A Winter's Tale (The Shakespeare Sisters 2)

Adam smiled indulgently at his mother. ‘I’ve only just walked into the room. How different can I look?’

‘Oh, you’d

be surprised. A mother can sense things. When you were a child I knew as soon as you walked through the door if you’d had a good day or a bad day. Right now I’d say your day’s been going pretty well.’

His chest tightened. He’d spent the morning playing with the dog before going for a run to end all runs. Anything he could do to stop himself from stalking up to the big house and hunting Kitty down. He had the urge to grab her and spirit her back to his cabin, back to where they’d lain together happy and sated. Back to where he’d got to know every inch of her body.

Even intense physical exercise hadn’t been enough to eliminate the urge altogether. It barely made a dent on his need to see her. That was why he found himself walking up to the house later in the afternoon, letting the wind whip his face as he crunched through the forest.

Annie had raised her eyebrows as he walked into her kitchen, and he’d muttered something about needing to spend some time with his mom. To his disappointment Kitty was nowhere to be seen, and he couldn’t exactly ask Annie where she was, could he?

Instead he’d made the trek upstairs to the master bedroom, where his mother lay on the bed, exhausted after an hour spent with her physiotherapist.

‘It’s Christmas, isn’t everybody supposed to be happy?’ Adam dragged a chair to her bedside. ‘’Tis the season, after all.’

‘Speaking of which, I hear you’re going to join us for Christmas lunch.’ She squeezed his hand. ‘I’m so pleased to hear that.’

‘I’ll suffer anything for you, Mom.’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t pretend to be a Grinch. You walk in here with your eyes bright and your beard trimmed and you think I’m not going to notice?’

Adam ran his palm across his chin. His beard had needed grooming, and today had seemed as good a time as any; it wasn’t anything more serious than that. Though he had, for one long minute, considered shaving all the hair off, in the end he’d opted for a neaten-up.

‘As I said, it’s Christmas. I don’t want to come to dinner looking like a vagabond.’

‘When’s that ever stopped you before?’ his mom teased. Then, turning serious she added, ‘You really do look different. Alive. I can’t tell you how much it warms my heart to see it.’

Adam suppressed a grin. He wasn’t about to confess he hadn’t felt this alive in years. Nor that it was the gorgeous blonde who happened to be taking care of his nephew who’d caused such a big change in such a short time. That was his secret to keep – his and Kitty’s – and he wasn’t about to dilute it by sharing it with anybody else.

‘Maybe it’s the puppy I’ve been looking after.’

‘Jonas’s puppy?’ Her eyes twinkled. ‘I heard about that. Annie told me you agreed to look after him until Christmas, that was very kind of you.’

‘Kind? I was press-ganged into it. Saying no wasn’t an option.’

‘Oh stop it. You can pretend to be grumpy and gruff with everybody else, but you forget I’m your mother. I know you inside and out. You may be tough on the outside, but inside you’re about as hard as a marshmallow.’

‘A marshmallow?’ Adam replied, raising a single eyebrow. ‘I guess it beats being a teddy bear.’

Mary reached out to squeeze his hand. ‘You’re one of those, too. But don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.’

He shot her a rueful smile. ‘Who are you going to tell? Everett would never believe you. And Dad always said we were both as tough as steel.’

‘Your father’s soft as cotton, too.’ Her expression turned sad. ‘That’s why he’ll be so happy to have his family all together under one roof for Christmas. It means a lot to us both.’

He nodded slightly. He knew his feud with Everett had broken both of their hearts, and he hated that it did. He just didn’t know how to get over it, how to forgive a brother who’d all but crushed his heart, too.

‘Yeah, well don’t get any ideas. This thaw is for Christmas, not for life.’

‘I wouldn’t dream of it.’ She winked, but Adam knew that she definitely dreamed of it.

If he was any kind of son, he’d find a way to make those dreams come true.

He was deep in thought when he reached the first floor, walking right into Kitty as he reached the bottom step. She stumbled back, flinging her arms out in an attempt to steady herself. As quick as lightning he grabbed her around the waist, stopping her from falling to the floor.

‘I didn’t see you there. You OK?’ He frowned, looking over her body, trying to find evidence of any injury.

Kitty was breathless. ‘I didn’t see you either.’