Page 25 of Mistletoe and Mulled Wine at the Christmas Campervan

‘Yes, black and tan. Dachshund. A real character. Aren’t you, Daisy?’

‘Aren’t they all. My sister has a Dachshund, lovely, but for a small dog they certainly rule the roost. Great with the family, though; the kids all love her,’ she smiled.

‘Yeah, Daisy’s brilliant with my three-year-old nephew.’

‘Well, have a good day, my lovelies,’ and the woman turned, ready to serve the next customer.

‘Thanks, and you.’

With her hunger pangs still in force, Lucy was pleased to spot a familiar venue, Carrie’s Coffee and Cupcakes trailer – perfect. She’d go say hello, and fetch her and Abby another brew and a much-needed snack.

She made a beeline towards the rich fresh-coffee aromas, ‘Hey, Carrie, good to see you here. How’s it going? Been busy?’

Carrie was dressed in a sage-green chunky knit, jeans and Doc Martens, her hair a mass of dark-auburn curls. ‘Ah hi, Lucy. Yeah, very much so. Always a great event, this one. Been coming here for years. I love doing the Christmas markets, there’s such a wonderful feel about them.’

‘Yeah, it’s so pretty, isn’t it? The market, the village, everything. And today is my first Christmas market ever, actually,’ Lucy confessed.

‘Oh, that’s exciting. So, are your pizzas going well? I did spot your horsebox earlier. But it’s been all go, so I’ve never had the chance to come across and say hello as yet. Sorry, hun.’

A sparkling flash caught Lucy’s eye, distracting her. At her feet was a whirl of tinsel, going around in circles. ‘Oh … Daisy!’

The mischievous Dachshund had managed to drag a strand of tinsel from goodness knows where, and was now growling at it, twirling it about and thrashing it from side to side, like it was some kind of sparkly stranded prey. Carrie looked out and started laughing, as well as several of the passers-by.

‘Oh my goodness, you’re having a right game with that. Sorry Dais, but it’s getting taken away. You’ll end up choking on it, else.’ Lucy was shaking her head with a smile at the little dog’s antics. She spotted Abby chuckling away, watching from the horsebox too. ‘What are you like?’

‘Having fun down there, is she?’

‘Getting too much into the Christmas spirit, I think,’ Lucy laughed. ‘Sorry, I’ll just pop her back in the Jeep, minus the tinsel trail, and I’ll be right back. I was coming over for a couple of coffees, actually …’

‘No problem, I’ll get them brewing and see you in a minute.’

‘You little tinker,’ Lucy chided the dog, who was giving her angelic ‘Who, me?’ eyes, as they headed back over to her vehicle. She looked about, still not sure where the now-dishevelled strand had come from, but nobody seemed to be missing it.

Lucy arrived back a few minutes later. ‘So, where were we …?’

Carrie was still chuckling about Daisy. ‘She’s a little character, that one.’

‘She sure is – fancy picking a fight with a strand of tinsel! Wouldn’t be without her, mind.’ Daisy had been her best friend, through the ups and downs of the past year. And the little dog’s naughty antics had brought a smile back to Lucy’s face, when at times it had been hard to find one.

Lucy glanced over to the horsebox, her horsebox, recognising all she had achieved since that low, and was so thankful that things were beginning to turn around for her.

‘So, I was after a couple of coffees, and I’m going to have to have some of these gorgeous cakes too.’ Lucy started browsing the flavours: red velvet, double chocolate, cookies and cream, lemon drizzle …

‘Oh, and how’s Jack?’ Carrie asked, with a knowing smile. ‘I’ve heard you two have become a bit of an item?’

‘Ah, yes … we have been seeing each other,’ Lucy felt herself flush for some reason, she wasn’t quite sure why, as it wasn’t exactly a secret.

‘Ah well, he’s a nice lad. Often stops by for a coffee and a chat when we’re working at the same events. Likes to tell me all about his travels and adventures. Been to so many amazing places, makes my life seem a bit dull … In fact, I wonder where he’ll be setting off next? Every year he seems to take some time out and head off somewhere new …’

Lucy suddenly felt uncomfortable. So, it was well known about his worldwide wanderings. And it didn’t sound like they were just in his backpacking past. Was he already making more plans? The open laptop and the New Zealand page surfaced in her mind once more.

Why did her romantic relationships always seem to be fraught? Liam’s affair … The thought of Jack leaving … heading off for foreign shores … It all made her heart feel heavy. But she resolved, whatever would be, would be. She wasn’t going to worry herself back to a low point. She’d turned her life around this past year, she was heading up that hill, and she was going to bloody well keep on going.

She ordered two cappuccinos, and unable to resist a cupcake each for her and Abby, plumped for a toffee-drizzled banoffee and a cinnamon-frosted red velvet. She also spotted some delightful-looking festive gift boxes: four cupcakes with swirls of creamy-white frosting, and cute sugar-paste toppers of Santa, Rudolph, a snowman and an angel, with pretty stars and snowflakes sprinkled over. Beautiful festive works of sugary-baked art. And she knew just who would love them …

‘Oh, and I’ll take a box of these too. They look delightful.’

Yes, she’d call in to see her brother Olly and family on the way back home. It would be a great reason to stop by, and the perfect token of appreciation to thank them for all the times they’d looked out for her and Daisy. If her romantic relationships were rocking and rolling, and her friendship with Becky was now on troubled waters, at least her family were always her anchor.