Page 27 of The Christmas Fayre on Holly Field

Owen had been to many a car boot sale in his time, so he had a fair idea of what was expected of him. No doubt the sellers would be on one side of the field and the punters would park on the other.

He was proved right, as the field next to the one he was camping in was already mapped out with stakes and tape to indicate the rows for the sellers’ vehicles. It was his job to ensure that they stayed within the lines and left enough room between them. Plus, a car would only be entitled to one bay, whereas a long-based van would qualify for two.

‘Have you been doing this long?’ Owen asked, after Aled explained that he’d be collecting the money at the gate, and that Owen was to perform the role of parking attendant.

‘Since the summer.’ Aled scowled. ‘I gotta do something to make the farm pay. There ain’t any money in sheep these days.’ He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his worn waxed jacket and snorted. ‘I was supposed to be selling this field and the one you’re in to Cornerstone – the supermarket.’ Owen nodded to show he’d heard of them, as the man continued, ‘But those damned villagers were having none of it. Selfish buggers. They prefer to drive to Dolgellau for a loaf of bread than have a supermarket right on their doorstep. So, I thought to myself, I’ll show ’em, and I started a boot sale instead. It’s only been going a few months but people are coming from all around. And if the lane is gridlocked, it serves ’em bloody right.’

‘Right. OK. Erm…’ Owen wasn’t sure how he was supposed to respond to that. ‘Thanks for letting me camp in the other field,’ he said.

The farmer’s expression turned sly. ‘You haven’t got any friends with caravans who’d like to park up, have you?’

‘No, sorry.’

‘Pity. I could do with a few more paying guests.’

‘Have you considered turning the field into a proper campsite?’ Owen suggested.

‘Nah, I’ll have to set up toilet blocks and such, and I haven’t got the cash to do that. Besides, those miserable lot in the village would probably put the kibosh on that ’n all.’ He sniffed loudly, showing his displeasure.

Owen didn’t like to say so, but he was glad that a supermarket wasn’t going to be built in Foxmore. The village was quaint and unspoilt, with some lovely independent shops and businesses. A supermarket would change the whole vibe and, from what he had seen of Foxmore, people could already get pretty much everything they needed on a daily basis. He certainly could anyway: but then, his needs were simple. Food mainly, and occasionally toiletries. Which reminded him – he wanted to pay Sero a visit soon. He had noticed the refill shop when he’d driven into Foxmore nearly a week ago, and he had walked past it since but had yet to go inside. He was hoping they sold Castile soap, because he was almost out. The bar he was using was down to a sliver, and he needed to do a clothes wash shortly, otherwise he’d be out of clean socks. Plus, he wanted to put fresh sheets on his bed.

Out of nowhere, Owen had a vision of Harriet in his bed, her nut-brown hair splayed across his pillow. It was so unexpected, it made him gasp, and he shook his head to clear it.

Admittedly, he did fancy her, but he had fancied women in the past and never once had any of them invaded his thoughts the way Harriet had.

Owen put it down to having theDon’t Buy Newchallenge on his mind over the last few days. Now that he knew Harriet was definitely going ahead with it, he had published the first post, in which he had outlined the challenge and introduced Dawn and her children. He had thought long and hard about changing the names, the gender, and maybe even the ages of Harriet’s children, but he’d settled for giving them pseudonyms instead. So Sara had become Ava, and Bobby was Teddy. He’d also deliberately not included the location, although he had taken a photo of part of the church, one of the surrounding hills and the Celtic cross in the centre of the green, just to add some context. He had stressed that Harriet/Dawn was a normal mum, facing the same challenges that many other mums face, and emphasised that it might be more difficult for her to buy the things she needed because she lived in a small rural village. But that was it – the clues were there if one knew where to look, but no one would be looking so he was as sure as he could be that no one, especially Harriet, would realise who this family was or where they lived.

He was still thinking about her when she appeared in front of him, and his heart missed a beat.

‘Oh, hi, you made me jump,’ he said, to cover the confusion he felt at his reaction to seeing her. What was wrong with him? He knew she was going to be here, so he shouldn’t have been surprised.

She gave him a curious look, so he added, ‘I was miles away.’

He had just finished showing a couple of latecomers to their pitches and was back at the gate, daydreaming. He wasn’t anticipating any more sellers arriving, as the boot sale had been in full swing for a good couple of hours, but he was hanging around just in case. Or that’s what he told himself.

‘Have I missed anything?’ she asked, gazing at the busy field. ‘I thought I’d be early.’

‘Nine o’clock isn’t early when it comes to a boot sale,’ he said. ‘Hi, Teddy.’ He realised what he’d said when Harriet gave him another look. ‘Sorry… Bobby. And hello to you, too.’ He crouched down to pet the dachshund, using it as an excuse to cover his faux pas, and made a mental note to be more careful in the future.

Straightening up, he caught Harriet’s eye and forced himself not to look away, even though he was sure his guilt must be showing on his face.

Gosh, she looked gorgeous. Her hair was loose and flowed over her shoulders, and she was wearing skinny jeans, green Wellington boots, a sweater in a shade of blue that matched her eyes, and a smart navy jacket over the top. Chic and sophisticated was what came to mind, andwaaayout of his league.

Who was he kidding? Even if she wasn’t, he was never in one place long enough to spark up a romance, and the days when he was into more casual flings were long gone. He knew deep down that if he wanted a proper relationship, he would have to stop travelling the length and breadth of the country. But the whole situation was a vicious circle – he’d not found anyone he wanted to stay in one place for, but it was unlikely he ever would find anyone special because he was never around long enough to get to know them properly.

Harriet was studying him. ‘Are you OK? You don’t have to accompany me. I’m a big girl – I think I can manage a boot sale on my own.’ Her tone was sharp and he guessed he was coming across as a right prat.

‘Sorry, I’ve had an early start. How about we grab a coffee before we look around?’ Her hesitation had him adding, ‘My treat. I’m sure T— Bobby could do with a drink. There’s a stall over there that sells fresh juice: they make it while you wait.’

‘Yes, please.’ Bobby nodded enthusiastically, but when Harriet narrowed her eyes, Owen realised that by asking Bobby he had made it hard for her to say no. He’d also nearly slipped up again and called the boy Teddy. He’d have to be more careful. ‘Or you could stop by the van later, and I’ll make you a coffee? I’ve got apple juice in the fridge.’

‘Perhaps that’s a better idea,’ she said. ‘I want to get the shopping part out of the way first – if there’s anything worth buying.’

‘I’m sure there will be,’ Owen said, not sure at all. He had no idea what girls Sara’s age wore to parties. ‘Are you looking for any particular style or colour?’ He didn’t know anything about style either, so he wasn’t going to be much help. ‘Shall we start at this end and work our way across the field?’

‘You don’t have to come with us.’

‘I’d like to,’ he said. ‘I’m curious as to what you might buy.’

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