Page 4 of A Merry Little Christmas

Freya stuck her tongue out and Merry hid her amusement. Harley loved to display his superior knowledge where his sister was concerned. ‘I think Christmas lights are magical too, Freya.’

This event was always popular, signalling as it did the start of the festive season, and Merry wouldn’t have skipped it for the world. Cole had been disappointed not to be there, and she was missing him very much. Hopefully, next year, the whole family would be here together, her half-sister Emily and Emily’s boyfriend, Will, too.

Merry, having never known her father’s name or whereabouts after her mother’s suicide, had assumed that she didn’t have any living relatives. When Emily had got in touch last year with her suspicions that they might possibly be related, Merry had been overjoyed. She’d gained a much-loved younger sister, whom she was now close to, despite Emily living in Jersey, and the father she had always wondered about. He suffered with dementia, which had worsened this year, but he was her sole source of information about her mother. Every so often, he’d come out with a tiny snippet about the young woman he’d been in love with and whom Merry had had so briefly in her life. And when he did, she felt as if she was discovering priceless treasure every time.

The thought of all being together warmed her. She slipped a hand inside her coat and felt her bump.

Less than seven weeks until you’re due, little one. My life has changed so much in the last two years, and once you arrive, it’ll change all over again. I hope … well, I hope I’m up to the job, that’s all.

What sort of mother would she be? She wanted to be laid-back and fluster-free, but she had a sneaking suspicion that she might be the sort to be perpetually on the phone to the doctors’ surgery, needing constant reassurance that all was well, holding her face to the baby’s to check it was still breathing, fretting that she was making a bad job of it all.

She felt a tap on her arm and turned to see Fred beside her, looking concerned.

‘OK, love?’ he asked.

She blinked back any telltale tears and mustered up a smile for her beloved father-in-law.

‘Absolutely fine!’ She pulled her hand out from her coat and reached to stroke Otto’s curly head. ‘Wish Cole was here.’

‘Hmm,’ Fred grunted, ‘so do I. He shouldn’t be gadding about overseas, not with you in this condition.’

Merry suppressed her amusement. Fred’s objection was mostly down to the fact that his partner, Astrid, was also ‘gadding about’ with Cole, in Germany. Astrid had recently inherited a Bauernhof – a small farmhouse with land attached – from a distant cousin of her father’s. The letter from the Bavarian solicitor had come so completely out of the blue that Astrid had ignored it, assuming it to be a scam, but after two more had followed, she’d called the office and was told that she had an inheritance in her home town of Schongau, an hour south-west of Munich. It had taken a while for everything to be registered in Astrid’s name and now that it was, she had absolutely no idea what she was going to do with it. Cole had suggested that they go over there together and he’d give her the benefit of his two decades of construction experience and help her decide.

‘Cole’s working, remember,’ she pointed out. ‘And Astrid’s reason for going is valid too. Also, I’m not ill, I’m pregnant.’

‘I don’t know why she doesn’t just sell it,’ Fred grumbled to himself. ‘Wetherley is her home now. Take the money and enjoy it, I say.’

Merry was inclined to agree. She was proud of Cole for offering to advise her oldest friend and mentor, but the timing couldn’t be worse. His own building company was as busy as ever and he was project managing the renovation of their new house, which – as far as Merry was concerned – should be his top priority.

‘Dad was always working when we were little,’ said Harley. ‘He said he regrets that now. So, don’t worry, Merry, I think he’ll be around more for this child.’

Merry marvelled at how mature he was these days. ‘Good to know, but I’m not worried. He’s already a great dad, you two are great kids.’ She nudged him playfully. ‘Most of the time.’

‘I think it’s a boy,’ Freya said sagely. ‘My teacher had a baby boy, and she was always grumpy too.’

Nell gave a snort. ‘Out of the mouths of babes.’

‘I’m not always grumpy, am I?’ Merry asked, mildly offended.

‘Not always. But you do this a lot.’ Freya rolled her eyes comically and let out a huff of exasperation.

‘And you swore at work on Saturday,’ Harley said slyly under his breath.

Merry feigned a gasp. ‘Only a tiny one, and in my defence, I was provoked.’ A customer had entered the shop with three dogs, one of which had cocked its leg against the counter. Not the ideal aroma for a scented candle shop, and bending down to clean it up had not been the ideal job for Merry now that her body resembled a bowling ball.

Harley grinned. ‘Your secret’s safe with me. I might be looking for a pay rise soon, though. If you get my drift.’

‘Cheeky,’ Merry muttered. Not a bad idea actually; it was coming up to twelve months since he’d started working for them, and he was a big help. He’d be needed even more once the baby came, and she didn’t want to lose him to a better-paid job. She made a mental note to chat to Nell about it; they made staffing decisions together.

‘I thought Ray was coming this evening?’ Hester said.

Merry winced. ‘Dad’s got a nasty cough. I popped round to see him in the home earlier. His carer and I agreed it wasn’t a good idea for him to be out in the cold.’

‘And you don’t want to be exposed to any germs either,’ Nell put in. ‘The last thing you need is to catch something.’

‘Quite,’ she agreed. ‘There’s too much to do, I haven’t got time to be ill.’

This time last year, she’d been planning their last-minute wedding. The year before that, she’d taken on the organisation of the town’s Christmas celebrations. She’d hoped that this year would be quieter, but, if anything, life was even busier, especially now her sister was living in Jersey and Merry was the main contact for their father’s care home. His dementia had worsened over the last couple of months; the last two times she’d seen him, he hadn’t known who she was. If she thought about everything too much, she could literally feel her blood pressure spiking.