Not that she was complaining, she already lived for those precious moments with Adam in his cabin. When she closed her eyes at night, it was him she saw, looking back at her with those dark eyes, framed with long, sweeping lashes. She could almost feel the way he cradled her, his biceps taut as he wrapped his arms around her waist; could feel the sensation of his beard against her face, as he stole kiss after kiss before she reluctantly left him every morning.
And now Christmas was only three days away; a thought that filled her with a mixture of excitement and dread.
‘Will you read one more story?’ Jonas asked, his eyes still open though his voice was sleepy.
‘You’ve already had three stories,’ Kitty told him. ‘You need to get to sleep. We don’t want you all tired on the big day.’
He sat straight up in his bed. ‘I won’t be tired. I really won’t. I’m wide awake, see?’
She bit down her smile. ‘But you have to get through the next three days first. And nobody can stay awake for three days without sleeping. Not even little boys who are overexcited for Christmas.’
‘I’m not little.’ He folded his arms across his chest.
‘No you’re not,’ she agreed. ‘And like the grown-up you are, you must know you need sleep. So lie down and close your eyes. If you keep them closed for ten minutes, I’ll read you another book.’
It was a calculated risk, but it was worth a try. Surely he’d be asleep way before ten minutes passed.
‘OK.’ He lay back down, squeezing his eyes shut. He was silent for a moment, his brow creased as though he was thinking deeply. Then, with his eyes still closed, he asked her, ‘How long is ten minutes anyway?’
‘About as long as it takes to walk down to your uncle’s cabin.’
‘Oh, that’s really long.’
Sometimes it was and sometimes it wasn’t. On her way there, it couldn’t pass fast enough. On her way back it always felt like the blink of an eye.
‘Kitty?’
‘Yes?’ she said patiently.
‘Does Santa know you’re here?’
‘What do you mean?’ Her lips curled up in a confused smile.
‘I mean, will he bring your gifts here on Christmas Eve, or will he take them to your parents’ house? How does he know where you are?’
It was a surprisingly perceptive question for a seven-year-old boy. She had to think on it before answering. ‘I think he knows I’m here,’ she finally said. ‘But I’m an adult, and Santa only visits children, so he won’t be bringing me any gifts.’
‘None at all?’
She shook her head, even though Jonas’s eyes were still closed. ‘No.’
‘That really sucks. I’d hate to be an adult.’
‘It’s not so bad,’ she told him. ‘There are advantages, too.’
‘Like what?’
‘Like you get to eat what you like, do what you like. There’s nobody telling you what to do all the time.’ She thought of the other things she liked – the ones that involved a certain bearded relation of his. Best not to share anything about that.
‘I’d rather have presents.’
‘I bet you would.’
According to her watch, it took seven minutes for him to finally drift off. She sat on his bed for a minute more, to make sure he was sinking deeper, before leaving his room and flicking on the night light he always liked.
As she walked along the corridor towards the stairs, she looked out of the window, and at the evergreen forest beyond. For a moment she tried to picture Adam’s cabin, and she wondered what he was doing right now. Eating a late dinner? Playing with the dog? She knew so much and so little about him. The big stuff was clear – it was plastered all over the internet for anybody interested enough to find it – but the tiny things that made him who he was were still a little fuzzy in her mind.
He was strong, he was kind, and he was even a bit of a closet romantic. That much he’d made clear. But she still couldn’t work out what he was doing down there in that cabin, and whether he had any plans to leave it.