Christmas Under a Starlit Sky

by Holly Martin

  ‘Shadow can be a bit unpredictable,’ Neve explained, as she tried to catch her breath. She had always been quite fit but the aches from the fall were still hurting her and with her kiwi-sized baby growing inside her, she suddenly found herself more unfit than she realised.

  ‘He’s so beautiful,’ Poppy said, her eyes resting on Shadow for a moment before casting back to Oakley in shock.

  ‘He is, but he’s like a stroppy child sometimes,’ Neve said.

  Shadow snorted as if in disagreement.

  ‘Is he a Friesian?’ Poppy asked as Oakley whispered words of encouragement into Shadow’s ear.

  ‘He is. You like horses?’

  ‘I love them.’

  ‘Have you met Knight? He is much more friendly,’ Neve said, tapping on the door of the adjoining stable and right on cue her wonderful dappled grey Andalusian poked his head over the door.

  ‘Oh, he’s gorgeous,’ Poppy laughed as Knight chewed on a piece of hay and then accidentally dropped it.

  ‘Poppy used to love riding,’ her mum said, coming out of her starstruck reverie.

  ‘Before a car accident stole the use of my legs,’ Poppy added, practically.

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ Neve said, not entirely sure what the right words were to convey her sympathy for such a tragedy.

  ‘Hey, I’m still alive,’ Poppy shrugged.

  Her mum smiled. ‘Fortunately Poppy is still able to do most of the things she enjoyed before. She swims, and she’s just joined a basketball team. We were just about to go snowmobiling actually.’

  Neve noticed for the first time that they were both dressed in thermal snow suits. She really wasn’t very observant.

  ‘There’s no reason you can’t horse ride as well,’ Neve said.

  ‘I don’t have the use of my legs, so I can’t control the horse.’

  ‘Knight has been trained with paraplegics. He responds to voice and hand commands. He is so gentle, he would be perfect for your first foray into riding again. I used to work at the stables the British Olympic show jumping team trained from and we had a number of paraplegic and quadriplegic riders there. It was something I always wanted to get more involved with, so I trained Knight to respond to voice commands. I have a special saddle too. It has a back that we can strap you into if you don’t feel safe and we can strap your legs in too so they are in the right position. He is the most wonderful, calm horse. I can assure you it would be very safe. We can do it tomorrow if you want. I can ride with you. I’ll take Shadow out, I’m sure he would appreciate the chance to stretch his legs.’

  Poppy’s eyes lit up. ‘Can I, Mum?’

  ‘We have the boat trip tomorrow.’

  Poppy’s face fell.

  ‘But we could do it the day after tomorrow if that suits you?’ Poppy’s mum said to Neve.

  ‘That’s fine, shall we say eleven o’clock?’

  Poppy nodded gleefully but when Neve glanced up at Oakley, he was scowling.

  ‘Should you be riding in your condition?’

  ‘What? I’m pregnant. I do not need to be wrapped in bubble wrap and. . .’ she trailed off. Was horse riding another one of the things she shouldn’t do, along with not eating runny eggs, pâté and certain types of fish? The thought of not riding for the next six months was a depressing one, but it was something she would have to ask her doctor before she risked it. And with a broken arm it wouldn’t be particularly practical. Maybe Oakley was right.

  ‘I’ll take her out,’ Oakley said. ‘You know Shadow likes me.’

  Poppy let out a little squeal of excitement at the prospect of going riding with a huge star and Neve didn’t have the heart to deny her that joy; besides she didn’t have any alternatives.

  ‘OK,’ Neve nodded reluctantly. She had been looking forward to getting on Shadow again, but of all the horses to ride when pregnant, Shadow was not the ideal choice.

  Just then Boris, the snowmobile instructor, came out of the shed opposite with his husband Mikael and their five-year-old son Chester. Boris was effortlessly dragging one of the snowmobiles with him while Mikael was dragging a second one. Poppy’s mum eyed them both appreciatively. Neve smiled; with their gorgeous model looks, they must turn heads everywhere they went.

  ‘Here you go,’ Boris said as he looked up, his eyes bulging as he spotted Oakley. ‘Oh my God, Oakley Rey!’ he squeaked, like an over-excited teenage girl. ‘I’m your biggest fan, we both are. We knew you were on the island but I didn’t expect to see you here.’

  Neve watched in amusement as Boris ran over and shook Oakley’s hand. She had forgotten that being with Oakley, this kind of thing happened all the time. The staff in the London hotel had quickly got used to his presence as he was there for so long and most of the time she spent with him was either in her bedroom or his so she didn’t see a lot of his fans fawning over him.

  Chester came running over too and he pulled on Oakley’s free hand. ‘Are you Obsidian?’

  Oakley kneeled down to talk to him. ‘Yes, I am.’

  Chester stared at him for a brief moment and then threw his arms round Oakley’s neck and hugged him tight. Oakley laughed but when Chester showed no signs of letting him go, Oakley stood up with Chester in his arms.

  Boris continued to stare at Oakley in amazement.

  Neve cleared her throat. ‘Boris, our guests.’ She indicated Poppy and her mum.

  Boris quickly hurried back over to the snowmobiles.

  ‘OK, if you two climb on, I can explain the controls and oh. . . erm, do you need help getting on?’ he asked Poppy.

  ‘No, I can do it,’ Poppy said, as she rolled her wheelchair to the side of the snowmobile, applied the brakes and then pulled herself out of the chair and manoeuvred herself onto the back of the snowmobile as if she had been doing such things all her life.

  Neve smiled.

  Boris talked them through the controls and how to do certain things and Neve turned back to Oakley to see him and Chester deep in conversation about Obsidian and his powers. Something unfurled inside her. In a few years’ time this could be Oakley holding his son, playing with him and talking to him. Adam was right, she couldn’t deny him that chance. As soon as they were alone, she would tell him the truth.

  Boris dragged another snowmobile out of the shed and passed Poppy and her mum a helmet each. He climbed on his snowmobile and encouraged Poppy to take the lead. She gunned the snowmobile into life and took off down the track. Boris took off after her and Poppy’s mum followed close behind, leaving them alone with Mikael and Chester. Chester was still gabbling away happily to Oakley and Neve had to smile as she had never heard Chester talk so much.

  ‘Well, we must leave Miss Whitaker and Mr Rey to their business now, Chester,’ Mikael said, when Chester showed no sign of stopping.

  ‘That’s OK. We were just going down to the village, we’re not in any rush,’ Oakley said.

  ‘Can we go to the village with them, Daddy, can we?’

  ‘If they do not mind us tagging along,’ Mikael said, in his stilted English.

  ‘Of course not,’ Oakley said and Neve wondered if he’d said that deliberately so he wouldn’t have to be alone with her.

  Neve spent a few moments giving Shadow and Knight some fuss, and checking they had enough food, but, as she already suspected, Luke had been down there earlier that morning to check they were OK and to feed them.

  When she was ready to leave, Oakley strode off down the path with Chester still chatting to him, leaving her alone with Mikael. So much for telling Oakley the truth.

  ‘I heard you were pregnant, Miss Whitaker, congratulations,’ Mikael said.

  ‘Thank you. I want this baby so much, but I find the whole thing terrifying, if I’m honest.’

  ‘It is scary, yes. When you hold your baby for the first time, there is nothing more frightening than this little person relying on you for their every whim and need. But the love you feel for your child is not like anything else you have ever felt before and that lov
e is enough to make sure your baby is happy and healthy. And I think Oakley will make a wonderful father. He will help you with this.’

  ‘What if he isn’t ready?’

  ‘None of us are ever ready to be a parent. No book can prepare you, no baby classes can teach you, but you and Oakley will do your best for your baby. I know this and your child could never ask for anything more than that.’

  Neve stared down at the snow as they walked. Mikael was right. As long as they loved each other and loved the baby, that was the only thing that mattered. There was never going to be any right time to have a child and it wasn’t fair to judge Oakley on his immediate reaction to the news of her pregnancy. She would tell him the truth and let him have time to digest it properly. Then he could choose for himself.

  Chapter 13

  Adam was just reading through some of the reviews that had started to appear about the hotel when there was a knock at his door. He looked up, half hoping it would be Ivy who had come to distract him again, so he was slightly disappointed to see it was Gabe.

  Gabe came in, closing the door behind him and sitting down in the chair opposite Adam’s.

  ‘How’s things?’

  ‘Good, busy but good,’ Adam said.

  ‘Do you need any help with anything? I know you’ve only been here a few days and you’ve been thrust into the thick of it already.’

  ‘No, everything’s fine. You’ve got a great team here and Neve is so efficient that it’s a dream taking over from her for a short while.’

  Gabe nodded. ‘I haven’t seen Neve since we got back last night. Did she try to come to work this morning?’

  ‘Of course she did! I had her removed.’

  Gabe laughed. ‘Are you any wiser to the whole baby daddy saga?’

  ‘Yes, actually. Neve told Oakley the baby wasn’t his because she didn’t want to land him with the burden of a baby he didn’t want. The natural assumption that Oakley leapt to was the baby must be mine,’ Adam said, dryly.

  Gabe sighed. ‘I can’t believe she did that.’

  ‘Don’t be too hard on her, she did it for the right reasons. I’ve convinced her to tell him the truth so hopefully it won’t be too long before the situation is resolved.’

  ‘Well, that’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘They’re engaged, she’s pregnant with his child. At some point they will sort out their issues and if they don’t I’m not letting Oakley leave here until they do. He’s an actor in California, he can’t exactly relocate here. It makes sense that she’ll eventually end up moving over there and I wondered if you’d be interested in taking over from her when that happens.’

  ‘As manager?’ Adam clarified.

  ‘Yes.’

  Adam wanted to leap up from his chair onto the desk and do a dance of joy. It was everything he wanted. OK, it wasn’t in London but, as he’d said to Ivy the day before, over the years his dreams had changed and this change was one that he liked.

  Gabe misread his silence.

  ‘I know you’re happy in London but I doubt a managerial role will come up there, not with Franco showing no sign of moving on any time soon. If he ever leaves you’ll be the first person I’ll ask to take over from him, I guarantee you that. I know this place is remote and barren, I know it’s very different to what you’re used to, but it doesn’t have to be forever. But I need someone I can trust to take over from Neve if she leaves.’

  Adam looked out the window at the little snow-covered lodges and tried to imagine how stunning the place would look in summer. He tried to imagine how different life would be for him in this little haven. Would he grow bored of the lack of bars, theatres, shops and sights that London held?

  ‘What would it take for you to say yes?’ Gabe asked, nervously.

  Adam turned round to look at him, not realising that he was causing Gabe to worry with his lack of an answer.

  ‘I’d match the salary Neve is on now, that goes without saying,’ Gabe continued. ‘It’s very generous. And I’d make sure you had a proper house to live in, not just a room.’

  ‘I’d want an assistant,’ Adam said, surprising himself with his demands. ‘A deputy manager, assistant manager or a PA, I don’t care which, but I’d want someone here specifically to help me. This job is way too big for one person. I’m not surprised Neve has been struggling.’

  ‘I’ll get you one. As soon as the New Year is here I’ll look for one. I’ll make sure I get someone good.’

  ‘I want a guaranteed day off every week, so I can continue my pilot’s training.’

  ‘OK, I have no problem with that. Actually, having another pilot on call here might lessen the load for Mikael. If there are courses or training you need to take, I’d pay for that.’

  Adam nodded and then, as Gabe seemed to be in a ‘saying yes’ mood, he thought he might as well go for broke.

  ‘When Ivy Storm’s contract comes to an end next year, I want you to offer her a permanent position in the village.’

  Gabe’s eyebrows shot up at the bizarre request. ‘Something you want to tell me?’

  ‘Not really.’

  Gabe smiled.

  ‘I just know she wants to stay here and hates the prospect of leaving in a year’s time.’

  ‘And so you make her staying here a condition of you taking the new job? That’s incredibly selfless and noble of you.’

  ‘What can I say? I’m a noble kind of guy,’ Adam said, clearly knowing that Gabe wasn’t buying any of this for one second.

  ‘Well, I have no problem with that. Her sales more than speak for themselves. The villagers love her and I haven’t had any issues with her. I’ll go straight down to the village now and ask her to stay if it means you’ll say yes.’

  ‘That’s not necessary.’

  Gabe stood up. ‘Any more demands you want to ask for, a new Ferrari perhaps?’

  Adam laughed. ‘No, just those three conditions will be fine.’

  ‘Why do I get the feeling that I’ve just been played? You had no intention of leaving here, did you?’

  ‘I was going to come and see you about making the move permanent this afternoon.’

  Gabe moved to the door, shaking his head. ‘So we have a deal?’

  ‘Yes, absolutely. I really appreciate the chance.’

  ‘Of course, it might take a while for Neve to decide to leave, but I’m happy to have you here as long as it takes for her to come to her senses.’

  ‘Well, I’m not going to push her out of her job, just so I can take over. If she chooses to stay and raise the baby alone, I’d be more than happy to stay here to assist her with the hotel.’

  ‘Just as long as Ivy stays too?’

  Adam grinned. ‘That’s right.’

  Gabe walked out, still shaking his head.

  Adam leaned back in his chair with a huge smile on his face. This day had suddenly got a whole lot better.

  Oakley stared into the swirls of steam coming from his hot chocolate. Neve had wanted some time alone and he strongly suspected she wanted to get him a Christmas present. Though he wasn’t sure what present could correctly convey the ‘I’m sorry I slept with someone else minutes after you left, please forgive me’ sentiment.

  He sighed. He didn’t know what he was still doing there. He could have arranged for his helicopter to come and collect him straight after he arrived back from the hospital. By now he could be halfway back to America, but for some reason he couldn’t work out, leaving Neve simply wasn’t an option. But he had no idea where that left them. He loved her, he knew that, and loving someone meant forgiving them. They hadn’t been together when she’d slept with someone else so technically she hadn’t done anything wrong, but he knew it was going to take time before he could look past that. Problem was, they didn’t have time. He was due to leave in less than a week. And what of the child that wasn’t his and the man out there who had a claim over Neve’s baby? How would he fit into the grand scheme of
things? Nothing had gone according to plan since his arrival and he wasn’t sure what he could do about it.

  He took a sip from his deliciously creamy hot chocolate and rum drink and looked around the Christmas market. Although it was two days after the event, the place was still packed with guests, bustling from one shop to the next, their arms laden with bags of goodies and sweet delicious treats. The smells were wonderful, the savouriness of the hog roast combined with the sweet scents of the toffee, chocolates, fudge and pancakes were tantalising. The log cabins looked so pretty with their fairy lights in the windows, sending puddles of gold onto the snow-covered street. Snow fell in big fat flakes as it swirled around the guests and no one seemed to mind.

  It was a lot colder here than he was used to and so he quickly finished his drink and headed inside one of the nearest shops to get in from the cold.

  It was a shop filled with snow globes in all manner of shapes and sizes and the globes seemed to sparkle as he wandered through the spotlit-illuminated shop.

  ‘Ah, Oakley Rey, I wondered when I’ll be seeing you,’ said a soft Irish voice from the darkness at the back of the shop. A very beautiful woman in her forties stepped out from the shadows, dressed in a long green velvet dress. ‘Congratulations on your engagement, by the way. I presume you are here to fill in the wedding forms?’

  Oakley stared at her in confusion. ‘Erm, no.’

  ‘Oh, let me introduce myself. I’m Mikki O’Sullivan, artist, snow globe maker and the official registrar on Juniper Island. When you and Neve get married here, I’ll be the one to oversee the ceremony.’

  ‘Oh, we’re not getting married.’

  Mikki cocked her head in confusion. ‘But you’re engaged?’

  ‘No, not really.’

  ‘I’ve seen the ring, on her finger no less.’

  ‘Yes, I proposed and then. . . well, let’s just say, everything that could go wrong did go wrong after that.’

  But Mikki waved away his concerns with a flap of her hands, as if finding out the woman he loved was pregnant with another man’s child was nothing of real consequence.