Page 21 of Winter Wishes at Pennycress Inn

‘Who?’ he barked back, and she pulled the phone from her ear, looking at it as though half-expecting the name on the screen to have changed to something else, to realise this wasn’t actually the man she’d once so deeply loved. ‘I want the guinea pig back. Kimberly is heartbroken.’

She took a sharp breath in at the mention of his daughter’s name. This wasn’t about Kimberly and her wishes; she doubted very much the kid had even noticed her pet had gone. Heck, it had seemingly taken over a week for him to realise. She shuddered as the realisation that poor Thelma wouldn’t have even been fed during that time entered her head. If they’d only just noticed her absence, then that just showed how often she had been cared for. ‘You can’t have her.’

‘You what?’ With every word he spoke, the illusion of how she thought he had been shattered a little more. This wasn’t the man she’d fallen in love with, it wasn’t.

‘Kimberly is not upset because I have her guinea pig. If she is upset, then it’s likely down to Donna having found out about us.’ She folded the hem of her skirt between her fingers. She hated the fact that her actions had upset Donna – whether or not she was the clone of Cruella De Vil, she hadn’t deserved any of this – and that because of Tyler’s affair with her their family unit could have broken down. Scarlett would never knowingly do anything like that. She closed her eyes. That’s what was the hardest part of the whole sorry situation. Not losing Tyler, but knowing she’d hurt others, knowing her getting together with him, making a home with him, believing every damn word out of his mouth, had upturned Donna and Kimberly’s whole lives. It wasn’t who she was. She’d never have hurt anyone knowingly, and she hated him for putting her in that situation, for orchestrating her life so she was not only living a lie but creating a time bomb which would destroy other people’s.

‘I want the guinea pig back.’

Pulling the mobile from her ear again, Scarlett swallowed. She’d lost everything in her life: her home, her job, the very future she’d imagined. She wasn’t about to lose Thelma too. And she wasn’t about to give her up to a life of sitting in that damn tiny cage isolated at the back of a room nobody went into. ‘She is now living with me. I will not be giving her up, and I will not be answering your calls again.’

‘Sca—’

Hitting the End Call button, Scarlett lowered her phone to the step next to her, her hands shaking as she did so. She glanced around the hallway, the silence suddenly pressing in on her, suffocating her. She needed to speak to someone; she needed to speak to Laura. She wouldn’t tell her the whole truth, she couldn’t, but she could talk to her about some of it. She could tell her Tyler was trying to get Thelma back.

Pushing herself to standing, she swiped the back of her hand across her face, drying the tears which had begun to fall. That was another reason she hated him, because she was alone in this. She couldn’t tell anyone the whole truth, the fact he was married, the fact she had been too naïve to even realise.

She hated him. She hated the fact he’d turned her life upside down, forcing her to start over again. But more than anything else, she hated what he’d turned her into.

14

Pausing, Scarlett let the wrought-iron gate close behind her as she shoved her van key in her pocket before hurrying up the garden path towards Pennycress Inn. She could still hear the tone of Tyler’s voice in her mind and couldn’t understand how he could have gone from kind and caring, from someone who had loved her, or told her that he had, to a cold, heartless stranger. Had anything he’d told her over the last three years been true?

Huh, she now knew their relationship had been built on lies but until now, even during the past four months when she’d been desperately trying and failing to make sense of everything that had happened, she’d never once questioned his love for her. She’d believed that part had been true, that he had been genuine about his feelings towards her. Heck, she’d almost let herself believe that he’d only done what he had because he’d been so in love with her, that he wouldn’t have if their love hadn’t been the real deal. That’s how he’d tried to justify himself.

Now, though, now the veil had fallen, and she was seeing everything as though for the first time. In three-dimensional vibrant HD at that. He’d just used her. She could have been anyone. He’d lived for the thrill of cheating, of getting away with simply being able to lead a double life that she could literally have been anyone.

Reaching the door, she pushed it open. He might have already replaced her. Or would do in the future. He may be selling the flat, but he could buy again. Or rent. Besides, who knew if he really was selling the flat? She knew he could lie.

Covering her hand with the sleeve of her jumper, she tried again to dry the tears flooding her cheeks and bee-lined for the kitchen. Pausing in the doorway, she looked around. There was no one there. Hurrying back out into the hallway, she stopped. She could hear voices coming from the sitting room. Laura must be in there. She’d pop her head round the door and see if she could catch her attention.

Scarlett walked across to the door and inched it open before peering inside. A group of people were sitting on the sofas nearest the door, trays of cups and plates of cake filling the coffee table between them. There was no sign of Laura, though.

Mumbling ‘sorry’, she began closing the door before she heard her name being called.

‘Scarlett, isn’t it?’

Turning, she looked behind her as Miss Cooke emerged from the cloakroom, adjusting the sleeves of her pale green jacket as she did so. ‘Yes.’

‘I hadn’t realised you were Laura’s cousin when I spoke to you in the hardware store.’ Coming towards her, Miss Cooke walked past and pushed the door to the sitting room fully open, stepping inside before turning back and continuing the conversation. ‘I trust you haven’t parked your van on the yellow lines again.’

Scarlett frowned. ‘I hadn’t before. It had been parked completely legally. Between two other cars at that.’

‘Of course, it’s just that as Meadowfield’s mayoress, it’s my duty to make sure the village remains aesthetically pleasing. Tourists are our lifeblood, after all.’ Miss Cooke smiled as though she hadn’t just insulted Scarlett’s home.

She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t stand here and take insult after insult, not now. Not after she’d just spoken to Tyler. She’d never be good enough for anyone, would she? She wouldn’t be good enough for someone to want her for herself, not just for the thrill of cheating. And she’d never be good enough for this stupid village and the mayoress standing in front of her, speaking about her van in front of all the other people here.

‘You must realise how ridiculous…’ Scarlett stopped, the words caught in her throat, and she could feel her cheeks flame with embarrassment as she realised the rest of the room had become silent, the buzz of conversation stalled as she and Miss Cooke exchanged words. She glanced towards the group still sitting on the sofas. She recognised Jill, who gardened for Pennycress, and Rowan of all people, but no one else. The room was suffocating, the air thick, and she suddenly felt as though she couldn’t breathe. Yes, she should stay and agree to Miss Cooke’s terms or else finish giving her a piece of her mind, but she couldn’t. She just needed to get away. Get back outside. Laura wasn’t in here, and neither was Nicola, and if she couldn’t talk to either of them, then she needed to get out. Turning on the spot, she blindly hurried back into the hallway before pulling the front door open and running outside.

As soon as she reached the steps leading down from the decking to the front garden, she felt her legs wobble beneath her, the shock of Tyler’s phone call suddenly hitting her as she lowered herself to the step. Keeping her eyes fixed on her van parked on the road at the bottom of the garden path, she felt the heat of tears running down her cheeks.

‘Do you mind if I sit?’

Scarlett looked up, beyond bothering to hide her tears, and nodded as she realised it was Rowan standing next to her. He softly lowered himself to the step next to her and she was grateful that he didn’t ask if she was okay or try to tell her not to get upset over Miss Cooke’s words. Perhaps he could tell she had already been broken when she’d pushed that door open, or perhaps he just wanted some air. Whatever the reason, she slowly felt herself relax in his presence.

As the seconds morphed into minutes, her tears began to dry, and she cleared her throat. ‘Do you know where Laura is?’

‘She’s out with Jackson, collecting some last-minute essentials for their honeymoon, I believe.’ Rowan shifted position before holding out a blue handkerchief towards her.