“Well,” Scott said. “He’s going to recover, but he’s selling the farm to Jake. That means he’ll be able to live in the farmhouse there and have a hand in what’s going on. It’s a good expansion. Jake has plans, which is always slightly unnerving. Here, let me get that.” He walked over to the car and took the palette from her. “Happy Christmas by the way, and welcome to the madness that is a Maynard Christmas dinner.”
“Is it really Jake who does the cooking?”
Scott laughed. “Yep. Every single year. Don’t tell him I said so, but he’s actually quite good at it.”
Sorrell lifted another box from the boot and followed Scott into the house. It was a decidedly male environment, the lounge conducive to watching sport on a TV that was the biggest she’d ever seen in someone’s home. The chairs were leather, and were recliners, apart from one huge sofa against the far wall.
She could smell food and automatically heard her stomach rumble, a protest that she hadn’t eaten since early this morning.
“Ells.”
She heard Zack’s voice and smiled. It had only been a couple of hours since he’d left the hotel to check on Sunrise and the staff, and make sure everything was in order after the death of Joan, but she had missed him.
“I may have baked a bit too much,” she said.
“I thought that when I saw you this morning,” he said, taking the box from her. “You had flour all over your face.”
She laughed. “I didn’t realise you were in the kitchen!” She had been lost to her measurements and flavours, needing to find a bit of head space before a day that wasn’t going to be predictable.
“I could’ve eaten you then,” Zack murmured quietly. “But then everything would’ve been late. I’ll work extra hard at eating my seconds after.”
She felt her centre clench at the thought and tried to pull herself together, remembering that this was the first time she was meeting all of his family in one go and she couldn’t spend the afternoon and evening thinking about what Zack was going to do with that mouth later.
“Help me get my things in from the car,” she said, her voice staying low too. “And then you can show me your room.”
“I like it when a woman is forward like that,” he said, kissing her on her temple.
Twenty minutes later she had put the Christmas pudding onto steam for another couple of hours and had a glass of wine by the fire in the lounge, her overnight bag safely deposited in Zack’s old bedroom.
“Who’s coming today?” she said. Alex had just arrived, a pretty lady with him who was looking at him like he was the God of some sublime planet. Jake and Scott were there alone, their fathers and Jake’s mum in the kitchen discussing local gossip.
Jake pressed a button on the chair and made it recline. He had a bottle of beer in hand and looked as if there was no place he’d rather be. “Us. Rayah’s here soon too, she’s just been helping Jonny this morning with the kids. Jonny and the kids are coming. Then there’s Niall’s wife and Colin and Dave, who are two of the farmers nearby. They’re both single and their kids are spending Christmas elsewhere.”
“You’ve cooked for seventeen?” Sorrell said, unable to hide her shock. Playboy Jake did not appear to be a master in the kitchen.
“Yep. And now I can sit back, enjoy the fruits of my amazing labour and be waited on. And for the first time in twelve months, I can have a hangover, because my morning jobs are covered tomorrow,” Jake said, smugly, taking the first taste of his beer.
Sorrell watched the expressions of the others, including the woman Alex had brought. She was called Sophia and worked in Leeds as an accountant. Her presence was a bit of surprise as no one had known he was seeing someone seriously; he’d just given Jake the head’s up that he needed an extra place for someone for dinner.
“And then tomorrow you have your attempt at breaking three world records, because that’s what normal people do on Boxing Day,” Scott said. “Have you been practicing?”
Sorrell looked to Zack, who shook his head.
“It’s only about eating quickly. And having a large mouth,” Jake said. He beamed at Sophia and Sorrell saw Alex’s expression turn black. “You should come watch. It’ll be impressive.”
What was impressive was dinner. Sorrell sat back in a reclining chair and undid the top button of her jeans. They’d even had a break between dinner and pudding to try and create some room, but she still felt as if food wouldn’t be necessary for at least another week.
“We’ll do Christmas presents when everyone can move,” Jake’s mum, Juliet said. She was a feisty woman, clearly the boss of her husband who was no pushover. “And if that man of mine has bought me anything that resembles a household product he can sleep with the alpacas tonight.”
Sorrell smiled, feeling sleepy. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder from above her and saw Zack.
“Come with me for a minute,” he said. “Before the madness of exchanging gifts starts.”
She managed to force herself up and follow Zack into his room, a room that didn’t resemble anything to do with a teenage boy anymore. White walls, crisp blue linen and a wooden floor, it was now a simple guest room.
He sat down on the bed, pulling his bag onto his knee and rummaged around. Eventually he pulled out a present that was clumsily wrapped, the corners not quite neat and there was a gape in the paper.
“Wrapping gifts is not my forte,” he said. “But I hope you like it. You’ve a couple more under the tree, but given you’ll be opening them in front of my family, I thought you’d prefer this privately.”
