‘Have you tried it with Dad?’ Lucy asked, grimacing. ‘You know what he’s like.’
‘And we know who inherited his stubbornness.’ Juliet grinned at her sister. ‘Look, let’s get Christmas over with and then talk about it again? There’s nothing we can do so close to the holidays anyway. The doctor’s surgery will be full of colds and flus, and the last thing we want is for him to catch something.’
Though Kitty pretended to moan about their weekly Skype date, there was something reassuring about it, too. Reminding her she wasn’t alone in the world, that whatever happened she’d always have them. Even if everybody in Mountain’s Reach hated her.
OK, not everybody. Just one, very fine, body.
‘Talking of Christmas, we need to agree a time to talk,’ Lucy said, always the organiser. ‘We’ll be having lunch at about two our time, which I think is nine in the morning where you both are.’
‘Hey, we’ll be in the same time zone for once.’ Juliet smiled across the screen at Kitty. ‘If only they’d let you have the day off, you could come to ours for Christmas.’
There wasn’t much chance of that, even if she’d managed to pin Mia and Everett down for long enough to ask. They both seemed to be constantly busy. She’d noticed them have a few heated, yet whispering, conversations, too. Something definitely wasn’t right there. Right now, she was pretty much the only responsible adult around here, save for the housekeeper.
She could only make this call because Annie had agreed to look after Jonas for half an hour. The two of them were in the kitchen, baking c
ookies.
‘That would have been nice,’ Kitty said. Impossible, but nice.
‘So what time do you think we should arrange the call for?’ Lucy asked. ‘Before or after your lunch?’
‘We’re having lunch with Thomas’s family,’ Juliet said, her pretty nose scrunching up at the mention of her in-laws. ‘We’re sitting down at three, so I can do any time before that.’
‘I’m not sure when we’re eating, I’ll have to check,’ Kitty said. Surely they’d let her take an hour to spend with her family?
‘How’s the nannying going?’ Juliet asked her. ‘Are you getting on OK with the boy?’
‘He’s lovely,’ Kitty told her.
‘What about his parents?’ Juliet asked. ‘Are they OK too?’
‘I wouldn’t know, I hardly see them. Even when his mum’s here, she’s always busy. It’s like she doesn’t know what to do with a child his age.’ Kitty screwed her nose up. Juliet nodded in sympathy. Of all the sisters, she knew what it was like trying to look after a child.
‘You’ve had no luck asking his dad about that internship then?’ Cesca’s voice was sympathetic.
‘Chance would be a fine thing.’ Kitty shrugged. ‘He’s hardly ever here, either.’
‘Maybe you can pin him down over the turkey,’ Cesca suggested. ‘Use a few skewers so he can’t wriggle away.’
‘I don’t think he likes me very much,’ Kitty said, remembering the few times they’d spoken. ‘I’m not sure any of the Kleins are my biggest fans, really.’ Apart from Jonas, that was. His enthusiasm for Kitty had only grown.
‘Why, who else have you upset?’
Kitty chewed at her thumbnail, remembering her encounter with Adam. ‘Everett’s brother seems to have it in for me. He shouts at me every time we meet.’
‘That’s horrible. I hope you’ve told him where to go.’ Lucy looked angry. Things were always black and white in her world. ‘I hate people like that.’
Kitty wasn’t very fond of him either. ‘I think I jinxed it from the start,’ she said, filling them in on her collision with the deer. Her sisters’ amusement only increased when she told them about her row with Adam by the lake.
‘You really asked him who pissed in his cornflakes?’ Cesca asked, trying to hide her grin. ‘What did he say?’
‘I can’t remember,’ Kitty admitted. ‘But I’m sure it wasn’t nice.’
‘Seriously, you’ve got guts, girl.’ Cesca lifted her hand up, as if to offer her sister a high five. ‘You insulted the famous Adam Klein.’
Kitty felt the blood drain out of her face. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, he might have been some help with the internship, but not if he’s going to be an arse about it.’