Page 52 of Mistletoe and Mulled Wine at the Christmas Campervan

‘Thanks, this is just brilliant, mate,’ the chap was grinning, ‘and I love your campervan so much. Hey, do you do other events?’

‘Yeah, of course. Why?’

‘Well, we’re getting married next year, and … well, cocktails in a campervan would be brilliant. Yeah, we’d love for you to be there as part of the reception. That’d be fab, wouldn’t it, Debs?’

‘Yes, that’d be so cool.’

‘Sounds great.’ Jack handed over a business card. ‘I’ve done lots of weddings. And I can personalise everything for you, too. Just contact me whenever you like.’

The couple wandered off merrily, and Jack couldn’t help but glance over at Lucy then, who happened to be watching him too. Their eyes met for a moment and then quickly tore away.

Jack looked up at the brooding sky; it had turned a deep, cloudy grey. The snow was certainly getting heavier, and with the Fayre due to end in an hour or so anyhow, people were now beginning to drift off home.

Abby’s mum had heard about the weather turning and given her a warning call. Boyfriend Callum had then offered to come and collect her, arriving – very sweetly – with a kiss on the cheek for Abby, and his warm winter coat to cover her less-than-adequate-for-snow All Fired Up uniform.

‘Hey folks, all okay here?’ He gave a broad grin. ‘Ready for the off, Abs?’

Abby looked to Lucy, who smiled in agreement. The hardest of the work was done and she was more than happy to let her assistant get away.

‘The roads are getting a bit dodgy out there, by the way,’ Callum added. ‘Alright if you take it slow, but you might want to think about getting away soon yourself, Lucy. Or maybe we can wait for you, if you’d like? Follow you back, just in case?’

‘Ah, that’s kind of you, Callum, but this stove takes an age to cool down, and I can’t go anywhere ’til then. No, you two head off. I’ll be fine.’

‘You sure?’ Abby checked.

‘Certain. Go on, get yourselves away. There’s plenty of people here to help, if need be,’ she added reassuringly, and a little more confidently than she felt, watching the snowflakes continue to drift down.

‘Okay, well you take care. Give me a text when you get back then, yeah?’ Abby stressed.

‘Yep, of course. You sound like my mum.’ Lucy had to smile.

But as they walked away, Callum’s arm slung protectively around Abby’s shoulder, Lucy couldn’t help but feel a wistful pang for how things had changed so much between her and Jack. With bloody Liam putting his spanner in the works, and Jack all Mr Frosty lately, she felt all out of kilter. Somehow vulnerable.

So, swiftly shaking herself out of her pensive mood, for the next half hour Lucy was serving and cooking solo, but that was okay, as she hadn’t wanted to pack up too soon and disappoint any customers, and things were now beginning to quieten down anyhow. She’d had an enjoyable and profitable day workwise; that much she could tell from the bulging cash box. And it was lovely in many ways to be standing by a hot oven in the dark with snowflakes falling around her. She couldn’t wait to get cleared up and get away home to cosy up. And maybe, just maybe, she could corner Jack and force him to hear her out about the Liam debacle before they went their separate ways into the cold night.

But it looked like the weather had other ideas. With just fifteen minutes to go until the official closing time of five o’clock, it started bleaching it down. Lucy quickly began clearing up, watching the visitors and the carol-singing schoolchildren and their families now leaving in droves. Lucy, however, would still have to wait a further hour before the oven would be cool enough to move back into the horsebox for transportation.

It wasn’t long before the majority of the stallholders had packed up their goods in their vans, and were setting off steadily up the driveway too – which already had a two-inch layer of snow. Lucy began to feel anxious; she had never driven the horsebox in snowy conditions before.

Jack came across then, still seeming subdued. ‘Do you think you’ll be alright? Driving back?’ he asked, not quite looking her in the eye.

‘Ah, I’m not sure … I’ve never driven with the horsebox in snow before.’ She couldn’t hide her concern.

Snowflakes stuck on their eyelashes and clothes.

‘Okay, don’t worry.’ He bit down on his lip. ‘Look, I’ll stay … until you’re ready to go, that is. I’ll follow you back some of the way at least. We can get to the main road together … see what the conditions are like there.’ The words sounded stiff.

‘Thank you.’ Lucy gave a gentle smile. She longed to fold herself into his arms, but there was still that feeling of distance lurking between them.

They packed away as much as they could, and then headed inside the castle to take shelter while they waited for Lucy’s oven to finally cool. The last of the stallholders were tidying up in the hall, but most had now left. The castle staff were busy clearing up too. Lucy gave a wry smile as she spotted a lady dressed as an elf hoovering the area under the huge Christmas tree.

Malcolm came dashing in the main door, the high-viz orange apron he wore over his coat covered in snow. He banged on a wooden table for attention, ‘Sorry folks, but you’ll just have to hold fire here for a while. No point setting off just now.’

‘Oh, why? What’s happened, Malcolm?’ Ellie asked, as she helped to fold down one of the trestle tables.

‘Joe’s trying to sort things out, but a large transit van has skidded on the road, must be bad ice, and ended up across the lane and partly in the ditch. The road’s shut for now. No-one can get past.’

‘Oh, is everyone alright?’ Ellie sounded concerned.