Robbie went into the small corridor off the kitchen that served as a back porch and through the frosted glass of the back door he saw a figure. Laura followed and saw the same and with a sigh of relief concluded from the blurry silhouette that it had to be Dan, the farmer. She found herself feeling an immense relief to see the burly farmer's blurry form behind the glass.

"Thought I'd pop my head round, see if you're ok. I tek it you've seen the snowfall" Dan said as Robbie opened the door.

"Yeah, looks like we're stuck here, although it's a lovely place to be stuck" Robbie said

"Aye, well you're welcome to stay of course"

"If that's ok"

"Aye, if you need owt you've got my number down at the farm"

"Looks like the guests that cancelled ordered plenty of food in, are you sure they won't mind if we make use of it?" Laura said as she approached the doorway

"No, they said dispose of it all or donate it as fit, they, er, they had to leave the country in a hurry, apparently, so it's not like they can use it" Dan replied as he adjusted his woolly hat.

"Right, well, ok then" Robbie said with a nod.

He heard a soft whining sound and looking down, Robbie saw the snout of Dan's sheepdog behind his legs.

"Hullo Penny!" Robbie said bending forward towards the dog. Expecting her to come forward he was surprised to hear her growl softly. Robbie frowned; the dog had been very friendly and had taken to him on the ride up to the farm. Penny wagged her tail and looked at Robbie but she stayed behind Dan's legs. She seemed to want to say hello but something was stopping her. She growled and whimpered as if in distress at the fact.

"Shush Pen" said Dan as if noticing the situation "I'll clear a path out here, you'll not get out of the front door, its all drifted up so if you need to get out this is your best bet"

"I don't think we'll be venturing out, but thanks." said Robbie.

"Right. The temperature's going to drop tonight and there's more snow forecast later today but it looks like it's going to milden after boxing day"

"Well, thanks very much. We'd be stuck if it wasn't for you and your wife"

"That's ok" he said, avoiding eye contact.

"You, er, you didn't come over late last night did you, knocking on the front door?" Robbie said

"No. I'd best be off anyway, get this snow cleared. Come on Pen" and the farmer and his dog quickly and abruptly retreated leaving Robbie even more confused and with a feeling that somewhere beneath it all there was something very odd going on.

A very Happy New Year to you all! Thank you so much for your continued readership. Fic writing is a labour of love and those of you who leave reviews or send messages really help to keep the writing mechanisms oiled and moving - so a big thank you - your feedback and responses are very much appreciated!

ML x

PS more coming soon and my apologies that this festive tale has spilled over into the new year - but then again, let's face it, fluff is fluff and not just for Christmas . . .