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‘We’re opening the Christmas tree farm!’ Will pipes up with a beaming smile.

Luke and Lara look at him, and then at me.

I give a bit of a nervous laugh.

‘It’s the house sale. I mean, I’m still keen to sell to you . . . It’s just, there’s been a bit of a delay.’

Neither of them says anything, but they exchange a glance.

‘The sale . . . I wonder if we could delay it, just until after Christmas? I’m still very on board for selling, it’s just going to take a little while longer. Until the new year?’

Luke chews the corner of his mouth.

‘I wouldn’t be bothered at all,’ he says, then pauses. ‘But I think Scarlett might have a problem with that. She’s got this big reveal planned on her channel for moving in for Christmas, getting the Christmas decorators in to put up a load of stuff before starting work on the place in the new year. Her and Mogs have it all scheduled. Dinky’s pups are even scheduled into it.’

‘I know, I’m so sorry.’

I hear a bark from outside, then another.

‘Oh, talking of Dinky – do let her out,’ I say, thinking about the poor girl alone in the car.

‘Yeah, actually I will if you don’t mind. She could do with a wee,’ he says, getting up. A rush of cold air comes in as he opens the back door. ‘I’ll just give her a leg-stretch.’

‘Bring her in afterwards, if you want, it’s fine,’ I call after him.

He heads out to the car and opens the boot, and Will bounces after him to say hello to Dinky. I get up to refill the kettle.

‘So, the Christmas tree farm?’ Lara asks, standing too and bringing the cups to the side.

‘Well, yes. There’s been a change of plan; I’ve been meaning to tell you. We’re not going to be moving to Gareth’s. I’m afraid it took me a little while to realize that that just wasn’t going to be right . . . for me or for Will.’

She nods, taking this in. ‘And now?’ she says.

I take a deep breath.

‘I’m not sure. I’ve forfeited my deposit on the flat, so I need to make back some of the money. So I thought – well, Will thought of it first – that we could open up the Christmas tree farm again. One last Christmas here.’ I smile.

‘That sounds excellent. For both you and Will,’ Lara says sincerely. ‘It buys you some time to take stock before moving on to the next adventure.’

I look out of the window and see Luke talking on the phone while at the same time trying to encourage Dinky out of the boot of the Audi. Eventually, with phone in one hand, he lifts her with the other and sets her carefully on the ground. She sniffs around, her belly bulging with her unborn babies, and I suddenly feel quite teary. She sniffs around some more, and then turns circles and wees on the grass verge. Not the overexcited puppy that she was last time she was here; she’s tired now, and her stomach is swollen with puppies of her own. Practically a teenage mother, I think.

I turn back to Lara. ‘I haven’t worked it all out. We’ll need somewhere to live in the new year, if Scarlett and Luke agree to the plan. But with money in my account again, I’ll be able to put down a deposit on a place to rent for a bit. Until we know exactly what’s happening with Will, where –’ I swallow – ‘where he’ll be going, his new family and everything.’

A loud noise from the yard makes me jump. I give a little shiver, despite knowing exactly what it is.

‘Is everything okay?’ asks Lara, looking slightly alarmed.

‘It’ll be the barn door,’ I say, putting the kettle down and running to the kitchen door and pulling it open, the wind whipping in and around me. I grab a coat and boots from the porch there. Outside, Will joins me as I hurry across the yard.

‘It’s the barn door!’ I call to Luke. The bolt holding it shut must have come loose. It bangs again, making Dinky jump and skitter backwards.

I grab hold of the door that has flung itself back and open. I push it, hard, against the wind. Lara is beside me, and Will too, and then Luke runs over to help – and together we push and battle against the wind to close and then bolt it firmly shut. We smile at each other as we catch our breath, cheeks rosy from exertion and the cold, wild and biting wind.

I look back towards where I saw Dinky a moment ago, checking that she’s all right. The wind is whipping strands of my hair loose; I push them out of my eyes.

Luke is looking, too. He runs a few steps towards the Audi, calls Dinky’s name, but she doesn’t appear.

‘Where’s she gone?’ I call.