Baby It's Cold Outside (7 page)

I caught a hint of pride in his voice.

‘He's great isn't he?' I said, my voice wavering a bit.

Jamie smiled.

‘He's something else,' he said. ‘He's so clever and funny, and it's so sweet how he looks out for Tansy.'

The kettle boiled and he poured the hot water into the teapot.

‘This whole thing has knocked me sideways,' he said. ‘I'm not sure what to make of it all.'

He wrapped his arms round me and I rested my head against his chest.

‘All I know,' he carried on, ‘is that I love you and I want to marry you. Parker being in my life doesn't change anything for me.'

He pulled back and looked at me.

‘Does it change anything for you?'

‘Nothing,' I said, feeling happier than I had for hours. An image of the huge pile of ice and snow blocking the road flashed into my head and I shoved it away. It would be fine, I thought, as long as Jamie and I stuck together.

I picked up a mug of tea and gave Jamie a kiss.

‘Right then,' I said. ‘Let's go and introduce Parker to his grandpa.'

Chapter 9

I followed Jamie into the living room where Tansy was still entertaining David.

‘…and of course it was arthritis,' she said, as David laughed uproariously.

‘Tansy,' Jamie said. ‘Would you mind giving us a minute?'

Tansy realised at once what Jamie was about to do.

‘Of course,' she said. ‘I'll just go over to Eva's. Give me a yell when you're ready.'

She slipped out of the door. Jamie sat down next to his dad and I sat on the other sofa.

‘Dad,' Jamie said.

‘What's going on, Jamie?' his dad said. ‘Has something happened?'

‘It has,' Jamie said. ‘Don't worry – it's a good thing. It just might be a bit of a surprise, that's all.'

‘That's an understatement,' I said under my breath.

‘So, you remember Tansy?' Jamie began. ‘Remember we were engaged once?'

‘Yes,' David said, his brow furrowed. He looked at me. ‘Must have been a shock for you, Ez, having the ex-girlfriend turn up on the doorstep.'

You don't know the half of it, I thought. Jamie was taking a long time to get to the point. I scowled at him and he got the message.

‘Thing is, Dad, when Tansy arrived she didn't come alone – she had her son with her.'

David may have been close to retirement but he was as sharp as ever.

‘Her son?' he repeated. ‘And is he your son?'

Jamie slumped in relief that his dad finally knew.

‘He is,' he said. ‘He's mine. I didn't have a clue until Tansy arrived.'

David sat in silence for a moment. I held my breath, not knowing how he'd react.

‘Bloody Nora,' he said. ‘So you're a dad?'

Jamie nodded.

‘And I'm a granddad.'

Jamie nodded again.

‘Are you okay, Dad?' he said. ‘You're not angry?'

‘Angry?' David said. ‘Not angry. Just confused. Why didn't she tell you she was pregnant? And why turn up now?'

‘Long story,' Jamie said.

‘So he's what – four years old?' David said.

‘He's five,' Jamie said, unable to suppress a smile. ‘His name is Parker and he's amazing.'

‘And how do you feel about this, Esme,' David said. ‘Can't be easy?'

‘It's not,' I admitted. ‘But he's a lovely little boy.'

David turned his attention to Jamie again.

‘You need to tell your mother,' he said.

‘I was hoping you might,' Jamie said with a grimace.

‘Oh no, that's your job,' David said. ‘Tell her now – ring her. She'll be spitting feathers that I knew first.'

‘You must,' I said to Jamie.

Jamie took a deep breath, then he picked up his phone and dialled the number.

‘Mum,' he said. ‘I'm here with Dad. I've just told him some news and I need to tell you too.'

There was a pause as his mum spoke.

‘No the wedding's still on,' he said. ‘Esme is right here. I'm going to put you on speakerphone okay?'

‘What's going on?' Barbara's voice came out of the phone loud enough for us all to hear.

‘On Friday night, Tansy turned up out of the blue,' Jamie said, speaking quickly so his mum didn't have time to interrupt. ‘She brought her little boy with her, Parker. He's my son, Mum.'

There was a pause.

‘Well are you sure?' she said. ‘Can she prove it?'

‘Well no,' said Jamie. ‘But the timings fit and he looks like me.'

‘And what does she want, this Tansy? Money?'

I felt a rush of affection towards my future mother-in-law.

‘Does she know you're getting married this weekend?'

‘She does now,' said Jamie. ‘She doesn't want anything. She just wanted me to know Parker exists.'

I snorted. But quietly so no one would hear.

‘Esme?' Barbara said. ‘Are you there? What do you think of her?'

Caught on the hop, I wasn't sure what to say.

‘She seems genuine,' I said lamely. ‘Parker's great.'

‘Well I don't know,' Barbara said. ‘This all seems a bit fishy to me. You're too trusting, Jamie. Always have been. I need to think about all this. David, are you coming home now?'

‘I'll be there in half an hour,' David said, making a face at Jamie.

‘Goodbye Jamie,' Barbara said, then she rung off.

‘Well that went well,' Jamie said, rolling his eyes.

‘Oh, J,' I said, getting up and going to sit next to him. ‘She'll come round. She's just protective of you, that's all.'

Jamie's dad slapped him on the back.

‘Everyone's just looking out for you, son,' he said. ‘So where is this little boy? Can I meet him?'

Jamie looked thrilled.

‘Of course you can,' he said. ‘I'll get him.'

Jamie disappeared to find Parker, and David and I looked at each other.

‘Holding up?' he said to me.

Once again I felt like crying at the sound of a friendly voice.

‘Trying to,' I said. ‘It's been a nightmare. Tansy turning up and now the avalanche.' I looked down at my bandaged wrist and shrugged, desperately trying not to cry.

‘You're strong, Esme,' David said. ‘You're doing so well. We'll all help you and Jamie work things out.'

I smiled at him gratefully, as Jamie came back in, holding Parker by the hand, Tansy following behind.

‘Parker,' Tansy said. ‘This is David. He's Daddy Jamie's dad. Which means he's your grandpa.'

I felt David flinch a bit at the word “grandpa” but he didn't show it. He smiled at Parker. He was brilliant with kids and I knew he'd try his best to make friends.

‘Hi Parker,' he said. ‘I'm Grandpa. Isn't it funny we've never met before now, but I think we're going to get along, don't you?'

Parker eyed him warily.

‘Slugs have four noses,' he said.

‘But butterflies smell through their feet,' David said.

They grinned at one another.

Suddenly I felt exhausted, achy and very close to tears.

‘I'm going to leave you to it,' I said. ‘I need a bath and a lie down.'

I kissed David on the cheek.

‘Good luck,' I said. He squeezed my hand.

‘You too,' he said.

Chapter 10

I wallowed in the tub for ages, topping up the water when it cooled off and feeling the heat soothe my battered limbs – except for my bandaged left wrist, which I awkwardly kept draped along the side of the bath.

My head was still tender and I was bruised all over from falling in the snow. Every time I closed my eyes, I heard the dreadful rumble and saw the people disappear in the cloud of ice. I suspected the emotional trauma of the day would take longer to heal than my bruises.

I stretched my toes out and turned on the hot tap again, wriggling slightly so the warm water reached me quicker. I was, I thought, quite proud of myself. I'd always been a reluctant witch, wary of relying too much on my own powers and often preferring to do things the old-fashioned way. But today had shown me that spells and charms weren't just about making the world work for you – they could work for others too. Of course I'd seen firsthand how many people Mum, Suky and Eva had helped over the years. And Harry was massively in demand at her swanky spa and on her website. But today, on that frozen hill, it had just been about saving lives. I'd never have thought I was capable of it. I was always doubting my abilities. But I'd done it. And I was pretty pleased with myself. I wondered if the people who had been buried in the snow were doing okay and made up my mind to ask Lou to find out. She could ring the local police, I was sure. Thinking of Lou made me wonder if the others were home yet. I pulled myself out of the bath, feeling all my aching limbs complain, wrapped myself in a towel and went to get dressed. It was only just after six p.m. – it had been a very, very long day – but I pulled on my pyjamas with a thick jumper on top. I roughly dried my hair and hoiked it into a ponytail and then went to find my mum.

She was in the kitchen laying the table. Something delicious-smelling was in the oven, a salad bowl was on the side, and there was an open bottle of red wine just asking to be poured.

‘Esme,' she said when she saw me. ‘Darling girl.' She threw her arms around me and held me tight. I started to cry again, even though I'd promised myself I wouldn't. It really had been a horrible day.

‘I know,' Mum said, stroking my hair like she had when I was tiny. ‘I know. You've had such an awful time, but you saved all those people. You did that, Ez.'

I gave her a watery smile and she steered me into a seat and poured me a glass of wine.

‘Tell me all about it,' she said, even though Harry must have already filled her in on most of it. ‘It's good to talk.'

We chatted for a while and Suky joined us and hugged me as Mum had done.

‘You clever, clever girl,' she said. ‘I always knew you could do it.'

Then Harry and Louise arrived in the kitchen too. Harry was wearing yoga trousers and had wet hair, while Lou was in her PJs like me.

‘Jamie and Tansy are putting Parker to bed,' Harry said, pouring wine into a clean glass and handing it to Lou. ‘He's beat, the poor wee thing.'

Louise and I shared a glance. Parker really had won Harry's heart.

‘Jamie said he'd be down in a minute, but Tansy's going to bed now too,' Harry carried on. ‘Jetlag I think.'

Mum turned the oven down.

‘The lasagne's ready,' she said. ‘So we can just have a drink and wait for Jamie.'

I looked round at everyone.

‘I'm going to need your help,' I said. I'd been thinking of virtually nothing else since Penny had told me the road was blocked.

‘The avalanche means nothing can come into Claddach,' I explained. ‘So my dress, Harry's dress, the food – it's all stuck outside.'

I paused to gulp some wine.

‘And Chloe, and Dad and the bloody registrar. What are we going to do?'

There was nothing Mum and Suky liked better than a crisis. They sprang into action immediately. Mum waggled her fingers and a notepad and pen appeared in front of her.

‘Right,' she said, clicking the pen. ‘Where shall we start?'

We all shuffled round the table a bit so we were closer together and everyone looked at me.

‘Easy stuff first?' I suggested.

Harry nodded.

‘Dresses,' she said.

The important thing to remember about magic – our sort at least – is that it's not, well, magic. We can't create things that aren't there. We can just move them about, or change them. Sitting there in the kitchen, none of us could have spun a wedding dress out of thin air. If we had a pile of fabric, though, we could wiggle our fingers and make it into whatever we pleased. And getting a wedding dress from wherever it was – somewhere between here and Aberdeen – was child's play.

‘They're in a van somewhere,' I said. ‘I can get those.'

‘All of them?' Mum asked.

‘Mine, Harry's and Chloe's,' I said. ‘Jamie and Frankie have got their suits, and we brought their ties up from Edinburgh.'

Mum wrote down “Dresses” on her pad, then wrote “Esme” next to it.

‘What's next?' she said.

‘Food,' said Suky. ‘Eva and I can sort that out, no trouble.'

Mum wrote that down too, while Harry topped up all our glasses. I was beginning to relax for the first time all day and suddenly I thought it was all going to be okay.

‘Basically, all the supplies we can sort,' Harry said. ‘We just need to work out what's here already and what we still need. We wouldn't want to double up on bows for the backs of the chairs.'

I stuck my tongue out at her cheerfully, so grateful for her help that her little digs all washed over me.

‘Put down Lou and me for everything else, Auntie Tess,' she said.

Louise winked at me.

‘We'll have this wedding knocked into shape in no time,' she said.

‘What about the people,' I asked. ‘What about Dad?'

My dad lived down south in Cheltenham. I'd lived with him for a while when I was a teenager, running away from witchcraft. I abso-bloody-lutely adored him and my younger half brothers Mitchell and Mason. I couldn't imagine getting married without him. Or, I grudgingly admitted to myself, without my step-mum Olivia. She may not have always been my biggest fan – I was a bit too haphazard for her pernickety tastes – but was still a part of my family.

‘Where is he?' Mum asked. I shrugged.

‘He and Olivia were planning to visit a few places on their way up,' I said. ‘I can't remember where they were going first. Mitch is in Glasgow still so they're picking him up on the way.'