Page 87 of The Cotswolds Christmas Fair

Catering organised, reindeer secured and her feet at last thawed out, Jen sat at Julia’s kitchen table, drinking a hot chocolate and tapping ‘call’ on the contact Julia had just shared with her.

‘Really?’ Julia had said when she’d asked her if she had this particular number. ‘What for?’

Jen had just tapped her nose. But now, as the phone rang, she did feel a certain amount of trepidation.

‘Hello,’ a voice said after three rings.

‘Hi, this is Jen Ward, and I—’

‘Ah yes, Amy and George’s little auntie.’

Jen wasn’t sure about the ‘little’, but otherwise she was quite happy with this as a description of her identity.

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘And I have a bit of a favour to ask you.’

‘All right, then. Fire away.’

‘I need a DJ for the Christmas fair.’

Chapter Forty

Jen barely slept.

Everything was ready, in a last-minute, ramshackle, Babblebrook kind of way. It wouldn’t be the event she’d first planned, the smooth and organised fair, with a professional band, professional catering and a professional donkey.

Well, a real donkey, at least.

The gleaming, professional, hiccup-free event that she’d originally envisaged, that was supposed to show Ted what a capable and reliable person she was, it was not. But it was happening, and that was the best she could manage under the circumstances.

She rose when the rest of the family did, the sky still dark, the snow still falling, adrenaline running through her. She had slept fitfully, dreaming of donkeys stampeding around the school hall, eating their way through the food and then breaking into a rendition of ‘Fairytale of New York’.

Shuddering as she remembered, Jen slumped over the kitchen table, pulling George up to her as he scrabbled onto her knee. Dan, looking not unlike a scarecrow with his pyjamas rumpled and hair sticking up, filled the kettle.

‘Coffee?’ he asked, rubbing his eyes.

Jen and Julia spoke at the same time. ‘God, yes.’

He laughed and shook his head. ‘You two really are double trouble, aren’t you?’

Jen grinned. ‘It’s been said before.’

‘All set for today?’ Julia asked Jen, looking at Dan as though he was some kind of god as he placed a mug of coffee in front of her.

Jen shrugged. ‘I mean, yeah, in a last-minute kind of way.’

‘It’s great you’ve pulled this off, I’m so proud of you.’ Julia took a sip and grimaced at the heat. ‘Ted will be well impressed.’

Jen took a gulp of coffee, keeping her mug away from George’s grasping hands. ‘You know, Pat said something funny yesterday. About Ted, about Ted and me, she said – she thinks we should be together! I mean, you know . . .’ She cleared her throat. ‘Like – romantically.’

Her voice had gone strange. She couldn’t remember how to speak properly.

There was a moment of silence, as everyone in the room turned to stare at her. Even Amy, the spoonful of Shreddies hovering in the air in front of her open mouth. Even George, who shifted on her lap to turn and stare at her quizzically, his little hand reaching to pat her cheek.

Jen turned to kiss his warm palm.

‘I mean, it’s crazy, isn’t it?’ She laughed, but somehow it didn’t sound right. ‘It’s – it’s crazy.’

Julia and Dan exchanged a glance. He cleared his throat. ‘Um, I’m just going to – Amy, let’s go and clean your teeth.’