Page 23 of A Cornish Winter's Kiss

‘I don’t think I’ll mention that next time I see him. It might be overstepping the mark.’ Emily pulled a face. Despite feeling uncomfortable talking about Jude, she realised she wasn’t finished. What her mother had said made perfect sense, and it felt as if she knew him on a slightly deeper level. ‘Do you think it could affect him so much that he’d struggle to even create fictional relationships in his books?’

‘If he had a tough time with the adoption, his norm when it comes to relationships probably doesn’t feel the same as yours or mine would. If that’s true, he needs to work on resolving it. Otherwise it probably won’t matter how much advice he gets. He won’t really be able to believe in what he’s writing.’

‘Can I ask you both something else?’ Emily looked at her parents, the two of them answering in unison, like they were perfectly attuned with one another.

‘Of course.’

‘If you’d adopted me, how would you have felt if I’d wanted to find my biological parents?’

‘I’d have been worried about the possibility of you getting hurt if you were rejected, but I’d want to support you and I’d understand why.’ Her mother’s response was no surprise, given her previous occupation, but when Emily turned to her father, he was frowning.

‘What about you, Dad?’

‘I’d want what was best for you, and if not knowing who your biological parents were was negatively affecting you, I’d want you to find them. But I’d be scared of losing you to them, I’m not going to lie.’ He looked so sad for a moment that Emily had to step forward to hug him. Part of her wanted to tell her parents that Jude’s mother had died when he was ten, and that his father probably couldn’t care less whether Jude went in search of his biological parents, but that would have betrayed his trust in an even bigger way than she had already. It was time for a change of subject.

‘Thank you, both, that might help with one of the plot lines Jude is working on. But I’ve got a much more important question for you now. Brownies or doughnuts?’ Emily stepped back from her father and opened the bag of brownies, releasing the rich, chocolatey aroma.

‘Well, it is Christmas, so how about both?’ Her father smiled, and Emily wanted to hug him again. She really was lucky to have the parents she had, and she wasn’t going to take that for granted. With the progression of her mother’s illness, she was feeling the pull home to Port Agnes more and more. What she hadn’t expected was the pull she was feeling to contact Jude again, to ask him when he next wanted to meet. Her mother was probably right that there was very little she could do to make him understand the concept of love in a way that he could translate to his writing, but for some reason she still wanted to try.

Jude had been trying for two days to think of a reason to contact Emily. He’d told himself he didn’t want her help any more and that the uncanny ability she had to make him open up abouthimself wasn’t something he wanted in his life. So he had no explanation for his reaction when he got her text.

How’s Rufus coping with country life? I wondered if you fancied meeting up for a dog walk, although I should warn you about my parents’ dog’s name. It’s a bit embarrassing.

He found himself smiling at the thought of seeing Emily, and he responded straight away.

I think Rufus is missing lampposts and there are just too many trees to choose from. Do I have to guess your dog’s name?

Her response came through just as quickly.

You can try, but you’ll never guess it.

Rumpelstiltskin?

No.

Dog?

Wrong again. I’ll give you a clue. It’s two words.

The Dog?

This could go on a while… Maybe you should ask Rufus to guess. It might be quicker.

Jude laughed and looked at his fox red Labrador, who was far too busy dragging his bed around to send his master a telepathic message. He was going to have to buy more time.

Rufus said he needs another clue.

He’s the lead singer of Take That.

Bloody hell, is he? Rufus kept that really quiet.

You’re an idiot! Not Rufus, my parents’ dog.

Jude laughed again as he read the text. He’d never met Emily’s parents, but he liked them already.

Your parents’ dog is called Gary Barlow?

Uh huh. It’s a long story. I’ll explain when we go for our walk. If you’re up for it?

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