by Cathy Lake
The cottage was filled with delicious aromas as Christmas dinner cooked – a joint effort, this year. Her mum and Kyle had insisted that Clare stay out of the kitchen and allow them to do everything. She was told to take a long bubble bath with the luxury bath foam her mum had bought her for Christmas and to use the clay face mask that Kyle had popped in the stocking he’d prepared for her. She’d done as they’d instructed, then slathered herself in scented moisturiser, blow-dried her hair into soft waves that accentuated the highlights. Along with a small amount of make-up, the overall effect was quite eye-catching. Of course, the glow in her cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes helped.
Goliath came to her side and rubbed his head against her hand. He had become her shadow, unwilling to let her out of his sight when she was home, and she had wondered how she would ever be able to leave him, if and when she found a place of her own. But then her mum and Iolo had made an announcement: Iolo was retiring and they were buying a campervan and were going to travel through Europe in the New Year. Her mum said she had considered taking Goliath, but seeing how attached he’d become to Clare, she thought he’d be happier staying with her – as long as Clare was happy with that. The delight Clare had felt had brought tears to her eyes; she loved Goliath and knew that he loved her, so of course she would stay with him. She had also agreed to look after the cottage while Elaine was away, which apparently would be anything from six months to a year, and Kyle was staying on with her too.
Not wanting anyone to spend Christmas Day alone, and having a turkey the size of an ostrich, her mum had told her and Kyle to invite as many people as they could think of. A glance at the clock told her that their guests would soon be arriving and her stomach flipped with joy and excitement. Their guest list included Iolo, Marcellus, Magnus and Miranda from the surgery, Jenny, Martin and the twins, and Clare’s guest of honour, Sam.
When Clare had phoned him after the show, he had picked up almost immediately and they had talked until dawn. There had been tears, but plenty of kind words and lots of understanding. Since then, they had met three times in the week leading up to Christmas for coffee and cake, and although it was a challenge to hold back, they were doing their best. Clare liked to think that when they did, finally (and she was certain it would happen in the New Year), spend the night together, it would be all the more special. Sam was a wonderful man and they were learning that they had many things in common.
There was a knock at the door and Goliath barked, making Clare jump; she took a deep breath then went to answer it, holding Goliath’s collar tightly as she let their guests in. There were hugs, kisses and bellows of Merry Christmas, then everyone filed through to the kitchen to repeat the process with Elaine and Kyle.
Everyone except for Sam.
He released Scout from her lead and she trotted through to the kitchen with Goliath, then he removed his coat and hat and hung them on the bottom of the banister before turning to Clare.
‘Merry Christmas,’ he said, as his eyes roamed over her, making her shiver with delight.
‘Merry Christmas.’
He opened his arms, a question in his eyes and she nodded. This was fine, this was acceptable. In fact, as she slid her arms around his waist, she thought that it was wonderful. He smelt of clean washing, citrus and spice, and his hug was filled with affection and warmth. It was like finding her safe place after years of floundering, like coming home after being lost in a snowstorm. It was like nothing she had ever imagined possible. And it was real. She didn’t feel like she was sacrificing anything to be with Sam, more that he enhanced her life and added to it with his kindness, intelligence and handsome presence.
‘I have something for you.’ He released her, then pulled an envelope from his pocket.
‘What is it?’ she asked.
‘Open it and find out.’
She fumbled with the envelope, then pulled out a card. Inside was a voucher for an experience day. ‘Which one am I going on?’
‘That’s up to you.’ He smiled. ‘You get to choose whatever it is you want to do, Clare. You get to follow your own path.’
‘And live my life for myself?’ she asked, thinking of the day two and a half months ago when she’d driven to Little Bramble and heard Cory Quincy say that exact same thing on the radio.
‘That’s right.’ He nodded, then gently brushed her cheek with his lips, making her sigh.
‘And do I go on this experience day alone?’
‘That, my dear, is entirely up to you.’
She looked down at the voucher and toyed with her bottom lip, then raised her eyes to meet his and grinned.
‘I don’t want to do this without you,’ she said, sliding her arms around him again.
‘I was hoping you’d say that.’ His voice was husky, his hands buried in her hair as he lowered his head to kiss her.
When they finally broke apart, Clare placed a hand on his chest, right above his heart.
‘I’m not just talking about the experience day, Sam.’
‘I was hoping you’d say that too.’
Holding hands, they made their way into the kitchen to celebrate Christmas with friends and family – and Clare knew although Christmas came at the end of the year, this time it signalled a brand-new start.
Acknowledgements
My thanks go to:
My husband and children, for your love and support.
My wonderful agent, Amanda Preston, and the LBA team, in particular Hannah for patiently answering my emails and Alison for the Tweets.
The amazing team at Bonnier Books UK, with special thanks to my fabulous editor, Claire Johnson-Creek, and to the lovely Jenna Petts for her support and enthusiasm.
My very supportive author and blogger friends, especially (and in no particular order) Jules, Sarah, Bella and Phillipa for the friendship, writing support and motivation; Ann, Wendy and Kate for being such good friends; Holly for being a wealth of writing knowledge and more; Laura for being so kind and inspirational, Annie, Laura K and Andi for the chats, and Ian for the support and enthusiasm on social media.
Sarah, Dawn, Deb, Sam, Clare, Yvonne, Emma, Kelly and Caryn for always being there.
All the readers who take the time to read, write reviews and share the book love.
About the Author
Cathy Lake is a women’s fiction writer who lives with her family and three dogs in beautiful South Wales. She writes uplifting stories about strong women, family, friendship, love, community and overcoming obstacles.
Elaine’s Festive Gingerbread Biscuits
Clare, Elaine and Kyle love baking and making the cottage smell wonderfully festive. If you want to get cosy with some festive baking of your own, a favourite of theirs is Elaine’s Festive Gingerbread Biscuits. The recipe is below.
Ingredients:
150g dark brown sugar
180g black treacle
145g unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large free-range egg
400g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cloves
To decorate (optional):
Piping icing/buttercream, small sweets, chocolate buttons
Method:
1. Melt the butter, brown sugar and treacle in a saucepan. Cool to room temperature.
2. Beat the butter until soft and fluffy then stir in the cooled treacle mixture. (You can do this by hand, with a wooden spoon or with an electric mixer.)
3. Add the vanilla extract and egg and beat until smooth.
4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice and cloves then mix with the wet ingredients.
5. You will now have a thick and sticky cookie dough. Divide the dough in half then wrap each half in clingfilm and press
out into circles. Chill for 2–3 hours or up to 2 days.
6. Preheat the oven to 170°C and line two large baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
7. Flour a worksurface then remove cookie dough from the fridge and roll out until 5mm ¼ inch thick. Cut into shapes – circles, trees, Christmas jumpers, people or shapes of your choice. Place cookies on baking paper with plenty of space between them. Repeat until all the dough has been used.
8. Bake for around 8–10 minutes, depending on cookie shape.
9. Cool for 5 minutes on the tray then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. Decorate with piping icing / buttercream and sweets of your choice.
Enjoy!
Return to the village of Little Bramble with Cathy Lake’s next book . . .
The Country Village Summer Fete
Emma Patrick’s life is spiralling out of control. On the cusp of her 50th birthday, she suddenly realises that she doesn’t have many meaningful relationships in her life. She’s single, successful, living alone and thinks she’s loving it, but being so focused on work and always online means she’s lost any real connection to people.
When Emma gets a call to say her ageing father is becoming increasingly confused, she decides that she should go back home to the countryside to spend some time with him. But returning to Little Bramble, the village she grew up in, after all these years is filled with complications of its own and people she’d rather avoid.
As Emma starts to settle in to her childhood home, she finds herself loving village life – much to her surprise. When the opportunity to get involved in the running of the summer fete comes her way, before she knows it she’s embracing jam making, cake baking and bunting. And with romance brewing, Emma begins to doubt the glamorous life in London that she worked so hard to build . . .
A feel-good, uplifting summer read, coming May 2021
First published in the UK in 2020 by Zaffre
This ebook edition published in 2020 by
ZAFFRE
An imprint of Bonnier Books UK
80–81 Wimpole St, London W1G 9RE
Owned by Bonnier Books
Sveavägen 56, Stockholm, Sweden
Copyright © Cathy Lake, 2020
Illustrated by Sara Mulvanny
The moral right of Cathy Lake to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-1-83877-270-3
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-83877-269-7
This ebook was produced by IDSUK (Data Connection) Ltd
Zaffre is an imprint of Bonnier Books UK
www.bonnierbooks.co.uk