“Hmmm.”Cat pretended to think.“That doesn’t leave us a lot of options then, does it?”
“No,” Olivia said sadly.
“I guess we’ll have to buy one for here.”
“What?”Olivia turned to Cat and grabbed her hand.“Do you mean it?”
“Don’t you think we should have a tree here?”
“Yes.” Olivia jumped off the couch.“Let’s get a big one.”
“This isn’t a very high ceiling, Olivia.”
“So when can we do this?Can we go now?”
“It’s stopped snowing but it’s slushy out, and it’s getting late for us to walk to town.What if we go tomorrow morning?After your dad goes to work?We could walk into Bakewell and get a little tree and surprise him when he returns home.”
Olivia clapped her hands.“That would be the best surprise.”
Jillian must have been listening on the stairs because she suddenly flounced down the remaining steps and walked into the sitting room.“Stop acting like you are part of the family, Cat.Because you are not, and will never be—”
“I’m not trying to be part of your family,” Cat interrupted, patience shot.“I don’t want to be part of your family,” she added, leaving the couch for the kitchen where she scooped up dish towels and carried those to the tiny laundry room attached to the kitchen.
Unfortunately, Jillian followed her.“Why don’t you want to be part of our family?”
“Because you’re not very nice, that’s why.”
“Wait until my mum finds out how mean you are to me.”
“Wait until I tell her that you were awful not just to me, but to poor old Miss Pettigrew!”
“Miss Pettigrew wasn’t that old.She’s like forty or something.”
“Even worse.Rather than being with her family for the holidays, she agreed to be with yours, and then you scare her off.I feel sorry for her.”Cat faced Jillian.“Furthermore, you can’t scare me off.You’re not very scary.You’re just bratty.”
Jillian’s jaw dropped and she gasped.
“So, here’s how it works,” Cat continued, crossing her arms.“You don’t have to like me, and I don’t have to like you.I just need to make sure you’re still in one piece every day when your dad returns, and I am confident I can do that.”Cat threw the dish towels and several damp bath towels into the washing machine, added soap and turned the machine on before glancing back at Jillian.“Let’s face it, that’s what he’s paying me for.”
“Charlotte would never say anything like that to a child she was caring for.”
“Charlotte sounds like a much nicer person than me.But then, I also don’t think you harass Charlotte and try to make her life miserable.”
“Have I made your life miserable?”Jillian asked, hopefully.
Cat stifled a laugh.When Jillian wasn’t being a bully, she could be very funny.“No.I’ve got a thick skin and a lot of practice with disappointment so I doubt you could make me miserable but go ahead and try.I will enjoy reporting your efforts to your father.It will give us something to discuss each night when you’re in bed.”
The girl stiffened.“You wouldn’t do that.That’s gossip and uncharitable.”
“Not if I’m telling the truth.”
Jillian glared at her.“He should have never hired you.”
“Oh well.Adults do the strangest things.Fortunately, it’s only for a couple weeks and then your Charlotte will be back, and life will be perfect again.”
“But the holidays will be over, and I’ll be back in school.”
“That is how school holidays work.”
