Page 102

‘Well, if you’d been really pushed you could have stayed at the holiday let I’d booked for me and Will. But I think the snow had other ideas.’

‘Looks like it had other ideas about lots of things.’

‘It’s not a good day to be out in it, that’s for sure,’ says Horse, coming in from outside, rubbing his hands. ‘That’s the ducks and Gloria sorted and fed.’ He looks at me, and I feel myself melt all over again. Just like I did last night when we sat by the fire, after Will had gone to bed, in each other’s arms. It felt like the most natural place in the world for him to be. I smile at him, and he smiles back. It’s definitely a happy Christmas.

Lara arrives into the kitchen from the spare room upstairs.

‘Thank you for letting me stay last night,’ she says.

‘It was lovely to have you here. Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you both about . . .’

‘A tree!’ says Lara. ‘We haven’t got a tree!’

And we all look around and laugh.

‘You’re right. We were so busy selling them, we haven’t got one of our own!’

Will comes hurrying down the stairs and along the hall. He’s holding his spice tin close to his chest and singing ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’, wearing the new pyjamas and dressing gown that Lara bought for him.

‘Happy Christmas, Will!’ I say, and he comes over.

‘Happy Christmas, Gwen,’ he says, and then hugs me hard. I hug him back just as hard, resting my cheek on his mop of dark hair, laughing with sheer contentment.

After Will has been round and given everyone a Christmas hug, Luke says, ‘Hey, Will, shall we go and see what trees we’ve got left in the barn and pick one to put up? Check on the puppies too.’

‘Yeeeesssssss!’ he says, putting his spice tin on the kitchen table. It’s filled with the new spices that Horse has bought him, and with little wooden spoons that Horse has carved his name into. He rushes to the back door, pulling on a bobble hat, and dashes out wearing his brushed cotton pyjamas, the red fleecy dressing gown, and his very own apron – I found it when packing. Gareth bought it for me and I’ve never worn it, so I wrapped it up and Will was delighted with it.

The door is left wide open, and Tegan and Dinky hurry out after him into the yard. We watch and laugh as Will throws himself backwards into the fallen snow, moving his arms and legs and then standing and looking down proudly at the shape he’s left, before doing it all over again. I wonder if he knows they’re called snow angels, I think to myself.

‘Lara, Luke! Come on!’ he calls, waving and beckoning them both outside.

They look at one another, suddenly shy again. It’s obvious that neither wants to make the first move. For once Luke’s cheeky charm has left him; he’s now just a young man looking at a young woman for whom he clearly has feelings. Horse and I exchange a glance, knowing we’re both thinking the same thing. I feel so lucky that we’ve found each other and both managed to say exactly how we were feeling.

We watch Luke and Lara as they too fall back into the snow and make snow angels. Then they go to the barn and run back out with the puppies in tow, now six weeks old, running, bouncing, tumbling in the snow. Snow on their noses, flakes settling on their fur, on their backs and heads, and the tips of their ears decorated with shiny crystals too.

‘I don’t think there’s much choice left on trees,’ says Horse. ‘Let’s get this turkey in the oven and then go and help them.’

I watch as he pulls the turkey from the fridge, where it’s been marinating overnight in a blend of garlic, ginger, chilli, Nadiya’s garam masala, turmeric and cumin, mixed into natural yoghurt with tomato puree. I open the oven and he slides it in, closing the oven door and then kissing me on the tip of my nose.

‘Come, let’s help find a tree. Then there’s brussels sprouts and spuds to prepare.’

‘With spice?’

‘Of course!’ he says. ‘Love a spicy sprout. Spicy sprouts, curry-powdered carrots and parsnips in honey.’

I smile.

‘I was thinking, maybe Nadiya would like to come and do some cooking demonstrations here at the farm in the new year, in the barn? She could teach cooking with spices and launch and sell her new spice range. I’m trying to think of ways to bring more people to the farm, other than just at Christmas.’

‘Brilliant idea,’ says Horse, kissing me again, this time on the lips and deeper. He pulls away, looking at me in a way that lights me up like a Christmas tree.

‘Come on, let’s go and pick a tree before I want to whisk you off to bed!’ he says, making me want exactly that too. But instead, we pull on our boots, pick up our mugs of tea and head outside to see a snowball sailing through the air. Another flies back in return. Luke, Lara and Will are making piles of snowballs and flinging them to squeals of delight and little yaps from the puppies. Horse steps in front of me as a snowball comes our way and hits him squarely on the shoulder.

‘Hey, you!’ he says to Will, waving his fist in jest. He picks up a handful of snow and throws it back as Will laughs joyfully. Then Horse takes me by the hand and we run, my long skirt with its lacy trim skimming over the snow.

In the warm barn, the lights and greenery are all still hanging beautifully draped around the beams and door frames.

‘We’ll need some lights,’ says Horse.