Page 90 of New Beginnings on Railway Lane

He nodded thoughtfully. ‘How about we start with the tree and go from there?’

‘Okay.’ She smiled. ‘Thank you.’

He drew her in and held her for a while until the pain of the past began to recede once more.

* * *

So, the following afternoon between the coffee shop closing and the pizza takeout service opening, they headed out into the woods.

The weather had turned much colder and Katy was wrapped up in a hat, scarf and thick gloves. But despite the nip in the air, she was enjoying herself.

Ryan had brought a rather large axe and, with guidance from his dad and grandad, was chopping down two rather large trees.

‘Is that going to fit inside your front room?’ she asked Eddie, as she looked at the tree, which was at least six foot high.

‘We can always lop the top off,’ said Bob with a smile. ‘You’ve gotta have a big tree, haven’t you?’

Katy shrugged her shoulders. ‘I guess.’

The Christmas tree for the apartment took some manoeuvring up the narrow staircase and ended up being quite a clean-up campaign to sweep up the many pine needles that it dropped in the process.

‘See?’ said Katy. ‘This is why a fake tree is better.’

‘Rubbish,’ said Ryan, hidden by the thick branches as he fought to straighten up the tree in its stand. He crawled back out to survey his work. ‘And you’ll never get that smell anywhere else.’

‘What about scented candles?’ she said.

Ryan stood up and smiled at her. ‘You can’t fake everything.’

Just like her feelings for him. The kisses of the other evening had been sensational and she was still hoping that it wouldn’t be too long before they repeated the experience.

Confused, she stepped away to study the tree with narrow eyes. ‘It doesn’t have anything living in it, does it?’

Ryan laughed. ‘You’ll be fine. If you can survive Dodgy Del staying in the apartment, you can survive anything.’

They spent a lovely evening with some Christmas music playing as they decorated the tree. ‘We need more fairy lights,’ said Katy, stepping back to survey their work.

‘More?’ asked Ryan bemused. ‘That’s very un-Scrooge-like of you.’

She shrugged her shoulders. ‘If we’re going to have a real tree, it’s got to be perfect.’

‘Yes, ma’am,’ he said, shooting her a grin which made her stomach do a backflip.

They sat that night with the tree lights twinkling, making the baubles sparkle. With the tree and flames from the fire, it was very cosy. Katy felt a new kind of peace settle over her.

It was almost as if she were on a break from her career. She had worked so hard each and every day, never stopping to think or even breathe. But now, it felt as if she were taking vital oxygen into her lungs and her heart. She could feel herself starting to heal.

Being in Cranfield had definitely changed her but she knew that the biggest transformation in her life was because of Ryan and the love that she felt for him.

* * *

The following morning, Katy was still feeling festive and decorated Platform 1. She draped sprigs of holly over the railway posters and in the entrance, and asked Ryan to place another tree there.

‘We’re going to need more decorations,’ Katy told him.

‘Wait until you see the size of the tree I want outside on the platform.’

‘Seriously?’