The shoulder nearest to him gave a tiny shrug. ‘No more receptive than when I avoided his apology before.’ She turned to look at him, her eyes hunted. ‘And then Tonya came to the door when I was reading the letter.’ Rapidly, tautly, she recounted Tonya’s reaction. ‘Why couldn’t he just accept I don’t want to hear it?’ she ended bitterly. ‘Tonya recognised his handwriting and knew I was hiding something.’

Regardless of whether the others noticed, he slipped a comforting arm around her, feeling her warmth through his sleeve. ‘He must have had his reasons for writing to you.’

Laurel remained within his encircling arm, but she turned the conversation to the Christmas scene and he knew she’d said all she wanted to say on the subject of Mac’s letter. With misgivings, he wondered how the conversation had gone between Mac and Tonya.

After lunch he started creating the shadows where ice passed over submerged rocks in the lake. Those shadows indicated there was something going on beneath the surface, he thought, just as Laurel’s jerky little sentences had hinted at all that lurked below her surface, too.

Later, Iris laid down her brush and declared, ‘This has been lovely, dears, but I’m ready for home.’

Grady was surprised to see it was already three-thirty. He thanked Iris for everything she’d done and admired the way she’d bedecked her trees with snow.

Hubert, too, washed out his brush and went home for a rest, just as Tess called Grady’s phone.

‘Really sorry,’ she said, sounding it. ‘Ratty’s mum’s not well so my childcare’s fallen through. Ratty says he’ll come home about five. I know I was supposed to be with you by now but will after five do? Maybe we could order pizza for supper and work through?’

‘That’s fine,’ Grady said heartily, trying not to mind losing the chance of dinner with Laurel. He passed on her message to the others and the teens pounced with glee on the word ‘pizza’.

‘Suits me,’ said Niall, who’d been entrusted with the chalet-like mountain-top cable car station and was using a palette knife to create the wooden walls. ‘Mum’s gone off to my auntie’s anyway. She was only supposed to go for one day but then she said she was going for “a few”.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘Mum and Dad were whispering in their room for ages before she went. Then they both acted so fake when they told me about her change in plans. I bet Mum and my auntie are going Christmas shopping together or something. It’s lame, as if Mum thinks I still believe my presents come from Santa.’