Page 24 of The Christmas Highland Lodge

That was a real selling point too, even if it had cost them a lot of money. Playing on the environmental aspects of the lodges would appeal to a very large section of the general public, with climate change at the forefront of so many people’s thoughts.

While studying for my interior design degree, sustainability was always emphasised. Creating environmental awareness was stressed again and again, while reusing materials that might previously have been single-use was a definite advantage.

For my major project in my last year, I had decided to go with the biophilic interior trend, with rooms taking advantage of good natural light, colour schemes derived from nature and a very large quantity of house plants.

I tapped my pen against the notebook while I considered the cabins and their pine tree clustered surroundings, with the glimmer of Loch Strathe just a ten-minute walk away. Shades of blue in powder, electric and sky rippled in front of my eyes.

If I could harness the beauty of the natural surroundings and make use of the colour schemes to complement other events during the year…

What if one of the cabins had a winter wonderland theme? It could have cushions in navy and white, with a blue and silver Christmas tree on the porch. My enthusiasm and imagination were firing up and I made some notes. There could be snow-themed ornaments placed on the tree, like sparkly snowmen and snowflakes, together with blue fringed rugs and matching ornaments. That could be adapted with the introduction of yellow and white fittings for the spring and Easter reservations.

For the second cabin, I jotted down a possible Nutcracker theme, with pale-gold walls and champagne and white fittings. The cabin could be dotted with characters from The Nutcracker, such as the carved wooden soldiers we sold in the shop, and the tree on the porch for this one would be decked out with yellow and gold decorations such as teddy bears, trains and ballerinas.

Those colours would work with daffodils and Easter eggs come the spring.

I moved on to the third cabin. Pictures of a more traditional Christmas entered my head. What if this one could reflect that wonderful story A Christmas Carol? There would be rich cranberry curtains at the windows, ornate lamps and antique baubles dripping from a white Christmas tree by the door. More Victorian-style decorations, such as tiny porcelain dolls and tin soldiers, would dance from its branches. Again, such rich colours could be easily tweaked for the rest of the year, such as Halloween.

And for the fourth and final cabin, I decided to suggest to Stephanie and Max the theme of Christmas in nature. There would be woodland animal decorations and pine cones, with features of wood and flashes of red interior. There could be pretty red ribbons attached to the traditional Christmas tree on the porch. The walls would be neutral, with just a hint of beige, which shouldn’t prove difficult to adapt for the year’s other events.

I read over my notes again: Winter Wonderland; The Nutcracker; A Christmas Carol; and Christmas in nature. They were all unique in their own way, but each of them wouldn’t require much to adapt them for Valentine’s, Easter, summer, autumn, Halloween…

Whoa, Lottie! Just focus on Christmas for now!

Once I was satisfied with my initial ideas and had printed off a chart with my suggested paint colour scheme for each cabin, I decided I would take a look at ideas for social media posts for the business.

I might be wrong, but something told me that the Styleses might not have placed Twitter, Instagram, Tik-Tok and Facebook very high up on their list of priorities.

I rubbed at my weary eyes and stretched. Images of my dad shimmered in front of me. He was smiling from ear to ear in that big, clumsy way of his. ‘See, petal? Your old dad was right. Things have got a habit of working themselves out in the end.’

I gave a watery smile. I would give this opportunity everything I had. I had to start believing in myself and my capabilities more. For him and for me.

* * *

The remainder of Sunday vanished and Monday morning swung around so fast, my head felt as if it were spinning.

As I made my way out of my flat and headed down towards the main street and Christmas Crackers, a handful of council workers were busy erecting the Craig Brae Christmas lights above the shop roofs, in advance of their grand switch-on, next Saturday.

Giant snowflakes, a beaming Santa and reindeer pulling a sleigh groaning with presents, were being jostled into position. I hoped the footfall and usual influx of families, keen for their little ones to meet Santa, would find their way into the shop.

Kate Bush was proclaiming that December would be magic again through the shop speakers.

Just at that moment, Mum bustled in, followed by Orla. ‘The cavalry has arrived!’ joked Mum, embracing me. ‘I’ll go and pop the kettle on and then we can get started,’ she added, vanishing off.

Orla appreciated her surroundings. ‘We’ve shifted a lot of stock already.’ She forced a bit of a too-bright smile out from under her straight brown hair.

‘Yes,’ I sighed. ‘I know I should be delighted, but what with the background to it all…’ I shrugged. ‘Customers have been making use of the closing down sale – buy one, get one free and the heavy discounts. They’ve been getting some real bargains.’

I gestured to her. ‘Thank you so much to both of you for agreeing to step up. I really appreciate it. I hope Mum didn’t twist your arm up your back.’

‘More like a half-nelson,’ joked Orla. ‘No seriously, she didn’t. I’m more than happy to help out.’ She pushed her fringe out of her eyes. ‘I was spending too much time digging out old photo albums of Martin and me.’

‘Well, thank you again for agreeing to do extra hours. And don’t worry. Vivian has insisted you both receive overtime. It’s the least we can do.’

A few moments later, Mum returned with one of the trays she’d located in the kitchen area, laden with three mugs of strong tea and a plate of white chocolate cookies. ‘I just bought them from Mrs Crill’s place.’ She eyed us with a smile. ‘Well, it’ll soon be Christmas, so what the hell?! With everything that’s been going on these past few weeks, I reckoned we deserve a treat.’

Mum cast her eyes around the shop. ‘So, this is it then. Not too long to go now,’ she said, gripping her mug. ‘Goodness knows how this Ronaldo’s bunch will get on setting up in here. Some Craig Brae folks can be funny. They like tradition and familiarity.’

Orla nodded in agreement. ‘They’re probably hoping they can make money from the weekenders and the second-homers.’