Second Chances at the Log Fire Cabin: A Christmas holiday romance for 2018 from the ebook bestseller. Catherine Ferguson

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      I’d started my working life far later than my schoolmates.

      I was twenty-three before I found the confidence to finally push past the trauma that happened on my nineteenth birthday. But because I’d missed the chance to train for a career, I’d fallen into the first job I was offered – packing biscuits at a local factory. It wasn’t exactly challenging but it was so good to finally have a job and feel ‘normal’ for the first time in years that I stayed there and somehow the years passed by …

      Recently, though, I’d started to wonder if I was brave enough to begin something new. An opening was coming up at head office for an admin assistant and my line manager had said she would fully support me if I applied. But then I was made redundant, and after that, my dreams of striking out in a new direction were put on hold.

      There’s a loud roar from the TV. Someone must have scored. I snuggle more comfortably into Jackson’s side.

      If I don’t find work soon, I might have to move back in with Mum and Dad. As much as I love them, the idea of returning to the little backwater town on the south coast, where I grew up, and sleeping in my old single bed is not an appealing thought. I’d be miles from all my friends in Surrey.

      And miles from Jackson …

      A log shifts in the grate and makes me start. I stare into the flames, lulled by the seasonal cheer of the blaze and the thought that it will soon be Christmas. Whatever happens on the jobs front, I’ll still be spending the festive season with Jackson. It will be our very first Christmas together!

      It’s so snug in the room, I feel myself starting to drift off …

      I can’t breathe. I feel like I’m choking.

      My heart is thundering as panic flares inside me. The hands of a faceless stranger are squeezing my throat and pressing on my face, blocking my airways. Slowly suffocating me.

      I’m desperate to escape from the room but the door is locked. Pulling on the handle, I try to call out for help, but no sound emerges. Grasping to pull the obstruction away from my face, I find to my horror that there’s nothing there. The so-called hands choking me are invisible.

      I’m going to die …

      Someone is calling my name. At first it sounds far away in the distance but it’s getting closer.

      ‘Roxy? Wake up. You’re having a nightmare.’

      I open my eyes and Jackson’s face is right there, frowning. I take in a huge gulp of air and start coughing, as if the action will clear the blockage in my nose and throat. I’m still trying to shake off the last remnants of the horrifying dream.

      ‘What on earth happened?’ asks Jackson when I’ve calmed down a bit.

      I swallow and turn away from his scrutiny. ‘It was nothing.’

      ‘Christ, that must have been some nightmare.’ Jackson looks appalled. ‘Look, you’re still shaking.’ He takes hold of my hand. ‘Can I do anything? You’re not going to be sick, are you?’ He recoils slightly, in alarm.

      I shake my head, wanting to put his mind at rest. Jackson’s not great with people throwing up. Or any kind of mess, really.

      ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be fine in a moment,’ I manage to croak. ‘I just need to do some deep breathing.’

      ‘Do these nightmares happen often, then?’

      I try to shrug it off. ‘I’ve had a few.’

      To be honest, I thought these terrifying dreams would start to fade over the years, but if anything, they seem to be happening with greater frequency. And they’re just as scary as they were at the beginning.

      But I don’t want Jackson to know any of this.

      ‘Roxy, you’re white as a ghost. Are you sure you don’t need to – erm – go to the bathroom?’

      I shake my head.

      ‘Have you any idea what’s causing these bad dreams?’

      I stare at him. If ever there was a time to tell him everything, it’s now. But I’m not prepared to risk losing Jackson, the way I lost Billy. So, instead of telling him the truth, I take a deep breath and say the first thing that comes into my head. ‘It’s money. I’m stone broke and I’m going to have to move out of here and go back to live with my parents.’ I give a rueful smile. ‘Nightmare.’

      He blinks. ‘Oh. Right,’ he says, as if that hadn’t been what he was expecting. ‘Where do your parents live?’

      ‘On the south coast? Worthing?’ His question throws me for a moment. I can’t believe he’s forgotten. We’ve had a few chats about where we grew up and I can remember all the details of his childhood. I can even name the school he went to.

      He frowns. ‘That’s a long way from here.’

      I nod gloomily.

      ‘So move in with me,’ he says with a shrug.

      There’s a brief silence as I stare at him, completely befuddled. Did he just say: So move in with me?

      My heart starts to thump. I must have misheard him, surely.

      He chuckles. ‘Well? Say something, Roxy.’

      I sit up straight so I can properly read his expression and he’s smiling down at me with this cute, slightly vulnerable look on his face. He might even be blushing, although it could be the Christmas tree lights casting a rosy glow.

       Oh my God, he actually means it! He wants me to move in with him!

      My mind is racing at this quite surreal turn of events. It’s all so sudden. But I’m crazy about Jackson, no doubt about that, so …

      ‘I’d love to.’ I gulp. ‘Move in with you.’

      And in the blink of an eye, I go from the aftermath of a painful recurring nightmare to dancing a Highland fling in my head with happiness …

       Chapter 2

      ‘You do realise you’ll be on the telly, Roxy.’

      Flo grins excitedly at me in the mirror above my dressing table.

      It’s a week later – the first day of December – and I’m getting ready to go out with Jackson.

      I laugh. ‘I hardly think so, Flo. It’s not as if we’re actual contestants on the show. We’ll just be part of the audience.’

      ‘But still,’ she insists. ‘You should wear that beautiful pale green dress Jackson bought you, just in case the camera lands on you. The colour will look fab with your long blonde hair.’

      ‘It’s sleeveless, though.’ I haven’t been able to wear it since he gave it to me last month, for that very reason.

      ‘So СКАЧАТЬ