Page 18 of Winter Wishes at Pennycress Inn

‘Thank you. I really appreciate it.’ Scarlett smiled.

‘And who have we got here?’ Charlie walked over to Nicola, kissing her on the cheek before peering inside Thelma’s cage. ‘Another guest?’

‘This is Thelma, my guinea pig.’ Scarlett frowned, realising it was the first time she’d referred to Thelma as hers, but she supposed she now was. It wasn’t as though Tyler was coming looking for her, and it wasn’t as though she’d give her up either. Not to go back to the sorry existence she had been living. She just hoped Charlie wouldn’t mind having Thelma to stay as well. Nicola had assured her he wouldn’t, but still, it was a lot to ask.

‘Fantastic. I used to have guinea pigs as a kid. I’ll have to hunt the old photos out. I’m sure I have some.’ Charlie grinned, his eyes shining at his childhood memory.

‘You did?’ Scarlett asked, her body flooding with relief.

‘I sure did. I had five at one point. Mind you, we’d only bought four from the woman down the road and then one day I went down to the shed at the bottom of the garden to feed them and lo and behold another one had appeared.’ Charlie took a sip of his coffee.

‘Now tell her what you told me.’ Nicola nudged his arm and grinned.

‘Oh, yes.’ Charlie rubbed the back of his neck as a pink hue formed across his cheeks. ‘I may have screamed the place down thinking it was a mouse before I realised what was going on.’

‘Haha. I can’t imagine what a baby guinea pig would look like. It must have been really sweet.’ Scarlett laughed.

‘It was.’ Turning to Nicola, Charlie raised his eyebrow. ‘Hey, we should get our kids guinea pigs.’

‘We should.’ Nicola smiled before standing on her tiptoes and kissing him on the lips. ‘When we have them.’

Scarlett shuffled from foot to foot, unsure whether she should head upstairs and leave them to discuss their future family plans, or stick around.

Stepping back, Charlie held his mug up slightly. ‘Right, I’ll pop the kettle back on while you get settled.’

‘Thanks.’ Following Nicola up the stairs, Scarlett glanced back down towards the now empty hallway. That’s what she’d wanted, a partner who thought the world of her, someone who had wanted to start a family with her. She and Tyler had even discussed it, getting married and having children. He’d told her he’d wanted three, the same as her, only he’d omitted he’d already made a start on the trio, and he already had a wife to boot.

‘Here we go.’ Nicola pushed open a door at the top of the landing with her hip before standing back and letting Scarlett through first.

Stepping inside, Scarlett walked across to the ivory metal bed and dropped her bags on it as she looked around. The room had been painted a pale yellow at some point in the past, in the distant past if the way the paint was peeling around the lead-paned lattice window was anything to go by, and the dark floorboards had been covered with various rugs all a different shade of blue, presumably to cover the fact the floorboards were in need of repolishing. On either side of the bed stood two pine chests of drawers, each with a small lamp sitting in the middle. Altogether, the room exuded a country farmhouse charm.

‘It’s a bit rough and ready, I’m afraid. We’ve begun decorating, but as you can see we’ve not got as far as this room.’ Nicola bit down on her lower lip.

Turning, Scarlett grinned. ‘It’s beautiful. Really farmhouse-y.’

Laughing, Nicola placed Thelma’s cage down at the far side of the room. ‘That’s one way to put it.’

‘It’s perfect and thank you so much for letting me stay. Thelma too.’ Scarlett indicated the guinea pig who, having sensed the new location, had begun to slowly emerge from the mound of bedding.

‘You’re very welcome. The heating’s on, so hopefully you’ll warm up soon.’ Nicola knelt down next to Thelma’s cage. ‘Oh, you’re coming out to say hello now, are you?’

‘Would you mind if I let her roam for a little sometimes, please? Just when I’m in the room?’ Scarlett shrugged off her rucksack before letting it drop to the bed with the other bags she’d brought. ‘I began letting her roam in the camper before I’d bought this cage for her, and although this one is bigger than the one she had previously, I hate to think of her stuck in there all the time.’

‘She can definitely free roam in here.’ Standing back up, Nicola turned on the spot, searching the room. ‘I think the only wires to worry about are the ones to the lamps, and I don’t think there are any small spaces she could go and get stuck in, so as long as you tuck the wires up out of reach she should be fine.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes, of course. Plus, it’s not as though we’ve got new carpet in here or anything, so it’s all easily cleaned if need be.’ Nicola laughed.

‘Great. Thank you. She’ll love that.’ Scarlett grinned.

‘Right, I’ll let you two settle in then. I’ve got to get back to Pennycress, and Charlie is likely out working on something or other by now so just help yourself to drinks, food, the TV, anything.’

‘Okay great. Thank you.’ Scarlett nodded. She had a feeling she was going to like staying here. Despite not knowing her long, she could already tell Nicola would become a firm friend.

12

Wiping up the remaining ketchup smeared across her plate with the last of her toast, Scarlett popped it into her mouth. She could get used to this – a full English to start the day. It certainly put to shame the little pots of oats she poured hot water into before stirring, which were her usual breakfast staple in the van. ‘That was delicious, thank you.’