Christmas under a Cranberry Sky

by Holly Martin

  ‘Ocean View,’ Piper quickly plucked the name of a big holiday company out of the air.

  ‘I’ll have to give them a call, make sure they know our prices for the next year. They are always ahead of the crowd, though. They are probably organising the winter brochure for next year already. Actually it’s good that you came; you can take pictures of the ice palace and the glass igloos, none of those were here when the last lot of photographers came. I can take you round, show you the best bits. I’ll give you a list of all the things we’d like featured…’

  ‘Pip promised she would play Dragons with me,’ Wren said, quietly. ‘I don’t want her to work, everyone works and no one ever has time to play.’

  Neve stalled with what she had been going to say, her face flooding with guilt.

  ‘I know we’ve been really busy, sweetheart, it won’t be like that forever,’ Neve said.

  ‘Neve, why don’t you give Pip a chance to find her feet first?’ Gabe said. ‘She’s here for a few weeks, I imagine she could take all the photos she needs in a matter of days. I’m sure she would like some holiday time too; it is Christmas after all. Plus she has been doing this job for over ten years. I’m sure she knows what looks good and what photos the brochure needs.’

  ‘I just want the world to see Stardust Lake Hotel in the best possible light. You’ve worked so hard to make the resort what it is, Gabe, we all have, and I want everyone to see how wonderful this place is.’

  ‘I know, I do too,’ Gabe said, softly. ‘But Pip isn’t going to do anything to paint us in a bad light.’

  Neve nodded. ‘I know she wouldn’t. I’m just worried about Thursday and all those journalists coming, especially Mr Black.’

  The dreaded reviewer again. Piper wondered who he was and who he wrote for.

  ‘We are going to show all our guests the time of their lives so they only walk away with good things to say about Stardust Lake Hotel. But Pip is our guest too, and we need to show her a good time as well. I’m going to take her round the resort and the island over the next few days and maybe Pip can take a few photos then once she has got a feel for the place.’

  Piper smiled encouragingly to put Neve at ease, wondering if she could just not do the review at all and start her sabbatical early.

  As soon as she had that thought she knew that was what she had to do. She wouldn’t have to worry about blurring the lines between professionalism and friendship or worry about what she would write. She would email The Tree of Life the first chance she got and explain, which meant she was now officially on holiday and she was going to enjoy every second of it.

  Chapter 8

  Gabe watched Pip as Wren pointed out the sights from the dining room, their faces pressed up against the glass.

  He loved this room, how it was lit up only by the natural light that streamed in from the glass roof and walls. At night, each table was lit up by candles. During the day the light from the windows was all the room needed, lending a superb outlook over almost the entire island, the valleys and the huge lake below that gave the hotel its name. Out in the distance you could even see the sea too. There wasn’t a single building in sight of the dining room; the island was completely unspoilt and beautiful from where they were sitting. He could look out on that view forever, if only he had the time. But now his eyes were fixed only on Pip and he smiled at how she was completely taken with the view too. She must have seen some incredible sights on her travels over the years, but the fact that this little island clearly held so much beauty for her as well touched him. He wondered if for her too the island would always remind her of the holiday they had spent here and all those wonderful memories.

  Neve moved her head to intercept his gaze and he dragged his eyes from Pip to his sister.

  ‘I take it you two have talked.’

  Both Pip and Wren were far enough away for him and Neve to be able to talk without them hearing, but he still lowered his voice when he spoke.

  ‘We spent the whole night talking.’

  ‘And you now have closure? You can stop wondering and move on with your life?’

  He focused on his mug of tea because the last thing he had was closure.

  ‘I have moved on with my life, I’ve not exactly been waiting around for her to come back. I’ve lost count of the number of girlfriends I’ve had over the years.’

  ‘All women that you deliberately chose for some fun, never anyone that you wanted a serious relationship with. You’ve been holding back and I don’t know whether it’s because you’re scared of getting hurt again or because none of them were Pip.’

  He glanced over at Pip again. Was that really the reason that he’d never fallen in love since Pip had left? Because he was subconsciously comparing every woman he met to his best friend and none of them could meet his high standards? Had he put Pip on a pedestal over the years, made the memory of her better than the real thing? Though he’d seen nothing since she’d come back into his life to think he’d oversold her.

  ‘She broke your heart,’ Neve said, softly. ‘I can tell by the way you are looking at her that you’re falling in love all over again. I don’t want you to get hurt.’

  ‘It was a silly misunderstanding that drove her away, it wasn’t her fault, not really.’

  He quickly explained what had happened that day, how terrified and upset Pip had been after the accident.

  ‘That must have been terrible for her, and I hate that she went through that, but it doesn’t excuse what she did. She cut you out of her life with no word, no explanation. She should have had the courage to end things with you properly.’

  ‘She was seventeen. Did you not make mistakes when you were seventeen? Christ, we’ve both made mistakes all our lives. I don’t think someone should be judged on one rash moment twelve years ago.’

  Neve had the grace to look embarrassed. Neither of them had squeaky-clean pasts.

  ‘So, what? You’re just going to start dating again?’ Neve asked.

  ‘No. I don’t know.’

  ‘So just sex, then?’

  ‘No.’ He didn’t know the answers.

  ‘What do you think will happen if you guys get involved again? Spend cosy nights together by the fire? She is leaving in just over two weeks. You’ll fall in love and she’ll leave just like she did last time. She has spent the last ten years or more travelling the world, seeing the most wonderful things on planet earth. Do you honestly think this tiny one-town island would be enough to make her want to stay? There’s nothing for her here. The bright lights of the big cities, the beautiful beaches of Thailand or Australia, the rainforests, the great canyons and mountains, we don’t have any of that. And the worst thing is that it won’t just be your heart that will get broken all over again; this time it will be your daughter’s heart too. Pip hasn’t even been here a day and Wren adores her.’

  Gabe looked at Neve and wondered if she was scared of getting hurt too, of letting Pip in again and watching her walk away at the end. They had all been hurt by Pip’s departure when she was seventeen. It had hit him the hardest but he knew they all had felt her loss, almost as if she too had died in the lake that day.

  ‘Wren has never got attached to the women I’ve dated before.’

  ‘You’ve not had any of the women you’ve dated live with you before. Wren never got a chance. Don’t get me wrong, I like Pip, I really do, but this is not going to end in the way that you hope it will. She has been running her whole life and a few weeks with you is not going to change that.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘Why don’t I take her round the island over the next few days? If you’re not with her all the time it might be easier for you when she leaves.’

  Pip glanced over at him and flashed him a brilliant smile.

  ‘You’re right, I know you are. But if I let her go without giving us a second go, I’ll always be wondering if I missed my chance, whether she really is the one that I’m meant to spend the rest of my life with. We could spend the next few
days together and realise there’s nothing left between us, maybe there’s no spark at all, and we’ll just end up being friends. If that’s the case then I’d finally be able to let her go. But I have to know whether there is something there worth fighting for.’

  ‘I don’t think spark will be a problem; it practically crackled between you over breakfast.’

  Gabe smirked. Neve was right. The little glances and smiles between him and Pip as they had eaten breakfast, it seemed all new and exciting all over again, like riding a rollercoaster and making their way to the very top. He knew he was going to get hurt again but there was also nothing he could do to stop himself as he tumbled over the other side.

  * * *

  Piper stood outside the main reception area while she waited for Gabe. She quickly finished writing the email to Wendy, explaining that she didn’t think it would be a good idea to do this review, that there was too much of a conflict of interest for her and she hoped that after ten years of exemplary service, Marcus would allow her to start her sabbatical early.

  She shoved her phone back in her bag and looked around. Fresh snow had fallen overnight and the lodges looked so pretty in the grounds of the hotel. Fairy lights were strewn from all the roofs though she was yet to see them lit. Apparently, the power still hadn’t been restored to the guest accommodation.

  In the daylight everything seemed bright and clean, the winter sun sparkling off the snow and ice. The sky was a beautiful cornflower blue with not a single cloud to dull the effects of the sun. She pulled her camera out of her bag and fired off a few shots of the trees, the lodges and her and Gabe’s footprints in the snow.

  Gabe had promised to show her around and she couldn’t wait to see it all, although secretly she knew she was more excited about spending time with him.

  It didn’t make sense to feel this way about him after all this time, it didn’t make sense that when she saw him with Wren it made her want to weep that she could have had a child with him and she had missed out on that. She had never wanted to be married or have children, she was perfectly happy on her own, or so she had told herself over the last twelve years. Looking at him now, she couldn’t help imagining what could have been and hopelessly imagining what still could be, which was ridiculous – as he’d said himself, they could never go back.

  There was something more between them now that had never been there before. She had fallen completely in love with Gabe when she was younger and of course she was attracted to him, but the chemistry that was zinging between them over breakfast was almost tangible and not something she had ever felt before. Maybe it was years of suppressed feelings that had built up or maybe it was just something more basic than that and nothing more than lust and desire, just two people who were attracted to each other wanting to do dark and wonderful things to each other. She smiled at the glorious thoughts that were suddenly running through her head. Being just friends was going to be torture.

  A noise in the trees made her glance over that way and she noticed Leo and his gang of reprobates were back, glaring at her through the leaves of the fir trees. It was silly for the islanders to be scared of such tiny ponies and she couldn’t possibly imagine any trouble these animals could cause, but as she endured their endless gaze she felt a shiver down her spine. Was it her imagination or were they all staring at her as if they were planning her untimely demise?

  Leo stepped forward towards her and bizarrely started scraping his foot against the floor as if he was a bull about to charge at her.

  The door opened behind her and she looked round to see if it was Gabe. She was startled to see the most gorgeous, blond male model walking towards her, looking like he had just stepped out of a catalogue advertising winter ski holidays. He had the most incredible blue eyes and those chiselled cheekbones that could cut glass. She quickly turned back to the ponies, not wanting to be caught off-guard and mowed to the ground, but the blond model had clearly scared them away as they disappeared back into the trees.

  She looked back at the model again and as he saw her he smiled.

  ‘I think you just saved me from the evil ponies,’ Piper said.

  ‘Ah, their attitude is worse than their bite.’ He strode towards her and bent to kiss her on the cheek.

  ‘You must be Pip, you are more beautiful than Gabe described,’ he said exuberantly. He had a foreign accent, Swedish maybe or Icelandic. He surveyed her at arm’s length, smiling knowingly.

  ‘I’m Boris, I’m a groundsman here and snowmobile instructor. I have many jobs actually,’ he smiled again.

  Piper couldn’t help but smile too. When Gabe and Wren had talked about Boris the night before, she’d imagined an old man, not this sprightly vision of loveliness.

  ‘It seems I also owe you a debt of gratitude; you looked after Wren last night when I was supposed to be watching her. It had been a long day, shovelling snow and getting ready for your arrival and I was so tired. I closed my eyes for five minutes and when I woke up she was gone. I was horrified.’ Boris put his hand to his chest.

  ‘It was no problem, I saw her dancing in the snow and I just wrapped my coat around her and took her back to her home.’

  ‘Wren loves the snow. Chester doesn’t really like it so much. That’s my son. She was playing with him, but then, from what I can gather, they were playing hide and seek and Chester climbed under the bed and fell asleep. Wren couldn’t find him and I was asleep, so she went outside to play in the snow alone. Mikael was furious with me. Oh, here he comes now. Shush, don’t mention about last night, he has only just forgiven me.’

  Another blond sexy hunk of a man came out and down the steps towards them, clutching a sweet little blond boy on his hip. The boy had the most massive blue eyes and was sucking his thumb.

  ‘Mikael, this is Gabe’s Pip. Pip, this is my husband Mikael and our son Chester.’

  Chester stared at her with unblinking eyes and Piper tried hard not to smile at the fact Boris had said she belonged to Gabe.

  Mikael, clearly not as affectionate as his husband, offered her his hand and a small smile. ‘Hello, pleased to meet you. I hope my husband has apologised for last night. We are not negligent parents or babysitters.’

  ‘I didn’t think you were, these things happen and I’m sure Wren was perfectly safe. If I hadn’t found her, I’m sure some of the other staff would have. The island seems like a very safe place to raise your children.’

  ‘It is a haven,’ Mikael said, softly.

  The door opened again and Gabe appeared at the top of the steps, carrying Wren over his shoulder. As soon as Chester saw her, his whole face lit up.

  Gabe trotted down the stairs towards them. He plonked Wren on the ground and Chester wriggled to be out of Mikael’s arms. Mikael put him down and Chester immediately hugged Wren, giving her a kiss on the cheek. Wren hugged him back as tightly as she could when they were both wearing padded snowsuits and then, holding hands, they ran off together to play in the snow nearby.

  Something jolted inside Piper. She and Gabe had been exactly the same when they were little, going everywhere together, holding hands and cuddling each other. That affectionate relationship had never worn off; in fact they had just grown closer and closer over the years.

  Gabe watched them go with a smile and then turned his attention back to Piper. ‘Are you ready for the tour?’

  She nodded.

  ‘I thought we’d take the snowmobiles. There’s quite a lot to see and it’s certainly faster and more fun.’

  ‘That sounds great.’

  ‘I have two ready for you, boss,’ Boris said. ‘And if you want to leave Wren with us, we’d be happy to look after her. I know Chester would be pleased too.’

  Boris looked at Gabe hopefully, clearly wondering if Gabe had forgiven him.

  ‘We would take very good care of her, Mr Whitaker,’ Mikael promised.

  ‘Of course she can stay with Chester if that’s what she wants. And I don’t want you to feel bad about what happened last night.
She keeps wandering off all the time; I’ve had a stern word with her about it this morning. It’s so different here from where we used to live. We had a small garden with six-foot high fences, she was always outside playing but she was safe, she couldn’t wander off. Here there are no fences and I think she sees the whole island as her back garden. But I trust you both. I know you’ll take care of her.’

  ‘Thank you, Mr Whitaker,’ Mikael said.

  ‘Gabe, I keep telling everyone to call me Gabe but it’s not sinking in.’

  ‘You are Mr Boss Man, that’s why,’ Boris said.

  Gabe sighed. ‘Let me see what Wren wants to do.’

  He called her over and she came running back to him. He knelt down and she threw herself into his arms.

  ‘Wren, I’m going to take Pip round the island. You can come with us if you want or you can stay here and play with Chester, Boris and Mikael.’

  Wren didn’t hesitate for a second. ‘I want to stay with Chester.’

  ‘That’s fine, honey. I’ll see you later. Remember what I said to you this morning. No wandering off.’

  ‘No, Daddy, I promise.’

  Gabe stood back up and smiling his thanks to Boris and Mikael, he waved goodbye to Wren and motioned for Piper to follow him.

  They were silent for a few moments, until Piper knew they were out of hearing distance of Boris and Mikael.

  ‘You’re a good man.’

  Gabe looked at her with surprise as they walked. ‘Why?’

  ‘Because Boris was clearly upset about the whole thing and you just put them both at ease. Other parents wouldn’t be quite so understanding.’

  He shrugged. ‘Wren is my entire world, but there’s no need to be an arsehole over her safety. Accidents happen and the exact same thing happened to me three weeks ago. I woke up early in the morning and found her gone, rushed outside and she was playing on the slope outside our house. She knows not to go too far. I told her off more about going off with a stranger than for leaving Boris’s house.’