He slammed the boot shut.

‘We better get Dolly home,’ he said. ‘She’ll need an early night after that long walk.’

I don’t know what reaction I had been expecting when I told him about my change of plan, but I hadn’t thought there would be no reaction at all.

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Another restless night stretched ahead and I couldn’t help playing over Beamish’s lack of reaction to my, what I considered, monumental news. It wasn’t that many days ago that I’d been tethered and we’d had two near-kisses and multiple moments of prolonged eye contact. Now I was as free as a bird but not going anywhere and he didn’t seem to care for me at all.

I wasn’t looking to replace one man with another, but my friendship with Beamish (the way he listened when I spoke, respected and accepted my opinions even if he didn’t always agree with them and was interested in what I had to say) meant the world to me and I wanted things between us to go back to how they had been before.

It was because of the man Beamish was that I had looked with fresh eyes at my one-sided relationship with Jonathan and come to the conclusion that it wasn’t the healthiest, even before he had bruised my wrist. Beamish and I might not have been destined to end up together, but our friendship was priceless.

‘What are your plans for today then?’ Dolly asked when I went down to breakfast.

‘I haven’t actually got any,’ I told her, warming my hands around the teapot, ‘so I’ll clean the fire out before I eat, if you like. It’s chilly in here this morning.’

‘What about the Winter Wonderland?’ Dolly quizzed. ‘I know you were keen to go. Didn’t Beamish mention it last night?’

‘No,’ I said sharply, ‘he didn’t.’

Dolly didn’t say anything and I felt bad for biting her head off. It was hardly her fault.

‘How are we doing with the Wish List?’ I asked, trying to make amends.

‘All right,’ she answered. ‘There’s still a few things to tick off but, by and large, I think we’re getting there.’

‘And with time to spare,’ I said. ‘I’m sorry I snapped.’

‘It’s all right,’ she said kindly. ‘I can’t even begin to imagine how you’re feeling right now. This isn’t exactly how you expected your holiday here in Wynbridge to work out, is it?’

‘No,’ I told her, ‘it isn’t, but actually, I’m feeling far better about certain aspects of it than I expected to.’