Jay was talking to two of the estate workers, their hi-vis outfits shining like beacons against the dark forest. Chainsaws and visors lay at their feet. She guessed that Jay’s dog, Trevor, was at home, safely kept away from the working area.
Lottie hung back while he finished his conversation, quietly observing him. He was also fully kitted up in sturdy boots, cargo pants and an olive ‘Firholme’ sweatshirt. So far, so mundane, but as for the man in the uniform, he was anything but mundane.
The forest workers picked up the chainsaws and left, so Lottie walked up to him.
‘Hello. Sorry, I’m a bit late,’ she said, struck by how the earthy tones of his clothes suited his colouring: brown hair, bronzed skin and hazel eyes. ‘I needed to change out of my heels into something a bit more practical.’ She lifted her sturdy boot, dragging her attention from Jay’s rugged physique.
He smiled briefly. ‘No rush. I needed to talk to those guys. We’re off to cut some big spruces later for a delivery to Keswick. The council and some of the hotels are ready to put their trees up.’
‘Wow. That’s early,’ Lottie said. ‘And in fact, that’s what I came to talk to you about, as well as the plans for the Christmas tree launch. Did you get my email about the reindeer?’ she asked, referring to her plans to have real live reindeer at the tree sales opening weekend.
‘The reindeer? Oh … yeah. Thanks.’
Oh dear, Lottie thought. He didn’t seem very enthusiastic.
‘They live at a farm just down the valley. I thought it would be a great way of attracting families on the opening day,’ she said. ‘Are you OK to liaise directly with the reindeer farmer on all the logistics of getting them up to Firholme? Unless,’ she added, ‘you’re too busy and want me to do it.’
‘Thanks for the offer, but I’ll sort it.’
Lottie had booked the visit by the deer the moment she’d started work at Firholme, knowing they’d be the perfect way of starting the Christmas tree sales season with a bang. Maybe Jay was just allergic to Rudolph or something.
He pushed his hair out of his eyes. ‘You said you wanted to talk about trees for the house?’
‘Yes. I was hoping we could have some a bit earlier than planned.’
‘I don’t see why not. Any particular variety or size?’
‘I don’t know … I’m no expert on trees,’ she said with a smile. ‘I was thinking you’d help me out with that.’
He seemed to relax and he gave a brief smile in return. ‘Yes, I can certainly help you with the trees.’ He frowned at her. ‘But before we go into the woods, you’d better put this on.’ He handed her a yellow safety helmet. ‘Can’t have a breach of health and safety. Shayla would have my guts for garters.’
Lottie was amused. It was unlikely Shayla would tell Jay off; generally she was fairly laid-back, though she could be magnificently assertive when she needed to be.
‘I doubt it,’ she said, putting the oversized helmet on her head with a grimace. It would flatten her hair and she had a client meeting after lunch. ‘Even so, I’d better stick to the rules.’
She noted he didn’t smile at her joke. Hmm, she wondered how he’d go down with his team if he was this strait-laced. His predecessor, Graham, had been not only efficient but also very popular. ‘So, how many trees do you need for the house and public areas?’ he asked, getting straight the point.
‘Five for various locations inside and out, but I was hoping you’d advise me on the size and type for each place.’ She was struck by an idea that might engage him more. ‘On that note, can I ask your opinion on these?’
She pulled the drab bauble and black snowflake that Shayla had given her from her pockets. ‘What do you think of these? We were thinking of having a futuristic minimalist theme in the house this year.’
His brow wrinkled. ‘What’s that when it’s at home?’
‘Geometric shapes. Cones, plain baubles, pyramids. All in muted tones of pewter, charcoal and er … black.’ Lottie sighed. ‘In every room.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Whose idea was that?’
‘Shayla’s,’ Lottie said, unwilling to criticise her boss, yet rather hoping Jay would share her lack of enthusiasm for the downbeat décor. ‘Personally, I prefer to pile on every decoration I’ve collected over the years on my tree, but that’s not the same as decorating an Edwardian mansion for the festive season. Shayla wants Firholme to look its spectacular best, especially as we want to do a wedding shoot and put the pictures up on the website.’
He took the grey pyramid decoration from Lottie and rested it in his hand. ‘It’s er … very grey.’
His palm was dusty but it was ‘clean’ dirt, as Lottie’s gran might have said. Lottie had never quite worked out what it meant but she presumed it was appropriate in Jay’s case. He obviously hadn’t realised he had pine needles in his hair or a mossy streak above his cheekbone, though she guessed he was probably far too busy chopping down trees to be looking in mirrors.
‘What do you really think? This range of decorations costs a fortune and I think we need more colour even if it’s only accent touches like blues or purples.’
He shrugged. ‘I don’t think anything. I don’t put up a tree.’
Lottie couldn’t hide her surprise. ‘You don’t put up a tree? But you manage the Christmas tree plantation. You can’t not have one yourself.’
‘I can and I do. Not have one, I mean. I’ve had my fill of the green stuff by the big day, anyway and … I got over the excitement of Christmas a while ago,’ he said briskly, then finally managed a twitch of the lips. ‘Anyway, Trevor would only try and eat the decorations. Now, shall we go and look at the type of trees you might want for the house? We have several varieties ready this year, or …’ he added thoughtfully, ‘you could even have a different one in each room?’
‘Hmm. Good idea. Maybe I can hint to Shayla that some varieties of tree would look better with a different theme? Blind her with science?’
‘It’s worth a try.’
Lottie was still unable to believe Jay didn’t bother with a tree, but she took the hint that he didn’t want to discuss it further.
Jay led the way into the plantation area where the trees were grown. ‘You can have a Nordmann fir or a Norway spruce,’ he said. ‘Here’s a Norway,’ he said, leading her to a classic triangular-shaped tree like the ones seen in thousands of homes every year.
He picked up a branch with its long cones hanging down.
Lottie inhaled the rich, sweet scent. ‘I love the smell,’ she said, realising she’d passed countless trees before but allowed them to become part of the background. ‘How long do they take to grow?’
‘Around twelve years for a Nordmann and eight for the spruce … which means these trees were planted when I was still at school.’
‘No way!’ Lottie laughed.
‘Hmm. I am pretty weather-beaten.’ He rubbed his chin, which she thought had just the right amount of stubble. ‘Note to self. Use more sunscreen and moisturiser.’
She was taken aback by the glimmer of humour that appeared to have burst through. ‘No, you look great. I mean …’ she said, backpedalling furiously even though she sensed he was winding her up. ‘I didn’t mean to be so um – personal.’
‘Oh, so you’d thought I was much older than that?’
She was almost convinced he was teasing her, but erred on the side of caution, in case. She smiled. ‘Actually, I thought you were around my age,’ she said, which was true.
‘I’m thirty-five, which I’m sure is older that you,’ he said.
‘Not much. I’m thirty-four,’ she said, wondering if she’d really offended him.
‘I was only joking when I said I was weather-beaten, although to be fair –’ he ran his hand over his curls, which unlike her own, were allowed to grow untamed ‘– I am a bit of a scruff. Good job I’m not in a customer-facing job like yours.’
Lottie was amused. ‘I’d have called you rugged rather than scruffy,’ she said wari
ly.
Jay raised a rather bushy eyebrow. ‘Rugged? You mean like Scafell Pike or Helvellyn? Spiky and dangerous if tackled in the wrong conditions?’
She felt as if she’d made another faux pas. ‘Stop it. I’m not digging a deeper hole for myself.’ Or revealing any more glimpses into the fact that she found him attractive.
In fact, it struck her that he was the first man she’d looked twice at since Connor had left. Chatting to him now, she felt they’d already crossed a line from the friendliness of colleagues into something a little less professional.
‘You’re fine as you are. Now, shall we look at some more trees?’ she said worried that she’d let on she fancied him even a little bit. She pushed up her jacket sleeve to check her watch. ‘Because the morning’s rushing by.’
‘Let’s get busy, then,’ said Jay. ‘I’ll mark this tree and we’ll move on.’
The next twenty minutes was taken up entirely by talk of tree varieties. By the end of it, Lottie had selected five specimens, with guidance from Jay. He might not enjoy Christmas, but he obviously had a deep passion for nature and the great outdoors.
He identified the chosen trees with tape as they walked through the Christmas plantation with its regimented rows of firs, to the more established ‘natural’ woodland, which was also part of the Firholme estate. Here, there were a great variety of species, including oaks and silver birch, most of which were completely stripped of foliage. Some of the beeches clung to withered copper leaves but by and large the wood was a latticework of spiky branches against the blue sky.
‘My niece, Myra, asked me if the trees were “skellingtons” at Halloween,’ Lottie said, when they stopped at the edge of the forest.
He stared up at the tree. ‘Skeletons. That’s a good description. Some people find it sad to see bare branches but actually I like them. You know the leaves will be back soon and it’s all part of the process. It’s essential that the leaf litter provides a habitat and food for lots of insects and fungi.’
‘All part of the circle of life?’ Lottie said archly.
Jay smiled. ‘Like in the Lion King, yeah.’
‘The twins loved that film. Especially the belching warthogs.’
‘That’s my favourite part too.’
‘Really?’
Jay smiled, and Lottie’s opinion of him rose a little higher. Perhaps his initial gruffness was merely because he was so new to Firholme and needed to find his feet. ‘Not really. I’m more of a thriller fan myself. I’m not sure I can remember the last time I went to see an animated film. Must have been when Ben and I were at school.’
‘Ben?’ Lottie picked up on the name, wondering if Jay was referring to a partner.
‘My brother.’ Jay’s smile evaporated instantly. ‘But I should shut up. I must be keeping you from your work.’
‘This is part of my work,’ Lottie said, detecting a sharp change in the atmosphere between them.
‘Even so, I’ll walk you back through the woods. With the storm we had last week, there are a lot of fallen trees and branches. That’s one of our main jobs at the moment, clearing up the debris to make the grounds safe.’
Lottie was about to tell him that she’d be fine and knew her way around Firholme even better than him, but he’d already started walking off down the forest track. She caught up with him, wondering what had caused the abrupt downturn in his mood when out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of russet dashing up a tree.
‘Shh. Hang on a moment!’ Jay touched her sleeve, indicating she should hold back.
Lottie was shocked at his touch but froze anyway. ‘What?’ she mouthed.
‘Red squirrel.’ He lifted his hand slowly to point at an oak a few metres away.
She followed the direction of his finger but could see nothing among the leaf litter, bracken and twigs. Suddenly, there was a rustle and a flash of red as a furry tail appeared and the creature dashed from behind a trunk towards the woods. It stopped halfway to another tree and dug at the ground, found an acorn and started to nibble it.
It was a magical moment, seeing a wild animal in its natural habitat, especially one as cute as a red squirrel. They were quite rare now, and had been pushed into smaller pockets of the Lakes by the greys.
She and Jay stood very close together, neither moving in case they disturbed the squirrel, its fluffy tail quivering in the shaft of sunlight. The squirrel found another nut, popped it in its mouth and then raced off again, over the ground and up a tree.
‘It’s great to know they’re thriving here at Firholme,’ Jay said, when it became clear the squirrel was gone. Lottie moved away and they continued walking back to the house. ‘They love eating the spruce cones, you know.’
She was pleased that he shared her excitement. ‘Firholme is one heck of an office.’
He nodded enthusiastically. ‘I worked in an office after I left college. I’d trained as an accountant and I’m not knocking it as a career, but I pretty much hated it from the start. I’d worked a vacation job with a tree surgeon and I’d enjoyed that a lot more, so I went back to uni and retrained in landscape management. I worked for the forestry commission in the Highlands of Scotland and Kielder Forest before I came back to the Lakes. They had red squirrels there too.’
His animated expression made it clear that the squirrel had lifted his mood again.
‘They’re beautiful creatures,’ Lottie said. ‘I only hope they won’t be driven out by the greys.’
‘Or chased away by Trevor. I have to keep him on the lead when I’m walking through here. He goes mad if he gets a sniff of squirrel.’
‘I can imagine,’ Lottie said, having seen Trevor hurtling out of Jay’s cottage on his way for a walk. ‘Occasionally they come onto the feeders outside the cottage but I’ve never seen any here in the woods,’ she said, still with a glow of excitement from the squirrel encounter.
Her glow might also have to do with the fact that she’d enjoyed sharing the moment with someone who loved their surroundings as much as she did.
They emerged from the plantation and reached the top of the estate. The sun had come out and the courtyard of buildings and estate stretched out below them. The lake ploughed a shining furrow through the valley, reflecting snow-topped mountains.
Without a word, they both stopped to admire the spectacular view. ‘Not too shabby, is it?’ Jay said. ‘But you must be used to it?’
‘Actually, it still takes my breath away and I’ve lived in the Lakes all my life.’
He pushed a hand through his tousled hair. It was naturally curly, verging on unruly, and brushing the nape of his neck. ‘Look, I’m sorry if I sounded grouchy back there for a while. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and I’m happy to help other people celebrate … It’s only that I don’t feel like joining in all the jollity at the moment.’
‘Christmas can be a tough time,’ Lottie said, guessing he found it very awkward to reveal any hint of his personal problems. ‘I didn’t feel much like partying myself, last year.’
His beautiful eyes darkened. ‘Why was that?’ he asked softly.
‘Oh …’ She already regretted mentioning a time that she’d hoped to put behind her. Not forget: that was impossible. It was still too raw.
She didn’t know Jay and he was probably the last person who’d enjoy listening to her troubles.
So why did she suddenly feel like pouring out everything to him?
Chapter Four
With a mountain of things on her to-do list, Lottie really should have been getting back to the office, but Jay’s tone was so gentle and encouraging, she felt she had to tell him what had happened the previous Christmas – or at least part of it.
She took a mental breath. ‘Last Christmas, my sister was seriously ill,’ she said. ‘She’d just been diagnosed with cervical cancer and was waiting for treatment. She’s also a single mum to my twin nieces.’
‘That must have been very hard to deal with.’ He paused by an old fallen tree, which p
eople had been using as a makeshift bench, judging by the worn surface.
‘It was but … I’m sure you don’t have time for this. I’ve kept you long enough as it is.’
‘I’m not too busy to listen, so why don’t you sit down here for a minute and tell me about it?’
He sat down himself, giving Lottie no excuse. She joined him, although his unexpected empathy had the power almost to bring her to tears, the last thing she wanted when he was a virtual stranger. ‘Last Christmas was … very hard. Neither of us felt like celebrating but we had little Myra and Jodie to think about so we did our best. Our parents live and work in New Zealand and they couldn’t get any flights until the New Year so they couldn’t be there and even when they did come over to help, they had to go back to their jobs eventually.’
He frowned in sympathy. ‘My God, that is tough. I’m so sorry you went through this.’
‘Thanks. It was hard but we had no choice but to try and get through it. Before Steph started her treatment, we went for the whole Christmas to the max thing. You could barely move for decorations and presents.’ Lottie had crunched her credit card to spoil her sister and the twins, and her parents, relatives and friends had also gone a bit mad. Still, she had no regrets.
‘You must have been out of your mind with worry,’ he said softly.
‘It was hard but a hundred times harder for Steph than me.’
‘How’s she doing now?’
‘She’s OK. She has to have regular checks and the treatment had lots of after-effects but we try to stay positive. Touch wood,’ Lottie said, flattening her palm on the log’s surface. ‘One thing’s for sure, this Christmas has got to be better than last.’
He let the silence hang for a second, as if he didn’t know how to reply. Perhaps he felt uncomfortable at Lottie’s unexpected display of emotion. Many people couldn’t deal with illness and if they’d never had a close family member affected, it was impossible to imagine how they might feel. Or perhaps he didn’t even want to imagine.
A Surprise Christmas Wedding: from the best selling author of A Perfect Cornish Christmas comes one of the most feel-good winter romance books of 2020 Page 4