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As gracefully as she could, she slid onto one of the wooden pews and rested her forehead on her hands. There was no such thing as ghosts. Seeing random red lights and stepping on rose petals was in no way evidence of ethereal beings. The light was probably a reflection of the festive lights outside. And the rose petals…?
‘Are you okay?’ He slid in next to her and placed his arm around her. She wasn’t entirely sure whether this was a comfort, or a hindrance. ‘Are you having a panic attack?’
She shook her head. She wasn’t having a meltdown; she was simply hallucinating.Was that better, or worse?she wondered.
‘Talk to me,’ he said, rubbing her back, which had a strange effect on her breathing. ‘I’m worried about you.’
She sat up and opened her eyes, intending to dismiss her crazy thoughts and not admit to having a wobble, when she spotted something in his hand. ‘What’s that?’
He lifted the silk scarf for her to see – a silk scarf that was decorated with red rose petals. ‘I found it on the floor. Someone obviously dropped it, so I was going to leave it by the door in case they came back for it.’
Kate started laughing. She wasn’t going mad. She hadn’t imagined seeing the petals of the White Lady’s red rose scattered across the floor; she’d simply seen a discarded scarf lying there and her idiotic brain had jumped to a whole host of implausible conclusions. She was officially a basket case.
‘What’s so funny?’ Calvin’s expression indicated that her slightly hysterical laughter was as alarming as her erratic breathing.
‘Nothing, I’m fine. Really. A momentary blip.’ As her lungs expelled the air and her body relaxed, the tension left her, and once again she felt herself slumping. Only this time, she ended up leaning against Calvin, her head nestled in the crook of his neck, her arm lying across his lap, her fingers entwined with his.
For a second, it didn’t seem real. Like it was another hallucination, and she allowed herself a moment to enjoy the way he felt against her, warm and solid. His skin was soft, a contrast to the firm muscle beneath. And boy, did he smell good – of candles, mulled wine and a hint of beer.
And then reality came screeching into focus. This was not some imaginary dream, or a moment of secret fantasy, fuelled by wishful thinking. She really was slumped across Calvin Johnson, her nose pressed against his smooth skin, breathing him in as she softly moaned.Oh, good lord!
She wasn’t sure who froze first – her or him.
There was a moment of absolute stillness, followed by a stiffening of bodies, and then an awkward uncoupling, with both of them flustered and scrabbling to their feet.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she said, tripping over the kneeling cushion in her haste to escape. ‘I don’t know what came over me.’
‘Not a problem,’ he said, exiting the opposite end of the pew at such speed, it was obvious he couldn’t get away fast enough.
‘Time to get back to the minibus, I think.’ She ran for the door.
‘Absolutely,’ he said, following her.
Just when she thought she couldn’t possibly humiliate herself any more…
Chapter Twelve
Monday, 13thDecember
It was still dark when Calvin came downstairs, ready for his early-morning run. The thick fog that had descended yesterday had yet to clear and the low cloud shrouded the care home in a spooky mist. It looked like the setting for a supernatural horror film. Rowan would love it.
As he walked across the lobby, he was surprised to find Alex standing in front of the events noticeboard. ‘You’re up early, Alex. Everything okay?’
Alex gave a half-hearted shrug, his focus fixated on the noticeboard. ‘Hanna wants help changing the slide-sheets this morning. It’s a two-person job, apparently.’
Calvin frowned. ‘It’s not your responsibility to carry out care-home chores, Alex. Why didn’t she ask Natalie to help? Or me, for that matter?’
‘Natalie needs to look after Priya and everyone else is busy doing other stuff. Besides, saying no to Hanna comes with consequences.’ He shot Calvin a look. ‘Know what I mean?’
‘Only too well. But I don’t appreciate her bullying you into helping.’
‘If I help her, she might stop yelling at me.’
Calvin rested his hand on Alex’s shoulder. ‘We’ve all been in Hanna’s bad books at some point.’
Alex pointed to the noticeboard. ‘And now I’ve got to buy her a Christmas present. What the hell am I going to get her?’
Calvin looked at the list of names pinned to the board. They’d been put into pairs, buying a present for one another. So much for it being a secret draw. He searched for his name, unsurprisedto see he’d been paired with Kate. Esme was scheming. He’d be having words with his granny.
