Page 75 of The Cornish Christmas Book Clu
‘We’d better go.’ Becky interrupted them with a wry smile. ‘They’re getting restless.’ She nodded at her kids, who were all looking at their phones and exuding an air of boredom.
Outside it was all they could do to stay upright in the strong wind. They battled across the road and headed as quickly as they could to her house, where the very first order of business was getting rid of their wet shoes and coats.
‘I’m sorry I don’t have a Father Christmas costume.’ Gage’s husky voice was laced with innuendo. ‘But I did put something under the tree earlier that you could go ahead and open now.’
‘Would that be for my enjoyment or yours?’
The arch question made him chuckle. ‘Hopefully both.’
‘I was about to offer tea and warm mince pies, but I suppose they can wait.’
In the living room, she switched on the tree lights. He crouched to pick up a box and handed it over with a wicked grin. Tamara was about to rip off the wrapping paper when she studied it more closely.
‘Father Christmas pigs? Seriously?’ She opened the box and the first item she lifted out was a pink satin thong. Next came a matching bra, but when Tamara opened it out she laughed so hard tears rolled down her face. Gage’s eyes sparkled, lit like a little boy who’d pulled the most magnificent prank, because two tiny curls of pink silk hung from the nipple area to mimic pigs’ tails. There was also a pair of pink silk ballet slippers with toes shaped like pigs’ feet.
‘There’s something else.’ He whipped out the last thing from the bottom of the box. A pink satin headband with a pink-and-white piggy ear fixed to each side. Gage stood in front of her and carefully slid it into place. ‘There we go.’
‘Do I even want to know where you found all this?’
‘Let’s just say the internet caters to every taste.’ Gage wrapped her in his arms. ‘I wish I could carry you—’
‘Don’t spoil it. We’ve had this out before, so put that nonsense to bed.’ She tried to look stern. ‘Which is where I want to be right now — with you. And if you don’t take me there soon, there’ll be no good tidings of comfort and joy in this house.’
‘I’ll shut up.’
Men who listened were worth their weight in gold. Happy Christmas to them.
* * *
Gage lifted a hank of Tamara’s hair to kiss the back of her neck. After coming to bed late and christening the saucy pig lingerie, she was exhausted and fell straight asleep, but he only managed to doze off and on for what was left of the night. It was still dark outside and a glance at the clock told him it wasn’t quite seven o’clock yet. On the nightstand, her phone started buzzing and he was in two minds whether or not to silence it.
‘Who is it?’ Tamara’s voice was thick with sleep.
‘I’ll see.’ Gage leaned across and checked the screen. ‘Pixie. She can’t need more veg peeled because we did enough to feed an army. You want me to get it?’
‘Hand it over. I’ll see what she wants.’ Tamara yawned and pushed a bunch of tangled-up hair from her face. ‘Happy Christmas, what can we—’
Pixie broke in and sounded worried from the little he could catch.
‘We’ll throw some clothes on and be right down.’ She hung up.
‘What’s happened?’
‘Vernon rang a few minutes ago to tell her to get to The Rusty Anchor pronto. He’d popped into the shop to fetch a packet of stuffing mix for his wife and was locking up when he heard a loud noise coming from the pub. He looked up and saw large parts of the roof caving in. It wasn’t in good shape as you know, and all the rain and wind must’ve finished it off.’
‘Hell. No one’s inside, right?’ Thankfully the flat over the pub had been standing empty for a while, ever since the last tenant moved out.
‘She isn’t sure.’ Tamara’s breath hitched. ‘But she can’t get hold of Rocky and is terrified he might’ve come in early to start cooking the turkeys.’
A picture of the puckish little chef’s face yesterday, excited about playing Father Christmas to his baby son, filled Gage’s brain. They silently dragged on clothes before taking turns in the bathroom.
This really wasn’t how Christmas Day was supposed to go. He’d planned to spoil Tamara with a lavish breakfast in bed before they went to help with the Spirit of Christmaspreparations.
Luckily the wind and rain had died down and by the time they turned onto Church Street, people were starting to emerge from their homes, many wearing coats over their night clothes.
Pixie came out of nowhere and flung herself at Tamara. ‘Rocky’s in there. I’ve talked to him on the phone and he’s trapped under that heavy metal table we use for the prep work. The police and fire brigade are on the way and they’ve ordered us to stay out.’
‘They’ll be running a skeleton staff on Christmas Day, so it could be a while.’ Gage frowned. ‘You might want to call the doc if she’s home and get her down here. I’ll see if it’s possible to go in.’
