I look up at him in surprise and he closes his eyes with a sigh. ‘I was determined that my father dying wouldn’t affect my life. I pushed the grief away and pretended I was fine. The only time I let myself grieve was when I hid in the trees on summer nights and no one knew where I was. I spent that summer helping Evergreene out, isolated with just the trees for company because I could pick up a shearing knife and disappear into those fields. Then, in September, I went to college, pushed away friends and did nothing but schoolwork. I got into a university in London, then I got a job and stayed there. It took until I was 28 to stop running and acknowledge the fact my father had died and it had changed me.’

I clench my fingers to stop myself slipping an arm around him and squeezing tight. There’s an edge of disbelief to his voice even as he’s speaking, like he’s surprised at himself for being so open with a virtual stranger.

I look over, and like he can feel my eyes on him, he slowly opens his until our gaze locks again and his mouth quirks up, giving me a tiny smile that looks soft and vulnerable, and I think it’s a smile that not many people get to see under his grumpy exterior.

Chapter 9

‘Now, we’ll have one here and one there.’ Fiona points to a pillar on either side of the entrance to the market building. ‘Oh, and we could do with a couple outside too to draw attention. Not quite as big as the one in the main entrance, but big enough to see. Seven foot should do it.’

Noel laughs at how thorough she is with her commands as we both follow her around the market and I scribble down notes about her list of tree demands. It’s early and we’ve left Fergus watching the pumpkin stall while he sets out his biscuits, although all he seemed to be watching when we left was his fingers in the jar of Glenna’s pumpkin marmalade that Noel gave him.

‘One could go here.’ She points to a space between the used bookseller and a stall that’s reserved for handmade decorations closer to Christmas. ‘And another over there by the craft beers, and one there by the festive food from around the world stall …’

‘We’re going to have more trees than stallholders soon,’ Noel says.

It’s a quiet Tuesday morning and there will definitely be more trees than customers at this rate. ‘Maybe the trees can take over the stalls and give the workers a break.’

‘As long as they haven’t been out on the lash the night before. You can never get trees with hangovers to turn up on time, and no one wants them puking pine needles over the produce and snaffling up fried breakfasts all morning.’