The Christmas Sisters

“Can I ask you something?”

Hannah hoped this wasn’t going to be the usual interrogation about her love life. She really wasn’t equipped to handle those questions right now. “What?”

“Would you watch the girls for an hour? I want to spend some time alone with Jason. They’re watching TV downstairs in the den, so they shouldn’t be any bother.”

The last thing she needed right now was to watch the children. Having Melly and Ruby around the house made the whole baby thing a little too real. “I’m pretty busy, Beth.”

Her sister’s jaw lifted. “They’re your nieces. I would have thought you’d be pleased to spend time with them.”

“I have work to do. Have you asked Posy?”

“I can’t find her. I think she’s outside with the sheep or something. Please, Hannah. I need some time with Jason.”

It was much easier to say no on the phone than it was in person. “Leave the door open and tell them to call me if they need anything.”

“It isn’t enough to listen. You need to check on them. With Ruby, silence isn’t always good. It often means she’s climbing something, and she doesn’t usually bother checking whether it’s fixed to the ground.”

Memories flashed through Hannah’s brain like a movie on fast-forward. “I’ll check on them.”

“Thanks. We’ll only be an hour.” Beth vanished and Hannah turned back to her laptop, but she couldn’t focus on the numbers on the screen.

Another email arrived, this time indicating that Angie needed to speak to her urgently.

With a sigh, she reached for her phone, but there was no signal.

The only way to speak to Angie was to trudge outside in the cold and the snow to make the call.

She grabbed her coat and an extra sweater and left her room.

She paused as she walked past the bedroom Suzanne shared with Stewart. Should she knock on the door and see if there was anything she needed?

If she did that, Suzanne would want to talk and Hannah wasn’t ready to have the conversation she knew she needed to have.

Telling herself that she didn’t want to risk disturbing Suzanne if she was resting, even though she knew the truth was something different, Hannah walked quietly downstairs and into the den, where the children were snuggled on the sofa watching a movie.

“Aunty Hannah!” Ruby’s curls bobbed around her face like question marks. “Come and watch it with us! It’s funny. You’ll love it.”

Hannah glanced at the cartoons on the screen. “In a minute, maybe. Girls, I need to make a phone call.”

Ruby’s eyes widened. “Are you calling about Bugsy?”

“I—No, not about Bugsy.” She saw Ruby’s face crumple and instantly her heart started to race. “At least, not only about Bugsy. But while I’m on the phone, I will call the airline, too, and see if there is any news. Can you stay here while I do that?”

Beth’s words echoed in her head.

It isn’t enough to listen. You need to check on them.

But she was only going to be five minutes. Suzanne was upstairs; both children were occupied with their movie.

“Promise me you’ll stay here and that you won’t move until I’m back.”

“We promise, Aunty Hannah,” Melly said, her eyes fixed on the screen. “I’ll watch Ruby.”

Ruby frowned. “I don’t need watching.”

“You do need watching.” Melly spoke with sisterly superiority. “You left Bugsy on the plane.”

“And we’re going to fix that.” With a final check that they had everything they needed, Hannah pulled her coat on, pushed her feet into an old pair of snow boots Suzanne had left out for her, and walked out into the yard.