Sleigh Bells in the Snow (O'Neil Brothers 1)

She stepped into the hallway, saw boxes of decorations laid ready and tinsel heaped high and backed away like a wild animal sensing danger. “I’m disturbing you.”

“You’re certainly not disturbing me. It’s lovely to have company. I have biscuits in the oven and then we’ll trim the tree together.”

Kayla felt a rush of horror. She’d rather hug a moose than trim the tree. “No! I mean—I’m no good at it. I have no eye for what makes a pretty tree.”

“It will be fun. You’re so much taller than me, you can reach the top. Come through to the kitchen for a minute.” Elizabeth removed several trays of freshly baked cookies, which she quickly and efficiently transferred to a cooling rack.

Kayla tried to work out how she could escape from decorating a Christmas tree without causing offence. “Are you feeding the whole of Vermont?”

“Sometimes it feels that way. We sell them in the café, and we put them in the rooms when we have new guests arriving. I think those little touches make it feel less like a hotel and more like a home. Let’s go through to the living room. I’m waiting for Jackson to bring one more box of decorations from Alice’s attic.”

Kayla followed Elizabeth into the living room, careful not to tread on Maple, who was running happy circles around her feet.

Through the windows she could see past the trees to the lake and, beyond that, the snow-covered mountains. A log fire blazed and a large Christmas tree stood in the corner, waiting to be decorated. Kayla stared at it with an ache in her chest.

“Big tree.”

“Isn’t it a beauty? Tyler and Jackson dragged it from the forest on the sledge.”

Kayla picked out a chair angled away from the tree. Unfortunately that put her in direct line of sight of the mantelpiece with its garland of twisted ivy and delicate fairy lights. Keeping her head down, she pulled her notepad out of her bag. “Do you have time to talk about Snow Crystal?”

“I always have time to talk about Snow Crystal. Walter has taken Alice down to the village to buy more yarn, so Maple and I are on our own here.” Elizabeth carried the boxes in from the hallway and opened one of them. “I pack these away each year and then can’t remember what’s in them. Does that happen to you?”

“I— No. I rent a small apartment near Central Park. There’s barely room for me. I don’t decorate.”

“Not even a small tree? That’s terrible.” Elizabeth opened the first box. “Still, I suppose you have all those glittering New York shop windows to enjoy. Michael took me once. We saw them lighting the Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Center. I’ll never forget it, although I still maintain there is nowhere I’d rather be than Snow Crystal at Christmas. You’ll never want to leave.”

She didn’t just want to leave, she wanted to leave right now.

Coming here had been a bad idea.

She’d thought she’d be able to escape, but there was no escape when the thing you were trying to escape was buried inside you.

Kayla’s head was starting to pound. What had possessed her to offer to come here at this time of year? Thanks to that lapse in judgment she now had her back to a giant Christmas tree, while facing a box full of baubles and enough fairy lights to power Sleeping Beauty’s castle.

“Is something wrong, dear?” Elizabeth’s voice was quiet. “Did Walter upset you?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Tell me about Snow Crystal,” Kayla said desperately. “Tell me what makes it special.”

Elizabeth watched her for a moment and then stood up. “Why don’t I make us so

me tea? I could talk for hours about Snow Crystal.”

Hours?

Kayla wasn’t sure she’d make it through minutes let alone hours. “I don’t want to take up too much of your time.”

“I love the company.” Elizabeth disappeared into the kitchen and was back a few minutes later carrying a tray loaded with a teapot, two bone china mugs and a plate of homemade cinnamon stars. “In the morning I drink English breakfast tea and in the afternoon Earl Grey with lemon. They all tease me, but it’s my little British treat. That and HP Sauce and the occasional bar of Cadbury’s chocolate.”

“Do you miss England?”

“I did at first, but not anymore. As soon as I met Michael and had the children, Snow Crystal became home. And I had no family left in England, so I suppose that was another reason why it was easy to leave it behind. But I brought a few traditions with me, and tea is one of those.” The puppy barked hopefully and Elizabeth glanced at Kayla. “Is she bothering you? I can put her somewhere else.”

“No. Don’t do that.” Keen to make a good impression this time, Kayla reached down and gave Maple a hesitant pat. The puppy’s fur was soft and springy under her fingers. “She’s pretty. And so friendly.”

“Did you have a dog when you were growing up?”

“No.” Kayla felt the pressure build in her chest. “No pets. Did you breed her?”