A Winter’s Tale by Carrie Elks (11)

‘Hey.’ Adam gave her a nod as he opened the door. ‘Sorry it took me a while, your dog’s just crapped all over the cabin floor.’

It wasn’t the welcome Kitty had expected. She was standing at the front door to the lodge, wrapped warmly in her Michelin-man ski jacket and insulated trousers, dusting the thin layer of snow from her hat. Before Adam had opened the front door she’d been staring at the lintel, thinking it would be perfect for a large bunch of mistletoe. The luscious green leaves and pale white berries would look beautiful against the dark wood of the building.

She could tell he wasn’t exaggerating from the stench that hit her as soon as he pulled the door open. For a small puppy, that dog really knew how to make himself known.

‘Oh goodness, I’m so sorry,’ she said, grimacing at the pile of crap the puppy had deposited on Adam’s gleaming tiles. ‘Where’s your cleaning stuff? I’ll get rid of it now.’ She quickly shed her outer layer of quilted warmth, revealing tight black leggings and a thick woollen sweater, hanging her coat on the hooks next to the door.

‘The bleach is under the sink,’ Adam told her, pointing at the kitchen. ‘If you get rid of the shit, I’ll mop the floor.’ He gave her an enquiring look. ‘I thought you said he was house-trained.’

Kitty tried not to look guilty. ‘Maybe he’s just not used to it here. Did you let him out this morning?’

‘I let him out pretty much every two hours in the night. Every time he woke me up yapping.’

She felt terrible. She’d always assumed dogs slept through the night straight away, hadn’t considered they might be more like babies than adults. ‘That sounds awful. You must be exhausted.’

Now she looked at him, she could see the dark shadows beneath his pretty eyes.

‘Yeah, well, next time you want to bring your dog round, maybe let me have a week’s notice first. I’ll stock up on sleep in advance.’

‘It’s not my dog. It’s Jonas’s dog, I’m just the sap who has to keep it hidden,’ she pointed out.

Adam raised his eyebrows. ‘I think you’ll find I’m the sap around here. I don’t see the stupid mutt crapping all over your floor.’

‘Just give him the chance,’ Kitty muttered.

The puppy was sitting happily on the slate tiles in the middle of the cabin, wagging his tail and staring up at Kitty with a satisfied expression. She grabbed a bag from the kitchen, scooping the mess up with the plastic, picking at the remainder with some kitchen towel.

Oh boy, did it stink. It must have been all that meat they’d given him yesterday. Clearly it didn’t agree with his intestines. Luckily, Adam pulled a bucket full of bleached water over, mopping at the floor with easy movements, the clean smell of ammonia replacing the earlier stench.

Christmas really couldn’t come soon enough. After that, the puppy wouldn’t be her problem any more. Wouldn’t be Adam’s either. Strange how that thought didn’t make her feel any better. Even stranger that even though the crap on the floor was absolutely disgusting, she was somehow enjoying herself.

‘There, all done.’ Adam took the bucket and mop and placed them outside on his porch. It was strange watching this man, the same man who was responsible for all those amazing documentaries, being so domesticated in his own cabin. Sexy, too.

Damn it, she needed to stop with that line of thought.

‘Thank you for being so gracious about it,’ Kitty said, scrubbing her hands in the sink. ‘You didn’t have to be.’

He gave a half-smile. ‘It’s fine. He’s a dog, a little mess is to be expected. And anyway, it’s helped me decide what I want from you.’

She blinked rapidly. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Remember last night? When I said you owed me for looking after the dog, and I needed to think about what you could do in return? Well I’ve decided. I want you to come down here every morning and help me with the dog. You can feed him, help me clean up. Maybe take him out for some exercise.’

There was a depth to his voice that sparked her interest. Not that it needed sparking. She was hyper-aware of his proximity, and his masculine presence. It surrounded her like a blanket.

‘I can’t,’ she said, breathless. ‘I have Jonas to look after. I have to get him up, make him breakfast. He’ll wonder where I am.’

Adam shrugged. ‘Annie can help you. So can Mia and Everett if they want you to keep the dog secret. Come over before he’s up, if you want, I’m always awake before six anyway.’

‘You are?’ Her mouth felt as dry as the logs crackling in the fireplace. Her face felt as hot, too.

He nodded. ‘Yeah. And I really could do with your help. I go running every day, I don’t want the dog interfering with my routine.’

‘But you’re OK that he interferes with mine?’ Damn, she really should just bite her tongue off and be done with it.

Why was it that every time Adam looked at her, she felt a jolt of pleasure rushing from her head to her toes? He was just a man. OK, so he was a very fine, very strong, very gorgeous man. But he was still just a man.

‘If you don’t want to help me, then say so,’ Adam said. ‘Maybe Annie can come down or something.’

‘No, no, it’s fine.’ She nodded, as if to emphasise her words. ‘Of course I’ll help. After all, you’re the one doing me a favour, or at least doing Jonas a favour.’

‘OK then. If you can get down here by six thirty, that will give me enough time for my run before you need to get back to Jonas. And if there’re any problems, I’m sure Annie will help.’

Kitty nodded, trying not to think of how early she’d have to get up in the morning. Early enough to make sure she’d done her make-up, brushed her hair, and wasn’t looking like some hag-troll. ‘I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.’

This time his smile widened. ‘I guess you will.’ His gaze locked on hers, and for a moment it felt as though all the air had been forced out of her chest.

The thought of seeing him every morning thrilled and frightened her in equal measure. She wasn’t sure which feeling she liked more.

 

Adam stood on the porch, watching Kitty’s path long after her shapely body disappeared into the forest. His cheeks were aching from smiling so hard. She’d turned out to be completely different from the girl he’d imagined her to be. If he was being honest, he’d expected her to baulk at the smell, and tell him she was above cleaning up dog shit from the floor. The fact she’d got down on her hands and knees and scrubbed his floor had intrigued him. He couldn’t imagine Mia, or any of the other women he’d worked with in LA, agreeing to clean up after the pooch. What was it that made Kitty so different?

It had given him the opportunity to get another look at that body, too. Once she’d taken that ridiculous padded jacket off, revealing a pale pink sweater that moulded her curves, he’d found it hard to tear his eyes away. Maybe that’s why he’d made that stupid request for her to come down to the cabin every day. God knew, he didn’t really need any help with the puppy. The tiny ball of fur didn’t do much more than eat, yap and crap everywhere.

He really needed to get out more. Maybe if he wasn’t so isolated, he wouldn’t find her nearly so attractive. Boredom, that was all it was, right?

The puppy yapped loudly, running out to the porch and sitting down at his heel. The steaming pile of crap aside, he really wasn’t a bad mutt.

He gave another short, sharp bark.

‘What is it, boy?’ Adam dropped to his haunches and tickled the dog beneath his chin. In return he got a nuzzle, soft fur pressed against his arm, and he smiled again, somehow enjoying the companionship.

The dog’s gaze was pointed up the mountain, following the trail of footsteps that led into the woods. ‘You worried about Kitty?’ Adam whispered. ‘She’ll be fine. Nobody would dare go up against her.’

Taking one last glance up the mountain, Adam shook his head and walked back into his cabin, pulling the door closed just as soon as the dog had followed him inside. Damned if he wasn’t feeling as interested in her as the stupid mutt was.

He wasn’t at all sure how he was supposed to feel about that.

 

Kitty arrived back at the big house to a scene of intense activity, with Annie running from room to room, her face flushed and shiny from her exertions. Kitty’s face was red, too – more from her encounter with Adam than the short, frozen journey back from the cabin. She was still a little breathless at the memory.

The smell of cinnamon and allspice filled the air, along with a clean pine scent wafting from the huge tree propped up in the hallway.

‘You’re here!’ Annie said, staring at Kitty with relief. ‘Thank goodness, we’ve got a lot of work to do.’

Jonas’s head popped up from beneath a huge pile of paper chains. ‘We have exactly three hours to decorate the house for Christmas.’

Unlike Annie, Jonas looked as though he was thoroughly enjoying himself. A Santa hat was jauntily perched on top of his blond curls, and he had tinsel wrapped around his neck like a scarf. Music echoed out from the speakers in the living room; the perennial Christmas tunes that everybody knew. Stacked in the hallway were boxes full of old decorations, with beautifully painted glass baubles that looked like family heirlooms. Her heart warmed to see him so happy. He really was a good kid.

‘What’s the rush to decorate?’ Kitty asked, as the oven timer bell began to chime, sending Annie bustling back to the kitchen. The old housekeeper grabbed a thick padded oven glove to pull a baking tray full of fragrant cookies from the hot stove. Kitty trailed behind, still trying to work out what was going on.

‘Mrs Klein is coming home, we just got the call from the hospital. Mr Klein is arranging for her ambulance right now. He wants us to get this house shipshape and ready for Christmas, to cheer her up.’

The atmosphere here was a complete contrast to the relative calm of the cabin – the puppy’s accident aside. She could feel her pulse start to speed with the tempo of Annie and Jonas’s running around. It was impossible not to get caught up in the whirlwind.

Since she’d arrived, Kitty had wondered about the sort of woman Mary Klein was. Along with her husband, Mary had worked hard at the family business, building it up into a multimillion-dollar empire. When the boys were still small, the couple took the company public, retiring permanently to West Virginia with the proceeds. Beyond that she knew very little about the lady.

‘Then we should make this the best Christmas ever,’ Kitty said, scanning the kitchen for ideas. More than anybody she knew how important it was to be surrounded by family during the holidays. ‘Let’s decorate and bake, and then we can plan some nice things for Mrs Klein, something all the family can enjoy with her. What sort of things does she like?’

A smile pushed up Annie’s plump cheeks. ‘Oh, bless you, you’re a good girl. You’ve never even met her and you’re trying to cheer her up.’ Her expression darkened. ‘Which is more than I can say for some people.’

Kitty didn’t ask who she meant; with Mia still in the city, and Everett stuck in meetings in LA, it was pretty obvious.

‘Does Mrs Klein like Christmas movies?’ Kitty asked.

‘Oh yes, she loves them. Back when the boys were young they’d all sit together and watch It’s a Wonderful Life. This family has always been crazy about the movies.’

‘Then we should get a screen put into her room,’ Kitty suggested. ‘If she’s up to the company we could all watch movies with her. There’s something so heartwarming about watching festive films surrounded by the people you love.’

Both women were silent for a moment, lost in their thoughts. They had more in common than you’d first think by looking at them, Kitty thought. They were living far, far away from home, with families that weren’t their own. Maybe that’s why silly things such as holiday traditions seemed so important to them.

‘She’d love that,’ Annie said softly. ‘I’ll ask Adam to arrange for the big screen to be put in her bedroom. We can have a different movie each night – I know all her favourites – and we can introduce Jonas to some Klein family traditions. It’s just a shame she won’t be able to go to church. That’s the other thing she likes to do every Christmas Eve, without fail. You never heard somebody with a voice as sweet as hers – she loves singing along with all the carols and hymns.’

Kitty frowned. There was no way they could transport Mrs Klein to church, not with her hip in such a fragile condition. Though they had plenty of Christmas music set up on the stereo system, it wasn’t the same as hearing a choir of voices; it didn’t come close at all.

Leaning her elbows on the kitchen counter, she propped her chin up with her hand. If Mrs Klein loved church services and carol singing, then that’s what she would have. She didn’t know how and she didn’t know where, but somehow Mrs Klein would get her Christmas Eve service.

Even if it took all the creativity Kitty had left.