Page 82 of A Scottish Country Escape

I’d always loved our family Christmases. Pebble Brook would be decked out like a snow globe, thanks to Dad stringing lights over every conceivable surface. He would even twist them around nearby trees so that they blinked and winked. Their gold and silver reflections would shimmer in the water that flowed past. Mum, meanwhile, would produce beautiful festive wreaths bursting with berries, cones, and twigs, which she would suspend from the doors and windows.

I stared past my laptop, clicking my mouse far harder than I meant to.

Cate, having relieved Gran of her shop duties for the day, waved goodbye to a departing customer. She turned around in the doorway, her dark eyes assessing me. ‘Everything OK?’

I forced a smile. ‘Of course. Why do you ask?’

She moved towards me and peered over my shoulder. I was in the middle of crafting an email to two children’s entertainers, Top Hat Tom (a clown on stilts), and The Magical Matilda, a drama student who not only performed magic tricks but was also a talented face painter. At least being able to combine the two with her would save a bit of money out of our nature reserve fund, which all the local businesses had kindly donated to.

Both entertainers had confirmed they could make the 1st, so I was arranging arrival times.

All my fellow businesses had been so very generous with their donations, but in order to stage the event properly, we had no option but to spend that bit more.

I hadn’t told anyone, not even Gran, but I had already put in £5,000 of my own money and intended to inject a bit more into the fund, if we needed it. Well, it was actually some of the money Mum and Dad had left me in their will. I knew they would understand.

I turned my attention back to Cate.

‘I don’t want you making yourself ill,’ she warned. The concern was evident in her smoky voice.

‘I’m fine. Really.’

The way Cate twitched her red-slicked lips let me know she didn’t believe a word I was saying. ‘You’re taking on far too much after everything that’s happened.’

I flicked my plait. ‘Rubbish!’

Without saying anything, she reached across and pulled my notebook and to-do list away from me to examine it.

‘What are you doing?’

‘Well, I’m not about to break into song.’

I sighed with irritation.

‘Your eyes look like two fried eggs, Elle. Go and get some fresh air.’

‘But what about the shop?’

‘What about it? It’s not going anywhere.’

I was about to argue, but thought better of it when Cate interrupted me. ‘I’ll sit here and do some of this and then if anyone comes in, I can attend to them.’ Cate lifted a finger and pointed at the shop door. ‘Go! Now! Take a breather.’ She shrugged her shoulders. ‘It’s almost lunchtime anyway, so we shouldn’t be swamped. Take your mobile and I’ll ring you if things turn ugly.’

‘OK.’ I laughed in surrender. ‘Thanks. I won’t be long.’

I slid on my cream leather jacket and pushed my mobile and purse into my pocket. The clouds were skimming along the sky as I walked. I wasn’t too sure where I was headed, but it was great to escape from that blinking laptop screen for a few minutes.

The other windows along the main street glinted their assorted displays of wedding cakes in the bakery window and the grocer’s displayed trays of fresh fruit and vegetables in a colourful rainbow.

My reflection wavered in the windows as I ambled past. My dark-brown eyes were blurry and my skin looked paler than normal. I thrust my hands deeper into the pockets of my fitted black jeans.

‘On your lunchbreak?’ asked Mrs McVicar, one of the local charity shop volunteers. She was hurrying up to me, all belted coat and coiffed red hair.

‘Just getting some air on Cate’s insistence.’

Mrs McVicar nodded. ‘Lovely girl, Catherine.’

I hid a smile. Cate disliked her Sunday name. Even her parents didn’t call her Catherine. Mrs McVicar was the only person who did. ‘Yes, she is.’

I was about to resume my walk when Mrs McVicar moved closer to me, adopting a conspiratorial air. ‘It’s all happening up at that author’s house.’