Coming Home For Christmas: Warm, humorous and completely irresistible!

Richard held out a glass of wine and she sat down next to him and snuggled up. This felt cosy and nice. She should stop analysing and just go with the flow.

‘Just about,’ said Pippa. ‘I’m sorry she’s so naughty when you’re here.’

Even before the bedtime fuss, Lucy had been in an incredibly bad mood. Deliberately tipping her plate on the floor when Richard had mildly suggested she should finish the dinner she was making a point of not eating because he was there.

‘Don’t worry about it,’ said Richard equably. ‘She’s had a lot to deal with in a short time and she’s asserting herself.’

‘Thanks, for being so understanding,’ said Pippa. ‘I know she doesn’t make it easy on you.’

Richard put his arm around her and pulled her tight.

‘Or on you, Pip,’ he said, kissing her. ‘You’re amazing you know that?’

It gave Pippa a warm, fuzzy feeling to be told that. Too often she felt like a catastrophic failure. It was nice to think someone thought she was amazing. Particularly someone as good looking and caring as Richard. She was doing the right thing. Lucy would come round eventually.

They settled back to watch some dross on TV, and Pippa felt herself destress. After half an hour, she was feeling much better.

That was until Richard put a spanner in the works.

‘So has there been any more news about the development opposite?’

Pippa groaned. She didn’t want to think about that right now. Marianne had already been on at her about starting up a campaign, but at the moment she wasn’t sure she had the energy. She would have preferred not to discuss it with Richard either, but he’d seen the planning notices pinned up down the lane, and his take on things was very different from hers.

‘Not really,’ said Pippa. ‘I know it’s going to be too big and out of keeping with the area and not what any of us want.’

‘Maybe you’re looking at this the wrong way round,’ said Richard. ‘Perhaps you should take advantage of it.’

‘Advantage how?’ said Pippa.

‘Why not be part of it?’ said Richard. ‘When you and Dan divorce, you’ll have to think of the farm. Why not sell some of your land? Make things easier for you both?’

‘But we don’t want to sell,’ said Pippa. ‘This farm has been in my family for three generations.’

‘Things change,’ said Richard. ‘And you’ve said yourself the farm is losing money.’

‘I know,’ said Pippa, suddenly angry that he was suggesting things that had already gone through her mind. ‘But sell it? I don’t think I could.’

Marianne took the phone call. It was Eve’s mum, Joan.

‘Hello, is Gabriel there?’ she asked. She sounded jittery and nervous.

‘Sorry, he’s not in yet,’ said Marianne.

She looked out of the window into the gloom of a February evening. Gabriel was still out – the lambing season was getting going in earnest now, and he was very busy, working all hours helping deliver the new lambs. Marianne helped out when she could, but she couldn’t help Gabe in the evenings, so Dan or Gabriel’s dad often came out to lend a hand.

The twins were tucked up in bed, Steven was away at school, even their new pet lamb, Dolly, was asleep in her basket in the corner of the kitchen. It was likely to be several hours before Gabriel came in. Marianne felt lost and lonely and not in the mood to deal with Eve’s mum who could be very difficult and demanding.

‘Ah,’ said Joan, ‘have you any idea when he’s likely to be back?’

‘I’m afraid not,’ said Marianne, wondering why Joan was ringing them, it wasn’t as if they were often in touch. ‘Can I help at all?’

‘It’s about Eve …’

It would be. Eve had been part of the fabric of her relationship with Gabriel since day one. Marianne had met Gabriel just after Eve had left him, and she’d seen for herself the pain she’d caused him, particularly when she’d come back to Hope Christmas and tried to win custody of Steven. And more recently, when she’d come back to live in the area, and suggested Steven go to the choir school in Middleminster. It was what Steven wanted, but it had caused Gabriel considerable heartache.

And over the last couple of months since Eve had been ill again, Marianne knew he was worrying about her. He couldn’t help himself. Gabriel had spent so many years worrying about Eve, he still felt guilty when he thought she needed him. When was it ever not about Eve? Chiding herself for being uncharitable – Eve couldn’t help being ill, despite the problems it gave them – Marianne forced herself to say, ‘How is she? Gabriel said she’s doing really well.’

Gabriel had been taking Steven to see his mother at regular intervals, and even popped in to the hospital once or twice on his own. One of the many wonderful things about Gabriel was his kindness and consideration. Marianne knew that he still cared about his ex wife and worried about her when she was ill, but his kindness and consideration could also be bloody frustrating at times. Eve had left him, and it wasn’t Gabe’s fault that she was ill now. Marianne tried not to let it get to her, but sometimes, it grated that her husband was still so involved in his ex wife’s life.

‘Yes, she is,’ said Joan. ‘And they’re thinking of letting her come home.’

‘That’s wonderful,’ said Marianne, still curious as to what it had to do with them. Despite her frustrations about the way Eve’s problems impacted on them, Marianne was pleased Eve was better (as Joan must be too, the last few weeks must have been a nightmare), but it wasn’t really her problem. ‘So she’ll be coming back to stay with you, I presume?’

‘Ah, she would …’ the unspoken ‘but’ hovered between them.

Here it came, the real reason Joan was ringing.

‘Unfortunately, I’ve booked a cruise,’ said Joan, ‘and it’s not possible to cancel at this late stage …’

You selfish cow, thought Marianne, her sympathy for Joan dissipating instantly. Eve was Joan’s only child. No wonder she had rejection issues.

‘… so I was wondering … the thing is, Eve has nowhere to go. So could she …’

‘… come to us?’ said Marianne. The cheek of the woman! Not prepared to take responsibility for her sick daughter (whose illness she was probably to blame for – she’d given Eve a rackety dysfunctional childhood) and yet expecting her ex son-in-law to pick up the pieces.

‘It will only be temporary till she sorts herself out,’ said Joan persuasively. ‘She’ll hardly be in your way.’

Wanting to throttle the woman, Marianne gritted her teeth. ‘I can’t promise anything, Joan,’ she said, ‘I need to talk it through with Gabriel first.’

‘If you could let me know as soon as possible?’ Joan clearly didn’t have a clue that her call was unwelcome.

‘I’ll let you know when Gabe and I have had a discussion,’ said Marianne firmly, putting the phone down with a satisfying bang. Bloody woman. How dare she? But then, Eve couldn’t be left on her own. It wasn’t her fault she had a lousy mum.

And in her heart, she knew there wasn’t really any talking to Gabriel about it. Eve would be coming to stay and that was that.

Gabriel walked in at that moment, complaining about the cold. He stopped dead when he saw the look on Marianne’s face.

‘What?’ Gabriel asked.

‘That was Joan,’ said Marianne. ‘Eve’s coming out of hospital and she has nowhere to stay.’

Gabriel sat down with a thud.

‘Bugger,’ said Gabriel. ‘Can’t she stay with her mum?’

‘Joan’s going on a cruise apparently,’ said Marianne. ‘No doubt it would cramp her style.’

‘No doubt,’ said Gabriel drily. ‘Well we can’t have her. We’ve got enough on our plate. I’ll ring Joan back and say no.’