Free Christmas at Lilac Cottage: (#1 White Cliff Bay) by Holly Martin

said, hopefully.
    ‘Here, I’ll make you a sandwich,’ Jill said, standing up.
    Henry frowned. ‘No, Jill, it’s OK. We have bacon next door. The lazy little tyke can make some for herself.’
    ‘Or, if you were any kind of dad, you could make it for me rather than leaving me to starve.’ Daisy grinned sweetly at her dad and Henry smirked.
    Jill was already at the oven. ‘It’s no bother. Henry, would you like some too?’
    ‘Well, if you’re making some for lazy bum here, then sure.’
    Penny patted the bench next to her and Daisy dropped onto it in between her and Henry. Henry nudged her playfully and she nudged him right back. They had such a lovely way between them. Penny wondered whether Henry would bring up the subject of Daisy sleeping in Penny’s lounge the night before but he didn’t, so she decided not to mention it either.
    ‘Daisy, this is my lovely friend Jill,’ Penny said.
    ‘I love your name,’ Jill said, laying bacon in the pan. ‘It’s very pretty.’
    ‘I hate it. I think Daisy is a cute name for little girls but I don’t think people will take me seriously as an adult.’
    ‘Daisy’s a lovely name,’ Penny said. ‘I could think of much worse names. I saw an article on weird baby names the other day, there was a Frodo, Bilbo, Hashtag and Goldilocks.’
    Daisy laughed. ‘No one would call their kid Goldilocks.’
    ‘I wish I was lying but I’m not. And do you want to know what Penny is short for?’
    ‘I’m guessing Penelope.’
    Penny shook her head. ‘Tuppence.’
    Daisy’s eyes lit up and Henry gave a loud bark of a laugh.
    ‘You’re called Tuppence. That’s your real name?’ Daisy was clearly delighted by this turn of events.
    ‘Yes. My brother got the worst deal though. His name is Rainbow Sky.’
    ‘Seriously?’ Daisy giggled.
    ‘What can I say, our parents were hippies. Everyone just calls him Sky now. I think he had it officially changed by deed poll a few years ago. Although if you ever meet him don’t tell him you know. He never tells anyone his real name.’
    Daisy laughed. ‘Thank god you didn’t call me Rainbow or Moonshine.’
    ‘You see, Daisy is actually quite a normal name,’ Henry said.
    Daisy nodded. Her phone beeped in her pocket and Daisy pulled it out. ‘Oh sorry, the battery is dying, I’ll just turn it off.’ She pressed a few buttons and slipped it back into her pocket. ‘That’s what I wanted to ask: the phone reception isn’t great here, are there any places that get better reception?’
    ‘Yeah, it’s a bit rubbish. The shed is a good place or about twenty metres down the drive. I get very sporadic access in the kitchen. Weirdly I get excellent reception in the freezer.’
    ‘So if I want to make a call to my friends, I need to freeze my ass… bum off to do it,’ Daisy laughed, ignoring the pointed look from Henry over her use of the word ‘ass’.
    ‘The shed is actually quite warm, so feel free to use that whenever you want – there’s a heater in there too. You might get some reception from the very back of Henry’s bedroom. Wi-Fi is good though, so you can always Skype or WhatsApp your friends instead.’
    ‘Oh, that’s a good idea. WhatsApp is pretty much the only social media thing I’m allowed on; Dad doesn’t like the prospect of me talking to strangers on Twitter or Facebook.’ Daisy glanced at him and then whispered to Penny loud enough for Henry to hear, ‘He’s a bit over-protective.’
    ‘I am not, I just don’t like the idea of you chatting to bloody perverts, that’s all.’
    Penny could see this was a bone of contention between the two of them so decided to change the subject.
    ‘What are you up to today?’ Penny asked Daisy.
    ‘Not a lot, probably just play some video games or read,’ Daisy shrugged.
    ‘Or unpack all your junk,’ Henry said.
    ‘Well, if you want to, maybe after you’ve unpacked a few boxes you can come and watch me carve, I can show you how it’s done. I have two to do