Page 81 of Make You Mine This Christmas

‘That’s the beauty of it – those could apply to any of us.’

Otto steadies Haf as she climbs up the bank. Cupid, now back on dry land, desperately wants to get down, but she absolutely cannot let go of him now. Not yet. Not after being savaged by a goose and possibly contracting trench foot.

He turns to help Kit out, who slips in the mud and splashes back into the pool with a very loud sharp, ‘FUCK!’

An older lady mutters something about the language of youth these days, which is overshadowed by Kit climbing out and hissing, ‘Fuuuuuck,’ once again at the sight of her completely sodden, muck-soaked boots.

Around them, the onlookers cheer and whoop and clap. Haf feels like a hero, albeit a soggy one that you shouldn’t stand too close to because she’s pretty sure she smells absolutely disgusting. Adrenaline fading and cold setting in, she starts toshiver and is very thankful for the warm little body of the reindeer.

‘Someone go get some blankets!’ Esther yells, and a bunch of people scurry off. A coat is wrapped around her shoulders, and she’s guided back towards the fête.

Everything is still a bit chaotic, but most of Cupid’s antics have been rectified. Several people eye him warily. Most just give her proud smiles or thumbs up. She even gets a few ‘good on you’s.

Haf and Kit (and Cupid) are guided to the picnic tables near the mulled-wine stand, and as they sit down, people with blankets materialise and practically cocoon them in wool. Despite all the layers, she’s still shivering.

It’s not long before the reindeer man appears, having been looking in the exact opposite end of Oxlea’s green.

‘Oh my God, thank you,’ he cries, sagging with relief. ‘Thank you so much for finding him.’

Realising he’s finally going home, Cupid does a big carroty huff of hot air in Haf’s face and nuzzles his nose against her chin.

‘Looks like you’ve adopted a reindeer,’ Kit says, tickling his velvety nose.

Haf sighs. ‘No, I’m afraid you’ll have to go home now, Cupie,’ says Haf. She squeezes him tightly, plants a kiss on his damp forehead and passes him over to the reindeer keeper. ‘Bye bye, little pal.’

Cupid honks a little goodbye, and as the man carries him away, she can see his tiny tail wiggling.

It’s then, when everything is finally over, that she completely crashes. Tears spring to her eyes, and she has to bite down on her lip to stop herself from bawling in the middle of this crowd of mostly strangers.

‘Hey,’ Kit whispers. ‘It’s okay. You saved the day, and he’s safe now.’

Sniffing, Haf does a very wobbly nod.

‘Is the gingerbread house okay?’

‘Our one? That was definitely not okay.’

‘No,’ she sniffs. ‘Christopher’s one. I saved it from Cupid.’

‘I’ll find out, I promise. But first we need to get you home.’ Kit looks down at the muck that is starting to solidify on Haf’s clothes. ‘And washed.’

Chapter Fourteen

Turns out, it’s a terrible idea to wade into a duck pond in the middle of winter. Even though the donated blankets sopped up the excess, Haf is still soaked. Luckily, the drive home isn’t very long and Kit blasts all the heaters.

They pull up in front of the Calloway house, and when she turns the ignition off, Kit’s whole body sags.

A little warmer now, if still very damp, Haf scurries around the car and opens the door for her.

‘Do you want a hand?’ she says, offering one from her blankety outer layer.

‘God, yeah. Thanks,’ Kit says, taking her hand and pulling herself up to standing. Under her eyes, the skin is dark, and Haf feels guilty for keeping her out in the snow on a wild reindeer chase when clearly Kit needed to come home and rest.

‘Come on, we’d better get in and warm up. And wipe some of the crap off me,’ she says, locking the car behind her.

‘Not actual crap, I hope?’

‘Itwasa duck pond. A prime place for duck-poo accumulation.’