Page 6 of Winter Magic on Railway Lane

Ever practical and steady, Flora had surprised everyone the previous summer by changing the farm, which had been close to bankruptcy, into a glamping site to huge success. Equally surprising was when Flora had fallen in love with Nico, a glamorous ex-playboy. But Nico had turned out to have a heart of gold and so had been readily welcomed inside their circle of friends.

‘Well, the lavender spa is still busy,’ said Harriet before biting her lip. ‘But with the fields now closed for winter, Joe’s just doing a lot of online stuff instead, so he’s able to help me out more.’

Harriet had inherited the lavender fields on the opposite side of the railway track, which had been opened to the public for two successful summers in a row, alongside her fiancé Joe. She had also turned the small post room at the far end of the station into a successful spa, using her talent as a beauty therapist to work wonders with the lavender products.

‘It’s fine,’ said Libby quickly. ‘I never meant for you all to offer me a job. Just keep the coffee and gin coming and I’ll be okay.’

‘That’s one bit of good news then,’ said Harriet, with a soft smile. ‘It’s gin night tomorrow night.’

It had long been a weekly tradition, where the four of them got together to discuss life and everything else over gin cocktails. Lately, though, their busy schedules had got in the way and they had missed the last couple of weeks.

Libby was the only single one now in the foursome and sometimes felt a little apart from her friends, who were happy and loved up. They often professed how much they envied the perceived glamour of her job, travelling the world and staying in amazing places. But the irony was that she envied them and their happy, steady lives here in Cranfield.

‘How about my place for a change of venue?’ said Katy. ‘And before you object, Libby, it’s an Ethan-free zone now. You won’t believe it! Ethan has bought the old school at the end of the lane, so he won’t stay with us any more!’

Libby kept quiet, having mistaken him for a burglar only an hour ago.

‘Seriously?’ said Flora in amazement. ‘Wow. He bunked off so often from school I’d have thought it would be the last place for him to call home.’

‘As I remember, he used to bunk off with Libby,’ said Harriet, with a grin.

‘He was a bad influence on me in those days,’ remarked Libby in a prim tone.

‘Oh yeah?’ said Flora, raising her eyebrows. ‘What’s your excuse these days?’

Libby stuck her tongue out in reply to prove how much more mature she was now. Then, upon seeing Ethan walk through the coffee shop towards the kitchen, where his brother Ryan was working, she carried on sticking her tongue out at him instead.

As usual, he merely gave her one of his winning smiles and carried on walking away. He was tall and good-looking, with ruffled blonde hair that appeared to be permanently messed up. Was it the hair that drove women crazy? Or his laid-back charm that contributed to the busy dating life that Ryan was always speaking about. Thankfully, she knew that Ethan’s handsome looks no longer had any effect on her.

At least that’s what she had to keep reminding herself.

She turned back to look at Katy. ‘Well, now that the upstairs apartment is most definitely an Ethan-free zone, then yes, I would love to come to your place tomorrow night,’ she said.

‘Excellent!’ said Katy, standing up. ‘I need to get ready for opening time. I want to be all set before the great steam engine excitement this morning.’

Due to everything else that had happened overnight, Libby had completely forgotten all about big event until that moment. Bob and Eddie had been working on the abandoned steam engine in the train workshop for many years and it was due to have its maiden run that morning.

‘Look,’ said Katy, in a serious tone as she looked at Libby, giving her a squeeze of her shoulder. ‘We’ll think of something to get you out of your financial hole.’ She brightened up. ‘And at least you’ve got time to make some more chocolate. Nearly all the boxes you gave me last week have sold out already. There’s only one left.’

‘They have?’ Libby was pleased. She had never imagined that complete strangers would pay money for her own creations.

Katy nodded thoughtfully. ‘I wonder…’ she said, tapping her chin.

‘What’s going on in that busy brain of yours now?’ asked Flora, raising her eyebrows.

Katy had a tendency to have huge ideas which turned out to be successful business plans but also extremely hard work for everyone involved.

‘Just an idea,’ said Katy, before breaking into a smile. ‘But I won’t share any details until I’ve got something concrete.’

‘I suppose I’d better go and see Dad before all the train excitement begins,’ said Libby, the dread hitting her stomach as she thought about the conversation she would need to have with him.

‘It’s all starting in an hour’s time apparently,’ said Harriet, her eyes lighting up. ‘I can’t wait to see the train actually move after all this time! I wonder if we might be able to get a photograph next to it on our wedding day,’ she added with a misty smile. ‘Wouldn’t that be amazing? Oh and by the way, I’m going to bring all my bridal magazines with me tomorrow night!’

She and her fiancé Joe were getting married at the end of January and most of their conversations had been all about the big day ever since Joe had proposed at the end of the summer.

Libby groaned. ‘Can’t we have a romance-free evening for once?’ she asked.

Harriet bit her lip, looking panicked. ‘I can’t. We’ve only got just over three months to go. I know I said I didn’t want a big do and all that, but even so, there’s so much to think about and nothing’s been decided yet! I’m talking dresses! Theme! Hair and make-up!’