Winter at Pretty Beach by Polly Babbington (inspirational books txt) 📕

chalets each covered in white powder and glistening under the early evening moonlight.

A few minutes from the town yet it was like they were in the middle of nowhere, Ben had said it had taken ages to find somewhere that was just right and he’d done a fabulous job.

Honey-coloured Adirondack chairs lit from above by a black coach lamp sat either side of a small door on a rustic front deck, and a cosy glow from tiny lamps on each of the dormer windows in the eaves greeted them warmly from inside. A row of tiny candles in the downstairs windows blinked out at them as the huge trees rustled in the wind.

Ben got out and came around to her side of the car and they both stood there looking up at the tiny cabin surrounded by the jet black sky and stars.

‘Okay now?’ He asked and stroked her on the arm, a concerned look on his face.

‘I am now, seeing this place. No, honestly, I’m fine, just all a bit tiring I guess - and coming all that way on my own. I’ve never done anything like that really before - well, not that far anyway. Ben, this is absolutely magical!’

‘I thought you might prefer it to a hotel in town,’ he laughed.

‘Just a bit.’

He took her luggage out of the car and Sallie walked up the few small timber steps to the front deck and peered through the timber paned window to inside. It was tiny - cosy sofas faced each other over a low timber coffee table piled with books. Thick, wool throws were piled up in a huge log basket and a timber ladder came down into the room leading to what looked like a bedroom in the eaves. Little cafe curtains were pulled back at the tiny windows and thick, cosy rugs were layered under the coffee table and sofas.

She turned to Ben as he was pulling her suitcase and bag up from the car and kissed him on the cheek.

‘It’s amazing - the ladder! Oh my, I have to do something like this at home, it’s divine.’

‘I knew you’d like that - I was video calling my mum a few days ago and she was like, it’s a bit small and basic, Ben, and I told her you would adore the ladder and the little bedroom in the eaves. I guess I was right.’

‘You certainly were; it was more than worth spending a day cooped up in a plane to be here.’

The wind whistled around them, icy air biting through her coat and whipping her hair around her head.

‘About that coat...’

Chapter 31

Sallie carefully took the ladder in the tiny log cabin up to the bedroom in the eaves and walked over to the white bed, layered up with multiple pillows and cushions and stroked the soft fur of the thick electric throw neatly draped at the bottom. Compared to outside it was lovely and warm in the eaves as she opened the door to peer in at the bathroom - also tiny, and just fitting in the corner a lovely bath with a dormer window above looking directly up at the stars.

With her clothes unpacked from her small suitcase, her toiletries in the bathroom and her pyjamas ready and waiting for her on the ledge of the bath, Sallie pulled the lever on the shower and stepped in. The tiny little bathroom reminded her of the cottage she had first stayed at in Pretty Beach - only this had clearly only recently been installed and there was no vintage window looking out to sea. Sallie peered up through the dormer window as she let the water gush over her, washing away the grime that had come with the long journey. As she stood there looking up she glimpsed the moon in the velvet night and could have sworn she saw a shooting star flit across the sky.

She got out of the shower, wrapped herself in a huge, thick, luxury towel which was nearly as tall as she was and put on her pyjamas. She padded over to the window and marvelled at the little place. Outside a fire pit sat in a small undercover area, she could see a hot tub with a cover on under a timber gazebo and a long, narrow barn with beautiful old double timber doors was piled high with logs for the fire.

As they had approached the cabin everything had looked like it had been perfectly placed as part of a scene from a book all under the towering canopy of the firs - it had made her take a breath in, but looking down on it all now from the eaves window, it was even more charming.

She walked over to look out the window at the front: it was just as beautiful on the other side. Everything sparkled in the layer of icy snow, the street lights cast deep pools of golden light on the floor, and the tall trees stood proudly beside it all. A lone car drove past its full beam picking out the snowflakes as they fell onto the road and she could have sworn she saw a deer in the trees. The trees cast long shadows onto the whole scene and every now and then the moon dipped behind a cloud.

Toasty and warm, and feeling the long journey in her bones and behind her eyes, she padded down the tiny ladder to the kitchen where Ben was taking the lid off a bottle of wine.

‘It’s like a dream come true to be here. It’s just so beautiful,’ she said hugging him.

‘You wait until we get out and explore in the daylight - it took my breath away, there’s so much stunning nature here.’

He sat down at the kitchen table next to her.

‘It’s not hard to see why people love to live up this way. The scenery is nothing short of amazing.’ Ben stated.

‘I can totally see that,’ she replied looking out the kitchen window