‘I don’t know,’ said Maya, fixing me with an intent stare.

I shifted in my seat, rather unsettled by her scrutiny. Given that Ned had my request to buy me out of the business preying on his mind, it was hardly surprising that he was distracted, but I wasn’t about to explain that.

‘Between you and me,’ Maya added, biting her lip, ‘I’m not sure his preoccupation is anything to do with work at all.’

I, of course, knew that it was everything to do with work and wondered how Ned would react if I suggested to him that he should talk to Maya about it. Given that I’d only fleetingly suggested the pair should start running together and as if by magic, Maya had instantly appeared in her figure enhancing running gear, he might consider it a wonderful proposal and embrace it with open arms.

‘It’s like his head is entirely somewhere else,’ Maya carried on, ‘and that’s not like him at all, especially at this time of year.’

‘But you have to remember how different this year has been,’ I reminded her.

‘What with you being back, you mean?’

‘Well,’ I said, ‘there is that, but I was thinking more about the changes to Wynter’s Trees that he’s instigated. Setting up the beach huts and having the site open longer, as well as the barn, has taken a lot of organising. The place has been transformed and even though it has all gone smoothly enough, it’s still a lot of responsibility for one person to carry.’

As my words flowed, I realised I’d hit the nail on the head. Ned really did have a lot on his plate this Christmas.

‘You know what,’ Maya said, brightening considerably. ‘You’re right. It’s no wonder he’s been a bit off, is it?’

My words had succeeded in lifting her mood again, but they’d made mine sink into my boots. My announcement to sell felt horribly mistimed. Poor Ned.

‘No,’ I said, ‘it isn’t, is it? And I’ve hardly helped, have I?’

‘Of course, you have,’ Maya insisted as she began tidying away the lunch things. ‘The grotto painting and the cart conversions have been an absolute hit.’

‘But the twisted ankle and the cock up with the trees,’ I countered. ‘They’ve hardly been my finest moments, have they?’

‘Hiccups in the grand scheme of things,’ Maya said, shrugging away my mistakes as easily as she swept the crumbs we’d made off the table.

She might have been able to forget about my recent blunders but they, alongside my big decision, became stuck fast in my head as we drove the rest of the journey back. I had previously told Ned that I would make an effort to make my last Christmas connected to Wynter’s Trees a good one, and it was about time I did exactly that.

Chapter 20