Page 35 of Winter Magic on Railway Lane

‘We’re moving!’ said Libby, staring as the lavender fields on the other side of the railway track began to move sideways.

‘Are you always this observant first thing in the morning?’ asked Ethan, yawning.

He was maddeningly calm whilst Libby intended to keep freaking out.

‘This train is moving!’ she said, beginning to raise her voice. ‘Why is this train moving? Who’s driving it? Why are we in this carriage? And why is this train moving when you’re the driver and you’re here next to me?’

Ethan winced and held up his hand. ‘Can you keep the yelling down to a dull roar until I work out what’s going on?’ he asked, leaning past her to pull down the window a couple of inches and try to peer out.

Libby patted down her jeans pockets before searching the floor for her phone, but she couldn’t see it. ‘Where’s my handbag?’ she asked. ‘And what are we doing in here anyway?’

‘I seem to remember you left your bag on the bench outside Platform 1 last night. You had an extremely good time at your ladies’ gin night and then insisted on having a tour of the carriage when I bumped into you on the way home,’ Ethan told her.

A cold draught whistled through the open window and around Libby’s shoulders and she hugged her arms around her.

‘And then what?’ asked Libby.

‘What do you mean?’ replied Ethan, looking back at her with a grin. ‘Are you asking whether you gave into the constant temptation that is my body?’

Libby rolled her eyes and glared at him.

He shook his head. ‘Don’t worry. You pretty much passed out on me as soon as we got in here. I guess I did too – more from weariness than the gin cocktails that you were enjoying.’

But Libby wasn’t concerned about the past. She was more worried about the days ahead.

‘Listen, Connolly, you’d better figure a way to get me off this train,’ she snapped. ‘I’ve got a tight deadline and a huge amount of chocolate truffles to make. I haven’t got time for a magical mystery tour this morning! Where are we going, by the way?’

‘I guess Dad and Grandad have decided to give it a test run without me,’ he told her, with a shrug. ‘I was supposed to be helping, but it looks like I overslept.’ He patted his jeans pocket and brought out his phone before grimacing at the screen. ‘And my battery’s dead.’

Libby groaned. ‘So what do we do now?’

Ethan leaned out of the small window as far as he could but was unable to make his shout of warning heard above the loud sound of the whistle being pulled from the driver’s cab at the same time.

Libby blanched and held her head at the noise. ‘Ow!’

But the train continued at its leisurely pace with no signs of slowing down.

‘I don’t believe this,’ said Libby, looking out at the countryside. ‘This is all your fault. You’d better work out a way to get this thing turned around!’

‘We weren’t planning on stopping until we get to Cranley junction which is five miles along the track,’ he told her.

‘Five miles!’ Libby nearly screamed in frustration. ‘What are we going to do until then?’ she asked.

‘Enjoy the journey,’ Ethan told her.

‘I don’t have time for this,’ she said, feeling decidedly grumpy as she slumped back down on the seat. The hangover wasn’t helping her mood either.

‘Listen, from what I’ve seen over the past few days, this is the first time you’ve seen daylight for a while,’ he said. ‘So just relax and enjoy the vitamin D, would you?’

She sighed heavily. ‘I don’t have time to relax.’

He frowned. ‘Why is this order stressing you so much?’ he asked.

‘Because it’s a ridiculously large order that I need to complete. I need the money since losing my job,’ she told him. ‘What else do you expect Dad and I to live on?’

‘Perhaps you could ask everyone for help as I previously suggested,’ he told her, raising an eyebrow at her.

But Libby automatically shook her head. ‘I don’t need help,’ she said. ‘Nobody else can make the chocolate.’ She sighed. ‘All I know is that I don’t have time to sit and look at the countryside this morning.’