Page 49 of Escape for Christmas
She smiled and Brody was reminded once again of how pretty she was, with her blonde hair and blue eyes. She was wearing one of his sweaters and it swamped her slender frame, which was even slimmer since she’d been in New York. Probably from working hard and the stress she was under, with her dad’s poor health.
Brody sliced into a wedge of Cheddar. ‘How are your mum and dad?’ he asked, because they hadn’t really talked about it, with Tegan going to bed for a rest.
She sighed. ‘Dad’s as well as he can be, considering that he’s been waiting so long for the operation. He’s so looking forward to Christmas.’ She paused. ‘Thank you for doing this – pretending. I know it can’t be easy. You’re a straight kind of guy. Lying isn’t in your DNA.’
Brody avoided the obvious retort, because it was pointless to bring up her betrayal again. They were beyond that, and they simply had to be cordial enough to get through the next few days before Tegan returned to New York. Lately he’d dared to glimpse a future beyond their shamrelationship, in which Sophie figured: a fresh start for all of them. But look how that had ended.
He popped a nugget of cheese into his mouth, so they could hopefully change the subject. He also thought about what Carl had said earlier and hoped he was right: Sophie must care about him too, to have got so upset. His heart sank a little more, but he reminded himself that this was only for a few more weeks, perhaps a month or a bit longer until – he sincerely hoped – Tegan’s father was out of danger. At what point, however, did he and Tegan announce they were splitting up?
She certainly hadn’t given him a timeline, so it made it difficult to ask when they could break the news to their families.
They finished their supper and Harold sauntered in and sniffed at Tegan, before settling down in front of the fire. A gust of wind blew the flames out suddenly, making Harold bark.
‘Come here, boy,’ Brody said, beckoning Harold to him. The dog grumbled and shifted a few inches back from the hearth.
Tegan went to the window and lifted the curtain. ‘It sounds rough out there and it’sstillsnowing.’
When Brody got up to join her by the window, even he was surprised. Several inches of snow had settled on the bonnet of the Defender and on Tegan’s car. Thick flakes were still swirling around in the wind.
‘It wasn’t forecast to come down like this, was it?’ shesaid. ‘There was barely a sprinkling when I left Mum and Dad’s house, so I thought it would blow over.’
‘I didn’t expect this much snow, either, but I’m not surprised. You know what it’s like up here on the fells. We’re eight hundred feet above sea level. Your parents live at the southern end of the lake. It’s a totally different climate down there.’
Tegan let the curtain fall and faced Brody, hugging herself. ‘I’m worried we won’t make it down there tomorrow for Christmas dinner. It looks pretty bad out there.’
Having thought the same thing for the past hour, Brody decided it was best to be honest, so that Tegan didn’t get her hopes up too much. ‘It might be tricky, if not impossible. The Defender’s good, but even it will struggle in these deep, fresh drifts. It’s just not worth the risk.’
Tegan didn’t answer, but then sighed heavily. ‘I really wanted this Christmas to be perfect. I can’t help thinking … what if it’s my dad’s last?’
Tears trickled down her face, and Brody would have to have a heart of stone not to want to comfort her as she cried, wetting his sweater with her tears. She’d had a huge amount of worry, working abroad while her father was so ill. No matter how much she’d hurt him, he had to remember that, and he couldn’t bear seeing Tegan in this state.
‘I can’t tell you not to worry. I know it’s a major operation, but also one that surgeons do successfully every day. I’msurehe’ll be fine.’ He looked into her tear-stained face. ‘Honestly.’
Tegan nodded. ‘You’re right. I’m probably worrying too much.’
‘He’s your dad,’ Brody said gently. ‘It’s natural to be concerned about him.’ He might also have added that he knew what it was like to lose a father and how high the stakes were, but that would definitely not have helped.
‘Yes, it is—’ Without warning she broke free, looking embarrassed. ‘Sorry. I’m a bit all over the place. I’m still jet-lagged, and it’s an emotional time of year for me. I can’t bear the thought of travelling all this way – and all this pretence – and then missing the big day itself. I should have stayed there tonight, which would have been easier anyway.’
‘It’s only one day, Tegan. There’s a thaw forecast later tomorrow and rain after that, so we can go on Boxing Day. I wish I could do something about the snow, but I’ve a nasty feeling we’re going to be stuck here for a while.’
‘But Mum’s got in all the food …’
‘Which will keep,’ Brody said gently. ‘It might be a good idea to have a chat with them. Warn them? I’m sure they’d want to be prepared, if the celebrations need to be postponed.’
Tegan wiped her eyes with a tissue. ‘You’re right, of course. Always so sensible. I don’t want to call them, but I suppose I must. I’ll just hang on a little while longer in case it stops snowing.’
It wouldn’t, thought Brody, who had lived long enough at Felltop Farm to know that the roads would be impassable until at least the same time the next evening, and probably even longer. He and Tegan were going to have to spendChristmas Day together by themselves. Plus, it only put off the moment when he’d have to take part in the jollities at her parents’ while feeling hollow inside. Any second he might be ready to blurt out the truth, so great was the pressure lying on him. He could only pray that he wouldn’t get a call-out to a sick animal, because he knew he probably wouldn’t make it.
He cleared away the supper tray while Tegan went to wash her face, when a WhatsApp call came through. Brody leaned against the kitchen worktop to take the call, smiling at his mother, who was wearing a tinsel headband.
‘Hi, Mum. You look festive.’
‘I must admit I am feeling jolly. I’ve just come back from the neighbour’s drinks party. Talk is that you have quite a lot of snow up at Felltop. I was phoning to see if Tegan made it up there safely.’
‘Yes, she was waiting for me when I got home.’
‘That’s a relief.’ His mother wrinkled her nose. ‘Although is it going to spoil the plans for tomorrow?’
