Page 68 of Snow Going Back

Sam nodded again. ‘OK.’ He looked over to the tree and at the gifts they’d each stashed underneath. ‘I don’t know what your tradition is, but we used to give our gifts to each other on Christmas Eve. You up for it?’ he asked, changing the subject.

Kate smiled. ‘Definitely! We always have to wait for Christmas morning in my house. It’storture.’

Sam laughed, and they both jumped up then kneeled beside the tree.

‘Mine first,’ Kate insisted before he could get in before her.

Sam closed his mouth and accepted her win with grace. ‘Thank you.’

He took the package and pulled the green ribbon and gold paper away. Kate felt a swell of excitement and nerves. She really hoped he liked it.

Sam ran his finger down the wooden carving with a smile. It was of a man holding an umbrella over a smaller woman or girl, his free arm resting protectively on her shoulder.

Kate bit her lip. ‘It made me think of you and Jenna,’ she told him.

‘This is a truly lovely gift,’ he said, sounding touched. ‘Thank you, Kate. I love it.’ He looked up at her, his words heartfelt, and Kate felt her cheeks grow warm under his intense, unreadable gaze.

She nodded and looked away, her emotions beginning to churn a little too deeply for comfort.

‘OK, my turn,’ Sam said, reaching under the tree.

Kate took the gift he held out with a smile. ‘Thank you,’ she said, pulling the twine and unwrapping the blue tissue paper. Inside was a small box, and as she opened it, her expression widened in surprise. ‘Oh, Sam,thank you. It’sbeautiful.’

She touched the necklace, a delicate gold chain with an intricately woven key pendant hanging down, covered with a pattern of tiny vines.

‘I thought of you when I saw it.’ He looked down at it. ‘I thought maybe when you look at it, it might remind you that sometimes you have to let yourself out of that cage you lock yourself in. Because when you do, that’s when you bloom, Kate Hunter. When you let yourself go and you say and do what you want.’ He looked up at her again, holding her gaze. ‘That’s when you’remagnificent.’

Kate stared back at him for a long moment, feeling the intensity behind his words deep down in her core. How did he do that? she wondered. How did he get under her skin and bury in so deeply? But then just like that, as though someone had flicked on a light, she saw it. The realness between them. The truth. The deep connection that had somehow bonded them these last two months, without her even realising. And she wanted to give in to it suddenly so badly. Sodesperately. But though every atom in her body buzzed towards him with fierce intensity, she forced herself to remain still. She couldn’t do it to Lance. Shewouldn’t.

With the same difficulty of pulling one industrial-strength magnet away from another, Kate pushed backwards away from him. She swallowed hard and closed the lid of the necklace box.

‘Thank you,’ she managed. She cleared her throat and stood up, looking back down at the box. ‘This really is beautiful.’

Sam nodded, rubbing the back of his neck as he cast his gaze to the wooden carving. ‘Thank you, too,’ he said quietly. He looked back up suddenly, his eyes seeking hers. ‘You know it’syouI see under that umbrella, Kate. Whenever I look at this, it willalwaysbe you that I see.’

Something hard pushed painfully up through Kate’s chest and lodged in her throat, and she had to work to pull in her next breath. She didn’t trust herself to reply. She could feel herself shaking. Or perhaps it was the vibration from the rush of energy now racing through her veins. She wasn’t sure – she couldn’t think straight. All she knew was that she needed to get out of this room before she did something she’d regret. She swallowed hard.

‘I, um, I need to go to bed.’ She edged around him towards the hallway as though he were some dangerous animal she was scared to get too close to. And shewasscared, she realised. But not of him. She was scared ofherself. ‘Big day tomorrow,’ she muttered. ‘Goodnight, Sam.’

And without waiting to hear his response, she turned and fled up the stairs.

THIRTY-SEVEN

After an hour of pacing her room and sitting at the window looking out at the gently falling snow, trying to snap herself out of this emotional mess she’d let herself get into, Kate stared at the bed debating whether or not to try to sleep. It was late and she was tired, but her mind and her heart were still racing. Her gaze drifted to Cora’s diary, and she stared at it for a few moments, unsure whether she was in the right frame of mind. Then, deciding to try it anyway, she walked over to pick it up. She propped herself up on the bed and thumbed through to the last page she’d read.

The tides had finally begun to turn for William in Cora’s young mind, and Kate had found this change of heart a great comfort to read, a balm for her nerves whenever she worried about her own upcoming marriage. If Cora had finally come around, there was no reason to think that she wouldn’t soon, too. Time was clearly the key. Her and Cora’s tales may have been seventy years apart, but seeing Cora and William’s wonderful, happy life together and knowing it had been born from a marriage based on friendship, sense and logic reassured her. Because she and Lance had so much more than just friendship. They’d chosen to be together. They loved each other.

Perhaps that had been the real reason she’d ended up out here. The universe hadclearlychosen to test her at this junction in her life, but perhaps it had also placed this story in her path to bolster her faith in her future with Lance. Maybe Kate had just needed this reminder that sense and logic really were the best ingredients for a happy life.

In an entry Kate had read the week before, Cora had finally accepted William’s proposal. The mystery M had fought, asking her to wait for him while he made something of himself, then asking her to run away with him, as Cora was forced to make a decision. He’d told her his love for her ran so deep, there was nowhere on earth he wouldn’t go for her, and once more Matthew’s face had flickered through her mind. It was Cora’s mother who’d finally managed to make her see sense and marry William. And as her wedding day had approached, Cora had thrown herself into it with all her energy. Kate had stopped reading just before the big day, saving that entry to read on Christmas Day as a little gift to herself. But she needed itnow. She needed to soothe herself with Cora and William’s happy ending. Or rather, their happy beginning.

Settling back against the pillows, Kate started reading it eagerly, already feeling her jagged nerves begin to calm as she delved back into their story.

5 October 1955

Today is the day I chose to get married. For weeks now I have lovingly prepared every single last note of the song that is today. My beautiful dress was made and the shoes to match. I woke up with the shakiest nerves I have ever felt in my body. For my nerves knew, it seems, more than I just how momentous a day this would turn out to be.

I knew from the moment I picked it that today would be the day my life changed forever. The day I forged a newpath. I packed up my bags last night, ready to take to the home of my new husband, to spend my first night there as man and wife. And I’m so glad I brought my diary. I so very nearly didn’t, for memories can be troublesome things sometimes. But the past and the future are all linked by the present. It is all one big journey, rather than what was and what will be.

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