was why she was now sitting at her table drinking brandy and uncertain of how her legs worked.
‘Jess and I will go now then,’ Gina said.
‘Why do I have to go?’ Jess whined.
‘Haven’t you been listening?’ Hannah asked. ‘Nobody goes out alone while the snow is still coming down like this.’
George pushed himself up from his chair. ‘There’s really no need.’ He padded over to where his coat dripped on the peg. ‘I can easily get back.’
‘You can easily get into trouble too,’ Gina said. ‘Anything can happen in weather like this.’
George let out a sigh of defeat. ‘I don’t like being a nuisance,’ he mumbled as he collected his boots.
Hannah folded her arms on the table and rested her head on them. The conversation was beginning to tire her. Or was that more to do with the near-death experience? Or even just the very weird day? It had started so well, distinctly normal but reassuringly so; now she felt like Alice in the rabbit hole, and everything was spiralling into this surreal universe whereneighbours tried to kill her, ambulance crews didn’t turn up as promised, dinners got ruined, sisters got bossy, and strange, handsome men fell from the sky like amnesiac angels. Worse still, much worse than being snowed in with all this chaos, was that she was afraid, terribly afraid that she was falling for this man with no name. She couldn’t stop replaying the moments in her mind – of Tom throwing himself in the path of George’s car to save her, of his weight on her as they lay together in the snow on the lane, the feel of his warm breath on her cheek, the depths of his dark eyes that threatened to pull her in and never let go, the odd tingle in her loins that really shouldn’t have been there in the circumstances… She felt like a stupid teenager again, not a mature woman who made her own very sensible way in life. She knew all this, so why couldn’t she get the moment out of her head?
She felt a hand on her arm and looked up to see Gina appraising her with a worried expression.
‘Are you alright?’
‘I’m fine.’ Hannah sat up and forced a smile. ‘You and Jess take George. Make Jess a sandwich to keep her going and we’ll have dinner ready here when you get back. There’s no rush really, is there? It’s not like we have anywhere to be today.’
‘Of course not.’ Gina glanced across at Jess as if daring her to argue. But for once there was no argument and after a few moments they were both swaddled up against the weather.
‘Ready George?’ Gina asked.
‘Aye…’ George tipped his cap to Hannah. ‘Merry Christmas. I’m sorry, again… about the car and everything. Thank you for being so kind about it.’
Hannah waved him on. ‘Don’t give it a second thought, George; it wasn’t your fault. Merry Christmas to you too. Get yourself home and enjoy your evening with Trixie.’
‘Don’t eat all the glacé fruits while we’re gone, you two,’ Gina grinned. She seemed to have quite forgotten that she had been accusing Tom of being a potential axe murdering psycho only a short time before, and was now quite happy to leave her sister in his care. Without another word, the three of them trooped out and the house quickly descended into an odd silence.
Tom broke it first. ‘I feel as if this is all my fault.’
Hannah forced another smile. They were getting harder to produce as the day went on. ‘Don’t think that.’
‘But if you hadn’t been out looking for the ambulance you wouldn’t have been in the path of that car. And as the ambulance was for me in the first place…’
‘And George might have spun off the road into a tree, or some other more dangerous place, all alone, and anything could have happened to him. Who would have walked little Trixie then?’
‘Stop trying to make me feel better; I don’t deserve it.’
‘How do you know?’ Hannah said. ‘How do you know you’re not some saintly do-gooder always organising jumble sales for
‘Jess and I will go now then,’ Gina said.
‘Why do I have to go?’ Jess whined.
‘Haven’t you been listening?’ Hannah asked. ‘Nobody goes out alone while the snow is still coming down like this.’
George pushed himself up from his chair. ‘There’s really no need.’ He padded over to where his coat dripped on the peg. ‘I can easily get back.’
‘You can easily get into trouble too,’ Gina said. ‘Anything can happen in weather like this.’
George let out a sigh of defeat. ‘I don’t like being a nuisance,’ he mumbled as he collected his boots.
Hannah folded her arms on the table and rested her head on them. The conversation was beginning to tire her. Or was that more to do with the near-death experience? Or even just the very weird day? It had started so well, distinctly normal but reassuringly so; now she felt like Alice in the rabbit hole, and everything was spiralling into this surreal universe whereneighbours tried to kill her, ambulance crews didn’t turn up as promised, dinners got ruined, sisters got bossy, and strange, handsome men fell from the sky like amnesiac angels. Worse still, much worse than being snowed in with all this chaos, was that she was afraid, terribly afraid that she was falling for this man with no name. She couldn’t stop replaying the moments in her mind – of Tom throwing himself in the path of George’s car to save her, of his weight on her as they lay together in the snow on the lane, the feel of his warm breath on her cheek, the depths of his dark eyes that threatened to pull her in and never let go, the odd tingle in her loins that really shouldn’t have been there in the circumstances… She felt like a stupid teenager again, not a mature woman who made her own very sensible way in life. She knew all this, so why couldn’t she get the moment out of her head?
She felt a hand on her arm and looked up to see Gina appraising her with a worried expression.
‘Are you alright?’
‘I’m fine.’ Hannah sat up and forced a smile. ‘You and Jess take George. Make Jess a sandwich to keep her going and we’ll have dinner ready here when you get back. There’s no rush really, is there? It’s not like we have anywhere to be today.’
‘Of course not.’ Gina glanced across at Jess as if daring her to argue. But for once there was no argument and after a few moments they were both swaddled up against the weather.
‘Ready George?’ Gina asked.
‘Aye…’ George tipped his cap to Hannah. ‘Merry Christmas. I’m sorry, again… about the car and everything. Thank you for being so kind about it.’
Hannah waved him on. ‘Don’t give it a second thought, George; it wasn’t your fault. Merry Christmas to you too. Get yourself home and enjoy your evening with Trixie.’
‘Don’t eat all the glacé fruits while we’re gone, you two,’ Gina grinned. She seemed to have quite forgotten that she had been accusing Tom of being a potential axe murdering psycho only a short time before, and was now quite happy to leave her sister in his care. Without another word, the three of them trooped out and the house quickly descended into an odd silence.
Tom broke it first. ‘I feel as if this is all my fault.’
Hannah forced another smile. They were getting harder to produce as the day went on. ‘Don’t think that.’
‘But if you hadn’t been out looking for the ambulance you wouldn’t have been in the path of that car. And as the ambulance was for me in the first place…’
‘And George might have spun off the road into a tree, or some other more dangerous place, all alone, and anything could have happened to him. Who would have walked little Trixie then?’
‘Stop trying to make me feel better; I don’t deserve it.’
‘How do you know?’ Hannah said. ‘How do you know you’re not some saintly do-gooder always organising jumble sales for
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