Page 67 of Snow Going Back

When he’d learned she was staying in Vermont, Sam had officially invited her to spend the day with him. Kate had been surprised, assuming he’d have plans with friends or family. Jenna, at least. But Sam admitted that he’d turned down all the invites that had come, wanting to just be at home one last time, surrounded by his memories of his aunt. Kate’s guilt hadhit an all-time high, and she’d instantly tried to book a hotel, apologising for encroaching, but Sam had stopped her, insisting she stay. He hadn’t actually wanted to be alone, he’d told her. He just hadn’t wanted to be anywhere else. And so Kate had accepted, quietly resolving to try to make this first Christmas without Cora easier for him any way she could.

But as she watched him now, yet another problem on top of all the others she was already juggling, she wondered how on earth she was going to get through Christmas without totally cracking under the pressure of it all herself.

As Sam pulled onto the drive and switched off the engine an hour later, Kate was so lost in her tangled thoughts that for a moment she didn’t move.

‘Kate?’ Sam prompted gently.

‘Hmm?’ She looked around. ‘Oh. Right. Sorry, miles away.’

They got out of the truck, and Kate turned back to gather her things.

‘Excuse me, ma’am?’

She looked around and saw a young man walking up the drive towards her. Sam had taken the boards to the door, but he returned now with a frown.

‘Can I help you?’ he asked.

The man ignored him, his beady gaze still on Kate. ‘Are you Ms Kate Hunter?’

‘Wait…’ Sam put his hand out in warning, but it was too late, as Kate spoke at the same time.

‘That’s me. Can I help you?’

She realised what was happening just a second too late. The envelope was thrust into her hand, and a flash went off as the guy took a picture. ‘Consider yourself served,’ he said, walking off quickly now that his job was done.

Kate groaned, annoyed at her own stupidity.

Moving to stand beside her, Sam watched the man leave with a grim expression. ‘Aubrey wasn’t bluffing then.’

‘I never thought she was,’ Kate replied with a sigh.

‘Well, that’s that then,’ he said, turning back to the house. ‘I guess you’re taking this battle to court.’

‘Yeah,’ Kate replied heavily. ‘I guess I am.’

THIRTY-SIX

Christmas Eve arrived, and Kate kept busy for most of the day, managing for the most part to avoid Sam and keep to herself. She had to work hard at keeping her spirits up, with the court summons niggling irritably at the corners of her mind and the homesickness coming in unhappy waves. She couldn’t eventhinkabout the wedding. It was now just a week away.One week. And now, being that close, the whole thing felt oddly unreal, like it was happening in a film or to someone else and she was merely a spectator. Because the whole idea that heractual wedding, a legal ceremony binding her to someone else for life, was happening in a fewdayswas just insane.

Kate had spoken to everyone back home on video calls earlier in the day, one after the other, and with the rest of the items on her to-do list already ticked, she stuck on Michael Bublé’s Christmas album, poured herself a hot mulled wine and set about wrapping her gifts.

Sam arrived home just as she finished and headed straight down to the basement. She briefly wondered what he was up to, then stood up to stretch and cleared away her mess.

Carrying the freshly wrapped gifts up to her room, Kate put them aside and then ran herself a bath with a generous dollopof the luxury bubbles she’d treated herself to the day before. She tied up her hair, lit a candle and slipped into the velvety embrace of the deep hot bath. As she closed her eyes and relaxed back with a contented sigh, there was a loud thud from somewhere downstairs. A staccato series of similar thuds shortly followed it, and she opened her eyes with a frown.

‘What on earth is he doing?’ she muttered curiously.

After half an hour of trying to work it out, Kate finally gave up on her relaxing bath and ventured down to find out. She smiled as she realised that Sam had put up the big tree she’d seen in the basement, and that he’d dragged up several boxes of ornaments. He’d set the tree by what she’d thought, up until now, was a purely ornamental fireplace. The roaring fire now burning merrily away, however, proved that theory well and truly wrong.

Sam walked into the room from behind her, carrying one more box. He smiled as he saw her. ‘Hey. Wanna help me decorate the tree?’

‘I absolutelydo,yes,’ Kate replied with feeling. She kneeled down beside Sam eagerly as he opened the first box.Nowit felt like Christmas.

They spent the next hour decorating the tree and the house and sharing Christmas stories. Kate put some festive music on, and they had a heated debate over whether or not the Pogues had written the best Christmas song of all time. (They had, of course.) Then once the boxes were all empty and they’d packed the fire with some more logs, they collapsed on the sofa with some mulled wine and carried on talking, their conversation eventually coming back around to the upcoming court date.

‘So explain it to me,’ Sam asked. ‘Because I don’t fully understand what it is that she’s doing.’

‘OK, so Aubrey and Evelyn have made it clear they’re a team now. They’ve obviously realised they have a stronger claim together than apart,’ Kate started, putting her wine down on theside table. ‘They’re going to drag me through court to try and show I’ve not done what I’m supposed to in the contract, and that I’ve not acted in the company’s best interest. The court date is the fifth of January.’ He nodded, and she could see further questions brewing in his eyes. ‘Thereismore to it than that,’ she explained. ‘But I can’t share details with you just yet. I’m sorry. The one thing Iwilltell you is that I think I’m close to making a decision and that it’s in the best interests of everyone. Touch wood.’ She touched the top of her head.

---