‘For goodness’ sake, Dave,’ shouted Joe and the boy next to him giggled.
‘Is he yours?’ asked the boy, waving his phone in Dave’s direction.
‘No,’ panted Joe, although it was entirely his fault that this was happening.
‘Shame. He’s awesome.’
Joe paused thanks to a stitch in his side – he blamed the sausage roll – and a few more followers caught them up: a particularly windy bit of the stream’s course had slowed the pace down. Dave was having the time of his life as more ducks caught up and surrounded him, bobbing in every direction as he pounced on them. ‘Dave!’ Of course the dog didn’t look up. It took longer than a day and a half for a dog to learn a new name. There was nothing for it: Joe was going to have to go in after him.
Joe sprinted ahead to buy himself a couple of minutes before the ducks reached him. He pulled off his socks and trainers and slid down the muddy bank into the icy water. The cold took his breath away. He saw the lead ducks coming towards him with Dave in hot pursuit.
‘Come on, Dave,’ he called, in the hope of encouraging him to leave the ducks and come to him.
‘Come on, Dave!’ shouted the boy who’d spoken to him earlier, still pointing his phone in Dave’s direction. And just like that the other children joined in. Then a few adults, then more, until the chorus echoed up the banks. ‘Come on, Dave!’
The dog was oblivious. As he neared Joe he made a well-timed lunge for the duck in front, clasping it firmly in his jaws and giving Joe the opportunity to grab the skipping rope harness and haul Dave from the water, his little legs still running in mid-air.
The crowd cheered their delight, most likely thanks to the mulled wine, and carried on their way after the remaining ducks. Joe flopped down on the grassy bank and tried to take the duck from the dog’s jaws, but Dave whipped his head away.
‘That better not be my duck,’ said a gruff voice.
‘Or mine,’ chimed in a few more.
Back to being public enemy number one, thought Joe, clasping the cold, wet wriggling dog to his chest. Dave had a firm hold on the duck and from his determined expression he wasn’t planning on relinquishing his prize any time soon.
Someone loomed over Joe. He looked up warily. ‘Sausage roll?’ asked Lottie, failing to hide her grin.
He was pleased to see her smile, even if it was at his expense. ‘I could do with a large brandy. This dog is possessed by the devil.’
‘You love him really,’ said Lottie, crouching down to ruffle the fur on the top of Dave’s head, and coming quite close to Joe in the process.
‘I must admit he’s growing on me.’
‘Me too,’ said Lottie, and their eyes fixed on each other until discomfort made them tear them away.
Lottie had watched the performance play out and had been cheering Joe on from the bank. She’d almost run up to him at the end, but had managed to make herself saunter instead. And now here she was, standing close to him and feeling all self-conscious again. Especially after flashing him earlier.
‘Did poogate get resolved?’ he asked, standing up.
‘After much moaning, arguing and a bit of shouting from me, yes.’ They fell in step as everyone converged on the finish. They were a few strides away when a huge cheer went up. Lottie couldn’t see who had won, but they would put the numbers up on a chalk board soon enough. They continued at a more leisurely pace with Dave trotting along beside them, his duck held proudly in his mouth.
‘Did they find the engagement ring?’
‘Shhh. And how did you know?’ Lottie swivelled her head to check nobody nearby was listening.
‘Something he said last night after a few too many brandies. Plus I figured if Emily’s present was socks, Zach wouldn’t be fretting this much.’
Lottie checked Emily wasn’t nearby. ‘No sign of it. Zach is really starting to panic. He’s missed Christmas Day, so today is his last chance to ask her before they leave the manor tomorrow.’ She ran her lip through her teeth. ‘I guess I won’t be far behind them.’ She was thinking out loud. ‘The new owners will want the place emptied as soon as possible.’
Joe was looking doubtful. ‘Have they said that?’
‘No. But it was advertised as no upward chain, so they won’t want to hang about.’ She stifled a giant sigh. ‘It’s probably for the best. The longer I stay, the harder it’ll be to leave. Although it’ll be weird being completely alone in the house.’
Joe gave her a worried look. ‘I’m sorry. Has he got worse since this morning?’
‘Oh, no. Bernard is still hanging in there; but when I spoke to Dayea earlier she was talking about him moving in with her. Which makes sense. No point him coming back to the manor only to have to move out again.’
‘Where does she live?’
‘You know what – I have absolutely no idea. Apart from that it’s near Stow, I think, but I could have got that wrong.’ Lottie made a mental note to find out more about Dayea; their superficial exchanges were fine before, but if she was going to marry Great Uncle Bernard and be a proper part of the family, then Lottie felt she should get to know her better.
Christmas Day had given Lottie a lot to think about. She’d known Joe wasn’t in a good place when he’d gone to America, but she’d always thought of it as him running away, rather than him trying to preserve his mental health – his perspective had put a whole new spin on things. She felt selfish for thinking he’d left her. Now she better understood that he had to get away from everything associated with the village – and that just happened to include her. His timing had been exceptionally bad, but he wasn’t to know that, for one simple reason – she’d never told him. Nana was right: keeping secrets was like a cancer. But when you’d held a secret for so long, how did you even begin to share it?
Something else had been playing on her mind as well. ‘Joe, what did you mean yesterday when you asked if I was sure I knew what happened with your mum and dad?’ She could instantly sense his discomfort.
Shirley interrupted the conversation by waving them down like a traffic cop. Joe quickly diverted towards her and they obediently slowed. ‘Now don’t you make a lovely pair?’ said Shirley.
‘Oh, no, we’re not …’ Joe pointed a finger at Lottie and then back at himself. His mouth remained open. Lottie felt warmth in her cheeks. He clearly didn’t want Shirley to get the wrong idea about them. In fact, he seemed overly bothered that she might.
‘I know, I know,’ said Shirley. ‘I’m just teasing you.’ Joe gave a weak laugh and dropped his gaze to his shoes. ‘I hear some actor has bought the manor, is that right?’ asked Shirley, leaning in to catch every word of Lottie’s reply.
‘Then you know more than me, Shirley,’ said Lottie, trying and failing to laugh it off. ‘Even the estate agent doesn’t seem sure about who has bought it – he said something about it being a company.’
‘Well now. That is interesting.’ Her eyes widened as she spoke, but that may have been the amount of mulled wine she’d consumed. It was widely known that Shirley liked a tipple. ‘Very interesting indeed,’ Shirley added.
Lottie didn’t think it was interesting at all. She didn’t want to think about what was going to happen to the manor after it was sold. It was all too raw. It felt as if she was selling her memories of Nana along with the house, and it was like a physical pain inside her. Can you get homesick for somewhere you haven’t actually left yet? she wondered.
‘And what’s this I hear about an ambulance at the manor yesterday?’ continued Shirley.
Joe seemed to take that as his cue to respond. ‘Bernard had a fall and it triggered a heart spasm. He’s okay though – in hospital recovering.’ Shirley pulled her head back in surprise.
‘Oh my. He’s no age!’
Both Joe and Lottie looked puzzled. ‘He’s seventy-two,’ said Lottie.
‘Like I say. No age,’ said Shirley. Lottie guessed age was all about perspective.
‘Sorry Shirley, but I need to get back and f
eed the hordes. It was lovely to see you. Bye now.’ Lottie gave her a kiss on the cheek.
‘Okay. Keep me posted on the manor house. Especially if it’s that Ryan Reynolds who’s bought it,’ called Shirley, and she waved them off.
Joe matched Lottie’s pace but the atmosphere between them was different.
‘You wanted my phone number,’ said Joe, getting out his phone.
‘For the Land Rover. Yes.’ Lottie felt she had to clarify it wasn’t exactly for her.
They exchanged numbers and walked on in silence. Lottie didn’t like to ask the question about his parents again, and it seemed that Joe wasn’t going to offer up an answer willingly. They began to walk up the hill, and neither of them spoke. Lottie was relieved when Zach jogged to catch them up and broke the silence. ‘Can we talk?’ he asked, giving a sideways look at Joe.
‘Don’t mind me,’ said Joe, striding on ahead, and Dave quickened his pace until his little legs were almost a blur. Lottie watched Joe for a moment and then pulled her attention back to her brother.
‘What’s up?’ She could tell there was something wrong. She always knew.
He huffed a bit before speaking. ‘It’s Melissa.’ The words almost tripped Lottie up.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Lottie took a moment to compose herself. ‘What do you mean exactly when you say Melissa?’ Just saying her dead sister-in-law’s name out loud had an odd effect on Lottie. Guilt crept all over her like a rash. After all these years keeping her secret, it was still difficult for her to bring Melissa to mind.
‘I don’t know,’ said Zach. ‘It’s this whole engagement thing. I was so sure, so certain. Now with everything being delayed and all my plans going wrong it seems like some sort of omen.’
Lottie thought of Dave peeing on Buddha and then banished it from her mind – Zach’s problems had started way before that. ‘No,’ she said firmly. ‘It’s not a bad omen. Sometimes things just don’t go to plan.’
‘But maybe they don’t for a reason. I can’t help wondering if …’ he tailed off. Lottie studied him: his expression was pained. Her heart went out to him. This was more than a wobble.
‘What?’ she asked.
‘If Melissa would approve.’ He shook his head. ‘I know it’s crazy – because why would she approve of me getting a new wife? She wouldn’t. Right?’
This was the moment. The opportunity to explain. The chance she’d been waiting for for nearly five years. She could solve Zach’s problem, tell him the truth about Melissa – but if she did that, would it tear his memories apart?
She took a deep breath. ‘Zach, there’s something you need to know—’
‘Ah, both my children together. That must mean you’re plotting,’ said Angie, slotting in between them both and putting her arms around their shoulders in an uncharacteristically affectionate gesture.
‘Not at all.’ Lottie made an effort not to look guilty and only partly succeeded.
‘Come on. I know you two. What’s going on?’ Her mother had some sort of sixth sense when they were keeping things from her.
Zach shot Lottie a ‘don’t you dare’ look. ‘We were wondering who’s bought the house,’ said Lottie, thinking on her feet. She could see Zach relax out of the corner of her eye. ‘Shirley reckons it’s some famous actor.’
‘Huh,’ said Angie with a snort. ‘Typical village gossip. I bet you’ll be glad to escape it. Won’t you?’
‘No – I love it here.’ Lottie swallowed down the unexpected emotion that accompanied her words.
‘Oh, Lottie. My little homebird. You need to spread your wings, explore the world, embrace the excitement and the danger.’ Angie’s eyes widened dramatically as she spoke. ‘Break some rules, live a little; like I have.’ Both Zach and Lottie failed to hide their smirks. ‘What? I’ve travelled.’ Angie removed her arms from their shoulders, the public show of affection was over.
‘Do you include getting chucked off a train to Cardiff in that?’ asked Zach.
‘How was I supposed to know you weren’t allowed to plug in hair straighteners? There weren’t any signs.’ Angie was indignant. They laughed together and Zach’s dilemma was forgotten – and with it, Lottie’s chance to unload the secret she’d been keeping.
Emily found she was walking next to Joe. He was someone she hadn’t spent much time with, and she had only picked up a few snippets of information from Lottie, who seemed to be very awkward around him. She was intrigued by what Bernard had said yesterday about Joe’s father being a murderer – but it wasn’t really a good conversation opener.
‘So you’ve known the Collins family a long time then?’ she asked.
Joe was nodding. ‘Yeah, like forever. I was born here and me and Lottie went to school together. My parents were always busy – they both worked non-stop. So I spent a lot of time up at the manor.’
‘Oh, so you must know them all really well.’ Questions she wanted to ask were already forming in her mind.
‘I did.’ His demeanour changed. ‘I moved away nine years ago. It seems so much has changed,’ he looked up and Emily followed his gaze, which was resting on Lottie. He turned his head to take in the surroundings. They were just coming up to the church on the left-hand side and a small row of chocolate-box cottages on the other, ‘and yet almost nothing has.’
His head dropped and she feared he was going to clam up on her. ‘America, wasn’t it?’ she asked. ‘Whereabouts?’
‘Gainesville.’ She shook her head; geography had never been her strong subject. ‘Florida,’ he added. ‘It’s about a two-hour drive from Walt Disney World.’
She nodded. ‘Oh, okay. And you were working as a vet out there too?’
‘Yeah. I worked at an emergency animal hospital.’ She could tell he wasn’t keen to talk, but she persevered.
‘That sounds exciting.’ He didn’t comment. A thought struck her. ‘How do you tell if an animal is pregnant?’
‘Really depends on what sort of animal; but enlarged nipples are a general sign in mammals. Why?’
‘Oh, no reason. I was just thinking that they can’t take a pregnancy test.’ She had to concentrate hard not to think about her nipples and she self-consciously adjusted her clothing.
‘We can tell for sure from blood samples. And an ultrasound at a few weeks in.’
‘Right.’ Neither of those was helpful to her. He was giving her an odd look now, so she changed the subject quickly. ‘What’s the weather like in Gainesville?’ she asked.
‘Sunny and hot mostly. Look, Emily, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but has Lottie said anything to you about me?’
The question – and his intense gaze – took her by surprise. ‘Um, no. She hasn’t. I don’t really know her well enough for her to confide in me.’ Although I’ve confided in her, she thought. ‘Zach said you two were crazy about each other when you were younger.’ She figured telling him that wasn’t breaking any confidences.
He smiled briefly. ‘Yeah, we were. Wasn’t a day we didn’t see each other.’
‘That’s pretty intense.’
He was watching Lottie again. ‘It didn’t feel that way. It felt right.’
Emily felt warm and fuzzy at his words. She knew exactly what he meant. ‘Did you come back for Lottie?’
He blew out his cheeks, looked at her and away again. ‘I came back for me. It’s the only place I’ve ever truly belonged. But Lottie and the Collins family are a big part of why I feel that way.’
‘It’s a shame the manor is being sold. I guess the family won’t have a reason to come back here any more.’
‘I guess not,’ he said.
‘The end of an era, Zach called it.’
‘It’s certainly the end of something.’ He zipped up his coat all the way to the top with a firm action and rammed his hands deep into his pockets. Emily did the same; it had definitely turned colder.
When Lottie got back to the manor Aunt Nicola was in the hallway.
‘I have cleaned
up that horrid little dog’s mess.’
‘Your robovac’s mess,’ said Lottie.
Aunt Nicola ignored her. ‘I threw out the rug – it was beyond saving.’
‘Oh, that’s a shame,’ said Lottie. She remembered a series of family photos of newborn Collins babies all snapped on that rug – including one of herself.
‘Well it’s the sort of thing we’ll be chucking away soon anyway.’ The words came like a slap to Lottie. The house was like a giant keepsake box, safely storing her precious memories. But what Nicola was saying was true: most of the furniture was old, but not old enough to be antique. Nobody would want it, not even the charity shop if it didn’t have a fire-resistant label, so it would get dumped. The thought of all Nana’s treasures in a skip loomed in her mind. Aunt Nicola was giving her an odd look.
‘Are you all right?’ Lottie asked, because despite her spiky exterior Aunt Nicola had a lot on her plate. ‘I mean, after yesterday.’
‘I might look calm, but in my mind I’ve already murdered him a dozen times and hidden the body parts.’
‘Right,’ said Lottie, not sure how to respond; but she was reassured by the answer – it was typical Aunt Nicola.
‘You’ve been in this situation. You know how it feels. There’s not really any recovering from betrayal.’
‘I’m not sure it’s exactly the same,’ said Lottie, an unwelcome picture of the night she’d caught her ex racing through her mind. Her situation was still quite fresh. ‘This thing with Uncle Daniel was a very long time ago.’
‘But I’ve just found out. He’s kept it secret all this time. He’s not the man I thought he was.’
‘Have you had a chance to talk to him about it?’ It was none of her business, but after the conversation she’d overheard with Rhys it did seem that the affair was ancient history.
‘Not properly. I swapped with Rhys last night and slept in the box room. I say “slept” but those dolls gave me nightmares, so I was awake for most of it.’
‘Sorry,’ said Lottie.
One Family Christmas: The perfect, cosy, heart-warming read to curl up with this winter Page 20