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Everyone had a job, she thought with satisfaction. They really could make this work. She held her empty teacup aloft in a toast.
“Here’s to the Bluebell Inn’s first ever Christmas Week!”
CHAPTER5
SARAH
As they drove away from the Bluebell Inn, Mairi and Owen chattered away in the backseat, clearly buzzing with ideas. Owen wanted to create an ice-skating rink in the pond that had once been touted as a potential swimming hole.
“But what if it’s not below freezing?” Mairi asked, and Owen started googling how to freeze your own ice rink.
“We could rent a chiller and a compressor,” he read off his phone. “Or you can get anecorink, where it’s not actually ice at all, but you can still skate on it.”
Both options sounded ridiculously and prohibitively expensive, Sarah thought, but chose not to say. She didn’t want to dampen her kids’ enthusiasm, or pour any more cold water over Ellie’s big idea, even if she still had her doubts. She would do her best to enter into the spirit of the thing, although her own spirits were flagging. It would be good to have a project, and like Ellie, she really did want the inn to succeed, even if there were other, more personal matters on her mind
Yesterday, she’d suggested a meal out to Nathan, and he’d agreed to go to a nearby pub together tonight. It wasn’t the fancy meal Sarah had been hoping for, but at least it would be a chance to talk, after another week of him arriving home late most nights. It could be the restart they both needed, she told herself as she drove to the football pitch where Ben had his Saturday practice, dropping him off before taking Mairi to the stables.
“I don’t have a lot of time,” her daughter warned her as Sarah parked. “I’ve gotsomuch revision to do.”
While she was glad Mairi was intent on studying, Sarah had noticed that her daughter seemed to have plenty of time to watch TikTok videos or message her friends. She held her tongue, though, hoping that once Mairi had groomed Mabel, she’d want to ride her.
Sure enough, Mairi decided she had time for a quick ride while Sarah went in search of Trina, determined to present a brighter front than she had last week. When she found Trina, however, her friend looked so harried that Sarah forgot all about wanting to seem put together herself.
“Trina?” she asked. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, I suppose,” Trina replied, blowing out a breath as she swept her curly gray hair from her eyes. “Just trying to keep everything afloat, and sometimes that gets a bit tricky.”
“Does it?” The stable yard had always seemed a busy, bustling place to Sarah. “What’s the problem?”
“A few clients have withdrawn their horses,” Trina told her on a sigh. “Not because of anything I’ve done, mind, but, as you know, circumstances change. One family’s moving, another one has decided to sell their horse because of the expense. You know how it is.” She gave a little shrug of her shoulders. “I’ve also lost one of my instructors for the Riding for the Disabled program, so I’m going to have stop running it, which is a real shame. They were understanding about it, but the nearest program is in Chepstow.”
“That’s miles away,” Sarah replied in sympathy. She’d seen the program in session when she’d come to the stables some afternoons; the look of joy on the children’s faces when they sat astride a horse, feeling powerful and fast, often for the first time, had been wonderful to see, and, in Sarah’s mind, an important part of the yard. “I’m so sorry, Trina.”
Trina shrugged, determined to be philosophical. “Well, easy come, easy go. You’ve got to be flexible in this business, always ready to think of something new.”
“I think you need to be flexible in most businesses, these days,” Sarah remarked wryly, thinking of the inn. The only constant in life, she thought, was change.
“In any case…” Trina paused. “I’m thinking of retiring. I’m not getting any younger, and I don’t have anyone to take over the stables. I might have to close, but it’s been a good run, hasn’t it?” She gave a rather crooked smile.
“Close?” Sarah looked at her in deep dismay. She’d been coming to this stables ever since she was a little girl—first to ride herself, and then with Mairi. Trina’s mother had run it before her.
“I know it would be disappointing, but there are plenty of farms around that would be willing to stable a horse. You shouldn’t have to worry about Mabel.”
“Yes, but—”
“Anyway.” Trina spoke firmly, clearly as loath to talk about what was wrong, just as Sarah had been last week. “How are you? Things looking up since last week?” Her smile was kind, her gaze shrewd.
“Well… yes.” Sarah gave her friend a determined smile as she thought of tonight’s dinner with Nathan. “Yes, I think they are.”
Just after seven that evening, Sarah was changing into a silky top and her nicest pair of jeans while Nathan waited downstairs. She glanced in the mirror in ruthless inspection—was that a strand of gray in her auburn hair? Actually, Sarah realized as she peered closer to study her reflection, it was more like two or three strands, or maybe even four or five. She’d always been a bit proud of her hair—a long, thick mane of auburn waves that fell halfway to her waist and hadn’t had a bit of gray—until now. Well, she told herself in pragmatic resignation, it had to happen sometime. She’d been lucky to escape the inevitable thus far.
Otherwise, she still looked pretty good for forty-six—a trim figure, a few crow’s feet by her blue eyes, but nothing too much to worry about yet. She kept herself in good shape, which she knew Nathan liked.
A sudden shaft of annoyance had her stilling. Why was she thinking like this, as if she had to impress her husband just to keep him interested? As if it was all up to her? It was the kind of attitude she would normally have derided, and yet she found herself falling into it now without even realizing, simply out of fear.
And what exactly are you afraid of, Sarah?
“Sarah?” Nathan’s voice floated up the stairs, mild enough, but Sarah thought she heard a slight edge of impatience to it. “Are you ready? Our reservation is in ten minutes.”
