Christmas at Wynter House

by Emily Harvale

  'Weirdo. Oh God. I can hear Charmaine's acid tones. I'm going to have to go. I'll call you tomorrow and I expect to hear that you've at least got a plan to get your man, even if you haven't put it into action by then. Love you. Miss you. Merry Christmas!'

  'Back at ya, doubled. Speak to you tomorrow. Say hi to your new mum for me.'

  'Oh very funny.'

  Neva rang off and turned over. She'd close her eyes for just a minute.

  But it was some time later when she stretched her arms and legs and glanced at the small sash window. It was raining hard again and the sky had grown much darker. She looked at her watch just as she heard a car pull up outside, a muffled bark and her sister shouting at someone.

  'For Heaven's sake, will you stay in the car until your father and I can grab that lead.'

  Neva jumped up and ran downstairs, meeting her mum and dad in the hall.

  'Rowan's arrived.'

  Dawn yawned and rubbed her eyes. 'Yes, sweetheart. We heard. I think the whole of Wyntersleap did.'

  Dennis opened the door and a blast of bitterly cold air accompanied by a shower of rain swept into the hall, followed closely by a frazzled-looking and rather bedraggled, Rowan. Her auburn hair was plastered to her head and dripping onto the welcome mat as she dropped several bags and two holdalls on the floor.

  'God, what a journey! Could you have picked a more out-of-the-way place, Mum? And this weather. I've got drenched just running from the car. Dad, will you give Nigel a hand, please? Oh hi, Neva. I didn't know you were here. Have you put on weight or is that jumper baggy?' Without taking a breath, she glanced over her shoulder. 'Sasha! How many times do I have to say it? Hold that lead tight and wait in the car until your father can take it from you. I'm not running after that dog again.' She let out a loud, exhausted sigh and gave Dawn a pleading look. 'I'm gasping for a cuppa. Is the kettle on?'

  'Merry Christmas to you too, Rowan,' Neva said.

  'What?' Rowan's scowl reformed into an apologetic smile. 'Oh hell, I'm sorry. Merry Christmas everyone.'

  She threw one arm around Dennis and pulled Dawn into the embrace with her other, waggling her fingers at Neva to indicate that she too should join in, which Neva did.

  'That's all right, sweetheart,' Dawn said. 'Come and sit beside the fire and get dry. Your dad'll help Nigel. You got the puppy then?'

  Rowan rolled her eyes and sighed as Dennis kissed her cheek. 'I'm already regretting it.'

  'I'll help too.' Neva grinned at Rowan as she brushed past her and gave her a playful slap on the arm. 'I could do with some fresh air to wake me up a bit. And I haven't put on weight.'

  'Sorry sis.' Rowan grabbed Neva and planted a sloppy kiss on her nose. 'I get bitchy when I'm tired. But you're mad to want to go out there. I'm surprised no one's building an ark. It's like the end of the world.'

  Neva laughed as she grabbed her weatherproof jacket from the rack in the hall, and shoved on her boots but Rowan was right. Both umbrellas blew inside out when Dennis opened them in the doorway, and one flew out of his hands and shot across the cobbled street, bouncing in a puddle before thumping against the façade of one of the cottages opposite.

  'Oh gracious!' Dennis tossed the other broken umbrella back in the stand. 'I'd better retrieve that before we get accused of littering. Don't come out in this, Neva.'

  'Don't be silly, Dad. A bit of wind and rain won't hurt me. I'll get the umbrella. You help Nigel.'

  They both ran out; Dennis to the car where Nigel was struggling, pulling cases from the boot, and Neva towards the umbrella that was off on its travels. It tumbled along the pavement, its spokes scratching against the cottage paintwork and by the time Neva grabbed it, a few seconds later, it had left a thin, squiggly black line along the length of two of the cottages.

  She ran back towards the car, tossing the umbrella in the hallway as she passed. It was only then that she spotted two men standing at the edge of the stone bridge, looking in her direction. They were a couple of hundred feet away but she recognised one immediately. Why on earth was he standing outside in this rain chatting to someone?

  'Adam!' She yelled and waved at him but he ignored her, and after staring at her for a second or two, he and his companion turned their attention to the river. 'Well that was bloody rude.'

  'Swear jar!' Sasha's giggling voice came from Nigel's car.

  Neva bent down, opened the door Sasha had previously slammed shut, and peered inside. Sasha was cuddling a large fluffy puppy that resembled a wolf and was almost the same size as her.

  'Hello, horror.' Neva beamed at her. 'How are you?'

  'I'm incorrigible. How are you, Neva?'

  Neva raised her brows. Sasha had stopped calling her aunty Neva a long time ago and now just called her Neva, but the incorrigible bit was new.

  'I'm fine, thanks, but rather wet. Who told you you're incorrigible?'

  'Mrs Drummond. She's my headmistress. She told Mummy and Daddy too.'

  That must have pleased Rowan and Nigel no end. Neva tried not to laugh as Nigel and Dennis hurried past with their arms and hands filled with cases and bags.

  'Everything but the kitchen sink,' Nigel said, shaking his head. 'Hi Neva. Will you grab Sasha and the puppy, please?'

  'Hi Nigel. Of course.' She returned her attention to Sasha. 'Let's get you inside. Is that a puppy or a wolf cub you're cuddling? It's the size of a horse.'

  Sasha hugged the fluffy sable and white bundle tighter and the puppy licked Sasha's face.

  'She's an Alas-kan Mal-e-mut and her name's Tempest.' Sasha struggled with the pronunciation as she fumbled with the lead, her arms still wrapped around Tempest.

  'An Alaskan Malamute. She's gorgeous. Hello, Tempest. I'm Neva. I hope you won't eat me.'

  Sasha giggled again. 'She won't eat you, silly. But she'll kill any vampires, or zombies, or ghosts if she sees them.'

  'Ghosts are already dead, sweetie, so maybe she'll just chase them away.'

  'Then she'll tear them to shreds and chew them up and spit them out.'

  'Good to know. Hold on to her lead as you-'

  It happened so fast. One minute, Sasha was cuddling a lovable, large bundle of fur, the next four huge paws landed on Neva, almost knocking her to the ground. She tried to grab the lead but it slipped through her fingers and the puppy shot out of the car and headed down the street towards the river, seemingly chasing after something.

  'Tempest!' Neva yelled. 'Sasha!' Now her niece was racing after the puppy.

  'She's chasing a ghost,' Sasha yelled back, a look of sheer excitement on her angelic face.

  Neva managed to catch up with Sasha fairly easily but Tempest was a different matter.

  'Tempest! Come back,' Sasha screamed, trying to disengage Neva's hold on her.

  'Go to the cottage and get your dad,' Neva demanded, but Sasha looked torn. 'I mean it, Sasha. Now!'

  Sasha nodded reluctantly.

  Neva ran towards the river, shouting, 'Adam! Help.'

  As she closed the distance between her, the puppy, the river and the two men standing beside it, she realised it wasn't Adam. The man merely resembled him.

  Without a word both men looked at her, the puppy and one another as if taking stock of the situation. They both dashed forward but Tempest swerved to avoid them and headed towards the riverbank. Finally, as if realising her mistake, Tempest skidded to a halt but her paws slipped on the sodden grass and she tumbled down the bank.

  Neva heard the splash above the pouring rain and her heart stopped. How could this happen? What could she do? The river had been a torrent of water this morning; by now it could only be worse. She darted a quick look backwards and saw Sasha was racing back towards her, tears streaming down her little face, her mouth open wide in horror, and behind Sasha came Dennis and Nigel. They must have come back out to get more bags and seen what was happening because Sasha was some way from the cottage. They would catch up with her. Neva must try to save the puppy.

  If she could.

  She r
an past the cheerfully decorated Christmas tree, looking grotesquely out of place in that moment. She turned the corner beside another plain, undecorated pine tree and ran along the footpath where only one man was now visible, several feet ahead of her. She passed a safety point, the small wooden door of which was swinging to and fro and a man's jacket hung, bedraggled in the rain.

  The man in front had something in his hands and as she drew nearer, she saw he held a throw-line, the other end of which was attached to a bright red life ring that bounced up and down in the rushing water. And the other man; the one she had thought was Adam, was in the water wearing that life ring.

  Her heart skipped a beat as he fought against the flow and tried to swim to the bank and her heart soared when she spotted the sodden bundle of fur, with part of the line wrapped around it, that he was tugging along with him.

  'Tempest,' she shouted.

  The man on the path turned his head and yelled to her. 'Come and take this line. I've got to help them out.'

  She dashed forwards and wrapped the throw-line around her waist as she took it from him, so that it wouldn't slip from her hands. But the pull was so strong, she almost toppled over and she was being dragged from the path onto the sodden, grassy bank. She dug her heels into the ground and leant back as far as possible. She wouldn't be able to hold it for long.

  Thankfully, Dennis and Nigel arrived and after Nigel grabbed Sasha and said something to her, he and Dennis raced to Neva's aid. With all three of them pulling on the line, the man in the water was able to make it to the riverbank with Tempest, and the other man yanked first the puppy, still with the line wrapped around her, and then his friend and the life ring, from the unstoppable flow.

  And, as if by some divine intervention, it finally stopped raining.

  Neva caught sight of Sasha gingerly edging her way down the grassy bank towards them. The last thing they needed right now was for Sasha to slip and fall in too. She ran to her and led her back onto the stone path that ran along the length of the river, from the bridge, into the far distance. Not that you could see far into the distance now that it was getting dark.

  Nigel carefully made his way to the two men and the puppy while Dennis remained where he was, the throw-line still in his hands. Tempest lay on the bank clearly exhausted but thankfully, alive. Her rescuer collapsed beside her, tugged off the ring, and rolled over onto his back, his broad chest rising and falling rapidly beneath his sodden shirt. He reached out one hand and gave Tempest's wet fur a reassuring stroke. What an incredible gesture after nearly drowning to save Tempest's life.

  And when Tempest slowly raised her head and let it plop down on her rescuer's arm, Neva had tears in her eyes as she hugged Sasha tight. This could have ended so differently. She closed her eyes momentarily and thanked all their lucky stars. This was definitely a Christmas miracle.

  After a moment or two, Dennis, Nigel, the two men and Tempest scrambled up the bank to the safe ground of the path.

  'Thank you so, so much,' Neva said, to the half-drowned man as he approached. Close up, he wasn't as handsome as Adam but he definitely did resemble him. Were they related?

  He glowered at her with eyes a much darker blue than Adam's, and unlike Adam, there was no ready smile on his lips. 'You shouldn't have a dog if you're not going to look after it. Puppies are like children. You have to watch them all the time.' His voice was nothing like Adam's either. It was hard and cold and angry.

  'Excuse me?' She couldn't really blame him, but there was no need to take it out on her.

  'I said-'

  'I heard what you said, thank you very much. You've got no right to be cross. I didn't ask you to jump in and rescue her. I could've done it.'

  His dark brows shot up and his mouth fell open. He scanned her body from head to toe and a sudden snort of laughter escaped him. 'I think that's highly unlikely.'

  'Oh really? I'll have you know-'

  'What my daughter means,' Dennis began, giving Neva a pleading look, 'is that we're all dreadfully sorry about this and we'll make sure it doesn't happen again. The puppy is a new addition to the family and we've clearly got a lot to learn about how they behave. We're all so very grateful to you for your brave and selfless actions and to your friend, of course. If there's anything we can do to repay your kindness, we'll gladly do it and more.'

  The man dragged his glare from Neva and gave Dennis a wan smile. 'I couldn't let the puppy die. But the only repayment I want is for you to tell your daughter that she needs to keep a tighter rein on both her child and her dog. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd rather like to go home and get dry. I'm sure I can leave one of you to rewind the line and hang it back in the box with the life ring in case they're needed in the future. Although most people are sensible enough to stay away from a flooding river. Apart from visitors, that is.'

  Without another word, the man strode off and after a brief and rather feeble smile, his friend followed him. The rescuer grabbed the jacket from the safety point as they passed and threw it on.

  Nigel blinked as if he had misheard and Dennis gaped, open-mouthed, one hand still holding the throw-line that was partially wrapped around Tempest, the other holding Neva's arm as if to stop her from chasing after the man and giving him a piece of her mind.

  'Who the hell does he think he is?' Neva finally managed. 'And what makes him think Sasha's my daughter?'

  'Ow,' Sasha said, prising her hand from Neva's. 'You're crushing my fingers.'

  'Sorry. I didn't mean to. That man made me cross.'

  Sasha fell to her knees and hugged the bedraggled puppy. 'Why? He saved Tempest's life. I'll love him for ever and ever. I should've told him so. I'll tell him next time I see him.'

  'You do that, sweetie. I don't suppose he'll ever hear those words from anyone else.'

  'What on earth is going on?' Dawn and Rowan hurried towards them.

  'And who were those men?' Rowan asked. 'Oh my God! Did someone fall in the river?'

  'Tempest,' Dennis said. 'And if I'm not mistaken, one of those men was Rafe Wynter.'

  'Adam's elder brother?' Dawn queried. 'The one Cecil and Ronnie told you about this morning?'

  Dennis nodded as Rowan bent down, grabbed Sasha and hugged her tight, gently stroking Tempest while Nigel untangled the line.

  'Oh?' Neva glanced at her dad. 'I thought he looked like Adam. Who are Cecil and Ronnie and what did they say about him? And why didn't you mention it earlier?'

  'They live in the cottage nearest to the pub. The one with the dark red frontage. And they said quite a bit, as it happens, but it slipped my mind. Besides, I don't like spreading gossip.'

  'But telling us isn't really spreading gossip because we won't repeat it.'

  Rowan stood up. 'We've got to get Tempest in the warm and get her dry. And Sasha too. All of us, for that matter. Why are we standing here chatting when we're all soaking wet? Come on. Before it chucks it down again.'

  'I think we're still in a state of shock,' Dennis said, as Dawn took his hand and followed Rowan, Sasha and Nigel, who was now carrying Tempest in both arms.

  'You've got to tell us, Dad,' Neva persisted as they headed back to the cottage.

  'You'll have to, Dad, or Neva will pester you till you do. Or we'll start inventing stories of our own.' Rowan spoke without a backward glance.

  Dennis tutted. 'Oh all right. But let's get inside and get dry. I'll tell you when we're sitting in dry clothes, beside a fire, with a glass of sherry in our hands.'

  'Can I have sherry, Gramps? And Tempest, too,' Sasha asked hopefully, smiling as she turned to look at Dennis.

  'No!' Rowan and Nigel agreed at once.

  Chapter Four

  Neva was eager to hear what their temporary neighbours had said about Adam's elder brother and she changed quickly in order to get into the sitting room in case her dad began the story without her.

  The brothers were complete opposites, that much was obvious, although they did look alike from a distance. Close up though, Rafe's eyes w
ere a much darker blue and his hair was closer to black than brown. His face was harder, his mouth nowhere near as kissable-looking, but that was perhaps because he was scowling the entire time this afternoon. He looked taller by a few inches and broader by a fraction. That should've made him sexier than Adam, instead it made him more intimidating - and not in a good or sexy way. He came across as cold, angry, obnoxious and untouchable. Adam came across as warm, friendly, approachable and oh so sexy. Neva was sure which one of the Wynter brothers she would rather bump into on a dark night - and it definitely wasn't Rafe. Even his name sounded stand-offish.

  In the sitting room, the fire crackled and roared as Dennis tossed another log into the flames. Dawn sat in one of the armchairs with a glass of sherry in her hand, and Sasha was curled up on the floor beside her with her head resting on Tempest, whose large paws were gently shoving Dennis out of the way of the heat, clearly none the worse for her ordeal now that she was dry and sprawled out by the fire. And had clearly been given a bath.

  'You all changed quickly.'

  Neva took a seat on the sofa, and Rowan handed her a large glass of Baileys and sat beside her.

  'It's a little early for this but I think we need it. And it is Christmas, after all.'

  Nigel came in from the kitchen as Neva and Rowan clinked glasses. 'And Dennis and I need these.' He handed Dennis a large brandy and gave Sasha a glass of orange juice.

  'I can't wait till I'm a grown up.' Sasha curled her top lip as she took the glass.

  'Neither can we,' Rowan said, giving her husband a meaningful look. 'And next time I tell you to keep hold of Tempest's lead, Sasha, make sure you do. OK?'

  'O-K. There's no need to keep going on about it. I didn't do it on purpose.'

  'Don't answer your mother back.' Nigel shot a reprimanding look at Sasha. 'We can take Tempest back to the animal shelter if you're not going to act like a responsible person.'

  'No!' Sasha sat bolt upright before throwing her arms around Tempest's neck. 'You wouldn't. I'd run away.'

  Rowan whispered to Neva. 'I think that might be a bonus.'

  Sasha glowered at her, bringing her brows tight together and dramatically pursing her lips. 'I heard that, Mummy.'