Cosy Christmas ✓

3 / oh christmas tree

"Good boy," he said when the stick was dropped at his feet again, and he threw it a little further to tire Duke out for the day. If he was going to be with Posy, his dog wouldn't get as much exercise as usual. Ordinarily, between his twice-daily walks, Duke regularly pottered into the village with Connor, or at least had access to the back garden. Connor made a mental note to enlist Cass as dog sitter for the day. In that respect, it was quite useful to have her around.

Without Connor realising, having left his phone at home, almost two hours had passed by the time he got back. The fields around Coalden Valley stretched for miles and Duke had plenty of energy to bound for hours, and when Connor retreated into his own mind, his feet worked of their own accord. At eight fifteen, he unlocked the front door and ushered Duke into the house, most of the village still dozing. Except now there was a light on in Posy's house, but no message in his inbox.

"Hey," Cass called from the kitchen. Connor trod down on the heels of his wellies to pull them off, balling up the gloves in the pockets of his coat before he headed towards his sister's voice. She was hunched over the kitchen table, a huge bowl of cereal in front of her and a dessert spoon in her hand. "Where've you been?"

"Went for a walk," he said, pulling off the hat to let it dry off on the radiator. It had begun to spit outside as he had neared home, the rain an impending doom.

"But it's so early," she said, as though she couldn't believe anyone would leave the house before the sun had met the day. Connor shrugged.

"I've been up since six," he said. "Might as well go for a good walk. I need you to look after Duke today."

"You seeing your girlfriend?" she asked, spooning a mammoth heap of Cheerios into her mouth, and Connor gave her a withering look.

"I explained this all yesterday," he said. "She needs me."

Cass held up a hand. "I know, I know. You owe her. I get it." She clicked her fingers, calling over Duke, and scratched his head. He tipped his chin up at her, wagging his tail as she paid attention to him.

"You can keep an eye on Duke, yeah?"

"Sure," she said, bending over to hook her arm around the big dog, and she kissed his damp fur. "Is it raining?"

Connor wrinkled his nose. "A bit. Not much. Got any plans?"

She shook her head, swirling her spoon around in her bowl. "Might go out. I dunno, really. Maybe Duke and I will just have a film day," she said. Her newfound singledom was taking its toll: it had been two years since she had last been out of a relationship, and she didn't quite know how to handle it. She tapped her phone with her nail. "The Tinder game out here is weak as fuck."

Connor snorted. "Considering the population is almost exclusively old, straight, married couples, that doesn't surprise me." He poured a glass of water and downed it in a few gulps before he grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl, tossing it between his hands before he took a bite. "I need to go. See you later."

"Have fun," Cass said. "Wait, are you going out?"

"We're going to the garden centre at some point, yeah. Why?"

Cass winced before she asked the question, as though she knew how her brother would respond. "Can you get me a star for the top of my tree? My old one broke, and seeing as you're getting into the spirit with your new friend, you could help me out."

"Sure," he said, without thinking too hard about what he was getting himself into, and Cass grinned.

"Cheers, Con. Just be careful: you'll be liking Christmas if you don't keep an eye on yourself," she teased, and he gave her a wary glance. He had liked Christmas. He had loved it. But it wasn't that easy anymore, and Cass struggled to see how different they were. When she was hit, she bounced back. When he was, he crumpled.