Fairytale of Headley Cross by Clare Revell Read Free Book Online Page A

along contentedly. “A little sore when I lie on my right side.”
    “So don’t lie on your right side.” She grinned. “Mum always says that.”
    He chuckled. “So does mine. Must be a mother thing.”
    She adjusted her grip on the lead. “It’s dark this morning. It was so pretty with all the houses lit up last night.”
    Carson smiled. “I love Christmas. Even more so now I understand what it really means. Without Christmas there’d be no Easter, and no forgiveness or salvation.” He caught the look she gave him. “What?”
    She shrugged. “Nothing.”
    He stopped and turned to face her. “Maggie, does my past bother you?”
    Her breath hung in the cold air. “It’s not that so much, it’s…” She started walking again. “Never mind. Are you seeing your family over Christmas?”
    He went with her change of topic—for now. “My parents are coming to stay on the twenty-fourth. Mum’s all excited about my first Christmas as a pastor and wants to be here. They should arrive in time for the morning service.”
    “That’ll be nice.” She winked. “So, are you cooking Christmas dinner? Or are you going to get your mum to do it?”
    Carson snorted. “It’ll be ready meals.”
    “You can’t do that.” She sounded horrified. “You have to do roast turkey with all the trimmings.”
    They reached the park and let the dogs off the leads. “Honestly? I have never cooked a roast in my life. I wouldn’t know where to start.”
    “Seriously?”
    Under normal circumstances, he would have laughed at the comical expression of horror on her face. But that wasn’t a good idea at the present time. He slipped a ball from his coat pocket and gave it a firm throw, watching Pilot bound after it. “Seriously, my specialty is beans on toast. Or I eat out. Or heat up a ready meal.”
    “You need some cooking lessons pronto.”
    “Are you offering?” He reached out and took hold of her hand.
    “Are you asking?”
    “Yeah, I’m asking.”
    “Then, yes, I’m offering.” Her eyes sparkled. “I’ll teach you a full roast and a few other simple dishes you can adapt. Like shepherd’s pie. The meat for that is also the basis of lasagna and spaghetti bolognaise. Casseroles, stews, and savory crumble are mainly the same thing as well.”
    “Really? Crumble? For dinner?”
    “You use cheese instead of sugar,” she laughed. They started walking again, her hand still loosely in his. “Trust me, it works. Then there’s toad in the hole, risotto, curry, soup…all manner of easy stuff.”
    Carson laughed. “Easy for you to make, maybe.”
    “Trust me. Your mum will think you’re a chef by the time we’re done.”
    “Thank you.”
    “We’ll start tonight. What do you have in the way of food?”
    Carson hesitated. “Umm…beans, bread and ready meals.”
    Maggie rolled her eyes at him, which was actually kind of cute. “I see. Then I’ll go shopping and get enough for a week. Is there anything you can’t eat?”
    “Mushrooms.”
    “I don’t eat them either, so that’s easy.”
    Before he realized the time gone by, they were back at the house and Maggie was unlocking her car. “I’ll see you this afternoon.”
    “Sure.” He waved as she drove off and then looked down at Pilot. “How did we get talked into cooking lessons? On the plus side, I get to spend lots of time with Maggie. And Mum won’t think I’m completely useless.”
     
    ****
     
    Maggie wandered around the supermarket. Did Carson like peppers and onions, and what about peas and sweet corn? In the end, she put them all in the trolley, figuring if he didn’t want them, then she’d keep them.
    By the time she was finished, the canned carols were beginning to irritate her; but not as much as the kid in the trolley in front of her in the queue. He’d already eaten one bag of crisps, from the unpaid shopping behind him, and was nagging his mother to give him another one. His mother didn’t hesitate before taking a bar of chocolate