Chapter 23
Kazz stared at the presents sitting underneath her tree on Christmas morning and prayed that Saul’s family would like them. She had already swapped gifts with Stevie and Edie, and knowing that Stevie would be seeing Tia at some point today, she had given her Tia’s present to pass on. Which left Leanne, Saul’s parents and Saul himself.
She hadn’t been sure whether to get Saul anything, not entirely certain what their relationship was. They simply hadn’t spoken about it.
In the end, she had chosen something personal – but not too personal: an engraved flask for when he was out and about on the farm, plus a new beanie. The decision to give his parents a gift had been easier to make, considering she was spending Christmas Day with them. But it had also been harder to choose something because she wasn’t sure what they liked.
She had settled on a bottle of the wimberry whisky for Geoff, which she had bought on the visit to the distillery, and a bottle of blackberry brandy for Iris, after Saul had mentioned that his mother sometimes liked a brandy after a meal if they went out to eat. Kazz had also bought a huge selection of cheeses and biscuits to go with it.
Saul was rooting around in the kitchen and had been for the past half an hour, and she wondered what he was doing. He’d informed her he intended to make them both a special Christmas Day breakfast, but it sounded as though he was raiding her cupboards and throwing everything on the floor.
‘Are you OK in there?’ she called. He had expressly told her not to come in, but she was starting to get a little concerned.
‘Yeah, I’m good. Give me two seconds.’
Kazz perched on the sofa and turned the TV on, finding a festive film to watch while she waited for her breakfast.
True to his word, Saul emerged shortly after, bearing a tray. On it sat what looked like a pancake in the shape of Rudolph’s head. It even had antlers, with raisins for its eyes and a strawberry for its nose. The tray also held a cup of tea and a present.
The gift was beautifully wrapped, and she wondered whether he had done it himself. She also wondered what was in it.
‘Breakfast first,’ Saul warned as she reached for the present.
He popped back into the kitchen and emerged with a second tray, and Kazz began to eat, hardly taking her eyes off the present, except for shooting Saul quick glances.
Curiosity gnawed at her. The present was small, about the size of a square Post-it note, and about three centimetres high.
Might it contain a piece of jewellery?
When she’d eaten the last morsel of pancake, Saul finally relented, although he insisted on taking their breakfast things back into the kitchen first, before coming back in and settling down next to her.
‘Go on, open it,’ he urged.
Carefully, Kazz removed the ribbon and put it to one side. Then she unpicked one end of a piece of Sellotape and eased the paper open to reveal a white box with silver writing.
Recognising it as the name of a jewellery shop in Abergavenny, Kazz became apprehensive. What if he’d bought her something expensive, and all she was giving him was a flask?
Her worry faded when she saw what lay inside. A silver necklace, the pendant in the shape of an open book, gleamed up at her.
‘It’s lovely!’ she cried, taking it out and turning it over in her hands. ‘Whenever I wear it, I shall think of you.’
‘In that case, I hope you never take it off,’ Saul murmured, taking the necklace out of her hands.
Kazz swivelled around to offer the back of her neck for him to put it on her.
A kiss on the soft skin underneath her ear made her squirm, but she was determined not to give in to his unspoken suggestion they return to bed. His parents were expecting them in a couple of hours, and she wanted to shower and take her time getting ready.
As it turned out, she did end up having to hurry if they didn’t want to be late…
Christmas was a time for families, and although Saul guessed Kazz must miss spending it with her mum, she seemed to be having a nice time with him and his family. At least, he hoped she was.
Leanne, Rex, Murray and Ashley had joined them for lunch, and the eight of them had enjoyed an incredibly lovely meal. Kazz had also met his older brother Stuart and his wife Lisa, and their three children (whom Saul adored), when they called in later, and everyone had a fun afternoon playing charades and other games. His other brother Martin and his wife, Janine, were absent because they were spending the day with Janine’s mum, but he guessed that Kazz would probably meet them at some point, and it did mean that she hadn’t had to contend with all the Greens at once. Saul knew it could get a bit rowdy when all five siblings, plus their respective partners and kids, were in the same room.
When it grew dark, Saul’s dad levered himself out of the chair and announced that he was going for a final check around the farm. It was a routine that was done every evening, ensuring that sheds were locked, gates were closed and the animals were where they should be. The dogs also needed feeding and a poorly sheep could do with fresh bedding.
Saul helped his dad prepare the food for the dogs, slipping some morsels of the darker turkey meat into his pocket as a treat for them when his father’s back was turned.
He left Kazz in the living room, discussing fashion with Leanne, Lisa and his mum, and he could hear Leanne busily arranging for her and Kazz to go to the January sales on the day after Boxing Day.
Good luck, he thought; he wouldn’t be caught dead near any shops during sale time. He heard Cardiff mentioned and shuddered. The city would be heaving, and there probably wouldn’t be much worth buying anyway.
Rex and Stuart had retreated to the kitchen with a couple of bottles of pale ale, a pack of cards and a determination not to lose, while keeping an eye on the kids who were starting to flag after the ungodly hour they’d forced their parents to get up.
Saul was no stranger to early mornings, but he didn’t fancy being railroaded out of bed by three excited children and a snowstorm of wrapping paper.
Talking of snowstorms, flakes were drifting lazily from a full sky and seemed to be sticking.
‘Stuart and Lisa had better make a move soon,’ Saul pointed out. ‘So had I, unless you fancy putting Kazz up for the night?’
‘You and she seem pretty close,’ his dad said, as they let the dogs out for a final run around after they had scoffed their suppers. ‘Are you serious about this one?’
Saul considered his response. ‘I think I am.’
‘Good. It’s about time. Your mother and I were beginning to think you’d never settle down.’
Saul chuckled. ‘Hang on, Dad, it’s early days yet. We’ve only known each other a couple of months.’ It wasn’t even that.
‘So? I knew I wanted to marry your mother within the first five minutes of meeting her.’
Saul was incredulous. ‘You fell in love that fast?’
‘No, her dad had a brand-new Massey Ferguson. All shiny and red, it was. If I wanted that tractor, I was going to have to marry her to get my hands on it. Oh, and he had a farm, of course.’
Saul rolled his eyes. ‘I don’t for one minute believe you married Mum because her parents owned a farm.’ Saul’s maternal grandparents had two children, a boy and a girl, but the boy, Saul’s uncle, had died before Mum and Dad met, so Mum had stood to inherit the farm when Granny and Gramps passed on.
For many years the two generations had lived in this very house and farmed the land together. And two generations had become three when the kids had come along. Saul, his brothers and his sister had been devastated when Gramps died, then Granny a couple of years later.
‘If I didn’t marry your mother for the farm, then what else could it be but love at first sight?’ Geoff countered. ‘Because it’s true: I did know I was going to marry your mother the first time we met, if she’d have me. I left it a while before I proposed, though, as I didn’t want her to think I was a total nutcase.’
‘She knows now, though, right?’
‘Cheeky bugger.’ Geoff scowled. ‘What I’m trying to say is, love doesn’t have a set of rules. If you love her, it doesn’t matter whether you fall in love the minute you clap eyes on her, or whether it takes years to grow. Love is love.’
Saul was astounded. He didn’t think he had ever heard his dad speak like that before. He wasn’t a chat-about-emotions man. He tended to be gruff and rather reserved, although he did call a spade a spade.
‘Bloody hell, Dad, that’s profound.’
‘I can be serious when I need to be,’ Geoff replied.
‘You’re jumping the gun a bit. We’re not at the love-declaration stage yet.’
‘You don’t have to say something for it to be true.’
Wow, that had got heavy fast. Saul whistled to the dogs. It was time to head back inside. The conversation was making him feel uncomfortable, so to cover his embarrassment (and the fact that his dad was right), he said, ‘Who are you and what have you done with my dad?’
‘Just speaking the truth, boy,’ Geoff said. ‘It’s as plain as day that you think the world of her.’
‘But does she think the world of me?’ Saul countered.
‘You’re going to have to work that one out for yourself. Women baffle me.’
‘You’re not the only one.’
‘Speaking of women, we’d better get back indoors before your mother sends out a search party.’
With the outbuildings checked and the snow now falling more heavily, Saul and his dad made their way back to the house.
They entered the warmth of the kitchen, stamping their feet and blowing on their hands. Iris was making sandwiches, and her eyes widened when she saw the snowflakes daubing their shoulders.
‘Don’t tell me it’s snowing,’ she said. ‘I’m making tea for everyone. Is it coming down heavily?’
Saul hung up his and his father’s coats as Geoff said, ‘Not yet, but the sky looks full of it. We’ll have time for a bit of tea, but after that everyone should get off home.’
Iris squared her shoulders and Saul smiled. His mum was a farmer’s wife through and through – she wouldn’t let a bit of weather prevent her from feeding her family. ‘I’d better get a move on, then. Geoff, butter that lot. Saul, get the sausage rolls out of the fridge. And don’t forget the pickles and chutney.’
He did as instructed, but he couldn’t help saying, ‘You do realise we’re all still stuffed from lunch?’
‘Nonsense. There’s always room for a turkey, cranberry and stuffing sandwich, and a slice of yule log.’
Now she came to mention it, he could probably manage a mouthful or two…
The food was laid out on the kitchen table for everyone to help themselves, while his mum was on tea, coffee and squash duty (the squash was for the children), and his dad was told to make alcoholic drinks for those who weren’t driving.
‘I feel so guilty about you not being able to have a drink,’ Kazz said, sidling up to him and slipping her hand around his waist.
He shrugged. ‘I can have one when we get back to yours.’ He reached for a sandwich and said casually, ‘I assume I’m staying the night?’
‘I would be disappointed if you didn’t.’
Either his mum had been listening or she had been thinking along the same lines, because she said, ‘Why doesn’t Kazz stay here tonight? It’ll save you having to drive in the snow, and you can have a beer or two.’
Saul was happy enough for Kazz to stay, but would she want to? He raised a questioning eyebrow.
Kazz’s expression was one of faint alarm. ‘I haven’t got any night things, or a change of clothes for the morning.’
Iris said, ‘I’m sure we can dig out some PJs of Leanne’s, and a pair of leggings and a jumper for you to wear tomorrow. I’ll leave it to you, no obligation, but Geoff and I would love for you to stay.’
Saul waited until his mum was in conversation with Lisa before he said, ‘Sorry she hijacked you like that. Please don’t feel obliged to stay. We can eat this and go back to yours before the weather gets any worse.’ Bending his head, he whispered in her ear, ‘We could watch a film and cuddle on the sofa.’
‘What do you usually do on Christmas night?’ she asked.
‘I don’t cuddle on the sofa, although we usually watch a film. Mum has got loads of Christmas ones recorded, Home Alone , and so on.’
‘So you spend it here, with your family?’
‘Er, yeah, I suppose I do.’
‘Then that’s what we’ll do tonight,’ she said firmly, then hesitated. ‘Will I be sleeping in your bed?’
Saul’s gaze met hers and he bit his lip to keep the teasing smile in. ‘I think you should, don’t you? Otherwise Mum will think I’m twelve years old and I’m having a sleepover.’
Her eyes widened. ‘But she’ll think—’
‘That we’re a couple?’
She nodded, uncertainty on her face.
Saul took a breath to steady himself. Standing in the middle of his parents’ kitchen, next to a table laden with food and surrounded by his family, who kept jostling them as they reached for a pork pie, was not how he’d imagined this conversation to take place.
‘Isn’t that what we are?’ he asked her gently.
Her expression was solemn. ‘I’d hoped we are.’
‘Then we are,’ he confirmed, his relief acute. For a moment he had been worried she didn’t think so.
A slow smile spread across her lips, lighting up her face with such radiance that it took his breath away.
If they had been alone, he might have been tempted to utter those three little words. But they weren’t, so he’d save them for another day. Anyway, it was probably sensible to take it one step at a time – because telling Kazz he loved her would be a very big step indeed.