A Christmas Romance in the Scottish Highlands (Scottish Highlands #6)

Chapter 2

2

ELLA

Ella stopped on the pavement, wriggling as a tiny pebble of ice stuck inside her jumper melted on her back. Shivering, she grimaced and tugged Wyatt’s lead, wearily pulling him along.

‘That’s enough moping. I’m not going to let the idiot ruin my first day off in three weeks,’ she promised, swiping the ice from her hat as a bird began to sing. Ella twisted around, and spotted a small robin perched on the birdbath and waved, feeling a little better.

A few houses away she paused at the front gate that led to her family home and took a moment to admire the pretty double-fronted thatched cottage. Despite it only being the first of December, the Christmas decorations were already up, courtesy of the four lunch breaks she’d skipped the week before. Ella lived in a small fixer-upper a couple of streets away and hadn’t had a chance to decorate it yet, but she planned to do it later this afternoon. If she found the time. There always seemed to be so much to do.

She trod carefully along the snowy pathway, heading for the front door. ‘Is anyone home?’ she called out as she unlocked it, just in case one of her stepbrothers had decided to pop in. They only seemed to do so when they ran out of food.

She unclipped Wyatt’s lead and the dog immediately scrambled towards the kitchen in search of food. Ella frowned at the soggy footprints he’d made on the tiled floor which merged with the ones that had been left by a pair of man-sized boots. She sighed wearily, knowing she’d have to mop them up before leaving or she’d receive a barrage of calls from her stepmother complaining about the mess.

Her shoulders sagged as she entered the kitchen and spotted the sink, which was piled high with washing-up. The kitchen counters were also littered with breadcrumbs, plates and empty cups. Ella shook her head as she went into the larder and quickly fed Wyatt, then she scoured the surfaces, looking for the letter her stepmother had promised would be here. It was propped against the kettle beside a note.

Dear Ella,

As I mentioned in my text this morning, this letter arrived from the bank yesterday. Can you sort out whatever they want? I assume it’s about the loan your father took out. I don’t have time to deal with any Magic Mops paperwork. I have my part in the pantomime and your stepbrothers to think about – and you know your father expected you to take care of all that for us.

Ella’s eyes filled with tears at the mention of her da and a hundred different memories flooded through her. He’d died a year ago after a short illness, and she still hadn’t come to terms with the loss. It felt odd when she walked into the house now and found it empty. She still expected to find him cooking pancakes for her in the kitchen or tinkering out in his shed. Ella could remember the sound of his voice and how he’d always had a new joke to tell her, hoping to make her groan. She’d returned to Mistletoe to care for him eighteen months before, intending to go back to her life when he got better. But instead, he’d begged her to take care of the family and business just before he’d passed – and she hadn’t been able to bring herself to leave.

While you’re here could you do a quick tidy round? After all, this will always be your home too and you know how much your da hated mess. Also, I’ve written a list of things I’d like you to pick up from the shop. I know it’s your day off, but it won’t take long.

‘I’ve got an art lesson later,’ Ella muttered as Wyatt finished his food and wandered across the kitchen to join her. ‘But it’s fine,’ she said, glancing around. If she got started on the cleaning now, she’d have time to do the shopping and still arrive at her lesson promptly for a change.

I’ll be in touch later. There’s a lot to do in the run-up to Christmas, and I thought we could share the chores.

Lucinda McNally

Ella put the note from her stepmother back on the counter and stared at the unopened letter from the bank, feeling sick. Then she heaved in a breath, picked it up and ripped it open.

Tears pricked her eyes as she scanned the contents. The bank was giving them until the end of February to pay the outstanding payments of her father’s loan. He’d taken it out the year before he’d died to buy essential equipment, but now, if they didn’t pay, the bank would seize all the company assets. It would spell the end of the family business.

Ella sighed as her stomach roiled. Her parents had established and grown Magic Mops into a thriving company when they’d both been alive – and she’d done everything she could since she’d been old enough to hold a broom to help it to flourish. She had no intention of letting it go.

She twisted around and wandered to the sideboard by the back door. On it, Lucinda had arranged a series of picture frames containing multiple photos of Ella’s stepbrothers playing sport; one of her da and Lucinda on their wedding day, along with a small one tucked at the back of him hugging Ella when she’d been around eight.

‘I dinnae know what I’m going to do,’ she whispered to him as she folded the letter into a tiny square and put it in her pocket. ‘The business account’s been in trouble for a long time, and it doesn’t improve no matter how hard I work.’ She sighed. ‘Things have just been getting more and more expensive: equipment, advertising, even the cleaning gear. We need more clients, but that means more employees and we’re paying out more in wages than we’re bringing in, which means we’ve defaulted on a couple of loan payments. The shortfall’s been building up for a while…’

She rubbed her eyes feeling weary. ‘Oh, don’t listen to me, Da. I made you a promise and I’m not going to let you down. I’ll work this out.’

Ella’s mobile began to ring, and she pulled it from her pocket. Then she winced when she saw the name Clyde McNally on the screen. Her stepbrother was supposed to be doing a deep-clean in one of their client’s properties ready for a party tomorrow.

‘Clyde,’ she said as she picked up, holding her breath because she suspected he was about to deliver bad news.

‘Hi, sis,’ her brother wheezed. ‘I’m sorry this is short notice, Ella. But I need to finish work now. I’ve done some of the cleaning, but I’ve just got an appointment with the doctor for this cough. I think I might have bacterial bronchitis, or maybe something worse. I’ve googled my symptoms, and it could be really, really bad.’ He paused long enough for a coughing fit, and Ella had to admit he didn’t sound well. ‘I’ve been feeling pretty rough.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I wasn’t going to come to work today, but I didn’t want to let you down again.’ He gasped.

‘Oh Clyde,’ Ella said worriedly. She knew Clyde had been fighting a nasty case of the flu for the last two weeks. ‘What can I do?’

‘I’ll only get to the doctor’s surgery on time if I leave now,’ he shot back. ‘But the stairs and both of the top floors in this building haven’t been finished. Plus, I’m only halfway through the kitchen.’ Ella heard the sound of a hoover in the background – was Clyde trying to work while he talked? ‘I called Dane, but he said he’s at the dentist for another root canal and Mam’s gone shopping and you know she hates being disturbed.’ Clyde paused. ‘That only leaves you.’

‘That’s true.’ Ella sighed. She looked after the staff rotas, so she knew exactly where everyone was supposed to be. Which was how she already knew there was no one else to fill in.

‘Sorry, sis,’ Clyde said, stopping as his cough kicked off again, quickly escalating until he sounded like he was fighting for air.

‘Are you all right?’ Ella asked as her heartbeat skipped up. He sounded terrible.

‘Yes, but is it okay if I go?’ her brother finally choked. ‘You know I’d finish the cleaning if I could.’

‘Of course it’s fine,’ Ella soothed, pulling up her sleeves and perusing the mess she had to clear up. ‘I’ve got spare keys to the client’s house, so take yours with you. If you leave all the equipment exactly where it is, I’ll finish everything.’

‘Thank you. I owe you, sis,’ Clyde said before he hung up, leaving Ella staring at the phone.

If she got started now, she could clean, do Lucinda’s shopping, walk Wyatt, finish Clyde’s work and if she were lucky, she might even make it to her lesson on time. Ella sighed wearily as she turned on the taps thinking about the man in the Volvo again – wondering how some people got to waltz through life doing exactly what they wanted, while others seemed to be here to simply mop up after everyone else. It would be nice to swap places, even if it were just for a while.