Page 40 of A Merry Little Christmas

‘Thank you,’ Merry replied, dangerously close to tears. ‘I’m touched, really.’

‘It all smells amazing,’ said Cole, lifting the lid on the goulash. ‘Shall I put this one in the freezer for now, Merry?’

‘Why not?’ she said, unable to keep the edge out of her voice. ‘I was trying to keep the freezer contents to a minimum as I thought we’d be moving soon, but I guess it doesn’t matter now.’

Fred looked between Cole and Merry and frowned. ‘Is this a bad time? We can leave the food parcel with you and be on our way.’

‘Well …’ Merry began. That was exactly what she wanted; she and Cole needed to finish this conversation and get rid of the tension that crackled between them.

‘It’s not a bad time, Dad. There’s no need for you to go.’ Cole put a hand on his father’s shoulder. ‘We were discussing our moving date, that’s all. It makes sense to stay here until January and things are a bit less busy.’

Astrid caught Merry’s eye and pulled a face. ‘I know you wanted to be in before Christmas, but that does make sense.’

Fred pulled out a chair and sat down heavily. ‘Rubbish. By January, you’ll have a new baby and a second trip to Germany coming up. I’d move heaven and earth to get in now, if I were you, son.’

‘What?’ Merry stiffened and glared at Cole, who squirmed. ‘A second trip?’

‘Thanks, Dad,’ he muttered through gritted teeth.

‘Oops.’ Fred winced. ‘Have I put my size tens in it?’

‘So,’ Merry fumed, ‘you’re off to Germany, leaving me at home with the baby? When were you going to tell me?’

‘This afternoon,’ he said darkly. ‘Which was why I came home early. So imagine my surprise when I walked in to find you getting the house valued behind my back.’

Astrid’s head was swivelling between everyone. ‘This is my fault. I’m sorry. Merry, don’t blame Cole, he is doing this to help me.’

She loved Astrid dearly, but this was between her and Cole. She fixed her husband in her gaze. ‘You’re making it sound more underhand than it is. I was doing it for us.’

‘No, you were doing it because, for some reason, you don’t think I have the best interests of my family at heart anymore. And you feel compelled to take matters into your own hands.’

‘And disappearing off to Germany just after your new baby has been born demonstrates otherwise?’ She was so angry that she could feel a pulse throbbing in her neck. ‘You’d better just hope that your trip doesn’t coincide with my trip to Jersey to see Emily, because you’ll be looking after the baby while I’m away.’

She tilted her chin defiantly and folded her arms. The full effect of her arm folding was diluted thanks to having to balance her forearms on her bump, but still. He got the message.

‘You can’t go away without the baby!’ Cole looked horrified.

‘But apparently you can,’ she retorted. ‘It seems to me that motherhood has a whole different set of rules to fatherhood. I’m not sure I like it.’

‘Too late for that now.’ Cole’s face was as dark as a rain cloud.

‘And don’t I know it.’ Merry pushed herself up from the chair, stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her. ‘Don’t I just bloody know it.’

She stomped upstairs, determined not to cry. This pregnancy was not going to plan at all. She’d had enough of today, she was going to bed and shutting everyone out. Including Cole.

Chapter 15

Nell

It was still dark outside when Nell arrived in Wetherley to open up for the day, but the square was already coming to life. The stallholders in the market joking and calling to each other from the backs of vans or from underneath their tarpaulin covers, clipping Christmas lights and menus and price lists in place for the day. It was a thriving and lively market, a place to find everything, from flowers to food, fabric to footwear, community and camaraderie.

She glanced briefly at the successor to Nell’s Nuts and waved just in case they saw her. It had been a year since she had sold the business; occasionally she missed life as a market trader, but she rarely missed working alone. It had been lonely running a business by herself, and then there were the sub-zero mornings, or, even worse, the wet ones, and finding someone to mind the stall while she went to the loo or to fetch lunch. Working at Merry and Bright was a cushy number by comparison. Inside all day, hot drinks and loos on hand and, of course, the biggest draw, the chance to work with her best friend.

Olek had thought she might miss being her own boss; he said he could never work for anyone else again. Until recently, it hadn’t bothered her. Now, she had her doubts. Merry might have made Nell an equal partner, but since she’d been forced to stay at home and not come to work, it was obvious that Merry still considered herself in charge.

Nell took out the shop keys as she approached the door, considering for the first time since joining Merry and Bright whether her future here might not be so bright after all.

To her surprise, she found the door unlocked, the lights on and the candles behind the counter lit. ‘Hello?’