Page 74 of Winter Magic on Railway Lane

Best of all, she felt herself growing even more closer to him day by day.

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‘Here we are, Grandad,’ said Ethan, as he helped Eddie up the front path to the cottage.

Eddie nodded and smiled as he carefully stepped over the threshold into the small cottage that he shared with his son Bob. He looked around at the small front room before he went over to sit down in his high-back armchair with a satisfied nod.

‘Here you go, Dad,’ said Bob, coming out of the kitchen with a mug. ‘Thought you might need a cup of tea after all the excitement this morning.’

Eddie had been discharged from the hospital earlier that day and Ryan and Ethan had gone to pick him up. The good news was that he was mobile once more. Taking his time, he could dress himself slowly, as well as manage a little walk each day. However, the doctor had advised that he would continue to be very tired for some considerable time, but that was entirely normal.

Eddie looked at the cup of tea that had just been placed next to him and nodded. ‘It’s good to be home,’ he said.

‘Good to have you home,’ said Bob, sitting down on the other armchair. ‘And you’ll be glad to have some home cooking, I reckon. Maggie’s popped round with a delicious cake for later.’

‘And I’ve left a lasagne in the fridge for you both,’ added Ryan.

‘Thanks, lad,’ said Eddie, nodding.

‘You’ll be glad to know that I haven’t cooked anything for you,’ added Ethan, with a grin.

‘Which is another blessing for a speedy recovery,’ said Bob, with a wink.

‘But I’ve got some great plans for the Christmas train and the preparations are going well,’ said Ethan.

‘Good, good,’ murmured Eddie, in a sleepy tone.

Ethan could see that he was starting to fall asleep and so he and Ryan quietly left the room.

‘It’s to be expected,’ said Bob, giving them both a hug. ‘And now that he’s home, he’ll rest better. Nobody can sleep properly in a hospital with all those alarms going off at all hours.’

‘Of course,’ said Ethan.

He was disappointed not to have had the opportunity to show his grandad what they had planned for the Christmas train, but perhaps Eddie didn’t need to know everything down to the last detail. Ethan just needed to ensure that it was a great show and he felt the heavy weight of responsibility even more keenly.

‘And how’s our Christmas train coming along?’ asked Bob. ‘I’m afraid I’m going to have to keep an eye on your grandad for a while, so I won’t be able to help as much as I’d like.’

‘That’s more important than the train,’ said Ethan. ‘Anyway, it’s all in hand.’

‘I’ll text you later, Dad, to see how it’s gone with Grandad today,’ added Ryan. ‘And to let you know what time to put the lasagne on.’

Then they both left.

Ethan exchanged a look with his brother once the front door had closed behind them.

‘You heard what they said at the hospital,’ said Ryan, as they walked down Railway Lane towards the station. ‘He’ll pick up again energy-wise soon, I’m sure.’

Ethan nodded.

‘And is it all in hand?’ asked Ryan.

Ethan grimaced. ‘Just as soon as I find another six hours in the day, it’ll be fine,’ he told him.

It turned out that Joe’s drone shots worked really well once they were uploaded onto the new website.

‘Too well,’ said Ethan, with a grimace as he leant against the doorframe of the kitchen in Platform 1 a while later, with a much-needed coffee in his hand.

‘How can generating publicity be a bad thing?’ asked Ryan, stirring the tomato sauce base for his pizzas on the hob.