As luck would have it, the others weren’t back from town and I managed to sneak up the many stairs and into bed before I heard the cars pulling into the courtyard. In spite of my spinning vision, which was made far worse when I closed my eyes, I thankfully drifted off to sleep and woke early the next morning with the classic ‘tongue too large for mouth’ hangover and a hundred ‘what the hell is going on’ questions thumping through my head.
‘Are you all right, love?’ asked Dorothy as I stumbled through our sitting room, across the corridor and into the bathroom. ‘You look a bit peaky.’
‘I’m fine, Dorothy, thanks,’ I told her, despite feeling anything but. The sound of my voice hammered loudly in my head. ‘I’ll be down as soon as I’ve had a shower.’
The hot water streaming down my body felt like a harsh pummelling, which was quite something as the hall wasn’t famous for its water pressure, and I stood under it, trying to wash away the muddled emotions that had stuck with me right from the instant Gabe had held me in his arms.
For one mad moment I had thought I was falling in love, but I wasn’t, was I? The way I felt when I was with Gabe was nothing like I’d felt when I was with Gavin, so it couldn’t possibly be the real thing. Damn and blast the Somerville clan and their infamous Skylark cider. One of these days it really would be someone’s undoing, and then they’d be sorry!
‘Don’t forget Angus has organised the Christmas planning meeting for this morning,’ Dorothy called through to me as she bustled about, efficient as ever, getting ready to start her day.
‘He hasn’t wasted any time, has he?’ I muttered, pulling open the bathroom door as I secured my towel.
‘Nope,’ Dorothy replied, rushing to hand me a small glass of water and two painkillers. ‘You looked like you might need these.’
I guessed she was thinking that, perhaps, I really did have a headache yesterday after all. I decided not to correct her. I had no intention of telling anyone that I had spent fireworks night drinking my own body weight in fermented apple juice and playing with fire.
‘Thanks,’ I said, gratefully swallowing the pills down. The chalky tablets and the taste of the water almost sent them back up again, but I fought down the desire to hurl and handed back the glass. ‘I bet Catherine was hoping he’d forget all about her suggestion to talk about his latest festive scheme after bonfire night was out of the way.’
‘I happen to know that’s exactly what she was hoping,’ Dorothy tutted. ‘But there was never really going to be any chance of that, was there?’
‘Nope.’
‘Everyone knows we’re going to be busy enough as it is, what with hosting the tree competition and the party.’
‘Everyone except Angus, that is,’ I reminded her as she headed off to the kitchen.
We had been beyond busy with various events over the Christmas period once before, but that hadn’t stopped Angus making the month of December even more of an occasion, and I was in no doubt that the already-packed calendar wouldn’t stop him this time around, either, especially given that Jamie had sounded in favour of whatever it was his dad was planning. As far as I was concerned, the Winter Wonderland Angus had been dreaming up was already a done deal.
I walked into the kitchen at exactly the same moment Gabe arrived with the insulated bag I had used to ferry dinner over to his cottage. Dorothy whisked it out of his hand, the dishes clanking inside as she gave me a knowing look, but thankfully didn’t comment.
So much for keeping my cider-and-sparkler-filled evening under wraps.
‘Hey, Hayley,’ said Gabe hoarsely. His gravelly tone sounded about as good as I looked, in spite of the valiant efforts of my make-up bag. ‘Can I have a quick word?’
‘Of course,’ I said, steering him back towards the door and ignoring the fact that the eagle-eyed housekeeper was locked on to our every move. ‘Let’s talk outside, shall we?’
It was a bitter morning and the wind was keen so we ducked – literally in Gabe’s case – into the log store, where I was certain we wouldn’t be overheard. For some reason, I found it impossible to look him in the eye so I fiddled about with the kindling bags.
‘About last night . . .’ he began, rubbing his hands through his beard.
‘I had a great time,’ I cut in. ‘At least, I think I did. To tell you the truth, it’s all a bit hazy.’
‘We did have a great time,’ Gabe chuckled. ‘If the number of empty cider bottles littering the cottage kitchen this morning are to be believed, then we had a fantastic time.’
We both laughed and I gingerly shook my head. It was hardly any wonder I felt so groggy. I was going to have to dig out my ear plugs before I even thought about switching on the vacuum cleaner, and god help Gabe if he had to fire up the chainsaw.
‘So, what’s up?’
Something obviously was and I wanted to deal with it and get back to the kitchen as quickly as possible. Not because I was uncomfortable alone in Gabe’s company, but because it was so bloody cold.
‘Well,’ he awkwardly began, ‘it’s about how the evening ended.’
‘Disappointingly’ was the first word that sprang to mind, but I swiftly kicked the term into touch and replaced it with ‘sensibly’.
‘Oh,’ I said, ‘do you mean the kiss?’
The colour began to rush to Gabe’s face, as well as my own, and I knew the only way to keep a handle on what was happening was to brazen it out.
‘I can’t say it was one of my finest,’ I hurried on, ‘but given that we barely know each other—’
Gabe cleared his throat and the words died in my mouth.
‘I’m sorry, Gabe,’ I told him, knowing that I had gone too far and that it wasn’t his fault that he’d prematurely kickstarted my heart. If indeed that was what was going on. ‘I keep forgetting that you don’t know me that well.’ I rambled on. ‘I’m well-known around here for using humour in awkward situations so you’ll have to forgive me if I sound flippant or flirtatious. It’s just the way I am.’
That was perfectly true and I expected my explanatory speech, which I had tried to inject with a sprinkling of unrehearsed humour, to turn the corners of Gabe’s luscious, full lips a little in the right direction at least, but he looked no happier at all.
‘And you don’t know me that well either,’ he sighed, burying his hands deep in his trouser pockets. ‘Amongst other things, I’m feeling embarrassed, Hayley.’
‘What?’ I laughed, before realising that wasn’t the reaction he was hoping for. ‘Why?’ I added, more seriously. ‘What on earth have you got to feel embarrassed about?’
‘Well, the fact that I even asked you for a kiss, for a start,’ he blurted out. ‘That’s not the kind of bloke I am. I think the copious amounts of cider we consumed lowered my inhibitions a little too far.’
There had been a moment, as I recalled, when I was happy to wonder what might have happened had they been lowered even further.
‘I might, thanks to the assistance of an unprecedented amount of alcohol,’ he continued, ‘have come across as being too up for a laugh, and willing to indulge in considerably more than a bit of banter.’
‘And where was the harm in that?’ I cut in, trying to lighten his load. ‘Nothing happened, did it?’ I added. ‘We survived to flirt another day.’
Whatever was wrong with him? He sounded as if he was feeling guilty for having a few minutes of unguarded fun. Was having a bit of a giggle something he really should have been feeling so bad about? Had he known of the maelstrom I was currently trying to manage, he would have considered himself to have gotten off very lightly indeed.
‘But I should never have asked you to kiss me,’ he carried on. ‘That was taking things a long way too far. I was too drunk to realise it at the time, but I took advantage of the situation and I’m sorry. I don’t go in for casual relationships,’ he went on, turning redder with every word. ‘Not that I’m suggesting we would have had a casual relationship.’
‘A one-night stand, you mean?’
‘Sorry.’
‘Especially since you’ve just come straight out of a serious relationship and I’m—’
‘Gabe,’ I said, louder than I meant to, especially given the precarious pain in my head, and before he had a chance to explain further. ‘You need to lighten up, my friend.’
‘Do I?’ He didn’t sound so sure.
‘Yes,’ I laughed. ‘We had a great evening, we laughed, we enjoyed each other’s company, we got more drunk than either of us have probably been in a very long time, and the night ended with a one-second peck on the cheek.’
I was trying to convince my heart as well as his head that that was all that had happened.
‘I guess,’ he said, scratching the back of his neck. ‘I suppose I am getting it a bit out of proportion. It could have been worse, couldn’t it?’
‘Believe me,’ I told him. ‘It could have been a lot worse.’
Had I slept with him, I really could have fallen for him, and then where would we have ended up? I might have opted to let him and everyone else think that I was going back to being some good-time girl. I might have even believed it myself for a few days, but, truth be told, I wasn’t sure that was the right course now. Listening to Gabe tell me he wasn’t a fan of no-strings fun was music to my currently painful ears. A melody I was very happy to hear, but what if I ended up liking him more than he liked me?
I could think of many things in life that would be worse than a committed relationship with the angel currently floating in front of me, but given his dogged determination to backtrack and apologise for the little that had happened between us, I didn’t think he felt the same about me.
‘It’s just that I really like you, Hayley,’ he then completely floored me by saying, knocking my theory for six.
‘And I really like you,’ I swallowed.
The words were out before I could check them. They’d burst out of me like some sort of involuntary reflex.
‘Morning, guys! Are you all set for the meeting?’
‘Molly?’
‘Hey,’ she grinned, her face appearing around the doorframe. ‘What are you doing in here?’
‘Checking we’re going to have enough wood to see us through the winter, of course,’ I shot back.
I felt Gabe’s eyes snap back to me, but I didn’t take mine from Molly’s flushed face.
‘OK,’ she said, accepting every word, as she rubbed her mitten-clad hands together, ‘I’ll see you inside. It’s freezing out here.’
The second she disappeared Gabe had thankfully started to laugh rather than quiz me on what I meant by saying those four loaded words straight back to him.
‘You didn’t miss a beat,’ he gasped. ‘I would have still been struggling for a plausible response.’
‘Well,’ I said, nonchalantly tossing my hair, ‘it’s not my first time. I’ve had years of perfecting how not to crack under pressure when asked awkward questions.’
‘You’re really something,’ he smiled.
‘We had better go back in,’ I said, ‘before Miss Molly Motormouth sets tongues wagging.’
It wasn’t until we had joined the others around the table and I found Gabe’s gaze still lingering on mine that I began to wonder what exactly he had meant when he said ‘I really like you.’ Was he sitting there now wondering what I had meant by saying the same thing back?
Was he saying to me, I really like you as a cider-swigging buddy or, if he didn’t do casual, as a potential proper partner, or, actually, nothing like that at all? And why was my heart so keen for me to entertain the idea that I would be up for more than a one-off so soon after I had allegedly sworn off serious relationships for good? That wasn’t what was expected of the old Hayley at all, was it?
‘OK,’ boomed Angus from his position at the head of the table, ‘now that we’re all out of the woodshed . . .’
‘I hope you didn’t see anything nasty in there, Hayley?’ said Jamie with a suggestive wink, which made Anna snigger.
I glared at Molly who mouthed ‘sorry’ and stared back down into her coffee.
‘Now that we’re all here,’ said Catherine calmly, ‘I suppose we’d better hear what it is you think you have in store for us this Christmas, Angus.’
As the plans for the potential Winter Wonderland weekend began to unfold, I set Gabe’s admission aside and stole a glance at my friends around the table. Jamie was looking every bit as excited as his eccentric, fun-loving father, and Anna, I noticed, was wearing the same slightly exasperated expression as Catherine.
It turned out that giving the guys time to plan and prepare hadn’t worked in Catherine’s favour at all because, with Jamie on-board, almost no detail had been left to chance.
‘So, what we’re thinking is . . .’ said Angus.
‘As long as everyone else is in agreement of course,’ added Jamie, with a hopeful smile.
‘That we could host a Winter Wonderland here on the fifteenth and sixteenth of December.’
‘That will give us just about enough time to get everything properly set up and in place.’
‘And it won’t clash with the switch-on or the tree auction and bake sale in town.’
‘Or the party here.’
‘But it will tie in with the decoration competition and give visitors more to enjoy when they come to admire and judge the trees.’
You had to hand it to them, they sounded like a well-oiled double act. It was obvious they’d spent a lot of time thinking this through as well as rehearsing their speech. It was all political-party smooth.
‘And what exactly is it that you have in mind for the visitors to enjoy?’ Catherine asked.
I couldn’t help thinking there was a note of resignation in her tone and wondered if her husband and son had picked up on it too. If that was the case, there’d be no stopping them.
‘Well,’ said Angus, ‘there would be the usual sleigh rides, of course. They’ve always been popular.’
‘And I could offer refreshments,’ said Dorothy, before Angus had a chance to say another word. ‘I was going to do mince pies and mulled wine for the folk who come to view the trees anyway, but if there’ll be more going on then I’m sure I could come up with something a little more exciting than that.’
She sounded well and truly caught up in it all already.
‘Thank you, Dorothy,’ said Catherine diplomatically. ‘Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. What were you going to suggest, Jamie?’
‘Well, we’ve been talking about making proper use of the woods,’ said Jamie, ‘creating some sort of trail for people to follow, with activities and things to look at as everyone goes around.’
I remembered Jamie had mentioned making use of Gabe’s skills when Christmas cropped up in conversation a while back.
‘What sort of activities?’ the man himself now asked. He sounded as intrigued as Dorothy was excited.
Clearly, we’d lost another one to the cause. I was going to have to keep my wits about me, otherwise I would end up getting roped into doing something as well.
‘Some sort of hands-on session for families to take part in together,’ Jamie explained. ‘Perhaps they could make something out of wood from kits that we could put together ahead of time. Something with a festive theme, maybe?’
‘Like when we made the bird boxes in the summer, you mean?’ asked Mick. ‘That worked very well.’
‘Yes, anything along those lines would be good,’ Jamie nodded, ‘only with a Christmas twist, of course.’
‘I like the sound of that,’ Gabe nodded. ‘In fact, leave it with me, guys. I think I might have just the thing.’
‘And I’ve been thinking about hiring in a couple of reindeer,’ said Angus.
This suggestion was met with stunned silence. Surely, he wasn’t being serious?
‘Or a snow machine,’ he added a little more meekly. ‘Perhaps we could have a snow machine on standby, just in case we don’t get the real thing.’
‘I like the sound of reindeer,’ said Molly dreamily.
You could always rely on her to go with the most bizarre option available.
‘And to end the trail,’ Jamie rushed on, keen to move away from the idea of Rudolph and his pals, ‘we could set up some sort of grotto with Santa inside to hand out gifts.’
‘You could put the reindeer in an enclosure next to it,’ suggested Molly.
‘So, let me get this straight,’ said Catherine, looking up from the notepad she had been busily scribbling on. ‘Angus, Jamie, Mick and Gabe, you four would be in charge of the woodland trail and all of its associated activities, Anna and I will be organising the party, and Dorothy, of course, will be in the kitchen.’
‘Yes,’ said Jamie and Angus together.
‘And I’ll help the vicar with the Christmas tree competition,’ Molly generously offered.
It always surprised me how well our pagan friend got on with the local vicar, but I don’t suppose it should have, really.
‘So, if we do decide to go ahead—’ Catherine continued.
‘And I really think we should,’ Angus enthusiastically cut in, ‘and the sooner the better because we won’t have long . . .’
Jamie put a hand on his father’s arm and subtly shook his head to silence him. The younger Connelly knew that the next couple of minutes were make-or-break as far as the plan was concerned.
‘That just leaves you, Hayley,’ Catherine carried on as if she hadn’t been interrupted at all.
Everyone turned to look at me.
‘Oh, don’t worry about me,’ I smiled. ‘I’m sure with all the extra comings and goings there’ll be plenty of cleaning for me to keep on top of. I’ll just be the girl Friday, floating between jobs and helping out where I can.’
I didn’t really fancy committing to more than that. If Angus had his way, I’d no doubt be dressed up as one of Santa’s elves, sporting stripy tights – perish the thought – and keeping control of the crowds as they queued to see the Big Man.
And there would be queues. You could guarantee it.
Everyone from miles around would want to come and see what the Connelly family had to offer this Christmas.
‘You could help me if you like,’ said Gabe. ‘I’ll need a guinea pig to help me work on the kits I have in mind. They’ll need to be the right balance of practical and simple. Something impressive that can be easily put together in the great outdoors, and suitable for all ages. You could help me with the test runs.’
I wasn’t sure whether he thought he was being helpful or not, but I didn’t think more time alone with him was a particularly good idea, and there was no way I was going to get roped into chopping logs and hammering nails in the freezing woods. The thought of playing chief elf was bad enough, but at least it would leave my manicure in one piece. I might have been developing a soft spot for the hall’s resident angel, but I had my limits.
‘Honestly,’ I said, raising my eyebrows, ‘thanks, but I’m fine. I’m not much of an outdoorsy type. You’d be far better off asking Molly to help you with all that.’
‘Oh, yes, please,’ said Molly.
‘Fair enough,’ Gabe shrugged. ‘It was just a thought.’
Was that a note of disappointment in his tone or was my mind still hanging on to the implications behind the ‘I really like you’, comment? Given the curious look Anna was giving Gabe, she clearly thought something was amiss, too.
‘And we’ll need a map, of course,’ Angus announced.
‘A what?’ asked Anna, thankfully distracted from Gabe’s slumped shoulders.
‘A map.’
‘What for?’
‘To go with the trail,’ Jamie explained. ‘We thought a map would add to the fun. We could have little markers dotted along the trail, highlighting certain woodland features and reminding visitors to look out for things as they go around.’
‘And little ink pads and stamps to brand the map to prove that you’ve been the whole way around and seen everything,’ added Angus.
‘There’d be a small prize at the end for completed trail maps, which could be handed out at Santa’s grotto,’ Jamie cut in, scribbling furiously on his own notepad.
By a sleigh-bell-toting elf, no doubt. I crossed my arms and tried to look invisible.
‘So, as well as having a festive trip out to the countryside, folk would learn something about the woods, the trees and the creatures and birds that live there,’ said Gabe, sounding slightly more cheery. ‘I like the sound of that. I really like the sound of that.’
‘We thought we could design the map to tie in with some posters and flyers,’ Angus enthused, ‘along with an advert in the local paper, perhaps even a spot on the radio.’
He was getting carried away again. Catherine looked at him sternly and held up her hand to stop his excitement.
‘But none of this is going to come cheap, Angus,’ she reminded him. ‘You’ll have to cost it out very carefully. If it’s overpriced no one will come, but if we charge too little it could end up costing us a fortune.’
‘Don’t worry, Mum,’ said Jamie, ‘I’m looking into all that.’
‘And who is going to do the drawing?’ she carried on. The financial implications of the ambitious project had clearly made her jittery, and rightly so. ‘We can’t have it looking like something the local nursery cobbled together, can we?’
I sat stock-still ignoring the look that had just passed between Molly and Anna.
‘We have plenty of things on-site that we can utilise, including our wonderfully skilled team,’ Jamie told his mother, ‘and I’ve even approached a couple of local companies about supplying bits and pieces in return for a mention in the advertising.’
Catherine looked somewhat appeased by her son’s sensible approach and understanding of the situation. Angus was more of a make-it-up-as-you-go-along type, but, thankfully, Jamie had the business acumen to back up his decisions.
‘Not catering companies?’ asked Dorothy sounding aghast. ‘You aren’t hiring in caterers, surely?’
‘No,’ Jamie smiled, ‘not catering companies. Unless the Cherry Tree ladies would like to help out, or, perhaps, Amber and Jake from Skylark Farm.’
‘Well yes,’ Dorothy sniffed, ‘that’s fine, that’s different.’
‘I’m talking more along the lines of someone to lend us a shed or summerhouse, which we could decorate as Santa’s grotto,’ Jamie continued. ‘A tarpaulin to hang and turn into a temporary workshop among the trees in the woods for Gabe, in case the weather goes feral. That sort of thing.’
‘But I suppose we could use the summerhouse in the fern garden for Santa,’ Catherine tentatively suggested. ‘The little garden would make a lovely grotto, wouldn’t it?’
Well, well, well. They’d done it. They’d sucked her in, but actually, the fern garden would be perfect. With the aid of Angus’s longed-for snow machine and some twinkling lights, the little walled space would make a wonderful finale to a walk through the woods, but I wasn’t sure there would be room for reindeer. Perhaps Catherine’s offer of her beloved little spot was cannier than I initially gave her credit for.
‘But that doesn’t solve the issue of finding an artist for the map, does it?’ said Anna, staring straight at me.
‘No,’ said Jamie throwing down his pencil, ‘no it doesn’t, and that could end up being the really pricey bit. That could be the stumbling block because we want it to look really special. I’m going to speak to Lizzie Dixon. She might know someone who could do it.’
‘Mates rates are what we need,’ said Angus, tapping the side of his head.
He looked just like Winnie the Pooh when he was having a good long think about something.
‘Hayley could do it,’ piped up Molly.
Did she really just say that?
‘Oh, yes,’ said Anna, using her very best why-didn’t-I-think-of-that tone. ‘You could do it, couldn’t you, Hayley?’
Traitors. The two of them, masquerading as friends, sitting right opposite me.
‘Do you draw, Hayley?’ Gabe asked.
It was an innocent enough question. There was absolutely no way on earth that he could have known that. No one at the hall, aside from the dynamic duo, knew of my passion for pencil and paper, or that I had been hoping to keep it that way.
‘She has been known to do the odd doodle,’ Anna answered on my behalf, smiling wickedly.
‘Has she?’ asked Catherine as everyone’s eyes turned to me.
‘Well, I never,’ said Angus, sounding more Tigger than Pooh.
‘I had no idea,’ said Mick.
‘None of us did,’ added Dorothy.
‘She has a whole folder of stuff upstairs,’ said Molly, the words rushing out as she dropped me well and truly in it. ‘She’s amazing.’
‘I don’t suppose there’s any chance we could have a look, is there?’ asked Jamie, his eyes shining with the same excitement as his father’s. ‘You might just be able to create exactly what we need.’