Snow Going Back

Chapter 36

THIRTY-SIX

Christmas Eve arrived, and Kate kept busy for most of the day, managing for the most part to avoid Sam and keep to herself. She had to work hard at keeping her spirits up, with the court summons niggling irritably at the corners of her mind and the homesickness coming in unhappy waves. She couldn’t even think about the wedding. It was now just a week away. One week . And now, being that close, the whole thing felt oddly unreal, like it was happening in a film or to someone else and she was merely a spectator. Because the whole idea that her actual wedding , a legal ceremony binding her to someone else for life, was happening in a few days was just insane.

Kate had spoken to everyone back home on video calls earlier in the day, one after the other, and with the rest of the items on her to-do list already ticked, she stuck on Michael Bublé’s Christmas album, poured herself a hot mulled wine and set about wrapping her gifts.

Sam arrived home just as she finished and headed straight down to the basement. She briefly wondered what he was up to, then stood up to stretch and cleared away her mess.

Carrying the freshly wrapped gifts up to her room, Kate put them aside and then ran herself a bath with a generous dollop of the luxury bubbles she’d treated herself to the day before. She tied up her hair, lit a candle and slipped into the velvety embrace of the deep hot bath. As she closed her eyes and relaxed back with a contented sigh, there was a loud thud from somewhere downstairs. A staccato series of similar thuds shortly followed it, and she opened her eyes with a frown.

‘What on earth is he doing?’ she muttered curiously.

After half an hour of trying to work it out, Kate finally gave up on her relaxing bath and ventured down to find out. She smiled as she realised that Sam had put up the big tree she’d seen in the basement, and that he’d dragged up several boxes of ornaments. He’d set the tree by what she’d thought, up until now, was a purely ornamental fireplace. The roaring fire now burning merrily away, however, proved that theory well and truly wrong.

Sam walked into the room from behind her, carrying one more box. He smiled as he saw her. ‘Hey. Wanna help me decorate the tree?’

‘I absolutely do , yes ,’ Kate replied with feeling. She kneeled down beside Sam eagerly as he opened the first box. Now it felt like Christmas.

They spent the next hour decorating the tree and the house and sharing Christmas stories. Kate put some festive music on, and they had a heated debate over whether or not the Pogues had written the best Christmas song of all time. (They had, of course.) Then once the boxes were all empty and they’d packed the fire with some more logs, they collapsed on the sofa with some mulled wine and carried on talking, their conversation eventually coming back around to the upcoming court date.

‘So explain it to me,’ Sam asked. ‘Because I don’t fully understand what it is that she’s doing.’

‘OK, so Aubrey and Evelyn have made it clear they’re a team now. They’ve obviously realised they have a stronger claim together than apart,’ Kate started, putting her wine down on the side table. ‘They’re going to drag me through court to try and show I’ve not done what I’m supposed to in the contract, and that I’ve not acted in the company’s best interest. The court date is the fifth of January.’ He nodded, and she could see further questions brewing in his eyes. ‘There is more to it than that,’ she explained. ‘But I can’t share details with you just yet. I’m sorry. The one thing I will tell you is that I think I’m close to making a decision and that it’s in the best interests of everyone. Touch wood.’ She touched the top of her head.

Sam nodded again. ‘OK.’ He looked over to the tree and at the gifts they’d each stashed underneath. ‘I don’t know what your tradition is, but we used to give our gifts to each other on Christmas Eve. You up for it?’ he asked, changing the subject.

Kate smiled. ‘Definitely! We always have to wait for Christmas morning in my house. It’s torture .’

Sam laughed, and they both jumped up then kneeled beside the tree.

‘Mine first,’ Kate insisted before he could get in before her.

Sam closed his mouth and accepted her win with grace. ‘Thank you.’

He took the package and pulled the green ribbon and gold paper away. Kate felt a swell of excitement and nerves. She really hoped he liked it.

Sam ran his finger down the wooden carving with a smile. It was of a man holding an umbrella over a smaller woman or girl, his free arm resting protectively on her shoulder.

Kate bit her lip. ‘It made me think of you and Jenna,’ she told him.

‘This is a truly lovely gift,’ he said, sounding touched. ‘Thank you, Kate. I love it.’ He looked up at her, his words heartfelt, and Kate felt her cheeks grow warm under his intense, unreadable gaze.

She nodded and looked away, her emotions beginning to churn a little too deeply for comfort.

‘OK, my turn,’ Sam said, reaching under the tree.

Kate took the gift he held out with a smile. ‘Thank you,’ she said, pulling the twine and unwrapping the blue tissue paper. Inside was a small box, and as she opened it, her expression widened in surprise. ‘Oh, Sam, thank you . It’s beautiful .’

She touched the necklace, a delicate gold chain with an intricately woven key pendant hanging down, covered with a pattern of tiny vines.

‘I thought of you when I saw it.’ He looked down at it. ‘I thought maybe when you look at it, it might remind you that sometimes you have to let yourself out of that cage you lock yourself in. Because when you do, that’s when you bloom, Kate Hunter. When you let yourself go and you say and do what you want.’ He looked up at her again, holding her gaze. ‘That’s when you’re magnificent .’

Kate stared back at him for a long moment, feeling the intensity behind his words deep down in her core. How did he do that? she wondered. How did he get under her skin and bury in so deeply? But then just like that, as though someone had flicked on a light, she saw it. The realness between them. The truth. The deep connection that had somehow bonded them these last two months, without her even realising. And she wanted to give in to it suddenly so badly. So desperately . But though every atom in her body buzzed towards him with fierce intensity, she forced herself to remain still. She couldn’t do it to Lance. She wouldn’t.

With the same difficulty of pulling one industrial-strength magnet away from another, Kate pushed backwards away from him. She swallowed hard and closed the lid of the necklace box.

‘Thank you,’ she managed. She cleared her throat and stood up, looking back down at the box. ‘This really is beautiful.’

Sam nodded, rubbing the back of his neck as he cast his gaze to the wooden carving. ‘Thank you, too,’ he said quietly. He looked back up suddenly, his eyes seeking hers. ‘You know it’s you I see under that umbrella, Kate. Whenever I look at this, it will always be you that I see.’

Something hard pushed painfully up through Kate’s chest and lodged in her throat, and she had to work to pull in her next breath. She didn’t trust herself to reply. She could feel herself shaking. Or perhaps it was the vibration from the rush of energy now racing through her veins. She wasn’t sure – she couldn’t think straight. All she knew was that she needed to get out of this room before she did something she’d regret. She swallowed hard.

‘I, um, I need to go to bed.’ She edged around him towards the hallway as though he were some dangerous animal she was scared to get too close to. And she was scared, she realised. But not of him. She was scared of herself . ‘Big day tomorrow,’ she muttered. ‘Goodnight, Sam.’

And without waiting to hear his response, she turned and fled up the stairs.