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Would she call him after she had finished talking to her parents? From the troubled look on her face, he was betting that it was going to be a painful conversation, one that would have been made a million or so times better if she were stuck here with Lara, rather than a man who didn’t know how to look after his own family, never mind a stranger. But the thought of her sitting up there—upset and alone—hit him in a way he hadn’t been expecting.
If the weather reports were anything to go by, it would be days until they would be able to get out of there. Even his parents’ house, just a few miles away, was beyond their reach. He’d proved that by walking through the woods like the idiot that he was and nearly getting himself killed. If he’d ever needed a reminder that he wasn’t sufficiently responsible to take care of anyone other than himself, then that was pretty timely. Still, he hated the thought of Jess sitting alone upstairs if she was upset. Perhaps when she was finished talking with her mum he would just knock on the door and check she was okay.
It seemed like the least he could do, all things considered. And, speaking of mothers, if he was going to be leaving an empty place setting at his parents’ dinner table on Christmas Day, he supposed he was going to have to let them know. His phone started ringing, and it seemed as if his mother was psychic, on top of everything else. He accepted the video call and forced a smile.
‘Rufus, love, what are you wearing on your head?’ It was only as the call connected that he realised he was still wearing Jess’s hat, complete with adorable furry bobble.
‘All right, Mam?’ he said, pulling the offending item off his head.
‘Are you at Upton? I rang earlier but you didn’t answer and I was starting to get worried!’
‘Yeah, I’m here. It’s a long story but the car didn’t make it. I hit a deer.’
‘Oh, my—’
‘I’m fine. I’m fine. Don’t mither. But I had to walk the rest of the way.’ He carefully edited out the getting lost, cold and nearly dying part. ‘But I made it up to the house.’
‘Have you got power up there?’
‘On and off. But it’s on just now.’
‘That’s good. But I can’t believe you’re going to be stuck there all...’
‘Mam?’ he asked as her voice trailed off.
‘I was going to say alone, until your friend joined us.’
He glanced over his shoulder and saw Jess standing in the doorway, her mouth a little O of surprise. And his mam, on the screen, eyebrows practically disappearing into her hairline.
‘Oh. Yeah. Mam, this is Jess, she’s one of the guests who was booked into the house for the weekend.’
The smile on his mam’s face was knowing. And irritating.
‘You’re lucky you didn’t get stuck in the snow, lo
ve. And you came on your own, did you?’
On the screen he watched as Jess approached, and pretty much wished he could disappear. Or make his mam disappear. Of course she was going to make this thing with Jess even more awkward than it already was. She lived for this kind of thing.
‘Oh, my friend Lara was meant to be here too but her flight was cancelled.’
‘So the two of you are stuck there together. How...unfortunate.’
If it wasn’t for the enormous grin on her face he might have been able to believe her.
‘I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later. Let’s see what the weather does before we panic too much about Christmas.’
‘Ah, no. You’re stuck there until the New Year I’d have thought. I won’t expect you until next year. Now, you two look after one another, won’t you?’
His mam hung up and he pocketed his phone slowly, delaying the moment when he would have to turn and face Jess.
‘That seemed to go well,’ she said, and he had no choice but to turn to answer her. The fire he’d lit was sending flashes of colour into her hair, picking out hints of gold and chestnut in the deep brown. She was slight, even with the many layers she claimed to be wearing, and he had the suspicion that he could just tuck her under his arm, into his body, and surround her completely. Which he absolutely would not be doing. If the last year had taught him anything it was that he shouldn’t be making himself responsible for other people, because he was in no way up to the job.
He had failed in the role so badly. He had ignored his responsibilities here for too long, off chasing his own career, a Michelin star, while his dad had been trying to keep the estate afloat—nearly killing himself in the process. And then when he finally came back—taken a look at the estate that he’d always assumed would be waiting for him when he was ready—he found that there was barely anything of it left. Most of the property and land had been sold to finance their debts, and there was only the manor and the cottage left.
He had had the chance to be a provider, a protector, and had failed at both. The fact that he was even here with Jess was complete proof of that.
