Page 71 of Fireworks at Pennycress Inn
‘Hello, mate.’ Freddie clasped Zac’s hand and patted him on the back.
‘Good to meet you.’ Zac grinned. ‘And you’ll both be more than welcome to visit.’
Glancing towards Brian, Polly grimaced. ‘I think he’s about to begin. Come and take your places. I’ve set you up a picnic blanket, telescope and flask of hot chocolate right by us.’
‘Lead the way.’ Looping her arm through Stacey’s, she followed as Polly led the way towards the back of the group.
‘Here you go.’ Turning, Polly gave Stacey another hug. ‘I really am happy you made it. It means a lot.’
‘I’m glad we did too. And this place is gorgeous, the inn and what we saw of the village as we drove through. I can see why you want to settle here.’ Stacey grinned before taking Freddie’s hand and lowering herself to the checked picnic blanket.
Settling back on their blanket, Polly snuggled her back against Zac’s chest as he wrapped his arms around her. Tonight promised to be good. Not only did she have Zac here but she had Stacey’s support too.
‘Yum, this hot chocolate is the best!’ Nicola called softly from her and Charlie’s rug a few feet away from Polly and Zac.
Turning to face her, Polly laughed before pointing to Jackson, who was sitting in front of them with Laura. ‘I may have had a little help.’
‘Haha, it’s Jackson’s hot chocolate.’ Nicola took another sip. ‘I thought I recognised it.’
Turning around, Jackson pulled a face. ‘Did I hear my name?’
‘I was just telling Polly how delicious her hot chocolate was.’ Nicola grinned.
‘Hey, I didn’t take the credit.’ Polly held her hands up, palms forward. ‘Even though I was tempted.’
‘I would have.’ Zac chuckled beside her as he held up the flask in Jackson’s direction. ‘I can see why Laura is marrying you now.’
Twisting on the rug, Laura glanced in their direction. ‘His famous hot chocolate isn’t the only reason, you know. He makes that mean French toast too.’
‘Oi! Charmed, I’m sure.’ Jackson wrapped his arm around Laura, drawing her towards him and gently ruffling her hair. ‘Well, I’m certainly not marrying you for your culinary skills.’
Squealing, Laura pulled away. ‘I’m learning. I can make a tasty version of Vivienne’s fruit cake, Nicola can back me up on that one. Even your mum said it was good, didn’t she?’
‘She did, yes.’ Nicola smiled.
‘When’s she going to teach you, Nic?’ Charlie joined in.
‘Umm, or you. Why can’t you learn to make my mum’s fruit cake?’ Nicola shook her head.
‘Because I’m slaving away on the farm, planting and harvesting the crops so you have the ingredients for your fruit cake.’ Charlie chuckled.
‘And I’m working my fingers to the bone at the inn!’ Nicola retorted.
Holding her hand against her chest, Laura looked at Nicola, mock-shock covering her face. ‘I don’t make you work that hard, do I?’
‘Well…’ Nicola broke first and burst out laughing. ‘Hey, Polly, maybe you can organise some cooking classes at the reserve next time.’
‘Now, that’s not such a bad idea. You could take everyone foraging around the reserve first and then go back to the classroom and cook with whatever you’ve found.’ Charlie raised an eyebrow.
‘I actually like that idea. I might just steal that.’ Polly grinned as Zac pulled the blanket over their knees and Brian began to introduce himself. The last few months had been a whirlwind, with the flat sale going through, Zac starting his new job and Declan awarding her the promotion. And spending her first Christmas together with Zac at Pennycress, which had been magical and everything she’d hoped for.
‘And, in a moment, I’ll ask you to use the telescopes in front of you, but this is what you’re looking for, the star constellation of Taurus. This particular constellation from this particular location should be very clear at this time of the year. The joys of January.’ Giving his audience a few moments to ingest the map of the stars from the screen, Brian then turned it off, plunging them into darkness, before talking them through how to pinpoint the constellation in the sky.
Leaning forward on her knees, Polly closed one eye and peered through the telescope. Frowning, she moved the end of the telescope around a little, trying and failing to find Taurus. Sitting back, she shook her head. ‘I’m actually terrible at this. I can’t tell one star from the other.’
‘Sure you can.’ Resting on his knees, Zac looked through her telescope and repositioned it before turning to her and ushering her forward. ‘Here, come take a look now. Just keep the telescope super still.’
Doing as she was instructed, Polly once again closed one eye and looked through the lens. Nothing had changed. She still couldn’t find the star pattern Brian had instructed them to look for. ‘I still can’t see it.’
