A Wedding in December

by Sarah Morgan

  “My world hasn’t moved an inch. Not a tremor.”

  His gaze dropped to her mouth and lingered with such intensity that she stopped breathing. If a patient had showed any of the signs she was showing, she would have called the resuscitation team. She would have been hitting the red button and yelling can I have some help in here?

  She said nothing.

  He said nothing.

  And then his eyes lifted back to hers and the sizzle of electricity almost knocked her off her feet. Her world wasn’t so much rocked, as jolted and shaken. It made no sense. She was an expert at freezing men out. He should be stepping back. He should be giving her a similarly frosty look while he decided she definitely wasn’t his type. He shouldn’t be looking at her the way he was looking at her. As if he wanted to—as if—

  In a delicious trancelike state, she tilted her head. Her mouth drifted toward his, as if she were being pulled by an invisible force. Her eyes started to close.

  And then, when she thought her heart might pound its way through her chest, he spoke.

  “Enjoy your time with your sister. And you should ask Dan to take a look at that shoulder while you’re here. I don’t know how you injured it, but he’s good at sports physio.”

  The words yanked her back to reality. Her eyes opened, but he was no longer in front of her.

  What? Where?

  Dazed, she turned and watched as he walked back to the car. What had just happened? Was she ill? She pressed her palm to her forehead. She wanted to take her temperature, and maybe run some blood tests. A scan. She had to be ill, surely? There was no other reason for her strange symptoms.

  Had he noticed?

  Get a grip, Katie.

  She stared after him, frustrated by every confident stride. And how had he known about her shoulder? Slip on the ice, damn you.

  “Not even a ripple on the Richter scale,” she called after him. “And I could have walked across that bridge without you. I would have been fine.”

  The last thing she heard before he slid behind the wheel was laughter.

  Damn the man.

  If she never saw him again, it would be too soon.

  She walked up the steps carefully, not because she was afraid they might be slippery, but because her legs seemed to have forgotten their purpose.

  And now she had another problem looming. What to do about her sister. Her matchmaking, romance-loving, dreamy sister. Katie was sure that if she examined Rosie’s blood under a microscope, her red blood cells would be shaped like little hearts.

  “Hurry up, I’m letting out all the heat,” Rosie yelled down to her from the door of the tree house. “What’s taking you so long?”

  Katie wasn’t sure there was a clinical term that covered her current symptoms. She realized Rosie hadn’t been able to see what had happened. The wraparound deck had provided shelter from prying eyes.

  “I’m coming!” She hauled herself up the last few steps. “Where’s my baby sister?” She emerged onto the deck and was enveloped in a hug. Rosie held on to her so tightly she thought her ribs might crack. She opened her mouth to protest and ended up with a mouthful of her sister’s hair. “Hey. Good to see you, too. Ouch. That’s quite a welcome.” She brushed hair out of her mouth and tried to ease out of her sister’s embrace. “Have you been using the gym? You almost crushed me.”

  “I’m pleased to see you, that’s all. And of course I’ve been using the gym. My fiancé is a sports fanatic. Slouches not allowed. Come inside and see your new home, and tell me what you thought of Jordan. I can’t believe you let him carry you!”

  “I wasn’t given much choice.”

  “Isn’t he cute?” Rosie opened the curved door of the tree house and Katie hauled her case over the threshold.

  “I would have gone with annoying.” Trying not to think about Jordan, she glanced around the room. An enormous tree stretched upward toward the cathedral ceiling. Tiny lights shimmered in the branches and decorations glinted and gleamed. In keeping with the forest theme, the decorations were delicate leaves, small birds and butterflies, the colors changing from iridescent pearl to lustrous silver in the shifting light. Katie stared at it in awe. “Well, this puts the artificial tree I bought online to shame.”

  “You bought an artificial tree? Why would you do that?”

  “Because I’d kill a real one.” And she hadn’t wanted another death on her conscience. “This looks as if it’s been decorated by an interior designer.”

  “It’s all Catherine’s work. She designs a tree for each tree house, and six for the communal guest spaces in Snowfall Lodge.”

  “She has a talent for it.” The tree was perfect, but still Katie felt a pang as she thought of the decorations that usually adorned their tree at home. Maybe they weren’t perfect, but they all told a story. “She’s the one who has taken over your wedding plans?”

  “Yes, but in a good way. I wouldn’t be able to do it all myself.”

  Katie glanced out of the window and wondered if Catherine was putting pressure on her sister. Rosie was so kind, she’d never tell anyone to back off.

  Snow fell steadily, each flake following another on its downward journey, swirling in lazy pirouettes. “It’s like living in a snow globe.”

  “Isn’t it fabulous? I’d live here forever if I could. I envy Jordan.”

  Katie didn’t want to think about Jordan. She especially didn’t want to think about that embarrassing moment where she’d kissed thin air.

  She bent to tug off her boots. “How are you feeling?”

  “About what?”

  “The wedding. Have you changed your mind? Because you can always—”

  “No!” Rosie glared at her. “Stop it. I’m happy, Katie. I love Dan. I hope you’ll love him, too.”

  “I’m sure I will, but let’s not speculate a moment longer. Where is he?”

  “You’ll meet him in time.”

  Katie wanted to meet him now. The wedding was less than a week away and the clock was ticking. The closer they got to the big day, the harder it would be to sort this mess out. She knew there was no way Rosie would break it off at the last minute. She was the type who would go ahead and get married because she didn’t want to hurt someone’s feelings. But she knew better than to push too hard. Softly, softly, Katie. “How is everything else? Did Mum survive the flight?”

  “She had a little help.”

  “You mean Dad?”

  “No, I mean alcohol. She was actually drunk when she got off that plane, can you believe that?” Rosie flopped onto the comfortable sofa and stretched out her legs. “She was so embarrassing I almost opened the car door and pushed her onto the side of the road.”

  “Why was it embarrassing? Dan was disapproving? Upset?”

  “Dan wasn’t upset. I was upset. You don’t exactly want your mother to be drunk the first time you introduce her to your fiancé.”

  “Why? Were you afraid he might dump you if he thought your mother had an alcohol problem?”

  Maybe her mother hadn’t been drunk at all. Maybe it had been an act on her part to test the mettle of her new son-in-law to be.

  No, her mother didn’t think that way. And Rosie had inherited her kindness of spirit.

  “I wasn’t afraid Dan would dump me. What is wrong with you?” Rosie’s cheeks darkened with color and her jaw lifted. “Has it occurred to you that this relationship might be the best thing that ever happened to me?”

  “No, but I don’t think like that. You’re the romantic in this family. I’m the practical one, remember?” Katie walked toward the fire and warmed her hands. She felt frozen, inside and out.

  “You mean you’re the pessimist. Why do you always assume everything will go wrong? There’s a light side to life, too, Katie.”

  Katie felt a stab of guilt. The last thing she wanted was to fall out
with her sister. “I’m sorry.” Contrite, she turned to look at Rosie. “I’m tired, cranky, and it’s been a tough few weeks.”

  “Oh no!” Rosie swung her legs down and stood up, instantly concerned. “Because of me?”

  “No, not because of you. Believe it or not, kiddo, I do have a life that doesn’t involve you.”

  “So why have you had a tough few weeks? Tell me.”

  Realizing she’d fallen into a trap of her own making, Katie prevaricated. “Busy time at work. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Are you sure? Because you can talk to me, you know.”

  As sisters they’d always been close, although Katie was aware the relationship was different from the one she shared with Vicky or other friends. There was an element of the maternal in her feelings for Rosie. In her relationship with her sister she was the leaned on, not the leaner. She’d never shared her own problems, and she wasn’t about to start now. She was the strong one. “Nothing to talk about,” she said. “I’m fine.”

  “Well, you’re on holiday now, so you can stop being a doctor for a few weeks.”

  She’d stopped being a doctor for at least a month, although her sister didn’t know that. “Once a doctor, always a doctor. Are you using your inhalers?”

  “Yes. I’m not stupid. I haven’t had an attack in ages so you can stop worrying about me.”

  That, Katie thought, is never going to happen.

  She gazed up at the soaring roof of the tree house. “So where is Dan? When do I get to meet the guy who swept my little sister off her feet?” She wanted to examine him under her metaphorical microscope. She wouldn’t have minded examining a few of his cells under a real microscope, too. Maybe she could yank out a hair, or take a small slice of him to send off to the lab for testing.

  “Tomorrow.”

  “What’s wrong with right now?”

  “He’s over at the lodge catching up on paperwork. You’ve been traveling fourteen hours. You said you wanted us to have sister time.”

  “I do, but there will be time for that later. Call him. Get him over here. By the time he arrives I’ll be showered and human again.”

  Rosie was looking at her as if she’d grown horns. “I thought you’d want to go to bed. I was going to suggest cheese, wine and an early night.”

  “I’ll take the cheese and wine. Sleep can wait. I want to meet Dan.” The clock was ticking. “What about Mum and Dad? Where are they now?”

  “Mum spent most of the day shopping with Catherine, which must have been interesting with a hangover. They had lunch in town, so she and Dad are having a quiet evening. They assumed you’d have an early night, so we’re all meeting up tomorrow at Snowfall Lodge for a big family breakfast to discuss wedding plans.”

  Katie’s only plan was to stop the wedding.

  “Shopping? That doesn’t sound like Mum.” First her sister announced she was getting married, and now her mother was shopping? What had happened to her world?

  “The airline lost her luggage. If you’re sure you want to meet Dan, then I’ll tell him to come over.” Rosie brightened and then paused, her phone in her hand. “You’re not going to interrogate him, are you?”

  “Me?” Katie assumed an innocent expression. “Why would you think that?”

  “Past experience. Remember the time you frightened Anton away?”

  “Anton?” Katie cast her mind back. “Skinny guy, studied geography? All I did was ask a few searching questions.”

  “Searching enough that he decided to dump me.”

  Katie felt a flash of guilt. “That was my fault?”

  “Yes, and by the way at the time he was very anxious about his parents’ divorce, which was why we got together in the first place. I found him crying in the library and took him back to my room and made him a cup of tea.”

  “And then he developed a fixation on you, and you didn’t want to hurt his feelings by telling him you weren’t interested. But you weren’t interested, were you?”

  Rosie turned pink. “Not massively.”

  “Right. So you were actually with him because you felt sorry for him.”

  “I wouldn’t exactly put it like that, but it’s true he wasn’t my soul mate. I was eighteen. I’ve learned a lot since then.”

  About the dangers of whirlwind relationships? Apparently not. “You don’t always make the best decisions about men. I was helping you.”

  “Did it ever occur to you that perhaps all the wrong choices I’ve made have helped me make the right one this time? I love Dan, Katie. Be kind to him. I don’t want you to do your Rottweiler act on him.”

  That was twice in one day she’d been called a Rottweiler. If it happened again she might bite someone.

  “I’m always kind. Unless a man ditches my sister in a seedy club in the middle of a night. That, I admit, brings out my vicious side.”

  While Rosie picked up her phone and called Dan, Katie prowled around the living room and paused by the bookshelf.

  She didn’t want to listen in on the conversation, but it was impossible not to.

  She heard Rosie’s voice soften as she talked. Yes, she’s here. Yes, why not bring some pizzas. Good idea. No, she’s not too tired.

  Katie selected a book about mountain climbing.

  I love you.

  There it was. Those words she’d never said to anyone and probably never would.

  She put the book back and turned as her sister ended the call. “Where’s the shower?”

  She followed Rosie into a luxurious bathroom with a freestanding tub overlooking the forest. “What if someone walks past?”

  “They won’t. This is private property. If you’re lucky you might see an elk.”

  “Mm.” Katie nudged her sister out of the room, stripped off her clothes and stepped into the shower. She’d expected the bathroom in a tree house to be rudimentary at best. A thin trickle of water, probably cold. Instead she was deluged by powerful jets of hot water. She stood for a moment, letting the warmth pour over her and seep into her skin. Then she washed her hair and reluctantly emerged from the steam she’d created.

  She grabbed two of the fluffy towels warming on the rail, and wrapped her hair in one and her body in the other.

  She rubbed the steam from the mirror and turned so that she could see her shoulder. The scars were visible. Walking out of this room wearing a towel would invite questions she didn’t want to answer, so she grabbed one of the robes that were hanging on the back of the door.

  Suitably covered, she stepped out of the room. “Rosie?”

  “I’m in your bedroom.” Rosie appeared from a room next to the bathroom. “Here. This is the bedroom I chose for you. It overlooks the forest. The other is on the shelf and it’s gorgeous, but this one is more private.”

  It was sumptuous, with soft green throws pooling onto the wooden floor. The room became part of the forest. Katie eyed the bed, wishing she could fall into it.

  Why had she insisted on meeting Dan tonight?

  “This place is gorgeous.”

  Rosie stepped forward and hugged her again. “I’m glad you’re here. I’m sorry I messed up Christmas.”

  Her whole life was a mess, not only at Christmas. “The whole family is together. What more do we need?”

  Rosie eased back. “All those years we sat in the window of Honeysuckle Cottage and hoped for snow so that we could build a snowman. And now, finally, we have a white Christmas and all the snow we could want or need.”

  “If you’re suggesting what I think you’re suggesting then the answer is no. I’m too old to build a snowman.”

  “How about a snowball fight?”

  “Definitely too old for that.”

  “Husky ride? Snowshoeing?”

  “Maybe snowshoeing. Is there a hair dryer?”

  Rosie produced one, along
with a pair of thick socks in cream and gray. “These are an early Christmas gift. They’re perfect for keeping your feet warm indoors. I’ll be in the living room when you’re done. Dan and Jordan will be here in about ten minutes.”

  “Wait—did you say Dan and Jordan? Why is Jordan coming?”

  “Because he and Dan were spending the evening together going over a few things when I rang. And anyway, he’s best man. You need to get to know him.”

  “I spent five hours in the car with the guy. I know everything I need to know. I thought it would be the three of us. I want to get to know Dan.”

  “You can tell a lot about a person by the friends they keep. Dan and Jordan have been friends since they were children. Hurry up and put clothes on or you’ll be naked when they arrive.”

  Katie waited for Rosie to leave the room and then opened her case. She pulled out underwear, clean jeans and a soft white sweater. Despite the snow falling past the window, the tree house was cozy, warmth spreading upward from the underfloor heating.

  She pulled on her clothes and dried her hair.

  Jordan.

  That was an inconvenience.

  Slipping her feet into the thick socks Rosie had given her, she walked back into the living room and stared at the elegant Christmas tree. “I would never in a million years be able to make a tree look as perfect as that. The decorations match.”

  “I know. Not like ours at home. Mum still uses the angel I made at school when I was six. And there’s that weird sequin thing you made.”

  “It’s a star.” She touched the branches and breathed in the scent. The smell alone was enough to conjure Christmas. It made her think of laughter and cozy days opening presents in front of the fire. Family. She felt a sudden pang for the past. Had everything been simpler then, or was it wishful thinking?

  Rosie poured red wine into two glasses. “Mum and Dad have been acting a little weird.”

  Katie took the glass from her and took a sip. She knew that if she drank much she’d fall asleep on the sofa. “Weird how? You know Mum hates flying. It was probably the drink. Never underestimate how it can change someone’s personality. We see it all the time at work.”