Christmas at Lilac Cottage - Holly Martin Page 0,90
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.
* * *
‘She’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