Page 8 of Hidden in Memories
It takes a moment, but eventually he turns away. Charlotte is about to close the door when she hears him mumble something.
“Fucking upper-class bitch.”
“What did you say?”
She can’t help reacting, although she immediately regrets it. The situation is already uncomfortable. She shouldn’t have said anything, she should have simply let him go.
Paul doesn’t answer. He just keeps walking down the corridor. Then he slowly looks over his shoulder. His expression is so full of contempt that she physically recoils. Rage sweeps away her self-control—this guy needs to be put in his place.
“Don’t think you’ll be keeping your job after this!” she shouts.
She closes the door, feeling more shaken than angry.
5
Countless stars are twinkling above Åre as Hanna walks the last few steps up the hill to her little house in Solbringen, the area diagonally above the village, north of the E14. The sky changed to a deep, velvety blue while she was having dinner with Lydia at the Wine Bar, and afterward Hanna went back to the house in Sadeln with her sister for a cup of coffee.
That’s typical of Åre,she thinks.The weather changes so fast.In the same day it can snow then clear up half a dozen times. No matter how many apps you check, the forecast is never correct.
She fumbles for her front door key.
Her new home isn’t very big—one bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom—but Hanna loves it. At long last she has a place of her own after almost a year in Lydia’s luxurious lodge. She is grateful for her sister’s generous hospitality, but it feels like a special kind of freedom to be standing on her own two feet. There is also a compact sauna, and a decent hearth, where she often lights a fire.
Just as she turns the key, she hears meowing around her feet. A gray-and-white cat rubs its body against Hanna’s legs. When she bends down to stroke it, she sees that it resembles a Norwegian forest cat. Its coat is long and fluffy, and it has tufts of fur between its toes.
“Hello, sweetheart,” she says, rubbing behind its ears. “What are you doing out and about at this time of night?”
The cat begins to purr loudly. On closer examination she discovers that it is a large male, but he isn’t wearing a collar. Hanna looks around for any sign of his owner. It’s way too cold for a pet to be outside all night.
“Where are your mom and dad?”
She straightens up, still scanning the neighborhood.
The cat purrs even louder.
Hanna opens the door. “Time you went home, sweetheart.”
Before she can do anything about it, the cat slips between her legs and into the house. Hanna hurries after him and catches up with him in the living room. She picks him up and heads back toward the front door, then hesitates.
She doesn’t like the thought of throwing the cat out into the cold if he doesn’t have anywhere to go. Plus he seems hungry.
She places him on the floor, goes into the kitchen, and opens the refrigerator. She finds some cooked ham, which she chops up and puts on a plate.
It’s as she thought—the cat falls on the food; he seems to be starving. She gives him a bowl of water, which he eagerly laps up.
Since he doesn’t have a collar, she has no idea what his name is, but somehow he looks like a Morris.
“Okay, I guess you can stay the night. We’ll try to find your owner tomorrow.”
Morris gazes up at her, and Hanna could swear that there is gratitude in those beautiful eyes.
6
The suite is in darkness when Charlotte wakes up. It takes her a few seconds to orient herself. She was deeply asleep, and it is pitch black outside, so it must still be night.
She is lying on her back in the double bed, and blinks in an attempt to see better.
What has woken her?
