Chapter Thirty-One
It was lovely to wake up slowly and naturally. For once, Mandy hadn’t set the alarm. Opening her eyes, for a moment she wondered where she was, but then Jimmy stirred beside her. Sitting up in bed, she gazed out of the window. Christmas morning and there was still snow on the ground. Bunches of living mistletoe hung heavy from the apple tree in the garden. Beyond the fence, a blackthorn hedge sloped away, following the line of the lane.
‘Merry Christmas.’ Jimmy’s sleepy eyes held a smile, as if he was amused and delighted to see her there. He opened his arms for a hug. ‘Ooof!’
Sky, whose bed had been placed in the corner, took a flying leap onto the bed, landing on Jimmy’s midriff. He laughed as the excited collie dashed straight over him and into Mandy’s arms, licking her face.
‘Typical!’ Jimmy said, rolling his eyes. ‘Using me as a trampoline and then stealing my hug, just to add insult to injury.’ He looked hard at Sky. ‘Dogs these days,’ he grumbled. ‘You should know your place, young Sky.’
Hearing her name, the collie stopped fussing over Mandy and stretched over to lick Jimmy’s ear.
‘She does know her place.’ Mandy reached over and pulled Sky back into her arms. ‘Her place is right next to me at all times.’
Jimmy grinned. ‘I guess we’d better get up,’ he said. ‘The way that dog’s trying to eat you suggests to me she’s hungry.’
It was all still very new. Standing downstairs in her dressing gown and slippers, Mandy had to wait while Jimmy grabbed his keys from a bowl in the kitchen and let the dogs out. She would find her way around soon enough, but for now, she watched out of the window as the three excited animals raced around the garden and Jimmy put the kettle on for coffee.
Her mind wandered back to yesterday evening. James had been delighted with the present she had given him. She had commissioned a portrait of him on his wedding day, with Paul, Seamus, and Lily. His eyes had filled with tears when he had seen it.
The dogs pattered back into the kitchen, their tongues lolling out, tails wagging. Carrying a tray with coffee and cream, Jimmy led Mandy into the sitting room. To her surprise, there were three bulgy hiking socks hanging at the side of the fireplace. She was even more amazed, when Zoe and Simba rushed over to the stockings, sniffed them, and then rushed back to Jimmy. Simba let out a single ‘Wuff!’
‘Okay, okay!’ Jimmy held up his hands as the two dogs glanced up at him, then rushed back over to inspect the stockings again. Following them, he took down the stockings. ‘One for you.’ He lay Simba’s down on the rug. ‘One for you.’ Zoe examined the sock from end to end, then began to try to burrow inside. ‘And this one,’ Jimmy’s eyes were laughing as he gazed across the room, ‘this one’s for you, Sky.’
Mandy glanced down. Sky was standing close to her, looking up as if requesting permission. ‘Go on, then,’ Mandy told her. Zoe and Simba seemed to know exactly what to do with their stockings, but Mandy had to help Sky to retrieve the gifts inside hers. There was a hide chew toy, some healthy snacks, and a fluffy mallard which quacked when it was squeezed. Sky seemed a bit puzzled. Mandy wondered if she had ever had a present before. Maybe next year she would rush in to her stocking, as Zoe and Simba had done.
Jimmy had heated up some Danish pastries to go with their second cup of coffee. When he came back from the kitchen, he was clutching something under his arm. Setting the tray down on the coffee table, he held out the package towards Mandy. ‘For you,’ he said, sitting beside her on the sofa.
It was immaculately packed in red and gold giftwrap. Mandy removed the Sellotape and unfolded the paper to reveal a book. ‘British Birds of Prey,’ she read. On the front was a photograph of a red kite, its wings outstretched. ‘Thank you.’ She reached over and kissed Jimmy on the cheek. ‘It’s beautiful.’
Handing over her presents for him, she watched as he ripped them open. He laughed when he saw what she had bought him. ‘Thermal underwear,’ he said. ‘To keep me warm when you’re not here …’ He unwrapped the second. ‘And a vegetarian cookbook for when you are. Just what I always wanted.’ His voice was teasing and he continued to smile as he kissed her in turn.
They all went together to Hope Meadows. To Mandy’s pleasure, Nicole had left presents for all the animals. Pull toys for the dogs, little balls for the cats to bat around. She had even left plant-based chew toys for the rabbits. Mandy missed the sweet sound of the guinea pigs, but she had no doubt they would be having a wonderful Christmas with Rachel and Brandon.
Holly and Robin seemed delighted with the extra Christmas carrots Mandy had brought them. She and Jimmy stayed for a while, just making a fuss of them. How different they were from a few weeks ago, when they would have run away as soon as anyone arrived. Mandy found herself wishing they had red velvet collars like the reindeer.
Ania and Ed had called in yesterday to take Blitzen home. Mary was doing very well, they said. Dancer too.
Lastly, Mandy took the rescue dogs into the orchard. For once, she let them all out together. Albert, Twiglet, Flame and Birch galloped round and round with Simba, Zoe and Sky. It was a wonderful sight as they dashed around in the snow, bowing and leaping, chasing and playfighting. Their coats were shiny. Birch’s ribs were no longer standing out.
‘They are a credit to you,’ Jimmy told her as Sky bounded up to them, then raced away again after Birch. ‘You should be very proud of yourself. The last few months can’t have been easy. Lots of people would have given up.’
‘I had a lot of help,’ Mandy protested, but he just put his arm around her and gave her a squeeze.
‘Well, whatever you say, I’m proud of you,’ he insisted.
Mandy looked round the paddock for a change of subject and soon found one. ‘Look at Zoe,’ she said with a laugh. The husky had dug her nose right in under the snow and had pulled out an old carrot that must have been buried. She was now parading round the orchard, looking very pleased with a large clump of snow balanced on her nose. The orange vegetable hung at a rakish angle from her teeth.
‘Maybe she’s going to build a snowman and she needed a nose,’ Jimmy suggested. They stood there a long time. When Birch started to look a bit shivery, Mandy took them all back inside for a special dinner with hot salt-free gravy and some pieces of potato. It was almost too difficult to leave them, but Mandy satisfied herself that all her charges were comfortable before heading back up to Jimmy’s house.
When the phone rang on the way back, Mandy jumped. With all the festivities, she had almost forgotten that she was on call. Pulling in to the side of the road, she stopped the car. Her heart sank a little as she pulled the phone from her pocket, but it was Emily’s number. With a sigh of relief, she pressed the button.
Emily had the phone switched to loudspeaker. ‘Merry Christmas,’ she said and Adam called, ‘From me too.’
‘How are you getting on?’ Emily sounded worried, but then she laughed, saying, ‘Stop it, Adam! I’m allowed to ask!’ Mandy could imagine her father making faces at the question.
‘Everything’s fine,’ Mandy replied. ‘Quiet so far.’
‘That’s good. How are all your charges doing? How’s Tango?’ Her dad sounded as if he was still grinning.
‘Tango is just fine, Dad. He’ll be waiting for you when you come back.’ Mandy had pulled into the side of the road beside the hedge. She could see a sparrow among the bare branches outside the car window.
‘I’m sorry you’re working over Christmas.’ Emily’s voice again.
The sparrow flitted off. In the back of the car, Sky stood up, her head on one side as if she was trying to listen to the voices on the other end of the phone.
‘There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,’ Mandy assured her mother. ‘And I’ve got a very useful assistant to help me.’ Beside her in the car, Jimmy grinned. ‘So how about you?’ Mandy asked. ‘How’s the hotel?’
‘It’s absolutely wonderful.’ Emily was enthusiastic. ‘We’ve got a view of the loch from our room. There’s a peat fire in the lounge and a wonderful library. I’m going to read until my eyes squint.’
‘Sounds lovely,’ Mandy said.
‘Maybe we could come back in the summer. Is Jimmy there?’ her mum asked.
‘He’s here. We’re just on our way back from Hope Meadows.’
‘Well, I’m glad everything’s going well. Please give my love to Jimmy.’
‘They send their love,’ Mandy told him, after the call was ended.
Back at the cottage, Jimmy led Mandy into the kitchen. Opening the fridge and then the freezer, he showed her the food he had bought. There were frozen roast potatoes, cabbage and swede mash, Yorkshire puddings, onion gravy, vegetarian sausages, and a roast, which declared it was handmade from pistachios, lentils, and porcini mushrooms. They had been planning to make lunch when they returned, but the weather was so lovely that Mandy found herself wishing they could spend some more time outside instead.
As if reading her mind, Jimmy closed the door of the fridge and turned to face her. ‘I know we said we’d cook when we got back, but it’s such a lovely day. What would you say if I suggested a walk and we’ll cook later when we get back?’
‘That would be wonderful’ Mandy found herself beaming up at him. ‘I can’t go too far from the car, just in case a call comes in, but we could take the Land Rover up and go for a wander up towards the Beacon?’
‘Sounds perfect,’ Jimmy told her.
‘I’ll just go and get changed.’ Galloping up the stairs two at a time, Mandy grabbed her walking boots, waterproof trousers, and a jacket. She put two lightweight fleeces into a rucksack for good measure.
Despite her warm clothes, it was bracing as they made their way through the snow. It had crusted over, after yesterday’s sunshine. In places it was firm, but in others it had softened in the sunshine and they sank in, as if walking on sand. It was hard going, but the view as they climbed was stunning. Mandy stopped to catch her breath. Behind her, Jimmy also halted, though the dogs continued to explore, trotting up and down the track, searching for scents on every clump of heather which poked through the icy layer.
Far below them, snaking across the valley floor, Mandy could see the dark lines of drystone walls peeping out from under their caps of snow. The church with its arched windows and square tower seemed to have an almost reddish tone as it bathed in the light from the sun, which hung low in the winter sky. Beyond the village green, the river was a faint silvery line through snow-heavy banks.
On the far side of the valley, Mandy could see Lamb’s Wood. The roof of the cottage was barely visible, covered in snow and hidden among branches. She caught herself sighing and pulled herself up. This was no time to be sad.
‘It’s a pity you didn’t manage to get it ready for Christmas.’ For the second time that day, Jimmy seemed to have divined her thoughts.
‘I’d hoped to be much further on with renovations,’ Mandy admitted.
‘It is a massive project. And impossible to tackle in this snow.’ Jimmy’s voice was philosophical. ‘I’ll help you when the weather changes, if you like.’
Mandy reached out and took his gloved hand in hers, giving it a squeeze. ‘Thanks,’ she said. She sighed again. ‘I know I should be happy, because everything has worked out okay,’ she told him. ‘But so many things seem to have gone wrong there. Robbie getting ill and the state his animals were in was bad enough, but then with his nephew and all the things he did …’ She trailed off. ‘It’s not how I pictured finding my first home would be,’ she confessed.
Jimmy stood very still, gazing over in the direction of Lamb’s Wood. ‘You could make a new start,’ he suggested. ‘What about a new name? And all the bad things you mentioned are over now. There can be new memories. You and Sky. You’ll make some together.’
For a moment, Mandy felt uneasy. Could she really rename the cottage? Wouldn’t it be disloyal to Robbie Grimshaw? Would it be like erasing all the memories he had left? Closer to home, she realised it bothered her that Jimmy had mentioned her and Sky making memories, but not himself. She might not wish to rush anything, but if they were to have any future, they would have to create it together.
She reached out, wrapping his hand in both of hers but keeping her eyes on the landscape. ‘We’ll make new memories together,’ she said. ‘You and me, Sky, Zoe and Simba. All of us. And yes, I think I would like to rename the cottage.’
Though she was not looking at his face, she could tell he was pleased. His gloved fingers squeezed hers. ‘We’d better think of a perfect name, then,’ he said.
Turning back onto the track, they began to climb again. The pathway was strewn with rocks and Mandy had to pick her way carefully. For several minutes, neither of them spoke.
‘It’s not easy, is it?’ Jimmy said eventually. He stopped to look back at her, his hands on his hips. ‘What sort of thing were you thinking? Some kind of tree name? Birch Cottage? The Spinney?’
Mandy frowned. Birch Cottage sounded cosy, but too tame somehow. The Spinney? There were a lot of bushes and trees. ‘They sound a bit too …’ She searched for the right word. ‘… humdrum.’ She stopped as well and bent down to rub Sky’s fur, feeling the breath catch in her lungs. It was too difficult to talk and scramble at the same time. ‘Maybe something more quirky?’
Jimmy grinned. ‘Quirky?’ he echoed. ‘What, like Simba’s Hide or Sky’s-the-Limit?’
Mandy made a growling noise in her throat. ‘You know what I mean,’ she said, baring her teeth at him, then laughing. ‘I don’t know. Something like Wild Winds or Aerial Acres.’ She frowned. ‘Those aren’t right either, they’re a bit twee, but that sort of thing.’
The amused expression had left Jimmy’s face and now he looked thoughtful. ‘What about combining those two?’ he suggested. ‘What about Wildacre?’
‘Wildacre?’ Mandy let the word roll around her tongue. It wasn’t humdrum, that was certain. It suited the little cottage. It had been left to run wild and now it needed to be tamed. ‘Wildacre.’ She said it again. Jimmy was standing on a rock, watching her. She smiled up at him. ‘It’s a lovely name.’ He held out his hand and she took it and he steadied her as she clambered over the final rocky outcrop.
They had reached the summit. Mandy had expected to look at the view for a few minutes, then turn and go back down, but Jimmy had taken the rucksack off his back and set it down in the snow. After rummaging for a moment, he pulled out two brightly coloured folding mats. Handing one to Mandy, he set his down beside the cairn that marked the summit and sat down. Mandy unfolded the green foam mat and lowered herself onto it. It was wonderful insulation against the snow. Hugging her knees, she gazed at the magnificent scene that was laid out before them. The snow had melted from most of the village roofs, and the grey slate stood clear against the white backdrop. Smoke drifted from a few of the chimneys. Mandy pictured her neighbours, bulging with Christmas dinner, stretching their feet towards blazing fires. In the churchyard, the scattered bushes were dark smudges among the higgledy-piggledy gravestones. The blue sky arched overhead.
Jimmy was rooting in his rucksack again.
‘Here.’ He had taken a box from his bag. Inside it, wrapped in layers of foil, were four of Gran’s mince pies. Mandy pulled off her glove. When Jimmy handed her one, she could feel it was still warm. He must have heated them up before coming out.
He pulled a flask out of one of the outer pockets. Unscrewing the two lids, he filled them both, handing the larger one to Mandy. It contained hot coffee made with milk.
The three dogs, realising there might be crumbs to clear up, gathered round. They lay down in the snow, tongues lolling. Sky looked as though she was grinning, Mandy thought.
‘I think we should have a toast!’ Jimmy raised his steaming coffee cup. ‘Here’s to Hope Meadows, to Running Wild, and to making new memories at Wildacre.’
Mandy grinned back at him. ‘I’ll drink to that,’ she said, raising her own cup.
‘But most of all,’ he said, ‘here’s to us. Merry Christmas, Mandy!’
‘Merry Christmas,’ she echoed.