by Carrie Elks
‘Do you see the fire truck?’ Jonas asked him. ‘Do they have lots of candy? You’re much taller than me, I can’t see a thing.’
‘You want me to lift you up?’
Jonas nodded enthusiastically, and the next moment Adam was picking his nephew up and putting him on his shoulders. Kitty couldn’t help but smile at Jonas’s delighted expression, King of the Castle with the best view in town.
Adam noticed her smile, and cracked one of his own, the corners of his eyes wrinkling. Neither of them said anything for a moment, though their gazes were locked together. Her heart was beating loudly in her chest, matching the rhythm of the band. Why did she react like this to him every time?
‘Can we talk after the parade?’ Adam asked her quietly enough that Jonas couldn’t hear.
Her glance slid up to the boy. ‘Jonas is with me,’ she reminded him. ‘Maybe later?’
His reply was drowned out by the squeal of a hundred children as the fire truck finally joined the parade. Jonas wriggled until Adam put him down, and he ran back to his space by the barrier, the best spot to claim his candy. Kitty and Adam stepped back to allow the other children to join him, all of them jumping up and down as Santa waved at them from his spot on the top of the fire truck. The firemen walked alongside, their elves’ outfits looking ridiculous on their muscled frames, but each one of them was enjoying himself, passing handfuls of candy to the kids.
She felt proud of Jonas when he took his portion of candy and stepped back, allowing other children to fill his space. She hadn’t even had to remind him to take his turn, he’d done it naturally anyway.
‘Can we go over to the bandstand?’ Jonas asked her, already ripping the wrapper off a chocolate bar. ‘They let the kids sit at the front when the concert begins, I want to get a good spot there, too.’
She followed Jonas as he weaved through the crowd, clearly used to the running order of the parade. In previous years his grandmother had brought him, and by all accounts she’d enjoyed it as much as Jonas had. It was a real shame she couldn’t make it this year.
Adam shadowed close behind her, and she liked the way that felt. Technically Adam and Jonas were family, and she was the interloper, but somehow Kitty didn’t feel left out at all. It was as though for once she was the heroine of her own story, at the centre of things, and she liked it. Maybe a little too much.
As they made it to the town square, Jonas joined the other kids on the bleachers somebody had placed out in front of the bandstand. The white structure was lit up, decorated with wreaths of holly and icicle lights hanging down from the roof. Inside, the band had already set themselves up, wearing red Santa hats, their music stands edged with tinsel. As soon as the fire truck arrived at the end of the parade, Santa was helped down from his perch on the roof, and he walked over to the crowd of children gathered in the square, as the band struck up a jaunty arrangement of ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’.
‘You want a coffee?’ Adam asked her, inclining his head over at the catering truck to the side of the square.
‘Sounds good.’
Five minutes later, Adam was back, carrying two festive Styrofoam cups and a bag of cookies. He handed her a cup, then pulled a cookie out for her, and for a moment they drank and ate, listening to the music.
‘You did a good thing bringing Jonas here,’ Adam said, after chewing the last mouthful of his cookie. ‘He always says it’s the best part of Christmas.’
She smiled. ‘Apart from opening gifts on Christmas morning, I bet.’
‘Yeah, that too.’ He took a sip from his still-steaming coffee cup. ‘I’m glad I saw you two here, I wasn’t sure I would.’
‘I didn’t expect you to come,’ Kitty said. ‘It doesn’t really seem like your thing.’
He tipped his head to the side. ‘What is my thing, do you think?’
She blinked a couple of times, thinking about his question. How well did she really know him? Oh, she knew the things she’d read online, and from all those encounters she’d had with him over the past week.
‘I guess I don’t really see you as a spectator,’ she said, trying to work out where he did fit in. ‘You seem more of a participant than anything else.’
‘I make documentaries,’ he said, his voice light. ‘You don’t think that’s the ultimate in spectator sports?’
‘No, I don’t think so. I’ve seen some of your documentaries, you’re on screen quite a lot. You’re definitely part of the story.’
His face warmed up at her words. ‘You’ve seen them?’
She found herself smiling again. ‘Who hasn’t?’
‘I guess I didn’t think you’d be that interested in them.’
‘Why not?’ she asked, her hands still wrapped around her Styrofoam cup. The band finished their song, and segued into a faster version of ‘White Christmas’. Dancers came out onto the stage.
‘I don’t know,’ Adam said. ‘Maybe I should have asked you. There’s a lot I don’t know about you.’ He paused for a second. ‘I’d like to know more.’
‘You would?’ It was her turn to be shocked. What happened to the guy who practically stalked off from her after giving her the best kiss of her life?
‘Why do you look so surprised?’ he asked.
‘I guess I didn’t think you’d be that interested in me.’ She stole his words, trying, and failing, to hide her smile.
‘What made you think that?’ He shook his head. ‘Was it the way I kissed you yesterday? Or the way I demanded you come and visit me in the cabin every morning? Or maybe it was the way I keep bumping into you accidentally. Yeah, I’m really not interested at all.’
She could feel her pulse drumming in her ears. This was completely unexpected. Welcome, though. ‘But you always seem so angry at me.’
‘It’s not you I’m angry at, it’s myself. I’m an idiot, and I’m an asshole, and I keep digging myself a hole I can’t climb out of. I’d really like to make it up to you.’
‘Make it up?’ she questioned.
‘Yeah, make up for being such an asshole. It was completely ungentlemanly of me to kiss you then ignore you. Especially after a kiss like that.’ He looked almost embarrassed, and completely adorable.
‘OK,’ she agreed, still wondering what he was getting at.
He blinked, like he was surprised it was that simple. What did he expect? Every time he’d shown her the slightest interest, she’d lapped it up like a hungry cat. Did he not realise how she felt every time he came close to her?
‘Will you come back to the cabin tomorrow morning?’ he asked her, the hope lighting up his face.
She bit her lip, looking over at Jonas. She could just about see the top of his head as he watched the show unfold in front of him. ‘I don’t know… there’s Jonas to look after.’
‘I’d say bring him down with you, but that would spoil the point of hiding the dog.’
‘Where is the dog, anyway?’ she asked him.
‘I’ve left him with Annie. Dad’ll take him back down to the cabin before you guys get back. The dog’s exhausted anyway, I took him out for a long walk this morning.’
She grinned at the thought of Adam taking the tiny ball of fur out in the wintry landscape. Seeing the two of them together would be enough to break hearts. A man with a puppy was only one step down from a man with a baby when it came to looking adorable.
‘I hope he’s not causing you too much trouble,’ Kitty said. ‘I really do appreciate your help with him.’
‘I’m kind of enjoying it,’ Adam told her. ‘I’ve been working on teaching him to sit and stay.’
‘Really?’ Kitty raised her eyebrows. ‘I’d like to see that.’
‘Come down to the cabin and I’ll show you tomorrow,’ Adam promised her. ‘And I’ll make you breakfast, too.’
There was a loud round of applause and whooping from the crowd as the dance recital came to an end. Jonas turned from his position on the bleachers and waved madly at Kitty. She waved back with her free han
d. ‘OK,’ she said, her body tingling at the thought of spending alone time with Adam. ‘I’ll come and see you in the cabin in the morning.’
17
Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none
– All’s Well That Ends Well
Later that evening the whole family, minus Adam, gathered around the polished mahogany table in the dining room for dinner. Mia had arrived home an hour earlier in a taxi, looking exhausted before she’d even walked through the door. Annie had slunk back into the kitchen as soon as she’d seen who it was, desperately trying to eke out the lentil casserole she’d made for Drake, while the rest of them would be satisfied with the beef stew she’d had simmering on the hob all day. ‘No red meat,’ she muttered to herself as she shuffled down the hallway. ‘She might as well be one of those vegetarians too.’
Dinner was an awkward affair, with Everett and Drake talking shop as Jonas tried desperately to get his mother’s attention. Though she’d listen to him, and smile in the right places, her attention never lasted for long.
‘Mom, did you hear what I said?’ Jonas asked her. ‘I was telling you about the parade. There was candy and everything.’
‘Of course she didn’t hear you.’ Everett glanced at his wife. ‘She’s far too busy for that. What’s the problem, honey, was three days at the spa not enough for you?’
Mia shot him a nasty smile. ‘It was a lovely break. Though it would have been nice if my husband had joined me like he’d promised to.’
‘Your husband was too busy making money to pay for your damned vacations,’ he growled.
Kitty glanced down at Jonas. ‘The parade really was lovely, wasn’t it?’ she said, desperate to change the conversation. ‘It made me feel really Christmassy. And the singing was good, too.’
Turning her back on her husband, Mia smiled at her son. ‘Oh yes, tell me all about it, darling.’
Jonas answered his mother as Kitty sat back, relieved at having averted another confrontation.
Jonas’s grandfather sat at the head of the table, pushing his stew around with a fork, gazing into the mid distance. He must have been missing his wife, still unable to make it down the stairs to join them for dinner. A couple of times Kitty attempted to engage him, asking questions about the house and its history. He looked grateful for the distraction.
Wisely, Annie had chosen to eat her own meal in the kitchen, mentioning that she needed to keep an eye on the oven and the food she was baking. Truffles and pies, plus the most delicious-smelling brioches had joined the piles of cookies she’d made earlier. Kitty couldn’t help but think what a shame it was that she and Jonas appeared to be the only people in the house enjoying Annie’s food.
The stew itself was delicious, the meat mouth-wateringly good. Kitty had practically cleared her plate before the others had barely eaten a mouthful. She’d noticed Mia try one tiny forkful of her lentil casserole then wrinkle her nose, pointedly putting her fork and knife down on her plate to indicate she was finished.
The doorbell chiming through the hallway brought a welcome distraction from the dinner party from hell, and Kitty checked her watch, realising it could finally be the delivery she was expecting. The vegan dog food she’d express-ordered from a pet boutique in Rodeo Drive.
‘I’m sorry, that’s probably for me.’ Kitty stood up, scraping the legs of the chair along the floor. Everett looked over, giving her no more than a flicker of a gaze, before gesturing for her to go with his hand, not bothering to stop his conversation with Drake.
‘Can I come?’ Jonas jumped up too, his chair wobbling on two legs where he’d tipped it backwards. ‘What can it be? More gifts?’
‘You haven’t finished your dinner,’ Kitty pointed out.
‘I can finish it later.’
‘No, sir.’ Kitty shook her head. ‘You stay here, I won’t be a moment.’ There was no way she wanted him to see the dog food delivery, not after all the trouble she’d gone to in order to hide the damn dog at the cabin. There was only a week until Christmas; she’d made it this far, she wasn’t planning to give the game away now.
‘Oh shoot.’ Jonas gave in, sitting back down with disgust written on his face. ‘You have all the fun.’
It came to something when receiving a delivery was more fun than spending time with his family. Kitty walked over to the hallway, ruminating about his lack of attention, and wondering how on earth she could make this a fun few days for him while his grandmother was laid up, and his parents were more interested in scoring points off each other than actually engaging with her son.
‘You need some help?’ Drake asked, looking as keen to escape the dinner as she was.
Kitty found herself taking pity on him, even if he still wasn’t her favourite person in the world. Like her, he was an outsider, surely they shouldn’t have to put themselves through this.
‘Yeah, that would be great. Follow me.’
‘No fair,’ Jonas said, but stayed seated anyway.
‘There you are.’ Annie turned to greet Kitty and Drake as they made it out to the hallway. ‘He’s just bringing the packages now.’
A tall man wearing a brown uniform was walking up the porch stairs, carrying three big brown sacks. He tipped them onto the floor, pulling a clipboard out and handing it to Kitty to sign. She scrawled her name across the line then handed it back, thanking him for making a late delivery.
‘No problem.’ The driver gave her an easy smile, which broadened as soon as she passed him five dollars. ‘Merry Christmas to you both.’
As soon as he was gone, Kitty walked over to the bags of food. They were as large as potato sacks, just as heavy too when she tried to lift one. Affixed to the outside was a photograph of the contents; an unappetising picture of dried grey pellets, which made Kitty’s stomach turn.
‘Poor puppy,’ she murmured. ‘He’s not going to be happy about that.’
Drake carried the dog-food sacks into the larder, huffing beneath the weight as he lifted them onto the bottom shelf. ‘There, that’s it.’ For a guy who professed to spend half his life in the gym, he was looking surprisingly red in the face. Kitty couldn’t help but think about Adam, and those hard, thick muscles that rippled beneath his thin T-shirt when he ran. He’d lifted an entire deer without batting an eyelid…
Best not to think about that.
‘Thanks for your help,’ she told Drake, as the two of them walked out into the kitchen. Dinner had finished in their absence – she’d spotted Everett disappear into the library, while his father and Jonas climbed up the stairs to join the older Mrs Klein in her sick room. Annie had finished cooking for the evening, and Kitty helped her tidy up the dishes from dinner. The housekeeper sat down in her easy chair in the corner, watching the small television mounted on the wall.
‘You must have been upset, having to change your holiday plans to come here,’ she said to Drake, pouring them both out a glass of red wine. Though strictly speaking Kitty’s duties weren’t over yet – not until Jonas was asleep in bed – she thought they could both do with a drink.
Drake shrugged. ‘Not really. I was planning on dinner with some friends and then straight back to work on the twenty-sixth. I haven’t been home for Christmas in years, I prefer spending Thanksgiving with my folks.’
‘I always find it weird that everybody goes back to work the day after Christmas,’ Kitty said, taking a sip of wine. ‘In England everything comes to a standstill between Christmas and New Year. We spend the whole week stuffing our faces with chocolate and seeing who can drink the most without being sick.’
Drake’s cute nose wrinkled up. ‘Ugh. You English and your alcohol. Whenever we have an actor from the UK in one of our movies I just know we’re going to have problems. Hangovers and early morning shoots really don’t mix.’
She wanted to protest, maybe say something about that being better than the uptight valley boys, but if she was really honest there was more than an ounce of truth in Drake’s words. At the few Hollywood parties she’d been
to, the biggest hell-raisers always seemed to hail from somewhere in the UK or Ireland.
Looking down, she realised she’d already drained her glass of wine. Normally she’d pour out another without a second thought, but now she was hyper-aware of her alcohol consumption.
Seeing her expression, Drake quickly changed the subject. ‘So Everett tells me you’re still looking for an internship?’
‘I am,’ she said. She really wanted that second glass of wine now. ‘I haven’t found anything yet.’ She wondered whether she should mention the half-interview he’d given her, but somehow it didn’t seem like the right time.
‘If you keep on Everett’s good side, he may be able to help you. He’s pretty well connected in the business.’