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“You implied that I shut you out.”
“No. I was telling you that I felt on the edge. Not the same thing. There are things I’d change if we had our time again.”
“Mm?” She tried to sound casual. Did she want to hear the alternate scenario? The one which might not have ended in divorce? No, not really. The time to have had this conversation was long past.
“For a start I’d notice that you didn’t love your job. Thinking about it now, it’s pretty obvious. You love being outdoors. You always have. You love nature. I should have seen that any job that kept you trapped indoors would be the wrong one.”
“I made my own choices. And I’m not like you. I didn’t have a burning passion. I applied for lots of different jobs, and took one that made me an offer. I’m sure millions of people do the same thing. We land in a place as much by accident as design.”
They finished eating, although she barely tasted the food.
“Instead of having dessert and coffee here, why don’t we go back to the tree house? We can sit in front of the fire and finish our conversation without half the world listening in.”
She thought about it. “I suppose the horse pulling the sleigh might be less tired if we go early.”
They bundled up and made their way out into the cold.
They had the sleigh to themselves for the short ride down to the village. From there, they’d take a car back to Snowfall Lodge.
Maggie snuggled under the thick blanket and Nick put his arm around her and pulled her closer. Maybe she should have pulled away, but she didn’t want to.
It was for warmth, she told herself. For warmth, that was all.
She realized how rare it was to travel like this, with no car fumes, impatient drivers, or stop-and-start traffic. The horse and the sleigh left no human footprint, and there was something magical about it.
They could have been alone in the world, the only sounds the muffled sound of the horse’s hooves on the snow and the occasional soft swish of its tail as they made their way down the trail that led to the village. They snuggled together under the blanket, watching the stealthy swirl of snow that fell silently around them.
Maggie was glad of the layers she’d put on, and also glad for Nick’s strength and warmth.
She leaned her head against his shoulder, enjoying the clean, freezing air and the steady presence of the trees that guarded the edges of the trail.
The end came too soon, and when they climbed into the waiting car she felt a pang of disappointment.
Back in the tree house, Nick headed straight for the kitchen and she stripped off her outer layers and stood in front of the flickering fire.
“Here.” Nick handed her a mug full of scalding hot coffee. “This will warm you up. It’s snowing again—can you believe that? And there’s a blizzard forecast for tomorrow.”
“All those years I dreamed of having a white Christmas, and suddenly there is so much snow there’s a chance we’ll be snowed in.”
“Do you hate it? Are you missing Honeysuckle Cottage and our usual Christmas traditions?”
Maggie walked to the window and stared out at the trees. Trees always made her feel calmer. “No. I love it. It’s the most perfect place I’ve ever stayed.”
“You’re enjoying yourself?”
“Yes. Real life seems a long way away.”
“But in a week we’re going back to that life. And you’re returning to a job you don’t like. Resign, Mags. Make that the first thing you do when you get home.”
“Without another job to go to?” He’d always been more impulsive and adventurous than her. “It’s a good thing one of us is sensible.”
“I’m not sure I agree. Not if being sensible traps you in a life you don’t like. Give yourself the gift of a fresh start.”
She blew on her coffee to cool it. “I’ve already had about fifty rejections. It’s pretty obvious that I don’t have the qualifications or professional training to do the job I want to do. If I resign, all I’ll give myself are money worries. What’s good about that?”
“The job you’d like to do is garden design?”
“Some of my happiest moments have been spent in our garden, and I’m proud of what I’ve created. I think losing the garden will be one of the worst things about selling the house. A garden isn’t something that happens instantly. It matures and changes over time.” She looked at him. “Like a marriage, I suppose.”
