Christmas under a Cranberry Sky Read online

  Suddenly her dad groaned and slumped over the steering wheel. The car swerved off the road and crashed straight through the wooden railings of the bridge. Pip screamed as the car slammed through the ice on the lake.

  Her dad didn’t move as water splashed over the windscreen and all she could see was the murky green of the bottom of the lake. Water covered all the windows and Pip could feel the car was sinking. She undid her seatbelt and tried to rouse her dad who was unmoving and unresponsive. Water sloshed in around the footwell as the car came to rest at the bottom of the lake with a soft thud.

  ‘Dad, wake up,’ she shouted, shaking him again. He didn’t even make a noise.

  She tried to undo his seatbelt as the water was now up to her knees, but it was jammed. She shook him again, desperately trying his seatbelt which was now underwater too. No matter how hard she yanked at it, it wasn’t coming undone. The water was so cold, she could feel her breath was ragged, coming in short sharp bursts. She had to get out.

  She tried the door but it wouldn’t open. She swivelled in her seat and kicked out at it with her legs, but it still wouldn’t budge.

  ‘Dad!’ Pip screamed, but he didn’t move.

  The water was already covering her legs and slowly creeping up her stomach. She tried her dad’s seatbelt one more time but it still didn’t give way.

  She felt round his neck, desperately trying to find a pulse, but whether there was one or not she couldn’t find it.

  The cold was like ice, her legs and feet going numb. She shook her dad one more time, but when he remained unresponsive she knew she had to leave. She undid the window and the water poured in. She took a deep breath and, as the car filled to the top with water, she swam out of the window and made for the surface. If she could get help she might still be able to save her dad. The lake was thankfully quite shallow. Enough to cover the car but not much deeper than that. Within a few seconds, the surface was in sight, but as she reached up her hand thudded against thick ice. She was trapped.

  Panic ripped through her as her lungs screamed in protest at the lack of oxygen. She kicked out against the ice but it didn’t budge. The car had broken through the ice when it crashed through the bridge, she just had to find the hole it had made. She moved around desperately trying the ice every few seconds but it stayed resolute above her. Black spots popped in her vision and her arms and legs refused to work, and just when she thought it was hopeless, her head broke the surface of the water and she sucked in huge mouthfuls of air.

  The danger wasn’t over yet; she had to get out of the water and get warm quick.

  With great difficulty she managed to get to the side and climb out, heaving and panting as she rested for a few seconds on the grassy verge.

  She had to get help. The Whitakers’ farm was at the top of the hill. It was the closest place with a phone.

  Her feet, legs, arms were painfully numb with the cold and she could barely walk as she staggered up the hill on shaky legs, half crawling, half walking. Her breath was laboured and painful as she struggled to go on.

  How long would it take her dad to drown? Two minutes, maybe three. How long had it been since she had opened the window and flooded the car? Three minutes, four minutes, maybe five. Maybe if she hadn’t opened the window the car wouldn’t have filled with water. Had she killed him by trying to escape? If her dad hadn’t already been dead. Something had happened to make him swerve off the road, a heart attack maybe. Sobs burst from her throat, making it harder to breathe.

  The last ten years since her mum had died had been hell, but he was still the only dad she had ever known and there was a tiny part of her that had hoped that the kind, wonderful dad who had raised her until she was seven would return at some point. Now it seemed he was gone for good.

  She started counting down the seconds as she struggled up the hill. Over five minutes went by before she reached the farm. Added to the three or four minutes that had already passed since she’d left her dad in the car, it was becoming more and more hopeless. She felt sick. She should have dived back down to get him out. Why had she left him there to die?

  The Whitakers would help her. Doubt slammed into her mind. What if they wouldn’t help? The last words her dad had spoken played again and again in her mind. They didn’t want her.

  She staggered into the farm, trying desperately to summon enough energy to shout for help, but she couldn’t.

  She saw movement in the barn where she and Gabe always hung out and she pushed the door open and stopped dead. There was Gabe with his arms wrapped around Jenny Maguire, one of her friends from college. He kissed her on the forehead, just as he had done to Pip a thousand times.

  Pain seized her heart and she turned blindly and half staggered, half ran from the farm, sobbing so hard she could hardly breathe. Her dad was dead and she was utterly alone.

  Chapter 4

  ‘Pip? Is that really you?’ Gabe said, watching his daughter lean her head on Pip’s shoulder as if Wren had known her all her life.

  Pip tried but failed to rearrange her facial features to cover the shock at seeing him again.

  The small sliver of hope he’d felt, that she had come to Juniper Island to see him, quickly died. She’d clearly had no idea he owned Stardust Lake Hotel or that he would be here. A thousand questions swirled in his head but he couldn’t find the words to voice any of them.

  Snowflakes danced between them thick and fast and neither of them spoke.

  Finally Pip recovered herself.

  ‘My name’s Piper Chesterfield. I haven’t been Pip for twelve years. I would say it’s nice to see you again, Gabe, but that would be a lie.’ She stepped towards him, clearly angry with him over something, though he had no idea what. She gently passed Wren into his arms. ‘Your daughter was outside in only her dress, no shoes, nothing warm and no one to watch over her. What a wonderful father you must be.’

  She stalked past him up the hill, heading back towards the main part of the hotel.

  ‘Where are you going?’

  ‘The owner of this place wants to see me, I’m sure he is waiting.’

  ‘Pip, I’m the owner.’

  She stopped dead in her tracks, her shoulders slumping a little in defeat. She turned to face him.

  ‘Well, what did you want to say to me?’

  There were a million things he wanted to say and none of them were anything to do with the hotel. This was the wrong time to say any of that, though. She was tired, it was late and she’d just had a huge shock seeing him again after all this time. Plus they were standing outside in the cold and he was carrying his daughter who was staring between them with wide curious eyes. If they were going to talk they would have to be alone to do it.

  The power cut had thrown everything into disarray. If it hadn’t happened he might have paid more attention to the guest’s name, he would have been there to see her arrive and maybe had more chance to prepare himself for the onslaught of suppressed feelings that were suddenly crashing over him.

  Gabe looked over at his lodge shining brightly in the darkness. Annoyingly all the staff quarters hadn’t been affected at all by the power; it was only the guest lodges that had been cut off. Remembering he had to talk to his first proper guest about the power cut, he called on all his professional reserves.

  ‘There has been a power cut in all the lodges and none of the guest rooms have any electricity. It’s a temporary measure I’m sure and I’m very sorry for any inconvenience but for tonight we have made alternative arrangements for you.’

  ‘Fine, just show me to my room.’

  He glanced over to his lodge again and back at his beautiful best friend standing before him. Professionalism be damned.

  ‘I have a spare room in my lodge. It’s very comfortable, you can have free access to the lounge and any of the facilities. The bedroom is very spacious with great views over the lake. I can arrange for dinner and breakfast to be served there if you wish or you can eat in the dining room. Of course we will offer
you compensation for the inconvenience.’

  Pip stared at him in shock. ‘I’m not sleeping in your house.’

  What had happened between them for her to hate him so much? He hadn’t seen her since the day her dad had died; did she somehow blame him for that?

  ‘There is nowhere else for you to sleep. And it’s only for one night.’

  She stared at him for longer than necessary for her to come to a decision before she finally nodded.

  He sighed with relief.

  ‘I’ll just call down to reception and get them to bring the bags up.’ He walked up the path, holding Wren in one arm. He pulled out the walkie-talkie from his pocket as Pip walked at his side.

  He pressed the button for Jake’s walkie-talkie and a second or two later Jake answered.

  ‘Hello Mr Whitaker?’

  ‘Hi Jake. Can you tell Boris I’ve found Wren and can you also bring Miss Chesterfield’s bags to my lodge please?’

  There was silence from the other end before Jake finally answered. ‘Sorry, Mr Whitaker, did you say your lodge?’

  He cursed to himself. ‘Yes, that’s right. As we discussed earlier, my lodge is the only one with the spare room. Perhaps you weren’t there when we made the decision.’

  There was silence again and Gabe prayed that Jake didn’t question it any further. Pip was listening to every word.

  Finally the walkie-talkie crackled to life again. ‘That’s fine, sir. I’ll bring them straight over.’

  Gabe climbed the few steps to his front door, stamped his feet a few times to get rid of the snow and then pushed the door open. He placed Wren down and undid Pip’s coat and removed the gloves from her feet.

  ‘Go get into your pyjamas, Princess, and I’ll be in to read you a story shortly.’

  ‘Piper could read me a story.’

  ‘No, she’s a guest in our house and she’s had a long day. Besides, you know I want to find out what happens to the dragon in the story we’re reading as much as you do.’

  Wren grinned and ran off towards her bedroom.

  He stood up and turned back to face Pip. She was so incredibly beautiful, even more so than the last time he’d seen her. He swallowed down the lump of emotion that had stalled in his throat.

  ‘I’ll show you to your room.’

  He led the way upstairs to the back of the house where the spare room had been made up for his mum and dad’s arrival in a few days’ time.

  The bedroom was nice and had lovely views; it even had an en-suite. It would be no hardship for Pip to sleep there. It was going to be harder for him to have her under the same roof after all this time. She looked around her new room and sat down on the bed.

  ‘Are you hungry? I could arrange for something to be brought over?’

  She cleared her throat and it was quite clear when she spoke that she was forcing herself to be nice. ‘A sandwich would be great. If it’s not too much trouble?’

  They were being so polite to each other when in reality he wanted to kiss her and shake her at the same time.

  ‘I’ll see what I can arrange.’

  He stared at her for a few moments and went back downstairs, just as Jake arrived with the bags. To his credit he didn’t even ask why Pip was staying with him and not in the village as originally planned.

  ‘Thanks Jake, can you take the bags up to the back bedroom and would you mind waiting with Wren for a few minutes? I won’t be long.’

  ‘Of course, Mr Whitaker,’ Jake said, without question.

  ‘Jake!’ Wren called from over the top balcony. ‘Will you come and be my prince?’

  ‘Hey Munchkin,’ Jake laughed. ‘I’ll be there in two minutes.’

  Gabe left them alone and raced over to the main reception. As he feared, his sister Neve was waiting for him, her hands on her hips.

  ‘What the hell are you playing at?’ Neve demanded. ‘What was that big speech you gave the other day where you said no member of staff is to have any kind of relationship with the guests other than a professional one? Five seconds with our first guest and you’ve already invited her to stay in your lodge. Jake said she was pretty but damn it Gabe, I expected more of you than this.’

  ‘Neve, listen—’

  ‘No, I won’t. What happened to putting the guest in the house in the village as we discussed? The boys have been working for the last few hours to get the place ready for her arrival, the house is clean, the bed is made, they have even lit a fire. But obviously your sexual needs far outweigh the good of the hotel. And have you thought about Wren at all in any of this? Are you just going to put your daughter to bed and then shag our first guest in the room next door? Christ Gabe, you are not one of the added extras for our guests. We are not that kind of resort.’

  ‘Neve, it’s Pip.’

  She stared at him in shock and the anger faded from her face immediately. ‘Pip Silvers?’

  ‘Yes, she’s going under the name of Piper Chesterfield now, but it’s her.’

  ‘She’s married?’

  ‘No, I don’t think so. I don’t know. I think Chesterfield was her mum’s maiden name.’

  ‘But… What is she doing here?’

  ‘I don’t know, she had no idea we were here. But she is mad at me for some reason when I’m the one who should be angry at her.’

  ‘So…what? You’re just going to pick up where you left off ten years ago?’

  ‘Twelve years. It’s been twelve years since I last saw her and, no, I don’t think that’s an option. I just need to talk to her, I need to know what happened and where she’s been and I can’t do that if she’s down in the village and I’m up here.’

  Her face softened. ‘You need closure.’

  He sighed and pushed his hands through his hair. Neve knew what he had gone through. She had watched him grieve for her and now all those memories had come flooding back. ‘I think I do. I never had that. She was my best friend. We were in love. I was going to propose to her and she threw all of it away. We never broke up, she never said goodbye. She just vanished. She broke my heart and I spent so long hoping she would come back and now she’s here, I need to know why she ran away. It won’t affect the hotel or Wren, I promise. I just…I need to talk to her.’

  ‘Then go talk to her. With any luck the power will be back up tomorrow and you’ll have no excuse to keep her in your lodge any longer.’

  Gabe nodded. ‘I need to get her some food. I’ve left Jake babysitting, so I better go and rescue him before Wren has him dressed up in a prince’s costume. Can you get the kitchen to make a sandwich and a portion of chips and send it over?’

  Neve nodded.

  Gabe raced back over to his lodge, only to find that Jake was on his hands and knees giving pony rides to Wren in the lounge. Wren was shrieking loudly as Jake deliberately banged into the furniture. Gabe plucked Wren off Jake’s back and threw her over his shoulder. She squealed in delight as she hung upside down.

  ‘Thanks Jake, I’m relieving you of your horsey duties.’

  Jake stood up, brushing the dust off his uniform. ‘No problem.’

  He let himself out and Gabe ran up the stairs to Wren’s room and dropped her on the bed. He pulled his coat off and kicked off his snow boots and socks.

  ‘Right, Princess, get into bed.’

  Wren lay down and Gabe lay down next to her, covering them both with the duvet. He grabbed the book they were reading from the drawers next to her bed and turned to the right chapter as Wren snuggled into his shoulder. He kissed her on the head and started reading.

  He needed to talk to Pip, but Wren needed to be asleep first. It would give him time to plan out what he wanted to say because right now he had nothing.

  Chapter 5

  As Gabe walked out of Wren’s room, Jake arrived again with a plate under a silver dome. Gabe took it off him and Jake left, without question. Gabe had originally thought that Jake was too young to be a professional porter in his resort, now he could see how wrong he was; the boy might even ea
rn himself a pay rise before the week was out.

  He left the plate in the lounge and went upstairs to tell Pip the food was here. The bedroom door was closed and when he knocked softly there was no reply.

  He knocked again. ‘Pip. Erm, Miss Chesterfield.’ He rested his head against the door in frustration. The line between professional and personal was already blurred. He had deliberately invited her to stay in his lodge so he could finally get some answers; there was nothing professional about that.

  There was still no answer. Was she upset over seeing him and now refusing to answer the door? Was she asleep?

  He knocked again and when there was still no answer he opened the door just as Pip walked out of the en-suite bathroom stark naked, drying her hair.

  ‘Damn it Gabe, did you not knock?’ She quickly wrapped the towel around her, but unfortunately the towel was so small it barely covered any of her modesty.

  ‘I did, there was no answer.’

  ‘So you just walked in? What kind of hotel are you running here, where guests are forced to stay with members of staff and privacy is reduced to a minimum? If I was writing a review for this place, it wouldn’t be very good.’ She struggled to keep the towel closed and every professional bone in his body was screaming at him to leave the room. He should have left the second she walked out the bathroom yet he was still there, his feet glued to the floor. Twelve years had done nothing to quell the feelings he had for her.

  ‘There’s a robe in the wardrobe,’ he said, his voice strangled.

  She let out a sigh of impatience as she moved to the wardrobe. ‘Turn around.’

  He did as he was told and inadvertently stared straight into a mirror as she ditched the towel. He quickly looked down at the floor. He knew every inch of her body. The night they had first made love he had spent hours kissing, stroking and caressing every single part of her. Wonderful memories of that night came flooding back.

  ‘Did you want something?’ Pip said from behind him.

  He chanced a brief glance at the mirror and, seeing she was suitably covered, he turned around.