Both of them paid and were ready to leave, when Amber hugged her and Suzanne offered a warm smile.
‘You must be exhausted. You must hear everyone’s life story!’ Suzanne said.
Not everyone’s, Sophie thought, but she was privy tosome secrets that people would never dream of sharing with their nearest and dearest. In many ways she’d realised it was a privilege, and she loved that her little guest house could provide a safe refuge from the world, whether it allowed people to form new bonds or simply recuperate after a busy time.
‘I could definitely get a job in the Secret Service,’ Sophie joked, walking to the front door with them. ‘Have a safe journey, and good luck. I’ll see you in the spring. I’m thinking of hosting an “Escape from Valentine’s” break, so perhaps I’ll see you for a weekend then.’
As the Smiths drove off, Vee’s VW trundled onto the drive. Sophie walked out and greeted her with a big hug the moment she got out of the car.
‘Boy, am I glad to see you!’ Sophie told her.
‘Same. I’m delighted to get out of the house,’ Vee said with a chuckle. ‘Honestly, I should head up the UN, for all the diplomacy I’ve had to carry out over the holidays. Between my family and Kev’s, I’ve been close to throwing everyone out at times. His sister and brother almost came to blows over a game of bloody Monopoly! Then my niece was sick after eating almost a whole packet of Matchmakers, and we lost the TV remote for a full half-hour. I’ve catered for so many special diets, I ought to have a Michelin star!’
Sophie laughed. ‘That sounds almost as stressful as my Christmas.’
‘Oh, Soph. I heard about it from Kev. Bloody hell, you have had quite the time of it.’
‘You have no idea … All the plans went out of thewindow. I got propositioned, helped deliver a baby, had to keep two warring sisters apart and ended up having to wear a party hat and pull crackers after all.’
‘Wow!’ Vee murmured. ‘That beats Monopoly-gate.’
The bell dinged in reception. ‘I’ll tell you about it later. It’s time for check-out.’
‘I’ll make a start on the vacant rooms, shall I?’
‘Thanks!’ Sophie said, walking back to the desk.
The Hartley-Brewers waited at the desk with matching cabin bags by their sides.
‘Have you had a good time?’ Sophie said, keeping things light. ‘I apologise again for the disruption.’
‘Oh, please don’t apologise. We’ve loved every minute of it!’ Una declared. ‘Which is surprising because, as the day grew closer, we started to have cold feet, you see.’
‘Oh?’ Sophie hadn’t heard any guest admit to dreading their stay before.
Hugo had a sheepish air. ‘It did seem a little bit – mad to escape for Christmas. It’s really not the sort of thing we do. We had to fib to our friends and families and tell them it was a normal Christmas break.’
‘But now we’re going to tell them the truth,’ Una said. ‘Because they won’t believe that we were trapped in a snowstorm, helped to deliver a baby and spent the day at a stranger’s farmhouse. Not to mention leading a salsa evening. We loved that.’
Sophie laughed. ‘Everyone loved it. Thank you so much again for stepping in, and I hope you’ll enjoy more dancing back home.’
‘It was fantastic. And there’s something else. After meeting Harold – and Brody – we’re going to look into getting another dog. It’s heartbreaking to lose a friend, and we’ve both been so terrified of going through the pain again.’
Una’s eyes glistened. ‘But Brody reminded us that if you can help an animal in need, then you should, so when we can offer a loving home to a rescue dog, it seems wrong not to do so.’
Sophie felt a little teary herself. ‘I’m so pleased for you. Rehoming a rescue dog is a brilliant idea.’
‘Harold melted our hearts,’ Una said and exchanged a shy glance with Hugo. ‘And I think we’ve both felt rejuvenated in other ways since we got here.’
‘A power cut can be a good thing,’ Hugo said, slipping his arm around Una.
‘Hugo! That’s far too much information!’
Sophie agreed. ‘Erm, cash or card?’ she asked politely, resting her hand on the payment terminal.
After they’d paid, the couple picked up their bags.
‘I’m very happy to hear all that. I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed yourselves.’
