People flowed past her, haste making them clumsy and careless. She was bruised by elbows and stabbed by the corners of sharp parcels. Gritting her teeth, she moved closer to the glass for protection.
She felt vulnerable and not up to the challenge of handling Suzanne. The journey home would be punctuated by a cheery stream of well-meaning chat, which would exclude all the questions Suzanne was desperate to ask.
Hannah knew there would be things she was expected to say, and she wouldn’t be able to say any of them.
If she was lucky, Stewart would be home early. His steady presence seemed to calm Suzanne and Hannah had always found him easy to be around.
It crossed her mind that he might be the one to talk to about what was happening in her life.
She’d switched her phone on after the flight and found a message from Adam.
Call me. Let me know how your sister is.
What had possessed her to lie to him?
The airport was busy and she was wondering if she should call Suzanne to get an idea of how far away she was, when a familiar car swerved into a space.
Hannah picked up her two suitcases and her laptop bag and braved the howling wind, but it wasn’t Suzanne who sprang out of the driver’s seat, it was Posy.
Her sister wore faded jeans and hiking boots. Her outdoor jacket was a zingy shade of blue and unzipped, as if she’d been in too much of a hurry to fasten it. Everything about her screamed energy. The way she walked, the way she smiled, the way she turned her head. Even her ponytail swung with enthusiasm. She wasn’t capable of strolling anywhere.
She wore no makeup, but her cheeks were pink and her hair, a rich chocolate brown, gleamed as if it had been polished. She could have appeared in an advert for multivitamins or wholesome breakfast cereal. Looking at her made Hannah feel pale and unhealthy. Did she ever look that vibrant and full of life? The answer was no, at least not without considerable help from expensive cosmetics.
“Well, if it isn’t my prodigal sister.” Posy stepped forward and hugged her.
The hug took Hannah by surprise.
She felt the soft brush of her sister’s hair against her cheek, breathed in the smell of fresh lemons. Something fluttered in her chest, an emotion she hadn’t felt in a long time.
The cold chill that had gripped her for the past couple of weeks melted under the warmth, taking with it another layer of her carefully erected defenses.
That felt so scary that she stepped back and promptly planted her soft suede boots into a slushy puddle.
Icy meltwater seeped through the inadequate fabric.
It said a lot about her need to avoid intimacy that she was willing to sacrifice an expensive pair of boots and possibly a couple of toes to frostbite.
“I was expecting Suzanne.”
“She has a stall at one of the Christmas markets today. You got me instead. I think I’m the jackpot, but I could be biased.”
Hannah wished she hadn’t been in so much haste to pull away from the hug, which made no sense.
You couldn’t reject love one minute and then want it the next.
Fortunately, her sister didn’t seem to have noticed anything strange or different about Hannah.
“Be careful with the suitcases. The blue one is new.”
Posy straightened, and wisps of hair slid around her flushed cheeks. “If you’re going to complain, you can haul your own luggage. And there’s plenty of it. You don’t travel light, do you?”
“The house isn’t usually that warm. I brought extra clothes.”
“It’s warm enough if you’re working.” Posy swept up the luggage and flung it into the car. “Providing you don’t sit around, you won’t feel the cold.”
Already they were sniping at each other. That, at least, felt familiar.
No matter that she was on her way to the top of her profession, her youngest sister always made her feel inadequate, as if all the skills she had amounted to nothing. “I’ve been here less than two minutes, so do you think you could give me a break?” Depression settled on Hannah like a fine mist of rain, slowly seeping through her remaining layers of protection. “I’m sorry. And I’m grateful for the ride.”