Page 41 of The Perfect Gift

‘Take as long as you need. Rick will be glad of your help, I’m sure.’ She nudged him towards the door once more. ‘The sooner you go, the sooner you can come back and we’ll have the evening to relax and enjoy ourselves.’

‘Good point.’ Ed turned on the threshold, cupped her face in his hands and pressed a swift, hard kiss on her mouth. ‘There’ll be more where that came from,’ he promised.

‘I should certainly hope so,’ she replied with a laugh, then danced out of reach when he made a grab for her waist. ‘Chores first; kissing later!’

21

Harbour Road was a hive of activity when Ed got there, and, of course, Rick was at the heart of everything. Armed with his trusty notebook and an endless reservoir of patience and good humour, Ed’s older brother was directing the transformation of the main road through the village like an officer marshalling his troops for battle. A traffic diversion was in place so the only vehicles allowed along the road were those delivering equipment for the stalls and awnings that were being erected along the pavement. Ed hurried to his brother’s side and was greeted with a relieved smile. ‘There you are. I thought you weren’t coming!’

‘Sorry, I’d already agreed to take Frankie shopping for a Christmas tree and we lost track of time picking out presents for everyone.’ Ed wasn’t that sorry, because he’d had a delightful morning with Frankie and he was already counting down the minutes until he could get back to her and claim those kisses she’d promised.

‘How is she? Anya said there was a bit of a misunderstanding last night and Frankie was upset.’

‘She was fine when I left her.’ More than fine… Ed shook his head before the daydreaming could catch hold and focused on his brother. ‘There was a mix-up over the cottage. Frankie’s rather fallen in love with the place and she’d made some enquiries about renting it for herself. She had no idea about all the stuff with Matt and when the others reacted as you might have expected, I think Frankie took it as a personal rejection.’

Rick sighed. ‘Yeah, that’s pretty much what Anya told me when she got home. She was really upset about it. You know how she takes things to heart.’

Ed nodded. ‘Frankie spoke to Chloe and I think they’re well on the way to sorting things out, but that’s between them.’

Rick grinned. ‘Best we stay out of it and let them get on with it, eh?’ His expression grew serious. ‘Matt needs to do something about the cottage though, before he loses it forever.’

‘Yeah. I really need to talk to him but it’s been hectic since I got home and every time I called around he wasn’t in the flat.’ Plus Ed had been distracted by his desire to spend time with Frankie.

‘Well, perhaps we can kill two birds with one stone this afternoon,’ Rick suggested. ‘Matt’s over there constructing stalls so you could go and give him a hand.’ He pointed in the direction of the patio Liam had installed at the front of the hotel. Ed glanced over, immediately picking out the large frame of his cousin. Even with Matt’s back to them, Ed would know him anywhere. As tall as the rest of them, but much wider through the shoulders, his cousin was an imposing figure. Strange really that he was the quietest of the lot of them, but Matt had always been aware of being bigger and stronger than everyone growing up and he’d never used that advantage against them that Ed could recall, even when they’d got into the kind of playful scraps and rough-housing that a group of boys with more energy than sense tended to get themselves into.

Ed, on the other hand, had always been in the thick of things. The first to find trouble, the last to realise it, sometimes until it was too late. He bent and absent-mindedly rubbed his leg where the scar tissue was the worst.

‘Giving you trouble?’ Rick asked, never one to miss anything. ‘There’s a team working in the café making signage if you’d rather be inside.’

Ed knew his brother meant well, that he’d made the offer only because he cared about him, but the comment still made him bristle. He wasn’t a foolish kid that needed his big brother to look out for him. If Ed’s leg became a problem he would rest it if needed. ‘I’m fine, don’t fuss.’ The words came out sharper than he’d intended and Ed swallowed down a sigh. If he wanted everyone to stop treating him like a kid, he needed to stop acting like one. He reached out and laid a hand on Rick’s shoulder. ‘It’s just the cold making it ache, nothing more. I’ll let you know if I need a break, I promise.’

Rick smiled. ‘And I’ll shut my gob and stop being a mother hen.’

‘Deal. Right, I’ll go and see what Matt needs me to do. I’ve got my phone so give me a buzz if you need me elsewhere.’

‘Try not to lose it, eh?’ Rick called out after him, then laughed when Ed flipped him the middle finger without turning around. There was only so much growing up a man could do, after all.

Matt was busy with his electric saw cutting a long plank of wood into neat, even lengths. Ed stood quietly on the other side of the little safety barrier and waited until Matt had finished and set the saw down. His cousin pushed up his safety goggles, his face glowing with exertion even in the cold. ‘Hello, stranger!’ he said, his face lighting up when he spotted Ed. ‘I’ve been wondering when I’d get a chance to catch up with you.’

He tugged off his gloves and stepped around the barrier towards him. Ed opened his arms and welcomed the bear hug, patting his cousin on his broad back. ‘Hello, mate, it’s great to see you!’ They separated and just grinned at each other for a minute, happy to be in each other’s company. Ed had really enjoyed sharing the cottage with Matt because he was so easy-going and never got on Ed’s case, even when he had been behaving like a dickhead. ‘I’ve tried a couple of times at the flat, but you were always out.’

‘Yeah, I’ve been busy up at the castle helping out the production crew. It was handy work to have but I’m not going to miss the hours!’

‘I heard you’d been up there. Hey, it was good of you to fit that bolt for Frankie after I busted in on her.’

Matt looked startled, as though surprised by the praise. ‘It felt like the least I could do. I should’ve tried harder to get hold of you and tell you what was going on.’

And wasn’t it just like Matt to assume the blame for something that was absolutely not his fault? Well, Ed was having none of it. ‘The only person who screwed up was me, mate, so don’t even start.’

Matt stared at him for a moment before his expression cleared and he laughed. ‘Only you would drop your bloody phone overboard! Hey, how was it, by the way? You had a good time?’

‘Best thing I’ve ever done in my life and I can’t wait to get back to it.’ For the first time there was a little pang in Ed’s gut after he said that. He pushed the feeling away. He and Frankie were in it for a fun time, not a long time. Their futures were already mapped out and that was all there was to it. ‘I’m really sorry I was out of touch when you needed me.’

Matt shook his head. ‘It is what it is. And, honestly, I don’t think you could’ve done anything if you had been here. As soon as Charlie decided to take an interest in the cottage, I knew the game was up.’

‘Harry said you haven’t spoken to Mrs Jenkins about it?’ If Ed had been here she would’ve been his first port of call.

‘I didn’t want to upset her. I heard from Uncle Davy that she’s not been too well so I didn’t want to stress her out or anything.’