A Surprise Christmas Wedding - Phillipa Ashley Page 0,11

she and Connor had mutually decided to split up. Connor was happy to go along with it. So while Steph had been going through her treatment, Lottie bottled up her own pain, telling herself it was a pinprick next to the avalanche of worry Steph was dealing with. She wept secretly in the dark of the night, and every tear she shed made her feel guilty.

Now, looking down at Connor’s card, she remembered the previous Christmas when she’d promised Steph she’d look after the girls, if the worst happened.

It had been a mixed blessing to stay so local to home after her split with Connor. They’d sold their little house and Lottie had stayed with Steph. Although her place was small for the four of them now the twins were bigger, at least it meant she could lend a hand with the childcare while Steph was going through months of gruelling radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

The treatment had left her sister mentally and physically exhausted and she’d had to take sick leave from her job as a teaching assistant. To help even more, Lottie had taken several weeks off after leaving her job at the hotel in early August and before starting at Firholme in September.

When Steph had first called her with the news she’d been sent by her GP for a biopsy after some worrying symptoms, Lottie had hoped that it would be a false alarm and that the problem would be quickly solved. The opposite had been true. It had taken almost two months of scans and biopsies for Steph to be properly diagnosed and nearly two more for her treatment to start.

Now, six months after Steph’s treatment had ended, things were looking brighter. Lottie was settled in her new job at Firholme, and Steph was back at work as a teaching assistant although she was often exhausted and had to have regular check-ups at the hospital. The treatment had also brought on an early menopause with its mood swings and tiredness, on top of the ever-present fear of the cancer returning. Despite all this, Lottie was amazed by her sister’s determination to make the most of every moment for the sake of her twin daughters.

Likewise, Lottie had decided to make a fresh start and had jumped at Shayla’s offer of the Firholme job. It was still close to Steph’s house and she’d immediately been made to feel welcome. She loved her new role, and when Connor left Cumbria, gradually she’d begun to heal from the split.

Lottie glanced at his card one more time, and a new resolve filled her veins. That day, when Connor had walked out and Steph had called about her cancer, had been the worst day of her life but she had to look to the future and hope. She’d pull out all the stops to make sure that Firholme stayed in business and that this Christmas would be the best ever for Steph and the twins.

She took the card downstairs and threw it in the kitchen bin, like she should have done a year ago.

Chapter Three

With fresh determination, Lottie laced up her boots, pulled the red bobble hat over her curls and headed off towards the Christmas tree plantation. Her mood soon lifted once she was out in the fresh air, surrounded by the fells.

Even though she was used to hill walking, she was breathing a little more heavily by the time she’d climbed the slope to the forest gate. Her nose twitched at the scent of pine needles in the crisp air.

Jay was talking to two of the estate workers, their hi-vis outfits shining like beacons against the dark forest. Chainsaws and visors lay at their feet. She guessed that Jay’s dog, Trevor, was at home, safely kept away from the working area.

Lottie hung back while he finished his conversation, quietly observing him. He was also fully kitted up in sturdy boots, cargo pants and an olive ‘Firholme’ sweatshirt. So far, so mundane, but as for the man in the uniform, he was anything but mundane.

The forest workers picked up the chainsaws and left, so Lottie walked up to him.

‘Hello. Sorry, I’m a bit late,’ she said, struck by how the earthy tones of his clothes suited his colouring: brown hair, bronzed skin and hazel eyes. ‘I needed to change out of my heels into something a bit more practical.’ She lifted her sturdy boot, dragging her attention from Jay’s rugged physique.

He smiled briefly. ‘No rush. I needed to talk to those guys. We’re