Harte

by Robert Innes

  “How are you feeling?” Sally asked him.

  “Not bad,” Blake replied, wincing slightly as he moved his arm. “It’s mainly my arm. I guess I’ve been lucky with the burns though. Thanks for driving us to the station. Are you sure you don’t want to come back to Harmschapel with us?”

  “Maybe I’ll come down next week,” Sally replied. “I’ve still got to sort a few things here first. Gresham kindly allowed me the weekend to get over my kidnapping trauma. He’s all heart, isn’t he?”

  “You’re welcome any time,” Harrison told as the lift doors closed. “There’s always the sofa whenever you need it.”

  “Thanks,” Sally replied. “Although I think you two have stuff you need to discuss before you start thinking about house guests, don’t you?”

  Blake frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  Harrison and Sally’s eyes briefly met.

  “Never mind,” Harrison said as they stepped out of the lift, linking Blake’s good arm with his own. “We’ll talk about it later.”

  “So, straight to the station?” Sally asked him.

  “Do you mind if we make a slight detour first?” Blake asked. “There’s something I want to see, just before we go.”

  For a few moments, the three of them stood in silence, each of them alone with their own thoughts and memories of the wreck before them that once had been a house.

  For Harrison, the memories were brief, but still unpleasant. He remained respectfully silent as Blake and Sally stood with their own ruminations. He knew Sally would be happy enough to never think of the house again, but for Blake he knew the splintered, charred remains of the building represented more than difficult memories. Harrison knew exactly why they had come here.

  “You okay?” he asked gently.

  Blake nodded. “Yeah. I’m alright.” He exhaled as he looked at the shell of the house before him. “Look at it. It’s just a building. That’s all it ever was, and I let it practically take over my life. All those dreams I had, all the sleepless nights, all because of Thomas Frost.”

  “He’s dead, Blake,” Sally told him. “Dead and buried as this house will be once they’ve knocked the remains of it down.”

  “Mum will be delighted,” Blake said, chuckling. “She’s been petitioning for it to be knocked down for years. Then they can build something new and something else can be here instead. A new family can move into a brand-new house and start a brand-new life together. Thirty-nine Hope Crescent can just be the same as any of the other houses down here.” He checked the time on his phone. “Come on, we’d better think about making a move.”

  As they turned and walked back towards the car, the door to the Harte’s house opened and Stephanie ran out.

  “Blake!”

  Blake smiled. “Don’t worry. I wasn’t going to leave without saying goodbye to you.”

  “I should hope not,” Stephanie said, staring at Blake over her glasses. “Especially as I almost lost you three days ago.”

  “Nah, I was alright,” Blake said, hugging her tightly. “I had my knight in shining armour here. Never in any doubt.”

  “Harrison,” Stephanie gushed, pushing Blake aside to get to him. She pulled him in so tightly she was almost hurting him. “I’ve always liked you.”

  Harrison grinned at Blake over her shoulder. She had been decidedly less keen on Harrison when they had first met, but it seemed that, like the house, that was firmly in the past.

  “I can’t thank you enough for what you did,” Stephanie continued. “Remember, you’re always welcome in our family, sweetheart.”

  “I know,” Harrison said, hugging her back.

  “Colin!” Stephanie hollered towards the house. “Come and say goodbye to your son!”

  “I’m coming, I’m coming,” called Colin. “I was just looking for something. And I found it.” He walked along the garden path and placed something in Blake’s hand. “You better put that to good use, lad.”

  “I will, I will,” Blake replied, hugging his father.

  “What’s that?” Stephanie asked, staring at Blake’s hand. “What did you just give him?”

  “You mind your own business,” Colin told her. “I mean I’ll explain later,” he added when she glared at him.

  “Right, we’d better make a move,” Harrison said.

  After Stephanie had managed to do another two rounds of hugs and Colin had practically had to drag her away to stop her going in for a third, Blake, Sally and Harrison all finally climbed into the car.

  “Ready to go?” Sally asked.

  “Ready,” Blake replied.

  They began driving down the street. As they looked in the rear-view mirror, Stephanie was standing in the road waving them off.

  “I swear I’ve never seen your mother be so soppy,” Sally said.

  “I know,” Blake said, chuckling. “And it only took me nearly dying to get it out of her.”

  “So, what did your dad give you?” Harrison asked, eyeing Blake’s pocket with suspicion.

  “Never you mind,” Blake told him.

  Harrison frowned. He was sure that he had seen Blake and Sally exchange knowing looks.

  As they disappeared around the corner, leaving Hope Crescent behind, Harrison could not help but smile as he watched Blake relax into his car seat. Even if he had not meant to ask Harrison to marry him, he knew that their relationship had grown so much stronger. It was quite a strange thought, therefore, that in a roundabout way, it was thanks to Thomas Frost.

  Back In Harmschapel

  Blake stepped out of the taxi, looking all around him at the village as the sun began to set above them. Harmschapel had always looked its best at this time of the day, bathed in a beautiful orange hue. He could think of nowhere he would rather be at this moment.

  He paid the taxi driver and looked up at Juniper Cottage. “Looks intact from the outside,” he murmered. “Don’t tell me Matti has grown into a responsible house owner in my absence.”

  “That’ll be Mini’s influence,” Harrison said, picking up Blake’s suitcase.

  “Yeah,” Blake said as he unlocked the front door. “Here’s hoping he doesn’t do anything that stupid again. I don’t think my nerves can take that atmosphere in the station again.”

  When he stepped into the cottage, he was surprised to see Mattison standing in the kitchen, just finishing the washing up.

  “Hey,” Mattison said cheerfully as Blake walked in. “Look who’s back! Welcome home, Sir. I won’t ask you how your holiday went.”

  “No,” Blake replied. “Perhaps not. I need a holiday to get over that one. How are things with Mini?”

  “We’re back on,” Mattison confirmed. “Still taking things relatively slowly, but I’ll be moving back in next week. Safe to say, lesson learned.”

  “Good,” Blake said seriously. “Otherwise you’ll have me to deal with. Thanks by the way.”

  “What for?”

  “For getting to the hospital and to Tom as quickly as you did. Without that, I doubt I would have been able to take Frost by surprise like that. God only knows what would have happened then.”

  “No problem,” Mattison replied, passing Blake the tea towel he was holding. “By the way, I thought I better stay around until you got back. You’ve got visitors.”

  Blake raised his eyebrows. “Visitors?”

  Mattison indicated towards the living room. As Blake walked in and his mouth fell open in surprise.

  Tom and Jacqueline were both sitting on the sofa.

  When he walked in, Jacqueline immediately stood up. “Blake. It’s so good to see you.”

  Blake pulled her in and hugged her and then looked at Tom, who was staring at the floor.

  “Must say I’m surprised to see you here, Tom,” he said. “After all that’s happened, I thought you’d be the last person to come welcome me home.”

  “We both have things we need to say, Blake,” Jacqueline told him, pulling the reluctant Tom to his feet.

&nbs
p; “I’ll put the kettle on,” Harrison said from behind Blake before disappearing into the kitchen.

  “And I’ll leave you to it,” Mattison said from the doorway. “Welcome back, Sir.”

  “Thanks, Matti,” Blake replied. He waited until the front door had closed before indicating to them both that they should sit down again. “They’ve let you out then, Jacqueline?”

  “I told them I didn’t want her being charged with anything,” Tom replied. He gave Blake the briefest of eye contact before looking down at the floor again. “I don’t know how much good it’ll do, but I’ve said I won’t co-operate with any interviews or anything. I don’t want Mum to suffer anymore for what I’ve been doing.”

  Blake nodded. “Well, let’s hope that it all has a happy ending.”

  “Blake,” Jacqueline said, taking hold of his hand. “I don’t know how to apologise enough for all you’ve been through. None of this would have happened if I’d just been more honest from the start.”

  “I think, in the grand scheme of things, Jacqueline, that you’re less to blame that you’d like to think,” Blake replied. “I mean, yeah, I won’t pretend that secret and lies have clearly done more harm than good in this situation, but I think there’s a lot for people to come to terms with. I’m sure that, given time, you two can start moving forwards again.”

  Jacqueline looked delighted. “Thank you, I can’t believe you’re being so kind.”

  “Do you mind if I just have a word with Tom?” Blake asked her. “We’re not going to fight, don’t worry. I just need to clear a few things up with him, that’s all.”

  Jacqueline looked worriedly at her son.

  “Go help Harrison,” Tom said quietly to her. “I’ll be fine, I promise.”

  Jacqueline hesitated, then patted Tom on the knee. “I’ll just be in the kitchen.”

  Blake waited until she had left the room before turning to Tom. “So, how are you?”

  Tom finally looked up at him. “I’m surprised you care.”

  Blake shrugged. “What can I say? I’m like that. You’ve been through an awful lot, more than I realised. Emotionally, this must have been really difficult for you. But what you’ve done for your mum, dropping the charges, that was really decent of you. Lesser men wouldn’t have bothered considering she could have killed you.”

  “Yeah, well I know that the fact she even felt she had to do it is punishing enough for her. I’ve put her through enough. Even if she did lie about who my dad was. Your friend, Sally. Is she alright?”

  “She’ll be fine. She’s a tough cookie.”

  “I couldn’t believe it when I saw her tied up like that,” Tom murmered, looking slightly haunted. “Was he really going to kill her?”

  “Yeah,” Blake said calmly. “He was. And me. And anybody else that got in his way.”

  “And he’s dead?”

  “Yeah. He was crushed by a load of burning rubble. They pulled his body out of the house once they’d got the fire under control. There was nothing they could do, I’m sorry.”

  Tom paused. “Don’t be. The world’s better off without him.” He looked up at Blake, his eyes shiny with tears. “Look, I’m the one who should be sorry. For all I’ve put you through. When I came to Harmschapel, I was unsure of who I was, I didn’t feel like I had any idea of who was being honest with me and who I could trust.”

  “You seemed to take to Harrison pretty quickly.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Tom said. “I regret that. You and him, you’re good together. Just don’t forget that. Make sure you keep hold of him as long as you can.”

  Blake instinctively felt the small box in his pocket with the palm of his hand. “I intend to. So, what are you going to do now? Stay around here?”

  Tom shook his head. “No. I’m going to start travelling again tomorrow. I’ve got a job working behind a bar in Ibiza. Bit of sun, sea, hopefully a few decent guys. See if I can’t sort myself out.”

  “Your mum will miss you.”

  Tom nodded. “I know. I think she’s better off without me for now though. Just until I start to get my head together.” He stood up and held his hand out for Blake to shake. “Thanks.”

  “What for?” Blake asked, accepting his hand and shaking it.

  Tom smiled, for the first time so genuinely that it took Blake slightly aback. “It doesn’t matter.”

  He walked past Blake and called into the kitchen. “Mum?”

  “Yes, darling?” Jacqueline appeared in the doorway. “Are you alright?”

  “I’m fine. Listen, how do you fancy going for dinner tonight in town? Before I go? Just me and you.”

  Jacqueline looked as though she wanted to burst into tears. “I’d love that.”

  “Come on then,” Tom said. “See you Blake. Bye, Harrison. You take care of yourself.”

  Harrison nodded. “And you.” He opened the door for them and then waved as they disappeared down the garden path before closing it. “Is it weird that I feel a bit sorry for him?” he said once he and Blake were alone.

  “Not at all.”

  “What shall we do tonight? Order a takeaway? Stick a boxset on?”

  “Sounds good,” Blake replied. “There’s one thing I want us to do first though.”

  Harrison raised an eyebrow. “Oh yes?”

  Blake rolled his eyes. “Not that. Come with me.”

  And taking Harrison’s hand he led him out of the cottage, slamming the door behind them.

  Blake led Harrison to the top of the tallest hill in Harmschapel. By now, the whole sky was ablaze with a burnt orange from the setting sun. Beneath them, they could see the whole of the village and beyond that, fields and hills are far as the eye could see.

  At the top of the hill was a brick wall which Blake now pulled Harrison towards and told him to sit on top of it. Harrison did as he was told, his feet dangling just above the ground.

  “Why have we come here?” Harrison asked.

  “The village looks great from here, doesn’t it?” Blake asked, his heart hammering in his chest. He was starting to wonder if he felt more scared now or when he had been in a burning building.

  “Yeah, it always has,” Harrison replied, frowning slightly. “What’s going on, Blake?”

  “I just thought that this wall means something to you, doesn’t it? To us. If you remember, we said how we first felt about each other on this wall.”

  “Yeah,” Harrison said, smiling. “We did. I used to come up here all the time when I was younger. It was my little thinking spot.”

  “Exactly,” Blake replied. “So, I thought it might be a good place for me to bring you right now, because I need to ask you something.”

  Harrison swung around on the wall to face him. “Can I ask you something first?”

  Blake put his hand in his pockets nervously. “Go on.”

  “Do you remember what you said to me when I pulled you out of the house?”

  Blake closed his eyes in embarrassment. “Yes. Yes, I do.”

  “Oh,” Harrison said, appearing unsure of what to say next. “I didn’t think you would. Look, it’s okay, I get it. You thought you were about to die, you were all full of smoke and were light-headed and everything was going crazy. I understand. I mean, you passed out right after saying it, so I guess you weren’t feeling your best.”

  “And what if I hadn’t passed out?”

  “What?”

  “You heard, Baxter. What if I hadn’t passed out, if I’d been completely compos mentis, what would you have said?”

  Harrison shuffled on the wall, looking nervous. “I guess I would have said yes. You know, if the situation had been different, but like I say, I get it, Blake. I completely understand, I’ve seen enough TV programmes to know that your mind can play tricks on you at a time like that, and anyway –”

  “Will you shut up a minute?” Blake said, laughing. “I’ve got something I need to ask you.”

  He pulled out the small box Colin had given him out of his pocket and t
hen, after taking a deep breath, went down on one knee.

  Harrison looked as though he was about to pass out himself.

  “Harrison Baxter,” Blake began. “If I’ve learnt anything over the past few years since coming to this village, it’s that I can be a massive idiot at times. I put my job before anyone, including myself, and I don’t stop to think how that might affect other people. When I was in Manchester, I realised that that needs to change. You’ve been more patient, kinder, and basically as good a boyfriend as I could ever have hoped for and deserved. You mean more to me than the job. You mean more to me than anything. So, I guess what I’m asking you is, Harrison Baxter, will you marry me?”

  Harrison’s mouth fell open. For a moment, Blake’s heart stopped as he thought that Harrison was about to say no, but then he jumped down off the wall and knelt down to his level.

  “You’re right,” he said, tears in his eyes, a beaming smile on his face. “You are a complete and utter idiot. But I’ve never met an idiot I love as much as you. Yes. Yes, of course I will.”

  They kissed and suddenly everything felt like it had been worth it. Any difficulty, any tears shed, any moment where it looked as though their relationship would refuse to work properly, none of it mattered anymore.

  Blake finally released his fiancé and pulled the ring out of the box.

  “So, that’s what your Dad gave you?” Harrison asked, wiping his eyes.

  “Yeah,” Blake replied, his own cheeks already soaked with tears. “It was my grandfather’s. I asked him to bring it when I was in hospital. He said he couldn’t be happier to officially have you in the family, which, believe me, is a compliment from him. Just remember, it was Hoof Hearted that made this moment possible.”

  “Hoof Hearted?”

  “Never mind.”

  He slipped the ring on Harrison’s finger and they both stared at it for a few moments.

  “I can’t believe this,” Harrison said, standing up. “I can’t take my eyes off it. As if I’m engaged. Wow.” He leant against the wall, staring out at the view before them, apparently unable to stop smiling. Then, he looked down at Blake who was still on one knee. “Are you still down there for a reason?”