Christmas at the Little Clock House on the Green

by Eve Devon

  The sooner he got this done, the sooner he could get out of Whispers Wood.

  Away from the snow.

  Away from the gossip.

  Away from the temptation of Emma.

  ‘You two are lucky,’ Daniel said, looking up at Seth and Jake, ‘not having to interpret hints about the perfect Christmas present.’

  ‘Here’s an idea,’ Jake said, ‘you could always ask Kate and Juliet what they’d like.’

  ‘Are you on something?’ Seth asked, and Jake saw the apologetic look his brother threw his friends.

  Oscar started feeding industrial string through eyelets in the tarpaulin. ‘The other day a magazine was lying open to a house and for a moment I thought, wow, Juliet wants to move, but then I realised she already had, in with me, so then mostly I worried about what to get her again.’

  ‘I still plan on giving Joanne a present,’ Seth said.

  That brought Jake’s head up. ‘You do?’

  ‘Well, now I’ve lost my job as well as her, I can’t actually afford anything so I—’

  ‘You lost your job?’ Jake put down the hammer in his hand, worried he might accidentally ram an extra hole in the roof.

  Maybe he shouldn’t be thinking about going away right now. Maybe he should suck it up and stay. The muscle ticked in his jaw and he swallowed back the panicky feeling.

  ‘Don’t go ape,’ Seth yelled, holding out his hands. ‘We’re on a roof, it’s not safe. Anyway because I can’t afford anything, I made her something.’

  ‘You want to get back with her so much that you made her a personal gift? With your own hands?’ Oscar asked. ‘Juliet would have my baby if I made her something. Which is ironic really considering—’

  ‘You really want to get back with her?’ Jake asked Seth, searching his face to try and get at the truth for once.

  His brother stared down at the roof. ‘I don’t know. Yeah. Or maybe no. We can’t keep doing this to each other, so maybe this time I should take the time to know for certain. I don’t want to wade back into her life all John McClane at Christmas if we’re only going to end up like Die Hard 4.0 in the end. Being here and keeping an eye on the place while you’re away,’ he broke off to look Jake squarely in the eye, ‘if it’s okay with you, is going to give me some space to think.’

  Jake didn’t have the heart to leave his brother dangling. It was the first time Seth had ever spoken so seriously about taking the time to sort out what he really wanted. ‘You can stay here for as long as you need. Wait,’ something was just filtering through. He turned to Oscar, ‘Why is it ironic?’

  Oscar, looking shell-shocked, answered, ‘Because I think Juliet might be pregnant.’

  Weird that it was actually Jake who was the first to break cover. Standing up he carefully walked higher up the roof to hug his friend. ‘Mate. Congratulations.’

  As Daniel and Seth followed suit, Oscar laughed and admitted, ‘Wait, I said I think she might be. At first I thought she looked tired because of all the hours she’s been putting in to get the salon ready. But she’s also been forgetful and emotional. When she saw you and Emma arriving with Gertrude yesterday,’ he added, looking at Jake, ‘she got really teary and don’t take this the wrong way but happy-sad wasn’t what first came to mind when you rode onto the green. Especially when I heard this one here,’ he jerked his thumb at Seth, ‘say it put a whole new meaning to John Wayne’s “Get off your horse and drink your milk”.’

  ‘Because you could actually get off the cow and drink its milk,’ Seth laughed, then realising they’d drifted off subject said, ‘And I’ll be shutting up now.’

  ‘So anyway,’ Oscar said, the stunned expression returning, ‘I don’t think the possibility has even hit her and I don’t want to suggest it and spook her, I mean…’ Oscar drifted off and then grinned and shook his head. ‘I don’t know what I mean, really.’

  ‘But you’d be pleased if she was?’ Daniel asked.

  ‘I’d be over the moon.’

  ‘Then I think I know what you could get Juliet for Christmas,’ Jake said quietly.

  ‘A pregnancy test?’ Seth said.

  ‘No,’ Jake said, shaking his head and looking at Oscar. ‘Didn’t Kate get Melody that special necklace when she came back to Whispers Wood? The one that had Bea’s birthstone and yours and Melody’s on it? Why don’t you get Juliet the same one but with her birthstone added – you know, to show her she’s your family and then casually mention that anytime she wanted to add more birthstones to it would be fine by you.’

  Oscar considered for a moment. ‘That’s actually not bad. Clever. Subtle. Special. Romantic.’

  ‘A baby,’ Daniel whispered.

  ‘Can you not say anything to Kate,’ Oscar said seriously. ‘I don’t want her worrying about how the business is going to survive before it’s even opened. And we don’t know anything yet.’

  ‘I’ll keep schtum.’

  ‘You think about having kids with Kate?’ Seth asked.

  ‘Sure. Further down the track. I’d like us to at least be living together first!’

  ‘Again – you could always ask her,’ Jake suggested, checking the cover was properly secured over the portion of roof they’d been working on.

  ‘To live together?’ Daniel checked his side was secure as well. ‘It’s tricky. Right now opening The Clock House is all-consuming. Add to that, she’s only just settled into Myrtle Cottage. For a while everyone thought she was going to up and leave and she’d never admit it, but she’s super proud of being comfortable enough in her own space to unpack and put the suitcases out of reach. Having her own place is a really big deal for her. Part of me knows she’d happily talk about moving in with me but where? We’d both have to leave the cottages we’re renting and we’d need to be nearby for The Clock House. I love Mistletoe Cottage but it’s too small for a family which would mean moving again.’

  ‘You could always talk to Crispin about buying both the cottages and knocking them together,’ Jake said, thinking aloud.

  ‘Now that would be a Christmas present worth thinking about.’

  ‘Lucky for you, you know a builder who could draw up some plans, right?’

  ‘Jake, you old romantic fool, you,’ Seth joked. ‘Carry on like this I might be ready to declare you officially ready to reclaim the blouson shirt.’

  Jake wasn’t sure he’d ever totally surrendered it. Well, maybe for a while there last Christmas.

  ‘That’s us all sorted for presents then, what are you going to get Emma?’

  ‘Nothing. On account of us not being a couple.’ He wasn’t oblivious to the looks the three of them gave each other and would cheerfully have been okay with a new hole in the roof opening up for him to fall through.

  Kissing Emma on the green like that and getting so carried away, hell, it’d felt like he was claiming her. Like she was claiming him.

  It was starting to feel more and more like he didn’t have a choice when it came to wanting her and that scared him.

  She deserved a leading man who didn’t have this place for a mistress.

  ‘How about a gift for saving the day last night then? You have to admit that was a pretty brilliant idea she came up with.’

  ‘It was. But we’d still have switched on the tree lights and sung a few carols wouldn’t we?’

  ‘But would we have laughed as much? Would Crispin have avoided bursting a blood vessel for another year?’

  ‘And the looks on those kids’ faces,’ Oscar said. ‘Priceless.’

  All right. Damn it. They each had valid points.

  ‘And last but not least,’ Daniel added. ‘There was the way she personally took the time to phone at ungodly o’clock this morning.’

  ‘Yep,’ Oscar joined in, ‘to carefully point out that you were a friend in need.’

  ‘And that as your friend,’ Daniel added, ‘we should leave our super warm beds and super hot girlfriends and report in for duty.’

  ‘I would’ve called you myself on
ce I’d heard the new weather forecast,’ Jake said.

  Oscar, Daniel and Seth burst out laughing.

  ‘Hey, I ask for help when I need it,’ Jake muttered.

  Seth laughed harder. ‘What can I say, guys? Deluded. This break’s obviously going to do him the power of good.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Oscar said. ‘You sit with your Christmas sea view and have a good think about what you wouldn’t have done. At least now you know this place is going to be all right. And that we’ll all look after Emma,’ Daniel advised.

  Emma didn’t need looking after.

  Emma looked after other people.

  That was part of what he liked about her.

  There was no tit for tat.

  It came straight from the heart.

  A generous heart.

  Maybe he should give her a gift.

  He had intended to stop by and see her today anyway because he couldn’t just disappear after all those kisses last night.

  As the four of them traipsed back into the house and Seth offered to cook a fry-up Jake hung back. ‘I’ll be in the library for a while.’

  ‘The library?’

  Suddenly he knew the perfect thing to give her. ‘I have an early edition of Emma there, I think.’

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘Not Emma, Emma. Emma, Jane Austen, Emma.’

  ‘Huh?’

  Bloody hell! Of course it didn’t fit through the letterbox of Wren Cottage. Having lectured himself full circle about giving Emma mixed signals, and having had second, third, and fourth thoughts about giving her a Christmas present, he’d decided to post it through the letterbox and leave before he ignored everything he’d told himself and either stayed or invited her to Cornwall with him.

  Casting a quick look to the heavens, Jake let out a sigh and pressed the doorbell. He would have head-butted the door in a proper vent but he didn’t want to put his head through the giant wreath attached to the front and end up looking like he’d won a stage of a cycling tour.

  The wait seemed interminable.

  He should have realised she was probably at The Clock House getting ready for the opening tomorrow and was debating whether or not to swing by there before he left, when the front door opened.

  ‘Hi,’ he said quickly. ‘I wanted to drop this off before—have you been crying?’

  Her, ‘Definitely not,’ was followed by a sniff that very definitely suggested otherwise.

  He felt a funny little pain in his chest. Instantly he wanted to fix what had upset her, or hurt whoever had upset her. A sudden awful thought swiped all others out of his head. ‘Have you hurt yourself?’ He took a step forward, his gaze going straight to her arms and realised he still had the present in his hands.

  ‘I’m fine,’ Emma said, automatically taking the present and staring down at it.

  ‘Okay,’ Jake swallowed. After last night, you’d think they’d find it easier to be in each other’s company, not harder. ‘Um, I wanted to say thank you for organising the help this morning. I appreciate it. And to also say, “Merry Christmas” and as a thank you, I got you a little something.’

  Her silver eyes, red around the rims, got big as she turned the present over in her hands. ‘You bought me a Christmas present?’

  ‘Well,’ his hand came up to swipe over the back of his head. ‘Bought is such a strong word. God, don’t open it now,’ he said, reaching out to stay her hands, suddenly worried she’d take one look at it and think it stepped way beyond the realms of casual present and what did that mean, when he really didn’t know what it meant. Probably didn’t even have a chance of working out what it meant until he was hundreds of miles away. His fingers stroked over her knuckles and he felt the ridiculous rush of uncertainty. ‘What I mean is, open it on Christmas Day.’

  ‘I haven’t got you anything,’ she sniffed, her eyes filling with tears as she bowed her head.

  ‘That’s okay. Really. I—’ he saw the packed bag in the hallway. Couldn’t miss it really considering how small the hallway was. ‘You’re leaving.’ The words emptied out of him, leaving him flat and wanting to snatch back his gift.

  ‘I was, but I can’t get out of here.’

  Shock held him rigid even while he wondered why he was surprised. ‘Lucky I caught you, I guess. Well, Hollywood, it’s been nice.’

  ‘Nice?’

  ‘I hope you’ll have fond memories of Whispers Wood.’

  ‘Fond?’

  ‘Mmmn. Have a safe flight.’

  ‘Flight?’

  ‘Home to Hollywood.’

  ‘Hollywood?’ Sudden understanding had Emma folding her arms. ‘You thought I was leaving.’

  ‘You just said so didn’t you?’

  ‘To Bournemouth. To see my dad.’

  ‘Oh.’ As her words and their meaning properly sank in so that his heart re-started, he could feel the heat suffusing his face. ‘I feel like an utter dick.’

  ‘Good. You should. It’s totally uncool for you to think – this after me telling you I would still be here when you got back from Cornwall – that I would up and leave without saying goodbye after we’ve had our tongues down each other’s throats. For the second time, I might add.’

  ‘I’m sorry. Can I come in?’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘So you can tell me why you’ve been crying and I can figure out a way to help.’

  ‘It’s the snow,’ she said on a sigh, opening the door wider for him to step through.

  ‘I thought you liked the snow.’

  ‘Not anymore I don’t.’

  He could hate the snow but not her. Somehow he’d got used to her obvious joy and enthusiasm and the minute it went missing it was like all the lights had gone out. ‘What’s the snow done to you?’

  ‘To me? Try the whole country? Honestly, a teensy flurry and everyone comes to a standstill.’

  ‘Not me, I’m still off.’

  ‘Lucky you. The trains aren’t.’

  ‘Ah. Probably wrong type of snow.’

  ‘Crappy snow.’

  ‘Did you say your dad lives in Dorset?’

  ‘Yeah. Funnily enough, it’s not due to snow there until tomorrow.’

  ‘So, problem solved, Hollywood. I can give you a lift.’

  Chapter 31

  Readers, I Drunk-Texted Him

  Emma

  They’d been in the car together for thirty minutes and even the soothing tones of the satnav couldn’t reduce her heartbeat back to its regular rate.

  Inside the Land Rover, it was warm and cosy and the scent of Jake’s cologne was teasing at her, reminding her of last night.

  If Seth hadn’t interrupted the spell weaving itself around her and Jake, would they both have fallen all the way under?

  She’d never met a man like him before. A man who knew who he was, what he liked, what he was tempted by, and what was good for him.

  ‘It should only take about ninety minutes,’ Jake said into the silence, ‘everyone drives slower with the snow. You think you can stand being cooped up for that long?’

  He must have noticed her clenched hands. ‘Yes. Sorry. And thank you.’

  ‘Here’s a question that might relax you…’

  Emma squirmed. She supposed the sooner they got this out of the way, the sooner she could relax. ‘All right, yes,’ she pre-empted, ‘technically I could use the mistletoe as an excuse for last night, but honestly? I’d been thinking about kissing you for hours and—’

  ‘Actually, I was going to ask you what made you want to become an actress!’

  ‘Oh. My. God.’

  ‘But I guess it would be good to try and, I don’t know—’

  ‘Draw a line? Re-establish boundaries?’ Because clearly it hadn’t been as good for him, and for good read: sexy, romantic, wonderful, meaningful, as it had for her – even with his reaction to thinking she’d been so scared by it, she’d packed up ready to fly out of Whispers Wood for good.

  No, ultimately he’d decided she wouldn’t be good for
him. Whatever had happened between him and Alice had cut deep. So deep he was doing what he needed to survive and she could hardly blame him for that.

  ‘I never had myself down as a rule-breaker, but you … what I mean is, when I’m with you I seem to—’

  ‘It’s probably because of the chandelier.’

  ‘What? No way.’ His quick look of derision said everything he felt about magic, folklore and his real feelings about his own family history.

  All of which only made it impossible to let the subject drop. ‘Old Man Isaac says George and Lillian were in love.’

  ‘Yeah? Who told him that?’

  Hmm. Good point.

  ‘Let me guess,’ Jake added, ‘you just have to “believe”?’ He turned his attention from the road to her and then back again, as he added, ‘I mean, why let a few little things like facts get in the way of a good story?’

  Emma looked out of the window, staring at the way the snow was settling in drifts. ‘Even if it’s only a story,’ she said gently, ‘is it such a very bad one?’

  ‘When you have a story told that affects generations of your family, that adds this ridiculous pressure, that makes half of them think they just have to pitch up and wait, and the other half feel like they have no control over their own destiny, let me know.’

  Hmm. More good points.

  ‘But just because they had a marriage of convenience,’ she said, feeling the need to keep trying, ‘doesn’t mean it didn’t grow into love.’

  Jake sighed. ‘Doesn’t mean it did, either.’

  ‘So what about your parents? You’re saying they also have a marriage of convenience?’

  Emma watched as his shoulders hiked up a couple of centimetres. ‘It couldn’t not be the way my father was only ever introduced to women from a certain social standing, who were only ever introduced to men like my father.’

  Emma laughed. ‘Yes, because in what world would it ever be okay for rich people to fall in love with other rich people! How very reverse-snob. So where did your parents meet, then? Were they introduced at some sort of society gala?’

  ‘In a manner of speaking.’

  Suddenly he was concentrating on the road ahead a little too conveniently. ‘What do you mean?’ she asked.