Ivy Lane: Autumn: (12 page)

The prospect made me shudder.

Gemma squeezed my fingers and I turned to face her. ‘Of course you have. You’ve opened your heart up to people and it’s obvious just how much happier you are. You will fall in love again. I promise.’

I thought about Aidan’s handsome face, his lips as they grazed mine, the way his arms had held me close. I smiled bravely at her as tears pricked at my eyes.

She was right. I had already fallen in love. Was it asking for too much if I put Aidan Whitby on my Christmas List, I wondered?

‘Oh, knickers!’ Gemma winced, pulling me back into the moment. ‘I’m suddenly absolutely desperate for the loo, do you mind if I come in?’

The two of us scurried along the path and I let her in to the house as quickly as I could.

Gemma waddled upstairs to the bathroom as fast as her pumpkin costume would allow and I went into the kitchen to put the kettle on. The phone began to ring and I smiled to myself. That mother of mine must be psychic, not to mention ultra-keen to talk to me.

‘Hello again, Mum.’

‘Tilly . . . how do you always know it’s me?’

‘Just a good guess,’ I laughed. I tucked the phone under my chin and took two mugs out of the cupboard. ‘What can I do for you?’

‘Darling, there’s something important I need to tell you. The thing is—’

‘Oh my goodness!’ I gasped, removing the phone from my ear and pressing it to my chest.

I stared at Gemma who had appeared in the kitchen doorway, her fingers gripping the door frame. She had removed her pumpkin costume and was wearing just a black T-shirt and leggings. But it wasn’t her outfit that had caused me to gasp; she looked terrified and all the colour had drained from her face.

‘Gemma, what’s wrong?’

I watched in horror as my best friend’s face crumpled and she began to sob.

‘I’m bleeding, Tilly.’ She gazed up at me as her whole body began to shake. ‘I’m bleeding a lot. What if I’m losing the baby?’

My eyes filled with tears and my mouth had gone totally dry. I licked my lips before putting the phone back to my ear. ‘Mum, I’m so sorry, Gemma’s ill, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you tomorrow.’

I dropped the phone back into its cradle and lunged towards Gemma just as she collapsed to the floor.

‘Call an ambulance, Tills,’ she groaned.

‘Just hold on, Gemma,’ I pleaded, wrapping one arm around her and reaching for my mobile phone with the other. ‘Just hold on.’

I was going to have to get her to hospital, and fast. If there was anyone who understood just how precarious life was, it was me. And after all that Gemma had done for me this year, there was no way I was going to let her lose this baby.

THE END OF PART THREE . . .

Hope thrives at Ivy Lane . . .

As winter descends on Ivy Lane, the frost sparkles and icy winds flurry – but Tilly is still reeling from the events of the Hallowe’en party. Only the die-hard plot holders brave the cold weather, and Tilly fears the loneliness that gripped her a year ago will return.

Resolute to stay cheerful, she throws herself into organizing both the inaugural Ivy Lane Great Cake Competition
and
the Christmas Party, and even squeezes in a little match-making along the way.

Surrounded by her friends at the Christmas Party, Tilly has come a long way in a year. She can feel her own heart slowly melting, but who will be waiting under the mistletoe?

The final part in the Ivy Lane story, an uplifting novel you can devour in bite-size pieces, wholesome and heart-warming to the core.

• Cinnamon Apple Cake
  
• Autumn Roast Vegetables
  
• Chocolate Chip Cookies
  

This cake never fails to deliver: it looks delicious, tastes heavenly and is so simple to make that I (almost) feel guilty accepting praise for it! Eat it warm with thick double cream, or at room temperature on its own. It keeps very well although you won’t have to worry about that!

You will need . . .

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius, 350 Fahrenheit or gas mark 4. Grease an 18cm round cake tin and line with baking parchment.

Peel, core and finely chop the apple, then toss with the lemon juice and set aside. (My mum likes to grate half of the apple.) Sift flour and baking powder then rub in butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. Sprinkle in 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Stir in 115g of the brown sugar (keeping 50g aside), then the apple and egg and mix well, adding enough milk to form a soft dropping consistency.

Pour the batter into the tin. Mix the remaining 50g sugar with cinnamon – sprinkle this over the cake mixture. Bake for 45–50 minutes until golden. Leave to cool for 10 minutes in the tin before transferring to wire rack. By now the kitchen will be full of people all waiting eagerly for a slice!

You can serve this on its own as a warming supper dish on a chilly night, as an accompaniment to a roast dinner, or even nestle some good quality sausages amongst the veg to turn it into a one-pot family feast! To ensure your veggies behave nicely, use a good non-stick roasting tray, which is not too deep.

You will need . . .

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius, 400 Fahrenheit or gas mark 6.

Chop all the vegetables (except the shallots – they can stay whole) into chunks, keeping the carrots slightly smaller as they take longer to cook.

Tip all the vegetables into a large plastic freezer bag, add the oil, herbs, garlic cloves, salt and black pepper to taste and squelch it around to mix in all the flavours. Leave to marinate for 2 hours.

Pour into a non-stick roasting tray and roast for 40 minutes in the pre-heated oven. Adjust the seasoning before serving piping hot.

When my daughters have had a tough day at school (e.g. cross country running or French tests!), I make a batch of these for them to tuck straight into as soon as they come home. These really are better if you can chill the cookie dough overnight, although you can get away with less in an emergency!

You will need . . .

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius, 350 Fahrenheit or gas mark 4.

Beat together the butter and sugars until just combined using an electric hand mixer or wooden spoon. First add the vanilla extract, then the egg, and beat well. Sift together the flour and bicarbonate of soda, then add to the mixture, stirring until it just comes together into a dough. Fold in the chocolate pieces, then chill overnight, or for at least an hour if you’re pressed for time.

Lightly grease two baking sheets, form the dough into 15 golf-ball sized pieces and space them well apart. Bake for about 13–15 minutes, until golden, but not browned.

Let the cookies cool on the tray for a couple of minutes, before moving to a wire rack to cool completely. Feed to those who need immediate cheering up.

Coming February 2015, a charming and funny new four-part series from Cathy Bramley . . .

Freya Moorcroft has wild red hair, mischievous green eyes, a warm smile and a heart of gold. She’s been happy working at the café round the corner from Ivy Lane allotments and her romance with her new boyfriend is going well, she thinks, but a part of her still misses the beautiful rolling hills of her Cumbrian childhood home: Appleby Farm.

Then a phone call out of the blue and a desperate plea for help change everything . . .

The farm is in financial trouble, and it’s taking its toll on the aunt and uncle who raised Freya. Heading home to lend a hand, Freya quickly learns that things are worse than she first thought. As she summons up all her creativity and determination to turn things around, Freya is surprised as her own dreams for the future begin to take shape.

Love
makes the world go round, according to Freya. Not money. But will saving Appleby Farm and following her heart come at a price?

Settle down and get cosy with a cup of tea and Freya’s adventures at
Appleby Farm
.

A Blessing In Disguise – Part One
A Family Affair – Part Two
Home Is Where The Heart Is – Part Three
Love Is In The Air – Part Four

Appleby Farm is published in February, March, April and May 2015.

After four years of flinging herself round the dancefloors of Nottingham’s nightspots, Cathy somehow managed to get an honours degree in business. She then plunged herself into the corporate world of marketing, working on high-powered projects such as testing the firing range of SuperSoaker water guns and perfecting the weeing action of Tiny Tears. After making it onto Timmy Mallet’s Christmas card list, she realized it was time to move on and so in 1995 set up her own marketing agency.

She now lives in a Nottinghamshire village with her husband, two daughters and a dog called Pearl.

Random Facts about Cathy Bramley:

Lucky charm: pottery frog out of a Christmas cracker
Favourite tipple: Polish cherry vodka
Best ever Christmas present: potter’s wheel (toy version)
Hates the expression: ‘Compliments to the chef’

You can get in touch with Cathy via her website
www.CathyBramleyAuthor.com
, her Facebook page
www.Facebook.com/CathyBramleyAuthor
or on Twitter:
@CathyBramley
.

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IVY LANE: AUTUMN PART 3
Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781473509702

First published in Great Britain
in 2014 by Transworld Digital
an imprint of Transworld Publishers

Copyright © Cathy Bramley 2014

Cathy Bramley has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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