“He called me, too.” Hannah put her napkin on the table, even though her plate was still half-full. She was calmer than Beth, but her voice was steely. “What are you doing here, Luke?”
“Now wait just a minute.” Posy put her glass down so hard that the water sloshed over the side. “Is this how we speak to guests now? And why would Luke have called you? He doesn’t know you.” She sprang to Luke’s defense, facing her sisters like a little tigress.
That was something Suzanne rarely saw, either. Normally Posy was so easygoing and even tempered, but tonight no one seemed to be their best self.
She’d never seen the three of them so upset.
The harmonious atmosphere was cracking. Her dreams of a perfect Christmas were splintering in front of her.
Whatever Luke’s reason for contacting the girls, she needed to get to the bottom of it. She needed to protect them.
“You’re writing about the accident!” Beth slapped her hand on the table. “That’s what you do, isn’t it? You write about everything to do with mountains. You’re a journalist.”
“I’m not a journalist. I’m a mountaineer and a writer.”
“Journalists are writers. Or do you find it easier to wiggle your way into people’s lives if you hide that fact?” Beth turned to Hannah. “He called you, too? I wish I’d known. We could have compared notes.”
“Beth!” Posy glared at her sister, but Beth ignored her.
“And when neither of us took your call, you headed straight here and targeted Posy. You have some nerve. We’ve had plenty of calls from people like you over the years, but no one has actually gone as far as sleeping with my sister to get the information.”
“Oh thanks.” Posy sounded close to tears. “Always nice when your sister reveals the details of your personal life
at a family dinner. Remind me never to share anything with you ever again.”
“Beth!” Jason’s voice was a sharp reminder that the family included children.
For a moment it seemed as if Beth hadn’t heard him.
He said her name a second time and she turned her head, blinking like someone emerging from a deep sleep.
She saw Ruby’s anxious face and Jason’s taut expression.
“Sorry.” Beth looked conflicted. Apologetic. “Jason—”
“I’d like to sleep with Aunty Posy.” Ruby spoke in a small voice. “Since I lost Bugsy, I don’t like the dark.”
Melly hushed her, sensing adult disharmony. “You can sleep in my bed tonight.”
“Do you promise?” Ruby was the only one round the table who looked happy.
Holding Beth’s gaze, Jason stood up. “I’ll take the girls into the den. We’ll turn the volume on the TV up.” He gave Beth a brief nod and lowered his voice. “Keep it down.”
“I can leave my mash?” Ruby clearly thought Christmas had come early and she danced out of the room without protest.
Suzanne wished she felt half as relaxed. Her heart was pounding. She felt a little sick, and she didn’t think that had anything to do with the remnants of her illness. When she reached for her glass, her hand shook a little. Luke had wanted to talk about the accident? Why? “You had other calls from journalists? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you don’t like talking about what happened, and we respect that.”
They’d been protecting her?
She looked at Luke, but his face was expressionless.
“I can assure you I’m nothing like any other person who might have contacted you in the past.”
Beth’s eyes narrowed. “I suppose you consider your brand of journalism to be vastly superior.” Now that the children were out of the room, the bite was back.
“That’s not the reason.”