Chapter 36
The following morning, Noah heard that the power had been restored to the local villages. He felt pleased for the local people that he had met the previous day, especially as it was beginning to turn colder after the storm.
The high winds had yet to die down though and so work on the lodges had to be halted for another day.
He had intended to hunker down in the barn to spend the day working on his boat and yet, as he walked through the entrance hall on his way out, he found Lily and Dotty weaving a Christmas garland up the vast oak staircase.
Remembering his promise to Faye, he swerved into the kitchen instead and picked up the box full of the nativity scene to take with him to the barn.
Once there, he spent a surprisingly enjoyable morning fixing and restoring the figurines, first repairing any damage and then waxing and polishing them.
It was therapeutic to work with any type of wood, he realised.
But also to know that he was giving something back to the family Christmas, as he couldn’t stop himself thinking of the Christmas bauble that he had decorated all those years ago.
The wax brought up the beauty of the original colours and he returned the nativity to Faye, feeling pleased with himself.
She was thrilled. ‘Oh, Noah,’ she cried, when she saw what he had done. ‘It looks like new! Thank you so much!’
Faye had insisted on fixing him a delicious lunch and, buoyed up from good food and seeing the nativity placed on the reception desk in the entrance hall, he headed back to the barn with a spring in his step.
He had already replaced the frame of the hull and was sanding one of the new cedar planks that he had bought for the starboard side of the boat when the door to the barn opened later that afternoon.
‘Hi,’ said Beth, stepping inside before quickly closing the door behind her.
‘Hey,’ he said. ‘Thought you were prepping for your next stargazing event at the weekend.’
After the success of the meteor shower viewing, a special Christmas-themed stargazing night had been hastily arranged for that Friday night.
‘I think I’m pretty much ready,’ she replied, wandering over to a nearby stool to sit down. ‘Faye wanted you to taste the latest batch of Christmas biscuits,’ she said, bringing out a parcel wrapped in a napkin. ‘And she’s still raving about how good the nativity scene looks.’
Noah shrugged his shoulders. ‘It wasn’t much effort,’ he told her, trying to resist the aroma of the spiced cookies that he knew would be delicious. ‘If I have any more of her lovely biscuits or desserts, I’m not going to fit into my jeans.’
‘I know the feeling,’ said Beth, nodding.
Noah ran a brief eye over her long legs, encased that day in bright pink thick tights and a short black miniskirt, before trying to concentrate on the sanding once more.
‘What are you working on?’ she asked.
‘The starboard side,’ he told her.
‘Did you know that the port side was named because it literally was the nearest part of the boat to the port so allowed supplies to be taken onboard easily?’
Noah looked up at Beth. ‘Are you changing your studies to concentrate on maritime now?’ he asked.
She laughed. ‘I was just interested, that’s all.’
He really had never met anyone like Beth, with her thirst for knowledge and wonder, he never knew quite what she was going to say next. He found it both baffling but also interesting at the same time.
Beth shivered. ‘It’s colder out here today.’ She leant over and wrapped his scarf around her neck. ‘That’s better. You don’t mind, do you?’
‘Be my guest,’ he replied, thinking that the burgundy colour suited her.
‘I don’t mind the cold if I’m dressed for it,’ said Beth, before picking up a biscuit and taking a bite. ‘You should have seen me in Canada a couple of years ago. I had so many layers on I couldn’t bend my legs to sit down.’
‘Canada?’ he asked.
‘Churchill,’ she told him. ‘It’s great for dark skies.
You just have to make sure you don’t bump into a polar bear on your way home.
’ She finished the biscuit before carrying on.
‘Did you know that polar bear skins are black? It helps them absorb the heat from the sun. And their fur is actually translucent. It only appears white because it reflects visible light.’
She broke into a wide smile and he was reminded just how beautiful she was.
‘There’s a lot of time for studying when it’s dark twenty hours of the day,’ she carried on. ‘Am I annoying you?’
‘No,’ he told her truthfully. ‘I’ve kind of got used to you chatting away.’
She brought a warmth with her that automatically made a person feel happier, he realised. She only ever spoke the truth and what was on her mind. It was refreshing, the lack of lies. It made him trust her and he never trusted anyone. Until now.
‘Plus you brought snacks so…’ He let his voice trail off.
‘I know the way to a man’s heart,’ she joked, holding out the napkin for him to take a biscuit.
‘Through his stomach?’ he asked.
Beth nodded. ‘Exactly. Especially if Faye or Hannah are doing the baking. They’re making the Christmas cake in the kitchen. I’m deemed a liability near any kind of baking so I left them to it. I can’t believe Christmas is just around the corner. I haven’t even thought about any presents yet.’
‘What’s on your letter to Santa this year?’ asked Noah.
Beth inclined her head, temporarily deep in thought. ‘I can’t decide,’ she told him. ‘Between a woolly hat or some new thermal underwear.’
‘Thermal underwear?’ Noah laughed. ‘That’s not very sexy.’
‘I can’t ask Santa for sexy underwear!’ replied Beth, blushing. ‘What would the elves think?’
Right now, Noah was trying to suppress his own thoughts from considering Beth’s underwear.
‘So either could arrive in your Christmas stocking?’ he asked, quickly changing the subject.
Beth’s good mood appeared to fade a little. ‘I wouldn’t know,’ she told him. ‘I’ve never had one.’
He looked at her for a moment. ‘Really?’
Even his own father had managed to stick some chocolate and cheap plastic tat inside an even cheaper stocking when he had been growing up. Perhaps not every year but at least he had experienced receiving a Christmas stocking.
‘We always had a present under the tree in whatever children’s home I was housed in at that time, so that was nice,’ said Beth, trying and failing to look cheerful.
‘But stockings never seemed to be a thing. So I always made my own. Sewed together two pieces of red felt and put a new pen and a couple of chocolates in there from the kitchen. Then I placed it at the bottom of my bed on Christmas Eve.’ She frowned.
‘Silly now I come to think of it. I always knew what was in there. I guess I was still hoping Santa was real.’
His heart ached for her in that moment.
‘Wait a minute, Santa’s not real?’ said Noah, in a mock shocked tone, hoping to cheer her up. It worked as Beth’s face lit up.
‘Don’t say I’ve ruined Christmas for you! I’ll never forgive myself!’ she said, laughing. ‘How will I ever make it up to you?’
For a second, he was going to suggest a kiss. It had been on his mind for some time, those fake kisses in front of Jeremy. Although there was nothing fake about Beth, especially her soft lips.
‘Give me a biscuit and we’ll call it even,’ he said, forcing away the urge to take her in his arms and find out what it was like to kiss Beth when there was nobody about.