Page 97 of The Cornish Cream Tea Bookshop
‘So will you be, soon. Now is not the time for a sugar rush.’ Becky turned back to Ollie. ‘Thank you for this.’
‘I hope it’s not too weird.’
‘Not with the explanation.’
‘And the sweets,’ Dylan added. ‘Is Max going to be OK now?’ He asked it casually, his gaze not meeting hers.
‘He’s doing really well,’ she told him. ‘The doctors are happy with his test results, so he should be able to come home soon.’
Dylan chewed his bottom lip. ‘Are you giving him some peppermint creams, too?’
‘If the nurse will let me sneak them in.’ She winked at him, and Dylan grinned. ‘I’ll leave you to it. See you tomorrow, for the big day?’
‘Can’t wait,’ Becky said. ‘Take care, Ollie.’
‘You too.’
Ollie hurried down the path, trying not to skip with happiness. Olive branch extended; one Yule log delivered; three more to go.
Meredith and Finn were delighted with their Yule log, and Ollie – predictably – spent twenty minutes explaining the tradition and its variations after Finn asked her an endless stream of questions. They were relieved when she updated them on Max’s condition – as much the reason for her visits as gifting them the logs and peppermint creams – and she had to turn down a cup of tea because she still had two more houses to visit. She sidestepped their questions about how she had managed to track down Bryan Mailer, and gave their beagle, Crumble, and Smudge the cat, a healthy dose of affection on her way out.
Lizzy’s farmhouse was a little way out of town, but Ollie found it easily due to the large tree at the edge of the driveway that had been wrapped in golden lights. When she drove onto the gravel in front of the house, she was met with a laser show of snowflakes, that spun and drifted over the brick building in a way that made her feel slightly dizzy.
‘All right, love,’ Lizzy said when she answered the door. ‘What’s all this, then?’
‘It’s a Yule log,’ Ollie told her. ‘It’s for your fireplace. But don’t burn the bags at the end – they’re full of peppermint creams.’ Two sleek black dogs appeared at Lizzy’s side, their noses raised eagerly towards the sweets.
‘Did Adrian from Cornish Keepsakes send you? He delivers Christmas hampers about the place.’
‘No, this is all me,’ Ollie said. ‘I wanted to apologise for the way I left Sea Brew the other day. You’ve been kind tome since I arrived, I was just … a bit put out, I guess, that mine and Max’s conversation at the hospital was doing the rounds.’
Lizzy’s expression softened. ‘That’s just the way it is here, I’m afraid. Even as far away as Truro, news runs as swiftly as the clouds over the sea. But I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. Come on in.’ She took the log, then turned and disappeared, giving Ollie no option but to follow her into the bowels of the farmhouse. ‘Do you want a drink?’
‘No, thank you.’ Ollie watched as Lizzy took the gift bags off the ends of the log and put it in the basket by the fire. It dwarfed the other pieces of wood, and looked ready to upend the entire thing. ‘This is just a flying visit.’
‘I appreciate the gift.’ The fire was already crackling, the smell conjuring up cosy nights in snug rooms with mulled wine, and Ollie could hear voices somewhere else in the house. ‘My teenagers,’ Lizzy explained, gesturing behind her.
‘Ah. Well, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.’
‘I’ll see you tomorrow,’ Lizzy said. ‘Pageant day in Port Karadow is a special occasion, and this is only the second year they’ve run it. I have to admit, I was half-surprised, half-not, when I saw that you were bringing in Bryan Mailer to replace Sophia Forsythe-Hartley.’
‘Why half-not?’ Ollie asked, laughing.
‘Because it’s you,’ Lizzy said. ‘It’s as if you have a big neon sign with the worddeterminationflashing above you. I wouldn’t have beenthatsurprised if you’d got Richard Osman to come and do a reading tomorrow night.’
‘I couldn’t hold onto Sophia,’ Ollie pointed out.
‘And who else in your situation would have pulled off an equally exciting alternative in a matter of days?’
‘It has very much fallen into my lap, this new event,’ Ollie said. ‘You’ll see what I mean tomorrow night.’
Lizzy stood up. ‘You make all the excuses you want, but you’re just what that bookshop needs. And Max, for that matter.’
Ollie’s heart shimmied. ‘Really?’
‘He was a sunbeam before you came along, but now he’s positively glowing – last few days aside, of course. You were meant to come here, Ollie. Remember that whenever anybody looks at you askance.’
‘I will,’ she said, the words lancing straight through her. ‘I will remember that. Thank you, Lizzy. I’d better be off.’
