Page 17 of Rachel’s Pudding Pantry

‘Ooh, yes.’ And Maisy skipped off towards the house, Amelia by her side, with Moss on their heels scooting across the yard, picking up on the buoyant mood.

‘Shall I stay and help?’ offered Eve. ‘Amelia’s already in her party gear, and I’ve got time on my hands. No point heading back home just to turn around again in twenty minutes.’

‘Aw, you are a star. That’d be great. Could you help Mum bring across the rest of the food whilst I’ll check Maisy’s getting dressed and ready okay?’

‘Yeah, no worries. Looks really great in there by the way,’ Eve nodded at the barn. ‘Think we’ll need to borrow the barn for all our kids’ parties. Save the wreckage to our own homes.’

‘Hah, we’ll see how it goes first! You might not be saying that by the end. It could be kiddie carnage.’

‘Well, at least you can just close the doors on the barn afterwards and retreat to the farmhouse for a glass of wine.’

‘True.’

‘Do you think we could close those doors for a while during the party too?’ Rachel added cheekily. ‘Adults outside and the kids in.’

The two friends chuckled.

‘It’ll be fine,’ rallied Jill. ‘What’s the worst a bunch of five-year-olds can do?’

Eve and Rachel both looked at each other, pulling a grimace. Anything could happen!