A Yorkshire Christmas Read Online Free PDF

items—Cornish pasties, sausage rolls—mixed with the familiar boxes of cereal and loaves of bread.
    She felt acutely self-conscious as she selected a single box of muesli, a tub of plain yogurt, a pint of skimmed milk. She bought a couple of ready meals-for-one, as she’d never been much of a cook, and even though part of her longed to be able to roll pastry and dust flour, to feel motherly and wifely and the rest of it, she stayed away from the baking aisle, from the roast chickens and joints of beef, the trappings of family life. That kind of instinct had led her nowhere good.
    She paused at the wine aisle, longing to take a bottle, but feeling like she’d look pathetic, buying wine to drink on her own at Holly Cottage. Never go food shopping with a stranger, she decided, and she was just about to push past the alcohol when Noah’s cellphone trilled and she heard him say tersely,
    “Dani?”
    She stilled, because there had been a kind of guarded familiarity in his voice, a tone that had made her feel guiltily curious. Who was Dani—or Danny? Boy or girl?
    She couldn’t tell because Dani, whoever he or she was, was speaking, and Noah was silent, although Claire didn’t think she was being fanciful in thinking that his silence was tense, even ominous.
    “What do you mean, you can’t have her?” he asked finally, his voice low and furious. “She’s not a cat , for—” He bit off whatever oath he’d been going to make, turning his back on Claire, his phone clenched to his ear.
    Claire picked up a box of cereal bars from a tottering pile at the end of an aisle and made a big show of intently studying the ingredients. Noah had taken a few steps away, to stand by the deli counter, his shoulders hunched, his chin tucked in, and yet she could still hear his voice.
    “It’s Christmas, Dani. It’s an important holiday for a—no, I don’t have plans.” Out of the corner of her eye Claire saw Noah rake a hand through his hair, his fingers clenching on the disheveled strands, before he dropped it to hang wearily by his side. “What I mean is,” he continued after a moment, his voice careful, “that Molly will want to be with you, will be expecting a proper—” Another silence, taut with suppressed tension. Although his back was to her, Claire thought she could imagine the look on Noah’s face. The tension she’d see bunching his jaw, narrowing his eyes.
    He straightened, his shoulders rigid. “Of course she can stay with me.” Anther silence. “Tonight?” The one word rose incredulously, loudly enough for customers nearby to glance at him in both curiosity and disapproval. “Fine,” he bit out. “Fine. I’ll be home in an hour.”
    He disconnected the call and thrust the phone into the pocket of his jacket, standing still for a moment, his body practically thrumming with anger. Then he turned sharply on his heel and walked back to Claire.
    She put down the box of cereal bars, trying to keep her face pleasantly neutral, as if she hadn’t heard a word of his phone conversation.
    Noah stared at her for a moment, clearly struggling to contain his anger, and then finally he forced out, “Looks like I need to do a bit of food shopping as well. I’ll just go get a trolley.” And without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked away.

Chapter Four
    ‡
    N oah flexed his hands, trying to suppress the urge to hit something. Typical Dani, to wait until the last minute to arrange childcare for their daughter. Typical of her to think only of herself, and not what Molly needed or wanted. Not what an eight-year-old would feel, knowing she was being shunted off for Christmas because her flake of a mother had decided she wanted to go to the Caribbean with her boyfriend of the month, instead of spending the holiday at home with her daughter.
    Noah knew his thoughts were uncharitable, if not precisely unfair, and he’d always tried to keep himself from thinking or speaking negatively of Dani, because he knew it