- -
- 100%
- +
She stopped in the middle of wrapping up another cake in red tissue paper. ‘You don’t live here?’
‘No, I live in Ashton Woods, the next village.’
‘Oh.’ This bothered her more than it should. She thought that she had at least two friends in the village, now it was down to only one – and Zach was only friends with her because he wanted to sleep with her. ‘Well, it’s clear they’re never going to be my best friends but maybe I can persuade them not to push me in the pond again or post dog poo through my letterbox.’
‘What?’ Casey’s eyes widened as he picked up one of the cakes and artfully arranged the tissue paper around it in a way that she could never achieve.
‘Found it this morning, with a note telling me I’m a bitch.’
He shook his head. ‘Well then, you certainly can’t make it any worse. I’ll give you a hand.’
They worked diligently between them for a while until all the cakes were wrapped.
She sat down, her back aching a bit, and looked out the window at the rain that hadn’t stopped all morning. The hills looked dramatic, silhouetted against the grey sky.
‘It needs to stop raining by tonight, I really need to go out to work,’ she said, then wished she hadn’t as that was bound to lead to questions.
‘A lady of the night are you?’ Casey’s eyes gleamed with excitement. ‘A prostitute? A spy?’
‘Yes to both. Spying doesn’t pay well, so I supplement it with a bit of prostitution.’
‘Noble.’
‘I thought so. Oh that’s what I meant to ask you,’ she quickly changed the subject. ‘When Chloe was threatening me to keep away from Zach, she also said that I couldn’t have you because you were with one of her friends.’
Casey picked up a crumb of cake from the baking tray. ‘Umm… yes, Arielle.’
She waited for more details but clearly none were forthcoming. ‘You’re dating a girl?’
‘Yeah, well not really dating, sort of…’
There was another knock on the door, interrupting what Casey was clearly finding embarrassing to tell her. She presumed it was Finn or Zach and found herself straightening her hair as she moved to answer it, then cursed herself for doing it.
Opening the door, Joy came face to face with a spaghetti thin blonde, her hair scraped back in a very severe looking French roll. She was dressed in a very expensive, very short dress with matching jacket and her face had that look of someone who had sucked a lemon. She was pretty, Joy supposed, and would be even prettier without the excessive makeup and angry pursed lips. She was holding an umbrella over her that matched the colour of her dress suit exactly.
‘Is my fiancé in there with you?’
Joy felt like she’d just received a smack to the face with that news, but quickly collected herself. Clearly this woman had come to the wrong house.
‘Arielle, hi,’ came Casey’s voice behind her.
There was a silence as Joy processed this information and Arielle cast her beady eye over her.
‘This is Joy, she’s just moved in next to Zach,’ Casey said.
‘Evidently,’ said Arielle, icily.
‘Er…’ Casey fumbled for something to say. Gone was the happy, relaxed Casey – he had rapidly been replaced by someone who was clumsy, awkward and clearly petrified of his fiancé. ‘Joy is my cousin. Remember me telling you about Uncle Raymond, well this is his daughter.’
Arielle stared at Joy vacantly for a moment as well she might. Joy was feeling equally confused. Finally Arielle nodded and stretched out her hand for a delicate and formal handshake. ‘Of course, Cousin Joy, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. You’ll be coming to the wedding next week?’
‘Yes, we invited her ages ago, she RSVP’d straightaway. We were quite close growing up.’ Casey squeezed past Joy who seemed to be frozen in the hallway.
Arielle cast her eyes over her again. ‘Of course, well if I don’t see you before, we’ll see you then. Casey do come along, we must meet with Jules to discuss the flowers. Apparently I can’t change the roses to daffodils as they aren’t in season. You need to talk to her.’
Without waiting for an answer, Arielle marched down the path to a little red convertible that was gleaming on the street. Casey glanced at Joy as he followed.
‘I can explain, I promise,’ he said and hurried after Arielle.
‘I can’t wait,’ Joy shouted after him.
But whether he heard or not, she didn’t know because her voice was lost in the noise of the engine as the car roared up the road.
*
Joy delivered the cakes to each doorstep in the village, though she hadn’t quite been brave enough to knock on the doors. Then it was time to take Darcy for a walk.
She intended to trek along the hill range past Menton Hall. She had a job to do there that night, if the rain stopped, and she wanted to get an idea of the lay of the land.
That’s what she was telling herself, it wasn’t at all because the hills held sentimental attachment to her.
When one of Alex’s friends had mentioned that his cousin was doing up a place in the country with a view to renting, Joy had taken it as a sign that it was time to move on from the busy town of Milton Keynes. She had been a face in the crowd there and had no more than a nodding acquaintance with her neighbours of three months.
It was only as she had driven round to see the house that the village names started to sound familiar. She had rounded a corner and was suddenly met with the striking hills that bordered the cluster of villages, the same hills that she had trekked over every weekend with her dad, right up until the weekend before he died.
Even before she saw the house, she knew she was going to say yes. Maybe she could never go back home, but maybe walking these hills with Darcy, as she had done many years before with her dad, would be all she needed to feel at home.
Joy sighed as Darcy left her side and went galloping up to greet Finn’s straggly dog. Seemingly, in the dog world, you just had to shove your nose up the other dog’s bum and you were best friends for life. She wondered what Finn’s reaction to that would be if she tried it. She hung back a little, hoping Finn would try to avoid her, but he was obviously on his way home now, so their paths had to cross if she intended taking Darcy on the walk she had planned. Finn called his dog away from Darcy, but Billy, tongue hanging out, stupid grin in place, was very interested in her. He had that demented look about him when a dog smells a bitch in heat. Damn it. Darcy had been a bit listless the day before, but Joy had put it down to the move. Still they wouldn’t be here long enough for Billy to get lucky. Hopefully Finn would pass without a single word.
He drew closer. He always looked so cool, even today tramping over the rain sodden fields with his dog, he looked like he’d just stepped out of a clothes commercial. He was wearing a simple baseball cap and a waterproof hoodie, but he still looked sexy. And also, as he drew closer, she saw he was wearing a sneer just for her. Her heart sank. Well attack was sometimes the best form of defence.
She marched up to him. ‘Why is it you hate me so much? It can’t possibly be about the ice cream, that would be unbelievably petty. And as you don’t get involved with village matters it can’t be about Mrs Kemblewick either, which by the way had nothing to do with me. So it’s either like Casey said, you hate me because I have red hair, which would be very shallow and small minded or it’s just that you’re a bastard for no other reason than you like to make people’s lives a misery. So tell me, which is it?’
He glared at her but when there was clearly no answer forthcoming, she turned away from him. ‘I’ll take that as the latter then. Darcy, heel!’
She walked away from him, her hands clenched into fists in her pockets, and refused to look back.
*
Damn it. Finn watched her go, his hand on Billy’s collar, who seemed very keen to follow them. Just like his owner. She was right, he was a bastard. He felt beyond guilty for shouting at her that morning just for singing and dancing – and then as she walked towards him, he had been appalled by how turned on he was after seeing Joy dressed in her waxed jacket and cap. It was a waxed jacket and cap, how could it be sexy? The black dress she had worn the day before was sexy. Not a waxed jacket and a pair of battered walking boots. He was determined to be polite, regardless of these insane feelings for her slamming through him. He was going to say hello, that was as good a start as any but as his emotions clawed away inside him his face must have been a picture as he battled with a sudden fear of redheads, a fear of intimacy and a fear of what might happen if they got too close. And whatever she had seen in his face had not been good, going on the defence before he attacked her again.
So now not only did he have to be polite to a woman, a redhead none the less, but he was going to have to work on his facial expressions too. He practiced a smile, the feeling of his mouth turning upwards felt alien to him. He looked down at Billy with the rictus grin stuck on his face, Billy glanced up at him and whined with something akin to fear. Finn sighed and headed for home.
*
The sun finally decided to make an appearance late afternoon as Joy came back home from her walk.
Though would it ever be the place she could finally call home? She would give Bramble Hill a chance, just like all the other places she had tried over the years. Joe, her landlord, had said if she wanted to stay, permanently, he would sell the place to her, but he was quite happy to rent in the meantime. She could easily afford the asking price if she decided to buy it; her job paid her ridiculously well. But as with the other places, she rented first, in a “try before you buy” type way. So far, she’d not found anywhere that she had wanted to buy.
As she drew close to her house, she noticed a collection of flies and wasps around her front door. More dog poo? But then the wasps wouldn’t be interested in that.
She moved closer and realised, with a crashing wave of disappointment, that many, if not all, of her lovingly made friendship cakes had been deposited on her doorstep. Some had seemingly been stamped on and some had even been forcibly shoved through her letterbox. They either hadn’t bothered to read the notes once they spotted it was from her, or hadn’t believed the declaration that she’d had nothing to do with the ousting of Mrs Kemblewick. It did seem slightly implausible that she was Joy Cartier and her landlord was Joe Carter; she and Joe had laughed about it when they had first met. It was much more believable that she was lying about who she was.
She couldn’t even get through the front door, there were so many wasps. She had legal access to her back garden through Finn’s garden. There was a side gate that allowed her to walk through his garden and into hers. She hadn’t used it yet, though she had every right to do so. She thought that it would be the polite thing to do to check with Finn before she strolled across his land. But since the man was an arse, she certainly wasn’t going to extend that courtesy to him.
She opened his back gate, which legally had to be kept unlocked, and walked purposefully towards her own gate, biting her lip as she hoped she could get past unnoticed. She would just walk across his garden as if she had every right to do so, which of course she did. Five metres away, four, three… and if he had noticed her he hadn’t come out and yelled at her yet. Suddenly something in Finn’s downstairs window caught her eye, and despite her best intentions to be in and out in mere seconds, she couldn’t help but look.
There was Finn, stark naked, drying his wet hair with a towel.
Chapter Four
He had evidently come downstairs to answer the phone, as he was chatting away on it, not expecting anyone to stroll across his back garden.
His body was glorious, he was so tall and big. His great broad chest, with that tantalizing pierced nipple. Muscles screamed from every part of him. Every single part. She couldn’t help but let her eyes wander, following the thin smattering of hair down from his navel to his groin. She swallowed. He really was big in every single sense. She wondered if he had to have some special licence for it, an operator of heavy machinery. His thighs were huge too, there would be a lot of strength and stamina in those hips and thighs. She imagined what it would feel like to be wrapped around those hips, to feel that much strength under her hands, against her own body.
Suddenly aware of what she was doing, that she had been frozen to the spot for at least a minute, if not more, she looked back up at Finn’s face. How long he had known she was there was unclear, but he was staring at her – his mouth partly open in shock. Not only had she looked through his window and caught him naked, but she might as well have opened a bag of popcorn and pulled up a chair for the amount of time she had spent enjoying the show.
She turned away and hurried through the back gate. Out the corner of her eye she saw Finn quickly wrap a towel around himself and move to the door to confront her.
‘Oi!’ came Finn’s voice through the gate. ‘Get a good enough look did you?’
Stifling the smirk from her mouth, she whirled to face him. He was so tall that even though the gate was closed, she could still see his head and chest above it. That chest with the pierced nipple.
‘Let’s call us even shall we, since you stood perving at me in my bedroom this morning.’
‘I was not…’ He paused, clearly fighting with the decision to shout at her or accept she was right. ‘Fine, let’s call it even.’
This surprised her. She fumbled with her keys, trying to get inside as quickly as possible, but the damned key wouldn’t turn and he was still standing there watching her. Finally she undid the lock and tumbled through the door, knowing her face was burning bright red yet again.
*
Dusk fell on Bramble Hill, leaving trails of plum and tangerine across the sky. The village, as always, was peaceful and quiet. Though next door to Finn was a sudden hive of activity.
For the last few minutes he had watched Joy load up the back of her car with boxes and bags. She was dressed entirely in black.
But the weirdest thing was what she was doing now, obscuring her number plates with a purpose made black cover. He wasn’t an expert on the law, but he was pretty sure that was illegal.
She hopped in the car and to his great surprise, she tied a black bandana round her head, like a pirate. With a great wheel spin, she disappeared up the road.
One thing was for sure, she was up to no good.
*
Joy stood in the darkened trees, gently touching what she had achieved. It was beautiful. The dragon almost glinted in the moonlight. A huge sense of pride filled her and she wanted to stand and stare at it all night. But now she needed to be gone before anyone discovered her.
She quickly loaded her gear into the back of the Range Rover and manoeuvred out through the trees with the skill of someone with years of experience in off-roading at night. It wasn’t long before she hit the road, and minutes later she arrived back at her house.
This was the first job she had done so close to home. She had always worked far away in case she got caught, but this particular job was going to pay very well.
She moved silently into her garden, diligently unloading all her gear into the shed. Her tools would need cleaning the next day, so she quickly disassembled them ready to be cleaned and left their parts spread out on the work bench.
She moved out into the garden, stretching her arms above her head as she looked up at the stars that glittered like diamonds above her. Thousands of them peppered the inky blue sky, some were in great white clusters but others were separate, proudly standing alone. Without the lights of the city here, the night sky seemed endless above her. She lay down on the chair swing to look at them properly. She and her mum used to lie and look at the stars sometimes. She tried to remember some of the constellations that her mum had pointed out to her all those years before. Orion was easy, as was The Plough and Cassiopeia. And there was Draco – the dragon constellation. Joy smiled fondly as she remembered what she had achieved that night. The Seven Sisters was harder, the constellation you could only really see when you didn’t look directly at it.
She smiled as she put her hands behind her head. She would just stay there a while longer and find a few more.
*
Finn stood annoyed at the window. For someone who never got involved, he was doing a pretty poor job of it.
He had watched Joy take all her boxes back to the shed and then lay down on the chair swing and she hadn’t moved since. That had been over an hour before. She had evidently fallen asleep on the chair and all Finn could think about was how cold she would be.
He was determined not to care so he’d forced himself to go back to bed. Sleep evaded him and periodically he kept sitting up to look out the window to see if she was still there.
Knowing he wouldn’t be able to sleep until he resolved this, he grabbed a thick blanket off his bed and stormed down the stairs. It was like having a child next door. She was old enough to look after herself, she certainly shouldn’t be falling asleep outside.
He opened the connecting gate and walked straight over to her. One arm was behind her head, her eyes were closed, casting shadows over her pale cheeks with her long dark lashes. Her red hair, glinting in the moonlight, looked like curls of fire as it hung over her shoulders.
Cursing himself, he placed the blanket gently over her, and tucked it in around the edges. She stirred slightly and he prayed she wouldn’t wake up and see him.
‘Dad?’ she mumbled.
God, his heart ached for her. He had to physically stop himself from carrying her into the house and putting her to bed.
He went back to his own house, happy that she was now at least warm, though it was still several hours before he actually fell asleep.
*
Joy woke the next morning and smiled when she realised she had spent the night outside. Her grin broadened even more when she realised she was tucked warmly underneath a blanket.
It had to be Zach. He really was lovely. It was such a shame that he had this reputation. She would be silly if she thought she could be the person to change him.
She stood up, wrapping the blanket tightly round herself to protect her against the cool chill of the morning.
The man himself was standing in his garden, smoking a cigarette. Startled to see her there, he quickly stamped it out, grinning at her sheepishly.
‘Morning.’ Zach stepped closer to the fence. He smelt of smoke, and though it was not a particularly attractive habit, the smell of it always reminded her of her dad. He leaned across the fence to touch her face and to her horror he gently pulled a snail from her forehead. She blushed as he placed the snail on the fence between them.
‘I erm… fell asleep on the chair,’ she explained lamely.
‘So I see.’
His eyes were so gentle, filled with amusement.
She gestured to the blanket. ‘Thanks for this, that’s very sweet.’
He paused for a moment then smiled. ‘You’re very welcome. I didn’t want you to get cold.’
She buried her face in it, relishing the earthy smell.
‘Joy, would you like to go out for a drink with me, maybe a meal somewhere? Somewhere that’s not The Pride obviously.’
She wanted to, of course she did. But unless she entered into it knowing it would only ever be a one night stand, she would be very disappointed. And she had never been the type for casual flings. She was an old romantic at heart and ultimately was looking for The One. Her mum and dad had been together for years, and every memory she had of them together was of them giggling, kissing and holding hands, just like they were in the first throes of love. They would sit under the old oak tree in the garden and kiss and cuddle every night. She wanted that, to grow old and grey with the man she loved. And although she had dated a few men over the years, never really knowing whether they were going to be The One until she had been with them for a few weeks or months, it was quite clear that with Zach, it was only going to last a few days.
Zach smiled at the length of time it was taking her to answer. ‘Well at least it wasn’t a straight out no.’
‘It’s still a no I’m afraid. I like you Zach, I really do, but I’m not the sort that has one night stands.’
‘Neither am I.’
She arched an eyebrow at him.
‘I know my track record isn’t great, but I genuinely am looking for love. So many times I think I’ve found it and so many times I’ve been disappointed.’ He took her hand, stroking his thumb over the back of it. ‘But this time I really do think I may have found the one I’m looking for.’
She smiled but shook her head. ‘And how many women have you said that to?’
‘You’re the first, I swear. Look what can I do to prove to you that you’re the only one for me?’
‘No sex for a month.’ She didn’t know where she plucked that one from but it seemed to put him off her all of a sudden. He dropped her hand like he had been burnt, his face fell and she almost thought he might start to cry.
‘A month?!’
‘If I’m the only one for you, then you should have no need to pursue other women.’
He clearly toyed with the idea for a moment. ‘Ok, no other women for a month, I promise, and then will you sleep with me?’
‘I’ll go out with you.’
He scowled slightly, but then nodded. ‘Ok, you have a deal. I will prove to you that you are the only woman for me, that we can be happy together. Look I have to go, I’ll see you later.’ He sent her one last dark appreciative look before he went back into the house.
She watched him go with a smile.
‘He’ll break your heart,’ came Finn’s voice behind her.
She turned and quickly looked away when she realised he was standing in the garden with no top on.
‘He won’t because I’m not going to give it to him. You know him better than I do, but I’m pretty sure he won’t make the month.’
‘He’s a determined sort. When he wants something he’ll keep going after it until he gets it.’
‘You make that sound like a bad thing.’
‘It is if it belongs to someone else.’
‘Well he isn’t going to get me.’
He looked at her with disbelief and she rolled her eyes as she moved back towards the house.
*
Finn watched her go back in and went back into his own house. He had two gardens to sort out today, one on the far side of Bramble Hill and one in the nearby village of Strawberry Green. He was good at gardening and he loved the satisfaction it gave him of seeing plants grow and flourish under his care.
He had started off doing odd gardening jobs at the weekends when he was fourteen, helping his dad. It was when he was working in one of the large houses on the outskirts of Ashton Woods where he grew up, that he was spotted by a casting director for The Darkness Trilogy. He was freakishly tall even back then and was apparently perfect for the role of the dark and brooding Seth. After the films were finished and Finn wanted to retire from movies, he thought perhaps he would start his own landscaping and gardening business. He didn’t need the money, The Darkness had set him up for the rest of his life, but he certainly wanted something to keep him occupied.
When he had posted leaflets through the doors of the surrounding villages, hoping to get a few jobs, he had been inundated with responses. It seemed having your garden tended to by a world famous movie star was very popular indeed. He had been kept busy for over three years, doing a different house every day. He loved it, working outdoors and with his hands. As his popularity slowly faded so did the demand, but he still had a large handful of clients who he saw on a regular basis. That was enough for him, just as long as he wasn’t stuck in the house every day. Well Billy made sure he went out at least once a day for long walks over the hills; the gardening gave him something to do when he got back. Too much time doing nothing allowed too much time for thinking and brooding. Since Pippa had left eighteen months before, he had brooded far too much.