as he got home he dialled Andy’s number.

  ‘Are you free tomorrow afternoon?’

  ‘Don’t tell me you’ve got another job for us?’

  ‘It’s a freebie, but it won’t take long.’

  Andy listened in stunned silence as Joel explained what he had planned. ‘Have you had a personality transplant, mate?’ he asked.

  Joel grinned. ‘Are you in?’

  ‘You bet I’m in,’ came the amused reply.

  Lexi was feeling tired now. It had been fun Christmas shopping with Jay, Sonia and Toby. Toby had been fascinated by the Christmas lights, and Sonia and Jay had enjoyed browsing around the big stores, as had Lexi. It was wonderful to spend time with her brother again. She remembered him as being a bit of a lad in his early twenties, but he really seemed to have settled down and become a proud family man. When little Toby said he was too tired to walk, Jay had lifted him up on his shoulders until Toby was ready to get down again. He pointed out the decorated Christmas trees and the festive yarn-bombings to Toby who gazed at them with an expression of sheer delight.

  ‘This is the first Christmas he’s really been aware of what’s going on. I can’t wait to see his face on Christmas Day when he opens his presents,’ Sonia told Lexi. ‘I love it now he’s growing up. Babies are adorable, of course, but my favourite time is when they become toddlers and start to explore the world and develop their own little personality. I can already tell that he’s going to be into mischief like Jay.’ She grinned at Jay.

  ‘And he likes his own way, like you,’ Jay said good-naturedly.

  ‘How about we take him to see Santa before we go home?’ Lexi suggested, spotting a sign saying, ‘Santa’s Grotto’.

  ‘Oh, yes, he would love that.’ Sonia crouched down to talk to Toby. ‘Do you want to see Santa and get a present off him?’

  Toby nodded.

  ‘I bet he only understood the word “present”,’ Jay told her. ‘He’s got no idea who Santa is yet.’

  ‘He will by the time he goes home. You know Dad, once Christmas Eve arrives he’ll be wearing his Santa outfit non-stop until Boxing Day ends,’ Lexi told her brother.

  ‘Does your father dress up as Santa? How cute,’ Sonia exclaimed.

  Lexi and Jay exchanged a grin. Sonia had no idea what a Forde family Christmas was like yet, but they were sure that she would enjoy it. And that little Toby would be spoilt rotten.

  As they joined the not-too-long queue to see Santa in his grotto, Lexi thought how glad she was that the carol service around the tree could go ahead the following night. It wouldn’t be the same without the tree being all lit up, but they would still enjoy it.

  A message pinged into her phone. She took it out of her pocket and glanced at the screen. It was Joel.

  I’ve got some news about Rocco. Fancy popping around later?

  Had Joel found Rocco and managed to persuade him to come and see Lloyd? This really was turning out to be a special Christmas. She quickly replied.

  Love to. Still shopping with my brother and family. About 8 p.m. OK?

  Joel sent a thumbs up as a reply.

  Lexi put he
r phone back in her pocket. She was looking forward to seeing Joel tonight and finding out about Rocco. Thank goodness they had got over that awkwardness and become friends again. She really did enjoy his company.

  Toby squealed with excitement beside her as the gate opened to let them into the grotto and Lexi smiled at him, sharing his joy. It had been so special to spend the day with Jay, Sonia and Toby, and Ryan and Nell were coming tomorrow. It was great to have her family around her, she hoped that Joel’s text meant Lloyd would have his family around him, too. That’s what Christmas was all about.

  Another message pinged in. Thinking it was Joel again, she took her phone out of her pocket and glanced at the screen. Ben.

  She quickly shoved the phone back in her pocket. She wasn’t going to read his message. She didn’t want to think about Ben. Not now. Not ever.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  They all piled home much later, laden with goods. Sonia and Jay had treated themselves and Toby to some new clothes, a new suitcase, explaining that they’d booked an extra case in for the return trip as they had intended to go shopping, and presents for the family. Lexi treated herself to a new dress, bought another couple of gifts for the family and a cute squeaky toy for Sweetie.

  ‘I was thinking, why don’t we all go out for a meal tonight?’ Craig suggested. ‘I’ve checked at the Lystone Arms and they’ve got a table free. Anyone fancy it?’

  ‘That sounds great.’ Jay turned to Sonia. ‘You’ll love it there. It’s a typical old English pub, with lots of character.’

  ‘Can I meet you there?’ Lexi asked. ‘I need to pop in to see Joel for a few minutes.’

  ‘Give him our thanks for saving our Christmas tree,’ her dad said.

  ‘I’ll meet you there about eight thirty. I’ll just pop my shopping up to my bedroom and quickly get changed.’ She hurried upstairs, put the shopping bags on the floor by her bed, changed her jumper, refreshed her make-up and was off. She took the car, she was happy to have a soft drink with her meal and it would save time.