Page 51 of The Merry Christmas Project

My ears pricked up at the change in his voice ; it sounded as if someone else other than Mr Robinson senior was on the other end.

‘Oh dear. Thank you very much for letting me know, and thank you for looking after him. I’ll be there as soon as I can. And who am I talking to ? Thank you.’ He ended the call, frowning.

‘Is there a problem ?’ I asked.

Cole gave me a thin smile. ‘He’s had a fall, not too serious, but I think it’s shaken him up. He lives the other side of the square in the retirement complex.’

‘Oh dear, your poor dad. I have a friend who lives there too: Astrid, you met her and her dog, Otto.’

He nodded. ‘It was Astrid who called me, I thought I recognised the voice. She’s looking after my dad until I get there. So, is there anything else you need or …’

‘Absolutely nothing at all, you go and see him. I’ll lock up here and get Nell to help me move in later,’ I said and blew out the candles, which had a soft vanilla fragrance. ‘Never leave a naked flame unattended, that’s my motto.’

‘Very wise,’ said Cole with a twinkle in his eye. ‘You’ve already flooded one of my properties, I’d rather you didn’t burn down a second.’

‘Me !’ I gasped with mock indignation as he headed for the stairs. ‘You can go off people, you know.’

Although it was unlikely in this case, I thought, because Cole Robinson was growing on me each time we met.

Chapter 17

Cole

20 NOVEMBER

Cole was standing outside the old bank trying to get through to Merry, but her phone was engaged. He knew she was there because the lights were on. This wasn’t a scheduled call but he had been on his way to visit his dad when the roofer phoned to confirm he’d be doing the job at the old bank tomorrow. He could send her a text, he supposed, but he felt it would be more professional to pass on the news personally. He grinned to himself ; who was he kidding ? He was here because he liked her. Plain and simple.

He’d passed by the old bank several times since he’d given her a set of keys, and every time the lights in the first-floor windows had been on. He’d intended to come back the following day and mend the lock on the bathroom door, but things had gone a bit manic, and he’d just not had the chance.

The flood had really messed things up for him. The sisters had immediately pulled out of purchasing two of the houses. They didn’t want to risk living on a flood plain. No matter how hard he’d tried to explain that the river had never and would never naturally flood the land where Orchard Gardens was being built and that the fault lay entirely with the landscaping contractor, they said they couldn’t risk it. He’d been counting on the money from their deposits to pay the next tranche of bills ; he was feeling the pressure to find another buyer to ease his cashflow.

And then there was his dad to worry about. Physically, Fred was fine after his fall last week, he was only in his early seventies and he’d always been fit and active, well until he’d moved to Rosebridge last year, that was. It had been Fred’s pride that had suffered most, due to having tripped up right in front of Astrid and then having to be dependent on her to help him back home. Ever since then, he’d been very subdued and Cole and Hester were concerned about him. Until he perked up again, they were taking it in turns to pop in as often as they could.

Cole tried Merry’s number once more and this time she picked up.

‘Hi Merry, it’s Cole Robinson, I’m outside, is it OK to drop in ?’ Cole realised he was holding his breath and hoping the answer would be yes.

‘Er, OK, yes, sure. Come on up. The door’s locked but the keys are up here with me.’

It wasn’t the most enthusiastic welcome, but then she was probably as busy as he was.

Cole unlocked the front door and let himself in. A smile crept across his face as he walked through the bank towards the staircase ; he was looking forward to seeing her, he realised.

He’d found himself thinking about Merry a lot recently. She was good fun, and although it wasn’t the most important thing, she was gorgeous. He liked her company, and he enjoyed the way conversation sparked backwards and forwards between them. Her friend Nell had said she was newly-single, but there had been that guy at the cottage when Cole had arrived on the morning of the flood, so maybe she was newly-taken again ?

The dating app that Hester had signed him up for was one where men had to wait for the women to make the first move, which was fine by him. It had been so long since he’d asked a woman out, he wasn’t sure what you were and weren’t allowed to say or do anymore. He’d gone along with Hester at the time, mainly because they’d both had a couple of glasses of wine, and it had been a bit of a laugh. But he’d put it out of his mind soon after, until Hester had asked him how he was getting on and insisted on checking his notifications.

‘Twenty-five !’ she’d squealed. ‘I knew that bio would work !’

He’d cringed, regretting ever letting his sister talk him into signing up. And he certainly shouldn’t have let her write his bio. According to her, he was a rufty-tufty builder with a heart of gold and a good sense of fun, whose likes included red wine, log fires and big scruffy dogs.

‘I know you don’t have a dog,’ she’d said, justifying her white lie. ‘But that’s the sort of dog you would have, and there’s no point me setting you up with a chihuahua owner because you call them rats.’

Which he’d had to admit was true. But twenty-five women all sending him messages ? He’d been exhausted just reading them. Not to mention a bit scared. And as for what they were looking for in a date, that had been even more exhausting. He’d been all for deleting the app from his phone, but Hester had persuaded him to at least reply to the ones he thought sounded nice. In the end he’d agreed, but on the condition that she didn’t get to see which ones he’d chosen or to read his replies. He’d only replied to one woman. Her name was Evelyn ; her profile had made him laugh and she’d got more clothes on than the rest of them. They’d sent a few messages backwards and forwards but then she’d asked to see a bit more of him. It took him a while to realise she meant naked photos. What sort of woman wanted to see his personal credentials before they’d even met in real life ? It had put him right off her. Maybe that was how it worked these days, but it didn’t work for him and he didn’t return her messages after that. The whole thing felt sleazy.

Merry was waiting for him at the top of the stairs as he came up, still holding her phone. She was wearing a long apron over a flowery dress. Her feet were in thick sheepskin boots, her cheeks were flushed and ringlets of damp hair had escaped from a bun and framed her face. His heart fluttered unexpectedly ; she looked adorable. Wholesome, but in a totally hot way. Plus she was real and not just a bio on an app. Cole made an instant decision : when it came to dating, he was going to stick to the old-fashioned way.

‘Hi,’ he said, suddenly feeling tongue-tied. Come on Cole, get a grip. He could organise teams of labourers, manage multiple property projects and talk banks into lending him thousands ; surely he could chat to a woman ?