Snow is Falling, page 18
‘How’s it going? Looks like you’re making great progress.’ Dylan glanced up the drive towards the main gate, which was now almost completely clear of snow.
‘Not bad, eh? As soon as Denny and Jos are finished feeding and checking the animals they’re meeting up with Graham, who runs the gardens and maintenance team. They’re going to load some salt onto one of the flatbeds and go over what I’ve cleared. Ziggy’s on his way back so hopefully we’ll have a few more helping hands in the next half-hour or so.’
‘Umm, I think we might have more than a few,’ Tasha said in a voice full of wonder. She wasn’t looking at Rhys, she was staring past him, pointing towards the drive.
‘What the hell?’ Where there’d been only an empty stretch of road a moment ago, there were people, lots and lots of people.
‘Oh my God.’ Tasha’s voice was full of tears. ‘That’s Joe and Martha and Iain’s with them too.’ She turned to Dylan with a beaming smile. ‘They run the shop and the pub.’
‘They’ve got half the village with them by the looks of it,’ Rhys said, with a grin.
Dylan gazed at the group of people marching down the drive. They were carrying an assortment of spades, brushes and buckets. It looked as though they’d grabbed whatever they could get their hands on they thought would be of use. In the middle of the group he spotted the familiar multicoloured splash of his father’s patchwork jacket. ‘Monty’s with them.’
Rhys stiffened, his smile vanishing in an instant. ‘We don’t need anything from him.’
Tasha placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘We need all the help we can get.’
He glowered for a moment, then nodded. ‘Fine, but keep him away from me.’
Dylan surprised himself by volunteering. ‘He can come to the stable yard with me. I’ll keep an eye on him.’ He was the least affected by Monty and wouldn’t hesitate to say something if there was any chance of him causing trouble.
23
They got through breakfast without Sadie having to do much. Alice Travers had everything in hand and the kids were as good as gold, following her instructions. Sadie appointed herself unofficial liaison with the other guests and kept them in the loop about the wider situation on the estate. Several people volunteered their services and Sadie promised to have a word with Stevie and see if there was anything practical they could do. In the meantime, they were happy to keep themselves amused in and around the vicinity of the hall.
About half an hour after Dylan and Tasha had left, the two girls who normally served in the lounge came rushing in, their cheeks flushed from the cold. Stevie was right behind them, a woman Sadie estimated as being of a similar age to her by her side. The two of them were deep in conversation. When they finished, Stevie reached out to hug the other woman, who blushed and then ducked back out of the room. Sadie intercepted Stevie. ‘I know you’re busy, but I just wanted to let you know that if there’s anything we can do there are a number of us who are willing to pitch in as needed.’
Smiling, Stevie touched her arm. ‘That’s so very generous of you. I might have taken you up on the offer but our head cleaner, Mrs Davies, has brought her entire team to our aid.’ Her eyes drifted briefly to where the other woman had recently departed and then she met Sadie’s gaze once more. ‘Lunch and dinner might be a bit make-do but Chef is on the case and I have faith in his creative abilities. The only issue I have outstanding is this afternoon’s entertainment. I was hoping Tasha would be able to step into Lydia’s shoes but the phones are going crazy so she can’t leave Hope on her own.’
‘I’m sure no one will mind giving it a miss under the circumstances. Do you know what they had planned?’
‘It was a board game Olympics. I have the winner’s trophy in my office, but I don’t know what events they’d come up with.’ Stevie rubbed her forehead and Sadie couldn’t help notice how tired she looked. ‘Hopefully Tasha will be back in time to sort things out.’
Sadie looked around the room at the other guests. Some were still gathered beneath the TV, but most were eating breakfast or had settled with books or to chat over a second cup of coffee. She spotted Marcus sitting with a small group she recognised as part of the competitive Scrabble players from last night. ‘I think I have an idea…’ As she’d suspected, they were only too happy to take on the challenge and they soon had a list of both indoor and outdoor events.
They decided to make a start on the outdoor events while the weather was good, starting with a Christmas pudding shot-put event aided by a donation from the kitchen. The pudding survived longer than it had any right to and Sadie wasn’t the only one who was glad she had opted out of the event when Jon, the winner, found out that his special prize was to eat what was left of the pudding after dinner. The next event was a three-legged race with added jeopardy as all contestants were required to wear wellies. Again Sadie demurred, preferring to stay on the sidelines and cheer Theo and Avery on to a well-deserved gold medal – a bag of chocolate coins liberated from one of the trees decorating the hall.
Up next was a snowman-building competition and this time Sadie allowed the kids to rope her in. There were a number of subcategories that would contribute towards the overall score including size, imaginative design and decoration. Theo and Avery opted for size over style points and had rolled an enormous ball for the lower part of the body. The only problem was that in order to balance it out, the upper part they rolled proved difficult for all three of them to lift. ‘Need a hand with that?’
They looked up to find Dylan standing there. He looked tired and his jeans and the front of his coat were streaked with salt stains, but he was smiling. Sadie straightened up. ‘How’s everything going?’
‘It’s gone pretty well, all things considered, thanks to all the volunteers who helped out.’
‘Volunteers? Stevie mentioned the cleaning team had all pitched up to help out at the hall, but I didn’t realise you’d had help as well.’
Dylan nodded. ‘The village turned out in force. When they realised the seriousness of the situation, Joe and Martha from the village store posted on the local Facebook group asking for help. The schools have broken up for Christmas so lots of people are already on leave. They opened up the village hall as a makeshift crèche for the younger children and everyone else who could spare a couple of hours showed up with shovels and buckets. It was the most amazing sight watching them march down the drive and a testament to how much the locals appreciate everything the family has done for the area over the years.’
Sadie found herself a little choked as she pictured it in her mind’s eye. ‘That’s so lovely.’
‘It really was. Penny and Sandra opened up the café and kept everyone working at the stable yard supplied with hot drinks and snacks.’
‘Did you get everything sorted in time for things to open?’ Sadie had got so invested in the morning’s games she’d lost track of everything else.
Dylan shook his head. ‘It was just too much to do in order for Ziggy to be confident about safety. But thanks to everyone’s hard work, the estate will be able to open in full tomorrow so they’ve only lost a portion of today’s revenue. Most people who had tickets for things today have chosen to defer rather than get a refund, thankfully, but the stallholders at the Christmas market have taken a bit of a hit.’
‘Oh, that’s a shame, but better safe than sorry.’
‘Absolutely, and when I left Hope and Tasha were busy working out a compensation payment and discussing a preferential pitch fee for anyone who wants to take a stall at any of the seasonal events planned for next year.’
‘So no walk tonight?’ Avery asked in a sad voice. ‘I was really looking forward to seeing the lights.’
Dylan hooked an arm around her shoulders. ‘That’s where I have some good news. Ben and Amelia took a group over to the illuminated walk and they’ve managed to clear enough of the walkways that, even though Hope and Ziggy decided to pull the plug on everything else, we’ll be able to open that this evening.’ It didn’t escape Sadie’s notice that he referred to ‘we’ rather than ‘they’. Whatever distance had existed between him and the rest of the family seemed to have been overcome and it was clear he was fully invested in their success. She was pleased for him and what it would hopefully mean for the future for him and the kids.
‘Well, that’s definitely a silver lining, and it should look pretty spectacular against a snowy backdrop.’
‘Yes, and as a thank you to everyone for their efforts, they’ve invited the whole village to enjoy the walk for free this evening. With so many tickets likely to be deferred it’ll help to create a good atmosphere for those who do decide to make the trip.’ Dylan nodded at the big heap of snow they’d gathered. ‘Right, let me help you get this lifted up and then I’m going to get showered and changed.’
By the time he returned, they’d rolled and fitted the smallest snowball for the head and Sadie was busy packing and smoothing the joins between the three balls to help hold the snowman together and turn it into a cohesive piece. The kitchen had come through again, supplying the obligatory carrot noses, and Dylan and the kids went off to forage for sticks and stones to act as arms, buttons and eyes. The boot room was raided for hats, scarves and other accoutrements and soon a row of completed snowmen stood ready for judging. As she studied the efforts, Sadie decided that some people had taken things just a touch too seriously. Though she might be guilty of a preference bias, she thought theirs was the most traditional-looking and therefore the most appealing. When the judges declared them the winners, Sadie was thrilled – especially for the children.
Unfortunately, not everyone was a good sport about it. ‘Oh, come on! You have to be kidding me! There’s no way they deserved to win.’
Avery’s face fell. ‘What does he mean? Does he think we cheated?’
Theo put a protective arm around her shoulders. ‘He’s just a sore loser, Avie, ignore him.’
Sadie wasn’t the only one who turned to glare at the red-faced man who was standing, hands on hips, next to a life-sized figure that was anatomically accurate enough that it wouldn’t have looked out of place in an Antony Gormley art installation. He was one of the Scrabble players and one of the ones who had put Sadie off from the thought of joining in when Marcus had invited her.
‘It’s just a bit of fun, and the judges’ decision is final,’ Marcus said, walking over to clap him on the shoulder. ‘Come on, it’s time for lunch.’ When the man made to shake him off, Marcus tightened his grip, his friendly smile turning a touched strained. Sadie wasn’t sure what he said next as he’d lowered his voice to little more than a whisper, but the complainer looked chastened enough that he hurried up the stairs of the hall.
His smile returning to full beam, Marcus strolled over to congratulate them and Sadie was pleased at the way he focused on the kids, pointing out things he particularly admired, and soon they were basking in the glow of his praise. Stevie came over to join them, hugging each of the kids in turn. ‘Congratulations on a well-deserved win. Now come on in out of the cold and get some lunch.’
Dylan ushered the kids ahead and Sadie noticed with a smile the way Stevie touched Marcus’s hand briefly before she moved on to the next group to urge them inside. ‘Thanks for stepping in,’ she murmured to him as they followed the others up the steps.
Marcus gave her a toothy grin. ‘It was my pleasure.’ He leaned closer. ‘I’ll let you into a secret – we’d already decided that, after the way they stepped up this morning and helped with breakfast service, the kids were going to win at least one event. The fact we got to take Barry down a peg or two was just an added bonus.’ Sadie was still chuckling over that when they entered the lounge to find a huge buffet had been set up on tables on either side of the bar.
The indoor games started after lunch and each round inspired a number of inventive efforts to manipulate the results. A ‘one wrong and you’re out’ game of Trivial Pursuit saw most teams drop by the wayside before a prize wedge had even been collected. As it progressed into a grudge match between two teams headed by Marcus and Barry, Sadie decided to retreat to one of the sofas with her crochet and let them get on with it. Avery flopped down beside her and rested her head on Sadie’s shoulder. ‘Why do people take things so seriously?’
‘I have no idea, sweetheart, but I’d much rather be like us than be like that, wouldn’t you?’
Avery grinned. ‘For sure. Can I make something?’
‘Of course.’ Sadie rummaged in the bag beside her and produced a fresh ball and a hook. ‘Do you want to learn how to make a spiral?’
It didn’t take long for both Theo and Dylan to grow bored and join them. Dylan came to sit on the other side of Sadie while Theo sprawled himself sideways across an armchair nearby, his long legs dangling over one side. His earbuds went in and he was miles away in a moment, absorbed with whatever he was watching on his screen. Dylan seemed content to watch Avery’s painstaking efforts but his head was soon nodding on his chest.
‘Why don’t you go and take a nap?’ Sadie asked him. ‘The kids will be fine here with me.’
Dylan cracked one eye and gave her a sleepy grin. ‘I’m too comfortable to get up.’ He slid down a little, extending his legs in front of him. His head lolled against her shoulder and in seconds he was fast asleep. Deciding to let him rest, Sadie abandoned her own efforts at crochet and focused on encouraging Avery. It shouldn’t have been possible to create such an intimate moment in a room so busy with people, yet the four of them felt like a separate entity, a little haven of peace and calm in amongst the noise and laughter.
‘This is nice,’ Avery said, nestling against her other side, and Sadie could only silently agree with the sentiment.
24
Dylan woke to a soft hand stroking his hair. When he blinked open his eyes it was to find Sadie staring down at him, a wry grin on her face. ‘You were snoring,’ she said.
‘Oh, sorry.’ Dylan struggled up to a sitting position, wondering when in the hell he’d managed to end up with his head in Sadie’s lap. He vaguely remembered abandoning Trivial Pursuit when one of the team members had started asking questions in Polish and it had descended into a friendly argument about the rules. He rubbed a hand over his face to chase away the groggy feeling in his brain. ‘How long was I asleep?’ He noticed then how quiet it was and looked over to find the lounge mostly empty. ‘Where’d everybody go?’
‘About two hours. The game players decamped to the ballroom for the Twister competition because they needed more floorspace.’
‘Rather them than me.’
Sadie grinned. ‘I was very disappointed to have to turn down an invitation to join in.’ She sounded anything but. ‘That finished about twenty minutes ago and most people were ready to call it a day and have gone upstairs to freshen up before the walk. The kids went upstairs to call their mum.’
Dylan glanced around the room once more, feeling guilty at using Sadie as a pillow. ‘You should’ve woken me up earlier.’
‘I was happy to let you sleep. You were out like a light so I figured you needed it.’
He rubbed a hand over his face, still feeling a bit jaded. ‘I could do with a coffee.’
Sadie rose. ‘I’ll get you one.’
He jumped up. ‘Hey, it’s enough that you let me use you as a pillow, you don’t need to start fetching and carrying for me.’
She followed him over towards the machine. ‘I might get one myself and take it up with me. I want to freshen up before we go out.’
They parted on the first-floor landing with a promise to meet back downstairs in a few minutes. He let himself into the suite just in time to hear the kids saying goodbye to Jen. ‘Hey, I’m sorry I crashed out on you like that.’
‘That’s okay, Dad,’ Theo said. ‘We were happy hanging out with Sadie.’
It was good to know they felt so relaxed around her. ‘How was the Twister?’
Avery rolled her eyes. ‘That grumpy man got knocked out in the first round and then started accusing other people of cheating. He really needs to get over himself.’
‘He’s an ass—’ Dylan raised a warning eyebrow at Theo ‘—inine idiot,’ his son hastily corrected himself.
Dylan grinned. ‘He sure sounds like it. I hope he didn’t spoil things for you?’
The kids exchanged a grin. ‘Aunt Stevie told him he was clearly overexcited by the day and suggested he go and lie down.’
Dylan laughed. ‘Good for her. Right, I said we’d meet Sadie downstairs in a few minutes so I’m just going to wash my face and sort myself out.’
‘Clean your teeth too,’ Avery called after him as he headed towards his bedroom. ‘You don’t want to have coffee breath if you want to kiss Sadie later.’
Dylan kept walking, deciding it was easier to pretend he hadn’t heard her rather than get into another conversation about appropriate boundaries around his relationship with Sadie. He did brush his teeth, though. And use plenty of mouthwash.
When they got downstairs, there was quite a group assembled ready for the walk up to the beginning of the lights. Sadie was waiting near the door, her coat already on and her hat and gloves in one hand. She was chatting to Stevie and Rowena, who were both also bundled up for the cold weather. ‘Are you coming with us?’ Avery asked, face wreathed in smiles at the idea of getting to spend time with her aunts.
‘Yes, darling,’ Rowena answered her. ‘And we’re going to meet the rest of the family on the way. We haven’t had a chance to see the lights since they went up and we thought everyone deserved a little treat after all the hard work today.’ She turned to Dylan. ‘Is that all right with you?’
He nodded. ‘The more the merrier.’
As they made their way along the drive in a large, loose group, Dylan took Sadie’s hand. ‘Hey, I forgot to mention earlier that my father was in amongst everyone when the villagers turned up.’
