“Do you know how it feels to be making our house festive for someone else?”
“For all of us. You’re living in it too, Kirstie. It’s going to feel the same way it always feels, only possibly less disorganized. Maybe you’ll even enjoy it. It’s a matter of attitude.”
“No, it’s a fact. You’ve sacrificed our family Christmas for commercial reasons.”
“Practical reasons. And I haven’t sacrificed anything. It will still be Christmas. We’ll be cooking the same food, using the same decorations on the tree. Maybe you need to be more realistic about this time of year instead of always thinking it will be a magical time—”
Was she being pathetic? Nostalgic? “How can it be magical? It’s just not the same without—”
“I know. It can’t be the same. It won’t be. So we need to make it different. Maybe it’s a good thing to shake it up a little.” His voice thickened and he stripped off another layer, his movements rough and angry.
“But spending it with strangers—”
“Since when have we refused to welcome a stranger into our home? Where’s the Highland hospitality we’re known for?”
She swallowed. He made her feel small and selfish and less than she wanted to be.
“Samantha is probably one of those scary, corporate types with perfect hair and nails and a no-nonsense attitude.” She wrapped her arms around herself, embarrassed by her own behavior. Wishing she was one of those people who could embrace change with humor. “In case you can’t tell, I’m having a bad day.”
He dropped what he was holding and gave her a hug. “You don’t have to apologize for that. We all have them.”
“But you don’t spill your feelings all over everyone.” She gave a sniff and pulled away. “You need a shower. You smell of woodsmoke.”
“Occupational hazard around here.”
“I’m trying to be angry with you.”
“I’d noticed.”
“Who is prepared to fly thousands of miles from home to spend Christmas with a bunch of strangers in the middle of nowhere? It’s strange.”
“Not that strange. She’s bringing her family with her. And don’t call it ‘the middle of nowhere.’ I don’t want to put people off coming here.”
“You can’t hide what we are or where we are. The nearest town is an hour away in good weather.”
He dropped the branch of holly onto the pile on the floor. “If they wanted a town, they wouldn’t be choosing this place. And the village is closer than that.”
“One pub and a post office that sells everything? That hardly counts. Is she some kind of business machine? Forcing her family to uproot themselves over the holidays so that she can work? Because that’s what this is to her, isn’t it?” She swept her arm through the air, the arc of her arm taking in loch, mountains and forest. “This place we call home—it’s work to her. We’re a venue.”
“You’ve never heard of mixing business with pleasure?”
“I’m worried she won’t get it, that’s all. I’m worried she wants fake Scotland, and that we’re going to have to produce that. You want us to live as one family and eat meals together, but my tongue gets tied in a knot when I’m intimidated by someone. She’ll talk about profit, loss and the bottom line. I’ll talk about the problems of freezing pipes in the middle of winter and how on a bad day I can’t feel my toes. And that’s another thing—it will be cold.”
“She lives in Boston and their winters are fiercer than ours. I should think she’ll be used to the cold.”
“So she is a scary corporate type?”
“I think she’s human, like the rest of us.” He turned away and scooped up a large bunch of mistletoe. “I think you should stop worrying about people you don’t know and focus on making the place the best it can be. We make a success of this, we can fix the roof in the tower and also the windows. Then maybe your toes won’t freeze at night and we can hire someone to do the housekeeping tasks.”
“How about Mum crying?”
“We both know she’s not crying because I’ve invited strangers into our house for Christmas.”
“But having strangers will make it harder for her.”
“Or maybe it will be a reason to get out of bed in the morning.”
Kirstie thought about that and had to concede he could be right. Her mother had always been so warm and welcoming to everyone, family and strangers alike. She’d never been happier than when she