Page 15 of Daddy's Christmas Obsession
She shifts in her seat, clearly sensing the change in atmosphere. Then she surprises me.
"Speaking of Aaron—can I use your phone to call him? Mine has no reception up here."
A test. Clever girl.
"Of course," I say, reaching for the landline on the side table. "Though the storm might be affecting service. The lines get temperamental up here in bad weather."
I hand her the cordless phone, confident in my preparations. The line has been disconnected, but in a way that will sound like weather interference rather than deliberate sabotage.
She dials Aaron's number, holding the phone to her ear. After a moment, her brow furrows. "There's no dial tone."
I take the phone from her, frowning as I listen. "That's strange. Let me check the connection."
I walk to the kitchen, pretending to examine the phone base. "The storm must be worse than I thought. The satellite system sometimes goes down in heavy snow." I return to the great room, expression apologetic. "I'm afraid we might be on our own until the weather clears."
"How convenient," she murmurs, so quietly I almost don't catch it.
"I'm sorry?"
"Nothing." She stands, moving to the window to watch the falling snow. "It's just strange. All these coincidences."
"Coincidences?"
She turns to face me, arms crossed over her chest. "Aaron breaking up with me two days ago. My apartment building suddenly requiring evacuation. My research funding disappearing overnight. And now Aaron supposedly wanting to reconcile, but mysteriously delayed, while we're snowed in with no communication to the outside world."
Her intelligence has always been what I admired most about her. It's also what makes her dangerous.
"That does sound like quite a string of bad luck," I say carefully. "But I assure you, I had nothing to do with Aaron's decision to end your relationship. In fact, I was quite disappointed when he told me."
"When did he tell you?" she asks, and there's a sharpness to her question that tells me she's testing me again.
"The day after it happened," I reply smoothly. "He called me from his fraternity house, rather upset. I was the one who suggested he'd made a mistake."
She studies me for a long moment, then nods slowly. "And my apartment building? The research funding? Just coincidences?"
"The world can be cruel sometimes, Kyra. Especially to those who deserve better." I move to stand beside her at the window, close enough to smell her perfume but not so close as to crowd her. "But sometimes, what seems like cruelty is actually... redirection."
"Redirection to what?"
I don't answer immediately, letting the question hang between us. "Would you like to see the rest of the cabin? There's a library I think you might appreciate."
She hesitates, then nods. "Lead the way."
I guide her through the main floor, noting how her eyes linger on changes I've made since her last visit. The new artwork in the hallway, the reconfigured furniture in the great room. Her familiarity with the space is evident in the way she moves, comfortable yet alert to the subtle differences.
"The library's been expanded," I mention, opening the double doors to reveal the room that had captivated her during previous visits.
Her eyes widen as she takes in the new floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, now filled with additional volumes, including a section dedicated to medical and scientific texts—many of them recent publications I know she's been wanting to read.
"You've added so many new books," she says, moving immediately to the medical section. Her fingers trace the spine of a recent journal on cardiac regeneration. "This just came out last month."
"Consider them at your disposal during your stay," I say, watching her with satisfaction. "Knowledge should be shared, not hoarded behind paywalls and institutional subscriptions."
She pulls out a recent paper on cardiac stem cell therapy, examining the cover with clear interest. "This just came out last month. How did you get it so quickly?"
"I have my sources." I move to stand behind her, close enough that she must feel my presence. "I've been following research in your field for some time."
She turns, finding herself almost against my chest. "Why?"
