Page 12 of Hope and Hot Chocolate on Mistletoe Lane

That surprised me. I thought I’d do my own thing outside of work hours but they all told me to stay, and something did smell delicious on top of the Aga behind us.

‘Good job I made slow-cooker beef today; it’s been a long one for us all,’ Adam said as he brought over a steaming bowl of beef stew followed by mashed potato and green beans. It smelled of garlic and looked hearty, making my stomach rumble on cue. ‘I wonder if this cruise will be worth all the hassle,’ Adam added, grimacing as he told us how he’d picked out a suit finally.

‘You’ll have an amazing time,’ Willow said as Dylan poured out a glass of red wine for the three of us. ‘Think about us here trying to manage the winter wonderland, and handling Dylan’s family…’ Her eyes twinkled as she teased him.

I glanced at Dylan. ‘Should I be worried?’

‘I kind of am,’ he admitted. ‘We haven’t been in touch much since I came to live here. I decided to extend an olive branch and invite them for Christmas but they were planning to go skiing so somehow it turned into them coming to stay for a couple of weeks. I just want it to go well.’

‘It will if your brother isn’t the jerk he was when I first met him,’ Willow replied dryly as she passed me the potatoes. I loaded up my plate, thinking I hadn’t bothered to cook a meal like this for myself for ages. Living alone had made me lazy when it came to cooking, I had to admit. ‘Hopefully, this will dispel any tension,’ she added, gesturing to her baby bump.

‘We haven’t told them,’ Dylan said to me. ‘It’s a surprise for when they get here.’

‘You weren’t sure they’d come if they knew about the baby?’ I asked, thinking that Dylan’s relationship with his family sounded just as uneasy as mine.

‘They don’t approve of me,’ Willow said before Dylan could answer.

‘Then they need to sort themselves out!’ Adam broke in, shaking his head. ‘They only have to look at the two of you to know you were always meant to be. I could see it straight away; you argued so much, it was like you were already married! Speaking of which…’

Willow rolled her eyes. ‘You know me, Dad: not traditional in any way. We’ll get there one day.’ She turned to me. ‘They couldn’t understand why Dylan stopped working for his brother, Nate, at his property development company, and came to live and work here. Farming isn’t what they planned for him. Nor was I. I’m not rich.’

‘They aren’t that bad,’ Dylan said, but then he sighed. ‘Well, they do have some opinions that are very rigid but I’m hoping once they’re on the farm, with all the festive fun that will be going on, and see how happy we are and that we are about to become a family, they’ll realise this is my life now. And accept it. Maybe even support it.’

‘I wouldn’t count on it,’ I couldn’t help but say darkly. ‘My mum hasn’t ever forgiven me for leaving Birchbrook. And I’ve never forgiven my dad for leaving us, and that was all ten years ago.’

Dylan raised an eyebrow. ‘I’m sorry to hear that. Your mum will be happy to have you back in town for a few weeks surely.’

‘She asked if I’d visit her at home. I haven’t been there since I left, though.’

‘The cottage is so pretty,’ Willow said. ‘Maybe you’ll be happy to see it again?’

‘Maybe there are too many bad memories,’ I replied, distracting myself by tasting more of Adam’s amazing stew.

‘I’ve felt that way about my childhood home,’ Dylan said. ‘After my mum died, it wasn’t the same there.’ He glanced around the kitchen. ‘It’s so different here. So warm and inviting.’

‘Sometimes, we put too much stock into the bricks around us,’ Adam said. ‘It’s the people inside that make a place a home. You both have had tough parts of your childhood to deal with and maybe you’ve put some of that blame into the house you were in at the time, but look at me and Willow. We lost my lovely wife, Willow’s mum, here but we wanted to stay and be in the place she loved so fiercely. We knew she would want us to keep the farm going and that’s what we’ve done,’ he added, looking at Willow with love and pride. My stomach curled with something like longing. I wished I had that relationship with my mum, and wished my dad wasn’t a missing part of my life.

‘You two inspired me to try to heal things with my dad and Nate,’ Dylan told them. ‘And my friend Blake repaired his relationship with his family when he stayed here. He got married on the farm to Willow’s cousin Daisy,’ he added to me. ‘It made me think about the future. I would want my family by my side when I marry Willow one day.’

I couldn’t picture myself getting married, let alone having my family there celebrating the fact. ‘I’m not sure I can ever heal things with my family,’ I admitted. ‘God, you guys get deep quickly,’ I added to lighten the atmosphere. ‘Are you secretly therapists?’

Willow grinned. ‘We always say Birch Tree Farm has a way of changing your life. It might change yours, Holly.’

‘Should I be worried?’ I joked but I hoped it would save my business. That’s all that mattered. The personal things felt too complicated for even this place to fix.

‘Oh, I’ve had a message from Female Pat at the café,’ Willow said then, looking down at her phone on the table after it vibrated with a notification. ‘She said that Paul has had a change of heart and they do want to have the café van at our winter wonderland.’ She met my eyes. ‘I bet that’s because of you.’

‘Me? Why?’ I asked, surprised.

‘I’ve never seen Paul look shocked, ever, and he was stunned to see you here. And now after you popped into the café, they are back on board. He must be so happy to have you back.’

‘No, his mum told him off for saying he wouldn’t do it and said she would or her husband would if they had to. She’s basically forced him into it.’

‘Not sure you can force Paul into anything,’ Dylan commented.

‘Either way, thank goodness, because people love that place and the van is always a draw to our events,’ Willow said as she replied to the message.

I thought back to when I saw him at the café, his reaction to me staying in Birchbrook. He hadn’t said much. He had seemed pretty grumpy with me and had quickly left to disappear upstairs. I knew it had been a long time since we’d seen each other but he definitely didn’t seem pleased that I was in town.