Page 53 of Winter Magic on Railway Lane

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Libby woke up late in the morning to find the daylight streaming through a gap in the curtains.

It took her a moment to work out exactly what had happened the previous night to make her feel so groggy and croaky and then she remembered it all. She wondered how bad the smoke damage was in the rest of Ethan’s home and immediately felt a wave of guilt of how she had almost destroyed his kitchen.

She was contemplating getting up, but, despite having slept for twelve hours straight, she still felt absolutely exhausted.

So it was no small relief when she heard footsteps and saw her dad come into the bedroom holding a small tray with his good hand.

‘Good morning,’ he said, with a smile. ‘You’re awake at last.’

‘Morning,’ she replied, sitting up in bed despite it feeling like a real effort. ‘I can’t believe I slept for so long.’

Her dad carefully placed the tray on the bed next to her. Libby looked down to see it was holding a mug of coffee and a couple of delicious-looking muffins, along with various envelopes.

‘I’m glad you slept well,’ he told her. ‘You must have needed it. So I thought it was about time I brought you breakfast in bed.’

‘Thank you,’ she replied.

‘I can’t take credit for the muffins as apparently they’re Helen’s special recipe,’ he said, sitting down on the other side of the bed.

‘Grams made this?’ asked Libby, her stomach growing in anticipation.

Flora’s grandmother’s baking was excellent and so she took a bite almost immediately. The sweet muffin exploded the flavours in her mouth, along with the tangy sharpness of blueberries.

‘Mmm,’ she murmured in pleasure.

‘Helen dropped off a basket this morning crammed full of various pastries and pies to keep us both going,’ her dad told her.

‘How nice of her,’ said Libby, before taking another bite.

‘And the cards are all from our neighbours wishing you well,’ he carried on.

‘Seriously?’ Libby was amazed. ‘How kind.’

‘Indeed.’ Her father studied her carefully. ‘Now, how are you feeling? Any soreness in your chest or throat? Has it got worse?’

His concern touched her. ‘It’s no worse,’ she told him. ‘I still feel a bit parched but just weary after all the excitement, I guess.’

‘Then another day of rest should do you the world of good,’ he said.

Libby immediately began to shake her head before she saw the look in his eyes and shot him a sheepish grin. ‘Old habits die hard,’ she muttered.

‘Yes, they do,’ he said. ‘Anyway, your friends are all due to come and visit you any minute now, so you can’t go anywhere, even if I were to let you.’

‘They’re coming here?’ asked Libby, somewhat alarmed. Her dad had always expressed his dismay at any visitors coming to the cottage so they had stopped arriving many years ago.

‘I invited them.’ Now it was her dad’s turn to look sheepish. ‘You’re not up to going out and they were all expressing their concern for you, according to Helen. So I thought it would cheer you up to see them.’

‘Thank you.’

‘I also got a telling-off,’ he said with a grimace.

Libby giggled. ‘From Grams?’

‘Yes, well, perhaps she felt it was overdue,’ said her dad. ‘Anyway, she told me that as I’m young enough to be her son, she felt that a “good nagging” was necessary to get me to pull my weight around the home.’

‘Gosh.’ Libby cleared her throat. ‘Look, Dad, don’t worry about that. As soon as I’m up and about again, then you can leave all that to me.’