The Perfect Blend: A small town, second chance, cosy Christmas romance (Pining for the Peaks Book 1) by Nancy White

Author:Nancy White [White, Nancy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Raven Publishing
Published: 2023-08-23T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

“Hello, Mum,” I whispered. The wind teased my hair from its ponytail and left cold kisses on my nose. At the top of the graveyard, above the church, with the village spread out below, there were beautiful views of the surrounding hills, but a bit more wind than down with the living. Beanie’s fur ruffled in the breeze as she padded between the gravestones.

“It’s getting colder these days, though no sign of snow just yet. I’m still holding out for a white Christmas, of course. You know I love those as much as you.” I rested a gloved hand on the shiny marble of the headstone. The cold immediately started leeching the warmth from my fingertips. I tried to tell myself it was warmer in the ground, but tears still pricked at my eyes.

“I hope everything’s well wherever you are. I miss you.” I slipped my fingers down past the names of the grandparents I barely remembered, and gently traced the familiar letters of the woman I was here to see, chiselled into the stone and lined in gold.

And also their beloved daughter

Joanne Bell

Cherished Wife, Mother and Sister

‘Sleep on now, and take your rest.’ Matthew 26:45

It had been three years since Mum had died, and what they said was true. The pain, the hole in your heart, it never passed. You just learned to live with it. She’d known she was going to die and, in typical Mum fashion, had taken care of everything. Planned her own funeral, gravestone, even ordered her own flowers. She’d actually gone as far as to book both me and Dad in with a grief counsellor, which had made me both laugh and cry when I’d found out.

I knelt beside the headstone and cleared the grave of leaves. I took out the old vase and replaced it with the new one. It was a gorgeous evergreen arrangement with all of Mum’s favourite Christmas foliage. The bright red holly berries almost glowed against the deep lush greens. She would have loved it.

“I’ve been flirting with a new guy, Mum,” I confided softly, crouched before her. “You’d think he was very dishy.” She would have, too. She’d thought Henry Cavill was the sexiest guy alive, and Zach was kind of a more rugged down-to-earth version.

“He’s the first guy I’ve seriously looked at since Pete and it's really exciting. I’m being careful though Mum, don’t worry. I know how you worry. He’s a good guy by all accounts. Remember that boy I used to play with when we went up to the Spencer’s farm for Christmas? Zach Spencer? Well, that’s him, he’s come back to town and we’re working together on some really exciting stuff up at Bluebell Ridge Farm. It’s going to be great.”

I stood up.

“Anyway, I just came up to let you know how I’m doing and to give you your Christmas flowers. Love to Granny and Grandad. Bye Mum, love you,” I said, before turning away from the headstone to face the church. “Come on, Beanie.

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