NOT OVER YET
On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love sent to me…
One pissed off Santa…
A whole heap of trouble…
The last thing Phin feels like doing is going to a New Year’s Eve party. After a day dealing with sick animals, all he wants is a glass of red wine, some food and his bed. But as he drives home down a steep, snow-covered hill, he skids and hits a guy dressed as Santa Claus.
Maric’s not badly hurt, but he’s pissed off. He’s pretty sure Phin’s not the one he’s supposed to find, but when Phin takes him to his cottage, and Maric sees no sign of festivities, he begins to wonder if Phin is the one who needs his help.
Much as Phin would like to get rid of Maric, the thickly falling snow makes it too dangerous for Phin to drive him anywhere. The pair are stuck together, which suits Maric just fine. Now all he needs is luck and a bit of magic.
One
Maric glared at his brother Olan. “Don’t you dare think about leaving me out here naked.”
Olan laughed and swerved so sharply that Maric almost fell out of the open side. He grabbed his sack before that went flying, and clutched it to his chest.
“There are clothes under the seat,” Olan told him.
Maric sighed when he pulled them out. “That’s not fair.”
“Don’t put them on, then. Up to you.”
Maric sagged, but got dressed. This wasn’t going to work if he was naked. It might not work anyway.
Olan glanced at him. “Put all of it on.”
“For fuck’s…” Maric tugged on the last two items. “Happy?”
“No. You shouldn’t be allowed to do this. You risk everything.”
“It’s not your decision to make. Dad said I could try.”
“You’ll fail.”
“Just because you and the others failed doesn’t mean I will.”
Olan laughed so hard, he lost control and they swerved again. Maric slid from one side of the seat to the other.
His stomach roiled. “Are we nearly there?”
“We’re on the right road.”
The snow was falling so thickly, Maric couldn’t see much, but Olan reckoned he could navigate blindfolded, not that Maric wanted him to test that out. Not while he was with him, anyway. This would have been so much better if one of his other brothers had brought him. But bloody Olan had volunteered. The bastard. When Maric had been scooped out of his warm bed and dumped on the seat naked, he’d known Olan was going to make this as difficult as he could. At least Maric had packed his sack in anticipation.
“Okay. I’m going down now,” Olan said.
“Which house is it?”
“It’s on this road. You’ll have to find it.”
“What?” Maric snapped. “That’s not fair.”
“Too bad. We’ll all be watching. And laughing.”
“Fuck off.”
A moment later, his brother had gone and Maric stood on a snowy hill, in the middle of nowhere with no lights in sight, let alone a house. Fuck!
*
Phin turned up the collar of his jacket as he headed across the farmyard to his Land Rover. Snow stung his face and eyes, and he blinked as he battled against the wind.
“Take care on that hill, Phineas,” Stan shouted.
Phin waved his acknowledgement of the warning, tempted to put up two fingers at Stan’s use of his full name despite repeated requests not to. He put his bag on the back seat, climbed into the vehicle and shivered. It was as cold inside as out. He brushed the flakes from his hair, but kept his jacket on. The snow was falling more heavily than when he’d arrived and the tracks he’d made were already beginning to disappear. Phin started the engine, cranked up the heating and flicked on the wipers before he fastened his seatbelt. This weather would scupper a lot of New Year’s Eve plans. But not his.
Food. Wine. Bed. Wank—if I have the energy. Sleep.
His phone rang before he’d made it to the road. Phin pressed to receive the call. “Hi, Tom.”
“Have you finished at Stan’s?”
“Yep. Just.”
“All okay?”
“Hopefully. The sheep is still alive anyway.”
“Then you can come to the party.”
“Too tired. I’m off to bed.”
“With a hot water bottle instead of a hot guy? It’s New Year’s Eve! How old are you, Grandpa?”
Phin winced. “The roads aren’t good.”
“You can spend the night here. Dec’s cousin is looking forward to meeting you.”
Phin hadn’t needed another reason not to go to the party, but Tom had just handed him one. He didn’t want to be set up with anyone.
“I’ve been on five calls since first thing this morning, driven all over the county and I’m shattered. I’m not in the mood.” Though he wouldn’t have been in the mood even if he hadn’t done the five calls.
“Come over here and you’ll soon be in the mood. Food, drink, hot tub, Dec’s luscious cousin, Dec’s luscious cousin’s mouth, Dec’s luscious cousin’s arse, Dec’s luscious—”
“Don’t let Dec hear you talking like that.”
Tom laughed. “Dec’s worse than me. The only good thing is that because he’s Dec’s cousin, the guy’s untouchable. Seriously, Phin, he’s perfect for you.”
“All I feel like doing is having something to eat and going to bed. Alone. I’ll see you next Tuesday. Happy New Year.” He ended the call before Tom said something he didn’t want to hear.
Phin was trying not to think about what he’d been doing this time last year, how happy he’d been, and how he and Jason had welcomed in the first of January. His stomach clenched. If he’d gone to Tom’s party, he’d have been miserable, and the last thing he needed was to be told things would be better this time next year, that these first anniversaries were the hardest. Even though that wasn’t what he wanted anyone to say, he hoped it was true because he knew he was being a sulky bastard. He ought to find a job elsewhere, but it aggravated him to think he was considering a move when it was Jason who should leave. Except Jason had worked at the practice longer than him.
He turned onto the main road at the end of Stan’s drive and gave a heavy sigh. So much for hoping a snowplough might have made his journey easier. Just one vehicle had left tracks for him to follow. Home was seven miles away along snow-covered rural roads and though he was desperate to get to his cottage and lock the door on the world until next week, an accident would wreck those plans. So if it took him twice as long to get back, that was fine, as long as he made it back in one piece.
At the junction, the tracks he’d been following turned left towards Harrogate. As Phin turned right and rattled across the cattle grid, the snow stopped falling. It was eerie driving at night down a lane obliterated by snow, the only illumination coming from his headlights. There were no fences or dry stone walls either side of him, just rolling moorland, so only the smoothness of the road ahead made his path clear. Headlights turned the route into a strange sparkling river and although he wished the plough had cleared him a path, it was exhilarating to drive where no one else had been. Like being on another planet.