Kerr came to the bottom of the ladder. ‘Jay, one of the netting drums isn’t working.’
‘OK. I’ll be down in a minute.’
‘Hello, Lottie,’ Kerr said with a broad grin. ‘Nice to see your smiling face up here again.’
Lottie laughed, although she wasn’t quite sure what he was getting at …
Seeing how busy Jay was, she decided to leave him to work and started to walk away but he called to her, from the steps. ‘I’ll be down in a sec.’
‘It’s OK. I’ll let you get on with it.’
‘No. Hang on. Please.’
Surprised at the insistence in his voice, she lingered at the side of the tent, snapping a couple of photos of the work to show Shayla. The scene was the closest thing she’d seen to Santa’s workshop, with Jay as Santa and the workers as his elves.
Jay climbed down the steps and spoke briefly to Kerr before joining Lottie.
‘Sorry. Busy time. How can I help you?’ He was a little red in the face.
‘You can’t right at this moment,’ she said, feeling guilty for interrupting him. ‘I only came up for a look at how things were going. I’m sorry for disturbing your work.’
‘Oh. OK.’
‘It’s looking great. I hadn’t realised what a big operation it is. Have you done this before?’
He smiled. ‘You could say that. I supervised the Christmas tree sales for a forestry commission site for three years and we sold them at the estate I used to work on. I’m used to it, but every site is different, the trees are different and nature doesn’t always behave as we want it to.’
‘Human nature can be just as unpredictable. Especially when a wedding is involved.’
He sucked in a breath. ‘Give me trees every time.
‘You don’t have to go.’ To her surprise, his voice held genuine regret. ‘We may be busy but the guys could do with a break. We can have five minutes. I could show you Santa’s grotto.’
‘Um …’
He winced. ‘That sounds weird. I mean, I can show you how the whole thing works if you like while the guys take a break. I can even rustle up a coffee, not that it’s up to the standards of a Firholme cappuccino.’ There was a glint in his eye as he said it.
Lottie nodded, still amazed but delighted to be asked to stay. ‘OK. I can take a quick break too. I can convince Shayla it’s work.’
‘Great. Take ten, guys!’ he shouted to the workers gathered in the tent.
He took her to a large urn set up at the rear of the tent and made two mugs of coffee. Lottie poured milk into hers but he left his black.
‘Sugar?’ he said, pointing to a catering-sized bag.
‘No, thanks.’ She hid her amusement as Jay ladled a large teaspoonful into his mug, reflecting he was fit enough not to have to worry about adding sugar. Carrying their drinks, they wandered out of the tent into the floodlit area, and looked back at the scene. The fog had come down, and hung around the trees and lights, lending them an eerie atmosphere. Lottie was glad she’d wrapped up warmly because the damp air held a chill that seeped into your bones.
‘Well, it’s not Lapland but it’s a dry place for the tree sales and we can rotate the team so they can all spend some time indoors during their shift,’ Jay said.
Lottie suppressed a shiver. ‘I love nature but I don’t envy you working out here in all weathers.’
‘We’re a hardy bunch but it is hard work, helping people carry trees and putting them through the nets. I take my turn and I certainly don’t have any trouble sleeping after a day working out here.’ He sipped his tea before adding, ‘Which I consider to be one of the perks of the job. Would you like to see the grotto?’ He smiled. ‘Don’t get too excited.’
The grotto – a large and elaborate version of a Wendy house – was definitely a ‘work in progress’ but Lottie could imagine how the pine cabin might look in a few days’ time. Wooden figures and animals were lying outside, on their sides or staring up at the sky. It looked like the elves had held a rave with the woodland creatures.
Jay held up his mug in the direction of the cabin. ‘Um. We still need to add extra lights and decorations. It’ll look a lot more appealing when it’s covered in snowmen and er – squirrels.’
Lottie spotted something outside the hut and burst out laughing. It couldn’t be a coincidence that a red-cheeked male elf had fallen so precisely on top of a blonde elf in a pink skirt.
Jay followed her gaze. ‘Oh God. I’m sorry. Some of the guys larking around.’ Leaving his mug on the ground, he jogged over to the elves and parted them.
‘You’ve ruined a great romance, there,’ Lottie said with mock solemnity.
‘Well, I don’t want hordes of little elves in the spring to rehome.’ He added them to a pile of other figures.
‘I think that may be even worse,’ she said, trying not to giggle at the unholy group of creatures piled up on top of each other outside the grotto.
‘Oh.’ He laughed. ‘I see what you mean. I promise it will all be suitable for a family audience by the time we open.’
‘I’m sure it will. I’ll bring my nieces to see it.’
‘Yes. Definitely do that. It really will look festive, I promise. Would you like to see the tree sales area too? It’s almost ready for the public. If you have time,’ he added.
Strictly speaking, Lottie should have gone back to the office. She’d promised to call the florist to discuss the final – final – arrangements for the wedding. Maybe, she thought wryly, that was why she’d had a headache
