‘Look, who is Christmas for?’ He stepped forward, cupping her face with his cold palm.
‘The children?’ she ventured.
‘That’s right. Now what will make Jonas’s day?’
She shrugged. ‘Chasing a dog around a house until it makes his mother scream loudly?’
‘Exactly. So let’s go and have some fun, OK?’
True to his word, Adam sneaked the dog into the closet, barely chastising the mutt when he started to eat Everett’s dress shoes. Jonas was handing out presents to the family gathered around the tree. The piles grew big; even Drake and Kitty – the relative outsiders – had a fair haul.
‘There’s one more present in the closet, buddy,’ Adam told him.
‘Really? Who’s it from?’ Jonas stood up, excitement lighting up his eyes. Before any of them could answer he was in the hallway, heading for the closet. Kitty jumped up and followed him, Adam close behind, neither of them remembering to close the door. The next moment Jonas opened the closet, and was all but bowled over by an overexcited, frightened dog.
The puppy started barking and running, darting this way and that, not knowing where he was in this strange place. Every time one of them tried to catch him, he slipped out of their grasp, as elusive as the Scarlet Pimpernel. First he ran into the living room, then seeing all the people there, came straight out, heading for the kitchen. His excited growls echoed through the hallway, and he dodged around Adam’s legs, slipping his way across the tiled floor. The aroma of turkey drove him crazy, as he careered straight for the stove in the corner, skidding to a halt just before he hit the glass door.
‘Get that mutt out of here,’ Annie hollered. ‘I’m trying to cook.’ Jonas chased after him, laughing loudly, closely followed by Adam and Kitty. Getting bored with the game, the dog then headed for the hall once again, this time making his way to the door at the far end.
He reached the library before any of them could stop him, nudging his wet nose into the gap where the door wasn’t fully shut. Then he was in the room, racing around in circles, knocking over furniture as the three of them chased after him.
Jonas was still giggling, shouting at the dog to slow down, while Kitty followed him, trying to block his exit. She couldn’t help but snigger at the spectacle of a puppy outwitting the three of them, and turned to Adam to see his expression.
‘He loves it,’ she told him, her voice breathless. ‘I haven’t seen him so excited in ages.’ Jonas was still darting around the library, going this way and that. Then the puppy jumped up on the oak table, his paws skidding on all the papers fanned out there. He reached the edge of the table, peering down with wide, brown eyes, just as Jonas caught up with him.
‘Got him!’ he announced joyfully. ‘Now come here, you bad boy.’ He lifted the puppy easily, laughing as his tail wagged like crazy.
Adam reached out to rub the puppy’s head. ‘I’m going to miss that old mutt,’ he said quietly. Kitty smiled and reached out to squeeze his hand. She wanted to do more, but was aware of Jonas watching them.
Why did it feel as though everybody was watching them today?
The next two hours flew by, as Jonas spent hours trying to teach the puppy to fetch. All his other toys were ignored as he patiently spoke to the tiny animal, rolling a ball back and forth until he finally got it.
It took a lot of persuasion for him to leave the puppy tethered up in the hallway so they could all eat dinner in the dining room together. He was still protesting as Kitty helped him onto his seat, tucking his napkin into his smart blue shirt. Then the rest of the family arrived, the room filled with the noise of people talking, Kitty helping Annie bring the pots of food in, laying them out down the middle of the table.
She was helping Jonas fill his plate with turkey when he turned to his father to ask a question. ‘Dad, are you friends with Uncle Adam now?’
Kitty passed the plate of turkey meat to Drake, who was sitting next to her. She couldn’t quite bring herself to look at any of the Klein men. A feeling of awkwardness descended over the table.
‘Well, ah, sort of, I guess.’
But that wasn’t good enough for Jonas. He had the bit between his teeth now. ‘Uncle Adam, do you like my daddy?’
Next to her, Drake shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
Mia cleared her throat. ‘Maybe we should say grace,’ she suggested, shooting an awkward glance at Jonas.
‘Why don’t you ask them later,’ Kitty whispered to him. ‘After we’ve had dinner?’
‘But they’re making a movie together, so they must be friends,’ Jonas told her.
Drake cleared his throat, and Kitty turned to look at him. He was deliberately staring down at his meal. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Adam, not at Everett either, not when she knew exactly what Jonas was talking about.
‘We should hold hands,’ Mia said, her voice higher than usual. ‘For the grace.’
Kitty felt frozen to the spot. It was as though everything in the room was suspended in time. Nobody was moving, nobody was eating.
‘We’re not making a movie together,’ Adam said, his voice rough. Looking down, Kitty could see her hands starting to shake.