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‘It’s why I was later getting here than I’d hoped last night. I went to visit Nadiya. We’ve been chatting a bit, and I told her what happened and that we needed new spices, exactly the same as before, but didn’t know what to get.’

‘You and Nadiya,’ I say, and then I feel silly for saying it. Why did I need to repeat it?

‘And also, she wrote out a few recipes for you to try out, Will. She says she usually works by taste but has tried to write them out as best she can. But she told me what we needed for the tin. So I ordered the spices online while I was away. And then Nadiya offered me some of her own garam masala blend and her mum’s favourite recipe, too. We can try them.’

‘Yes!!’ Will beams. Horse holds up his hand and Will high-fives it.

‘And, better still, she’s offered to come over and cook with us, if Gwen’s happy with that. Help get a real understanding of how the spices work.’

He looks at me.

‘Of course!’ I say, feeling happy for Will and for Horse, of course.

‘Come on, let’s get them in the tin,’ says Horse. He puts the little notebook on the table, full of handwritten recipes.

And my heart is full watching the two of them, despite his words ‘Nadiya offered me her mum’s favourite recipe’ running on a loop in my head. They must have spent time together, got to know each other. She’s coming here to show us how to cook. I swallow. I’m pleased for Horse. He deserves to meet someone. Especially someone as lovely as Nadiya. It’s not like I was going to . . . I mean, I don’t fancy him. He doesn’t fancy me. I’m not looking for another man. I’m glad he’s met her. That will put a stop to any of the silly thoughts I might have been having whenever I see him. Whenever he’s close to me. When I nearly fell in the forest and he caught me with his big, strong hands.

I watch as Horse and Will fill the pots in the tin with the vibrant, strong-smelling spices and discuss which one is which and what it goes well with.

‘Ground spices, turmeric, coriander and cumin powder,’ says Horse pointing to them.

‘And red chilli powder for heat,’ says Will with a cheeky smile.

‘And whole spices . . .’ He lines the tins up in front of Will like toy soldiers.

‘And what’s that?’ Will points, with excitement.

‘This is panch phoron.’ Horse holds up the pot with a smile. I raise my eyebrows, having never heard of it. ‘A Bengal spice mix; with fenugreek, nigella, cumin, black mustard and fennel seeds.’

Will leans in, Horse prises off the lid and Will smells it.

‘Hmmmm,’ he says with a smile. ‘It reminds me of Ayesha’s cooking.’

‘And we have Nadiya’s garam masala,’ says Horse, holding up a jar.

‘Now all we need is some onion, garlic and ginger and we can cook!’ says Will, rubbing his hands together with glee.

There’s a little tap on the glass of the farmhouse door, nudging me out of my thoughts.

‘Come in,’ I say, seeing Luke there. ‘No need to knock. It’s nearly your house!’ I manage to add without my voice cracking.

He pushes open the door, and once again I can feel the November air tumbling in like Jack Frost himself turning cartwheels. Luke shuts the door quickly behind him.

‘Scarlett on her way?’ I ask, determined to get to know her better and like her. After all, if Luke likes her, I’m sure she must be a good woman.

‘Er . . . no,’ he says, phone in hand, tapping it into his palm.

‘Is everything okay?’ I ask, seeing his worried expression. ‘With the vet?’

‘The vet’s just gone. Dinky’s doing fine.’ He tries to smile. ‘And the pups. They’re doing fine,’ he repeats. But something’s not quite right, I can tell. After a moment he adds, ‘They’re just . . . not quite what Scarlett was expecting.’

I frown.

‘Not expecting? But she knew Dinky was pregnant. She took her to be mated, didn’t she?’

He nods and takes a deep breath.

‘She did.’