Page 8 of Yule Party on Sunflower Street

‘Me too.’ Tara smiled.

‘So our landlord wasn’t boring you?’ Sadie asked.

‘No, not at all. He seems a bit anti-Christmas, but then I saw the way he was smiling at the tree.’

‘Perhaps he wants to hate Christmas but deep down, he likes it.’ Sadie waggled her eyebrows.

‘I think you could be right.’

‘I’m rather peckish now,’ Sadie said. ‘Shall we grab some food?’

‘Yes, please.’ Tara licked her lips. ‘What shall we have?’

‘Let’s go and take a look.’ Sadie held out her arm and Tara took it then they walked over to the food stalls, while the choir’s glorious voices rang out across the green and the tree glittered in the darkness.

5

TARA

Tara walked slowly around the shop. Her stomach was filled with butterflies and she hugged herself, caught between excitement and nerves. This mattered immensely to her and to Sadie. They’d talked about doing this for years; a shared dream that they’d finally turned into reality using their time, energy and their savings.

Tinsel and Twine smelt of spiced cinnamon and fresh pine, scents that evoked the mood of the festive season. Every shelf was adorned with ornaments, candles, toys and tinsel. In the bay windows, the fir trees stood waiting, their lights ready to be switched on for the grand opening tomorrow. Above her head, a canopy of greenery and glitter made the shop feel like a magical Christmas grotto.

Their parents had arrived in Wisteria Hollow that afternoon and were renting a cottage in the village, so they’d be on hand to help their daughters over the Christmas period.

They were taking Tara and Sadie out for dinner to celebrate, so Sadie had gone upstairs to the flat to get ready. Tara had wanted to do one more sweep of the shop to make sure they hadn’t missed anything, then she’d go and get changed.

She went to the door and opened it then gazed out at the street. Lights twinkled against the gathering gloom and the chilly air was laced with woodsmoke and festive spices from the bakery. She hadn’t had much of an opportunity to walk around the village yet because they’d been so busy since they arrived, but she was looking forward to seeing more of it when things settled down a bit.

She was about to close the door when her phone buzzed on the counter. It was just a message from the bank telling her that her latest bank statement was available to view online. She rolled her eyes, not keen to check it right now, and put her phone down.

Rustling from under one of the Christmas trees made her jump so she went to investigate it. And there, under the tree, was a squirrel decoration. She reached for it, intending on hanging it back on the tree, when a black-and-white shape got there first and snatched the squirrel up in its mouth.

‘Oh no,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘Is that you again, Willy?’

The cat darted out from under the tree and raced to the door. He paused on the threshold as if taunting her then ran off.

‘Bloody kleptomaniac cat!’ she muttered as she closed the door. He’d been back a few times since his initial visit and seemed to take something away with him every time.

When she turned back to the shop, she noticed that he’d knocked another decoration off the tree so she crouched down and tried to reach it, but it was too far underneath. She lay down on the floorboards and stretched as far as she could while trying not to upset the water in the tree’s stand.

A gust of cold air washed over her, but with her head under the tree, she couldn’t see where it had come from.

‘I really don’t think you should take a nap like that.’ A deep male voice made her swear under her breath.

She shuffled backwards, but as she moved, her hair got caught in the lower branches and she found herself stuck.

‘I… uhm… I can’t quite…’ She let the sentence hang in the air, mortification tingling in her cheeks.

‘Are you stuck?’ This time the voice seemed tinged with amusement.

‘Y-yes.’ She reached around to her hair, but it seemed to be wrapped around the branches.

‘Shall I see if I can free you?’

Nooooo…

She tried again to untangle her hair, but it was well and truly stuck.