Chapter 1 #3
A few seconds later Zara came running downstairs in her school uniform, which was already showing signs of being outgrown, her nose buried in a book as soon as her feet touched the bottom stair.
This book was about an evil uncle coming up with a several different ways to kill off his nieces and nephew in order to get the inheritance.
Alex sometimes worried about some of the darker themes in the books Zara read but apparently lots of kids at school were reading the same ones so she tried to be cool about it.
Alex tried to remember what kind of book she was reading at Zara’s age.
She’d liked the Famous Five, Secret Seven and, while Enid Blyton never bumped anyone off, there were some hairy scrapes the kids got themselves into so she supposed this wasn’t really that different.
At seven years old – or nearly eight, as Zara liked to tell anyone who asked – she had a reading age of someone a few years older. She was also wise beyond her years.
Sometimes Alex could have very mature conversations with her about very adult topics, like the environment or things that were happening in the news, and she was so knowledgeable about wildlife that she’d often taught Alex things she hadn’t known.
It was so easy to forget Zara was only seven but then she’d get excited about making cakes with sprinkles or Santa coming and Alex remembered that, behind all that maturity, she was still a little girl.
Zara sat down on the bottom step to pull her boots on, while still reading the book on her lap.
With her dark hair and sky-blue eyes, Zara was looking more and more like her dad every day.
Alex wondered whether Zara saw that when she looked in the mirror and whether it made her sad.
She hadn’t even turned four when Liam had died and Alex didn’t think Zara had really understood to start with – she hadn’t even cried.
When she’d been told, she’d just nodded and went back outside to play in the garden.
It had only been after a week or so that Zara started asking when Daddy was coming home and Alex had to explain that he never was.
And that was when the tears started. Zara had adored her dad.
But the grieving process didn’t last long.
Apparently in younger children, they just dealt with it and moved on.
Alex often wondered if she should do more to preserve Liam’s memory, other than the photos that were displayed around the house.
Maybe she should talk about him more, play the videos of them together more often.
But the eighteen months prior to his death had been difficult to say the least and when she remembered him she remembered that, rather than the happier times.
She never wanted to say anything negative about Liam to Zara so she avoided talking about him at all and she felt guilty about that.
Although her guilt stretched far beyond that.
The night he died, they’d had a massive row and he’d stormed out, drunk, and half hour later he’d crashed his car into a tree.
She’d never told anyone apart from Immy about that because she knew they would point the finger of blame at her.
And she knew that was part of the reason she never wanted to talk about him.
What would she say if Zara asked how her dad had died?
But thankfully, Zara didn’t talk about him either so it hadn’t come up.
Alex felt bad for Liam that his daughter never missed him. But then maybe Zara didn’t need her dad because Quinn, Liam’s older brother, was round the house every day. He was such a massive part of their lives.
Right on cue, there was a knock on the back door and, when she turned round, Quinn was letting himself in.
Her heart leapt at the sight of him as it always did.
He had Liam’s looks in a way, dark hair, blue eyes.
Although Quinn’s eyes were more the colour of the sea than the sky, with hints of green and gold.
Sharing the same facial features, they were undoubtedly brothers but Quinn definitely carried that hotter older brother look.
The look he gave her made her stomach clench with desire.
It was as if he wanted to do rude and wonderful things to her.
Well, that was what she liked to tell herself he was thinking, which was a harmless little fantasy.
He’d always looked at her with that intensity that made her feel weak, when clearly it meant nothing.
He’d never showed any sign of having feelings for her while she was completely in love with him.
In fact, she’d tried to kiss him once a few months after Liam died and he very kindly but firmly turned her down.
Sadly, it didn’t change how she felt. She knew it was completely inappropriate as he was Liam’s brother but she couldn’t help these feelings.
‘Hey,’ Quinn said, staring at her as if she was the only person in the world. If only that was true. ‘You look… beautiful.’
‘Oh. Thank you.’
‘Hi,’ Immy said, dragging Quinn’s attention away from Alex. He gave Immy a wave. Immy’s dog, Jacob, who was also in love with Quinn, scrabbled round him with excitement as if he hadn’t seen him in months. Quinn bent down and scratched between his ears.
Alex pushed away romantic thoughts because she’d be mortified if he ever found out about her feelings for him. ‘Morning, did you want a tea or coffee or juice?’
Alex knew he wouldn’t say yes to a hot drink as he wouldn’t have time to drink it if he was going to walk Zara to school.
Although that technically wasn’t what happened when he and Zara left the house together, he just ‘happened’ to be going the same way.
Zara was desperate to walk to school on her own, just like her friends did, and so Alex had said yes and Quinn had conveniently turned up every morning on his way past their house heading towards the main town, explaining that the school was on his route.
Zara hadn’t cottoned on yet to what they were doing, she was just happy to spend some time with her favourite uncle.
‘Yeah, apple juice if you’ve got it. I haven’t got long. I have to go into town to collect some more metal.’
‘I see I didn’t get offered any juice,’ Immy said.
‘Because you live here, I’m pretty sure you’re capable of getting your own juice,’ Alex laughed, but she got out three glasses anyway and poured one for her sister and one for Zara.
‘I bought you these,’ Quinn said, offering out a small box which she recognised immediately as being from Sweet Escapes, the bakery near Christmas Gardens.
Alex let out a soft gasp, knowing what they were before she’d even opened the box. She took it and reverentially opened the lid. The smell of the apple custard Danishes hit her and it was pure heaven.
‘Oh god, thank you,’ Alex said, picking one up and taking a bite.
She closed her eyes in bliss. It was so sweet and delicious.
She loved these so much. For some reason Sweet Escapes didn’t make these every day, so when they did, Alex always grabbed herself a box, if they hadn’t already sold out. Sometimes she missed out.
‘Oh, you know the way to a woman’s heart,’ Immy said. ‘You propose to her while she’s eating one of those and I guarantee you she’d say yes.’
Quinn laughed. ‘Surely it wouldn’t be that simple.’
Alex nodded as she continued to eat.
‘They really taste that good?’ Quinn asked.
Alex’s eyes widened in shock. ‘You’ve never had one?’
‘I’m more of a savoury person. Give me one of their sausage rolls or steak slices and I’d be asking you to marry me too.’
‘Their steak slices are lovely but this is the best thing I’ve ever tasted.’
‘That’s high praise indeed.’
‘Here, just take a bite.’ Alex held one up for him.
He bent his head and took a bite, his eyes on hers as he did so, and she suddenly realised how intimate this was. She felt like she needed to take a step back out of his space but she couldn’t. All she could think about was reaching up and kissing the crumbs off his lips.
‘Mmm, this really is good,’ Quinn said, reaching out to take another bite and his lips grazed her fingers.
Her breath caught in her throat. His tongue slid out to catch the crumbs and she watched it, completely entranced. He’d missed a crumb on the corner of his mouth and without thinking she leaned up to wipe it away. Her eyes widened in horror as she realised what she’d done.
‘God, I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I did that.’
‘It’s OK.’ Quinn’s eyes were still on hers in that way he had of looking deep inside her.
‘She does that to me all the time,’ Immy said. ‘I think once you’re a mum, you’re a mum to everyone.’
Alex stepped away but Quinn was still watching her.
Zara walked into the kitchen, her nose still buried in her book, though she was now wrapped in her coat, body warmer, and scarf, her purple pompom hat sticking out from her pocket.
‘Hey Rocket,’ Quinn said, calling her the nickname he’d given her because she was always speeding around on her skates.
Zara’s face lit up at seeing her uncle. She gave him a big hug, which he returned, then diverted her attention back to the book again.
‘Zara, I have something for you,’ Immy said.
Zara lowered her book momentarily and eyed the box with interest. ‘What is it?’
‘Come and see.’
The book was finally relinquished, Zara’s curiosity getting the better of her, and she moved over to take a look.
‘Whoa, you found one,’ Zara said, her eyes lighting up. ‘Where?’
‘In Christmas Gardens.’
‘By Santa’s house?’
‘It was right outside,’ Immy said. ‘And no, it hasn’t been decorated yet.’
‘Maybe they really are from Santa Claus,’ Zara said, in wonder. ‘It’s beautiful.’
‘Of course it had to be yours with the roller skates painted on it.’
Zara took the lid off and touched the painted skates lovingly. ‘But you found it, you should keep it.’
‘No, St Nick clearly says keep, re-hide or give to someone else. It’s yours. Definitely.’
‘Thank you so much.’ Zara hugged her aunt.
Immy smiled. ‘Now if you find one with my beloved Skye terrier on it, then you can repay the favour. I’ve never seen anything with a Skye terrier on so I will be over the moon to get a bauble if you ever find one.’
That gave Alex an idea. Maybe if, through her investigations for the local paper, she was able to unmask St Nick, she could offer to pay him to do a Skye terrier bauble for Immy as a thank you for everything she had done for her. She suddenly had a new incentive to find out who he was.
‘I will, but no one could capture Jacob’s cuteness.’ Zara bent down to stroke Jacob’s head.
‘I don’t know, this St Nick is a pretty talented man,’ Alex said.
‘Or woman,’ Zara said. ‘It could be St Nicola.’
‘It could,’ Alex agreed, although in her mind she was pretty convinced it was a man, only because she didn’t think a woman would give herself a masculine pseudonym. But maybe she was wrong.
Quinn leaned over Alex’s shoulder to look at the bauble, his hand holding her back so casually he probably wasn’t even aware he was doing it, but every cell in her body responded to his touch.
‘I bet it’s a woman,’ he said. ‘It’s too…
whimsical to be a man. A man would just paint a pair of skates.
A woman would add purple laces and stars and pretty holly leaves and berries.
And a woman pays attention to little details, like knowing purple is your favourite colour. Men are rubbish at stuff like that.’
‘You think St Nick painted this just for me?’ Zara said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
‘There’s only one roller skating queen in this town, St Nick must have known this would make its way to you.’
Zara’s smile spread across her face.
Alex checked her watch. ‘Well, I hate to break this up, but Zara, you have to get to school.’
She watched Quinn and Zara down their juice in one big gulp.
‘I’ll come with you, I have to pick up the metal before nine,’ Quinn said, moving to the sink and quickly washing up his and Zara’s glasses. ‘Mr Bellamy gets very upset if we turn up after nine.’
‘Seems like a funny way to run a shop,’ Zara said.
Alex suppressed a smirk. Her daughter was so bloody smart.
‘I agree,’ Quinn said. ‘But I’m too scared to tell Mr Bellamy that.’
Zara started walking towards the back door with Quinn.
‘Hey, what about my kiss?’ Alex said.
Quinn immediately turned round and placed a kiss on her cheek, which caused Zara to burst into giggles and Alex’s heart to race.
She cleared her throat and when she spoke she tried desperately not to sound like that simple kiss had affected her. ‘I meant from my daughter.’
‘Oops,’ Quinn laughed, winking at Zara.
Zara, still laughing, wrapped her arms around Alex and leaned up to give her a kiss. Except she didn’t have to lean up as far as she used to, she was growing so tall, just like her dad.
Alex gave her a tight hug. Her little girl was growing up and in a few years she probably wouldn’t let her mum do this so she had to make the most of it now.
‘Mum, I’m going to be late,’ Zara said, her voice muffled as her face was pressed against her dress.
Alex quickly let her go and with a wave Zara and Quinn left.
‘I have to go too,’ Immy said, pulling on her bright purple coat and wrapping her big red scarf round her neck twice. ‘I have yoga tonight but I could pick up a takeaway for us on the way home?’
‘Sounds perfect.’
With that Immy walked out the door, leaving Alex alone. She reached up to where she could still feel Quinn’s lips on her cheek. She had liked that way too much and the worrying thing was she was pretty sure Quinn had seen her reaction to it too.