Christmas under a Cranberry Sky

by Holly Martin

  ‘Gabe has worked so hard to get this place ready, but we’ve all been worried that he has neglected his personal life in favour of it. He needs a lovely woman to look after him.’

  Pip tried to suppress a smile at the not-so-subtle matchmaking.

  Gabe laughed awkwardly. ‘I don’t need anyone to look after me, Wren and I are doing fine on our own.’

  Mikki returned her attention to the snow globe she was painting. ‘I’ve created a wedding scene for this one.’

  ‘Great idea, we have several weddings booked for next year. I’m sure they will be very popular.’

  ‘I think Pip might like this one.’ Mikki held it aloft and Pip smiled at the tiny bride and groom emerging from the ice palace. Though as she looked more closely her smile fell off when she realised the groom had black hair, the bride was blonde with golden eyes and in between them was a tiny black-haired girl dressed in a Frozen Elsa dress. ‘To remind you of Juniper Island,’ Mikki said, mischievously.

  Gabe had clearly seen the likeness too as he frowned.

  Not wanting any more awkwardness, Pip leaned forward to whisper in Mikki’s ear. ‘I won’t need a reminder of Juniper Island or of Gabe and Wren if I’m living here with them.’

  Mikki laughed. ‘That is true, my dear. Maybe I’ll keep it as a wedding gift, for the, erm…appropriate guests.’

  ‘I’ll take the one of St Vitus Cathedral,’ Pip said quickly. ‘I love Prague.’

  ‘You don’t want one of Juniper Island?’ Gabe said, clearly a bit disappointed by that.

  ‘She won’t need it,’ Mikki hooted, returning to her work.

  Gabe looked between them in confusion. ‘Look, grab the globe you want and I’ll scan it and then Mikki can send it up to the lodge for you.’

  Pip did as she was told and then Gabe escorted her out onto the street.

  ‘What was that about?’ he asked.

  ‘I think Mikki would quite like to see us married off.’

  ‘That’s a bit optimistic.’

  Pip sighed, feeling more confused than ever.

  With his hand still in hers, Gabe escorted her to the next shop, simply called ‘Chocolate’. The mouth-watering sweet smells were deliciously inviting as the warmth of the shop swirled around them as soon as they stepped inside.

  Chocolate fountains of several different shades of brown and white stood in the middle of the room as hot liquid chocolate cascaded over several tiers. The smell was divine and Pip resisted the urge to stick her face into one of the chocolate flows and drink it straight from the fountain.

  Before she’d had a chance to look further round the room, Pip spotted Stephen dressed in a very Christmassy waistcoat with a matching bow tie. He was sitting at the back of the shop by the fire, presumably with his wife who was actually sitting in a rocking chair, knitting. Pip suppressed the smile that was bubbling inside. With her little gold-rimmed half-moon glasses and her grey hair in a bun, she looked like she had googled what ‘Mrs Christmas looked like’ and decided to dress and act accordingly.

  Stephen looked over at them as they walked in and stood up to greet them.

  ‘Miss Chesterfield, how lovely to see you again.’

  ‘Please, call me Pip.’

  ‘Pip.’ He smiled and his smile grew even bigger when he saw that she was holding hands with Gabe.

  A thought struck her. ‘Why didn’t you tell me that Gabe lived here when we talked about him on the plane?’

  ‘You talked about me?’ Gabe said, clearly intrigued by this.

  ‘I mentioned that I had been here before on holiday with my best friend. Stephen remembered me and that I’d come with you. He didn’t mention that you were here, though.’

  Stephen looked sheepish for a moment. ‘There was something about the way you looked when I mentioned his name. It made me think you wouldn’t welcome seeing him again. I wondered if you would have been so excited about coming here if you’d known he was going to be here too. I feared you might just tell me to turn the plane around.’

  ‘I probably would have done.’ Pip laughed when she saw Gabe’s face. ‘What? You broke my heart. I didn’t know at that stage that my heartbreak was completely self-inflicted.’

  ‘Then I’m really glad I didn’t tell you if it’s brought you two together again. Please, come meet my wife.’

  Stephen ushered Pip across the room.

  ‘This is my wife Deborah, Debs this is Gabe’s friend, Pip.’

  Deborah stood up and peered over her glasses at them. ‘Did you say girlfriend? I told you, didn’t I, Stephen? We saw the Merry Dancers last night, the Northern Lights for you English folk; it was very brief, only a few minutes, but some of it was red, which is a sign of new love. I said to Stephen that it was red because of you two, though he said it wasn’t.’

  ‘We’re just friends,’ Gabe insisted.

  It felt so weird to hear Gabe define them as that when they seemed to be so much more than that already. They’d kissed and hugged, they’d held hands, they’d slept in bed together. How could he only see her as a friend?

  Deborah exchanged confused glances with Stephen and then pulled on a smile. ‘Well, it’s lovely to meet you, Pip.’

  ‘Pleased to meet you too,’ Pip said, brightly, trying to mask her confusion as well. ‘I had the pleasure of meeting your husband on my trip over here. I don’t think I’ve ever stayed in a hotel where I’ve had a finer welcome than the one I received on the plane from Stephen.’

  ‘That’s so nice to hear,’ Deborah said, smiling proudly. ‘He thought he was too old, said it would be better to have someone younger representing Stardust Lake Hotel, but I told him if Gabe chose him to do it, then he must have his reasons.’

  ‘He’s perfect for the job,’ Gabe agreed. ‘I can’t think of anyone who would do a better job than he will. Our guests will love him.’

  Pip could tell that Stephen was getting embarrassed by the attention, so she quickly changed the subject. ‘Why don’t you show me around your shop?’

  ‘Well, it’s just a chocolate shop, dear,’ Stephen shrugged.

  Deborah batted her hands at him affectionately as she abandoned her knitting to give the tour.

  ‘We have eight chocolate fountains: the black is our bittersweet chocolate with a ninety-nine percent cocoa, the dark brown…’ she pointed ‘…has a seventy percent cocoa mix; it still counts as dark chocolate but it’s not as potent as the bittersweet fountain. Then we have milk chocolate and white chocolate. We also have a mocha fountain here, half coffee, half milk chocolate. This one is chocolate caramel, this one is mint chocolate and this is chocolate and rum. We can make you a hot chocolate with a shot of any of these liquid chocolates mixed with hot milk. Which would you like?’

  Pip smiled at the choice and at the assumption that she of course would want one. ‘I’ve never had a hot white chocolate before. Or is it a white hot chocolate? Either way, I’ll have one of those.’

  Deborah grabbed a paper cup and held it under the flow of white chocolate for a second then moved to a nearby machine that looked like it belonged in one of the poshest coffee houses. Steam billowed from the machine as Deborah filled the cup up with hot milk.

  ‘Would you like cream and marshmallows?’

  Pip nodded and a few moments later Deborah returned with a cup topped with a towering mound of cream and marshmallows.

  Pip took a sip. It was warm, sweet and incredibly delicious. ‘This is wonderful. I can’t believe I’ve never had anything like this before.’

  Deborah beamed.

  ‘We also have chocolate fruit kebabs on sale.’ Deborah pointed to a collection of ready-made fruit kebabs that had a mixture of grapes, apples, oranges and other fruits. ‘These are three pounds for a kebab and you can dip it under any of the fountains. Or you can make your own. You can add marshmallows too. Or there are those Haribo sweets the kids love. You can get a cup of those and just pour chocolate over the top. It’s entirely up to you.’

  Pip hesitated whi
le she made her choice. She wasn’t really hungry but didn’t feel she could turn the kebabs down. They sounded delicious and Deborah was obviously keen to please.

  ‘Pip’s not long had lunch. She might not have room for a kebab too.’ Gabe tried to rescue her from being forced to have a kebab. ‘We have lots of other shops to visit this afternoon, maybe we’ll come back later and get one if we’re hungry.’

  Deborah looked so disappointed that Pip knew she couldn’t walk away without having one. Even if she couldn’t finish it.

  She picked up a kebab that was mainly orange segments and apple pieces and stuck it under the chocolate and rum fountain. The chocolate oozed over the pieces of fruit and Deborah passed her a tall empty cup to put the kebab in and some napkins.

  Pip gave Deborah the hotel card and she scanned it.

  ‘Thank you so much for showing me around,’ Pip said. ‘And it was lovely meeting you.’

  Deborah smiled. ‘I hope we’ll be seeing more of you in the future.’

  ‘I hope so too,’ Pip said, as she left the shop with a cup of chocolate goodness in each hand.

  Gabe closed the door behind them.

  ‘You don’t have to buy something from every shop, you know.’

  ‘Of course I do. Besides, I have two hundred pounds of hotel credit; I can’t take it with me when I go. But you might need to call the Range Rover to take me back to the lodge. At this rate, I’ll be five stone heavier by the time I’ve visited every shop.’

  ‘That can be arranged.’

  She looked down at her chocolate-covered kebab wondering how she was supposed to eat it when her other hand was taken up by the cup of hot chocolate.

  ‘I think you need tables and chairs in there so people can sit and enjoy the hot chocolate and kebabs. It’s awkward to buy and eat both while you’re walking around.’

  Gabe quickly held her cup of hot chocolate as she was clearly struggling with the two cups.

  ‘Also, I’m not sure if you want people to walk around the rest of the village and put their sticky hands on other people’s goods. Tables and chairs might prevent that.’

  ‘I’ll speak to them to see if they are open to it and then I’ll put an order for tables and chairs in today.’

  She stared at him. ‘You don’t need to listen to my opinion. It’s just a thought.’

  ‘It’s a good thought.’

  She slid one of the pieces of chocolate-covered orange off the stick and popped it in her mouth. ‘Oh god, this tastes so good.’ The chocolate had that kick of rum which she could taste only after she had swallowed the chunk of orange. But the burst of orange juice, chocolate and rum worked wonderfully together. She slid another piece off the stick and offered it up for Gabe to try.

  He smiled, then opened his mouth and took it from her fingers, sucking her fingertips momentarily to get all the chocolate. Desire slammed into her stomach. It was so quick, almost so innocent as if he hadn’t meant to make her a quivering mass of need-filled jelly. But the dark look in his eyes showed he had deliberately done it.

  ‘Tastes good,’ he said, softly, and with the way he was looking at her she didn’t think he meant the chocolate.

  She looked away and took the hot chocolate off him again so she could take another sip.

  ‘You need bins out here too. You don’t want your lovely village ruined by litter.’

  He nodded as he walked by her side. ‘That thought never even occurred to me. I’ll get it sorted before our guests arrive.’ He slid his hand into hers again. ‘I’m glad you’re here.’

  She smiled, not sure if he’d said that because she could road test the place before the guests came or because he genuinely liked having her there, but she’d take it either way.

  * * *

  Gabe watched Pip as she peered through the window of the last shop on the first side of the road. She was finishing off a mince-pie-flavoured crêpe topped with brandy cream as she stared at the wooden carvings.

  She had taken the time to chat to every shopkeeper and member of the village she had met so far. She wasn’t just being polite either: she genuinely enjoyed talking to them about their lives, the crafts they were selling and their experience of the island. In one shop she had spent over an hour looking at all the photos of Caroline’s new grandson and at no point had she seemed bored or tried to get away. They had all been so desperate to make a good impression on their first visitor and she had sensed that and indulged them all in listening to them talk and show off their crafts and produce. True to her word, she had bought something from each shop. Everyone had been completely enchanted with her, falling in love with her as she laughed at their jokes, complimented them on their food or admired their wares. She was wonderful to watch as she engaged with them all and Gabe knew he was falling a little bit in love with her too.

  It had been awkward, though. Everyone had mentioned their relationship and he just didn’t know how to define it yet so how could he confirm it to others? To confirm they were a couple when they had only been sort of together for a day might scare her off. It was better all round if everyone just assumed they were friends.

  Pip finished the crêpe and licked her fingers and then grabbed his hand to lead him into the shop.

  As Joy, the wood carver, looked up at their arrival and then immediately down at their joined hands, he relinquished his hold on her to try to avoid any more awkward questions. He’d hoped Pip wouldn’t notice but, by the tiny frown that creased her brow, he guessed she had.

  ‘Pip, this is Joy Mackenzie, our wood carver and one of the artists that we contacted to come and live here. Joy, this is my friend, Pip.’

  Joy stood up and, impossibly, her large baby bump looked even bigger than the last time he had seen her a few days before.

  ‘Pleased to meet you,’ Pip said, shaking Joy’s hand. ‘Did you carve all these pieces yourself?’

  ‘Yes, it’s something I’ve been doing for years. I started my career chainsaw carving on much bigger pieces of wood, but I really like the fine detail required for these tiny pieces. Gabe offered me the opportunity to come and carve Christmas decorations for a year and I thought it’d be great to give it a go for a while. I’m trying to get a ton done now because this little one will be here soon and I might be a bit busy after that.’

  Gabe smiled, knowing how hard a newborn baby would be. The shop was already filled with hundreds of beautiful hand-carved pieces and, while it would be nice for the tourists to come and see Joy actually making the decorations, he’d be quite happy for her to take some much-needed time off when the baby arrived. She had been working like a Trojan since her arrival on the island. Her husband Finn could man the shop or there were some teenagers in the village who would be more than happy to get some extra work.

  ‘Do you know what you’re going to have?’ Pip asked.

  Joy rubbed her belly, affectionately. ‘A boy. We’ll have one of each then. Rebecca is five now and she can’t wait to have a little brother to play with. I did explain it might be a while before she can actually play with him, but I’m sure she’ll figure out a way. Oh, here she is.’

  Gabe looked up to see her husband, Finn, walking into the shop with Rebecca on his hip.

  ‘Mummy, are you coming to have dinner with us?’ Rebecca said, completely unfazed by the visitors in her home. Gabe grinned. Wren adored Rebecca and would come down to the village to play with her every chance she got. They were going to school together after Christmas and he’d already agreed with Joy and Finn that they’d take it in turns to take the girls over on the boat to the school in Yell.

  ‘I’ll be there in a minute, sweetheart,’ Joy said. ‘This is Gabe’s friend, Pip. This is my husband Finn and our daughter Rebecca.’

  Finn smiled by way of greeting. He was always very quiet, but it was obvious he couldn’t be prouder of Joy’s skills and ability.

  Rebecca held out her hand to shake Pip’s and Gabe suppressed the laugh.

  ‘Hello Rebecca, your mummy sure has a
ton of talent. Are you going to learn to carve when you’re older?’ Pip asked.

  ‘No, I’m going to be a princess.’

  ‘Well, that sounds like a lot of fun. Now, maybe you can help me choose which of these beautiful tree decorations I should buy.’

  ‘All of them,’ Rebecca said, seriously.

  Finn laughed. ‘We’ll make a saleswoman out of you yet. Why don’t you show Pip your favourite ones?’

  He placed her down on the floor and she walked with purpose to a shelf in the corner of the room. ‘I like this one with all the ponies on it,’ Rebecca said, offering it to Pip, who knelt down to examine the large wooden bauble.

  ‘It’s lovely. This one reminds me of Leo,’ Pip said, pointing to one of the ponies.

  ‘It is Leo,’ Rebecca said.

  ‘Have you met him?’ Pip asked, turning the bauble over to inspect the wonderful craftsmanship.

  ‘Yes, a few times,’ Rebecca said, then leaned over to whisper in Pip’s ear. ‘He’s not as scary as everyone says he is.’

  Pip laughed. ‘I’ll bear that in mind.’

  She had such a lovely way with Rebecca; he’d seen it with Wren too. She didn’t talk to them like they were babies, but there was something about Pip that both girls found so engaging.

  She stood up and picked up another tree ornament from nearby, one that had a couple entwined with each other as if their limbs and bodies were joined. It was stunning and looked like it should be in a modern art museum not in a Christmas decoration gift shop. He loved Joy’s carvings – they varied from the commercially popular carvings of Santa, reindeer, angels and the ponies to something incredible and breathtaking like this.

  ‘I’ll take these two,’ Pip said decisively, handing over her hotel card.

  ‘Great, thank you,’ Joy said, scanning the card. ‘And which cabin should I send them to?’

  Pip opened her mouth to speak but Gabe beat her to it. ‘Just mark it for the attention of Pip. We’ll make sure it gets to her.’

  ‘I’ll let you get on with your dinner,’ Pip said. ‘But it was wonderful to meet you all. I’ll be working in the houses at the end of the village over the next few days, but I’d love to come back and look at some of your other carvings.’