Free Baby It's Cold Outside by Kerry Barrett

There was no snow there, as far as I knew. Perhaps Penny could help. She seemed to be the expert on everything.
    Mum took my hand.
    â€˜Breathe Esme,’ she said. I realised I was gulping air in my efforts not to cry and gulped some wine instead.
    â€˜It’s going to be okay,’ Mum said in a calm voice. ‘We will sort all this out. We’ve got the dresses and the food all arranged and there will be a way to make sure your dad gets here, I promise.’
    â€˜I promise too,’ said Suky.
    â€˜And me,’ Harry added.
    Louise grinned.
    â€˜I can’t guarantee I’ll be much help,’ she said. ‘But I’ll do everything I can to make this wedding happen.’
    I looked round at them and felt much happier. We may have been snowed in, with my wedding dress on the wrong side of an avalanche and my future husband’s ex-fiancée on the inside, but this could work. We McLeods were nothing if not resourceful.
    Still gripping Mum’s hand, I smiled.
    â€˜Right,’ I said. ‘Bring it on. Let’s get this show on the road.’

Chapter 11
    â€˜No,’ Jamie said firmly. ‘No magic.’
    I stared at him, a forkful of lasagne halfway to my mouth. I didn’t really understand what he was saying. He’d come downstairs after saying goodnight to Parker, Mum had dished up the dinner and everything had been going great. He’d even raised his glass and toasted me and Harry, saying how proud he was that we’d saved those people.
    Flushed with pride, red wine and love, I’d filled Jamie in on how we were going to make sure our wedding went smoothly. And that’s when he’d turned to me, his face serious, and said: ‘No magic.’
    â€˜What do you mean no magic?’ I asked him, trying to keep my voice level.
    Jamie looked worried. He swirled the wine in his glass, then drank it down in one mouthful.
    â€˜Let me tell you about Tansy,’ he said. ‘Her dad is black and her mum is white.’
    I shrugged.
    â€˜So?’ I said sulkily.
    â€˜So that wasn’t easy in the southern states of America in the sixties,’ Jamie said. ‘Her mum’s family disowned her – they still don’t speak, as far as I know. What got them through all that was education. Hard work. Tansy’s dad is a brilliant doctor and his talent, eventually, overcame what other people saw as the limits of his race.’
    Harry leaned forward. She loved America but she knew its dark side as well as its light.
    â€˜I guess that’s why they ended up in Boston,’ she pointed out. ‘Easier than being in the south.’
    Jamie nodded.
    â€˜Definitely,’ he said. ‘I think they moved there so they could get married – inter-racial marriage wasn’t even legal everywhere in the sixties.’
    I saw Harry and Louise clasp their hands together under the table. Their marriage wasn’t accepted by everyone they met, so I guessed they could understand a bit about how Tansy’s parents felt.
    â€˜It’s still not straightforward,’ Jamie continued. ‘When Tansy and I were together, her dad got locked out of his house one day. He climbed through an open window, a passer-by saw him and called the police and he was arrested.’
    â€˜For breaking into his own house?’ I said, confused.
    â€˜They wouldn’t believe it was his house,’ Jamie said. ‘Not until Tansy’s mum arrived and backed up his story. Tansy was really upset when she heard.’
    â€˜God,’ I said.
    â€˜So you can understand why they wanted their kids to be well-educated? They’ve always seen it as a way out. Tansy’s got three older brothers – one’s in banking I think and the other two are academics.’
    â€˜That doesn’t mean they’re not open to witchcraft,’ Louise pointed out. ‘You guys are all well-educated too.’
    Jamie nodded.
    â€˜I can’t