Christmas at Lilac Cottage: (#1 White Cliff Bay) (20 page)

‘
I
just thought
I’d come round and see your new place, I didn’t realise I’d be interrupting anything,’ Anna said, slamming her bag down on the counter and standing with her hands on her hips.

Henry sighed. It was clear that today was judgemental ass day.

He heard the connecting door open and he hated that Penny was going to get a mouthful of abuse too.

Penny came into the kitchen slowly and he reached out a hand for her. Pulling her into his side, he wrapped his arm round her waist and placed a kiss on her forehead.

‘Penny, this is my sister Anna. Anna, this is my girlfriend Penny.’

Penny smiled. ‘Hi.’

‘Girlfriend?’ Anna deliberately ignored Penny. ‘You’ve known her less than a week. What kind of example is that to set to Daisy?’

‘Daisy doesn’t know,’ Henry said quietly and he watched Anna’s face turn from indignation to anger.

‘She doesn’t know? You’re sneaking around behind her back, lying to her?’

Henry bit his lip. He hated lying to Daisy and he questioned himself every day over that decision. But he could hardly tell Daisy that he had jumped into bed with his neighbour just two days after she had specifically asked him not to date her. She was happy now and he wanted to keep her that way at least until Christmas. Was that so bad? He hadn’t come to White Cliff Bay looking for a serious relationship, in fact any kind of relationship was supposed to be off the table. But then he had met Penny and everything had changed. Nothing seemed to make sense about Penny, he had fallen hard very quickly and nothing had ever felt like this before.

‘It’s just for a few days, until she’s more settled and gets used to seeing us together, at least platonically. We’ll tell her then.’

Penny leaned into him and he held her tighter, but surprisingly she was stroking his back trying to offer him support when really he thought it should be the other way round.

‘It didn’t take you long to get
settled
. You’ve been here just a few days and you’re sleeping together already.’ Anna turned her attention to Penny. ‘Did you just open your legs to him on the first night?’

‘Anna!’ Henry said, forcefully. There was no way he was standing for that. ‘I won’t let you speak to Penny like that.’

‘It’s OK,’ Penny said. ‘I know how it looks, neither of us expected it to happen. But we have something really special.’

‘Please! This isn’t serious for Henry, this is all about his inability to keep it in his pants. He has never been in love, never had a girlfriend that lasted longer than a few months. You’ll be no different. Why do you think he hasn’t told Daisy yet? Because he knows that it’s not going to last.’

‘This
is
serious.’ He could feel himself getting really angry and Penny’s hand squeezed his, probably to try to get him to calm down. God, the last thing he wanted was for Anna to give Penny reason to doubt their relationship. ‘I am very serious about Penny. I adore her and Daisy does too. I’m not keeping it a secret from Daisy because I don’t think it will last. I just didn’t want to upset her.’

‘Then why do it at all? You promised me and her that you wouldn’t be getting involved with anyone ever again.’

‘That was a rash statement and you know that. You can’t expect me to not have a relationship ever again because I made one terrible mistake with Emily.’

‘I can expect you not to get involved with the type of person who lets you shag them across the breakfast table in the middle of the day.’

Penny let out a bark of a laugh and Henry looked down at her in confusion.

‘I’m sorry, but I’m not worthy enough for him because we were about to have sex on the kitchen table? In my own home? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. You have no idea what kind of relationship me and Henry have—’

‘I don’t care about what kind of relationship you and my brother have. I care about Daisy and how this will affect her.’

‘I care about her too,’ Penny said indignantly.

If Henry had thought that Penny was going to be shy when she met Anna for the first time, he had clearly been mistaken. He tried to suppress a smile; he liked this fiery side to her. He hadn’t seen it very often but she certainly knew how to stand up for herself.

‘Bullshit. You’re clearly using her to get to Henry. She adores you, you’re all she’s spoken about for the last week, and when all this comes to an end, which it undoubtedly will, you will drop her like a hot potato. Do you have any idea how much that will hurt her?’

‘I have no intention of ever doing anything to hurt Daisy. I really like her and if this thing between me and Henry comes to an end, that absolutely won’t affect my relationship with her. If Henry moves out and never wants to speak to me again, she can still come up here every day and practise her ice carving. I like working with her, she’s brilliant and funny and I thought that long before I was involved with Henry. I’ve already offered her a job, I have way too many carving jobs for me to do alone and she shows a real talent for this kind of thing.’

‘What sort of person befriends a sixteen-year-old girl?’

Penny went very still next to him. ‘What are you suggesting, that I’m some kind of pervert?’

Anna quickly back-pedalled. ‘No, I didn’t mean that, I just meant that it’s a bit weird.’

‘Why is it weird?’ Henry said, angrily.

‘Well…’

‘You’ve made a snap judgement based on the fact that you saw me and Henry about to have sex and you’ve come into my house and accused me of the most disgusting things. How dare you, you don’t even know me. Now I suggest you get out of my house now because you’re certainly not welcome any more.’

‘Legally darling, you don’t have a leg to stand on there. You can’t dictate which visitors Henry has in his home.’

‘Penny’s right,’ Henry said. ‘I would never presume to tell you how to live your life and I don’t expect you to come in here and try to tell me how to live mine. Get out and don’t come back here unless you’re ready to apologise to Penny.’

Anna stared at him in shock for a moment, before she turned and grabbed her bag and stormed out.

‘I’m so sorry,’ Penny said, after she had gone.

‘What? No, you have nothing to be sorry for. She is very over-protective of Daisy, we both are, and she’s seen it go wrong for Daisy quite a few times before. But don’t apologise for her issues and her bloody judgemental attitude.’

Penny sighed. ‘I suck at first impressions.’

‘I don’t know about that, you pretty much captured me from the moment you opened the door with that huge endearing smile on your face.’

She smiled.

‘Come on, why don’t you bake a cake, that’ll make you feel better and I can help.’

‘I thought you wanted sex on my table.’

‘We can do that too.’

She laughed and she walked off back towards her kitchen. He sighed with relief as he watched her go.

She hadn’t seemed bothered by Anna saying it wouldn’t last between them. He just hoped with all his heart that she knew how much she meant to him.

‘
S
he’s late
,’ Henry said, looking at his watch for the seventeenth time in the last ten minutes.

Penny smiled with love for him and how protective he was of Daisy as he wore a hole in her kitchen floor with all his pacing.

‘She’s not late.’

‘School finished at half past three. It can’t be more than a half hour walk from there.’

‘Firstly, she’s probably talking to all the new friends she’s made and making plans to meet up with them all over the holiday. Secondly, it might take you half hour to walk from the town to our house, but it takes us lesser mortals a good forty-five minutes or more – we haven’t all got freakishly long legs like you. It’s twenty past four, I hardly think we need to call out the search and rescue just yet.’

‘It’s getting dark.’

She frowned with confusion.

‘Why are you worried? It’s not about her being out on her own, she’s done that tons of times before.’

He sighed and sat down at the table. ‘I just want to know that she got on OK today. What if she hated it? What if the kids were mean to her? I want this move to work for her. I don’t want her to regret her decision to move here.’

‘She is one of the most bubbly, friendliest girls I know, the other kids will love her, how can they not? Plus her hero, Mr Cartwright, is her form teacher, she is going to be over the moon about that for at least the next six months.’

‘You’re right, I know, there’s just a lot riding on her loving her new school. I want her to be happy here.’

‘She is and she will be, stop fretting.’

Henry nodded and then looked at his watch again.

The timer went off on the oven and Henry jumped.

Penny shook her head fondly as she went to the oven and pulled out the chicken and pepper mix needed to make fajitas. She gave it a good stir, covered it with foil and put it back in the oven, turning the temperature down low just to keep it warm. It hadn’t been discussed that they would have dinner together but that seemed to be the norm now. They had become domesticated very quickly and Penny loved it. But the doubt that was in her head, that doubt that had been gnawing away at her since she had seen Anna earlier that day, kept telling her not to get too involved too quickly because it would hurt all the more if it came to an end.

What if Daisy was miserable at school? Penny had known that something wasn’t right at Henry’s work after he had come home in a terrible state and she’d overheard him telling Daniel that he didn’t know if he would have a job after Christmas and he might not be able to stay in White Cliff Bay. What if they left? He certainly wouldn’t stay just for her, he hadn’t known her long enough for that. Where would that leave them?

She turned round and watched him as he tried to read the paper and surreptitiously look at his watch and the door every few moments. He wanted it to work too.

She passed Henry a block of cheese and a grater. ‘Grate this, it will keep you busy for a few minutes. And when she comes in don’t pounce on her, ask her but not as if it’s a matter of life and death.’

Henry nodded solemnly.

Almost right on cue, Daisy strolled through the back door as if it was the most natural thing in the world to pitch up in Penny’s kitchen after a day at school. Penny loved the ease Daisy had around her. She was smiling broadly, something which Penny saw Henry notice straightaway. He returned his attention to the cheese, sighing quietly with relief.

‘Hey honey, did you have a good day?’ Henry said, taking extra care not to let any worry or panic into his voice.

‘I had the best day ever, everyone was so nice. I made friends with two girls, Rebecca and Maisie, and we’re going to meet up between Christmas and New Year and Mr Cartwright is the coolest man ever and… I didn’t realise White Cliff Senior School and White Cliff College were on the same campus.’

Penny put the fajita chicken mix on the table with the tortillas and watched Daisy get very excited about the college, which seemed an odd thing to warrant so much excitement.

Penny sat down next to Daisy. ‘I’m so pleased you had a good day.’

‘I did,’ Daisy said, looking like she was about to burst from the excitement of it all. Henry was watching her with confusion too.

Daisy helped herself to a large portion of the chicken and suddenly leaned over and whispered in Penny’s ear. ‘I saw Josh again.’

Penny tried and failed to suppress a smile.

‘What?’ Henry asked.

‘Nothing,’ Daisy said at the same time as Penny.

Henry scowled as he looked between them.

Daisy leaned over again to whisper some more. ‘He asked me to the ball.’

Ah, the reason for the giddy excitement had been explained.

Penny whispered in her ear. ‘That’s so cool, how exciting.’

‘I know,’ Daisy whispered back. ‘I think I love him.’

Oh lord. How was she supposed to explain this one to Henry?

‘What?’ Henry said again, trying not to smile as he scowled at their secrets.

‘Nothing,’ Daisy giggled.

‘We’ll go shopping for a dress then,’ Penny whispered. ‘Sunday?’

Daisy nodded gleefully.

Penny tucked into her own fajita and glanced across at Henry who was pretending to glare across the table. That glare might turn out to be a real one once he found out his daughter was going out with the tattooed, shaven-headed boy he had mistaken for a burglar a few days before.

Josh was a sensitive, sweet boy but Penny doubted Henry would see it like that.

She would have to break it to him gently when he was in a good mood.

‘
I
’m going
out for a bit, I won’t be long, I’m just popping up to Rebecca’s house,’ Daisy said, getting up from the kitchen table. Penny saw the grin that she had been suppressing for most of the dinner.

Henry frowned as he looked at the darkening skies outside. ‘Its nearly dark out and we were going to go tree shopping.’

‘We will, I’ll only be half hour, Rebecca only lives up the hill.’ Daisy gestured vaguely and Penny frowned. There was no house up the hill. Lilac Cottage was the last house on the very outskirts of White Cliff Bay. The next house was a good half hour drive away on the edge of Apple Hill. Daisy was lying, she could see it in her eyes. It seemed like Daisy had secrets of her own. Henry looked at her suspiciously too.

Before Henry could protest any further, Daisy threw her coat on and with a cheery wave she raced out the door.

‘She’s up to something,’ Henry said, as the door almost slammed back into its frame.

‘Maybe she’s just gone off to buy your Christmas present,’ Penny suggested, knowing that wasn’t it at all.

Henry scowled as he moved round the table towards her. ‘Talking of that, I need to go and finish her tree decoration. Will you be OK for half an hour?’

Penny nodded and he kissed her briefly before disappearing out the back door.

Doubt niggling in her mind, she opened the front door and stepped out onto the drive. At the bottom of the driveway stood the observation hut which was used by birdwatchers to keep an eye on the nesting cliff-dwelling birds, especially in the spring and summer months. It was also the place where some of the teenagers of the town used to hang out, especially teenage couples. She had used it herself in her youth to meet up with one or two boys. They’d sit, talk and listen to music. For her nothing further than a few kisses had happened in that hut but, with a small gas fire, gas lamps, a soft bench to lie on, it had been the place where several of her peers had lost their virginity. It was silhouetted against the pale twilight sky and, as she watched, flickering lights suddenly came on inside.