Page 54 of Someone For Everyone

He took it and spotted a pine needle digging into her flesh. ‘Hold still.’

‘Ouch.’

‘Nearly done.’ He soaked a tissue in the bottled water and used it to wipe her cut clean. She had small hands, or maybe they just looked small because of her clipped nails. ‘How come you have such short nails?’

‘Habit, I guess. I had to keep them short for playing the piano and guitar. It would seem weird to grow them now. My cousin Megan has these really long, fancy gel nails. I’ve no idea how shemanages to do anything with them, I’d be forever poking my eye out.’

He smiled, recalling numerous occasions when Ainsley had broken a nail and dashed off to the nail bar in a panic, as thought she’d broken her leg. God knows how much time and money she’d spent in that place, not that he’d minded. In contrast, Kate’s nails were short, neat and clean, no varnish in sight. ‘All done.’

‘Thanks.’

Strangely, she hadn’t removed her hand, and for some reason he hadn’t let go either. ‘Feeling warmer?’

‘Toasty, thanks.’

‘I’ll ask Geraldine to make you something hot for breakfast when we get back to the care home. Don’t even think about arguing with me.’

‘Wouldn’t dream of it.’ Her eyes slid to his and for a moment everything stilled. The air inside the car seemed to grow even warmer, adding to the steam rising up from the windows.

Suki’s sudden bark made them both jump. The dog clearly wasn’t happy about playing gooseberry.

Calvin let go of Kate’s hand and started the engine. ‘I guess we’d better get going.’

Kate wrapped her arms around herself. ‘Absolutely.’

Silence descended, and for a while neither of them spoke, as they headed towards the care home. But as they passed Pinnock Farm, Kate pointed outside the window. ‘They’re selling Christmas trees. Can we stop and get one?’

He slowed the car. ‘For the care home?’

‘We can put it in the lounge. The residents will love it.’ She sounded excited, and after the upset of the morning, it seemed like an easy way to cheer her up.

‘Sure,’ he said, turning into the farm entrance. ‘Why not?’

They parked up by a field full of Christmas trees, all different shapes and sizes. A few people were milling around, but it wasn’t busy – the weather had probably put most people off.

Leaving a sulking Suki in the back seat, they got out of the car and went over to inspect the pre-cut trees, grouped into height order.

‘What about this one?’ he said, selecting a four-foot spruce.

‘Too small.’ She skipped off, checking out the rest of the trees, before eventually pointing to a huge six-foot Nordmann fir. ‘The lounge has high ceilings. We need this one.’

He went over. ‘Kate, we’d never get a tree that size in my car.’

She grinned at him. ‘I know, and that’s why it needs to be this one.’

‘Excuse me? You’ve lost me.’

‘Well, you’ve just admitted to me that you’re not okay. I’m guessing that’s the first time you’ve properly acknowledged that.’ She watched his face. ‘Am I right?’

‘I guess.’ Outwardly, anyway. Internally, he’d known he was messed up for months. ‘But I’m still not following you. What on earth has not being okay got to do with choosing a tree that’s too big for my car?’

She stepped closer and rested her hands on his chest. ‘Admitting there’s a problem is the first step on the road to recovery.’

He looked into her light blue eyes. ‘Did you hit your head when you fell in the woods?’

She blinked up at him. ‘Now, you can either face the problem head-on and find a solution—’

‘Are you suffering from hypothermia?’ He placed a hand on her forehead. ‘A fever?’

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