A Merry Little Christmas
An absorbing novel about family, love and friendship from the bestselling author of Last Christmas.With four children, a Christmas cookbook to write, and her mum suffering from dementia, Cat Tinsall has plenty to juggle. When her eldest daughter, Mel, starts going off the rails, Cat has even more on her plate.Pippa Holliday adores her family, although often finds her hands full. When Dan is involved in a terrible accident, Pippa’s world is suddenly turned upside down.Balancing her job as a school teacher with twins and her step-son Steven isn’t easy for Marianne North. With her husband’s ex causing trouble, life is getting even trickier.As Cat, Pippa and Marianne help each other through a difficult year, they’re all hoping for a much brighter Christmas.
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JULIA WILLIAMS
A Merry Little Christmas
AVON
A division of HarperCollinsPublishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
Copyright © Julia Williams 2012
Julia Williams asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
This novel is entirely a work of fiction.
The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN-13: 9781847560896
Ebook Edition © October 2012 ISBN: 9780007443253
Version: 2015-07-28
For my gorgeous girls: Katie, Alex, Christine and Steph And in loving memory of Rosemarie Williams
Contents
Part One: Let Your Heart Be Light
Part Three: We Will Be Together
Part Four: A Merry Little Christmas
Read on for an extract from Last Christmas
Last Year
December 22
The last rays of a winter’s sunset sent streaks of orange and pink across the white fields. Dusk was settling as a motorbike roared its way through the snowy countryside. Large groups of birds took to the air as it sped past, and flocks of sheep ran wildly round in circles. The sound of the engine echoed down the country lanes, disturbing the chilly peace. The leather-clad rider wore a black jacket with a flaming sword emblazoned on his back which, along with his gold and orange helmet, made him resemble a modern day knight. As the rider stopped at the top of the hill overlooking Hope Christmas, he took off his helmet and stared down into the town. The Christmas lights were still twinkling in the High Street. The lamps from the houses down below gave the place a cosy homely feel, as if the whole town were drawing a collective sigh.
The rider flexed his hands, and smiled; the words, Dux, on one set of knuckles and Michael on the other, just visible underneath his fingerless gloves. He was good looking, with a dark complexion, devastating cheekbones, curly dark hair which tickled the collar of his jacket, and piercing blue eyes.
‘So Hope Christmas, long time no see,’ he muttered. ‘Uncle Ralph was right, it’s a beautiful little place. I shall look forward to renewing my acquaintance with you.’
He put his helmet back on, revved the engine, and roared down the road and into town, noting the quaint little shops; the antiques market, flower stall, the bookshop and market square where a Christmas tree stood proudly in the centre. The town was deserted, with only one or two brave souls prepared to come out on such a cold night. One of them, a pensioner tootling along on a mobile buggy, stopped to say hello.
‘Well, Michael Nicholas, as I live and breathe. Your uncle said you might be coming. It’s good to see you after all these years.’
‘And you, Miss Woods,’ Michael smiled a devilishly handsome smile. ‘It’s been far too long.’
‘Will you be staying a while?’ she asked.
Michael looked around him. ‘That, I think depends on who needs me,’ he said.
‘I think you’ll find there’s always a need,’ said Miss Woods.
‘Then yes, I think I’ll be here a while,’ said Michael, his smile crinkling up to his blue eyes.
‘I look forward to it,’ said Miss Woods. ‘Happy Christmas.’
‘And to you,’ said Michael, before climbing back on his bike and speeding off to Hopesay Manor.
It was good to be back.
New Year
Cat Tinsall unwound the fairy lights from her suddenly bereft Christmas tree, then carefully placed them in the Santa sack which was bulging with the rest of the Christmas decorations. She sat back on her heels and looked out of the large patio door onto her frozen garden, where a lonely looking robin pecked at the crumbs on the bird table. It was a grey cold day, the sort that sapped your soul in early January. She sighed and tried not to feel too bereft herself. Even the Shropshire hills (the view of which was one of the reasons they’d bought this old converted farmhouse when they’d moved up to Hope Christmas four years earlier) were shrouded in grey gloom.
