Mairi looked at me, eyes excited. ‘I know it was a bit presumptuous of us, but we just knew you two would find each other again this Christmas. And we wanted to make sure you had the best possible start as a family. Oscar and I lived in the most beautiful house just a few miles away in the village, right next to the waterfall. It’s the perfect family home and we’ll be nearby to help with childcare.’

Dylan sighed. ‘Mum, Dad, this is very generous of you but isn’t it best you wait to see what happens with the court case? If we lose this land, you’ll need somewhere to live yourselves.’

Mairi tensed as Oscar leant on his walking stick, looking sadly down at the floor.

‘We will not lose this land,’ she said vehemently. ‘It is my birthright.’

‘Okay,’ Dylan said, hand up as if to appease her. ‘We still can’t accept this though. I’m sorry,’ he said, handing the envelope over.

‘Why ever not?’ his mother said.

‘I’m going to move to be closer to Gwyneth and Lumin.’

Mairi’s face went white. But I noticed Oscar smile slightly. He knew his son needed some independence. ‘You can’t!’ Mairi exclaimed. ‘It’s hours away! How will you come into work each day?’

‘I can help out every now and again,’ Dylan said. ‘But I think it’s time I returned to my own business.’

‘You can’t!’ Mairi said again. ‘This is your family business, what about your father?’

‘Mairi,’ Oscar said, putting his hand on my arm, ‘it’s fine, really.’

‘What’s going on here?’ Cole said, walking over.

Mairi turned to him. ‘Dylan is leaving the business!’

‘Oh, Jesus,’ Cole said, rolling his eyes. ‘Not this again. Let him have a little break,’ he said, waving his hand about. ‘He’ll be back in a couple of months.’

‘No, Cole. This time it’s for good.’ Dylan took my hand. ‘Mum and Dad, you’ve been amazingly generous offering the house but I’m moving to Northumberland with Gwyneth. You know I’ve always wanted to have a go at relaunching my woodworking business. I think now’s the time.’ He smiled and my heart went out to him, how happy he looked. But I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Mairi and Cole, who both looked aghast at the thought of their main builder leaving the business.

Cole laughed bitterly. ‘Woodworking?’ He gestured to the seal figurine in my hand. ‘You make a few animals and sculptures and you think you’re the next big thing? It’s nothing, Dylan. Not enough to support your new family, for God’s sake.’

‘Cole’s right,’ Mairi said, nodding.

‘Wow, can you hear yourselves?’ I said, feeling defensive of Dylan. ‘Can’t you see how talented Dylan is? Don’t you want to see him make a go of it, follow his heart?’