Mix-Up under the Mistletoe (Glenbriar #11)

Chapter Seven

Rafe

‘ I ’ve just looked at the website and lots of trains are cancelled,’ Hilary said over the phone, and Rafe turned the in-car volume down. His mum sounded a little hysterical.

‘What?’ he replied, glancing up at the thick, swirling snow.

‘Yes. So don’t let Tilly go. Whatever happened to cause you to split up doesn’t matter now. We can’t have her stuck. Is this on loudspeaker?’

‘Yes, but Tilly’s already gone for the train. I’d better go and see if she’s ok.’ She may be a 1-Quick spy, albeit an unwilling one, but she was also a person, a woman trying to carry out an impossible task to impress managers with their own agendas. A woman with a beautiful smile and sad eyes. Eyes that were the windows to her soul, and he sensed something troubling in there. He couldn’t, in all conscience, leave her out in this.

He threw open the door of the Raptor.

‘Hurry and make sure she’s ok. She obviously still cares about you. She made the long trip to be with you for Christmas, didn’t she?’

‘No, that’s not what happened. Tilly isn’t my girlfriend, and she never was. I saw her picture the day I met Genevieve, and I made up a story as a joke. No way did I expect her to turn up at the house. We’ve never even met before today.’ Fat snowflakes gathered in Rafe’s hair, and he raked them out, heading for the entrance, still with the phone at his ear, though it was now silent.

‘Mum?’

‘I don’t get it… Why did she turn up at the house then?’

‘Because she works for a rival company and they’re trying to get information about Innova.’

‘It didn’t seem like that. She didn’t strike me as a cut-throat undercover agent. She was a dear.’

‘Yeah, well. That’s the truth.’

‘Truth maybe, but the whole situation seems more like Christmas magic, if you ask me.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Like it was meant to be.’

‘No, Mum. That’s nonsense. Because she’s not my girlfriend.’

‘Maybe, but she is a person and right now, she’s a person in trouble.’

‘I’m on my way.’

‘Oh gosh, hurry. What if she gets stranded?’

‘If she’s there, I’ll help her out.’

‘Yes. Bring her back. It’s getting dark and the poor girl looked lost enough.’

‘I will.’

‘And be sensible driving. Cressida and Tina have just arrived with Alexander, and they said the driving conditions were dreadful.’

He glanced around and saw Tilly with her head down against the snow, heading off the platform towards the exit.

‘I’ll be extra careful. I’ve just spotted her. Need to go. See you later.’ He ended the call. ‘Tilly!’ he shouted.

She looked over, saw him and made to keep on walking. He jogged to catch her.

‘Hey,’ he said. ‘Is your train cancelled?’

‘They’re all cancelled from this station,’ she said. ‘For the rest of the day.’

‘What are you going to do then?’

‘Why do you care?’ She took off her glasses and wiped the snow from them with her glove, though it didn’t seem to make much difference. Her dark, wavy hair was encrusted with flakes like jewels.

‘Because I’m a human being.’

Shaking her head, she looked away. ‘I’ll see if I can get a bus to Perth. The trains might still be running from there, or I might be able to get accommodation.’

He thrust his hands into his pockets. ‘I doubt the buses will be running now either.’

‘Well, I’ll stand in a doorway all night.’ She threw out her hands, then put her glasses back on. ‘It’s my own fault. I shouldn’t even be here.’

‘Come back with me. My parents’ house has lots of rooms.’

‘No way.’ She shook her head. ‘I can’t do that. I’ve already done enough. Turning up was bad. Now I’ve dragged you out in the snow. I can’t bring any more stress and misery to your family.’

‘You won’t be doing that. In fact, my mum, for one, will be more stressed and miserable if I leave you here.’

Tilly held her hand over her mouth. ‘She shouldn’t have to think about me. She doesn’t even know me.’

‘My mum is a very kind and caring woman. She liked you when she chatted with you. She won’t rest easy unless she knows you’re ok.’ He rubbed the back of his neck and let out a sigh. ‘And neither will I.’

‘After all the trouble I’ve caused.’

‘Let’s put Innova and 1-Quick aside for a moment. Forget about them. What’s left?’

She gave him a desperate little headshake. ‘I don’t know.’

‘Two people,’ he said. ‘One who has nowhere to stay, the other who has plenty of space to accommodate her. Surely it’s a no-brainer.’

‘But we’re not just two people, are we? The circumstances matter and I…’ She raised her eyes to the falling snow, and it caught in her eyelashes like frozen tears.

‘Please, Tilly. I’m happy for you to come back with me. You can have a room in the house where no one will bother you. Then, as soon as the snow clears, you can leave. Or if you want to join us, that’s also fine. You decide. All I want is to make sure you have somewhere safe to be.’

‘Then I should at least buy some food, so I don’t have to scrounge off your family.’

He smiled, and the tension slackened in his chest. Thank god, she appeared to be coming around to the idea, because if he left her here, she might freeze to death. No way could he leave her without knowing she had somewhere warm to go.

‘You saw the kitchen earlier,’ he said. ‘There’s enough food in there to feed an army for several weeks. You won’t be scrounging. And to be honest, I’d like to hit the road as soon as possible. It’s getting dark, and this weather isn’t getting any better.’

She drew in a deep breath. ‘Ok. If you insist.’

‘I absolutely insist. I’m on the point of abducting you.’

A small smile played on her lips, but still didn’t quite reach her eyes. ‘I suppose it would be better if I came willingly.’

‘That would be preferable.’

‘Thank you.’

‘No need. Now, come on. Back to the car.’

They jumped into the Raptor, and Rafe shook the snow from his jacket. He reversed out of the space and made for the exit. The Raptor’s giant tyres handled the snow well, but a lot of smaller cars would struggle in this, and it wasn’t letting up.

Streetlights popped on alongside the Christmas lights as he drove down the main street of Glenbriar.

‘This is a sweet little town,’ Tilly said. ‘I’d never even heard of it before.’

‘Yeah, it’s a nice place to live.’

‘Do you normally live here?’

‘No. I have an apartment in Glasgow.’

‘Is it expensive to live here?’

‘Oh yeah. Houses here are sought after and there’s always a lot of demand for them.’

‘My flat has a ridiculously high rent. It’s in Slough, which is good for commuting, but the flat itself is in terrible condition. It’s an old building, and it’s not well kept. The walls are paper thin, and I have really noisy neighbours.’

‘That doesn’t sound nice.’

‘It’s horrible.’

Rafe kept his eyes on the road, but his heart twisted. At times like this, he thanked his lucky stars for how fortunate he was.

‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I don’t know why I said all that. You probably don’t want to know.’

‘Sure, I do. Seeing a new place gives you a different perspective. That’s part of the reason I enjoy travelling. You can learn so much from other places and other people. Even if it just serves as a reminder of why you love your home… or not in your case.’

‘I’d like to travel more. Coming here on my own is about the most adventurous thing I’ve ever done. For someone who works for a travel company, I really don’t have much experience of other places.’

‘It’s hard when you’re working,’ he said. ‘I haven’t taken time off to travel properly for ages. This thing is all kitted out for me to do weekend trips though. I’ve got a tent that fits over the back and onto the roof. So most of my travels are within driving distance at the moment.’

‘Wow… I’ve never done anything like that.’

‘I think you’d enjoy it. You must have an adventurous spirit.’

‘Must I?’

‘Well, you attempted a risky mission. Most people wouldn’t even have considered it.’

She shook her head, and he flicked his gaze sideways, glimpsing the tail end of a smile aimed at him.

He glanced in his rearview mirror and caught his reflection in the fading light. His lips quirked slightly. Maybe his mum was right and the reason Tilly was here was something out of their control… Christmas magic? He huffed out a laugh and Tilly turned to him.

‘What?’ she said.

‘Nothing, sorry. Just thinking about the craziness of all this.’ He didn’t believe in Christmas magic. Right now, he needed to concentrate on the road. The snow was still falling, and things were getting dicey. He couldn’t afford to be distracted, even though Tilly’s smile had that effect and there wasn’t much he could do about it.