A Winter’s Tale by Carrie Elks (28)

Adam slipped out some time before dawn, leaving Kitty to grab a couple of hours of sleep. By the time Jonas roused her just after six a.m. her whole body was aching. Her mind ached too, full of thoughts of Adam.

She had fallen for him, she could admit that much. But she was afraid of Everett, damn, she was afraid of everything right then. It was all such a mess. She couldn’t wait for Christmas to be over – at least then she could come clean.

She hated secrets.

‘Santa’s been. Can I open my gifts?’ Jonas bounced on her bed excitedly. ‘There’s so many of them!’

‘Not yet.’ She stroked his hair. ‘You need to wait for the family to get up.’

Mia and Everett must have come home some time in the night, because the car was parked on the gravelled drive. Maybe she’d been asleep, or maybe she’d been too absorbed by Adam. Whatever it was, she had no idea when they’d returned.

‘But that’s not fair. Mom takes for ever to get up.’ A stubborn expression washed over his face. ‘How about just one?’

Kitty reached under the bed. ‘Maybe you could open one of my presents for you?’ She passed him a box covered with Disney wrapping paper, depicting Mickey Mouse wearing a Santa outfit.

Even that reminded her of Adam.

‘What is it?’ He grabbed it impatiently. ‘What did you get me?’

‘Open it and see.’

He slid his fingers beneath the tape, ripping at the edges of the paper. Each tear revealed a little more of the package, until the remaining paper fell down and onto the floor. ‘You got me a magic box? Awesome!’ He pulled at the lid, opening it up and searching through the contents. ‘I’ve always wanted one of these.’

She smiled. ‘I know, you told me, remember?’

‘When can I do some tricks?’ He lifted out the cups and ball. ‘Maybe I can put on a show.’

‘Definitely. After you’ve had a chance to practise…’

‘I’m going to practise all day. Until I’m the best magician ever.’

‘I’m not sure you’re going to have much of a chance today. Maybe tomorrow?’

Tomorrow, ah tomorrow.

His face dropped. ‘But that’s ages away.’

‘It will fly by. Today you’ll have more presents to open and a family to spend time with. There’s plenty of time to learn magic tricks afterwards.’

‘I suppose…’ He pulled the rest of the tricks out, examining them one by one. ‘I guess I can wait.’

‘Good boy.’

After getting dressed they made their way downstairs. Everett and Mia were already down there, sipping coffee as Annie dressed the turkey. Jonas’s grandfather, Francis, was watching her work, passing the dressing when she asked for it.

‘Merry Christmas, darling!’ Mia held her arms out for Jonas, who ran into them. ‘Did Santa bring you any presents?’

‘So many, Mom. Kitty said I couldn’t open them until you were up. Can I get them now?’

Looking over his head she nodded at Kitty, as if to thank her. ‘Of course, sweetheart. Bring them down. I can’t wait to see what Santa’s brought you!’ She wiggled her eyebrows as if they were sharing a joke. But of course it was an adult one, not understood by Jonas. As far as he was concerned, Santa was a living, breathing, gift-giver.

Jonas ran out of the room and thundered up the stairs. Mia sat back down, looking relieved, taking another sip of coffee. ‘What have you done with the dog?’ she whispered.

‘Adam’s bringing him up later, when we open the tree presents. I said I’d meet him outside so we can surprise Jonas. Maybe you’d like to join us?’

Mia wrinkled her nose, looking out at the snow still falling onto the white ground. ‘Maybe you can bring him in here instead.’

When ten o’clock arrived, Mia was busy drinking a mimosa and gossiping with Drake, leaving Kitty to shrug on her coat and pull on her snow boots and trudge around the house to where Adam was hiding. The puppy was standing quietly on a leash, good as gold, not straining or fighting to get away. Adam had fixed a bright red bow to his collar, much to the puppy’s disgust. He tried to bite it off, but was having trouble getting the right angle.

‘You gift-wrapped him.’ She couldn’t disguise her delight.

‘Ah, I figured that if we’re going to do this thing, we should go all-out for kitsch.’

‘So how should we do it?’ she asked. ‘Just take him in and shout surprise? Bring Jonas out? What do you think?’

‘Let’s have a bit of fun.’ His grin was infectious. ‘We’ll hide him in the closet and then let him loose. Create some mayhem.’

Kitty’s eyes widened. ‘I’m not sure we should do that. What if he makes a mess in there?’

‘It won’t be for long, and we’ve trained him anyway.’ His expression was full of mischief. ‘Come on, let’s liven things up in there. It’s Christmas, for goodness sake.’

‘If you’re sure.’ Kitty hesitated. ‘I don’t want to cause any problems.’

‘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.

‘Yes you are. I saw Daddy’s script. It had your name on it.’

‘Jonas, you need to be quiet now.’ Everett’s voice boomed out. ‘Your mother’s right, we should say grace.’

‘What script?’ Adam’s voice was dangerously low.

‘Jonas,’ Mia pleaded. ‘Hold Kitty’s hand now.’

Jonas slid his small hand in hers. His lip was trembling. He knew he’d said something wrong, but the poor kid had no idea why.

‘What script?’ Adam asked again. Jonas’s grip on her hand tightened.

Mia took a deep breath. ‘Dear Lord, we thank you for this day —’

‘What. Fucking. Script?’ Adam pushed himself up to standing, his sudden movement making all the dishes on the table rattle. Kitty looked at Everett, who had stood up, too, watching the two brothers as they stared angrily at each other.

‘Sit down,’ Everett barked. ‘We’ll discuss this after dinner.’

‘No.’ Adam shook his head. ‘You need to tell me about this script with my name on, before I shake the truth out of you.’

‘Adam,’ his father barked out. ‘Your mother’s here. Take this outside please.’ Mary Klein was watching her two sons, her hand covering her mouth.

‘Are you still making that movie?’ Adam asked Everett, ignoring his father completely. She’d never seen him look so angry before.

‘It’s only in pre-production,’ Everett protested. ‘I tried to tell you about it. We’re taking it in a whole new direc —’

The next moment Adam’s fist was flying into his brother’s face, and Everett staggered back, his head recoiling at the sudden punch. He lifted his hand to his nose, where a line of blood was already forming. He opened his mouth to say something, but then Adam was in front of him again, his hand curled into a fist.

‘Adam!’ Kitty cried out, scraping her chair as she jumped up. ‘Stop it!’ Jonas started to sob, throwing himself against Kitty. She wrapped her arms around him, stroking his soft hair.

Adam’s hand froze in mid-air as he turned to look at her and Jonas. His eyes widened but the next moment, Everett lurched towards him, tackling his brother around the chest. The movement brought them both down, and as they fell, Everett reached out, trying, and failing, to steady himself on the tablecloth. The cloth slid across the polished table, pulling the dishes and the silverware with it, half of them landing on the floor with a resounding crash.

Kitty’s heart was pounding. She turned to Drake, her expression panicked. ‘Can you take Jonas out of here?’ she asked him. The kid shouldn’t have to see this.

Drake nodded rapidly, looking as though he couldn’t wait to escape. ‘Sure, of course.’

As they left the room, Kitty ran towards the two brothers. Their father reached them at the same time, trying to pull them apart. ‘Adam, please, stop this,’ she begged. ‘It’s not worth it.’ She grabbed his arm, holding tightly onto his bicep. ‘Whatever happened between you, whatever happened in Colombia, it isn’t worth it.’

Adam turned to look at her, the fury still on his face. ‘Did you know about this movie too?’

She felt as though all the breath had been knocked out of her. Everett took advantage of Adam’s inattention to slide out from under him, running to the back wall and putting space between them. Slowly, she released Adam’s arm, allowing him to stand. She opened her mouth to say something.

But the words didn’t come out.

‘I was going to tell you,’ she finally said. ‘Tomorrow, I was going to tell you tomorrow.’

He looked disgusted. ‘How long have you known?’

She bit her lip to swallow her sob. ‘Not long. A few days. I’m so sorry.’

A mixture of confusion and anger formed on Adam’s face. ‘Did you know about this when you were at the cabin the other night?’ he asked her. ‘Did you know about it when you were in my bed? Did you know about it when I held you in my arms?’

‘You’re fucking my brother?’ Everett asked. ‘Jesus Christ, what the hell’s going on around here?’

Everything was still for a moment. Nobody said a word. Kitty could hear the whistle of her blood as it rushed past her ears, her pulse beating a rapid tune. Everybody was looking at her. Adam, Everett, their parents. Even Mia. She turned to see Annie standing in the doorway, her mouth dropped open.

Adam shook his head, still staring at her with a furious look. Then he pushed his way past her, his shoulder moving her out of the way, stalking past Annie and into the hallway without saying a word.

‘Adam!’ Kitty shouted, turning on her heel to follow him out. By the time she made it to the hallway he was halfway out the door. She ran after him in her sweater and her slippers, out of the door and onto the porch, down the stairs and onto the snow-covered lawn. ‘Adam, wait.’

‘Leave me alone.’ His strides were long and determined. ‘I don’t want to talk to you.’

‘Adam, please, let me explain. I’m so sorry.’ She had to run to catch up with him. The snow was gathering inside her slippers, the chill air wrapping its wintry fingers around her skin. It only took a moment for the shivers to wrack her body. She reached out for his arm, trying to slow him down, but he shrugged her off.

‘Get off,’ he told her. ‘Go back to the house, I don’t want you here.’

She stopped running, her feet sinking into the snow as she stood, watching him walk away. She wrapped her arms around her waist, trying to stop herself from shaking, but it was futile. As he walked to the treeline, she saw him become smaller and smaller, until his distant figure was swallowed up by the forest. And then she was alone, all alone, in a stranger’s backyard, in a strange land, wondering what the hell she should do next.