Page 59 of Christmas at the Little Bookshop by the Sea

‘I see.’ Lady Caro looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘Do any of you have all vehicle insurance?’

‘I do,’ said Ed.

‘Perfect. You can take the others back in Bear’s Landie and I’ll whizz Maggie and Bear over to Middleton hospital in mine. It’s not far from here, so we’ll have you there in a jiffy, Maggie. I assume you can call someone to collect you when necessary?’

‘Yes, but?—’

‘No buts, darling.’ Lady Caro glanced up at the sky as snowflakes started gently tumbling down. ‘We need to get you and your baby safely to hospital before the snow sets in. The weather’s notoriously capricious out here and can change in a heartbeat. We need to leave now, if the forecast is anything to go by. I’ll just grab my keys.’

As soon as Ed had retrieved Maggie’s hospital bag from Bear’s Land Rover – she’d had the foresight to bring it with her, just in case – Lady Caro had bundled the expectant mum and her husband into her new Land Rover Defender, the others waving them off, cries of good luck trailing after them.

Florrie watched the vehicle disappear down the lane, willing with all her might that everything would go well for Maggie and Bear, and that Lady Caro would get them to hospital before Baby Marsay made his or her appearance.

THIRTY-FOUR

‘Well, that was what I’d call a truly unforgettable day.’ Ed gave a contented sigh, stretching his legs out in front of him as Florrie drew the living room curtains – a vintage find from Lark’s shop. He’d swapped his jeans and Christmas jumper for his pyjama bottoms and long-sleeved T-shirt. Florrie had changed into her favourite brushed cotton checked PJs, ready for a couple of hours’ relaxation in front of the television. Gerty was in her usual place, toasting herself in front of the fire.

‘You’re not wrong,’ Florrie said, flopping down beside him.

‘I wonder how Maggie’s getting along, Bear too. Poor bloke looked terrified,’ he said with a chuckle.

‘They’ve waited so long for this baby, he’ll want everything to be perfect for Mags.’ She hadn’t been able to get her friend out of her thoughts since they’d got home, willing everything to be okay for her. She’d called Bear’s parents, Chrissie and Dom, before they’d left Danskelfe Castle, while there was decent phone signal, bringing them up to speed with the situation, explaining that Bear was without a vehicle. Much as she and Ed would be happy to go and collect him, Florrie felt sure it was something Bear’s mum and dad would much rather do; they’d been beside themselves with excitement at the prospect of becominggrandparents, so they wouldn’t want to waste a moment getting to the hospital.

‘Thank you again for such an awesome experience.’ Ed draped his arm around Florrie, pulling her close to him. ‘I loved every minute, especially seeing how excited Zak and Chloe got about it all – the wonder and sheer joy on their faces was priceless. It was a thoughtful thing to do, and not just for me.’

‘I’m glad you enjoyed it. I guessed it would be fun, but it way outdid my expectations. And how lovely was Lady Caro?’

‘Yeah, she was cool, actually. Had us all whipped into shape before we had a chance to catch our breath.’ He and Florrie laughed at that.

‘And tomorrow’s going to be another exciting day but for a different reason.’ She felt a flutter of butterflies at the thought.

‘It is indeed.’ He tipped her face towards his and kissed her, making her heart dance.

That morning, they’d had a good chat about Jean and Jack’s offer, weighing up all the pros and cons, thinking not only with their hearts, but also their heads. The outcome of which had been a resounding yes from both of them. They’d agreed to contact mother and son first thing, telling them of their decision and suggesting they toast their new business partnership with a glass of something fizzy.

Florrie couldn’t wait to share her news with her friends, though she was less enthusiastic about Ed telling his parents. She knew it wasn’t going to be received well by them.

At just gone midnight, Florrie was awoken by the trilling of her mobile phone, setting her heart pounding. Ed stirred beside her. ‘What’s up?’ he asked, sleepily.

‘Um, I’m not sure.’ She reached for her phone to see Bear’s number illuminating the screen. ‘Oh, it’s Bear.’ She pushedherself up, panic replaced by expectation, hoping everything was going smoothly for the Marsays.

‘Oh, right.’ Ed snapped awake and flicked the bedside light on, watching her intently.

‘Hi, Bear. How’s Maggie?’ Florrie put her phone on loudspeaker. ‘Ed’s here, too.’

‘Hi, guys. Mags is amazing! And so is our baby girl!’ His voice boomed out into the room, brimming with happiness. ‘Can you believe it? We’ve got a little daughter! I’m a dad.’ His voice quavered and a sob escaped as he gave in to happy tears. ‘I’m actually a dad.’

‘Oh congratulations, Bear.’ She turned to Ed, beaming.

‘Yeah, congratulations, Bear, that’s awesome news.’ Ed beamed back at her.

‘Cheers, mate.’ Bear sniffed noisily down the phone. ‘Honestly, she’s the most gorgeous little girl I’ve ever clapped eyes on. She looks just like her beautiful mum, has her big eyes and a headful of dark curls and the most perfect little rosebud mouth. She was just gazing up at me as if she knew who I was. And she’s tiny. So tiny, I hardly dare hold her.’

Florrie giggled at the thought of giant Bear and his huge, shovel-like hands cradling his newborn daughter. ‘Well, we’re over the moon for you both.’

‘Aye, well, Maggie was a total star. She coped so well, I’m in complete awe of her, she’s amazing.’

‘She is that. Oh, and what about a name? Has your gorgeous little girl got a name yet?’ Maggie, not wanting to tempt fate after suffering so many miscarriages, had kept their choice of baby names a secret, even from her best friend.

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