Page 48 of The Little Shop on Silver Linings Street
‘No, I know…’ He stopped and smiled at her. ‘I wouldn’t want him to.’
‘But there’s only two weeks to go before it’s all decided, Kit. What will you do?’
His face fell. ‘More time would be useful certainly, but… I’ll get by. I have… other options.’ He smiled again. ‘But more to the point, Daisy, what about you?’ He paused for a moment. ‘I’m not going to be so insensitive as to ask you who you would like to see run Buchanans, but I’m guessing things could become quite difficult for you if it’s Lawrence.’
Daisy sighed. ‘After today, it most definitely would. I seemed to spend most of the day arguing with him, and he didn’t like that one little bit. I didn’t think I wanted to work with Lawrence before, but now I’m certain of it. I guess that just leaves me with two weeks as well. But I’m hopeful I may have other options.’
He held her look. ‘Good,’ he said simply.
‘It’s not that I don’t want to tell you.’ She ground to a halt. ‘It’s just that I can’t say what they are right now, not until I know what’s happening with Buchanans. It will make a difference, you see…’
They had been walking across a field, making for a stand of trees at the other side, and now, as they followed their dark line, Daisy was intrigued to see glimpses of light shining between the shadowy trunks. She stopped to peer a little closer.
‘Is that a house?’ she asked, looking around her as she tried to orientate herself. ‘It’s in the middle of nowhere.’
Kit nodded. ‘Mmm, you can see it better from the other side. Looks lovely, doesn’t it, all lit up against the snowy night?’
It looked beautiful. The moon cast a silvery glow over everything in the field but the trees were flecked by patches of golden light which grew brighter towards the centre of the woods. She followed Kit as he began to walk along the line of trees.
‘I probably shouldn’t say it,’ Daisy added, picking up her previous train of thought. ‘But I’ll be glad when all this is over, even if it does mean I’m out of a job. I feel like I’m keeping far too many secrets at the moment. I know I can’t tell any of you about the days out I’ve had with the others, but it’s almost impossible to be impartial. In fact, how can I be when this affects me too? And you haven’t even had your day out with me yet. Neither have you mentioned it, Kit. You probably ought to get a move on.’
‘I’m getting to know you now, aren’t I?’
‘I suppose, but it’s hardly the same, and certainly not the same opportunity that Bertie and Lawrence have had. That hardly seems fair, given what you’ve just said.’
‘I know…’ Kit broke off, squinting at her. ‘I just haven’t been sure where to take you, but I guess we are running out of time. We decided originally that I should take you out on Monday, so how about we just go for a meal somewhere, in the evening? It doesn’t have to be anywhere fancy.’
Daisy could feel her heart sinking. ‘I’m not really a big eater,’ she said.
‘Then eat small,’ said Kit, smiling.
She hesitated. It was hardly fair to refuse when she was the one who had prompted his suggestion.
‘A drink then?’ said Kit, looking at her, an amused expression on her face. ‘Cup of tea? Glass of water?’
She laughed. ‘Okay, okay, I’ll come out for dinner.’
He grinned. ‘Great, I’ll pick you up at seven.’
‘I could meet you in town if you like, save you the bother?’
After a couple more steps, Daisy realised she was walking by herself. She turned to see Kit, feet planted in the snow, his hands on his hips. ‘Daisy, I’m walking you home, do you not think I already know where you live?’
‘Oh…’ She swallowed. ‘Do you?’
A smile grew on Kit’s face, a smile which widened with a warmth that was plain to see even by moonlight. ‘Of course I do. Daisy who lives among the trees, hidden away in her tiny cottage, with only the rustle of grass, the gleam of a blackbird’s wing, and the silver on the water for company. I often walk past and see your lights glowing from the windows, with you tucked up warm and safe inside.’
Daisy could feel herself blushing. It seemed such an intimate thing to say and yet strangely it didn’t make her feel anxious at all.
‘I didn’t know that,’ she said. ‘You’ve never mentioned it.’
‘No,’ he said. ‘I’ve often wondered why I haven’t. Weird really, when you think about it. We work together most days and yet we never really talk, do we?’
Daisy knew why that was. It was her fault. Because she had never even bothered to get to know Kit, thinking him lazy and uncaring, when in reality that was far from the truth. He was simply misplaced at Buchanans, that was all. Out of his natural habitat, she could see that now. And she of all people should know how that felt. She was just about to say so when, turning to look at him, her eyes were drawn to the scene beyond. Her hand went to her mouth.
‘Oh, look at that!’ she exclaimed. ‘How beautiful.’ A break in the line of trees allowed Daisy to see through to a small clearing where a log cabin sat huddled in the snow. ‘It’s like a gingerbread house,’ she added, and she wouldn’t have been at all surprised to see Hansel and Gretel come walking towards them.
The cabin windows glowed with light, casting a golden halo that glimmered across the drifts of snow banked against the side of the cottage. She was too far away to see inside clearly, but there was the impression of warm cosiness and, through one of the windows, the outline of a Christmas tree could be seen, its lights twinkling into the night.
