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But he saw the fear in her eyes and knew he had to take it slowly. ‘So, Jamie, do you think I need my own tree?’
‘Of course. Otherwise where do you put your presents?’
Charmed by the innocence of the conversation, Dino struggled to find the right answer. ‘When you reach my age, you don’t tend to have too many presents.’
‘Why not?’ Jamie looked shocked. ‘What about your mum and dad and your sister?’
Dino kept his expression neutral. ‘My parents give me money and I choose something for myself. That’s what we’ve always done.’
‘What? Even when you were little?’ Jamie looked appalled. ‘That’s awful.’ He slipped his hand into Dino’s. ‘This year, you should try writing to Santa. I know you’re big, but you never know. I write to him every year and he always comes.’
Finding it difficult to speak, Dino cleared his throat. ‘You think he’d come if I wrote to him?’
‘Sure. I think so.’ Jamie frowned. ‘Maybe you ought to tell him that you save a lot of people’s lives, just in case he doesn’t know that you do that kind of thing. I mean, that’s good, isn’t it? It’s got to be worth something.’
Dino nodded. ‘Maybe.’ He rubbed his hand over his jaw. ‘Where do I post the letter?’
Jamie gave him a puzzled look. ‘You put it up the chimney. It just goes.’
‘Up the chimney. Right.’ He didn’t point out that his contemporary fireplace was surrounded by glass. ‘Maybe you can help me write it. Have you done yours?’
‘Last week.’ Jamie tugged at his hat. ‘I asked for a Batmobile toy, and a Nintendo Wii, but I know I won’t get both because it’s too expensive. I sort of asked him to choose. He knows what would suit you. He’s clever like that. What would you ask for?’
Dino looked at Meg, who had wandered off to help her mother choose a tree. ‘I have a feeling Santa probably can’t give everyone what they want,’ he said huskily, and Jamie looked at him and then turned his head.
‘You like my mum, don’t you? You look at her all the time. And she looks at you, but mostly when she knows you’re not looking.’
Digesting that information, Dino dropped down to his haunches so that he was at the same level as the boy. ‘I do like your mum, Jamie. I like her a lot.’
Jamie glanced over his shoulder and then leaned forward and whispered, ‘If you like my mum, then you need to have a plan, because pretty soon she’ll drive you away. That’s what she does. She puts men off. I’ve heard Grandma talking to her. Grandma says she needs to stop shutting people out. I don’t quite know what that means, but I know she doesn’t kiss anyone. Is that going to be a problem?’
Dino thought about the night before, about Meg stretched out naked underneath him and above him. ‘I think I can handle it.’
‘The thing that really worries her is that a man might like her and not me.’ Jamie fiddled with one of the branches of the tree. ‘Not everyone likes kids. My real dad didn’t like kids.’
Dino found that his hands had curled into fists. Forcing himself to breathe slowly, he relaxed them. ‘Jamie—’
‘I used to think it was that he didn’t like me, but Mum told me that was wrong. He didn’t even wait around for me to be born, so it couldn’t have been because he didn’t like me, could it?’ There was a flicker of uncertainty in his face and Dino put his arms around the boy and dragged him into a hug.
‘No, it most definitely could not have been because he didn’t like you. Your mum is right, he must just not have wanted kids. If he’d known you there is no way he could have walked away.’ Over Jamie’s shoulder he saw Meg looking at them. Saw the anxiety in her eyes. He gave her a smile and saw her relax slightly. But she kept glancing towards them as she helped her mother choose a tree.
‘Mum says it was her fault. Because she’s not a girly girl. She says my dad wanted someone who wore a dress all the time and painted her nails pink.’ Jamie pulled away. ‘Would you want Mum to paint her nails? Because generally she thinks it’s a waste of time.’
‘I think,’ Dino said slowly, ‘that I’d want your mum to do whatever she wanted to do. If she wanted pink nails, that would be fine. If she didn’t, that would be fine, too.’
‘Right, well, that’s good. And I know you don’t mind that she likes the mountains, because you like them too. Most of the time at weekends we’re up in the mountains, training Rambo. And when I’m older she’s promised to get me my own puppy to train.’ He looked at Dino. ‘So what do you think? Do you think you could get to like me? Because I sort of come with my mum, a bit like getting a free toy in the cereal packet.’ There was a tremble in his voice and Dino tried to remember another occasion when he’d felt as though his heart was jammed in his throat.
‘I already like you, Jamie. I like you a great deal.’
Jamie stood for a moment. ‘So the only problem is how to get Mum to stop being scared of you.’
Dino frowned at that interpretation. ‘You think she’s scared of me?’
‘She’s scared you might go away, like my dad. Some men do that.’ Looking older than his years, Jamie studied the tree. ‘I suppose you just have to show her you like her and that you’re not going anywhere. But I don’t know how you do that. I expect she’ll push you away. It’s what she always does.’
‘I’m not going to let her push me away, Jamie.’
‘It will be hard.’
