A Little Christmas Magic Read Free Page A

uncompromising. Fierce. Angry even?
    At
her
?
    ‘I’m sorry I’m late,’ she said, the words rushing out. ‘The train was … it was …’ Oh, help. He was looking at her as if he
knew.
Had he somehow managed to access her medical records or something?
    ‘The train’s always late.’ Catherine was pulling out a chair. She smiled down at the children. ‘What’s happened here? Has Poppy broken her leg
again
, Ollie?’
    ‘Aye. I’m fixing her.’ But the small boy’s attention was diverted now. ‘Who are
you
?’ he asked Emma. ‘And what’s
that
?’
    ‘I’m Emma. And this is my guitar case.’
    ‘I want to see.’
    ‘Maybe later.’ Adam McAllister’s offer did not sound promising. ‘Your gran’s going to take you to see the tree going up in a minute. And then you’re going home for your supper.’
    ‘After some proper introductions,’ Catherine said firmly. ‘Emma—this is Oliver and this is Poppy. Ollie and Poppy—this is Emma … Sinclair?’
    ‘
Miss
Sinclair,’ Adam corrected.
    ‘Emma’s fine,’ said Emma. ‘Hello, Poppy and Ollie. You’re twins, aren’t you?’
    They stared at her. They had brown eyes like their father but their hair was much lighter. Poppy still had golden streaks in her long braids. She also had something clutched in her hand.
    ‘Is that Barbie?’
    Poppy nodded. ‘She’s got a pony,’ she offered. ‘At home.’
    ‘Lucky Barbie. I love ponies.’
    ‘I’ve got a pony, too.’
    ‘Jemima’s not a
pony
,’ Oliver said. ‘She’s a
donkey
.’
    Emma blinked. Catherine laughed. ‘Adam probably didn’t say much on the phone,’ she said, ‘but there are a few pets at home. Do you like animals?’
    ‘Yes. I had a job in a pet shop once. We had lots of puppies and kittens and rabbits. Oh, and hamsters and mice and rats, too.’
    Poppy’s eyes were round. ‘I
love
puppies. And kittens.’
    ‘I love
rats
,’ Oliver said. ‘Can I have a rat, Daddy?’
    ‘We’ve probably got some out in the barn.’
    ‘I want one for a pet. Inside.’
    ‘No.’ The word was almost a sigh. ‘You can’t have a rat, Ollie.’
    ‘But why
not
?’ With a bandage unfurling in his hand to roll across the floor, Oliver scrambled to his feet. ‘You said I could tell you what I wanted most for Christmas. And I want a
rat
.’
    ‘They smell bad.’ Emma had been the cause of what was becoming a family disagreement. She needed to do something. ‘And they’ve got long tails that are all bald and pink and … icky.’
    ‘Icky?’
Adam was looking at her as if she was suddenly speaking Swahili.
    ‘Icky,’ Poppy repeated. She giggled. ‘Icky, icky, icky.’
    ‘
You’re
icky,’ Oliver told her.
    ‘No.
You
are.’
    ‘Time to go,’ Catherine decreed. ‘You’ve met Emma and she’s met you. Now it’s time for her to talk to Daddy.’
    In the flurry of putting on coats and hats and gathering schoolbags, Catherine found time to squeeze Emma’s hand.
    ‘I do hope you’ll still be here when I get back,’ she said softly. ‘I’d like the chance to get to know you better.’
    She managed to say something to Adam as well, just before she ushered the children out of the room. Emma couldn’t hear what she said but, as she sank into the chair as the door closed behind Catherine, he was still scowling at her.
    Strength. That was what he needed.
    This was his one shot at finding the help he needed so that his mother would not cancel her trip to Canada and this young woman was clearly … He closed his eyes for as long as it took to draw in a new breath. A complete flake?
    She looked like a refugee from the sixties or something, carrying a guitar and a backpack. So pale he could almost count the freckles scattered over her nose and she was thin enough to have a waif-like air that probably made her look a lot younger than she was. And what was it with those oversized clothes? It reminded him of when Poppy clopped around the house with her feet in a pair of her grandmother’s