Coming Home to Cuckoo Cottage Page 18

  ‘Have you named them yet?’

  ‘No,’ I said, ‘not yet, but give me time.’

  ‘Excellent,’ she smiled, climbing behind the wheel and scanning the horizon. ‘You might want to shut them up for a bit if this storm hits.’

  Right on cue, there was a distant rumble of thunder and Minnie scuttled back towards the cottage with her tail between her legs.

  ‘I’m hoping it’s going to roll around us rather than come over,’ I said, with a shudder. ‘I hate it.’

  ‘Well, you never know,’ said Amber. ‘We might get away with it, and sometimes it does seem to track the river. Anyway, congratulations, Lottie Foster,’ she nodded. ‘I think you’ve got the makings of a very beautiful and successful business here.’

  ‘Well, I hope so,’ I said, biting my lip and looking back towards the barns.

  My head was full of exciting possibilities and my heart suddenly seemed to be beating to a very different tune. I was already beginning to wish I hadn’t felt the need to keep ambition at bay for so long and I knew that Gwen and Gran would have been delighted that I was determined to make up for lost time.

  ‘I know so,’ Amber said firmly. ‘I’ll see you later.’

  ‘Thanks for coming,’ I said, taking a step back. ‘Bye.’

  ‘Bye,’ called a little voice from the back seat.

  ‘Bye, bye, Honey bee,’ I called as Amber pulled away, ‘I’ll see you soon.’

  As they disappeared out of sight I could hear the telephone ringing in the cottage and rushed to pick it up before the answerphone cut in, fumbling with the hula girl key ring in my haste. A vehicle drove by and I glanced back at the road to make sure it wasn’t Amber coming back for something she had forgotten. But it was Will. Heading towards home, he was still driving slowly and gave me a thumbs up in the process. I waved back then rushed into the house feeling pleased that he was sticking to the speed limit.

  ‘Hello,’ I said, snatching up the phone just before Gwen’s voice cut in.

  ‘Lottie?’

  ‘Yes,’ I frowned.

  ‘It’s Simon.’

  I was feeling none too impressed about his no-show and having quickly glanced at the answering machine I could see that he hadn’t even called and left a message.

  ‘I’m sorry about this morning,’ he began.

  ‘I thought you were coming out to see me first thing,’ I snapped. I knew I sounded cross, but I hated being messed about.

  ‘I was,’ he said, ‘but this emergency came up.’

  ‘Right,’ I said, trying not to sound peevish. I might have been annoyed but my bad mood wasn’t going to make him materialise out of thin air. ‘So when are you coming?’

  ‘Won’t be today now, I’m afraid,’ he said with a sigh. ‘There’s the mother of all thunderstorms heading in our direction apparently and I won’t be doing any electrical work during that obviously.’

  Just as he finished speaking, I saw a flash in the distance and Minnie dived under the table. The storm still looked a long way off, but I could tell it had its sights set on making its presence felt.

  ‘But what about my fuse box,’ I swallowed. ‘Tell me again what I need to do if the power goes off?’

  ‘Nothing,’ said Simon seriously. ‘And I really mean that. Don’t go anywhere near the damn thing.’

  ‘But what about when the storm has gone?’ I said. ‘What do I have to do to get the power back on, assuming it’s knocked out of course?’

  ‘Oh, it’ll be knocked out all right,’ said Simon, ‘but I don’t want you going anywhere near that box. That thing’s a tragedy waiting to happen. You ring me later and then sit tight until I come out and sort it.’

  I didn’t know if that was a comforting suggestion or not. Surely the wretched thing was as much of a threat to Simon as it was to me and if he got hurt, or worse, I was sure there would be someone waiting to sue me.

  ‘Well, all right,’ I said reluctantly. ‘But make sure you keep your phone handy, won’t you?’ I told him. ‘Because I have a feeling I’m going to become your latest emergency very soon.’

  ‘Just batten down the hatches,’ said Simon firmly, making no attempt to allay my fears. ‘It’s going to be a big one.’

  He hung up and immediately the phone rang again. This time it was Amber.

  ‘Are you all right?’ I asked. ‘Are you home?’

  ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘We’re just back, but I wanted to warn you about this storm. Annie seems to think it will be with us in about half an hour and it’s going to hang around. Will you be all right? For some reason the stretch of drove where you are seems to cop it worse than we do when its right overhead and I know you said you don’t like it.’

  ‘I’ll be fine,’ I insisted, but I was feeling less fine with every passing second. ‘I’ve got Minnie to keep me company.’

  ‘I can come and get you both, if you like?’

  There was no way I was going to ask a pregnant woman to come and rescue me, even if I did want to seek sanctuary under a blanket with some company.

  ‘No,’ I said, trying to sound as if the prospect of the storm was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. ‘Thank you for the offer, but we’ll stick it out here. I can carry on working on my plans and lists.’

  ‘Well, as long as you’re sure.’

  Amber eventually rang off and I was sure for about the next two minutes as I went upstairs to get changed out of my work gear, but then I began to panic. What if the fuse box really was as dangerous as Simon had suggested? What if it sparked and ignited something in the cupboard? My mind was free-falling out of all control as I began to pace the hall and watch Minnie cowering under the table, and consequently I made quite possibly the most ridiculous and dangerous decision of my entire life.

  Chapter 19

  ‘Come on,’ I said, pulling Minnie out from under the table and holding her close.

  I could feel her little body trembling, but my mind was made up and I knew that if we didn’t get going straightaway we wouldn’t make it at all. I pulled on Gwen’s old gardening mackintosh, locked the cottage door, ushered three very startled hens into their coop, dumped Minnie in the bike basket and set off at full speed. I kept my eyes fixed on the road ahead, rather than the rampaging cloud that the wind was whipping towards us far quicker than I had initially realised.

  I wasn’t all that sure how far it was from Cuckoo Cottage to George’s place, but if I pedalled like the wind I was sure I could make it. We could spend the afternoon together watching the storm unfold from the safety of his little house and then I would cycle home to survey the damage when it was all over. But of course, as with most of life’s big ideas, my fail-safe plan didn’t quite work out like that.

  The rain began to fall just as what I guessed was Will’s barn came into view, but I knew there was no point turning back. I would just have to keep going at the crazy speed I had worked the creaking bike up to and hope we weren’t in for too much of a soaking. To begin with, the drops were few and far between. They plopped heavily on the road, with just the occasional smattering managing to hit us, but they in no way prepared us for the onslaught we were about to experience.

  ‘There you go,’ I whispered soothingly to Minnie, naively thinking everything was going to be all right. ‘I told you we’d be OK.’

  I was just about to stroke the top of her head, and tell her what a clever mummy I was, when I was blinded by a bolt of lightning which touched down terrifyingly close in the field on our right. No longer tracking the River Wyn, the storm had leapt towards us in mere seconds and the clap of thunder which accompanied the flash made my eardrums ache. The rain suddenly began to pummel down and I knew I had to run. I dumped the bike in the verge, held Minnie tight, kept my eyes firmly fixed on the horizon and set off, my legs working like pistons and my heart hammering in fear.

  More lightning flashed around us, even closer this time, and the menacing rumble that began straight after it rolled on and on. The depth of sound was so in
tense I could feel it resonating in my chest and through the road beneath my feet. The next flash struck the power lines either side of us and they began to crackle and spark and as I looked up, just for a second, my foot caught in a pothole and I was sent sprawling. I dropped Minnie and landed hard on the unforgiving road, my hands thankfully saving me from hitting my head.

  I’d never felt more of a fool in my life. My knees and palms were bloody and my teeth were chattering, but worse than all of the damage I’d done to myself was the sight of poor Minnie who had made no attempt to run off but stood shivering and crying at my side. My stupid decision to leave the cottage had probably inflicted more psychological harm on the poor little scrap than I was ever going to be able to undo and I forced myself to reach out for her, drag myself up and then carry on, feeling every bit as scared, hurt and miserable as I deserved.

  It seemed to take forever for Will to hear me hammering on the door, but eventually he appeared, wearing nothing but a navy bath towel slung low round his hips. He looked as shocked to see me as I was to be standing there and when he wrenched open the door I collapsed sobbing and pathetic into his arms.

  ‘Jesus, Lottie,’ he gasped as my cold wet body slammed into his. ‘What the hell’s happened?’

  I opened my mouth to explain, but the words just wouldn’t come.

  ‘Here,’ he said, pulling me inside and closing the door. ‘Give me Minnie. Quick.’

  My hands were shaking so much as I handed her over I almost dropped her. Will rushed off and came back with her wrapped in a smaller version of the towel he was still wearing. Conscious that my soaked clothes were dripping and steadily soaking the floor, I stayed rooted to the doormat and watched as he sat and began to rub her dry. When he had finished, he snuggled her down among the cushions in a fresh towel and came back to me.

  ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘We have to get you out of these wet clothes.’

  He knelt down and pulled my feet out of the wellies, taking in the state of my knees, and then stood back up and gently slipped the saturated mackintosh from my shoulders. My clothes underneath were just as wet and I couldn’t stop shaking, no matter how hard I tried.

  ‘And these,’ he said.

  I stared at him, but still couldn’t find my voice or move.

  ‘I’m serious,’ he said firmly. ‘You’re freezing, Lottie, and probably in shock. Come on, quickly. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before, remember?’

  My fingers finally fumbled to unbutton my blouse, but I just couldn’t do it. Will stepped closer again and took over. I could feel his breath and the warmth from his body as he slipped off my blouse and then reached around my back to undo the zip on my skirt, which fell to the floor.

  ‘Christ,’ he said, gazing down at me. ‘You’re soaked right through.’

  I looked down in dismay. My underwear was plastered to me like a second skin and it was completely see-through, but I didn’t care. I didn’t have the energy to care, and like he’d said, there was nothing on show that he hadn’t seen before in even more detail.

  ‘Come with me,’ he commanded, taking hold of my wrist when it was obvious that I was still in no fit state to offer an explanation as to what had happened.

  I tripped numbly along behind him and into the bathroom.

  ‘I’ve set it to warm,’ he said when he’d eventually finished fiddling with the shower settings. ‘And there are plenty of towels. Take your time, but don’t lock the door. I don’t want to have to break it down if you pass out.’

  I nodded.

  ‘All right?’ he frowned, determined to make me speak.

  ‘OK,’ I whispered, amazed that I still had a voice.

  ‘Put this on when you get out,’ he said, laying a bathrobe on the stool next to the shower. ‘And then we’ll have a look at your knees.’

  ‘And my hands,’ I croaked, holding up my scratched, bleeding palms.

  Will shook his head in disbelief and tutted.

  ‘Whatever were you doing out there?’

  I shook my head and listened to the storm which was still raging right over our heads.

  ‘Well, you’ve done a thorough job of hurting yourself,’ he said. ‘I’ll get you a drink ready,’ he added, ‘something to warm you up on the inside.’

  ‘Not tea,’ I begged.

  Even though I was numb with shock, I still felt, Skylark Scrumpy aside, as though I’d drunk nothing other than tea since I first arrived in Wynbridge.

  ‘Definitely not tea,’ he agreed.

  I stood under the warm flow of water in Will’s walk-in shower, willing myself not to cry and trying not to think about the fact that even though my body felt like it had been hit by a bus, I had been incredibly turned on as he had peeled off my clothes and undressed me. The brush of his warm skin on my frozen flesh had aroused goosebumps that I was sure had nothing to do with the tumble I had taken on the road.

  Struggling to dismiss my feelings, I rinsed my hair and reached for the shower gel. It seemed such an intimate thing to do, covering myself with Will’s masculine woody scent, but there were no traces of anything even remotely feminine anywhere, which, I was perturbed to realise, I felt rather pleased about.

  ‘You all right in there?’ Will called through the door. ‘Do you need a hand?’

  ‘No thanks,’ I squeaked as visions of him towelling me down made me feel light-headed all over again. ‘I’m all right. I’m almost done.’

  Gingerly I patted my scraped knees and palms dry, slipped on the bathrobe – Will’s bathrobe – and opened the door.

  ‘All right?’ he asked, his brow creased in concern.

  ‘I think so,’ I croaked.

  ‘And have you warmed up a bit?’

  ‘Yes,’ I nodded. ‘Yes, thank you, and my knees have stopped shaking, although I can’t say the same about my hands.’

  ‘Well, that’s a start,’ he said, looking at me seriously.

  He had swapped his towel for a pair of jogging bottoms and a close-fitting T-shirt, but his feet were still bare. He looked incredibly handsome, as if he’d just stepped off the pages of the latest Boss ad campaign, and I wondered if perhaps I had hit my head on the road after all.

  I’d spent so much of our brief relationship feeling annoyed with my unlikely hero that I hadn’t allowed myself to really think about just how drop-dead gorgeous he actually was and the fact that he was now being so kind did nothing to calm the muddled feelings playing out in my head.

  ‘Come and sit down,’ he said as yet another clap of thunder shook the barn and the rain lashed against the windows.

  I sat as instructed and Minnie shuffled along and curled up by my side.

  ‘I’m so sorry, sweetheart,’ I whispered, my eyes filling with tears. ‘I didn’t mean to scare you.’

  She licked the back of my hand and closed her eyes again.

  Will knelt down in front of me and gently lifted the dressing gown, revealing knees which looked as if they’d tripped straight off the school playground.

  ‘I have to ask,’ he said, as he began gently picking out the tiny bits of stone that the shower hadn’t managed to dislodge. ‘What the hell were you doing? I take it you had a good reason to be passing my door during the mother of all storms?’

  I shook my head, feeling thoroughly embarrassed by the whole silly situation.

  ‘Not really.’

  ‘So what were you doing?’

  ‘I was too afraid to stay at the cottage,’ I explained, gasping from the pain. ‘The electrician called and told me not to go anywhere near that blasted fuse box if the power went off and I got spooked. I panicked and convinced myself it was going to catch fire or something if the storm hit.’

  I knew it sounded ridiculous. It was ridiculous.

  ‘But I thought you were going to have the box replaced.’

  ‘I am,’ I said. ‘It was supposed to be done this morning, but the guy had an emergency and didn’t show up. If he’d turned up when he should have done it would have all been done
by now. Jesus!’ I winced. ‘Sorry. Crikey, that stings.’

  Will ignored me and carried on. As a highly decorated soldier, I guessed he’d seen far worse than my few cuts and grazes.

  ‘So have you made arrangements for him to come back then?’

  ‘Not yet,’ I said, realising I hadn’t.

  Simon had been quick to say he would come out and reset the fuse box if the power was knocked out, but we hadn’t set another date for him to come and carry out the work.

  ‘And who is this guy?’ Will frowned, turning his attention from my knees to my grazed palms.

  ‘Some chap called Simon,’ I explained. ‘He’s a cousin of Matt’s, apparently.’

  I held my breath, waiting for him to say something scathing about my choice of builder again, but he didn’t.

  ‘There,’ he said instead. ‘All done and this is exactly why we need to get you sorted out with Mags’s minivan as soon as possible, isn’t it?’

  ‘I guess so,’ I said, feeling like a child who was being lectured by someone older and wiser.

  ‘No,’ said Will. ‘You know so, Lottie. You can’t risk this sort of thing happening again and please don’t look so downhearted about it. When I said I’d accompany you on the road until you get used to driving again, I really meant it.’

  ‘Thank you,’ I smiled. ‘I would appreciate that. I can drive. I just haven’t for a long time.’

  I forced down the reason why I was so reluctant and focused on Will’s kind words instead.

  ‘Well, give it a few weeks and you’ll be wondering how you’ve managed without a car for so long,’ he said, walking over to the kitchen. ‘I promise.’

  ‘Anything’s got to be better than relying on that rust-ridden bike,’ I relented, with another shake of my head.

  ‘Talking of which,’ Will frowned, ‘what have you done with it?’

  ‘I dumped it on the verge,’ I confessed. ‘It isn’t on the road or anything so it should be fine. I’ll pick it up when I walk back to the cottage.’

  ‘You won’t be walking anywhere,’ said Will. ‘Now, drink this while I go and set the machine to dry your clothes. I’ve given them a quick rinse. I hope that was OK?’