This is from the first chapter, where you meet the protagonist, twelve-year-old Tabby. Tabby lives in The Dales, a charming and fictional village set in Devon in England. Tabby’s family have been torn apart, after her father vanishes and her older sister Ava moves to Cornwall to live with their grandparents. Tabby stays with her mum, to take care of her and as the years go by, their relationship becomes fractured. Tabby finds solace with her horses and her dear friends at the Sweetbriars Farm.

The early morning gloom cast a pale grey light over the kitchen. The window, which was just cracked open, let in the smell of the sea. Salty and fresh – in the Dales, the sea wasn’t too far away. Tabby breathed the cool air in deeply, as she recoiled at the memory of the dream she’d had. Kind of the same dream she’d had before… but different.
Her stomach growled with hunger. She opened the fridge to see pieces of cheese wrapped in brown paper. There was the squishy type that oozed out the sides that Tabby loved. The smelly, mouldy type that her mum liked to eat – especially along with a glass of wine. Then there was a regular chunk of English cheddar in its supermarket packaging.
On the shelf below sat a pot of skimmed yoghurt and in the shelves of the door, were two bottles of wine, one full and another, supposed Tabby, was newly opened from the night before.
Tabby closed the fridge with a flourish of disappointment and half-heartedly opened a kitchen cupboard.
The excesses of Christmas were on display. Crisps, nuts, after dinner mints and crackers – thrown in the cupboard in a haphazard pile.
A gift bag with sprigs of holly printed on the outside caught Tabby’s attention. She rustled her fingers inside to find thick wedges of caramel fudge wrapped in white paper. On the front was a gold seal, stating its Cornish authenticity.
A small card was strung on the handles of the bag saying:

“For my dazzling lady, from you know who.”

Tabby sighed, grabbed a packet of crisps and returned to the window. She’d seen countless cards like this in the past year.
Mark. Her mum’s on again, off again boyfriend.
She tore the packet of crisps open and leant on the edge of the window, staring out at the expanse of silvers and greys. As she stood, memories of her dream came flooding back.

Her father walked casually into the dining room, unbuttoning his green hiking jacket and kissed each of their cheeks. He hadn’t aged a day and all Grandma could say was, “Close the door darling, you’re letting the draught in,” chuckling and chiding in her gentle way. She hugged him around his waist and then went to fetch her much-loved chicken barley broth, their usual winter starter for family lunches. Tabby stood up in shock. She was unable to move; her feet were planted to the floor. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, she was as white as a ghost. When she looked back at him he was gone.

The dream had woken her up, her body shaking as she took shallow jagged breaths. She hadn’t dreamt about him in a while. She figured it must have been spurred by Christmas and visiting her Grandparent’s house.