Page 22 of Escape for Christmas
‘You just concentrate on making this Christmas escape a success for your guests and we’ll speak soon, then see you in the New Year,’ her dad reminded Sophie, lifting her spirits. ‘Bye, love …’
‘Bye.’ With a wave, they ended the call.
What a day! Talk about a rollercoaster. First the car, then a lovely evening with Brody, and now this fresh twist. Sophie put down the phone and hugged her knees, feeling a tight knot of pain inside her, exactly as she had for weeks aftershe’d first found Ben and Naomi shagging in the shop. The temptation to shout, ‘I hate you, Ben!’ was strong, but what would be the point? It would only scare the cats, and it meant that Ben and Naomi had won.
She tried to refocus on the positive. Ben had already shown why he didn’t deserve her, so her dad was right – she had to keep going and continue to put all her energies into the business. The truck could be fixed. In a few days she’d have a full house of guests for her first festive season – and she’d achieved that in her own unique way, despite the naysayers. She’d started and made a success of a new business and now lived in a stunning location.
Gradually her breathing eased and the knot of hurt waned to a bearable ache. This was where she belonged now. Ben and Naomi were part of her history, even if that history was proving harder to shake off than she’d hoped.
Brody picked her up at seven-thirty sharp and they drove off into the dark Lakeland morning to the laundry. Sophie had left a message for the local garage the previous evening before going to bed and followed it up with a phone call on the way to the village. The mechanic assured her he would be out in his tow-truck as soon as possible.
‘Here we go,’ Brody said, parking next to the pickup as the first glow of daylight appeared over the western fells. ‘Let me know if you have any problems or the garage doesn’t turn up. I know the mechanic. His kids have seven guineapigs between them, so he needs to keep me and my friends sweet.’
‘Seven?’ Sophie said and then, ‘Thanks for the offer, but you’ve already been a huge help and you must have a busy day at the surgery, so don’t want to keep you from it.’
‘Yeah, I guess so, but I mean it. If you needed a lift home or anything, I’m always here to help.’
She smiled, grateful for the kindness he’d shown her. ‘I will. I promise.’
‘OK. Well, if not, I’ll see you at mine tomorrow for the party?’ He was clearly keen to know that Sophie hadn’t had second thoughts and was still coming.
‘Yes, I’ll be there. What time does it start?’
‘People will probably rock up from around seven, but drop in any time. It usually goes on until eleven-ish. That’s when I’ll start collecting up the glasses and offering to fetch the stragglers’ coats. You can turn up any time you want to.’
Sophie laughed. ‘OK, well, I’ll probably pop in near the start, I promise.’ She hesitated before asking, ‘Are you sure there isn’t anything I can do to help? Bring a bottle or some crisps?’
He laughed. ‘Thanks for the offer. Mum has caterers doing the food, and it’s my job to collect the booze tomorrow afternoon. That and “making sure the loos look respectable”.’
‘I know that job well.’ Sophie giggled. ‘Vee and Ricky are coming in to help with breakfast and cleaning on Christmas Eve morning, but after that I’m on my own until the guests leave on the twenty-seventh of December – dealingwith anything and everything that might go wrong. I think I’ll be very happy to see the back of them by then and have a few days off!’
‘I’m on emergency cover most of the time,’ Brody said. ‘We take it in turns each year.’
‘What are you doing for Christmas Day?’ she asked. ‘Will you be spending it here at Felltop Farm or at your mother’s?’
‘I haven’t been informed yet, but rest assured someone will have plans for me.’ Brody’s tone surprised her by its bitterness.
‘You could always take Harold out for a walk, if it gets too much,’ she suggested lightly.
‘Icould. Or I might be called out, which may be the only escape I get,’ he muttered, before a brief smile flickered across his face and he said briskly, ‘Well, I really must be getting on – busy day and all that. My first appointment is at eight-thirty, and Cora will be having kittens. Not that it’s anatomically possible, of course, but …’
Sophie grinned. ‘I’d like to see it.’
‘I wouldn’t! Bye!’ He drove off, with a wave, leaving Sophie perplexed.
After he’d gone, she waited for the tow-truck to arrive, still puzzling over Brody’s cryptic remarks about being told what to do over the festive season, and most of all puzzling about her own reactions to him.
She loved the way he ran his hands through his tousled hair, the colour of espresso coffee, and she liked the cleft in his chin and the whole self-deprecating charm. He adored animals, and his patients adored him. Brody seemed athoroughly nice guy, and yet so had Ben. He’d shed his nice-guy disguise as fast as the decs off a Christmas tree on Twelfth Night. Could she ever risk being hurt like that again, no matter how much of a ‘good guy’ Brody seemed?
CHAPTER EIGHT
The next day was 23 December – the day of Brody’s party – and it was just thirty hours until Sophie’s escapees arrived.
Luckily the local garage had managed to fix the wheel while Sophie did a tour of the village shops, looking for any last-minute bits and pieces to give Sunnyside a fiesta, rather than festive, feel.
It hadn’t been easy, with the shops rammed with traditional decorations, and she was glad she’d already ordered some items online. Her new cocktail glasses and shaker looked great when arranged on the honesty bar alongside a selection of mixers and spirits, with a price list in a notebook, where people could sign for what they’d drunk. If they could remember …
She picked up some staples in the village supermarket that morning, but the bulk of her main shop was already on order at the farm shop, ready to be collected tomorrow, early on Christmas Eve morning.
