The Christmas Sisters

“I’ve left Jason—that’s what’s going on.”

Posy managed to stop herself swerving across the road. “For a moment there I thought you said you left Jason.”

“That’s what I said.”

“But you’re drunk, so you’re not yourself.”

“I don’t know who I am anymore. Am I Beth McBride, lipstick queen, or am I Beth Butler, wife and mother?”

Posy was starting to think this conversation was too complicated for the road conditions. “Can’t you be both?”

“Apparently not. According to Jason, I’m supposed to devote my life to the sheer pleasure that is motherhood. I used to be a highflier, but I crash-landed a long time ago and no one has noticed the wreckage.”

Okay, enough!

They were driving through a village and Posy checked her mirror and pulled sharply into a parking space while Beth clutched her seat for balance.

“Whatever you’re doing, could you do it less violently? My stomach just traveled around my body at supersonic speed. What are you doing?”

“I’m stopping to pour some coffee into my drunk sister so we can have a proper conversation.”

“I am not drunk. And I don’t want to stop here. It looks sad and miserable.” She peered out of the window. “Where are we?”

“A place where no one knows us. A place where the fact that you’re drunk won’t have reached Mom by breakfast.”

“I want to go home. I need cheering up and this place looks depressing.” Beth’s voice wavered. “Can’t we go to the Glensay Inn? It’s tradition. Lunch in the café, dinner at the pub. I want to sit by a cozy log fire and chat about everything under the sun like we did in the old days. I want to see Geoff and everyone I know.”

Posy didn’t want to chat about everything under the sun. She wanted to chat about why her sister was home early, and on her own. And she didn’t want to see Geoff or anyone else she knew. She hadn’t been back to the Glensay Inn since she’d kissed Luke in public. She wasn’t ready to deal with the fallout.

Still, she was going to have to brave the locals at some point, so it might as well be with her sister by her side.

As anticipated, she walked into the welcoming warmth of the pub to cheers and catcalls. There were at least five members of the mountain rescue team leaning on the bar, and the way they grinned at her told her that word had spread as efficiently as ever.

Maybe kissing Luke in public hadn’t been such a good idea. On the other hand, it was nothing compared to what they’d been doing in private.

Thinking about it made her smile.

Beth smiled, too, although for different reasons. “I didn’t expect this kind of reception. It’s good to be home. You’re lucky to live here, doing what you love among all these people who care about you.”

And gossip about you. And wink at you. And tease you until you’re ready to punch them.

“Sit down.” Braving it out, Posy bundled her sister to the same table she and Luke had sat at a few nights earlier.

The smell of wood smoke mingled with the oaky notes of whiskey. Turned out it was tasting night at the inn, and the local distillery had brought bottles for the locals to try and hopefully buy.

Posy had already bought a bottle for her dad. Not the most imaginative gift, but she knew he’d like it.

“They have a Christmas tree!” Beth sank into a chair and gazed at the shimmer of lights on the tree. “I love Christmas.”

It was Geoff’s night off and his son, Aidan, strolled over from the bar. “Good to see you home, Beth.” He bent and kissed her on the cheek. He had an unruly mop of dark hair and was famous locally for having won a haggis eating competition at the local Highland games. “How are the kids?”

Tears bloomed in Beth’s eyes. “They’re great. They’re not with me right now, and I’m already missing them, which makes no sense because—”

“We’ll have strong coffee, please, Aidan.” Posy was wishing she’d stopped at the soulless roadside café instead.

“I’d like wine,” Beth said. “A very large glass of chilled white. Maybe a sauvignon blanc. Or do you think we should be extravagant and order champagne?”

“No champagne and no white, chilled or otherwise.” Posy peeled off her coat. She couldn’t remember ever seeing her sister like this before. “Coffee. Strong. Large. And something to eat.”