“We have so much to say to each other,” Robyn said, “but you’ve had a long journey, and I’m sure you’re longing to see Holly, so I thought we’d go straight to your cabin. You and I will have plenty of time to catch up.”

A reprieve! Christy felt nothing but relief. And she didn’t even need to feel guilty about it because for once she wasn’t the one postponing an awkward conversation.

“That sounds good to me.” She wanted to see her child. She wanted to play in the snow and see reindeer and do all the things she’d dreamed about when she’d planned the trip. She wanted this to be a Christmas they’d remember for all the right reasons.

Robyn was still talking. “I’m going to help your friends move their things to their new lodge. It’s close. A few minutes down the track. A couple from Germany vacated it this morning, so that was lucky. They were supposed to be staying until after Christmas, but she had a work crisis and they had to fly home. It’s a little smaller than the lodge Alix and Zac have been staying in—your lodge—but as they’re a couple I’m sure that won’t bother them.”

A couple? What made Robyn think they were a couple?

Christy was about to ask, but they’d arrived at the doorway of her cabin, and it was perfect, dreamy, and there, through the glass, she could see her daughter on her hands and knees with Alix, the pair of them convulsing with laughter.

Christy felt a wash of love so powerful it almost knocked her off her feet, followed by a sharp stab of jealousy, which embarrassed her. What did she want? For her child to be upset and missing her mother? Of course not. Well, maybe missing her mother a little bit. She wanted to be the most important person in Holly’s life. Was that human or weird? Since when had she been so needy?

She felt a little anxious as she helped Seb with their luggage and walked to the door with Robyn.

What if Holly wasn’t even pleased to see her? What if—

“Mummy!” With a shriek of delight, Holly bounded across the room and hurled herself at Christy. “I built a snowman. And we found the biggest tree. And I want a dog like Suka—” The words tumbled over each other in her rush to share all her experiences, and Christy felt a sharp pang that she hadn’t been the one to do those things with her daughter.

But she was here now.

She squeezed her tightly, savoring the affection. “Sounds as if you have a lot to tell me.” But Holly was already wriggling out of her arms, too excited to stay still even for a moment.

“She’s been looking out the window all morning, waiting for you.” Alix brushed fir tree needles from her legs and stepped forward a little uncertainly. “Hi there.”

“Hi, you.” Christy hugged her. “Thank you. I hope it wasn’t too tough.” It felt uncomfortable harboring these feelings of resentment—You made me suspicious about my husband—while acknowledging that she owed her friend a great deal. Taking someone else’s four-year-old for a few hours was a favor, but taking sole charge for days at a time went far beyond a kindness. And from the looks of it, Holly had been having the best time.