Escape for Christmas

Chapter Seventeen

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

‘That fire must be interesting.’

Brody glanced up to find Tegan standing by him with a tray of food. ‘What do you mean?’ he said, startled.

‘You must have been staring at it for at least a minute. Probably longer. You didn’t even notice me come in.’

‘Didn’t I?’ He grimaced, feeling guilty that he had been in a world of his own. Tegan had left the snug some time ago to make a drink. ‘Sorry, I was well away,’ he said. ‘Maybe I fell asleep. It’s been a busy week at work.’

She put the tray on the coffee table. ‘I grabbed some food from the supermarket on my way up from Mum and Dad’s earlier. It’s only bits that we can graze on, but I thought you wouldn’t want a full meal before the big blow-out tomorrow.’

‘This looks good to me,’ Brody said, his stomach rumbling to prove the point. The cheese and crackers, pickles and sausage rolls piled onto plates did look appetising. ‘Thanks for getting this. I should have done some shopping myself, but I didn’t think. I had to pop back into the surgery after I’d been to the pub with Carl, and then I wanted to come straight home.’

‘You’re still friends with Carl then?’ Tegan joined him on the sofa.

‘Well, yes,’ Brody replied, puzzled as to why Tegan would think he’d suddenly fallen out with Carl.

She had been waiting for him once she arrived after visiting her parents. Since then she’d had a long nap upstairs, still suffering from jet lag, so this was the first time they’d really seen each other to chat properly since she got here.

She smiled and Brody was reminded once again of how pretty she was, with her blonde hair and blue eyes. She was wearing one of his sweaters and it swamped her slender frame, which was even slimmer since she’d been in New York. Probably from working hard and the stress she was under, with her dad’s poor health.

Brody sliced into a wedge of Cheddar. ‘How are your mum and dad?’ he asked, because they hadn’t really talked about it, with Tegan going to bed for a rest.

She sighed. ‘Dad’s as well as he can be, considering that he’s been waiting so long for the operation. He’s so looking forward to Christmas.’ She paused. ‘Thank you for doing this – pretending. I know it can’t be easy. You’re a straight kind of guy. Lying isn’t in your DNA.’

Brody avoided the obvious retort, because it was pointless to bring up her betrayal again. They were beyond that, and they simply had to be cordial enough to get through the next few days before Tegan returned to New York. Lately he’d dared to glimpse a future beyond their sham relationship, in which Sophie figured: a fresh start for all of them. But look how that had ended.

He popped a nugget of cheese into his mouth, so they could hopefully change the subject. He also thought about what Carl had said earlier and hoped he was right: Sophie must care about him too, to have got so upset. His heart sank a little more, but he reminded himself that this was only for a few more weeks, perhaps a month or a bit longer until – he sincerely hoped – Tegan’s father was out of danger. At what point, however, did he and Tegan announce they were splitting up?

She certainly hadn’t given him a timeline, so it made it difficult to ask when they could break the news to their families.

They finished their supper and Harold sauntered in and sniffed at Tegan, before settling down in front of the fire. A gust of wind blew the flames out suddenly, making Harold bark.

‘Come here, boy,’ Brody said, beckoning Harold to him. The dog grumbled and shifted a few inches back from the hearth.

Tegan went to the window and lifted the curtain. ‘It sounds rough out there and it’s still snowing.’

When Brody got up to join her by the window, even he was surprised. Several inches of snow had settled on the bonnet of the Defender and on Tegan’s car. Thick flakes were still swirling around in the wind.

‘It wasn’t forecast to come down like this, was it?’ she said. ‘There was barely a sprinkling when I left Mum and Dad’s house, so I thought it would blow over.’

‘I didn’t expect this much snow, either, but I’m not surprised. You know what it’s like up here on the fells. We’re eight hundred feet above sea level. Your parents live at the southern end of the lake. It’s a totally different climate down there.’

Tegan let the curtain fall and faced Brody, hugging herself. ‘I’m worried we won’t make it down there tomorrow for Christmas dinner. It looks pretty bad out there.’

Having thought the same thing for the past hour, Brody decided it was best to be honest, so that Tegan didn’t get her hopes up too much. ‘It might be tricky, if not impossible. The Defender’s good, but even it will struggle in these deep, fresh drifts. It’s just not worth the risk.’

Tegan didn’t answer, but then sighed heavily. ‘I really wanted this Christmas to be perfect. I can’t help thinking … what if it’s my dad’s last?’

Tears trickled down her face, and Brody would have to have a heart of stone not to want to comfort her as she cried, wetting his sweater with her tears. She’d had a huge amount of worry, working abroad while her father was so ill. No matter how much she’d hurt him, he had to remember that, and he couldn’t bear seeing Tegan in this state.

‘I can’t tell you not to worry. I know it’s a major operation, but also one that surgeons do successfully every day. I’m sure he’ll be fine.’ He looked into her tear-stained face. ‘Honestly.’

Tegan nodded. ‘You’re right. I’m probably worrying too much.’

‘He’s your dad,’ Brody said gently. ‘It’s natural to be concerned about him.’ He might also have added that he knew what it was like to lose a father and how high the stakes were, but that would definitely not have helped.

‘Yes, it is—’ Without warning she broke free, looking embarrassed. ‘Sorry. I’m a bit all over the place. I’m still jet-lagged, and it’s an emotional time of year for me. I can’t bear the thought of travelling all this way – and all this pretence – and then missing the big day itself. I should have stayed there tonight, which would have been easier anyway.’

‘It’s only one day, Tegan. There’s a thaw forecast later tomorrow and rain after that, so we can go on Boxing Day. I wish I could do something about the snow, but I’ve a nasty feeling we’re going to be stuck here for a while.’

‘But Mum’s got in all the food …’

‘Which will keep,’ Brody said gently. ‘It might be a good idea to have a chat with them. Warn them? I’m sure they’d want to be prepared, if the celebrations need to be postponed.’

Tegan wiped her eyes with a tissue. ‘You’re right, of course. Always so sensible. I don’t want to call them, but I suppose I must. I’ll just hang on a little while longer in case it stops snowing.’

It wouldn’t, thought Brody, who had lived long enough at Felltop Farm to know that the roads would be impassable until at least the same time the next evening, and probably even longer. He and Tegan were going to have to spend Christmas Day together by themselves. Plus, it only put off the moment when he’d have to take part in the jollities at her parents’ while feeling hollow inside. Any second he might be ready to blurt out the truth, so great was the pressure lying on him. He could only pray that he wouldn’t get a call-out to a sick animal, because he knew he probably wouldn’t make it.

He cleared away the supper tray while Tegan went to wash her face, when a WhatsApp call came through. Brody leaned against the kitchen worktop to take the call, smiling at his mother, who was wearing a tinsel headband.

‘Hi, Mum. You look festive.’

‘I must admit I am feeling jolly. I’ve just come back from the neighbour’s drinks party. Talk is that you have quite a lot of snow up at Felltop. I was phoning to see if Tegan made it up there safely.’

‘Yes, she was waiting for me when I got home.’

‘That’s a relief.’ His mother wrinkled her nose. ‘Although is it going to spoil the plans for tomorrow?’

‘I suspect it will. In fact I’m pretty certain of it. We must have had three inches of snow here; it’s still coming down fast and there are drifts lying around.’

‘Poor Tegan. She must be so disappointed.’

‘Well, let’s wait and see, but if need be, we can postpone everything until Boxing Day.’

‘What am I disappointed about?’ Tegan asked, walking into the kitchen.

Brody braced himself. ‘It’s Mum,’ he said, holding up the phone. ‘She was asking how you are.’

Tegan nestled next to Brody, so that she could squeeze into the shot. She waved and went straight into acting the perfect daughter-in-law-to-be. ‘Hello, Louise. It looks like we’re going to be stuck here tomorrow. It’s getting bad out there.’

‘I’m sorry to hear you’ll miss the big day, but can you postpone?’

‘I just called Mum and Dad. They’re gutted of course, but they don’t want us making any dangerous journeys. Hopefully there will be a thaw by tomorrow night, so we can do everything on Boxing Day.’

‘Oh no, I’m sorry your plans have had to change,’ Louise said sympathetically. ‘I guess the only consolation is that you two lovebirds get to spend a cosy Christmas Day together.’

Brody felt queasy, but Tegan played her part, without missing a beat. ‘There is that,’ she said brightly, threading her arm through Brody’s. ‘What will you do tomorrow, now we can’t all go to my parents’?’

‘I’ll be fine,’ Louise said. ‘To be honest, we’ve all been talking about the weather at the neighbour’s and they’ve invited me round, as Plan B. So I might join them for lunch and then crash out here in front of the Strictly Christmas Special.’

‘I’m sorry we won’t see you,’ Tegan said.

Brody could tell his mother was putting on a brave face and would probably much miss seeing him and Tegan. She was a very practical mum, he thought, and was pretending she was fine, for their sakes. Once again he thought of how she must have coped in those first Christmases after his father had died. They’d gone to his auntie’s in Norfolk, and he’d spent most of it walking their dog or hiding in his room with a Game Boy. He wondered quite how many people actually had a ‘perfect’ Christmas?

After a few more minutes of conversation about Louise’s plans, the call ended.

‘That wasn’t too bad, was it?’ Tegan said. ‘And your mum’s right. We do get to spend time together – and not just for appearance’s sake. Perhaps it will do us both good to have some time to talk.’

‘What about?’ Brody asked, more briskly than he meant to sound. ‘Sorry. I mean, there’s nothing to discuss, as far as “us” is concerned. We’ve both accepted it’s over, haven’t we?’

Tegan looked shocked. ‘I guess we have,’ she muttered, then added, ‘I think I’m going to have an early night. I’m sorry I haven’t got your presents to give you in the morning. They’re at my parents’ house.’

‘I didn’t think we were giving presents …’

‘Well, we have to, Brody. What would everyone think if we didn’t?’

He nodded.

‘Did you think of that yourself?’ she said. ‘Please tell me you did.’

‘I – er – wasn’t sure,’ Brody said. ‘So I got you something, just in case. I didn’t want to admit it, in case you hadn’t.’ It was true. He’d agonised over a gift that he didn’t have the heart to buy. Jewellery was far too personal; books felt too impersonal. In the end he’d bought a hand-made and very beautiful cosmetic bag from Carl’s shop and had filled it with luxurious organic potions from the posh cosmetics shop next door.

Tegan picked up his hand and looked into his eyes. ‘Brody, remember that, in the eyes of the world, everything is the same as it was.’

Brody heard her walking up the stairs, which creaked as they had for as long as he could remember.

But nothing was the same as it always was.