Chapter 13
HOLLY
My first two days in Birchbrook went by in a whirlwind.
Willow’s dad was ready to head off on his six-week cruise.
I left Willow, Dylan and Adam to say their goodbyes, joined by Maple, and tried not to feel wistful when I saw how affectionate they all were with each other.
Adam’s partner Taylor arrived in a car and there were more well wishes before they finally set off.
I saw Willow wipe away a tear and I knew that wasn’t only down to pregnancy hormones. They were all so close.
I missed having that closeness with my family. I had it with Georgia, but she had her husband. They were a family.
Sometimes, I longed for one of my own.
Later that day, Willow and I went out of town to a garden centre, a homeware shop and a wholesaler’s.
We came back to the farm with so much Christmas décor, it was crazy, plus more was due to be delivered.
I had kept her to the list we’d agreed on so we didn’t buy things that we didn’t need or go over the budget.
There were three things that remained uncertain: the ice rink, her vision for Santa’s sleigh and the idea she had of alpine-style huts that would offer arts and crafts.
I had suggested we focus on the easy things first so we had enough to build a basic winter wonderland that we could hopefully add to and make even better. We needed the bare bones, though.
‘Okay,’ I said as we stood in the polytunnels surrounded by everything we had bought.
‘Let’s get started on building the wonderland from the ground up.
Where is the bark?’ We’d ordered natural bark to cover the ground so it would be soft to walk on and lend a rustic, forest feel to the trail.
We’d also ordered rolls of fake-snow blankets to stick to the outside of the polytunnels and for Christmas scenes inside as well.
‘Here.’ Dylan went over to the pile of bags of bark.
He was able to help us out for a couple of hours.
We pushed the bags in wheelbarrows and Willow poured them out onto the ground, raking the bark out so people could walk on it.
Neither of us wanted Willow to lift the heavy bags but she just rolled her eyes at us.
I had only been at the shops with Willow, the café or on the farm so I hadn’t seen much of the town or anyone in it, which suited me. But I knew my mum would be wondering when I might pop by. I kept pushing that fact to the back of my mind.
‘The fairy lights are coming tomorrow,’ Willow said as she took a break, leaning on her rake. ‘Dylan, we might need you on a ladder to cover the tunnels with the snow blankets and then we might need help draping all the lights inside…’
Dylan let out a puff of air. ‘I have new guests arriving in the cottages tomorrow and I need to do a second coat of paint in the two guest rooms for my dad and brother…’
‘Oh yeah. Well, I’ll have to do it with you, Holly, and don’t say I can’t…’ she added, seeing our concerned faces.
‘Maybe we should hire someone to help with the physical things,’ I suggested, although I knew the budget was in danger of getting completely out of control.
‘We can ask a couple of the lads from town that helped out on the farm in summer,’ Dylan said. ‘We will need a couple of people working full-time when it opens too.’ He looked at Willow. ‘Maybe we should scale this down a bit.’
‘No way!’ she cried. ‘This is going to be a spectacular winter wonderland. And then we can secure our future here. I know I shouldn’t have said anything to the town; I was just excited and got carried away.
I’m trying not to do that as much but sometimes, I just can’t help it.
’ She looked a bit upset when she said that.
‘I know, Willow, I’m just worried about you,’ Dylan said more gently.
‘Have I fucked up?’ Willow asked.
Dylan quickly put his arm around her and she leaned against him.
‘Shall I cancel my family coming to stay?’
‘But I know how much you want to make things up with them,’ she replied, shaking her head.
‘Don’t worry,’ I said firmly. I could tell they were on the verge of cancelling it all.
Maybe I was being selfish but I really wanted this to work.
It felt like my last shot for my business.
‘We can do this,’ I reassured them. ‘I’ve seen your pumpkin patch and summer trail and they both looked great.
They were really popular too. This is the biggest task yet but there’s no reason why we can’t pull it off.
We just need to get a detailed timeline together.
Make sure we know what to do each day and what help we need. ’
‘You really think so?’ Willow asked hopefully.
‘Yes,’ I said, hoping I was telling the truth.
‘I think so too,’ Dylan said. ‘This farm has got so much bigger than we thought possible after the first pumpkin patch; we just need to decide how we can catch up and not overstretch ourselves.’
‘Exactly.’ I smiled at them. At that moment, my phone rang. ‘Wynter Wishes,’ I answered, leaving Dylan giving Willow a hug while I pushed the wheelbarrow back outside to get more bark.
‘Er, hi, it’s Paul.’
‘Oh, hi.’ I stopped. ‘Um, what’s up?’ I cringed inwardly; I didn’t think I’d ever asked that before in my life.
‘Elliot came through. He has a friend who rents synthetic ice rinks for events, and he doesn’t think it’s too expensive. Elliot said he could get the guy to come down to the ice rink this morning if you want to meet him?’
‘Yes, please!’ I cried with relief.
‘Great, I’ll pick you up in half an hour and take you there.’
‘Are you sure you’re free?’
‘Yeah, no worries.’
‘Thank you so much!’
‘Sure.’
He hung up but I didn’t mind the abruptness. This was a huge relief. I ducked back into the polytunnels and told Willow and Dylan the plan.
‘Phew, the ice rink was a big draw to selling tickets, I think,’ Willow said. ‘The one Elliot owns is about an hour’s drive away and there’s no outside rink for miles. The town would love it.’ Then she tilted her head. ‘I can’t believe Paul skates.’
‘I never knew that,’ Dylan agreed. ‘I’ve seen him with Elliot at the pub but didn’t think that’s how they knew each other.’
‘He was a really good skater when we were young,’ I told them. ‘Used to play ice hockey too!’
‘That man is a dark horse,’ Willow said, shaking her head.
‘He never wants to make conversation so I don’t know much about him,’ Dylan added.
‘But he was a big help the first year we did the pumpkin patch after that storm hit,’ Willow said. ‘So, I never join in when people say he should leave town.’
‘They say that?’ I asked, surprised.
‘Only because he always acts like he wants to live anywhere else but here.’
‘That’s just a joke, surely,’ Dylan replied. ‘I’ll owe him a beer if he sorts an ice rink for us.’
I shook off my curiosity about Paul and tried to focus on this event. ‘It’ll be a big expense but we can decide what to do budget-wise after I’ve spoken to the owner. I’ll try to negotiate as much as possible.’
‘I feel so much better,’ Willow said. ‘I’ll get this floor finished before the end of the day and I’ll organise us help to do the roof and lights tomorrow.’ She looked much brighter; her wobble thankfully seemed to have passed.
Dylan gave me a nod. ‘Thanks, Holly.’
I helped them until we heard Paul’s four-by-four on the gravel driveway. I went over and climbed in. ‘I really appreciate this,’ I said as I sat in the passenger seat.
‘It’s fine.’
‘Willow and Dylan had no idea you skate,’ I commented when we’d set off, driving through the open gate of Birch Tree Farm. It was a crisp day today; watery winter sunshine shone down on the car from a clear, blue sky.
‘I guess they wouldn’t,’ he replied, eyes on the road. ‘You were the only one at school who ever saw me so Willow couldn’t have known back then, and I don’t hang out with them now.’
‘You keep yourself to yourself.’
He shrugged. ‘Maybe. I have some mates I have a pint with but I don’t open up that easily.
Sometimes, the town knowing everything you do can be a bit much.
When I was with my girlfriend, I had daily questions about marriage and babies.
’ He rolled his eyes. I couldn’t stop myself from instantly wondering what his ex had been like.
‘I know people just wanted me to be happy but I hated people getting so invested in our relationship. Especially when things became rocky between us.’
‘Oh. So, you’re not together now? Did I used to know her?’ I asked, trying to sound casual as we drove through Birchbrook High Street and out the other side. I hoped I didn’t sound overly interested even though I was dying to know who Paul had gone out with. I had no idea what his type might be.
‘No. She’s a couple of years younger than us; I don’t think you knew her. It’s all over between us.’
A small wave of relief washed over me. ‘I was surprised to see you were still in Birchbrook,’ I ventured then, hoping I didn’t sound judgemental. ‘A nice surprise,’ I quickly added.
Paul glanced at me once before looking back at the road. ‘I guess I’ve thought about leaving, but it’s never been the right time.’
‘I like that you help run the café.’
‘You do?’ He sounded surprised.
‘Sometimes, in the city, if I was in Starbucks or something or if I’d had a bad day, I’d think about the Birchbrook Café.
It was always so comforting. I would imagine I was in there having my favourite hot chocolate and I’d feel a bit better.
’ I turned away, my cheeks heating up. I had no idea why I’d just shared that with him.
He must have thought I was pathetic. I was supposed to have this successful city life but now I’d confessed I wished I was back in his café at times.
There was such a long silence. ‘I didn’t think you thought about…’ Paul started, then he trailed off before clearing his throat… ‘Birchbrook, at all,’ he finished.
‘Of course I did,’ I replied.