The Christmas Sisters

Posy wondered if her sister realized what she’d said. “That was nice of you.”

Hannah was shivering. “Posy—”

“Is this about Luke? Are you and Beth staging an intervention?”

“No, I—”

“If it’s not Luke, then that means you’ve come because you still blame me for the fact Adam is here.”

“That isn’t—” Hannah glanced at Posy’s bare legs and gasped. “Your leg is purple. What happened?”

“I fell. It happens. Don’t tell Mom or she’ll worry, and don’t tell the rest of the team or they’ll laugh.”

“Shouldn’t you go to the emergency department?”

“It’s a bruise.” Posy opened the door wider. “Come in, before it turns into a bruise and frostbite.”

“Have you put ice on it?” Horror on her face, Hannah hurried to the freezer and pulled out a bag of frozen peas and wrapped it in a towel. “Press this against it.”

“Like I’m not cold enough already. And since when have you been a first aid expert?” But she was touched and more than a little relieved that her sister no longer seemed to be angry with her. She pressed the peas to her leg. “I owe you an apology. I was going to talk to you yesterday, but we were called out before I could get you alone. Did you seriously stay up with Mom?”

“Yes. Neither of us could sleep, so we sat by the fire and talked for ages, about everything. It was cozy.” She rubbed her arms and Posy put the peas down.

“I’ll light the log burner. You’re cold because you have no fat on you.”

“If you’re going to make a joke about pizza—”

“I’m not. After the night I had, my sense of humor has fused. I need coffee.” Posy lit the fire and walked to the kitchen. Something was obviously wrong with her sister and she fished around for the right question to ask.

She made coffee and handed her sister a mug. “Look, about what I did—”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does. I shouldn’t have said what I said on the phone to him even as a joke. I shouldn’t have talked to him for so long without hammering on the bathroom door, but he sounded nice and he said he was in love with you and—” she shook her head “—and now I’m sounding like Mom. Sorry. From now on, I’m not interfering in anyone’s love life ever again. I’m here for sympathy, and nothing else. But for what it’s worth, I’m sorry I made things harder for you. It must be really awkward.”

“It’s not awkward.” Hannah closed her hands round the mug to warm herself. “He’s gone.” She walked to the windows, keeping her back to Posy. “You can see for miles from up here. It’s like living in the treetops.”

“Wait—did you say gone? You sent him away? Are you insane?”

“What happened to not interfering or even passing an opinion?”

“It sounded good in theory, but in practice I find I can’t sit here while you tell me that perfect piece of manhood has gone. What exactly are you looking for? I mean, he’s gorgeous, he was sweet with the kids and he obviously loved you. Why would you send him away?”

“I didn’t.” Hannah turned. “When I woke up this morning, he’d left. He got a car to the airport.”

“How? Have the roads been cleared?”

“I don’t know how, but Adam would have found a way. He always finds a way. He’s a fixer. If there’s a way of doing something, Adam will find it. He’s that type of person.”

Posy thumped her mug down on the countertop. “You didn’t know he was leaving? This is how he responds to you telling him you’re pregnant? Because I swear I’ll—”

“I haven’t told him.”

“He didn’t leave because of the baby?”

“No. He left a note saying that he shouldn’t have come. That it hadn’t been fair of him to put that pressure on me. He thought a conversation about it would put even more pressure on me, so he made a unilateral decision.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this right away?”