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Brooks…’

      Sydney was pulled from her reverie. Anna? Dr Jones’s Anna? She was going to play Mary? Visions flashed through her mind. Anna wearing Olivia’s costume… Anna riding Olivia’s donkey… Anna being the star of the show…?

      It simply hadn’t occurred to her when she came back that someone else would be playing Olivia’s part. But of course. There had already been new Marys in the years that she’d stayed away. She’d just not seen them, hiding away in her house every year, longing to clap her hands over her ears to blot out the sound of all those Christmas revellers. It had been torture!

      It hurt to hear it. It was as if Olivia had been replaced. Had been forgotten…

      Her chair scraped loudly on the floor as she stood, grabbing her notepad and pen, her bag and coat, and muttering apologies before rushing from the room, feeling sick.

      She thought she was on her own. She thought she would get to her own car in peace. But just as she was inserting her key into the lock of her car she heard her name being called.

      ‘Sydney!’

      She didn’t want to turn around. She didn’t want to be polite and make small talk with whoever it was. She just wanted to go. Surely they wouldn’t mind? Surely they’d understand?

      She got into her seat and was about to close the door when Nathan appeared at her side, holding the car door so she couldn’t close it.

      ‘Hey! Are you okay?’

      Why was he here? Why was he even bothering to ask? Why had he come after her?

      ‘I just want to go, Nathan.’

      ‘Something’s upset you?’

      ‘No, honestly. I just want to get home, that’s all.’

      ‘Is it Lucy? Are you worried about work?’

      ‘No.’ She slipped on her seatbelt and stared resolutely out through the windshield rather than looking at him. Her voice softened. ‘I’m thrilled for Lucy. Of course I am!’

      ‘Is it me?’

      Now she looked at him, her eyes narrowing. ‘Why would it be you?’

      He shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Things haven’t exactly been…straightforward. There’s a…a tension, between us. We didn’t exactly get off to the best start, did we?’

      ‘It’s not you,’ she lied.

      ‘Well, that’s good, because they’ve asked me to work closely with you, seeing as I’m new and you’re an established committee member.’

      What? When did I miss that bit?

      ‘Oh.’

      ‘That’s quite good, really, because—as you heard—Anna came home from school today and told me she’s been picked to play the part of Mary. Apparently that means riding a donkey, and she’s never done that before, so…’

      ‘So?’

      Push the memory away. Don’t think about it.

      ‘So we’ll need your help.’

      He smiled at her. In that way he had. Disarming her and making her feel as if she ought to oblige him with her assistance. His charming eyes twinkling.

      ‘Know any good donkeys? Preferably something that isn’t going to buck and break her neck?’

      There was someone in the village who kept donkeys. They were used every year for the nativity. And she trusted the animals implicitly.

      ‘Do you know the Bradleys? At Wicklegate Farm?’

      He pretended to search his memory. ‘Erm…no.’

      ‘Do you know where Wicklegate Farm even is?’

      He shook his head, smiling. ‘No.’

      Feeling some of her inner struggle fade, she smiled back. Of course he didn’t. ‘I suppose I’d better help you, then. Are you free next Saturday?’

      ‘Saturday? All day.’

      She nodded and started her engine. ‘I’ll pick you up at ten in the morning. I know your address. Does Anna have any riding clothes?’

      ‘Er…’

      ‘Anything she doesn’t mind getting dirty?’

      ‘My daughter is always happy to wallow in some mud.’

      ‘Good. Tell her I’m going to teach her how to ride a donkey.’

      ‘Thanks.’

      He stood back at last, so she could finally close her car door. She was about to drive off, eager to get home, when Nathan rapped his knuckles on her glass.

      She pressed the button to wind the window down, letting in the cold evening air. ‘What?’

      ‘Lucy’s at home. And waiting for your visit.’

      She nodded, imagining Lucy in her small cottage, tucked up in bed, looking as proud as Punch with a big smile on her face.

      ‘Has she picked a name for him?’

      ‘I believe she has.’

      ‘What is it?’

      He paused, clearly considering whether to say it or not. ‘She’s named him Oliver.’

      Oliver. So close to…

      A lump filled her throat and she blinked away tears. Had Lucy chosen that name in honour of her own daughter? If she had, then…

      Sydney glanced up at Nathan. ‘I’ll see you on Saturday.’ And she quickly drove away, before he could see her cry.

      Nathan had driven round to Paul and Helen’s to check up on them after the accident. They lived on the outskirts of Silverdale and were pretty easy to locate, and he pulled into their driveway feeling optimistic about what he would find. Helen had been released from hospital a while ago and he only needed to remove Paul’s stitches from the head laceration.

      As he drove in he saw the horse grazing in a field, a blanket wrapped around its body, and smiled. They’d all been very lucky to escape as easily as they had. The accident could have been a lot worse.

      But as he pulled up to the house, he spotted another vehicle.

      Sydney’s.

      Why was she here? To check on the horse? It had to be that. It was odd that she was here at the exact same time as him, though.

      Just lately she’d been in his thoughts a lot. The universe seemed to be conspiring to throw the two of them together, and whilst he didn’t mind that part—she was, after all, a beautiful woman—she did tend to remind him of all his faults and of how he could never be enough for her.

      His confidence had taken a knock after Gwyneth’s departure. Okay, they’d only been staying in their struggling relationship because she’d learnt she was expecting a baby and Nathan had wanted to be there for her. He’d always had his doubts, and she’d been incredibly high-maintenance, but he’d honestly believed she might change the closer she got to delivering. That they both would.

      She hadn’t. It had still been, Me, me, me!

      ‘Look at all the weight I’m putting on!’

      ‘This pregnancy’s giving me acne!’

      ‘I’m getting varicose veins!’

      ‘You do realise after the birth I’m going straight back to work?’

      Nathan had reassured her. Had promised her it would be amazing. But it had been his dream. Not hers.

      It had only been when she’d

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