Page 46 of Winter Wishes at Pennycress Inn

A murmur of Merry Christmases filtered around the large room as chairs were scraped back, coats zipped up and gloves pulled on as people began filtering out of the hall.

‘So what do you think about your very first village meeting? Was it everything you’ve ever hoped for?’ Nicola laughed as she shrugged into her coat.

‘Haha, it was rather sweet.’ Scarlett smiled. Or she was sure it would have been if she hadn’t been quite so distracted by the thought of speaking to Rowan.

‘Right, I need to rush off back to the farm.’ Charlie leaned across and kissed Nicola on the cheek. ‘Shall I meet you there?’

‘I’ll come with you.’ Nicola turned towards Scarlett. ‘Unless anything else needs doing at Pennycress?’

‘Nope, I think everything’s in hand.’ Scarlett pulled her mobile from her pocket and frowned. Seven missed calls from Tyler. Great.

‘I’ll see you in the morning then.’ After touching her lightly on the arm, Nicola followed Charlie out of the hall.

Leaning down, Scarlett picked up her bag and pulled the strap over her shoulder as she realised Rowan was waiting at the end of the row of chairs for her. She looked down at her coat and buttoned it up, intentionally taking her time. She could feel the nervous energy inside her pooling in her stomach as she made her way down the row, the seat of the last chair jabbing her in the back of the leg, the pain a welcome distraction to her thoughts. ‘Hi.’

‘Hey. Sorry I missed you. I waited outside until the last moment.’ Leaning forward, Rowan closed the gap between them, bringing his arms around her in a hug.

As she wrapped her arms around him, she tilted her head to avoid his kiss and instead leaned her cheek on his shoulder. Closing her eyes, she wished this moment could last forever, the anticipation of the potential relationship unfolding in front of them, the feeling that he wanted to be with her. Her. Scarlett Wynters.

It was all going to change, and it was all going to change tonight. She could feel it, sense the dread drawing closer.

Rubbing her arms as he stepped back, he smiled. ‘Do you fancy going to the pub? We could maybe grab a bite to eat? Unless you’ve eaten, in which case we could just have a drink or play some pool or people watch?’

As they walked down the aisle between the rows of chairs, she looked down at her boots, the thick soles clumping against the worn floorboards. Taking a breath, she looked up and met his gaze. ‘That sounds lovely, but do you mind if we go for a walk first?’

‘Sure, good plan. Maybe we could walk towards the edge of the village? The fields were looking beautiful all dusted in white this morning.’

‘Great.’ She winced at how deadpan her voice was. He sounded so eager to spend time with her, she just hoped what she had to tell him wouldn’t change the way he was feeling about her.

‘So, how’s your day been then? You must have impressed Miss Cooke this morning during the Community Hub meeting at the inn, or else she wouldn’t have been quite so forgiving when you arrived late here.’ Rowan chuckled as he took her hand in his.

‘Umm, I think that had more to do with the fact Charlie covered for me. Nicola is convinced Miss Cooke has a soft spot for him.’ She tightened her grip on Rowan’s hand, enjoying what might be the last few minutes of his warmth against her skin.

‘Haha, that does seem to be true. I think she’s happy to have Little Mead remain as a local farm rather than have one of these great big corporate chains run it or dismantle it and sell it off piece by piece.’

Scarlett nodded. Nicola had told her that Charlie had inherited Little Mead from his uncle not so long ago and that his first instinct had been to sell it and carry on with his old way of life. She could imagine the villagers must have been bracing themselves for a big developer to swoop in and build a huge housing estate at the edge of the village. ‘That’s true.’

‘Yep. Good job you met Charlie before you came in though. She’d only just finished telling off a couple who live down the street from me for arriving two minutes late.’ Rowan smiled across at her.

She nodded. As they came to the door, she took a deep breath; the air was quiet, still, cold, and as she looked up, she realised the sky was still laden with snow, ready to drop at any moment. She just hoped it might wait a little. At least until they’d been on their walk, and she’d had the chance to tell him about her and Tyler’s relationship and what she’d discovered at the end of it.

Crossing the road, they began to walk in the direction of Wisteria Lane and Pennycress leading out of the village. As they strolled slowly towards Pennycress, she could almost feel the air suffocating her. She needed to tell him, and the best way was for her to just come out with it. ‘Rowan, can we talk?’

Pausing, he turned to face her and rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. ‘You don’t want this, do you? It’s all been a mistake?’

‘No, no, it’s not been a mistake.’ Reaching out, she clasped both his hands in hers and searched his eyes. ‘Not for me. Not at all. Has it for you?’

‘Of course not.’ Looking down at their hands, Rowan squeezed her gently. ‘If it’s not that then what is it you want to talk to me about?’

‘About my last relationship.’ Taking a deep breath in, she looked him in the eye. ‘It was messy. And complicated.’

‘It was?’

‘Yes, so complicated.’ She rolled her eyes. The word didn’t give her and Tyler’s relationship the due it deserved or had earned, but she couldn’t think of a better one, so ‘complicated’ would have to do.

‘Well, as long as you weren’t dating someone behind their partner’s back, I think we’ll be okay.’ Rowan chuckled. ‘That’s how my ex-best-mate described his relationship with my ex, “complicated”. As if…’

He continued speaking but Scarlett wasn’t sure at what point she forgot to breathe. All she could focus on was that her and Tyler’s relationship had been no better than Rowan’s ex’s with his former best mate. She had been seeing Tyler behind Donna’s back, and to make matters worse they’d had a child, too.