Page 12 of A Snowy Seaside Christmas
She hadn’t been prepared for her mind to wander further, how it would be to have him in this bed, feel the warmth of his lips on hers… Her eyes had pinged open at that point, the thoughts practically propelling her out of bed.Don’t even go there!
Downstairs, she was pleased to see there was still a glow from the embers in the base of the wood burner. She’d added extra logs before she’d gone to bed and turned the spin wheels right down which meant the place felt warm and cosy. Just as soon as she’d had a cup of tea, she’d empty the ashpan and relight the fire. Lark was also pleased to feel the presence of the familiar soothing energy she associated with Seashell Cottage was still there. The sage burning ritual had clearly done its job.
She was standing at the kitchen sink, filling the kettle, when a text landed. She scooped up her phone expecting to see a text from Nate and was surprised when she saw Florrie’s name on the screen.
Morning Lark, just wanted to warn you the snow’s really bad in this part of town. No sign of any snowploughs or gritters. Doubt your little car would make it up Skitey Bank! Fxx
It was unusual for the little seaside town to get such a covering of snow, and what it did get, didn’t usually hang around long owing to the salty air.
The message served as a reminder; she was going to ask her friend about the curator of the local heritage centre and see if she had her contact details. Lark was keen to get the ball rolling with the suitcase. After that, she was going to contact Nate and see what his plans were for the day. Her shop wasn’t due to open until ten o’clock and she could help him remove the rest of the stuff from Crayke’s Cottage before then if that was what he still planned to do.
Hi Florrie, thanks for the warning. It’s pretty bad here too. No way I’d risk tackling Skitey Bank in my old banger! I’ll walk to the shop instead. Was going to pop in and see you at some point today, I need to pick your brains xx
Lark had just dropped a clutch of teabags in the pot when another text came through. It was from Florrie again.
Ooh, sounds intriguing! Looking forward to seeing you! How about a cuppa & some cake in the tearoom here? Fxx
Lark couldn’t resist a visit to the newly created tearoom in the bookshop, especially since Jasmine supplied many of their cakes.
Sounds perfect! Text me whenever’s good for you xx
Cradling her mug of tea, she peered out of the kitchen window, her gaze drawn to the shed that was playing host to the small suitcase. There was no trace of her footsteps from last night, the snow had completely covered them, leaving no evidence of her quick dash to the shed. Her mind went back to the feelings that had bombarded her body when she’d lifted the lid of the case, not to mention the tin. She still didn’t know what to make of it all, but the reminder made her more determined to dig into the reasons for them being placed together in the case.
She was pulled from her thoughts by the ping of two texts landing simultaneously. The first was from Maggie saying that Bear was heading into town later that morning and wondered if she’d like him to scoop her up in his Land Rover en route.Maggie and Bear lived at Clifftop Cottage within the curtilage of his parents’ farm above Thorncliffe which sat on the opposite side of the cove to the new part of town, and he’d pass by the cottages of Old Micklewick on his way.
Lark took a moment to consider the offer. The first thing that sprang to mind was that Bear must be feeling optimistic about Skitey Bank getting cleared by the plough at some point that morning. Just looking at the depth of the snow from her window, she reckoned even a Land Rover would struggle to tackle the bank’s notoriously steep incline without the plough and gritters attending to it first. She rubbed her hand across her chin. There was also her offer to help Nate to factor into her plans for the morning. She’d see what he had to say before she replied to Maggie.
She tapped onto the next message while she thought about it. This one was from Nate in his familiar cheery style.
Hi Lark, have you seen the snow!? Think we’d be better off going sledging rather than heading back to the fridge that is Crayke’s Cottage! Not sure my van would manage the roads anyway. Maybe we should take a rain check – or should that be “snow” check?! – see how things go with the weather? BTW did the cases have owt worth putting in the shop? x
His text brought a smile to her face. He was spot on about Crayke’s Cottage being like a fridge. She wasn’t looking forward to facing the cold there, nor the spiders, for that matter.
She took a moment to consider how to reply, particularly about the small suitcase. She wasn’t really sure how to condense her thoughts on it into a text.
The bigger case was full of fabulous clothes that are perfect for the shop. The other one contained some “interesting” things, including an old key… L xx
Lark smiled as she tapped the send arrow, knowing he’d be itching to know more. He proved her right when, seconds later, a reply landed.
Wow! “Interesting” things? A key? Any idea where it’s for? And what made the “interesting” things so “interesting”?
Lark puffed out her cheeks. That was the million-dollar question. She didn’t know where to begin answering about the “interesting” things.
I think you need to see for yourself. Put it this way, the small suitcase spent the night in the shed.
She watched the bubble on the screen indicating that he was typing a response.
Jeepers! How come it ended up there?
Her eyebrows hitched. ‘Good question,’ she muttered to herself.
For starters, Luna went crazy when I opened it!!
As if on cue, Luna arrived in the kitchen, gently butting her head up against Lark’s legs and purring loudly. Lark reacheddown and gave her a scratch between the ears just as a reply from Nate arrived.
Yikes!!!
Lark couldn’t help but laugh at his choice of words and the accompanying shocked face emojis.
