One More for Christmas(44)

“One pub and a post office that sells everything? That hardly counts. Is she some kind of business machine? Forcing her family to uproot themselves over the holidays so that she can work? Because that’s what this is to her, isn’t it?” She swept her arm through the air, the arc of her arm taking in loch, mountains and forest. “This place we call home—it’s work to her. We’re a venue.”

“You’ve never heard of mixing business with pleasure?”

“I’m worried she won’t get it, that’s all. I’m worried she wants fake Scotland, and that we’re going to have to produce that. You want us to live as one family and eat meals together, but my tongue gets tied in a knot when I’m intimidated by someone. She’ll talk about profit, loss and the bottom line. I’ll talk about the problems of freezing pipes in the middle of winter and how on a bad day I can’t feel my toes. And that’s another thing—it will be cold.”

“She lives in Boston and their winters are fiercer than ours. I should think she’ll be used to the cold.”

“So she is a scary corporate type?”

“I think she’s human, like the rest of us.” He turned away and scooped up a large bunch of mistletoe. “I think you should stop worrying about people you don’t know and focus on making the place the best it can be. We make a success of this, we can fix the roof in the tower and also the windows. Then maybe your toes won’t freeze at night and we can hire someone to do the housekeeping tasks.”

“How about Mum crying?”

“We both know she’s not crying because I’ve invited strangers into our house for Christmas.”

“But having strangers will make it harder for her.”

“Or maybe it will be a reason to get out of bed in the morning.”

Kirstie thought about that and had to concede he could be right. Her mother had always been so warm and welcoming to everyone, family and strangers alike. She’d never been happier than when she was cooking and fussing over a houseful of people. “Or maybe the strain will be too much.”

“I guess we’ll find out. Now, are you going to take those logs to the house before they turn to mulch?”

They’d always been close, but that didn’t mean there weren’t times when she wanted to kill him.

Today was one of those days.



Samantha


Samantha stepped through the door of the airport and pulled her coat more tightly around her. The icy wind shocked her system. It stung her cheeks and crept through the gap between scarf and skin. A few tiny snowflakes settled like sugar on her coat.

The afternoon light was fading, but there was enough for her to see the curving line of snow-covered mountains in the distance.

Scotland.

She breathed in the clean, sharp air and felt something stir inside her.

Her clients were going to love it here.

“Wasn’t he supposed to meet us?” An exhausted Ella dragged two cases and the oversize stuffed reindeer that Tab had refused to leave behind, while Michael carried the rest of their luggage and a sleeping Tab. The fact that she was finally quiet was a relief to everyone after a flight that had been punctuated by tiredness and tears.

“He said he’d be here. Be patient.” Samantha wasn’t in any hurry to meet him. Would he pretend their conversation had never happened? Or would he give her a wink to indicate that he knew exactly what was going on in her head? Never before had she started a business relationship feeling at a disadvantage. Resolving to be more open was one thing, but she wouldn’t have chosen a client to be the recipient of her new approach.

She smoothed her hair, checking nothing had escaped from the elegant chignon she’d managed to produce in the confines of the airplane. It was a fight between her and the wind as to who was in charge of her appearance. Maybe she should have worn a hat, but then her hair would have looked wild when she’d taken it off, and Samantha didn’t want to look wild. Any wildness she felt was kept firmly on the inside. She wanted to look like the person she’d been pretending to be for her whole life.

“Are you okay?” Ella steadied the case and flexed her fingers. “You seem tense.”

“Not at all.”

“Mmm.” Ella removed her scarf and laid it over Tab, giving her extra protection from the cold. “I hope she doesn’t wake up. I can’t stand any more crying from her or frowning from Mom. All I need now is for her to tell me I’m a terrible mother and this Christmas will have turned out exactly the way I predicted before it’s even started.”

“I know you’re nervous, but it’s going to be fine.” The words came automatically, even though she didn’t really believe them. There were so many potential pitfalls, how could it possibly be fine? But the success of her business was partly down to her ability to handle the unexpected, the unplanned, the emergency, so when she said fine she usually meant fine in the end. For every problem there was some sort of solution. “And no one could ever think you’re a terrible mother.”

“She frowned a lot on the flight. She was judging me.”

“I don’t think so.” It was true that Gayle had frowned a lot on the flight, but unlike her sister, Samantha wasn’t convinced that Tab’s restless behavior had been the cause.

“I hope he arrives soon.” Her sister leaned in. “Maybe your sex conversation scared him off.”