Winter at The Cosy Cottage Cafe_A deliciously festive feel-good Christmas romance

by Rachel Griffiths

  “Your father told me all about his… other two wives and what happened there, Camilla, so you don’t need to worry. He’s not hiding anything.”

  “And what about you?”

  “What?”

  “Well, Dad didn’t tell me exactly but I gathered from what he said that you hid things from us after he left.”

  Jackie looked at Laurence and he nodded.

  “You mean the cards and letters he sent?”

  “And the fact that he phoned. We might not even have wanted to speak to him or to read the cards and letters but the option would have been nice. He left you but he still tried to keep in contact with Dawn and me and you let us believe he didn’t want to know us.”

  Jackie covered her mouth and her eyes glistened.

  “Your mum was upset, love. She was very angry at and she had every right to be—”

  “It’s okay, Laurence. Camilla’s right. It was wrong of me and I’m sorry. I just wanted you to hate him for leaving us. That was so, so wrong of me.” She shook her head.

  “Camilla, everyone makes mistakes, some of us more than others. But I’m back now and I’m not running away again. Please give me a chance. Your mother wants to.”

  Jackie got up and stood next to Laurence then wrapped her arms around him. “I’m not letting you go again.”

  “Okay…” Camilla released a shaky breath. “Okay. A lot to take in but I get it. At least I want to get it. I can’t say it won’t be strange having my parents together but you are capable of making up your own minds. Just don’t… hurt each other again. And think about Dawnie, won’t you? Don’t throw this information at her, please, just take it easy and try to handle it sensitively. She’s pregnant and… and vulnerable at the best of times. And as for the children, your grandchildren, think of them too.”

  “Of course we will, love. Our lips are sealed and as far as they know, your father’s just staying here over Christmas until he gets something else sorted. We weren’t going to tell you for a while anyway.”

  “Then you caught us in flagrante!” Laurence shook his head. “Apologies for that too.”

  “I’m scarred for life now, Dad.” Camilla flashed him a smile to try to diffuse some of the tension in the dining room, even though she didn’t really feel like smiling.

  “Do you want to stay for dinner, love?” Jackie asked.

  “No thanks, Mum. It’s Tuesday.”

  Laurence frowned. “What happens on Tuesdays?”

  “Camilla, Dawn and their friend Honey all go to The Cosy Cottage Café where the owner Allie makes them food and they put the world to rights.”

  “Ahhh. It’s good to have friends.”

  Camilla nodded. She drained her tea then stood up.

  “Right you two. Be careful and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” She grimaced. “I meant… just be careful.”

  She hugged her mother then her father and they walked her to the door, still holding hands.

  “See you in the week, but don’t worry, I’ll ring first. I don’t want to see Act two of Fifty Shades Over Fifty.”

  She smiled then marched down the path and out into the street. When she was out of sight, she allowed the smile to slip from her face and she slowed her pace. She’d just caught her parents up to goodness knows what and she wasn’t sure that either one of them was thinking about how this could go wrong. And it could go very, very wrong indeed. Her mother had been broken when her father left and Camilla couldn’t bear to see that happen again. Yet Laurence had told her that he was back for good and that he had feelings for Jackie, so all Camilla could do was hope for the best. She couldn’t exactly ban them from seeing each other or make them sleep in separate bedrooms.

  Besides, she’d never seen her mother look so young or so happy. Laurence clearly had the ability to make Jackie feel alive and however long that lasted, surely it was a good thing? Although, of course, she preferred not to think that any of it had to do with sex. Who could stand the thought that their parents were doing it?

  Nope. She would hope that Laurence was making her mum smile again and that he would continue to do so. There was nothing wrong with hoping now, was there?

  10

  Camilla headed up the path of The Cosy Cottage Café. She was so glad it was Tuesday because she really needed to see her friends, to spend a few hours where she felt comfortable and loved. She wouldn’t be able to tell them about what she’d just seen, but at least she could try to put it from her mind for a while.

  They would, of course, want to know about how her meeting with her father had gone the previous afternoon at the pub, but she’d already thought about how to deliver that information so as to avoid worrying Dawn. She always considered how best to avoid worrying her little sister, even though Dawn was a grown woman and perfectly capable of dealing with everyday situations. It was, Camilla sometimes thought, more for her own benefit than for Dawn. If she felt that she was looking out for her sister, then she felt useful. So really, if she analysed that objectively, she was well aware that she was relying on Dawn to make her feel needed. She suspected that Dawn knew this too, but they loved each other dearly, so she didn’t think Dawn minded being needed too.

  She paused for a moment to appreciate the café’s exterior. It was such a pretty cottage at any time of year, but with the Christmas tree visible through the window decorated with twinkling lights, the coloured fairy lights draped across the front of the building, the festive wreath hanging on the door and the grey smoke curling up out of the chimney into the dark sky, it was even lovelier than usual. The four front windows glowed invitingly and Camilla felt like she was coming home, something she always felt when she visited The Cosy Cottage Café.

  She pushed the door open and went inside, licking her lips as she was greeted by the aromas of freshly baked bread, cinnamon and ginger that were carried on some very welcome warm air.

  “Camilla!” Allie greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and a beaming smile.

  “Hi, Allie. It’s lovely and warm in here.”

  “The log burner is wonderful when the weather’s like this. It’s bitter out, isn’t it?”

  Camilla nodded.

  “Wouldn’t be surprised if we have some snow.”

  “Really?” Camilla shivered. The last thing she wanted was a big freeze; the idea of being trapped at home alone certainly didn’t appeal.

  “You never know.” Allie took Camilla’s coat then hung it on the stand near the door. “Now go and take a seat and I’ll get you a drink.”

  “Thanks.”

  Camilla went to the table nearest the log burner, that they always sat at for their Tuesday evenings after Allie had closed the café for the day, and sat next to Dawn. Honey was browsing the bookshelves on the far wall.

  “And how are you feeling today, Dawnie?”

  Camilla took in her sister’s appearance and was pleased to see that she looked well.

  “Not too bad, thanks. Rick has made me keep my feet up all day and been very patient whenever I’ve needed to moan about the situation.”

  “You mean Dad’s return?”

  “Who else?”

  “It was a bit of a shocker.”

  “A bit? I still can’t believe he’s back. And he seemed so… blasé about it.”

  “He did a bit.”

  “Have you seen him since Sunday?”

  “I popped in on my way back from the station.” Camilla glanced away, worried that Dawn would read something in her eyes about exactly what Camilla had seen earlier.

  “And how was he?”

  “Oh… uh… all right.”

  “And Mum?”

  “Yes, she was fine too.”

  “Why’re you blushing, Camilla?”

  “I’m not, am I?” Camilla placed her cool palms against her cheeks and realised they were, in fact, hot. “It must be the fire. It’s so cosy in here after being out in the cold.”

  “Did you get any more information about how long Dad’s staying around?
I haven’t been over there yet because I thought they needed some time to talk but I sent Mum a text today to see how she was.”

  “What did she say?”

  “That she was fine. Nothing more. So I guess I shouldn’t worry.”

  “No, Dawnie, you definitely shouldn’t worry.”

  Camilla gazed around at the festive decorations. Allie had made the interior of the café look like a winter wonderland this year with fake snow padding out the bookshelves, sparkling glitter snowflakes dangling from the wooden ceiling beams, silver tealight holders on the tables with snowflake cut outs and twinkling fairy lights around the edges of the counter, the inside of the door and windows and on the tree.

  “Here you go.” Allie arrived at the table with a bottle of white wine and a bowl of shiny green olives. “Do you want more lemonade, Dawn?”

  “No thanks. I don’t want to drink too much because of the bubbles.”

  “Shall I get you something else then?”

  “No, this is fine for now, thanks.”

  “Right I’ll go and get the pizzas.”

  “I’ll give you a hand.” Camilla got up and followed Allie into the café kitchen.

  The kitchen was a small space but it was warmly lit with ceiling spotlights, making it extremely inviting, and the smells in there made Camilla’s mouth water. On the island in the middle of the kitchen were three large homemade pizzas.

  “There’s a choice between three cheese, ham, chorizo and mushroom, and spinach, ricotta and mint.”

  Camilla eyed the pizzas with their golden crusts and various toppings from the melted cheese to the succulent mushrooms and the bright green herbs freshly sprinkled over the top.

  “I can’t wait to try them all!”

  “Chris made some of his fabulous aioli too, so we’ll definitely keep the vampires away tonight. Or should I say the handsome vets?” Allie winked and Camilla shook her head.

  “There’s no need. Nothing’s happened.”

  “No? I’m not sure I believe that, Camilla. Come on, help me take these through then you can fill us in with all the wonderful details.”

  Camilla picked up a pizza and a small dish of the creamy garlic dip that Chris had made, then followed Allie though to the café. She knew she wouldn’t get away with giving them no details at all, but she’d prefer to speak to them about Tom than to have to spend the evening evading discussing her parents and their rekindled romance. Which no one other than her knew about. And which she had to keep to herself. For now at least.

  Ten minutes later, the wine had been poured and Camilla was feeling far more relaxed. Honey had regaled them with a tale about the yoga class she’d delivered the previous Sunday that one of the teachers from the local primary school had attended, leaving all the women there open mouthed with surprise.

  “There we were, in the freezing cold village hall, me at the front trying to guide my ladies into the downward dog when Dane Ackerman strode in. I thought he was lost. Not that I’m stereotyping or anything but the only man who’s come to my classes up until now is Fred Bennett, and he tends to spend the hour on a chair just doing some upper body stretches. But at eighty-seven, I’m afraid to push him because he hasn’t done yoga before. To be honest, I think Fred just likes the company.” She flicked her long multi-coloured hair over her shoulders and smiled.

  “So what did you do when Dane walked in?” Camilla asked, glad that the conversation had so far steered clear of her and Tom.

  “Smiled and asked him if he needed a mat.”

  “He’s quite cute isn’t he?” Dawn nodded. “I know him because he teaches year 6. He has quite a following amongst the single mums.”

  “I’m not surprised.” A blush spread over Honey’s cheeks. “He’s gorgeous. For a primary school teacher anyway.”

  “Did he have his own mat?” Camilla was keen to find out.

  “No. So I told the rest of my class to carry on with our regular routine then I went over to him, gave him a spare mat and asked what he wanted out of yoga.”

  “And?” Allie leaned forwards.

  “He said that because he’s sustained so many rugby injures over the years, he’s really stiff and gets a lot of aches and pains, and his GP said that yoga might help with flexibility.”

  “Ooh! So are you going to help him?”

  “Of course. I told him that he could take part in Sunday’s session but that he might struggle as they’re all quite experienced now. However, I could give him some personal tuition.”

  “You didn’t?” Dawn giggled.

  “I did.”

  “When do you start?”

  “After Christmas. He’s going to come along to group when he can but I said I’ll design him a personalised routine to help him loosen up.”

  “Do you fancy him?” Camilla sipped her wine.

  “Nah… he’s over six-foot tall, built like a wall of muscle and has the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. Add to that the broken nose and the scar on his lip that I just want to lick and I have no attraction to him what-so-ever.”

  Camilla and Dawn rolled their eyes at each other and Allie groaned. “He sounds horrendous. How come I haven’t seen him then?”

  “He only started after October half-term when one of the older teachers went off long-term sick. They don’t think he’ll be back so Mr Ackerman could be round here permanently.” Dawn shifted in her seat. “I have a foot under my rib today and it’s so uncomfortable.”

  “I remember that. Jordan was forever kicking my ribs and I swear I was black and blue by the time I gave birth.”

  Camilla shivered. “I don’t know how you can stand it. I’d go mad if I had another person in my belly.”

  “You might not, you know.” Dawn ran her hands over her rounded stomach. “Even with swollen ankles, veins in places you didn’t know you had them and the over all discomfort, it’s still a very special time.”

  “I’ll take your word for it. I’m just glad I have niece and a nephew and another on the way to dote on.” Camilla picked up the wine bottle and poured more into Allie’s glass then Honey’s, then her own.

  “Anyway, Camilla, weren’t you going to tell us about the gorgeous vet?” Allie raised her eyebrows.

  “Was I?”

  “Yes, what’s been going on with you?” Honey asked. “You never did tell us about the Halloween Party and evaded the questions so many times that I thought perhaps you hadn’t even gone but you didn’t want to admit it.”

  Camilla shook her head. She’d have to tell them something now or this could go on for years.

  “Well I told Allie about it the other day when I bumped into her. I’ve avoided telling you all because it was so embarrassing but basically…”

  Five minutes into her story and her sister and friends were laughing so much she thought Dawn might actually pop. Honey had fallen off her chair once and Allie was giggling even though she’d heard the story already.

  “Have you seen him since?” Honey asked.

  “Yesterday. I bumped into him in the morning and he asked me to meet for a drink. He said he was embarrassed about what had happened.”

  “I told you he would be.” Allie nodded. “My cats are always embarrassing me. Look at what happened with poor deceased Wallace when Luna got hold of him.”

  Dawn shuddered. “Poor Wallace.”

  Camilla squeezed her shoulder, knowing that her sister still missed her first little guinea pig, in spite of the fact that Wallace’s replacement was absolutely adorable, as were her babies.

  “Anyway, we had a drink then I went back to his cottage and had dinner.”

  “Ooh! I wish you’d told me about this yesterday, Camilla. It would’ve take my mind off worrying about Mum and Dad and I could’ve been wondering what you were doing with Tom Stone instead.”

  “Dawn, I know you and it would’ve given you something else to worry about. Besides, there was nothing to tell. We had dinner, he walked me home, that was it.”

  “What no kisses?” Daw
n pouted.

  “Nope.”

  “Camilla, are you blushing?” Allie pointed at her cheeks.

  “Well one kiss… a peck that I initiated after he walked me home. But that’s it. We’re friends and he’s very nice and sweet and I fancy him and… oh shit, I really do. I fancy him like mad.” She stared at the other women and they stared back. “What am I going to do? This isn’t supposed to happen to me!”

  “Camilla this is a good thing. This is life.” Allie reached across the table and took her hand. “Remember how you encouraged me when Chris was back in town? You told me to go for it. You said it was high time I enjoyed life and let myself be happy. The same applies to you.”

  “No. No, it’s different. I mean… he’s just so nice. But I’m not.”

  She hung her head as thoughts swirled through her mind.

  “What do you mean you’re not nice? Of course you are.” Dawn took Camilla’s other hand. “You’re the loveliest big sister in the world and you have such a warm heart.”

  “But I’ve never let a man get close. In fact, I’ve pushed them away and even hurt them. What if I hurt Tom? He lives round here and it could be awful… disastrous. I can’t allow myself to get close to him.”

  “Of course you can. And you won’t hurt him.” Dawn squeezed her hand.

  Camilla thought of her parents and how her father had run away and how much he had hurt her mother, Dawn and her. But he’d come back and he had reasons for what he’d done, reasons that kind of made sense, even if they didn’t completely excuse his behaviour.

  “I might. And I don’t want to.”

  “Camilla, it’s okay to be afraid. Love is about taking chances and not all relationships work out but you owe it to yourself to give this a chance if you really like him.” Allie released her hand then raised her wine glass. “To taking chances on love because let’s be honest ladies, it’s bloody well worth it!”