The Heart of Winter

by Emma Hannigan

  ‘Uh, it’ll be the bomb!’ Missy said. ‘Bye, Pippa. See you soon and thanks for showing us around. Yay me! This is going to work brilliantly!’

  ‘Yay!’ Pippa responded injecting as much enthusiasm as she could muster. As they were reversing away, Pippa said through her teeth without moving her lips, ‘She just handed me a cheque for fifteen grand to buy balloons. Wave more enthusiastically.’

  Instantly, they reacted with renewed vigour and waved as if their lives depended on it.

  Huddling close to one another just inside the marquee, they all said nothing for a moment. Holly broke the silence.

  ‘Never in all my years have I met a woman like that.’

  ‘Which one?’ Paddy asked looking genuinely traumatised.

  ‘Does Mrs Hassett’s face move at all?’ Skye asked.

  ‘No,’ Pippa said. ‘But it’s given me a real insight into Missy. She’s a complete angel compared to her mother. Poor Mr Hassett. He’s actually a really lovely man.’

  ‘I’d say they tie him up and threaten to poke him with a cattle prod until he does what they want,’ Paddy said.

  ‘I agree,’ said Matt. ‘No wonder Mercedes did that to one of their cars. I’d say they’d have painted My Little Pony on it just to get rid of those two.’

  Pippa phoned a couple of balloon suppliers to get some prices. When she phoned Missy back, she discovered they’d already called a man they’d used before.

  ‘I’ll hold on to your cheque then,’ Pippa said.

  ‘Yeah, take it off the end price or something,’ she said.

  Darkness brought a chilly dampness with it so the family decided to call it a day.

  ‘I’m going to take Ely home and give him a quick bath and put him in his pyjamas,’ Matt said. ‘Dad is already at the farmhouse, so I’ll bring him back over with me. Shall we say an hour to reconvene?’

  ‘Perfect,’ said Holly. ‘We’ll go to the gate lodge and freshen up too.’

  Pippa and Skye went over to Huntersbrook.

  ‘I’m going to have a shower and try to block Mrs Hassett from my brain until I absolutely have to think about her again. She gets my vote for “Horrible person of the year award”.’

  ‘She’s kind of offensive, isn’t she?’ Skye agreed.

  Skye waited another half an hour. She tried Joey’s mobile number one last time. It was still going to voicemail. She guessed he’d turned it off for the meeting earlier and had forgotten to switch it back on again. He was probably on the motorway right now, speeding his way back to her, oblivious to the fact.

  She set the table and threw another couple of logs on the fire. She was just ready when the back door opened and Holly and Paddy arrived.

  ‘No sign of the neighbours yet?’ Holly asked, searching for Ely.

  ‘No, and Joey isn’t back yet either,’ Skye said casually.

  ‘What time is he meant to be here?’ Paddy asked.

  ‘I’m not sure. Actually his mobile has been off all day.’

  ‘Bet he doesn’t realise,’ Holly said.

  ‘Yes that’s what I figured,’ Skye said. ‘He’ll land back in looking blankly at me!’

  Matt and Jacob arrived with Ely looking clean and cosy in his onesie.

  ‘Well I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m Hank Marvin,’ Pippa said. ‘I can’t wait another second to be fed – not after the day we’ve had. I’m not waiting for Joey to fall in the door looking confused in two hours’ time. I’ll call the new Chinese restaurant in the village. They deliver.’

  Skye looked over at Pippa flushing with embarrassment. She knew there was probably a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why Joey hadn’t been in touch all day and currently had his phone off, but she was cross with him for putting her in such an awkward position with his family.

  Paddy opened a bottle of wine and shortly after that the food arrived. The landline rang and Skye ran to answer.

  She did her best not to sob or yell in fury when Joey said he’d had a few drinks and would be staying in Dublin.

  ‘I see,’ was all she could manage without causing a scene with his entire family listening. ‘We need to have the marquee set up by lunch time for another prospective client, so maybe you’d try and get back in time to help with that . . .’

  Skye listened as Joey covered the mouthpiece on the phone to call out to Clive. The sound of laughter and clinking glasses was almost deafening.

  ‘OK, gotcha, Skye. Chat to you tomorrow. Sleep well, hon. Love you.’

  She was still holding the phone after he’d hung up. Plastering a smile on her face, she turned to face the others.

  ‘He’s not coming home as it turns out.’

  ‘Bloody men,’ Pippa said crunching into a prawn cracker. ‘Sod him, Skye. We’ll have a girls’ sleepover!’

  ‘Just as well you’re here, Pippa,’ Holly said. ‘Joey’s an imp to leave you here like that, Skye.’

  ‘Ah not at all,’ she said trying to make light of it. ‘I figured he’d probably have to stay up. With being made a partner and all that, I knew he’d be in demand.’

  The rest of the evening was a trial. Skye longed to curl up in bed. She wanted to call Joey and yell down the phone at him that he was a selfish git and he could bloody well stay in Dublin and never come back.

  Mercifully, the others were completely done in after all the excitement of the day and weren’t in the mood for a late session, so they helped her clean up and said goodnight.

  ‘Large bucket of wine?’ Pippa offered as she pulled a bottle of white from the fridge.

  ‘I’m actually too full to drink. I ate enough for three grown men just now,’ Skye joked.

  ‘Well I’m having one glass and then I’ll go to bed. I’m so tired. You wouldn’t believe the couple of weeks I’ve had, Skye.’

  ‘How’s Danny?’ Skye asked. ‘He seems great, Pippa. I’m so glad you’ve found a good guy.’

  ‘Yeah, me too,’ she said, but it didn’t sound convincing.

  If Skye wasn’t so exhausted, she would’ve pushed Pippa to know why she seemed so hesitant about Danny all of a sudden. But that issue would have to be put on hold.

  ‘Sorry to be such a party pooper,’ Skye yawned. ‘But I have to hit the hay. I’m completely wrecked.’

  ‘No worries . . . I’m dying to get into bed and crash too. I don’t want to look like a corpse when I meet Jodi Ludlum again tomorrow. She’s so cool, Skye. You’ll love her.’

  ‘I can’t believe she’s really coming here. It’s bananas!’

  Skye waited until she’d firmly shut her bedroom door before she allowed herself to cry. She knew Joey adored her. She gazed at her gorgeous engagement ring as proof. But she was terrified this new role as partner was going to change him.

  If he turned into an alpha male powerhouse businessman, where would she fit in? She loved Joey with all her heart, but she wasn’t prepared to be treated like an afterthought. She’d had enough of that with her own family. She had no choice about being related to them. But she wasn’t about to marry a man who did the same.

  Joey

  JOEY WAS UP AT QUARTER TO SIX THE FOLLOWING morning. He’d had a restless night. There were too many thoughts shooting around his head right now. Between work, home and Lainey, he was addled. The skin-full of drink hadn’t helped matters either.

  The pressure of getting the place ready for the party was weighing heavily on his already burdened shoulders. Still, it was all taking his mind off waiting for Lainey’s news.

  Reaching over for his mobile phone he groaned. He’d noticed there were missed calls when he got to the pub last night, but now as he realised Skye had tried him six times during the course of yesterday and his parents twice, he felt like such a sod. He’d left his damn phone on silent during the meetings and had totally forgotten to switch it back. He’d meant to call her to say he wasn’t coming home. He’d tried after being at the hospital and had clearly registered in his own head that he’d done it.

  It was to
o early to phone now, so he kicked his legs out of bed and into the shower. He’d zoom straight down to Wicklow and make Skye a lovely breakfast. She was a sweetheart and he knew she’d be fine once he explained.

  Besides, the meeting and subsequent dinner and drinks last night had gone swimmingly and Clive was ecstatic with him. Skye would understand that he was looking after the best interests of his job. He was building a future for them. She’d be pretty darn proud of him, in fact.

  It was only seven-thirty when he drove down the avenue at Huntersbrook. The sun was rising and the fields were blanketed in a soft woolly grey mist. Frost crystallised the grass, making it look as if it had been sugar-coated. Several large birds rose from the remnants of the cornfield and traversed the land. Joey drew to a halt, climbed out and inhaled deeply. The freezing air filled his lungs, cleansing the fug of his hangover. Rubbing his hands together he realised just how cold it was. He’d go inside, make breakfast for Skye and perhaps head out for a jog.

  He turned his key in the lock, but when he shouldered the door it remained firmly shut. Skye had clearly put the inside bolt across for extra security. He went around to the back door, fiddled with his bunch of keys and selected the right one. The key was in the lock on the inside. He was blocked out.

  Not wanting to wake Skye and risk frightening her, he considered going for a run straight away. He might have the makings of a running kit in the car. To his dismay, he had everything bar trainers. With no alternative he returned to the front door and rapped firmly with the knocker.

  When he’d knocked three times and there was no answer he reluctantly climbed into the car and drove back to the gate lodge. Guessing his father would be up and about by now, he sighed with relief when he saw the kitchen light on.

  Paddy looked up cheerfully as he tapped on the window.

  ‘Good morning, early bird. Are you having a cuppa and a slice of toast?’

  ‘Yes lovely, thanks Dad. Brrr, it’s seriously cold out there.’

  ‘Well it would be, standing about in a shirt and that measly excuse of a jumper with no sleeves,’ he teased. ‘Where did you get to last night, then? Skye was calling and calling you. We were all sitting with our knives and forks and our napkins tucked into our tops waiting for our take-away.’

  ‘Shoot,’ Joey said. ‘I totally forgot about the take-away. Em, well it was all a bit of a mess. But it was good business-wise in so far as that all went brilliantly. I totally nailed it with the clients and Clive thinks I’m a star.’

  ‘Good for you, son,’ Paddy said.

  ‘But I’m guessing I’m in the bad books with Skye?’

  ‘Ah you know Skye. She’s about as calm as they come. But it might have been nice to call and let her know you weren’t coming back. I think she was embarrassed, to be honest.’

  ‘Poor Skye,’ he said, feeling really bad. ‘I intended to call. I tried her in the morning and didn’t get her and after that the day and evening just ran away with me. I’ll make it up to her today. We might go for lunch or something like that.’

  ‘Can’t see that happening today with Jodi Ludlum coming.’

  ‘I beg your pardon?’ Joey said laughing.

  ‘Oh you haven’t heard, of course,’ Paddy said and proceeded to fill him in on the new developments.

  ‘Well I’ll be damned,’ he said shaking his head. ‘Pippa is some operator, isn’t she?’

  Paddy nodded happily as he tucked into his toast. ‘Yeah, it’s a lovely bit of positivity for us all. It might help to balance the other awful woman. Missy Hassett came for a quick nose around with her mother yesterday evening.’

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘Nothing detrimental. She’s just a garish woman whose brain isn’t connected too tightly to her mouth.’

  ‘Are they still having the party with us?’

  ‘Yes, although I’ll have to keep your mother’s hands tied behind her back on the night in case she tries to anaesthetise Mrs Hassett with a large vase!’

  ‘So it was a productive day all in.’

  ‘Yes, but that didn’t stop your mother being awake half the night. She’s in a heap over Lainey.’

  ‘I know, we all are.’ Joey felt another stab of guilt as he remembered yesterday’s hospital visit.

  ‘So let’s turn this around and get some good stuff going for the Craigs again. It’s about time we grabbed life by the horns.’

  Joey grinned, encouraged by his father’s glass half-full attitude. He drove back to the house. It was still in darkness, so he made his way to the farmhouse. Hovering at the back door momentarily, he heard Matt chatting to Ely.

  Knocking on the door first, he lifted the handle and walked in.

  ‘Good morning, uncle Joey,’ Matt said cheerfully. If it weren’t for his two day old stubble and the dark circles under his eyes, Matt might have been convincing in his good humour.

  ‘Sorry to intrude,’ Joey said. ‘How are you doing?’

  ‘Ah so-so,’ Matt said sighing. ‘I’m trying to keep things upbeat for the little fella.’

  ‘I know,’ Joey sympathised. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve heard from Lainey yet?’

  ‘Nah, it’s a bit early. I didn’t want to phone in case she’s sleeping. She’ll ring as soon as she wakes up, always does.’

  Joey filled him in on all his exciting business advancements and they got chatting about Jodi’s impending visit and the plans.

  ‘I’m obviously minding this little man and I’ve to go over and see Lainey. But I’ll do what I can.’

  ‘I spoke to Dad and between her and Sadie, they’ll be delighted to take Ely. Sadie is due in at around nine. Pippa appeared last night and apparently she’s on board too.’

  ‘Pippa’s been great,’ Matt said. ‘She was in with Lainey yesterday and seemed to calm her down greatly. Apparently they had a great chat.’

  Joey nodded and said nothing.

  ‘I’m going to walk Ely across to Huntersbrook in the buggy,’ Matt said. ‘Care to join us?’

  ‘Sure,’ Joey said.

  By the time Matt and Joey arrived at the door, Skye and Pippa were up and dressed.

  ‘Morning,’ Joey said stooping to kiss Skye. She smiled fleetingly and didn’t answer.

  ‘Where the hell were you last night?’ Pippa fired across the kitchen. ‘It’s lucky I arrived or Skye would’ve been on her own here. Did your phone fall down the toilet or something? We all tried calling you.’

  ‘Said the pot to the kettle,’ Joey shot back. ‘Pippa, you’re hardly in a position to shout at me about not telling people where you are. You go AWOL on a regular basis and we’re all meant to put up and shut up.’

  ‘It’s different for me,’ she figured. ‘Nobody expects me to act responsibly and besides, I didn’t leave my fiancée sitting like a fool.’

  ‘I’m so sorry, Skye,’ he said, deciding to give up on arguing with Pippa. ‘I got side-tracked and before I knew it, it was too late to call.’

  ‘There’s no point in going on about it. You’re here now.’ She smiled tightly. ‘We have a lot of work to get done this morning. Did you hear who’s coming?’

  Thrilled at being thrown a lifeline, Joey grasped the positive change of subject and ran with it.

  ‘I know, Dad told me. I can hardly believe it.’

  ‘Oh and Lainey just called,’ Pippa said to Matt. ‘Seems she rang the farmhouse, got no answer and immediately called here. Obviously while you were en route. Give her a buzz there, Matt. She sounded tired.’

  Matt disappeared to the landline. Pippa and Joey exchanged a look, but now wasn’t the time to talk about Lainey – or Jules, for that matter.

  ‘Right,’ Pippa said. ‘Matt can call Lainey and we can all get this show on the road,’ she said clapping her hands loudly and making for the kettle and toaster. To Skye and Joey’s astonishment, she whipped up a great big pot of buttery scrambled eggs, along with a mountain of toast and a large pot of coffee.

  ‘Sit and eat,’ she instructed as Holl
y arrived.

  ‘It’s a feast! Did you do all this, Pippa?’

  ‘Yes! Why is everyone acting as if I’ve committed a crime?’

  ‘You’re not exactly a domestic goddess in general,’ Holly said, stifling a giggle.

  ‘And you’re usually only up at this time if you’re on the way home from a night out,’ Joey reasoned.

  ‘People in glasshouses, brother dear,’ she said, poking out her tongue at him and then sitting down to help herself to some breakfast. Joey and Paddy decided to keep quiet about their previous tea and toast and sat to eat more.

  Matt came back in with the wireless phone. ‘Lainey wants to chat to you all,’ he said, and put it on speakerphone.

  ‘Hi guys. I just wanted to let you know that Sally from the cookery school will pitch up mid-morning with the other cooks. So will one of you promise to stick with her and help her find stuff?’

  ‘I’ll do it,’ Holly said.

  ‘Thanks, Mum,’ Lainey said. ‘She needs to get her bearings so she can have everything organised for the party.’

  ‘Lainey, you’ve got to promise me you’re not going to fret. We’ll do everything we can to ensure things run smoothly at Missy’s party. We won’t let you down.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Lainey said, as her voice cracked.

  ‘We miss you and we wish you were here,’ Skye added. ‘But you are to concentrate on getting well. You are more important than any party or even Jodi Ludlum’s visit.’

  ‘I’ll call in quickly later,’ Pippa added.

  ‘No, Pippa, don’t worry about it,’ Lainey said. ‘You have to have everything set up perfectly. You’ll be up to your eyes.’

  ‘I’ll be there,’ Pippa replied quietly.

  Once the table was cleared, they all jumped into action. They needed the place looking party perfect for Jodi’s visit. Skye took Ely to the marquee, where she was in charge of laying the tablecloths and placing the pretty silk flower arrangements in the centres. Missy may not like the subtle look but they were hoping Jodi might. The boys unstacked the chairs and got the bar set up. There was a hum of busy activity that soothed Joey’s nerves and made him feel like he was reconnecting with the place again. It was an odd division in his life at the moment – it felt like he had to be an entirely different person depending on whether he was in Dublin or in Huntersbrook. As he stacked bottles of spirits on the shelves behind the bar, he realised that, for the first time, he wasn’t sure which one he’d liked being most. Before, he would have said Huntersbrook Joey, no contest. But work was so exciting now, and the places he was eating in, socialising in – it was all so vibrant. He felt a little shot of panic as he wondered if perhaps Dublin Joey was starting to take over.