Page 56 of Winter Magic on Railway Lane

Ethan looked at his brother questioningly, but then he heard the chatter of people outside.

‘Here’s your workforce, right on cue,’ said Ryan, going over to the front door and inviting whoever it was inside.

Ethan was surprised but pleased to see Joe, Nico, Bob and even Dodgy Del all standing outside.

‘We’re free but we come highly recommended,’ Nico told him with a grin as they came inside. Although his smile faded a little when he saw the smoke damage.

‘Thank goodness everyone was okay,’ said Bob, staring around the room before heading over to give Ethan a hug.

‘Blimey,’ added Del. ‘Bit of a mess, ain’t it?’

‘Nothing that a bit of elbow grease won’t sort out,’ said Joe. ‘So it’s just the soot and smoke to clear?’

Ethan nodded. ‘I guess so.’

‘Luckily, I know all about it,’ Dodgy Del told them. ‘Had a few burnt kitchens in my time.’

‘Having tasted your cooking once, that doesn’t surprise me in the least,’ replied Ryan.

‘First thing is to get everything outside, give it a good air,’ carried on Del. ‘Then we need to wash down the ceiling, walls and floor. With all the windows and doors open, this horrible smell will soon shove off as well.’

‘Well, I never thought I’d say this, but we’ll follow our cousin’s plan,’ said Ryan, raising his eyebrows at Ethan.

But Ethan had wandered over to look at the kitchen and was horrified to see all of Libby’s chocolate equipment covered with soot.

‘You’re definitely going to need a new oven,’ said Joe, coming to stand next to him.

‘I was going to replace that old one anyway,’ replied Ethan. ‘But what about all of this?’ He waved his hand towards the work surfaces, piled high with all of Libby’s bowls, mixers and boxes.

‘That’s in hand too,’ Ryan told him, coming to stand next to his brother.

At that moment, Katy, Flora and Harriet arrived at the back door, their eyes clicking wide open at the sooty mess in front of them.

‘Wow,’ said Flora, blowing out a sigh. ‘It could have been so much worse.’

Harriet shook her head. ‘Let’s not talk about it,’ she said with a shudder.

‘Then let’s keep busy,’ said Katy, stepping forward. ‘The chocolate truffle business is temporarily moving to Strawberry Hill Farm, so everything needs to be packed up and delivered there this morning.’

‘I’ve got my van outside,’ announced Dodgy Del. ‘You can get it all in there and it will only take one trip up to the farm.’

For a second, Katy hesitated. They all knew that Del’s smoky, spluttering old van was a health hazard all on its own.

But, to Ethan’s surprise, Katy looked at him and smiled. ‘Del, that would be a great help,’ she told him.

Ethan watched his cousin beam from ear to ear before turning to his brother. ‘Miracles are happening all over the place this morning,’ he murmured.

‘Well, you know what they say,’ murmured Ryan. ‘It takes a village to build a community.’

Ethan nodded thoughtfully. He had automatically pushed against the idea of becoming one of Cranfield’s permanent residents for so long that he had never considered what it would really mean.

But now he thought about it, he wasn’t quite so sure that doing up and selling the old school would be his plan going forward. After all, he realised, looking round at the family and friends that had gathered round to help him in his hour of need, perhaps he needed them.

He couldn’t help but feel grateful as everyone began to clear and clean up his home.

34

After a morning of enforced rest, Libby was picked up in Harriet’s car and driven the short distance to Strawberry Hill Farm.