Chapter 17
17
Dylan was still rueing his bad luck the next morning. Thanks to Avery’s quick actions they’d got Theo back to their room without disaster and once he’d lain down with the window open and a cool flannel on his forehead the sudden bout of queasiness had eased off. Dylan didn’t have it in him to be annoyed with his son. The poor kid had been ready to die with embarrassment even after many reassurances that it wasn’t a big deal and no one would think less of him.
‘At least you didn’t puke on the table,’ Avery had told him in a somewhat tactless attempt at reassurance. ‘Cos that would’ve been really humiliating.’
Dylan had shooed her off to bed at the point, leaving Theo in peace shortly afterwards with an emergency bowl on his bedside table that he’d hastily emptied some pretty dried flowers from. It was probably an antique, but Dylan had figured he could negotiate a family discount if anything happened to it, and better one bowl than the lovely bedsheets, or the carpet.
In the end the bowl hadn’t been required and a slightly delicate, still repentant Theo had emerged from his room the next morning no worse for wear. Mention of breakfast had made him pull a face so Dylan had decided the best thing to do was to get him out in the fresh air. They’d spent most of their time cooped up in the hall and it was a glorious blue-sky morning so they might as well get out and explore. Avery had been happy to wait to eat, with the promise of a breakfast bap at the café later, so they’d piled on their warm layers and headed out.
Dylan stuck his head in the lounge door on the off chance, but there was no sign of Sadie so he decided to leave it for now. He’d thought he might have blown it when she’d moved her leg away from his the evening before, but there’d been no mistaking the heat in her eyes when she’d told him how much she enjoyed his company. Even if they never progressed beyond what they had now, it was still nice to spend time around a woman he felt attracted to again. He’d almost forgotten what it was like.
Following his split with Jen there had been one or two awkward incidents with a couple of the mothers in the neighbourhood who had wrongly assumed arranging a play date between their children might lead to something else. After letting them down as gently as possible, he’d left those arrangements for Jen to sort out and stuck to escorting the children to group activities. In the end, he’d kind of got used to his own company and with the kids in the mix he just hadn’t felt like starting anything serious. They’d adapted well enough to Eric coming into the family but adding someone else might have upset the delicate balance they’d all achieved.
Flirting with Sadie didn’t carry the same edge of risk. Not only were the kids older, there was no way of carrying anything on beyond the next couple of weeks as they’d both be returning to their own lives. Long-distance relationships rarely worked out so just getting to know her better, having someone to chat to and feel a bit coupley with for things like going into dinner, would be more than enough for him. He wondered if she liked to dance. He’d always loved dancing and that was one of the things he’d truly missed when he and Jen had split up. He hoped he’d get the chance to find out.
By the time they’d made it across to The Old Stable Yard, Theo was fully recovered and declared himself starving as they entered the café. Christmas lights sparkled everywhere, and from hidden speakers Brenda Lee was urging them to rock around the Christmas tree. Though it wasn’t much past the ten o’clock daily opening time, the café was already busy so Dylan sent the kids to claim one of the last remaining tables while he queued up to place their order. The woman behind the till smiled at him. Then her eyes widened and she really looked at him. She shook her head when she realised she was staring. ‘Sorry, you just look very familiar.’
‘Being the younger brother of the owners will do that,’ he said with a grin. ‘I’m Dylan.’
Her face broke into a broad smile. ‘Of course you are! Zap was only in here yesterday saying how lovely it had been seeing you again after all this time. I’m Sandra. Now, what can I get for you?’
‘It’s lovely to meet you, Sandra. Can I have three bacon and egg rolls, a large cappuccino, an apple juice and a hot chocolate, please?’ He paused then added, ‘I assume you know what Zap likes to drink? Can I pay for a large one of those and I’ll pick up a takeaway on our way out.’
‘Of course. He’s partial to a latte and he was eyeing up the date and pecan slices yesterday.’
Dylan had to give her credit for the upsell. ‘Then I’ll take one of those for him as well.’
Breakfast done, they returned to the counter to collect the takeaway items and Dylan led them across the courtyard to the distillery. A small queue trailed out of the door and Dylan edged past them to have a look. Zap was standing at a counter near the display stands, wrapping a couple of bottles. Hope was next to him, processing the sales. ‘I’m not buying anything,’ Dylan said to the woman standing nearby who was giving him a ‘you’d better not be pushing in’ look. ‘Just dropping something off.’ She raised a suspicious eyebrow but turned towards her companion and Dylan took the chance to get past her and went to stand at the end of the counter where he wouldn’t be in the way.
Zap looked over, his face lighting up when he saw Dylan. He handed over the wrapped bottles then abandoned his post to come over. ‘Hello! This is a nice surprise.’
‘Rubbish timing on my part,’ Dylan said. ‘I didn’t think about you having customers. I just wanted to introduce you to the kids and leave you this.’ He put the coffee and the little pastry in its brown paper bag on the counter. ‘Sandra assures me they’re your favourites.’
‘Oh, lovely,’ Zap said after peeking inside the bag. ‘And there’s no such thing as rubbish timing when it comes to family.’ He smiled at Avery and Theo, who were standing just off to Dylan’s left. ‘Aren’t you two a sight for sore eyes? I must say I was looking forward to meeting you both later but this is such a treat.’ He held out his hand. ‘You must be Theo.’
‘Hello, Uncle Zap. This place is amazing! Do you really make your own stuff?’
‘I do. I can give you a tour if you like? You’ll have to wait until the queue calms down a bit, but I’d love to show you around.’
‘That would be great, thanks!’
‘I’m Avery! Can I look around too?’
‘Of course you can, my darling,’ Zap said, beaming at her. ‘You can help me come up with a new flavour idea if you like. How about that?’ And just like that, Zap had them eating out of the palm of his hand.
Dylan noticed Hope glance over and, not wanting to interrupt while the children were peppering Zap with questions, he slipped past his brother and took his place behind the counter. ‘Am I wrapping this for you?’ he asked the woman, indicating the bottle Hope had just rung through.
‘No, I have a bag already, thank you.’ She lifted it onto the counter and held open the handles to display several other items she must’ve purchased at the workshops outside.
With a careful hand, Dylan moved a couple of things aside to make a gap and slid the bottle inside. ‘How’s that?’
‘Lovely, thanks. Merry Christmas!’
‘Merry Christmas to you too!’
‘You’ll do me out of a job,’ his brother said with a laugh as he returned to his post. ‘I’ve suggested you all come back in about an hour and things should’ve quietened down by then.’
‘Can I stay?’ Theo asked.
Dylan shook his head. ‘We’ll come back as Zap suggested. I thought you wanted to look around the workshops and the market stalls.’
‘It’s no bother if the lad wants to stay,’ Zap said. ‘I’m always happy to exploit a bit of child labour.’
Dylan laughed. ‘Well, it’s up to you.’ He glanced down at Avery. ‘What about you?’
‘I want to look for a gift for Mom and Eric.’
‘All right, then.’ He raised a finger towards Theo. ‘No touching anything unless your uncle says it’s okay and no sampling the products.’ He added a wink to the last bit.
‘This is nice, Dad,’ Avery said a bit later, snuggling into his side as they strolled between the little wooden huts of the Christmas market that had been erected next to the café.
Dylan put his arm around her shoulders. ‘It’s lovely getting to spend a little time just the two of us, isn’t it?’
‘I hope everyone else is as nice as Uncle Zap this evening,’ she said, her voice a little quieter.
‘Are you nervous about meeting the rest of the family? I don’t think there’s any need to be as you’ve met most of them already.’
‘I know, but there’ll be a lot of people there all at once.’
Dylan led her over to an unoccupied picnic table that had been set up near the food stalls and they sat down. ‘You’ve met a lot of new people over the past couple of days. Is it getting a bit much?’ Avery was so cheerful and friendly it was hard to remember sometimes that she was still so young.
‘I’m having a good time,’ Avery protested.
‘I didn’t say you weren’t.’ Dylan reached out to stroke her hair. ‘But it’s okay if you’re feeling a little bit anxious too.’ He glanced over the crowded stalls. ‘Would you rather wait until it’s quieter to look for something for your mom?’
She shook her head. ‘No, it’s not that. I just know how important this is for you and I don’t want to make a mistake or say the wrong thing.’
Oh, hell. Dylan scooted closer so he could put his arms around her. ‘You are the kindest, most thoughtful lovely girl in the world.’ He kissed the top of her head then pulled back so he could look down at her. ‘You don’t have to be anyone other than yourself, not tonight, not any time. You are not responsible for me and you are definitely not responsible for making sure I make up with everybody, okay?’ When she bit her lip, Dylan leaned in to kiss her temple. ‘You saw just now how everything was with your uncle Zap, right?’
‘He’s really funny,’ Avery said with a smile. ‘Do you really think he’ll let me make a new flavour?’
‘I’m sure he will. And your uncle Ziggy is just a quieter version of him. You like Hope, Ben and the others, yes?’ She nodded, quickly. ‘Then I promise there isn’t anything to worry about. I’ll make a deal with you, okay? We’ll go and check it out tonight but, if at any point it feels like it’s too much and you want to leave, then you let me know and I’ll take you straight back to the hotel. I promise you no one will get upset because, like your uncle Zap said just now, there’s no such thing as rubbish timing when it comes to family.’
Avery leaned against him. ‘I love you, Dad. I just want you to be happy.’
He folded his arms around her. ‘I’m already the happiest man in the world because I have you and your brother, so, please, no more worrying about me. Come on, now, let’s go and find something nice for your mom.’
The children had a blast with Zap as he showed them around the distillery. Avery was overwhelmed by the choice of different ingredients in the stock room and couldn’t settle on an idea for a new flavour but she promised to think about it. Dylan found time to have a quiet word with Hope and forewarn her about Avery’s anxiety about dinner. She was completely understanding and promised to talk to Stevie so between the three of them they’d be able to keep an eye on her and not let things drag on too late into the evening.
When they returned to the hall there was still no sign of Sadie – in fact there was no sign of anyone other than Marcus, who was sitting in the corner of the lounge deeply engrossed in a book. Dylan tried not to feel too disappointed. He just hoped she didn’t think he was avoiding her. As soon as that thought occurred to him, he wished it hadn’t because then he started to worry that perhaps she was avoiding him . He couldn’t just lurk around waiting for her to appear because that would definitely put her off! Resigned to sorting things out at a later date, Dylan followed Theo and Avery upstairs, where he’d promised them a couple of hours of screen time before they headed back out for dinner.
Just after six they were back downstairs and this time there were more signs of life. Stevie and Rowena had arranged to give them a lift across to the farmhouse so the three of them waited in the hallway in one of the seating nooks. They weren’t waiting long before Rowena swept through the door that led to the spa, her smile lighting up when she saw them. ‘Give me five minutes and I’m all yours! Any sign of Stevie yet?’
Dylan shook his head. ‘Not yet, but no rush, I know you’ve both got a lot going on.’
‘She’s probably in the office and forgotten the time. I’ll go and chivvy her along.’
It took ten more minutes before they were both ready. ‘I’m parked around the back,’ Stevie said, still in the process of tugging on her coat, her handbag dangling from her elbow.
‘Here.’ Dylan took hold of her collar and helped her settle her coat on her shoulders.
‘Thank you.’
They were passing the stairs when they saw Sadie descending and Dylan paused. ‘I’ll catch you up.’
‘Off out somewhere?’ Sadie asked as she drew level with him.
‘It’s the big family reunion dinner. I think I mentioned it the other day.’
‘Oh, yes, that’s right. Well, have a lovely time. Will you be back for the entertainment later? It’s some sort of Moulin Rouge-style show, apparently.’
He’d forgotten all about it. ‘I’m not sure what time we’ll be back.’
‘Dylan?’ Stevie called from the far end of the corridor.
‘I’m coming.’ He turned back to Sadie. ‘I’ve got to go. Can we catch up tomorrow some time?’
She smiled. ‘Of course. I’ll be in the conservatory before breakfast and after that I’ll be in the lounge. I’ve got a couple of pears I need to finish off ready for the tree.’
‘I’ll find you,’ he promised. ‘Sorry, I’ve got to run. Between last night and tonight, we have the worst timing.’
‘We’ll work it out. Go, go!’ She shooed him away, her laughter following him down the corridor.
Dylan caught up with the others, ignoring the pointed look from his sister as she held the door open for him. ‘Everything okay?’ she asked.
‘Everything’s great, thanks.’
‘Hmm.’