An Unexpected Christmas Read online

  An Unexpected Christmas

  By Lori Jennings

  Text copyright © 2015 Lori Ann Jennings

  Cover design © 2015 Lori Ann Jennings

  All Rights Reserved

  For Sarah

  I am so grateful for all the years of support

  and being as big a fangirl as I am.

  For my Nate.

  Thank you for being there when nothing else helped.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty One

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Chapter Twenty Five

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty One

  Chapter Thirty Two

  Chapter Thirty Three

  Chapter Thirty Four

  Chapter Thirty Five

  Chapter Thirty Six

  Chapter Thirty Seven

  Prologue

  I stared at my laptop screen open mouthed and watched as my mother continued with her ironing. It wasn't the fact she was ironing while skyping me that had me in shock, the ironing was actually a regular occurrence, it was the fact she had just informed me that she wouldn't be spending Christmas at home. 'April, close your mouth. I don't know why you are so surprised. Your father and I have been meaning to visit with Bill and Karen for a while.'

  I let out a heavy breath and felt my shoulders sag. 'I know Mum I just didn't think you would be going for Christmas.' It had always been my favourite time of year with all the decorations, music, gifts and spending time with my family, I always looked forward to the whole season.

  'You could always go to your sister's.' My mum replied as she shook out a shirt and placed in on the ironing board.

  I shook my head. 'No, Abby is going to Scott's parents, I spoke to her yesterday.'

  Mum placed the iron on its stand and looked out of my laptop screen. 'I'm sure you will be alright and you will save money not having to travel up from London.' She smiled at me. 'Don't worry; just have a nice quiet few days.'

  I took a breath, she was right; and I wouldn't have to spend four hours alone in a car and could spend the day in my pyjamas without someone telling me I was lazy. 'You're right, it's going to be great and I'm glad that you and Dad are finally heading to New York, it will be a nice change for you.'

  'Well, that's settled then. Right, I best go, I have the W.I. ladies coming over in an hour and I need to clear all this up first.' She gestured to the piles of ironing that were neatly stacked on the table.

  'Okay, I will speak to you later.'

  'Bye darling.' She started to make kissing gestures into the camera which brought a smile to my face.

  'Bye Mum.' I clicked the end call button and her image disappeared. Leaning back on my sofa I looked around my small flat. All of my excitement for the season had simply drained away from me and I only knew one cure for my depression.

  I stood up and wandered over to my DVD collection, a bookcase filled with all sorts of movies and TV box sets and one section dedicated to Nathaniel James Hamilton. I glanced over the titles, organised chronologically and decided to start at the beginning of his career.

  Placing the DVD into the player I sat back and dragged my blanket over me then pressed play.

  Nate Hamilton was my cure for most things. His early work as the adorable and sweet love interest for the plain girl in a couple of period dramas sparked my interest in him. Then there was his work in amazing interpretations of some of Shakespeare's work which had me stunned by how much talent he possessed. More recently he shot to fame playing 'Dax', the charismatic bad guy in the 'Danger' series.

  It wasn't just that he was incredibly talented either, in the interviews I had seen, and with the hours I had lost on YouTube, I had seen a lot, he came across as genuinely lovely. Always smiling and laughing and filled with such confidence. It also didn't hurt that he was incredibly handsome with thick chocolate hair and bright eyes that were sometimes blue and sometimes green and he was really tall, I loved that he is really tall.

  Some people knew about my mild obsession with Nate Hamilton but when I started my new job I decided to keep it quiet as long as possible, I was a twenty eight year old woman not an obsessive teenager and confessing that my main way of coping with things was to lose myself in his work may come across as odd. I wasn't ashamed of it; it was just simpler to keep it to myself. So I sat on my sofa, snuggled under my blanket and lost myself in his movies wondering what my Christmas was going to be like this year.

  Last Christmas had been the usual house full. My niece and nephew charging around and getting over excited about all the presents Santa had brought them. My sister and her husband taking a breather from entertaining their children by eating their way through a couple of tins of chocolates and my mum and dad making us all the perfect Christmas dinner all ending in board games and the Doctor Who special, perfect.

  It was going to be much quieter without them all and I was going to miss them but I would persevere and make it as special as I could, just a nice quiet Christmas on my own.

  Chapter One

  April

  It was so close to Christmas I could practically taste the turkey and all the trimmings. The smell of pine wafting in from my living room set a smile on my face and the sound of festive music filled my entire flat; I was getting ready to spend the next few days with my friend Ella and her family and I was just stuffing the last of my clothes into my suitcase when the chorus of 'Merry Christmas Everybody' by Slade began to ring out of my back pocket. Pulling out my phone, I smiled as I glanced at the caller ID and hit the answer button, 'Hey Ella, I'm almost ready I swear.'

  I heard her chuckle. 'Don't worry I haven't left yet. Just calling to ask if you want me to pick you up a coffee on my way over?' She paused, 'Or is that a ridiculous question?'

  'You know me too well; coffee would be wonderful, thank you. Any idea what time you might get here?' I pushed another pair of shoes into my case and wondered if I would even wear them.

  'Maybe half an hour or so, there's no rush; Mum isn't expecting us until later so we can take it easy. I will text when I set off.'

  'Thanks see you in a bit then!'

  We said good bye and I pushed my phone back into my pocket. I took in the sight around me; I stood at the side of my bed surrounded by most of my clothes which I had pulled from the small chest of drawers and the boxes from under my bed. I never thought of myself as a vain person but I knew that if I thought I looked good then I would feel good and that always boosted my confidence so my suitcase was pretty much full but I still had loads to pack. Pulling out a holdall I began to add jeans and sweaters to it. I had also picked a couple of dresses, a really nice black puffball skirt and my cute sparkly ballet shoes; I knew Ella's mum lived in a small village but I liked to be prepared for any event that might arise and I also knew Ella liked a good night out so she might drag me to something I needed a dress for.

  I had me
t Ella Lawson at work only ten months ago. She was in fact my line manager but we had hit it off instantly; I was new to London, moving from a small town in Cheshire, and as Ella had lived here all her life she took me under her wing and showed me how wonderful, and not scary and intimidating, the big city was. Ella was stunning; standing at six feet tall, not in heels, and with beautiful long blonde hair. You could mistake her for a supermodel but she was one of the nicest people I had ever met.

  It was because she was so nice that I was spending my Christmas with her and her family. When Ella heard that I would be spending my holiday alone as my parents would be in New York visiting friends, and my sister and her family would be at her in-laws, she never hesitated to invite me to spend it with her and her family; she truly was one of the best people I knew.

  Approximately thirty minutes later the doorbell sounded through my small flat and I skipped over to answer it. Ella was standing there in skin tight jeans and a huge sweater that on me would make me look at least three times bigger than I was but on her looked amazing. I took the coffee cup she was holding out to me and gestured for her to enter.

  'You ready?' She asked; a smile on her face.

  I took a sip of my coffee before answering, 'I think so. If I have forgotten anything it's too late now.'

  I took another sip and savoured the taste. Ella had learnt early how I like my coffee and how often I drank it; it wouldn't surprise me if she had planned specific stops along the way to her Mum’s house just to keep me caffeinated.

  'We should probably get going,' Ella said, and I grabbed my coat.

  Ella had managed to park right in front of my building and after loading my bags in to the back of her dark blue Mini roadster I moved to the passenger side and climbed in.

  'So, how long is it going to take us to get there?' I settled myself into the seat; it had been freezing cold for weeks and the weather report had been hinting that it might snow along the south coast for the past few days but I wouldn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. I hadn't seen real snow for about three years and I really hoped that I would get a chance to have a white Christmas.

  'It's about three and a half hours.' I looked over at her and raised my eyebrow. 'It will be fun. We have loads of Christmas music to sing along to and I brought jelly babies.' She held up the packet and wiggled it in front of me. I hesitated for a moment then took the bag from her and opened it. Ella just laughed and started the engine. 'Are you ready?'

  'Yep, drive on!' I replied through a jelly baby filled mouth.

  Traffic wasn't too bad as we headed out of London and I watched as the landscape changed from tall skyscrapers and the usual city life to smaller towns and eventually countryside. I didn't know much about Ella's mum's house, just that it was somewhere on the coast and Maggie, Ella's mum, had bought it after her divorce from Ella's dad about twelve years ago. I was really looking forward to spending my Christmas somewhere new and I hoped I would have plenty of time to get through the pile of books I had brought with me; work had been so busy lately and I was the sort of person with the bad habit to keep buying books even though I had hundreds to read already.

  We sang very loudly and very out of tune to the Christmas music blasting out of the speakers but after almost two hours Ella moved into the inside lane and took an exit for the services.

  'God I really need to pee.'

  I giggled at Ella then sent her a sympathetic smile. 'Alright, we could probably do with some more jelly babies or maybe something a little less sugary.'

  Ella nodded and climbed out of the driver's seat. We walked into the service station and were immediately hit with a wall of warm air and electronically produced Christmas music, and after visiting the ladies Ella went off in search of snacks while I grabbed another coffee.

  As with most services these days it had the usual food and drink vendors on offer, and luckily this one had my favourite coffee chain. I ordered a gingerbread flavoured latte and paid, moving along the counter to wait for my beverage. The guy behind the counter shouted my name and I thanked him as I took my cup. I sipped at it and savoured its sweet yet slightly bitter taste, I knew that I had a bit of a caffeine addiction but shrugged it off; it was Christmas after all - a time for indulgence.

  I wandered over to the little shop and found Ella flicking through a magazine. The cover showed the latest celebrity scandal but there was a by-line that caught my eye.

  'I see you managed to get your fix,' Ella said as she glanced at me and stuffed the magazine back on the rack.

  I resisted the urge to pick it back up and flick through to find out what it said. 'Yep, you know me I have to keep my caffeine levels just right or I turn into a crazy person who can't form full sentences, just grunts at everyone. Are you getting anything?'

  'Yeah, was just going to grab a bottle of water and some crisps.'

  Once Ella had made her purchases we headed back to the car. I climbed in next to her and clutched my cup to my chest savouring its warmth. We still had quite a way to go but the Mini was comfortable and I relaxed back into my seat. Ella turned the key in the ignition and the Christmas music started up again.

  'Do you mind if we have a bit of a break from the Christmas tunes? It feels like it's all I have listened to since October.' She reached into her handbag and pulled out her iPod.

  'No go ahead.'

  She plugged in her baby pink iPod and hit play. I recognised it as her chilled out playlist and smiled as I wiggled deeper into the seat and happily sipped my coffee. Ella put the car into gear and headed off again.

  When we eventually turned off the motorway I looked out the window at the surrounding countryside; the weather had threatened to snow but nothing had hit us yet and the fields and hills were still dark greens and browns. We passed through a couple of towns, both similar yet with their own history and styles of buildings, then the towns got smaller and smaller as we neared the coast.

  'Is it much further?' I felt a little like a whiney child but I was genuinely curious. I hadn't gotten a view of the sea yet and had no idea where we were.

  'Only about ten minutes,' Ella replied with a quick glance at me. I knew she was as excited about the holidays as I was but I had the added curiosity of the unknown. I wanted her family to like me as I did when I met any new people, it was part of who I was, not wanting to be hated or ignored and fearing in being so. But if her family was anything like Ella I knew I would be welcomed with open arms, the thought alone made me smile and that smile broadened as Ella turned a corner and the vast blue sea came into view.

  From a distance it looked like a deep dark blanket of glistening blue but as we travelled along the coastal road I saw its movement and the white crests of waves as they hit the sandbanks. I was always fascinated by the sea and how it could look so calming one moment and the next be crashing and breaking down on itself, as well as the many changing shades of blue it could be depending on where you were in the world. I thought of the turquoise ocean and its warm and inviting waters I had seen on a holiday to the Caribbean I had taken with my family many years before and how that was a total contrast to the dark and bleak looking waters that lay out before me; every so often there would be a break in the clouds that loomed overhead and a shaft of light would hit the surface of the water and sparkle making it look almost mythical.

  Ella followed the road which turned and bent with the coastline and then moved a little inland taking me away from the view of the sea. I slumped slightly in my seat but continued to watch the scenery outside the car. We started to approach a cluster of houses and a little sign at the side of the road said 'Calavell Village'.

  'It's just through the village and down towards the beach.' Ella smiled and I could hear the excitement in her voice and her posture changed as she sat a little straighter.

  Driving through the one road village I smiled as memories of my childhood filled me. I had spent a few years in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere Cheshire, before moving closer to a town and Calavell w
as so similar to where I had grown up; two pubs, a post office and a village shop, then a row of very adorable looking thatched cottages and to one side and set slightly further back a very old looking stone church. Ella drove slowly along the street and received a wave from a lady bundled up in a bright red coat and hat.

  'That's Mrs. Harris, she runs the post office.' Ella informed me as she waved back.

  'So it's one of those villages.' Ella glanced at me with a raised eyebrow, I grinned back at her, 'You know, where everyone knows everyone and you can't keep a secret to save your life.'

  Ella laughed, 'Not quite. I don't know everyone but I do know a lot of people through Mum. She likes to get involved.'

  'Involved how?' I was genuinely curious to know more about the woman I would be staying with; Ella was not very forthcoming with stories of her family usually.

  'You know, book groups, jumble sales, festivals. She has been on the Parish Council for years and loves organising events and activities. She rang me yesterday and wondered if I would want to join in with the carol singers.' I let out a snorted laugh then slammed my hand over my mouth. 'Go ahead and laugh we both know I can't hold a note. I may have mentioned that you might be up for it though.'

  I stared at her in shock and after a moment she burst into laughter. I poked my tongue out at her, 'You are cruel.'

  'I know! I'm sorry! I would never make you stand up in front of people and sing. Not unless you are drunk anyway.'

  I nodded in agreement as Ella turned the car down a single lane road. I got a glimpse of the sea again and the road snaked down towards its edge. I sat up in my seat and spotted a dark slate roof.

  'There it is,' Ella said, pointing towards the house.

  We reached the bottom of the hill and she turned the car into a gravel driveway. When Ella said her mother lived in a cottage I imagined a small stone building with a thatched roof not unlike the ones we had passed in the village but what stood before me was far from that picture. It was a large brick building with a dark slate roof and huge windows. From the outside I guessed it had at least four, maybe five, bedrooms and who knew how many reception rooms. There was a large garden to one side which looked pristine despite the time of year and its location.