Snow is Falling, page 16
Sadie glanced up at the heavy grey sky. ‘It feels like it’s getting colder by the minute.’
Dylan put his arms around her and rubbed his hands up and down her back. ‘How’s that?’
‘Much better.’ His hands had stopped moving but he didn’t seem in any hurry to let her go. ‘Did you do that as an excuse to hold me?’ she asked in a light, teasing voice.
‘Guilty as charged.’ Dylan grinned down at her. ‘Do you mind?’
She curled her arms around his waist and leaned against his chest. ‘No. I don’t mind at all.’
He hugged her tight for a few moments before easing back. ‘Now all I have to do is find an excuse to kiss you.’
Sadie laughed and stepped out of reach, though she extended her hand for him to take. ‘You work on that and let me know when you’ve come up with something worth considering.’
‘Challenge accepted.’
20
After Dylan had left her with a promise they’d see each other later, Sadie returned to her room. Though the walk had helped her fuzzy head, the cold and her late night seemed to tire her out and she decided to lie on the bed for ten minutes.
When she woke up, it was already growing dark outside her window and when she checked her phone she was surprised to find it was nearly 4 p.m. and she’d slept right through lunch. Deciding a skipped meal wouldn’t do her any harm, she settled on the sofa with her Kindle to read for a bit before it was time to go down to dinner. It was a murder-mystery her son Jake had been raving about and she’d downloaded it on a whim. She couldn’t deny the writing was good, but her mind wandered too much to grasp the intricacies of the plot. Setting it aside, she picked up her crochet and began to work, but that didn’t hold her attention either. She looked around the room. As beautiful as it was and as comfortable as the sofa was, if she’d wanted to sit around on her own she could be doing that at home. It was only casual for dinner that night so she decided to change early and relocate to the lounge.
The cold had kept a lot of people inside, it seemed. Jon and Tara were seated in matching armchairs in front of one of the large windows, coffee cups and empty side plates scattered on the table between them. Jon had his nose in a huge hardback that made Sadie’s wrists ache just looking at it and Tara was wearing headphones, her gaze fixed on the rapidly darkening skies outside. A group of other guests, including Marcus, were involved in what looked like a very competitive game of Scrabble. ‘Hey, Sadie, want to join us?’ Marcus offered, indicating a space next to him.
She shook her head with a smile. ‘My spelling isn’t up to scratch, I’m afraid, but thanks for the offer. I’m going to find a quiet corner and read for a bit.’
He nodded, his attention already drifting back to the board. ‘Well, if you change your mind you know where we are.’
Sadie claimed one of the smaller tables, placing her bag onto a chair before fetching herself a cup of coffee. She helped herself to a miniature mince pie – true, she’d already decided that skipping a meal wasn’t a bad idea, but wasn’t there a rule that anything you could eat with one bite didn’t technically contain any calories? She settled into her chair, opened her Kindle and scrunched her nose at the thought of dipping back into a world of murder and psychological turmoil. Flicking onto her library, she chose a book at random from her to-be-read list, attracted to the sunshiny yellow of the cover as much as anything else.
She lost track of time, the chatter and noise in the room fading as she explored a pretty seaside town along with the heroine in the story. A commotion from outside the room drew her back into the present and a voice she recognised as Dylan’s shouted, ‘Avery! Wait, you need to put your coat on before going outside.’
A grinning Theo appeared in the doorway of the lounge. ‘It’s snowing!’ he declared before vanishing again.
Sadie wasn’t the only one who glanced towards the windows. From the angle she was sitting at they were black mirrors reflecting the lights of the room back at her.
Tara, who had the perfect vantage point, sat up and leaned closer to the glass. ‘He’s right, and it’s proper big flakes, not that horrid wet stuff we normally get.’
Sadie rose to take a closer look. In the external lights, huge fluffy flakes of snow danced and whirled. She didn’t know how long it had been snowing, but a thin layer had already settled on the ground. Avery appeared in front of the window, her bright red coat hanging open, her dark hair spotted with white. Arms out, she raised her face to the sky and Sadie imagined she could hear the girl’s laughter. Theo ran over to grab his sister by the hand and spin her around before the pair of them ran off, frolicking like a pair of exuberant puppies. Leaning closer to the window, Sadie looked to the left and spotted Dylan standing on the top of the stairs, his smile bright as he watched the kids enjoying themselves. Something tugged at her deep inside and, before she knew what she was doing, Sadie left the lounge, pausing only to retrieve her coat from the cloakroom.
Dylan turned as she pushed open the heavy front door. ‘Hey,’ he said with a smile. ‘I was coming down to find you but we got a little distracted.’
Sadie came to stand next to him. ‘I imagine it’s something of a novelty for them, what with you living in Florida.’
‘They’ve been skiing with their mom and Eric a couple of times, but, yeah, it’s still enough of a rarity for them to get excited.’
‘It’s lovely to see them so free and happy.’ She buttoned up her coat against the bitter chill and watched as the kids chased each other around the fountain. In the distance, colours glowed and shifted and for a moment she struggled to place them before realising they must be part of the illuminated walk. ‘I wonder if it’s snowing at home.’ It would be the first white Christmas for Isla, Robbie and Zac if it was. She folded her arms around herself, soothing the sudden ache to be with her grandchildren. There would be plenty of other times. Robbie, the eldest, was barely four. Give it another couple of years and they’d be the perfect ages to really enjoy the magic of somewhere like Juniper Meadows and all the wonders it had to offer.
‘What’s put that look on your face?’
Startled, Sadie glanced up to find Dylan watching her, a frown of concern drawing down his dark brows. She shook her head to dispel the touch of melancholy. ‘I was thinking about my grandchildren and wondering if they’ve got snow at home.’
‘You don’t look old enough to have grandchildren.’
Sadie laughed. ‘I was a child bride. I met Pete when I was eighteen and he was twenty-three. We got married when I was twenty, much to my mother’s disapproval.’
‘I get the impression she disapproves of a lot of things.’
‘You have no idea.’ Sadie shrugged. ‘I was probably a little too young to get married and the chance to get away from home was probably part of the attraction.’ She shook her head. ‘That sounds a lot more calculating than it was. I loved Pete very much and I always wanted a family of my own. We had Jake when I was twenty-three and Katie a couple of years after that. If it was only up to me I might have waited a little longer but Pete was always ready to do things a bit earlier because of the difference in our ages. When he decided he wanted to retire at sixty, I supported his choice, although I wish he’d decided to leave me before he persuaded me to retire too.’
‘I thought he was a bastard before for leaving you, but persuading you to give up your job and then walking out? That’s really low.’ Dylan sounded as indignant as she’d felt at the time.
‘It was awful,’ she agreed. ‘I could’ve asked for my job back, but then I would’ve had to tell everybody what happened and face all their pitying looks and whispers behind my back. A clean break felt like the best thing under the circumstances. I’ve moved closer to the kids, and, even though my house is a lot smaller than what we had before, it’s my own space. I’ve found a part-time job nearby that gets me out of the house a few days a week.’
‘It must’ve taken a lot of courage to start again.’ Dylan’s voice was low, the flash of anger gone.
She nodded. ‘I’ve learned a lot about myself these past few months and I feel a lot more resilient. Coming here feels like a moment of transition and, when I go home, I’m going to make some more changes. I’ve been content to follow along with what other people want, but that ends now. I’m not saying I regret the past, but the old me was too much of a bystander in her own life.’ She held her arms out to her sides. ‘You are witnessing the all-new Sadie Bingham.’
Dylan gave her a soft round of applause, his eyes bright with admiration. ‘I’m a big fan of the all-new Sadie.’
A warm glow spread through her as she stepped towards him until they were almost touching. ‘Good, because I think she’s here to stay.’
Avery came running up, hair damp from the still falling snow and her cheeks pink from the cold. Sadie sprang away, but from the avid way Avery was watching them, she hadn’t missed the moment of almost-intimacy.
‘Everything okay?’ Dylan asked, his voice casual as he closed the distance Sadie had made between them. Sadie wasn’t sure if that was a good idea, but Dylan knew his kids better than anyone and she was glad he wasn’t treating whatever was happening between them as some kind of dirty secret.
The smile on Avery’s face wouldn’t have looked out of place on the Cheshire Cat. ‘It sure looks that way.’
Sadie bit her lip and refused to look away. She was too damn old to let a teenager make her blush. If her cheeks felt at all warm it was only because the air was so cold.
‘Did you come over here because you wanted something? Because I’ve gotta say, your timing sucks,’ Dylan said in a wry voice.
Avery giggled, then clapped her hand against her forehead. ‘Oh, I nearly forgot! Someone’s coming. Theo and I saw lights.’ Turning, Avery pointed towards a yellow-golden glow in the distance. ‘Theo went to investigate.’
Dylan put a hand on Sadie’s back to urge her down the steps with him. ‘I hope it’s not a car or something, Theo hasn’t got a torch.’
‘It’s probably something to do with the illuminated walk,’ Sadie said, trying to reassure him, but she quickened her pace nonetheless.
They’d just about made it to the bottom of the long drive that led towards the main gates when Theo appeared, his breath coming in white clouds. ‘Lanterns. The lights are lanterns. It’s carol-singers. Shh, listen.’
For a moment the only thing Sadie could hear was Theo panting for breath but then she caught it, the faintest hint of sound. As they watched, the glow resolved itself into four separate patches of light and Sadie found herself smiling as she recognised the tune of ‘Silent Night’. ‘These must be our four calling birds,’ she said. ‘We should let the others know as they won’t want to miss it.’
‘We’ll do it, won’t we, Avie?’ Without waiting for a reply, the kids dashed off towards the hall.
‘Put your hats and gloves on before you come back out!’ Dylan called after them. Taking his own advice, he pulled a simple black knitted hat out of his pocket and put it on.
The snow was falling heavier and Sadie raised a hand to her hair, surprised at how wet it was. Fishing in her pocket, she retrieved her own hat and tugged it down over her hair. Dylan glanced over at her, a smile spreading across his face. ‘Not a word.’ She pointed a finger at him in warning.
‘It suits you,’ Dylan protested.
‘Did I mention how unattractive lying is?’
Laughing, Dylan grabbed the finger she was still pointing at him, entwining their fingers together before she could pull away. ‘I mean it!’
They arrived at the base of the steps as the first guests pushed their way out of the door, still pulling on their coats. Sadie tugged and Dylan released her hand without protest as they climbed back up to the wide top step and took up position to the right of the door. Jon and Tara came to join them. ‘The kids said something about carol-singers?’ Jon asked.
‘They’re coming down the drive.’ Sadie pointed towards the four golden lights.
The steps began to fill with people as Avery and Theo came to join them. ‘Here, let me make room,’ Sadie said, shuffling to one side to make a space.
‘Oh, we’re fine here,’ Avery said, moving to stand in front of Dylan on the step below. ‘Aren’t we, Theo?’
‘We sure are,’ her brother agreed, coming to stand next to her. ‘Don’t stand over there on your own, Sadie, you’ll get cold.’ He was trying not very successfully to hide a laugh as he said it.
Left with no choice, Sadie shifted back until she was shoulder to shoulder with Dylan. ‘Your children have got too much sass for their own good,’ she mock whispered to him, sending the kids both into a fit of the giggles. When Dylan reached for her hand, she let him take it.
21
Right in that moment, Dylan didn’t think it was possible to be happier, but then his sister went and proved him wrong by pushing open the front door and ushering out a team of staff carrying trays of steaming mugs. They weaved between the guests offering them a choice of mulled wine or a spiced apple warmer, which they assured him was alcohol free. Not being a huge fan of mulled wine, he took a mug of the apple warmer along with the kids. In what proved to be perfect timing, the guests quietened as they sipped their drinks just as the carol-singers moved into the arc of lights cast from the front of the hall. As well as carrying lanterns, the four singers were dressed in period costume, thick overcoats and top hats for the two men, long dresses and hooded capes for the two women.
As they sang the opening lines of ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ Sadie squeezed his hand and leaned closer to murmur, ‘Oh, my favourite.’ When the singers reached the chorus, she wasn’t the only one who gasped as many more than four voices joined in. More golden lanterns flickered into life as around two dozen other carollers processed across the circular driveway to join the original four in a large circle around the fountain. When the carol ended, Dylan wasn’t the only person who bent to place his mug down on the steps in order to give them a round of applause.
The carollers worked their way through a range of familiar tunes: ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’, ‘God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen’, ‘Once in Royal David’s City’. They finished with a rendition of ‘O Holy Night’ that had Sadie sniffing and rooting in her pocket for a tissue. Dylan pulled out his clean handkerchief and handed it to her, earning a glistening smile as she dabbed at her eyes. The staff reappeared from inside the hall, bearing refill jugs as well as trays of fresh mugs, which they distributed amongst the carollers as they came to mingle with the guests.
‘If I can have your attention, folks,’ the ruddy-cheeked man who had been one of the original four singers called out. ‘We hope you enjoyed the show—’ A ripple of applause interrupted him and he held up a hand with a smile. ‘You’re very kind, thank you. Now, before we head off, we’ve got one more song we’d like to perform and we are going to need your help for this one, so my colleagues are going to help divide you up into groups, so please follow whoever approaches you.’
A plump, cheerful blonde lady in a bottle-green cape turned and smiled at Dylan. ‘Do you want to come with me?’
Dylan exchanged a look with Sadie, who had been approached by another woman. The kids were already laughing and joking with a younger man as they went with him and a couple of other guests. ‘Lead on, I guess,’ Dylan said. He wasn’t a huge fan of audience participation, but he supposed if everyone was involved then it wouldn’t be too bad. The woman took him and a few others to stand at a point somewhere to the left of the fountain.
One of the male singers joined them with a couple of other guests. ‘Right, folks, my name’s Jim and this is my wife, Grace.’ The blonde woman grinned and gave them a little wave. ‘And all you need to know about us is that we are very competitive. We don’t care about precision, it’s all about the volume, okay?’
‘Thank God for that,’ one of the other guests muttered. Dylan laughed and felt his shoulders relax.
Jim grinned at the joker. ‘Now, as soon as I tell you that we are seven swans a-swimming, I’m sure you’ll get the idea. Our friends over there—’ he pointed to where the original four singers had resumed their position at the front of the fountain ‘—they’re going to lead the song. All we have to remember is to come in at the right time.’ He looked around the small group. ‘Everyone happy with what we’re doing?’ Dylan nodded along with the others. ‘And what do we want?’
‘Volume,’ they replied.
Jim rolled his eyes. ‘You’ll have to do better than that. Don’t let me down now.’
It was clear the other eleven groups had received a similar briefing because things grew ever more raucous as they worked their way through all twelve days of Christmas. A couple of the groups had added actions to their lines, which wasn’t so bad for the leaping lords and the dancing ladies, but some of the gestures by the milking maids were downright obscene in Dylan’s opinion. By the end of the last round he was hoarse from a combination of shouting the lyrics at the top of his voice and laughing at the antics of everyone else. The snow was still falling, his feet were blocks of ice and his fingers were numb even after he’d tucked them in his pockets. He didn’t care a bit about the cold, not when the kids came running over to find him, their faces full of joy at the silliness of the past few minutes. ‘Did you enjoy that?’ he asked as Avery snuggled into his side.
‘It was great! Can we go and do the illuminated walk next?’
Dylan wiggled his feet, trying to get feeling back into his toes. He hadn’t anticipated them being outside this long and hadn’t bothered with his boots. ‘I think we should go inside and dry off.’ When the kids protested, he held up a hand. ‘Come on, guys, you’re both freezing cold already and we haven’t had anything to eat. Let’s do it tomorrow when we’ve had a chance to plan things properly.’
