Page 3 of Winter Wishes at Pennycress Inn

Twisting in her seat, she held her arms out towards the still-hidden Thelma. ‘Ta-da! What do you think? Do you think I can get away with the I’m-just-passing-through-and-my-life-is-fabulous look?’

The bedding in the corner of the small cage rustled to life, and Thelma’s head appeared, her little beady eyes looking around as if to ask where she was.

‘Oh, there you are, Thelma.’ Leaning over, Scarlett opened the little wire door and reached in, frowning as Thelma buried herself again. ‘Oh, sweetie, I know this must seem super weird to you. You’ve been living in the back of the spare room for however long with no human interaction and now you’re travelling hundreds of miles in a camper.’

Again, the soft, fluffy bedding moved a little, but still, Thelma remained hidden from view.

Sighing, Scarlett closed the door again. ‘Do you know what, though? Tomorrow I’m going to get you a bigger cage, something fit for a guinea pig and not a hamster, but now I need to pop in and see Laura and Jackson. You’ll be okay, won’t you?’

Scarlett glanced out of the window. Dusk had well and truly set in, bringing with it a drop in temperature. She looked back at Thelma’s cage. She should be okay for a while, though. Scarlett had had the heating blaring out for the entire journey, so the camper was as warm and cosy as it would get and would stay that way for some time at least.

‘Okay, I’m going to go now.’ Reaching behind her through the curtain dividing the cab of the camper from the back of it, she grabbed her coat before slipping it on.

Jumping out of the camper, Scarlett shut the door before bending and glancing at her reflection in the wing mirror. Yep, she was fine, and if she kept smiling, not even the best interrogator would guess she’d been crying only minutes earlier.

She pushed the wrought-iron gate open and took a deep breath as she walked down the path between the flower beds. It was strange to think she was last here in the midst of summer, but despite the cold winter weather the garden was still bursting with life, hellebores the colour of rich plums were blooming between the sleeping lavender and winter jasmines surrounding the doorway, their white petals illuminated by the streetlight.

Scarlett climbed the short steps up to the decking surrounding the front door and glanced back towards the camper before pressing the doorbell. As she listened to the dainty tune ringing out, she tucked her hair behind her ears, reminding herself she needed to pretend everything was fine. There was no way she was going to put a dampener on Laura and Jackson’s first Christmas as a married couple. Besides, the longer she could pretend her life was great, the easier it would be to believe it were true.

3

The door opened to reveal Laura standing there balancing a tray with a large freshly baked Victoria sponge and a pile of plates in one hand. Scarlett watched her face transform from polite and happy to pure surprise as she realised it was she, Scarlett, who was standing on the doorstep. In a flash of movement, Laura hurried towards the reception desk, planting the tray with a clatter on the polished surface before returning to the doorway and wrapping her arms around Scarlett as she pulled her inside.

‘Scarlett!’ Laura kicked the door closed behind them as she pulled away from the hug and cupped Scarlett’s elbows, looking her up and down. ‘It really is you. Why? How? It’s so lovely to see you.’

‘Hi.’ Scarlett grinned as she blinked away happy tears. Damn, she wasn’t going to cry again, whatever the reason. Happy or sad, that just wasn’t her. Laura had always been her favourite cousin, the cousin who had been there for her, without judgement through her wild teenage years and subsequent years of trying, and failing, to find her place in life. She gave a strangled laugh as she spoke, waving her hands with a flourish. ‘Surprise!’

‘Surprise indeed!’ Laura glanced over her shoulder before turning back to Scarlett. ‘Come with me, I’ve got to tell Jackson. He’ll be so happy you’re here.’

Looking down at her clumpy Doc Martens, Scarlett nodded towards them. ‘Should I take my shoes off?’

‘No, imagine if I were to ask all our guests to. It would be pure anarchy.’ Laura gripped her hand, leading the way across the hall towards the kitchen, the tray of cake clearly forgotten in the excitement. ‘It must have taken you ages to get here. Have you eaten?’

Scarlett stifled a yawn, the tiredness of the drive suddenly catching up with her. ‘I grabbed a sandwich from the services just a little while back.’

‘Oh, we’ll get you something then. You can’t survive on a sandwich for dinner.’ Laura swung the kitchen door open before manoeuvring Scarlett in front of her. ‘Jackson, guess who I found on the doorstep!’

Scarlett watched as Jackson looked up from the paper he was reading at the table before jumping to his feet and rushing over to her. ‘Scarlett! It’s so good to see you.’

‘Hey, Jackson.’ Sinking into his arms, Scarlett grinned. Jackson had been as much a part of the family since they were kids as anyone, and she’d spent many a happy weekend over at Laura’s house playing with Laura, Jackson, and her other cousins, Richie and Jenny. He was as much of a cousin to her as Laura, Richie and Jenny were. Drawing away from him, she pointed between him and Laura. ‘I still can’t believe you guys are actually married! Finally!’

‘Ha, finally!’ Laura laughed. ‘And there was me thinking we got married pretty quickly after getting into our relationship.’

Scarlett grinned. ‘You did, but it took you long enough to get together in the first place.’

‘Haha, it sure did. But now we are, we’re making up for lost time.’ Jackson gripped Laura around the waist and pulled her close before kissing the top of her head.

‘Glad to hear it.’ Scarlett slipped onto the pine bench opposite where Jackson had been sitting. ‘So, how is married life treating you?’

‘Aw. It’s great.’ Laura met Jackson’s gaze and smiled. ‘Everything I ever dreamed of.’

Sticking her fingers in her mouth, Scarlett pretended to gag. ‘Yuck.’

‘You did ask.’ Laura grinned before stepping away from her husband and grabbing a mug. ‘Coffee?’

‘Yes, please. I would literally sign my life away for a good coffee. I’m running on empty.’ Scarlett watched as Laura and Jackson worked together to make the coffee. That’s what she’d always longed for, someone to support her, to slip into those little routines like the two of them.

‘Oh, food. I’ll get you something to eat.’ Laura filled the mug from the cafetiere and placed it on the table in front of Scarlett as Jackson topped it up with a splash of milk.