Page 57 of Snow Going Back

‘Oh, yes,’ he replied. ‘That oneislovely.’

He caught Kate’s eye over the coffee table while Eleanor wasn’t looking, and Kate hid a grin. She had no idea what her mother was showing Lance, but whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t hitting the mark. They were at her parents’ for Sunday lunch before she had to jet back off to Pineview Falls the next morning, and so long as she tuned out her mother’s constant talk of the wedding, it was a day she was truly enjoying.

‘Have I shown you my new amaryllis, Kate?’ her father asked.

‘Katherine,’ Eleanor corrected him, barely breaking away from the stream of ideas she was sharing with Lance to do so.

Henry ignored her and simply stared at Kate expectantly.

‘I don’t know, Dad. Which ones are they again?’

Henry rolled his eyes with a pained sigh. ‘Honestly, I don’t knowhow,after all those years of my attempts to brainwash you into being a gardener, youstilldon’t know one end of a flowerbed from the other.’ Kate laughed, and he grinned back. ‘Come on.’ He stood up. ‘I’m going to give it one more shot, andif it doesn’t work, I’ll have to try some Chinese water torture on you.’

Kate laughed again and dutifully followed him out. They wandered in companionable silence down to her cherry trees and sat together on the bench. Kate pushed her hands down into the pockets of her long red coat and looked out at the view.

‘Where’s this armadillo then?’ Kate asked.

‘Ha ha, very funny,’ he replied, nudging her with his shoulder. ‘You won’t be laughing when you’ve been kidnapped by a spy from one of the competing villages and they’re torturing you, screaming,Just tell us where the amaryllis is and we’ll let you livethough, will you?’ He raised his eyebrows in mock seriousness.

‘I do worry about thatexact scenario, actually,’ she agreed. ‘I hear it’s really common.’

Henry nodded. ‘Very serious business here in the Cotswolds. The war of the rosebushes has been going on years,’ he said sagely. Kate glanced at him, and they both grinned. ‘There is no amaryllis,’ he admitted. ‘I made it up to escape. I’ve had to listen to that same wedding list of your mother’s about eight times. She justrestartswhenever someone new walks through the door. I don’t think I can take another round without losing my sanity. Nowthere’sa good torture tactic. Your mother would be a fabulous asset for the government if we ever end up at war again.’

Kate nodded her agreement.

‘Youlooked like you were going to fall asleep, too, so I thought I’d drag you out for some fresh air. You alright, love?’

He sounded concerned, and she rushed to reassure him. ‘I’m fine, Dad, honestly. It’s just been a busy weekend.’

‘Hmm. OK.’ Henry didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t push her, either. He looked up at her cherry trees for a few moments. ‘Do you remember when you planted these?’

‘Of course I do,’ Kate replied with a grin. ‘Mum wentmad!’

Henry nodded with a wry smile. ‘She was absolutelyhopping.’

Kate shrugged. ‘I didn’t know she had plans for this area.’

‘Oh,you knew,’ Henry said to her surprise. He chuckled.

Kate frowned. ‘DidI?’ She tried to think back, but the memory was in snippets now, too old to recount clearly. ‘That doesn’t sound like me.’

‘It wasexactlylike you. Back then, anyway,’ he told her. ‘You were always a good kid, but you had this rebellious streak that would flash up now and then. I used to love watching you in action. It drove your mother insane.’ He smiled at the memories.

‘Did it not driveyoumad, too?’ Kate asked, intrigued.

Henry shook his head. ‘No. Like I said, you were a good kid. You had your moments, but you knew right from wrong. You never rebelled just for the sake of it; you’d only get fired up over something that really meant something to you.’

Kate thought back, his words stirring memories she hadn’t recalled in years. ‘I guess,’ she mused. ‘Gosh, that was a long time ago now.’

‘Seems like only yesterday to me,’ Henry replied. ‘But I suppose it was. Back before you grew up. Before you were taught to prioritise fitting into society, like all kids are eventually.’ He eyed her for a few moments, then looked back to the trees. ‘I watched you plant these, you know. From the house.’

Kate let out a surprised laugh. ‘Did youreally?’

‘Yes. I came across you cultivating them in your room and mumbling to yourself that it wasyourgarden, too, and that no one ever asksyouwhat you’d like in it. And I thought to myself,Yes.She’s right.’ He shrugged. ‘So I just kept watching you, quietly egging you on. I even strategically placed what you’d need to plant them in your path.’ Kate gasped, and his eyes danced with a mischievous twinkle. ‘Then, the day you decidedto do it, I even hid yourmother’sgarden tools so she couldn’t do anything before I had a chance to intervene.’

‘You aresuchaplotter!’ Kate exclaimed. ‘ForgetMum,you’rethe one who’d make a good spy.’

Henry shrugged. ‘Who says I’mnot?’

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