Page 8 of Winter Wishes at Pennycress Inn

‘I’ll just get that but go and help yourselves.’ Jackson grinned as he headed towards the front door.

Catching her up, Laura linked arms with Scarlett. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you when I asked about Tyler. I shouldn’t have brought it up. If you’d wanted to talk to me about it, then you would have.’

‘No, it’s okay. And to be honest, I’ve just had a lot that I’ve been working through. It’s not that I didn’t want you to know, it’s just, I guess listening to you talking about this place and how things are going with Jackson has been a bit of an escape for me.’ Scarlett smiled. It was true, yes, she didn’t want Laura or anyone for that matter to find out she’d been dating a man who already had a wife and child, let alone that she’d been living with him, but what with moving out of the flat, working on her camper to ensure it was liveable when the cold weather hit, work and the craft fairs she attended, she’d just had to push Tyler and his web of lies out of her mind. If she hadn’t, she’d have likely found herself surrounded by a heap of used tissues in an empty camper with a stack of illustrations she hadn’t sold.

‘Okay, fair enough.’ As they walked into the kitchen, Laura unlinked arms and pulled three mugs from the mug tree at the back of the work surface.

Scarlett peered into the large saucepan on the hob and stirred the chocolaty mixture. The smell was incredible and brought back so many memories of the run-up to Christmas at her cousins’ house. ‘What are your plans for Christmas Day?’

Carefully, Laura used a ladle to fill the mugs before turning to Scarlett and passing her one. ‘Oh, I can’t wait for Christmas Day. We’re packed out here at the inn, and me and Jackson are going to make a big roast with all the trimmings. Well, I say “we” – what I really mean is he’ll be cooking, I’ll be making sure the wine is flowing.’

‘Haha, that sounds about right.’ Scarlett laughed before taking a sip of the hot chocolate, the rich and creamy taste filling her mouth and igniting yet more happy memories. ‘This tastes just as I remember when Jackson used to make it at your parents’ house.’

Slipping onto the bench, Laura held her hand out and signalled Scarlett to join her before answering. ‘It sure does. You will come for Christmas Day, won’t you? We’ll have guests but they’ll likely all be out visiting, so it’ll just be us, Mum, Dad and the rest of the family, and a few close friends.’

‘I was planning on gate-crashing whether you invited me or not.’ Scarlett tilted her head, listening to the voices wafting through from the hallway. Did she recognise whoever it was Jackson was speaking to? She was sure she did, not that she could place the owner of the voice.

‘What did you do there?’ Laura pointed to Scarlett’s hand and the bright blue plaster wrapped around her thumb.

‘Ha, now that’s a story. I popped into the village centre earlier to…’ She frowned as the mystery voice grew louder. Huh, she’d soon find out who it belonged to, as she was pretty sure they were coming towards the kitchen.

‘Go on…’ Laura tapped her arm.

‘Sorry. Where was I? I was in the centre of the village and began drawing the Christmas tree on the green, only I got distracted and walked backwards into…’ Scarlett looked up as Jackson appeared in the doorway, her breath catching in the back of her throat as she realised who was walking in with him. The burgundy apron had been replaced with a bright blue jumper emblazoned with red and yellow Christmas crackers, but she’d recognise those deep brown eyes anywhere. She lowered her voice as she felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. ‘…his coffee cart.’

‘What was that?’ Laura leaned in towards her before pulling away again as she noticed Jackson and their visitor. Standing up, she walked towards them. ‘Hi, Rowan. Does your visit mean what I think it does?’

Rowan, so that was his name. Scarlett looked from Laura to Jackson to Rowan and back again. They clearly knew each other.

Rowan cleared his throat before raising his voice towards Scarlett. ‘Hello again.’

‘Hi.’ Placing her mug carefully down, she held her hand up in a small wave. She had hoped she’d be able to avoid him for the rest of her time down here. She had already photographed the Christmas tree on the green, and she had the bare basics of the sketch she’d made in her sketchbook so… Her sketchbook! What had she done with that? She didn’t remember putting it back in her bag after the incident with the coffee cart. With her heart pounding, she pulled her bag across the table and began rummaging inside, glad she’d left it in the kitchen when she’d first come round. Where was it? She pulled out a wad of tissues, the small bag of mint leaves and the peppers she’d bought from the grocery store, scattering them across the table as she searched. It wasn’t in here. She’d lost it. It had all of her most recent work in, and it would take her hours to sketch all the scenes out again. Not that she would be visiting half the places she’d sketched again.

‘Is this what you’re looking for?’ Rowan stepped forward.

Jerking her head up to look at him, she realised he was holding her beloved sketchbook out towards her. Scarlett reached out and took it from his grasp. ‘Thank you, thank you. A million thank yous!’

‘You’re welcome.’ Rowan grinned. ‘You must have dropped it when…’

‘Scarlett, the coffee cart?’ Laura looked at Scarlett, an expression of realisation crossing her face. ‘That’s what you were telling me, wasn’t it? You knocked into Rowan’s coffee cart?’

‘Yep, that’s it.’ Scarlett grimaced before turning her attention back to Rowan. ‘Sorry again, I really am. And thank you so much for rescuing this.’

‘I feel as though I’m missing something here.’ Jackson chuckled.

‘Just me being my clumsy old self, that’s all.’ Scarlett forced a laugh and looked around the kitchen, trying to find inspiration to change the subject matter of the conversation. Failing, she was grateful when she heard Rowan’s voice again.

‘So, I have your coffee samples.’ Pulling a rucksack from his back, Rowan pulled out four small bags of ground coffee and held them out towards Laura.

‘Ooh, fantastic. I can’t tell you how excited I am to try these.’ Taking them, Laura placed the bags on the table before opening each in turn and sniffing them. ‘They smell so good.’

‘Well, hopefully you’ll think they’ll taste even better.’ Rowan checked his watch before signalling to the door. ‘I’d better get going, but let me know what you think, won’t you?’

‘We certainly will. And thanks again, mate.’ Jackson led the way out into the hall.

Making sure she’d secured the bags of ground coffee, Laura then slipped onto the bench beside Scarlett and nudged her with her elbow. ‘You know the lovely Rowan, then?’

‘I wouldn’t say I know him, no.’ Scarlett ran the palm of her hand down the front of her sketchbook and scratched a smidge of coffee grounds from it. ‘I knocked into his coffee cart and broke about a million coffee cups, that’s all.’