Then had come that emotional reunion with her father. An older, thinner, strangely different father.
She couldn’t quite say in what way he was different, only that he was. Maybe because of his heart attack, or maybe for some other reason she wasn’t aware of.
Not that he had been any different with her, just his usual loving self. And she couldn’t have asked for a better response from him towards Scott.
There was just something not quite right, an unspoken strain between him and her mother, perhaps? Meg had certainly never heard him speak to her mother in quite that firm tone before.
But this unexpected—until last night when she’d spoken to her mother on the telephone—meeting with her sister was certainly an added strain Meg could well have done without.
They had been close once, very close, but time, and circumstances, had ensured that was no longer the case.
Sonia looked no more pleased about the two of them being here together as their gazes met in silent battle. An antagonism in Sonia’s face that she quickly masked as she realized they weren’t alone, her gaze shifting slightly sideways to where Jed stood at Meg’s side, those green eyes widening slightly, not in recognition, Meg didn’t think, but rather a female response to an attractive man.
Meg couldn’t even bring herself to glance in Jed’s direction to see what his reaction was to this sleeker, more sophisticated version of herself.
‘Meg, darling.’ Sonia finally spoke with bright brittleness. ‘How lovely to see you here.’ She crossed the room to give Meg a brief hug, touching cheeks, her kiss floating away in the air. ‘And this is…?’ She gave Jed a look of frankly female appreciation.
Meg fought down the instinct to gnash her teeth together as she easily interpreted that speculative glance for what it was, instead making the introductions as briefly as possible, including Jeremy as he strolled over to join them, favouring his left leg slightly as he did so.
Sonia, unlike their mother a short time ago, received Jed’s identity with a few complimentary comments about his book and a narrow-eyed glance in Meg’s direction.
No doubt her sister was wondering how Meg, of all people, had managed to meet such a famous and fascinating man.
‘And where is little—Scott, I believe you called him?’ Sonia prompted with a noticeable coolness in her voice.
Meg drew in a sharp breath, the abrupt reply she was about to make forestalled by her mother’s return.
‘I’m so glad you managed to get back before the storm started again,’ she said evenly as she saw that her eldest daughter and son-in-law had now joined them.
‘Only just,’ Sonia drawled ruefully. ‘If you’ll all excuse us while we go upstairs and freshen up before lunch?’ she added to no one in particular, taking hold of her husband’s arm as the two of them went up the stairs together.
‘It’s snowing heavily again?’ Meg prompted with dismay. How on earth was Jed going to get back to the cottage if that were the case.
‘Worse than yesterday,’ her father answered as he returned with Scott still in his arms, her son, Meg was pleased to see, more than happy with the arrangement. ‘I should go and get your luggage from the car now, Jed, while you still have your outdoor clothes on, before it gets any worse.’
‘Oh, but—’
‘Good idea, David.’ Jed spoke firmly. ‘Coming with me, Meg?’ he added purposefully.
She looked up at him frowningly. First he announced he was a friend of hers, and now he was proposing they get their luggage from the Range Rover. But he didn’t have any luggage. Did he?
She gave a puzzled shake of her head. ‘But wouldn’t you be better—?’
‘I can’t carry it all on my own,’ he told her teasingly. ‘I think she packed enough things to stay for a month,’ he confided in her father.
Meg’s frown only deepened at this comment. Because Jed knew how untrue that was, had already commented himself on the small amount of luggage she had brought with her. Although there were all of Scott’s Christmas presents, of course.
However, there were still a few things she would like to say to Jed—Jerrod Cole—in private.
But apparently there were a few things he had to say to her too. ‘Phew,’ he breathed in relief once they were safely outside with the front door firmly closed behind them. ‘No wonder you were in no rush to get here.’ He grimaced. ‘Your dad seems okay, but as for the rest of them.’ He shook his head. ‘Your mother is like a reversed iceberg—the ice is ninety per cent above the surface rather than the other way around,’ he explained ruefully at Meg’s questioning look. ‘Your sister I haven’t worked out yet, except that she seems to be married to a man twice her age. Although he seems okay too, so maybe it’s only the female members of the family who are a bit odd.’
Meg had stared at him incredulously through this monologue about her family, totally immune to the fresh snow buffeting and gusting about them. ‘Do I take it that I’m included in that last sweeping statement?’
Jed grinned unabashedly. ‘Oh, no, in comparison, you’re quite normal.’
‘You’re so kind.’ Sarcasm dripped off her voice.
His grin widened. ‘Come on.’ He grabbed her arm. ‘Let’s go and sit in the Range Rover out of the snow, I’m sure there are a few things you would still like to say to me.’ He gave her a mocking glance.
‘Oh, just a few,’ she agreed as the two of them ran down the front steps to get in the Range Rover, at once feeling warmer as the wind continued to howl outside. ‘Jerrod Cole?’ she prompted again pointedly.
‘Yeah.’ He grimaced. ‘I usually like to keep quiet about that.’
‘Well, in my case, you succeeded,’ she assured him disgustedly, still feeling rather foolish for not having recognized him.
Although, in all honesty, not many of the reports of the success of The Puzzle had actually included a photograph of the author, and those that had been included were black and white and quite grainy to look at, and Jed’s hair had been much shorter, too.
Besides, in her defence, a tiny cottage in the middle of the English countryside was the very last place she would have expected to meet the amazingly successful American author, Jerrod Cole.
‘You might have told me,’ she said exasperatedly. ‘I felt, feel, like such a fool for not recognizing who you were.’ The man was a writing phenomenon and he had been out in the snow this morning with her son building a snowman.
God, that seemed like such a long time ago. In fact, part of her, a large part of her, wished she were still back there.
‘Then don’t,’ Jed grated. ‘The truth is I wasn’t going to tell you at all, was going to deliver you and Scott here, make polite conversation for a short time, and then leave. That is, until I met your mother.’ His voice hardened over the latter.
‘My mother?’ Meg frowned her puzzlement with this statement.
He nodded. ‘I didn’t like the way she spoke to you.’
‘I’m used to it.’ Meg shrugged.
‘And ignored Scott.’ His voice was icy now. ‘Even if she disapproves of the fact that you have him, although in this day and age even that’s ridiculous, she had absolutely no right to just ignore him like that.’ His expression was grim. ‘It may not be very commendable, but I wanted, if only briefly, to wipe that haughty look off her face.’
Oh, he had succeeded in doing that all right. He had succeeded in stunning Meg too.
‘And what’s with the “Margaret” thing?’ he continued scathingly. ‘You obviously prefer to be called Meg, the rest of the family call you Meg, so why not your own mother?’
‘I don’t know,’ Meg admitted dully. ‘Maybe…’ She broke off, staring down at her ringless hands.
‘What?’ Jed prompted shrewdly.
She shrugged. ‘Maybe it’s too familiar. I don’t know.’
She had never known, had never been able to understand why, as a child, she had received hugs and kisses from her father, but not from her mother. Not that Sonia had fared any better in that direction, but it had never seemed to bother her sister as much as it did her; Sonia and their mother were very alike in that respect, emotionally self-contained.
As a child Meg had wished she could be more like them, but as an adult she was very glad that she wasn’t.
She wouldn’t have been able to be the warm and loving mother to Scott that she was if that were the case.
She wouldn’t have enjoyed Jed kissing her as much this morning, if she were, wouldn’t, even now, be wondering what it would be like to kiss him again.
Despite what she now knew about his identity, Jed was still the only breath of security in a very unusual situation.
‘Familiar sounds fine to me,’ he said huskily.
Meg gave him a startled look, her pulse starting to beat more rapidly as she noticed how close he was in the confines of the Range Rover, her gaze easily caught and held by the intense blue of his.
‘Admit it, Meg,’ Jed murmured softly. ‘You were secretly relieved at the way I diverted your mother’s attention from you onto me,’ he explained as she gave him a guarded look.