Page 40 of Christmas at the Little Bookshop by the Sea

‘Come on, Ed! It’s your turn now!’ Zak’s voice travelled up the hill to them.

Ed didn’t need telling twice. ‘On my way!’ He dropped onto his sledge and pushed himself off. ‘Woohoo!’ he yelled, as Zak and Chloe cheered him on.

He shot down the hill at an alarming speed, whizzing by the two children and crashing to a halt in a cluster of bushes, snow tumbling from their branches and covering him. His exaggerated cries of anguish were drowned out by Zak and Chloe’s peals of laughter.

Florrie was still laughing by the time he’d climbed the hill and was standing beside her. ‘That was so funny!’ Her sides were aching, she’d been laughing so hard. ‘Are you okay?’ She couldn’t stop the splutter of laughter that followed.

Ed feigned a hurt look. ‘Good to know you find me so entertaining.’

‘Ed’s mint! He’s just dead funny!’ Zak beamed. He was clearly having a whale of a time.

‘Ed, can I go on the sledge with you?’ Chloe was jumping up and down excitedly. ‘I want to crash into the bushes, too.’

Ed glanced over at Florrie, seeking her opinion. ‘It didn’t hurt, made for a soft landing. Bit snowy, though.’ He grinned at her.

‘In that case, I don’t see why not,’ she said, grinning back.

‘Mint! Does that mean you’ll come on mine with me?’ Zak looked eagerly at Florrie.

‘I’d love to. Come on, Zak, let’s show Ed how it’s done.’ Florrie slipped off the backpack she’d been wearing – she’d come equipped with a flask of hot chocolate and a packet of Christmas-themed biscuits, anticipating they’d be a welcome blast of warmth and sugar as the cold started to set in.

Moments later the two sledges were lined up, ready for Zak to give the word.

‘One, two, three… Go!’ they all cried in unison before pushing themselves off the top of the hill. Gerty charged down with them, barking as she went.

Zak’s loud roar made Florrie’s ears ring as they zoomed their way down, flying over the bumps in the ground, her heart hammering with exhilaration as wind rushed over her face. They were neck and neck until Florrie and Zak’s sledge hit a large bump that sent them careering round in circles.

‘Waaarrrggghhh!’ Zak yelled at the top of his lungs.

Florrie let out a squeal before they ground to a halt, landing in a wall of snow with a softthwump. She lay there, unable to stop laughing.

Somewhere in the distance she could hear cries of victory from Chloe and Ed. She pushed herself up and looked over to see them punching the air, Gerty jumping around them giddily. A wave of warmth spread through her at seeing this carefree version of Ed. He may have had a lonely childhood which, in turn, had led to him being reserved as far as friendships were concerned, but he’d taken to her group of friends – and they him – as if they’d known one another for years longer than they had, which was no mean feat, especially with how protective her pals were of one another. And now here he was, having the best time with Zak and Chloe, the three of them wearing expressions of unadulterated joy. Gerty barked, jolting Florrie out of her musings. She looked to see the Labrador rolling about in the snow in pure joy, her legs sending clumps of the stuff flying everywhere. ‘Make thatfourof them wearing expressions of unadulterated joy,’ she said under her breath.

‘Right, I reckon it’s hot chocolate time,’ said Florrie, reaching for her backpack and pulling out a flask.

They were standing at the top of the hill, ruddy-cheeked and panting, their breath curling out in the chilly air around them. Florrie was convinced the already low temperature had dropped even further. They’d been sledging for over an hour and a half and the cold was beginning to set in, not helped by their wet clothes. Even Gerty had joined in with the fun. Much to their amusement, the Labrador hadn’t been able to get enough of sharing a sledge and whizzing down the hill, her velvet ears flapping in the breeze. When they’d reached the bottom, she’d entertained them with more rolling around in the snow. The children had been in raptures at her antics.

‘When we’ve had this, how do you fancy building a snowman?’ asked Ed, steam rising from the plastic mug of hot chocolate he had in his hand.

‘Yay!’ said Chloe, spraying a mouthful of biscuit crumbs everywhere.

‘Cool!’ Zak beamed. ‘This has been thebestday.’

Florrie and Ed exchanged meaningful glances. Ithadbeen the best day. She knew they’d have fun with the kids, but she hadn’t anticipated just how much they’d enjoy themselves in the process. That it was helping Jasmine made it all the more perfect.

With the snowman finished – Frosty Freddy, as they’d named him, cut an imposing figure and was almost as tall as Ed, with a huge nose fashioned from a piece of scrunched-up foil Florrie had found in her backpack – they were making their way, homeward bound, back up the path to the road when Florrie heard her mobile ping. She unhooked her backpack and reached inside for her phone. With gloved fingers she tapped on the screen to see it was a text from Maggie.

Hiya Florrie, hope you’re all having a fab time. How’s the sledging going? Mxx

‘It’s Mags, asking about the sledging,’ she said before typing out a reply, made difficult with fingers made numb by the cold.

Hi Mags, it’s been brilliant! We’ve all had a great time, even Gerty! Just heading home now. It’s so cold!! Brrr!! How are the bear orders going? And how’s the bump? Fxx

She finished with a selection of snow and cold-themed emojis.

Just as she was about to put her phone back in her backpack another text came through.

Orders going well, thanks. Bump’s still sitting on my bladder! Bear’s heading into town to pick up some paint & wonders if you’d like a lift home? Mxx

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