Page 5 of Winter Magic on Railway Lane

His mother had told him true love didn’t exist and having seen his parents’ marriage at close quarters, he knew she wasright, despite his friends in Cranfield and even his brother proving him wrong over the last year or so by falling in love.

There had only been one time when he had felt that love was real. One night when he had unexpectedly bumped into Libby in Las Vegas and been true to himself and the deep feelings he held for her. She was the only one to have ever got close enough to him to reveal his heart. But it had been too close for the both of them, as it turned out.

It had been a night to forget as far as Libby was concerned, but despite nearly eight years passing since, why couldn’t he do the same?

So he joked and wound her up whenever he came back to Cranfield, all the while trying to ignore the Libby-shaped hole in his heart.

He glanced once more up Railway Lane, but she had long since disappeared from view. So he turned around and closed the front door behind him.

3

‘So that was your last flight?’ came the shocked chorus from around the table.

Libby gave her best friends, Harriet, Flora and Katy, a grimace as she sank down onto the chair in Platform 1, still in her flight attendant’s uniform.

After quietly dumping her flight bag in the hallway, so as not to wake up her dad, she had texted her friends a short while ago that it was an emergency and Katy had opened up the coffee shop early just for them.

‘Yup,’ Libby told them. ‘Those of us being made redundant received the email just before we boarded the flight, can you believe? I am one hundred per cent out of a job as of right now.’ She tried and failed to smile. ‘But, hey, on the plus side, no more jet lag, so that’s something.’

Katy pushed a large mug of coffee towards her. ‘Here,’ she said. ‘Drink this. It’s our new special. Pumpkin spice latte.’

Katy and her boyfriend Ryan had opened Platform 1 in the old railway station to great success the previous winter. It was a cosy mix of old railway memorabilia, wood panelling and leather benches.

Libby thanked Katy for the drink and took a grateful sip. It was delicious and brought a much-needed warmth to her insides. She hugged the mug close to her chest.

‘I don’t understand,’ said Harriet, as she unhooked the lead for her golden retriever Paddington to settle down underneath the table. ‘You’ve been with them for how long now? Two years?’

‘Three,’ Libby told her. ‘So I’ll get a whole three weeks’ extra pay for my efforts.’

‘But surely there are other flight attendants that have less experience than you?’ asked Flora, frowning. ‘You’ve been doing the job for ten years.’

‘Corporate business doesn’t always work like that, unfortunately,’ Katy told her, shaking her head.

Katy knew all about the cut-throat business world as she had been a high-flying executive before being made redundant a year ago. Thankfully, it had worked out for the best for Katy, who had fallen in love with both Cranfield and chef Ryan Connolly. She had also been warmly welcomed by Libby, Harriet and Flora – all of whom had been childhood friends – into their close-knit group.

‘Can’t you appeal?’ asked Harriet, still looking upset. ‘What about your union? They might be able to get your job back for you.’

Libby looked at soft-hearted Harriet with a suppressed smile. She had known Harriet since they had been children and she had never changed her positive outlook of everyone and everything. She was the complete opposite of cynical Libby, even down to the long red hair that swung wild and free around Harriet’s pretty face.

‘I don’t think it’s going to happen,’ Libby told her. ‘I’ve got those two written warnings, haven’t I? Apparently I’ve got a reputation for being a little difficult, according to my ex-work colleagues.’

Her three best friends all exchanged a knowing look.

‘Yeah, yeah,’ said Libby, sitting back in her chair with a heavy sigh. ‘Me and my big mouth.’

She gave a jump as she felt something under the table before she realised that Paddington had placed his head on her lap and was staring up at her with sorrowful dark eyes. She smiled at him and ruffled his fur.

‘You just speak your mind,’ said Flora, reaching out to give her other hand a squeeze. ‘That’s all.’

‘Exactly,’ said Katy, with a firm nod of her head. ‘Nothing wrong with that.’

‘You’re always honest and that’s refreshing,’ added Harriet.

‘Refreshing isn’t going to pay the bills in the future,’ said Libby, grateful for their support nevertheless. She had her redundancy money and then that would be it. What on earth was she going to do now?

‘We’d offer you a job here,’ said Katy, looking around the coffee shop. ‘But it’s a little slower now that the summer rush has gone.’

‘Unfortunately, Nico and I spent yesterday packing up the tents for winter,’ added Flora, who ran a glamping site from Strawberry Hill Farm with her Italian boyfriend. ‘Now that the site’s closed until next Easter, we’ve got the renovations to get sorted.’ She shot Libby a grin. ‘Unless you’ve got any secret plumbing skills that you haven’t told us about.’