Christmas Under a Starlit Sky Read online

  ‘You could come with me on location – lots of actors and actresses travel with their husbands and wives.’

  ‘And do what, just sit in the trailer waiting for you? I have a job here, my family are here.’

  ‘Well, at least we’d be together,’ he said and she opened her mouth to protest. He cupped her face, running his thumb over her cheek and stalling all other words in her throat. ‘Look, it’s Christmas Eve. I fly out New Year’s Day. We have just over a week. Could we just, if only for one day, pretend that we don’t have this big insurmountable problem between us? Could we spend Christmas Day as friends and talk and laugh like we used to? I’ve missed that so much. And come Boxing Day, we can talk about how we could make this work. Maybe come up with some kind of plan. And if we can’t sort something out by New Year’s Day, if the long distance and the travelling really is too hard to work around, then I’ll leave and I promise you’ll never hear from me again.’

  Neve swallowed as she stared back at him. He had flown thousands of miles to be with her over Christmas and to get her back. He wanted this to work and for a moment she let all her doubts be pushed to one side. She wanted this to work as well and for a second or two she focussed on the tiny ray of hope that maybe they could be together. ‘I’ve missed you too.’

  ‘So we can be friends then. We were good friends before we got together. Even if we can’t do anything else, we can do that.’

  She considered it for a moment and even though she knew she was a fool for agreeing, even though she knew it would break her heart all over again when he had to leave in a week’s time, she found herself nodding anyway. ‘OK, just friends?’

  Oakley nodded and held up his hands in a boy scout salute. ‘I’ll be the perfect gentleman, I won’t even try to squeeze your bum or anything.’

  She smiled. There was no way they could remain as just friends for the duration of his stay and with him sitting next to her, fixing her with that heart-melting smile, she was having a hard time remembering why she was holding back.

  Chapter 3

  Adam scanned the landscape, trying to see anything out of the ordinary. There were snow-capped hills and trees as far as the eye could see but no bodies of injured old ladies. There were a few hikers climbing one of the taller hills in the distance and he wondered, not for the first time, whether Ivy had just decided not to open the shop today and gone exploring round the hills instead. He had half the hotel staff out looking for her and she might just be out for a nice stroll around the hills.

  He glanced over at a small herd of Shetland ponies just off the road. They were gathered close together and for reasons he couldn’t put his finger on he knew something was off about them. They seemed restless and upset, when normally they were lazy and so chilled out they were practically sound asleep standing up.

  He headed off the road and towards the herd. They eyed him as he got near but they didn’t move away as he expected them to. As he grew closer he realised they were standing on the edge of a narrow ditch and to his surprise he could see the flanks of one of the ponies inside the ditch.

  Crap.

  Missing old lady and now a trapped pony too. Could his day get any weirder?

  He got closer and froze. Slumped over the belly of the Shetland was a young woman, her long chestnut hair cascading over the pony. Her face was pale, her eyes closed. Although his day had just got weirder, he knew it had also just got a whole lot worse.

  He grabbed his walkie-talkie and put out a call to the rest of the search party.

  ‘This is Adam, no sign of Ivy yet, but there’s a girl just off the middle road trapped in a ditch under a pony.’ He looked around, trying to find some landmarks to give to the party, but it was just hills and fields and trees in every direction. ‘I’m maybe half a mile from the hotel, maybe a little more. I’m not sure if the pony is alive but neither of them are moving. I’m going to need a snowplough or a JCB or something to lift this thing off her and we’ll probably need an air ambulance too—’

  ‘Oi, Hero, I’m Ivy and I don’t need an ambulance,’ came a voice from behind him. Adam whirled round to see the girl looking at him, her hair a tumbled mess of dark curls, her large grey eyes filled with anger. ‘I’m not going to hospital.’

  He quickly spoke into the walkie-talkie again. ‘Sorry, the girl is Ivy. Hold off on the air ambulance for a moment. She’s conscious, but I’ll still need some help getting her out from under the pony.’

  ‘We’ll be there as soon as we can,’ Gabe said.

  Adam shoved the walkie-talkie back in his pocket and moved closer to the edge.

  ‘Ivy, sorry, I was expecting—’

  ‘Someone older… I know, it happens all the time. Thank God for my surname, Storm, which is at least a little cooler than Ivy. Took you bloody long enough to find me, I’ve been sitting underneath this pony for hours.’

  ‘Are you OK, are you hurt?’ Adam sat down on the edge of the ditch, ready to lower himself down.

  ‘Don’t come down here, it’s really muddy, you’ll never get back out again.’

  Adam decided to take his chances and, ignoring her warning, he jumped down into the ditch. Ivy rolled her eyes.

  The pony was alive too, breathing heavily, though it had plainly given up attempting to get out.

  ‘Are you hurt?’

  ‘No, I’m OK, I just can’t move.’

  Adam moved so he was next to her. She was trapped by her legs but she didn’t look as though she was in any pain. He knelt down beside her and tried to lift and roll the pony off her, but, as he’d suspected, the pony was too heavy for that.

  She was way too calm though and he didn’t like that.

  ‘Are your legs not crushed?’

  ‘No. Actually, I’m kind of standing, the ditch is deeper where I am. He’s sort of lying over me, not on me. I can move my legs, I just can’t get the manoeuvrability to get out. The mud doesn’t help. If you’d stayed at the top of the ditch you might have been able to pull me out.’

  Adam stood back up and looked up at the side of the bank. It was wet, snow-covered and, as she’d said, very muddy. He reached up to get a handhold but his hands just slipped off the edges.

  He sat back down next to her. ‘Looks like we’re both trapped.’

  Ivy rolled her eyes again and he couldn’t help but smile. She was very pretty, even though she was covered in mud. Her grey eyes had that smoky pewter look to them which made her look interesting. If he had to guess, he would say she was from Greek or Italian heritage, she had that exotic Mediterranean look to her.

  She shivered suddenly and he remembered that she could be suffering from hypothermia. He delved in his bag and pulled out the blankets, wrapping one round her shoulders and another round her front. He yanked his hat off and pulled it over her head. But she surprised him by suddenly cuddling up to him, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his chest. He hesitated a moment before he draped an arm around her shoulders.

  ‘Don’t get any funny ideas, but I’m so cold, I’d cuddle up to anything right now, including this stinky old pony.’

  He held her tighter, rubbing her shoulders through the blankets. ‘What happened?’

  ‘I was just out for a walk and I heard this commotion from over here. I came over and I could see this fat thing on his side, struggling to get out. I hopped down to help him out and as I was pushing him, I slipped. The pony was panicking and I somehow ended up underneath him and wedged against the side. Thankfully he’s given up struggling now, he was just making the situation worse.’ She closed her eyes, hugging Adam tighter. ‘I didn’t think anyone would find me.’

  Her voice sounded vulnerable for just a moment, showing a small chink in her prickly armour.

  ‘Well, I’m really glad I found you.’

  ‘Don’t get any ideas that I’m going to jump into bed with you to thank you for being my hero.’

  He smirked. ‘That was the furthest thing from my mind.’

  ‘You’re not my
type.’

  ‘What type am I?’

  ‘That tall, dark, sexy type, cute smile, cute bum. That type does nothing for me,’ Ivy said. Her eyes were still closed and her voice seemed to be getting a bit slurry. ‘I might make you a thank-you cake.’

  ‘Hey, don’t go to sleep on me.’

  ‘I’m not.’ Her voice was definitely getting quieter now, almost as if she had been holding on for someone to find her and now she knew she was safe, she could relax.

  He shook her gently and when she didn’t respond, he shook her harder. Still nothing.

  He pulled off his glove and stroked a finger down her cheek, trailing his thumb across her lips. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him blearily. For a second he considered kissing her, knowing he’d probably get a slap if he did, but at least her anger would wake her up. Almost as if she knew his intentions, she straightened slightly so her head was no longer on his chest, though he still kept his arm around her to keep her warm.

  ‘So you own Kaleidoscope, the painting shop in the village. What is it you paint?’ Adam asked, needing to keep her talking.

  ‘Pictures,’ she answered, obtrusively. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes again.

  ‘What kind – landscapes, portraits, modern art?’

  ‘Finger paintings, and if you tell me I’m too old for that, you can kiss goodbye to your cake.’

  ‘Tell me how you do it. I presume it’s a bit more than stick men with smiley faces.’

  She smiled and after a moment she opened her eyes and looked at him. ‘You really want to know?’

  ‘I’m interested, finger painting sounds fascinating.’

  She grinned. ‘You’re such a liar but as you asked, I’ll bore you with it. I generally paint on sheets of plastic, enamel tiles or glass, anything with a shiny, glossy surface. I use card and canvas too occasionally but I don’t get such a good effect. I’ll pour the paint on or sometimes spray it using cans of spray paint, then I’ll use my fingers to get the effects I need. I’ll dip my fingers in different colours, spread it across the painting. Mostly I’ll do landscapes that way, sometimes I’ll do portraits of people, but lately Gabe has asked if I can do Christmas-themed pieces. I can go back to landscapes in the spring. I love it, the feel of the paint on my fingers, the different effects I can get with my nails, or the pad or side of my fingers.’

  He smiled as she talked, he loved how passionate she was about it. Her whole face came to life when she spoke about her art.

  ‘Sounds wonderful. I’d love to see it.’

  ‘I’m sure it’s not your thing at all.’

  He felt a bit annoyed by that. ‘You know nothing about me, you have no idea what my thing is.’

  ‘So, tell me, Hero, what is your thing? Are you a guest at the hotel and you just fancied playing rescuer to the little old lady?’

  ‘I’m the assistant manager.’

  Ivy stared at him. ‘You’re the assistant manager here. How come we’ve never met? Didn’t think it was important enough to meet the common folk in the village then?’

  ‘Good God, you’re arsey. On second thoughts go to sleep, please. I might get some peace and quiet for a while.’

  Ivy fell silent for a few moments. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘It’s OK.’ He didn’t really mind; if he’d been trapped under a pony in the freezing cold for several hours, he wouldn’t be in the best of moods either.

  ‘No, it isn’t. You’re sitting in a freezing, muddy ditch with me, trying to keep me warm and awake. You’re being really nice and I’m being a complete bitch.’

  ‘You’re not being a complete bitch... Maybe half a bitch.’

  She laughed, running her fingers absently through the pony’s fur. The pony seemed to be sleeping now, loud snores were coming from it.

  ‘My ex-husband is getting married today,’ she said, quietly.

  ‘Ah, that has to hurt.’

  ‘I don’t have any feelings for him. I don’t love him any more, he was a complete arse but...’

  ‘It feels like you’ve been replaced, or like he has moved on with his life whereas your life has stood still,’ Adam said.

  Ivy stared back at him. ‘It’s exactly that.’

  Adam nodded. ‘I was never married but I’ve been in your shoes.’

  ‘There was a group of us – his friends and their wives – and since we started divorce proceedings four of them have had children. I lived in a tiny bedsit in London for six months, barely going out. They all carried on going on holiday together, meeting up. Everyone has moved on with their lives.’ She sighed. ‘She’s pregnant, Callum’s new bride. Our divorce was finalised six months ago and he’s found a new wife and got her pregnant already.’

  ‘You guys never had kids?’

  Pain briefly crossed her face and Adam guessed this was a sore point too. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘No, it’s OK. We didn’t have children.’

  She didn’t elaborate or give any more details and he knew when not to push.

  ‘What about you?’ She quickly diverted the subject but that was not something he was particularly comfortable talking about either.

  ‘My relationship was a very long time ago.’

  He hoped that would be the end of it. She must have sensed he didn’t want to talk about it as she was silent for a few minutes.

  ‘I don’t even know your name.’

  ‘Adam Douglas. I’m on secondment from a hotel in London, I’m just here for a few months to help Neve out with the opening. I only arrived on Wednesday, which is why you haven’t seen me. I did come down to the village the other day to introduce myself to everyone, but one of the guests fell over and I had to help her back to the hotel before I had a chance to meet everyone. I’m sorry you got missed.’

  ‘I’m sorry too.’

  He looked down at her and she stared up at him, her pretty grey eyes unwavering. Something lurched inside his chest.

  Suddenly he could hear shouts and he knew the cavalry had arrived.

  Adam stood up and whistled loudly to attract their attention. He grabbed his walkie-talkie.

  ‘Head for the cluster of ponies, we’re over there, about a hundred yards from the road.’

  ‘OK, we’re coming,’ Gabe said.

  ‘Well, it was nice meeting you,’ Ivy said. ‘You can get back to your very important job of being an assistant manager again now. Sorry to interrupt your day.’

  ‘Best interruption I’ve had since I arrived here. Besides, I’m looking forward to you paying me back.’

  She stared at him in shock and he laughed.

  ‘You said you were going to make me a cake.’

  She smiled. ‘I said I might.’

  Just then Gabe and Pip arrived at the top of the ditch.

  ‘Hey Ivy, are you OK?’ asked Gabe.

  ‘Yes, I’m fine, thanks, just a bit cold.’

  ‘We’ll have you out in just a moment.’

  Audrey, a pretty redhead who lived in the village, appeared at the top of the ditch. Luke stepped up beside her. He looked very concerned, though Adam knew he was probably more worried about the pony than Ivy.

  ‘You all right, pet?’ Audrey asked.

  Ivy nodded.

  Adam could hear the sound of large machinery getting closer and a moment later the large JCB they used for shovelling snow appeared at the edge of the ditch too.

  ‘Right, let’s get some rope around the pony and we can lift it off,’ Gabe said.

  ‘I want some rope around Ivy too,’ Adam said. ‘As soon as we can I want to pull her out of the hole. The pony might get scared once we start to lift it and might kick out. I want Ivy out of there before that happens.’

  ‘Agreed,’ Gabe said.

  They attached two ropes to the shovel part of the JCB and passed the other ends down to Adam. He slid them underneath the pony.

  ‘Can you reach under the pony, see if you can grab the ropes?’ Adam said to Ivy.

  She put her hands u
nder the pony’s belly and, after a bit of fumbling around in the mud on both their parts, she managed to grab the ropes off him.

  The pony suddenly woke up and started shifting around. Adam leaned over it, putting all his weight on top to try to prevent it from struggling, talking soothingly to get it to calm down.

  ‘Get me some more rope for Ivy,’ Adam called, frantically. They had to get Ivy out of there soon.

  They threw another rope down and Adam leaned over the pony to tie it under Ivy’s arms, then he passed both ends back up to Luke.

  ‘Here, help me out,’ Adam called up to Luke.

  Luke grabbed his hand and, with one swift yank, pulled Adam out of the ditch. The man was huge and he no doubt could scoop the pony up as easy as scooping up a baby. They probably didn’t need a JCB after all.

  Luke took one end of the rope tied to Ivy and Adam took the other.

  Adam called across to the driver. ‘Just lift the pony a little bit, we need to get Ivy out first.’

  The driver nodded and raised the shovel a little, shifting the pony just a few inches. As soon as they could, Luke and Adam tugged on the rope holding Ivy and she slithered out the ditch.

  Adam scooped her up and carried her a few metres away from the ditch and the possible threat of kicking legs while Luke and a few others took over getting the poor pony out of the hole safely.

  He laid her carefully on the ground. ‘Are you OK?’

  ‘I’m fine, thank you.’ Ivy struggled to get up and Adam helped her, but as soon as she was standing up, she slumped against him and he quickly caught her.

  ‘Sorry, my legs and feet are just a bit numb. I’ll be OK in a minute.’

  ‘Look, the hotel isn’t far. Why don’t I take you back there and you can have a shower and warm up?’

  She nodded and he was gratified that she wasn’t going to argue against it. She seemed fine and probably didn’t need a doctor but he would feel better once she was indoors and warm again.

  Gabe came running over to see if Ivy was OK. Adam quickly explained his plan and Gabe suggested they take the snowmobile that someone had used to get there.