"Are you sure you will manage on your own?" I asked Marco once again.

The workers were repairing the leak in the roof of the bistro, and everything seemed alright, but I was still hesitant. A workaholic like me was never calm leaving his business during a crisis, no matter how small it was.

"You had already sent Aiden and Ellie to your cabin, and your girlfriend will be here soon. We both know you will travel, so stop worrying. We have been through worse."

Marco gave me a smile full of reassurance, and I relaxed some.

"But you will call me is there is an emergency."

"I will."

"Okay. Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Me either."

Marco grinned, and I did, too. Now, everything was ready for real. I was waiting for Louise and Steve to go to my house in the mountains. I built it two years ago, seduced by the idea of having a property in a peaceful place where I could go to relax. Ollie designed the house, and I fell in love with it and the place. The house was way too big for just me, but I secretly hoped that one day I would have a family to go there with.

Now that I had Lou and her daughter, my dreams of Christmas holidays spent with my people came true. I decided to invite Aiden, too. He and Ellie seemed to have grown even closer. I knew he would rather spend the holidays with her than stay at home with his father, who didn't seem to give a damn about the boy anyway.

My only problem was Steve and his attitude. He was against the idea of Ellie's boyfriend spending two weeks in the mountains with us, but I didn't care. Life taught me many lessons, and listening only to the opinions of those you admired or loved was one of them. I was a grown man who wouldn't tolerate being told what to do.

I glanced at my watch again. I didn't blame Lou for being late. I knew what case she'd been working on. It was important, and the witness statements she could add to the case would probably change its outcome.

Steve was a different story. He left without explaining what the emergency was. I had a nagging suspicion that he didn't travel here from England to see his family. He sure seemed to be working on something, and the mystery around his whereabouts was somewhat unsettling.

"I'm sorry!" Lou rushed into the bistro, her cheeks flushed. "I tried to finish work earlier, but you know how it is."

"Know it well." I smiled and kissed her cheek. "And your uncle?"

"He asked me to pick him up in a small town. It's not exactly on the way, but it's only a five-minute detour."

"Okay. Let's go, then. We'll take my car. It's more comfortable, and I put the chains, unlike someone I know."

Louise kissed my cheek, and I smiled at her blush.

"I keep forgetting," she complained. "I have too much on my mind."

"Bon voyage, lovebirds," Marco yelled from the kitchen.

We waved at him, and Lou shouted, "Happy holidays!" before we stepped out of the bistro.

Lou made herself comfortable in the passenger seat after I'd put our luggage in the trunk. I saw her laptop and raised my eyebrows. "Are you gonna work?"

"Hopefully not, but I had to take it with me just in case. I told my boss not to disturb me unless it's unavoidable. Let's see if he keeps his promise."

"Your uncle seems to be unable to stop working, too," I said.

"He says he's helping out his colleagues here, but I have my doubts. He's hardly ever at home, and you've seen how he treats Ellie. I don't know what's wrong with him. London fog must have something in it to make my uncle change so much."

I laughed, maneuvering the car to join the stream of vehicles on the highway.
"Some people don't find work, Lou. Work finds them."

Louise put her hand on my knee and laughed at my smirk.

I was selfish because this trip was also good for another thing. I wanted my girlfriend and me to finally make love. As unbelievable as that seemed, there was always something in the way, be it my job or hers, our families, or other commitments. We couldn't find the time to be together without interruptions. Louise couldn't spend the night at my place, leaving Ellie with Steve, and I wouldn't sleep with her in her house.

The mountains were different. In a house as big as mine, I would not have to worry about being seen or heard.

"It's here," Lou pointed ahead of us when I approached the place where we'd meet Steve.

"Southville," I muttered. "It's a nice place. I've heard they have excellent fish in the restaurants here."

Louise laughed. "Of course, that's something you would know."

I didn't have time to reply. As soon as the car slowed down, Steve rushed toward it, opening the rear door.

"I'm sorry for making you pick me up. It was important."

"It's okay," I said. "We didn't mind."

Steve buckled up in his seat. Then, he glanced around and frowned. "And Ellie?"

"Ellie and Aiden are on their way to the mountains. They left almost two hours ago."

"Who let him drive her there?" Steve asked.

Louise sighed. "Uncle, please."

"Please what? Please stop being responsible? Please stop behaving like an adult?"

I clutched the steering wheel. "It was me, not Lou. I let Aiden drive. He put the chains and his car is good enough for the type of roads we have there. Besides, he's an excellent driver, calm and attentive."

"So, they will be in the house alone? Just the two of them?"

"Until we get there, yes. It was letting them take the food to the house or putting everything in the fridge again. What's so wrong with two responsible teenagers going somewhere on their own?"

Steve sighed. "You are too permissive, just like Louise. You are letting them do whatever they want without adult supervision."

I tapped my fingers on the wheel, mentally counting to ten to calm down my nerves Steve needed no effort to get on.

"Yeah, I am. I trust them. They are responsible, and I'd rather give them the benefit of the doubt. If they screw up, we'll talk. Until then, they can be left alone and drive the damn car."

"You're being unreasonable," Louise said to Steve. "You know Ellie. She's never done anything crazy."

"There's always the first time, especially when she's with that guy."

I trained my eyes on the road and the traffic, trying and failing to let Steve's comments slide. It was hard enough to be young and at the crossroads, trying to figure out who you were and who you wanted to be. Aiden was a genuinely good guy who didn't have an ounce of malice in him. He was transparent and so were his intentions.

"Look at this. It's snowing!"

The excitement in Lou's voice pulled me out of the well of grim thoughts, at least temporarily.

With Steve sulking and threatening to spoil our mood as he sat staring at nothing in particular in the back seat of my car, it would be a very long journey.