by Sarah Morgan
Rosie caught Dan’s eye and blushed. “Well, I didn’t get that much sleep, but—to be fair we haven’t had any time alone lately—”
“I meant because of Mum and Dad.”
“What about Mum and Dad?”
Katie stared at her. “You didn’t talk to our parents yesterday?”
“We had breakfast. They were worried about you, until the text arrived from Jordan.” She smiled at him. “That was thoughtful of you.”
“No problem.” Jordan was tense. Watchful. His eyes on Katie as she paced over to the window.
“So—how do you feel about what they told you?”
Rosie glanced at Dan, wondering what she’d missed. “What did they tell me? Er—” She thought hard. “They told me they’d had a great time on the sled safari. Apparently Mum fell in love with the lead dog. And they loved the restaurant.” She smiled at Dan. “It sounded romantic. We need to do that—”
“Wait,” Katie interrupted her. “That’s it? You didn’t talk about anything else?”
“What else were we supposed to talk about?”
Katie let go of her hand and took a deep breath. “You don’t know, do you?”
“Er—if you tell me what it is I’m supposed to know, I can tell you if I know it.” She watched as her sister walked to the window and stared out. “Katie? What’s wrong?”
Her sister didn’t answer.
The silence stretched from seconds to a full minute. Rosie glanced at Dan but he shrugged, clearly as mystified as she was.
Was this to do with Katie’s shoulder? The secret she was obviously hiding?
Rosie walked over to her sister and put her hand on her arm. Outside the sky was a clear blue, and the snow sparkled fresh and untouched.
“I love you. You can tell me anything, you know that don’t you?”
Her sister swallowed. “I—I thought they would have told you. I didn’t realize I was going to have to do it.”
“Do what? Told me what?”
“They’re getting a divorce, Rosie.” Katie’s voice was so soft the words were barely audible.
“What?”
“A divorce.” Katie rubbed her fingers over her forehead and only now did Rosie see how tired she looked. “I thought they would have told you yesterday.”
Rosie thought back to the interactions she’d had with her parents. They’d been concerned about Katie. She’d seen her father take her mother’s hand and squeeze it. He’d been reassuring and loving.
“You’re wrong. They love each other. They’re happily married. This last few days they’ve been behaving like honeymooners.”
“It was all a lie. An act. They’ve been living apart for months.” Katie sounded exhausted. “They’re not happily married.”
“I don’t know why you would think that. It’s insane.” Rosie felt Dan slide his arm around her shoulders, offering comfort. Why did he think she needed comfort? “It’s some sort of misunderstanding.”
“I know this is upsetting and the timing sucks, which is presumably why they hid it from you yesterday. They’re planning on carrying this charade through to the end.”
“They told you they’re getting a divorce?”
“I overheard them talking about it yesterday. Learned a lesson never to drop in on someone unannounced. They were so deep in a divorce discussion they didn’t even hear me arrive.”
“Maybe they were talking about someone else’s divorce.”
“Think, Rosie.” There was a note of exasperation in Katie’s voice. “Even you admit they’ve been behaving oddly since they got here.”
“They’re demonstrative, but it’s nice.”
“It’s fake. It’s an act especially for us.”
Rosie felt wobbly. “I don’t believe you.”
“I honestly wish it wasn’t true, but it is and as you don’t believe me there’s only one way to deal with this.” Katie took her hand and pulled her toward the door.
“Where are we going?”
“To see our parents. If we show up unannounced they won’t have time to prepare for us. It’s time they told you the truth.”
Katie
Driven by frustration, Katie strode along the snowy path that led to the tree house. If she’d been walking in heels on a marble floor her footsteps would have been loud and purposeful. Heads would have turned, and people would have speculated. As it was, the snow muffled the emotion that flowed into each stride. The few birds searching vainly for food paid little attention.
“Katie!” Rosie’s voice came from behind her. “Slow down. Better still, stop.”
The sun was shining and the only reminder of the blizzard was the fresh layer of snow coating the trees and catching the light with blinding beauty.
For once, Katie didn’t notice the beauty. How could her parents not have told Rosie the truth? Why was she the one who’d had to deliver the news and hurt her sister? They’d had all day to do it and yet, apparently, they’d kept up their “second honeymoon” act, and even gone out to dinner again the night before. It seemed that they were determined to continue their deception. Not only that, but they now expected Katie to join in and play her part. And that wasn’t going to happen. No way. It was wrong. Why couldn’t they be open and honest?
She ignored the tiny voice in her head that reminded her she hadn’t been open and honest with her family, either. That was different. Totally different.
Avoiding that thought, she stomped up the steps to the tree house, holding tight to the wooden rail so she didn’t slip. That rail made her think of Jordan, and the night they’d shared.
He’d been quiet on the drive over to the lodge. She’d been equally quiet. She’d had no idea what to say after a night like the one they’d shared. They were intimate strangers.
Ignoring her own inner turmoil, she opened the door of her parents’ tree house.
It was ten in the morning, but there were no signs of life.
Had they already gone out somewhere? Another bonding activity?
She stepped inside and tugged off her boots. Moments later, Rosie appeared, breathless and pink-cheeked. Dan and Jordan were with her.
Katie hadn’t expected them to come, too, but maybe it was better that everyone found out the truth at the same time. It would save repeated explanations.
The living room looked faintly abandoned. A stray cushion lay on the floor forgotten. There were no blankets on the sofa. No sign that this had provided a bed for her father.
The lights on the Christmas tree twinkled, and she wondered how it could still look so festive and cheerful. Surely some of the gloom and sadness should have dimmed those lights?
On the table stood an empty bottle of wine and two glasses.
She turned away and something on the floor caught her eye. A wisp of fabric. A bra. A lacy, silky confection that looked as if it had been torn off and abandoned in the heat of the moment. Katie stared at it, and then at the trail of clothes that marked a path to the bedroom. The door was open a crack, as if the last person to walk through it had been too distracted to close it.
And then she heard sounds. A low moan.
Her brain froze and all the words she’d gathered up ready to speak froze right along with it.
Rosie put a hand on her arm. “We need to get out of here.” She whispered the words and glanced toward the bedroom door.
Katie shook her off. Had their parents heard them arrive? Was this another of their fake togetherness scenes?
“We’re talking to them now.”
“What? No!” Rosie’s face flamed. “I absolutely do not want to walk in on our parents having sex!”
“They’re not having sex. They’re pretending to have sex.” Katie walked across the room, pushed open the door and heard her mother’s horrified gasp.
“Nick! Oh God—” She grabbed at
the covers, pulling them high.
Katie heard her father swear for possibly the first time in her life.
“We’re so sorry,” Rosie blurted out, yanking at Katie’s sleeve. “We’ll come back later.”
“No.” Katie had never been more confused in her life. “I don’t understand. You’re getting a divorce.”
“Katie—” Still clutching the sheets with one hand, her mother held out her other hand. “I know how upset you were yesterday. We tried calling you.”
“There was no signal.” And she’d been with Jordan, and—
She wasn’t going to think about that now.
Her father sat up, keeping the sheets carefully across his chest. “We were worried.”
“We’re so sorry.” Rosie tugged at Katie again. “Please—”
Katie didn’t budge. She was so frustrated by the situation she felt as if she might explode. “You can’t do this! You have to be honest. We’re adults.”
“Katie—” Her mother frantically smoothed her hair. “Your father and I need to talk to you. Perhaps that’s best done alone.”
“Of course.” Rosie turned away, relieved, but Katie grabbed her.
“No.” She focused on her parents. “You have to be honest. Rosie keeps using the two of you as reassurance that her own relationship will work.”
Rosie gave a horrified squeak, but Katie plowed on.
“She’s been having doubts and she’s handling those doubts by telling herself that because you met and married in a whirlwind, as she plans to do, and are still happily married after thirty-five years, that means her relationship is going to be okay, too. So you need to tell her the truth. You need to tell her you’re getting a divorce, so she can figure out what that means for her own feelings and her own relationship.”
There was a taut, agonizing silence. She realized that her parents weren’t looking at her, they were looking at Rosie.
So was Dan.
He was staring at Rosie as if he’d never seen her before. “You’ve been having doubts?”
“No!” Rosie sounded horrified. “I mean maybe a few, but that’s natural, and—it was nothing.”
“Oh sweetheart.” Their mother’s face was a picture of concern. “You should have said something. Why didn’t you?”
“Good question.” Dan’s voice was thickened by emotion. “Why didn’t you?”
Rosie whirled on her sister. “What have you done?”
What had she done?
Katie started to shake. “I didn’t—I thought you should know the truth about our parents, that’s all.”
Her mother had the sheet clutched tightly across her breasts. “We’re not getting a divorce, Katie.”
“But—”
“Katie—” This time it was her father who spoke. “Your mother is telling the truth. We’re not getting a divorce.”
“But yesterday—I overheard—”
“Your mother and I were working through some issues, that’s true, but after you walked out yesterday we spent the day talking and figuring out some things we probably should have figured out a long time ago.”
Katie shook her head in confusion. “You’ve been living apart since the summer.”
“And that’s given us the space we needed to see our relationship through fresh eyes.”
Rosie gasped. “Since the summer? And you never said anything to us?”
Katie had no idea what to say, either. This was why she was no good at relationships. It was all too confusing. “When you arrived here, you were pretending. This whole second honeymoon thing was an act.”
Her parents exchanged looks.
“That’s true,” Maggie said, “but somehow in the middle of all that pretending, we found each other again. We rediscovered all the things we love about each other. We’ve had fun. We’ve enjoyed spending time together. We won’t be getting a divorce. We intended to talk to you both about it this morning.”
“But we barged in on you, because Katie was so sure she had the evidence she needed to stop my wedding.” Rosie’s cheeks were scarlet as she turned to her sister. “From the moment you arrived here, that’s what you’ve been trying to do.”
“No. I mean, yes, perhaps, a little—” Katie sank down onto a chair. “I wanted to make sure you knew what you were doing, that’s all.”
“All?” Tears slid down Rosie’s cheeks. “You interrogated Dan, and you interrogated me, and not only that but you kept us apart on purpose. It’s been hard for us to find time to be together. That’s probably why Jordan kept you in his cabin last night!”
Jordan frowned. “Rosie—”
“There was a blizzard,” Katie said. “We were snowed in.”
“Yes, there was a blizzard, but Jordan has all the gear up there. He works in the forest. It’s his job. His life. Do you honestly think he couldn’t have got you out if he’d wanted to?”
Was that true? No, it couldn’t be true. He wouldn’t have done that. Their night together had been the one authentic thing that had happened to her lately. She looked at Jordan, expecting him to deny it and saw instantly that there was nothing to deny. “It’s true? You could have got us out?”
He hesitated. “Technically, yes, but that wasn’t what—”
“It doesn’t matter.” This had to be one of the most humiliating moments of her life. Fortunately she’d had plenty of experience of stifling uncomfortable emotions. She turned back to Rosie. “I was worried about you. You were using our parents’ marriage as inspiration. You needed to know about the divorce.”
“So they hit a rough patch,” Rosie said. “It happens. They’ve worked through it. If anything, I’m more inspired than ever.” She turned to Dan. “I’m sorry about my sister, but you have to believe I love you. I really do.”
“I’m not worried about your sister. I’m worried that you’ve been having doubts and didn’t talk to me. Why not?”
“I did try to mention it a few times but I couldn’t find the right words. And honestly, I wasn’t even sure they were real doubts. I’m a doubty sort of person, and you know this. I change my mind about what I want for breakfast, what I want to wear—”
“And who you want to marry.” Dan was white-faced and when Rosie took a step toward him, he took a step back.
Jordan spoke for the first time. “I think we should leave Maggie and Nick to get dressed, and meet up in Snowfall Lodge at lunchtime. Dan and Rosie, go and talk this through on your own. You don’t need an audience.”
Rosie’s eyes were glistening. “Dan, please—”
“Hello? Anyone around?” Catherine’s voice sang out from the living room. “The sun is shining, the mountains look like something from a Christmas card, I have freshly baked pastries and a plan for a perfect romantic day for the two of you. Oh—” She stopped as she saw the crowd gathered in the doorway of the bedroom. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had company.”
“Come in,” Nick said dryly. “It’s a free-for-all.”
Catherine looked bemused. “What’s going on?” She saw the tears on Rosie’s face and immediately went to her. “Oh honey, what’s wrong?”
She was kind, Katie thought, her brain and body numb. And she seemed to genuinely care about Rosie.
“Is it something to do with the wedding? Because all you have to do is tell me, and we’ll fix it right away.”
“There’s nothing to fix.” Dan pushed past his mother, snatching his coat on the way. “There isn’t going to be a wedding.”
Maggie
Maggie lay on the bed, stunned, the covers pulled up to her chin. “I can’t believe that happened.”
“Neither can I.” Nick plumped the pillows and made himself more comfortable. “Ironic, really. The girls live at home with us for a couple of decades and never walk in on us having sex, and here we are thousands of miles from home and sudd
enly we have the entire family, plus a bunch of almost strangers, in our bedroom. It’s the only time I’ve been grateful you always insist on having sex under the covers.”
“That’s what you’re dwelling on? The fact that the girls walked in on us having sex?” She sat up, still clutching those covers. “Nick, this is serious. Rosie looked devastated.”
“Katie looked worse.”
Maggie had been so horrified at being caught naked in bed by her children, that she hadn’t paid too much attention to the finer nuances of body language. “After what she heard yesterday, it must seem very confusing for her. I can see why she was reluctant to believe us, but did she really think we’d go as far as faking sex?”
“Well, to be fair we’ve been faking everything else, Mags, so we can’t really blame her for not trusting us.”
“I know.” She covered her face with her hands and then let them drop. “I have messed this up. I was so busy thinking about us, and keeping up a convincing act, that I didn’t focus on the girls. Rosie was having doubts. Our baby was having doubts and I didn’t even notice? And I’ve been worried about Katie for a while. I should have pushed harder. Spent more time with her. Parenting is so hard, and it never gets easier. I wanted so badly to be a better mother than my own.”
“Oh believe me, sweetheart, you aced that one.” He leaned closer and kissed her. “You can’t force someone to talk to you, Mags. And as you say, we were rather focused on our own relationship. Which made a change if I’m honest.”
She felt a stab of guilt.
“You’re right, and we do need to focus on ourselves, but how do we do that when our girls are both going through such a bad time?” She flopped back down on the bed, trying to relax the tight knot in her stomach. “How are we going to fix this? The wedding is in two days.”
“From what Dan said, there isn’t going to be a wedding.”
“You think he meant that?” A few weeks ago that might have come as a relief to Maggie, but not now.
She felt responsible. Admittedly it had been a somewhat tortuous chain of events, but still she knew the blame lay with her. “Why would Katie tell us that Rosie was having doubts about Dan, while Dan was standing there?” Maggie tried to shake off her own embarrassment and examine the facts. “What was she thinking? Unless Rosie and Dan had already discussed it.”
