CHAPTER FOUR – THOMAS
“Is it enough snow?”
I peered out of the window. “I don’t think it’s sticking yet.”
Danny huffed and dropped back away from the window. “I want to build a snowman.”
“Oh, you will.” I ruffled his sandy blonde hair, careful to avoid the cut on his forehead that was sure to leave a little scar. “The snow will stick before you know it. Remember last year?”
“No.”
I grinned. That wasn’t true. I knew he remembered because he’d asked every day if it was time to build a snowman, then when it was, he’d lasted ten minutes before he’d decided he was too cold and wanted to go inside.
It’d taken us three days to finish building his snowman.
“Sure, you do,” I said, scooping him up and tossing him over my shoulder. “You moaned and moaned and—”
“Uncle Tommy!” Danny shrieked. “Ahhhh!”
“What are you doing in here?” Mum asked, walking into the room. “Oh, Thomas, put him down.”
“Why? He likes it up there.”
“The shrieking says otherwise. Plus, he’s on concussion watch, remember?”
Danny wriggled.
“Fine, fine.” I slid him down to the ground while he giggled his little arse off. “Nanny is a such a spoilsport,” I whispered to him.
Mum leant over and clipped me around the back of the head. “I heard that.”
“Ow.” I rubbed where she’d just slapped me, wincing a little. “Where’s Zara?”
Danny looked up. “Mummy! Is she home now?”
Mum knelt down in front of him and cupped his face, an expression of regret on hers. “She’s not going to be home for a few more days, sweetie, I’m sorry.”
His lower lip jutted outwards. “Where’s Mumma?”
“At the shop. She’s got lots and lots of Christmas orders to fulfil. Lots of people want her wreaths,” Mum explained softly. “Although she told me to tell you that she’s going to take you for McDonald’s for dinner if you’re good today.”
All his sadness was wiped away with the promise of the magic restaurant. “I can have a Happy Meal?”
“And a McFlurry,” Mum whispered conspiratorially. “I know you’re sad and miss Mummy, but when she’s home, she’s here for ages for Christmas, okay?”
Danny nodded. “Nanny, will you come for McDonald’s too?”
“Oh, we’ll have to ask Mumma. I think she wants a special dinner with you.”
“Okay.” A bit of sadness tinged his tone.
“Hey, buddy,” I said, crouching down next to Mum. “I have to run the tree farm today. Why don’t you come with me and be my special helper?”
He turned to me, his eyes lighting up. “Really?”
“Oh, yeah, and I know that Mrs. O’Shea is working today. I bet she’s going to have some sweeties in her bag, and I’ll pretend not to see you eating them all.”
The grin that stretched across his little face brought a shine to his eyes. “Nanny, can I? Can I?”
Mum stood up with a smile. “Of course you can, sweetie.”
“I’ll get my boots!” Danny sped off through the room, and his excited footsteps thundered against the old wooden flooring that we’d painstakingly restored last year.
Mum let out a long sigh and looked at me. “You didn’t have to do that.”
I stood up with a shrug, not meeting her gaze. “I thought Zara was supposed to be home last night.”
“She was.” She folded her arms across her chest. “One of her colleagues is apparently unwell, and her boss asked if she’d stay to complete their project and do the presentation this Friday night.”
“She hasn’t seen him in person for two months! You’d think she was out of the country, not a few hours away in London.”
“I know, but what am I supposed to do? It’s not as if Danny doesn’t have a parent here, after all.”
I rubbed my hand down my face. She was right—he had Beth, but it wasn’t the same.
“She’s so busy with the shop. She’s got Hazel and Julian’s wedding to deal with plus all her Christmas orders.
Can she really afford the time to cut her hours short?
She’s always open in the evenings at this time of year. ”
Mum held her hands out. “She’s going in early. It’s her compromise. She said this morning she’d rather be here on an evening, and I don’t mind doing the school run at all. I don’t know how she’s getting it all done, but she’s furious at your sister.”
“She can join the club. She can’t hide from her responsibilities just because she can’t get over losing Dad.”
She swallowed, looking down. “We all deal with our grief in different ways, Thomas. You know that.”
“I do know that. It’s been over a year, Mum.” I rested my hands on her shoulders. “And you haven’t been allowed to grieve because she’s burying herself in her work, leaving you and I to pick up the slack while Beth works. There’s no excuse for it when she can work from home.”
“Thomas—”
“No. When she’s home, we need to talk to her.
She doesn’t need to take off for a month or more at a time and keep extending her time there and letting Danny down.
He’s six years old. It’s not fair on him, Mum, and it’s not fair on Beth.
She shouldn’t have had to shut the shop yesterday to get him from school when he hurt himself.
Zara should have been here to do that.” I checked the time on my watch.
“He and I will take Beth some lunch before we go to the tree farm. He’ll like that. ”
Mum sighed and patted my cheek. “Maybe you’re right. Your father would wring your sister’s neck if he were here.”
“There we are, then. Without him, I’m going to have to do it. I’ll be with Danny all day and when we’re done, I’m telling her she needs to get herself home or else.”
“Or else what?”
“I don’t know. Maybe being here is too much for her, but I just don’t know, Mum. Maybe it’s this place. Maybe they’d be better off moving out temporarily.”
“You’d kick out your sister and Danny?”
“Of course I wouldn’t. Don’t be so silly. This is as much their home as it is ours, but if being here with the memories is too much for Zara and is stopping her from being a parent, then it might be for the best.” I stepped away from her. “Something must change. For Danny’s sake.”
“I’m ready!” Danny zoomed back into the room with his dinosaur wellington boots on… and his coat inside out.
We laughed at him.
“I think not, Danny!” Mum said, walking over to him and ushering him through the door. “Your coat is inside out, and you’re not wearing nearly enough clothes for those cold temperatures. It’s snowing out there!”
“Uncle Tommy said it isn’t settling!”
“Not yet it’s not, but that doesn’t mean it’s not so cold that your fingers won’t fall off!”
“My fingers? Oh, no! I want to keep my fingers! I can’t play with my dinosaurs if I have no fingers!”
I coughed into the crook of my elbow to disguise my laugh and followed them out to get myself ready. By the time I was ready to leave, Danny was already waiting by the front door and was bouncing on the balls of his feet.
“Are you ready?” I asked. “We have just enough time to go and see Mumma with some lunch if you want.”
His face lit up. “Yes! She likes sandwiches. Can we get her a sandwich?”
“Of course.” I opened the door. “Careful, it might be a little slippery, and we don’t need another trip to the hospital, do we?”
He looked at me with wide eyes, shaking his head. “No. Not again.”
Danny slowly stepped down the huge, stone steps, using the railing to make sure he didn’t trip. When he made it onto the gravelled driveway, he turned to me with a grin. “Ta-da! Can I get in the car?”
I pulled my keys from my pocket and unlocked it. “Jump in. I’ll be there in two seconds.”
He sped off. “Bye, Nanny! See you later!”
“Be good!” Mum called after him, then she turned to me. “If he starts getting bored and messing around, call me and I’ll come and pick him up.”
“He’ll be fine. He loves helping with the trees, and I know there’s a delivery of decorations that need to be put out. He can help Mrs. O’Shea hang the baubles for a while.” I kissed Mum’s cheek. “Let me know if you want me to bring anything home with me.”
“Yes. Dinner. Heath isn’t here today, and I can’t be arsed to cook,” she muttered.
I laughed, touching her arm. “Text me when you’ve decided what you want.”
“Uncle Tommy! Come on!” Danny shouted from the car.
“That’s my cue.” I grinned at Mum. “See you later.”
***
“Thomas? There’s someone looking for coal outside.”
I cut off the netting machine and glanced up. “Thanks, Ryan. Did they say how much?”
He shook his head. “It’s weird. She looks familiar, though.”
That made me pause. “Familiar? How?”
“Like I’ve seen her before. Dark ginger hair. ‘Bout this tall.” He put his hand against his face, measuring her imaginary height. “Can’t place her, though. Weird.”
I dropped my chin. “Sylvie.”
“Oh, shit! Sylvie Harding!” Ryan laughed, recognition brightening his face. “That’s right. She’s back for Hazel’s wedding, isn’t she?”
“Grab this.” I sighed, tying off the netting of the tree before pushing it his way. “Unfortunately, she is. She’s planning it, too, that’s why she’s here so early.”
He side-eyed me. “Sounds like you’ve already run into one another.”
“Once, and that’s one too many times,” I ground out. “Can’t you get her the coal?”
He slid the tree off the machine. “Oh, no. Look at that. I’ve already grabbed this tree.”
I glared at him. “I’ll remember that. Do you know where Danny is?”
“Helping Mrs. O’Shea hang up the decorations on the display stand. She’s bribing him with jellybeans.”
I wished someone would bribe me with jellybeans to work.
What was I saying? I was an adult. If I wanted jellybeans, I could buy my own.
I was going to have to get this over and done with.
I walked out of the huge barn towards the front of the tree farm. Sylvie was standing in front of a display of full fir trees with her head dipped as she tapped away at her phone. Her gloves were trapped between her body and her forearm, and they matched her red hat and scarf.
And her lips.
I swallowed.
I’d been attracted to the damn woman since I was fourteen and woke up with a raging morning glory after she’d infected my dream, and the fact she hated me had made my idiot teenage self even more attracted to her.