Page 82 of The Christmas Fayre on Holly Field

‘A lot of washing,’ Harriet replied dryly. There had been mounds of the stuff. There still was. Bobby was always covered in mud from playing football or rugby, and Sara had lately made a habit of changing her outfit at least three times a day and putting what she had just taken off in the laundry basket, even though it was still clean. Harriet had started fishing her daughter’s clothes out of the basket when she wasn’t looking, giving them a blast with Febreze, and sneaking them back into her wardrobe, hoping the child wouldn’t notice they hadn’t been washed.

Thinking about her daughter led Harriet to wonder whether Sara was OK. Harriet had had a fight on her hands to get her to go to school today, and had been forced to threaten to take her to school in her PJs if she didn’t hurry up and put her uniform on. Harriet might be sympathetic to Sara’s fears, but the child couldn’t stay at home for the rest of her school life. She had to bite the bullet and go back at some point, so she might as well do it today. Little would be gained by keeping her off school for a few days, and it would probably make the situation worse because the delay would give Sara more time to dwell on it.

All Harriet hoped was that the talk she’d had with her yesterday would be enough to enable Sara to hold her head high in school and not feel embarrassed about wearing a pre-loved dress.

‘Crumbs, look at the time!’ she cried. ‘I’d better get back to work before Pen decides she can manage without me and gives me the sack!’

Planting a kiss squarely on Owen’s lips, she whispered in his ear, ‘Later,’ and darted off, giggling at the shocked expression on his face and marvelling at how this man could make her feel like a teenager again.

Blimey, what a week, Owen thought, as he wrote the final sentence on the latest blog post. He had wavered about whether to incorporate the Christmas Fayre into his posts about ‘Dawn’ and her family, but decided to leave it out until after the event. It would make a good finale to the series and would also give his blog a Christmas vibe that had been sadly lacking in previous festive seasons. While the whole world was being showered with adverts for beautiful gifts and perfect Christmas scenes, he had preached restraint and advised people not to get sucked into the blatant consumerism.

He was like Mother Nature’s Scrooge, full of bah-humbug and dire warnings, with the ghost of a dead planet hanging around his neck instead of chains. Only resolute environmentalists wanted to read that kind of stuff, so in recent years he had gone quiet on the blog front from the end of November until after the New Year.

This year was different, though. He was determined to impress on his followers, old and new (of which there had been a substantial number lately), that they didn’t need to buy loads of stuff to have a brilliant Christmas, and he was looking forward to seeing what gifts Harriet had managed to find for her family. She had mentioned that she was redecorating Sara’s room as part of Sara’s Christmas present, and he hoped he could find something that the girl would like to have in it. He didn’t know what yet, and he probably wouldn’t until he saw it. Of course, it would have to be pre-owned, and he vowed to scour the stalls in the next two boot sales, hoping something would catch his eye.

Bobby was much easier to find a present for, and Owen had contacted an old mate of his who ran survival courses for both adults and children. He would have to ask Harriet about it first, and if she was happy, he could offer to accompany Bobby.

Thinking of Harriet’s children brought a smile to his lips. They were great kids and he loved spending time with them. Despite having a niece and a nephew, Owen hadn’t been around children a great deal, and now that he was seeing Sara and Bobby on a regular basis, he realised what he had been missing. Kids werefun. They brought out the child in him: through Sara and Bobby, he was reliving his own childhood.

But the biggest change since he’d come to Foxmore was undoubtedly Harriet. He simply couldn’t imagine his life without her in it. She made his soul sing every time he saw her, and even when he wasn’t with her, he thought about her constantly. She had crept into his heart almost without him realising, and it made him feel blessed, hopeful, scared and anxious all at the same time.

Owen, he said to himself,you’re an emotional mess, but he wouldn’t want it any other way.

A rat-tat-tat on the outside of the van door made him jump, and he hoped it wasn’t Aled asking him to do some job or another for him. It was dark and cold outside, and all Owen wanted was to make himself a meal and settle down with a book.

With a sigh, he lurched to his feet and went to see who it was.

‘Hi, what are you doing here?’ he asked when he saw Harriet standing on the other side of the door. She had Etta with her and was wearing a mischievous smile.

‘My mam and dad had the chance of some tickets to the panto in Dolgellau this evening, so they’ve taken the kids. They won’t be back for ages.’ She held up a bag. ‘I’ve brought goodies.’

‘You’d better come in.’

He held the door open, despite there not being enough room for her to squeeze past, and he used the enforced proximity as an excuse to kiss her deeply and thoroughly.

‘What’s in the bag?’ he asked, when they eventually came up for air. To his continuing amusement, Etta was holding up her right paw and looking pathetic. The little dog still didn’t approve of him kissing her human mum, although she didn’t seem to mind if Harriet cuddled one of the children.

‘Snacks,’ she said. ‘I thought we might be hungry later.’

‘Later? I’m quite hungry now,’ he said, eyeing the bag with interest.

‘So am I, but the food can wait.’ She caught her lip between her teeth and the desire in her eyes burned so hot, it seared his soul.

‘Are you sure?’ He didn’t want her to jump into bed just because this was the first time they had managed to be alone. He wanted her to be certain she was ready to take this final step, because he knew in his heart that once they had made love, there would be no going back.

‘I’ve never been as sure of anything in my life,’ she whispered, her mouth against his. ‘Take me to bed or lose me forever.’

‘Isn’t that a line from a film?’

‘Stop talking,’ she said, and funnily enough, he did…

‘I need to go,’ Harriet said, easing herself gingerly into a sitting position; the roof of the cab was only inches from her head and she didn’t want to risk knocking herself out.

Owen’s bed was very comfy and cosy, though, and she was surprised how warm she felt, despite being naked. Mind you, that might be because of the unaccustomed exercise she’d just had.

Harriet smiled.Twolots of exercise. She should be tired, but she felt invigorated and languid at the same time. It was a strange feeling, but one she definitely wanted to repeat – soon and often. Goodness knows when they would get the opportunity to be alone again like this, though. Maybe she could ask Kelly to babysit – but then she’d have to tell Kelly where she was going…

Oh, well, she reasoned, would that be such a bad thing? It was already obvious to everyone that she and Owen were an item, so it was only natural they would want to spend time together alone. And that could only be done at his place, or hers when the children were out. It was far too soon in their relationship to invite him to share her bed and stay overnight. Him sleeping on the couch was one thing; him sleeping in her bed, and the children knowing about it, was altogether different, and she wasn’t sure she was ready for that level of commitment yet.

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