Page 29 of The Christmas Tree Farm

What the hell time was it?

She stuck her hand out into the icy room and patted around on her bedside table until she felt her phone. She grabbed it and pulled it under the blankets.

Six a.m. and Chloe was calling.

‘Six hours ahead, Chlo,’ she groaned into the phone, not bothering with a greeting. ‘How many times do I have to tell you? You are six hours ahead of me.’

Her twin winced, her pretty face filling the screen. ‘Oops! Sorry, Kiki. I forgot!’

‘’S okay,’ she said, rolling onto her back.

‘Where are you? Some kind of tent?’ Chloe wrinkled her nose, like their mother did, but on Chloe it came across as much less judgemental.

‘I’m under my blankets.’

‘I thought you got the heat fixed!’

‘I did. Well, sort of fixed. It’s just cold as hell here.’

‘Here, too,’ her sister said, reminding Kira of how far apart they were, a literal ocean away. ‘I hate it, but Erik says I’ll get used to it.’

‘Right, and how is Erik?’ she asked, swallowing every ounce of snarkiness she wanted to put into that question. Kira had met the man exactly once in person and it was at the wedding, but she knew everything she needed to know about him. He’d taken her sister away and so very rationally, she hated him.

‘He’s good. We looked at the cutest apartment the other day. You would have loved it. It gets beautiful light in the afternoon.’

‘Sounds perfect. Send me pics.’

‘I will.’

Kira waited for her sister to go on, but Chloe just studied her through the phone, which was unfair really. Of course she looked like a mess. She’d been asleep! Her hair was more nest than hair right now, her bangs sticking up at odd angles. She’d only gotten them in the first place to look different from Chloe. She was tired of people’s disappointment when she’d reveal which twin she really was. Like she’d tricked them into thinking she was the better one.

‘You’re staring at me, Chlo.’

‘I just miss you.’

Kira swallowed the hot lump of emotion that insisted on forming in her throat whenever she talked to her sister. It wasn’t the same, talking to her this way. It wasn’t the same as sitting side by side on their couch, their legs tangled together as they ate ice cream and debriefed on their latest date or a horrible day at work or the last passive-aggressive comment their mother had made.

‘I miss you, too. Of course I do, Chlo. But you have that dreamy new husband and that amazing European adventure you’ve always wanted. Don’t waste it missing me.’

Her sister sniffed and wiped her eyes. As much as Kira privately ranted about how her sister had betrayed and abandoned her, she would never, ever, in a million years do anything to dim Chloe’s happiness. At least, not anymore. She was determined not to interfere with Chloe’s happiness ever again.

‘But are you okay there?’ Chloe asked, eyes still glossy with unshed tears. ‘I’m worried about you.’

‘I’m fine. I’m great, actually. The farm is open and I’m sure we’ll be mobbed today after my announcement last night. Trust me, these people love Christmas.’ She pushed the hair from her face and just kept on lying. ‘I’m doing what I always wanted! I’ve got my own homestead here and this beautiful old house. Once I get everything set up, it’s going to be gorgeous. And then you can come visit me.’

Had they been in the same room, had she not been in the dark, Chloe would have called her on her bullshit. But apparently, the distance really messed with her sister’s lie-detecting abilities.

‘I just can’t believe you spent all your money on it.’

‘It’s an investment, Chlo. Isn’t that what you and Dad were always yammering on about?’

‘I meant like a Roth IRA, not a farm.’

Kira shrugged like this run-down farm and the stock market were totally equivalent investments. ‘It’s what I wanted.’ Or at least, what she thought she wanted when she was stress-scrolling through social media in the wee hours of the morning—and that was basically the same thing, right?

‘This is a much bigger deal than that time you bought a racehorse,’ Chloe went on.

‘I rescued that horse, thank you very much.’