Night Fires

by D H Sidebottom

  I gave a nervous chuckle. “Sorry. I’ll be quiet.”

  Once again silence descended. I lost myself to my thoughts, making sure to keep my mouth shut this time. But when I heard the crinkle of a wrapper I turned to look at Carter. He had a Twix in his hands and was tearing open the packet. Then, taking out a finger, he stilled and turned to look at me. Very slowly his hand reached out and he offered me half of his chocolate. For a long moment I couldn’t do anything but stare at it. That single bar of chocolate felt like a million quid. Smiling softly, I took the finger from him. “Thank you.”

  He nodded then turned his head back to the water and demolished his half of the Twix in two bites. Taking my coffee, he took a long mouthful and placed it back beside me.

  I looked up at him when he stood up.

  My lungs panicked, my breath coming in short, sharp puffs when he reached down, hesitantly took a stray strand of my hair, and gently moved it behind my ear. The tip of his finger lingered on my skin for an instant, the touch burning into the side of my neck. His eyes never left mine, the cool grey swirling until the softest, warmest charcoal reflected back at me.

  “Silence leads to the burden of emotion,” he whispered, his gaze burrowing deep down inside me and making me shiver. “You should get a retriever. They’re loyal and protective. He will love you and keep you safe from…”

  Forcing the lump down my throat, I wet my dry lips. “From?” I choked out, unable to move under the strength of his attention.

  “From whoever you’re running from, Alice Bird.”

  And then he turned and walked away.

  And I sat there for a long time.

  I DECIDED TO leave Carter alone on the beach that night. I took a quick glance out of the window and saw his fire raging, but after I’d invaded his private time in the park that afternoon I got the impression he didn’t like me much. I wasn’t sure exactly what my thoughts of him were. He was rude and cold yet I sensed something deeper within him, something that connected with the broken parts of me. Don’t get me wrong, I knew he wouldn’t be the one to fix me, nor me him, but I saw the heartache in his eyes and I couldn’t help seeing it as a reflection of my own.

  By early evening my body was exhausted and I dragged myself to bed. Yet the problem with an early night meant an early rise, and by 3am I was tossing and turning, desperate to drop back off to sleep.

  Giving in, I pulled on some shorts and a vest and made my way downstairs. The house was eerily quiet, the faint moans and groans she made now familiar and comforting, as though she was speaking to me in the depths of the solitude. Moonlight lit a path through the house for me, the strategically placed windows saving me switching on the lights as I pottered over to the sink for a glass of water. Turning the tap and allowing the water to flow for a while I slipped my glass under the stream. Lifting my eyes to the window over the sink, I screamed, dropping the glass in the sink when I saw the reflection of a woman standing right behind me.

  Spinning around I spluttered on my own breath when nothing but darkness stared back at me, the familiar objects of my home comforting against the eerie shadows. I ran across the room, flicking on the lights.

  Nothing.

  Absolutely nothing.

  An unnerving quiet made my ears pound and I blinked rapidly, searching the vicinity as my heart threatened to burst through my chest.

  Closing my eyes, I sighed, forcing myself to calm down. “You stupid bugger,” I chastised myself, hating my rampant imagination.

  My mouth was dry and I hurried back to the sink, grabbing the glass and refilling it under the torrent of the icy water that was still flowing. And as if my luck couldn’t get any worse, as I went to turn the tap off it snapped off in my grip, just came away in my hand as though I had superpowers. A jet of water shot high into the air and I squealed again as water spewed all across the kitchen, drenching me and the floor as I grappled with the cupboard door under the sink to get to the stopcock.

  The house was old and the tap obviously hadn’t been turned in a long time because it was welded stuck. It wouldn’t budge, my superpowers evidently now gone as I grabbed it with both hands and tried in vain to make it move.

  Cursing under my breath, I rummaged through the drawer and grabbed the hammer, then hit the tap hoping it would finally shift.

  Yeah, stupid idea.

  The goddamn thing definitely shifted. It fell off.

  “Jesus bloody hell!” I screamed, fighting with the water spraying over me as I ran for my bag and yanked out my phone. Firing up Google I searched for local twenty four hour plumbers and hit call when it found a number.

  It seemed to ring for a whole bloody week and finally the call connected and someone grunted on the other end.

  “Oh, hello,” I spluttered quickly. “I need a plumber.”

  “Mmm.”

  “I uhh,” I frowned when something in my brain clicked but I couldn’t figure out what. “There’s water everywhere!” I flustered as I grabbed sheets from the airing cupboard and ran back to the kitchen. “My tap fell off and there’s water spewing everywhere.”

  “Stopcock,” a voice grumbled back at me. “Usually under the sink.”

  I stilled mid-run. “Carter?”

  “Mmm.”

  “Oh, uhh, I wanted the plumber. I’m sorry.”

  “I am the fucking plumber,” he growled. My eyes shot wide at his gruff tone. “Who is this?”

  “It’s umm… it’s Alice.”

  He groaned. The cheeky twat groaned as if I was annoying. “There’s a surprise. Stopcock under the sink, Alice,” he said, now sounding more awake.

  “Yes, well, umm…”

  “Oh God.” He blew out a breath. “What did you do?”

  “Well, umm, it wouldn’t shift so I kind of… hit it with the hammer.”

  Another sigh. “You broke it, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake, woman!”

  Woman? WOMAN?!

  I clenched my teeth, wanting to rip him a new arsehole, but knowing he wouldn’t help me if I did, I swallowed my retort and hurried back into the kitchen to try and save something, anything. My bare feet hit the floor tiles and I skidded across the floor, surfing the whole length of the kitchen and landing with an oomph and a tight squeal when my body thudded into the wall.

  “Alice?” Carter’s anxious voice bellowed in my ear.

  I was quite proud I’d still got a hold of the phone. “Ouch.” My bottom lip quivered and I squeezed my eyes closed. I couldn’t cry, not with Carter on the phone.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Uhh…” I nodded and then shook my head, not trusting my voice.

  “I’ll be five minutes. Hang on.”

  I nodded but he’d already disconnected. My arm hurt and I daren’t move, so I sat slumped in the corner until Carter burst through my front door ten minutes later. He took one look at me then disappeared outside.

  The water covered the floor, drenching me and everything else. It was seeping into the front room, threatening to swallow everything it crept towards. Four days it had taken me to bring the tiles back to their original form, and it had taken just fifteen minutes to ruin them.

  Anger and upset forced the tears I had so far managed to keep at bay to unleash as I sat and stared at the wreckage.

  Suddenly, the water shut off and Carter walked back in. He stood, his brow creased as he stared at me. Then sighing heavily, he walked over to me and scooped me up. I groaned in pain and I saw his teeth sink angrily into his bottom lip. However I was too upset to fight with him so I remained quiet.

  Very gently he lowered me onto the couch. “Where does it hurt?” His voice was soft, compassionate.

  “My arm.” I hiccupped.

  His fingers slid over the skin of my arm, gently probing from my shoulder to my wrist. My heart was suddenly going crazy, my chilled skin bursting with a trail of heat as his fingertips softly ran over me. My breathing started to speed up and an arid exp
anse took over my mouth. His contact was a huge contradiction to his attitude, softness and a delicate stroke making my stomach throb with a delicious warmth.

  His caress slowed and his eyes lifted to mine from where he crouched before me. I couldn’t move from under the vivid explosion of steel grey, his gaze locking me down under a connection that practically stole my thoughts.

  His chest was lifting and falling as deeply as mine, my stare holding him hostage as much as his was holding me. But then his fingers slid over my wrist and a bolt of pain shot into my brain. I hissed, instinctively drawing my hand back. Embarrassment hit me and my cheeks flamed with colour.

  Carter frowned and finally dropped his gaze back to my arm. “I don’t think it’s broken. Probably just a sprain where it hit the wall.”

  I nodded.

  “You should probably get it checked out in the morning.”

  I nodded again. The faintest twitch of his lips conveyed his humour. I narrowed my eyes. “I’m glad you find this funny.”

  He stared at me with what looked like a bored expression. “Who the hell batters the living hell out of a stopcock?”

  I stiffened, straightening my shoulders. “Well I’m very sorry. I have brought this house back from the dead,” I grumbled, taking umbrage with his mocking gaze on me. “I have rewired the whole house. I have stripped her completely back to the original features. I have even replaced some of the more rotten windows by myself. There’s only so much I can do. And besides,” I narrowed my eyes and glared at him. “I’m only a woman!”

  “Yes,” he mumbled. “I have noticed.”

  I frowned when I caught his eyes on my chest. Looking down, my mouth fell open. My vest was white… and very wet. And I was minus a bra.

  Gasping, I slammed my arms over my boobs. “Oh God,” I muttered quickly. “I’m so sorry!”

  His eyebrows lifted. “You’re apologising?” He seemed stunned and I frowned.

  “Of course I’m apologising. The last thing you need is me forcing my boobs on you when you’ve come here in the middle of the night.”

  For a moment he was frozen, his eyes wide. Then his shoulders moved and I watched him appear to struggle with his throat. He shot upright and turned his back on me. His shoulders were moving harder but he just nodded and walked into the kitchen.

  “Are you laughing at me?” I asked, following him.

  He kept his back to me and shook his head but didn’t answer me. Instead he dropped to his haunches in front of the sink and inspected the mess. He sighed loudly and shook his head. “Nothing I can do tonight. You need completely new pipework and hardware.”

  I blinked. “You mean I have to go without water?”

  He spun on his heels to look at me and nodded. “I can fix it tomorrow but unfortunately the local twenty-four hour Tesco doesn’t stock copper pipe and sink hardware. Fancy that!”

  “Do you always have to be so sarcastic?”

  He pursed his lips and stared at me. “Do you always have to knock seven bells of shit out of everything?” He gave another quirk of his eyebrow. “If you’d just left it I could have fixed it and got your water back on. Now you have to wait.”

  “But…” Knowing I would get absolutely no sympathy from the coldest man on the planet, I just blew out a breath and nodded. “Fine. I’m working tomorrow so could you make it early evening?”

  “Yep.”

  He stood up and nodded, glancing out of the window. His head tipped to the side as if he was studying something in the darkness.

  “Can I ask you something?” I asked, feeling stupid but needing to know. He turned to me with a cautious look and I shook my head. “Don’t worry, nothing personal. Did you know the woman who lived here before?”

  He nodded.

  I waited expectantly but when he offered nothing else I sighed in frustration. “Well, what was she like?”

  He shrugged. “A woman. I dunno, didn’t have much to do with her really. Why?”

  I licked my dry lips. “Just wondering.” A shiver ran through me and Carter narrowed his eyes.

  “Alice?”

  A fierce blush burnt my cheeks and I lowered my eyes. “I think… I think I just saw her.”

  Strangely, Carter didn’t laugh as I’d expected. He gazed at me with an inquisitive stare. “She lived with her husband. He died in his late seventies and she died a fair few years ago now. Must have been in her eighties.”

  “Really? The woman I saw was young.”

  “What did she look like?” he asked quietly.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. It was just a reflection in the window. A silhouette.” I waved my hand. “Probably my brain still sleeping. Doesn’t matter.” I felt stupid talking about ghosts with Carter and I laughed it off.

  He stood watching me and I started to grow uncomfortable and crossed my arms over my chest. Carter chuckled and headed for the door. “See you tomorrow, Alice. Make sure you don’t get too wet without me.”

  I frowned at his strange words but then rolled my eyes. “I’d cook something to say thanks but without water I think it might be a bit hard. Sorry.”

  He shook his head. “It’s cool.”

  Then he shut the door behind him and I was once again alone – or I hoped I was. Taking a nervous glance around, I ran through the house flicking off the lights and jumped into bed, yanking my duvet up and over my head. My duvet would save me. It always did.

  BRAY GRINNED AT me from the other side of the counter when I emerged from the kitchen, still tying my apron around me in haste as I was late – again.

  “Morning, sunshine.” He beamed. “You’re looking particularly gorgeous today.”

  David, who was sitting next to him, gave me a warm smile. He frowned when I smiled back nervously.

  “What you done?” Bray asked, gesturing to the bandage around my wrist.

  “She went water-skiing.”

  All eyes turned to look at Carter when he slid onto the stool on the other side of Bray.

  “Eh?” David asked with a humorous expression.

  Narrowing my eyes on Carter, I explained what had happened. Before I’d finished all three men were laughing at me.

  “Leave her alone.” Janie scowled playfully as she slipped an arm around my waist and hugged me close.

  A smug smile lifted the corners of Bray’s lips and I braced myself. “Well, I only came in for a bacon sarnie, but a three-way works for me.”

  Janie rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You never disappoint, Bray.”

  He grinned wider. “I’ve offered to prove that to you time and time again, Janie. One day you’ll actually take me up on my offer. After all, it’s not every girl in the village that is offered such an amazing gift.”

  Janie lifted her eyebrow. “You’re right.” She pointed a finger at him. “Mary Arnold who runs the weekly knitting club hasn’t had the honour of sharing your bed yet.”

  Bray slapped his hand on his chest. “You wound me.”

  She scowled at him then disappeared to take an order from a man at the end of the counter. I smirked when I noticed Bray’s eyes on her backside as she sashayed away. Turning back to me as I took Carter’s order for breakfast, he said, “By the way, Saturday is the village carnival. You want to come with us?”

  I flinched and shook my head, giving him a small smile. “Sorry, I have plans Saturday. But thanks for the offer.”

  Carter narrowed his eyes on me. “What plans?”

  I blinked at him then shrugged and turned to David. “Coffee to take away, David?”

  He nodded, his eyes flicking to Carter who sat simmering on his stool with his eyes glued to me. I could feel the heat from his glare boring into me. Why he was so concerned with what I did confused me but I shrugged it off. Carter was such a complex character that if I knew him a lifetime I’d never actually know all of him.

  “It’s the carnival, Alice. You can’t not go,” Bray said, but I shook my head again and proceeded to make David’s coffee as I slipped Bray�
��s order through the hatch for Betty to start on.

  David smiled and placed a fiver on the counter when I passed him his coffee. “Well, better get on. Staff meeting this morning. I hate them. I swear one day I’ll actually get to know all the names in that place.”

  “You need a PA,” Bray suggested. “A pretty blonde PA with long legs and huge…” His eyes shot to me and he grinned, “…eyes.”

  Carter and David snorted.

  “We’d all like one of those, Harrison.” Carter laughed.

  I couldn’t help but stare at him. It was the first time I’d properly seen him laugh. His eyes turned from deep silver to the most vibrant blue, his smile as wide as his strong jaw. His usual stern face completely transformed, leaving in its place a stunning man who caused my heart to stop for a moment.

  Noticing me looking at him, he frowned. I swallowed and looked away, thankful when Betty shouted through the hatch for me to serve an order.

  “I’m off, guys,” David called as I slid through the gate at the end of the counter and took two breakfasts to two men sitting at the corner table. They wore hi-vis jackets and I knew they weren’t local. Maybe they were the workers that were rebuilding the harbour wall. Their loud laughter and crude language made me wince when I approached them.

  “Hey, hey,” the large one greeted me when I placed his plate in front of him. “Food and a hot ass. We’ll come here again.”

  I smiled, ignoring his expression as I slid his friend’s bacon and eggs in front of him. “She’s definitely a pretty one, Rob.” He winked at his mate. “What’s your name, sweetie?”

  “Alice,” I replied quietly. “Enjoy your meals, gentlemen.”

  As I tried to leave, Rob grabbed my wrist. “I’d enjoy it even more if you joined us. I love redheads. Always so… aggressive and lively. Very fun to have.” The way he said it made me shiver.

  I cleared my throat. “Sorry, I’m working. But let me know if you need anything.”

  I tried to pull away but he yanked me back and I banged the table with my thigh, knocking their mugs of tea and spilling it over the sides. The smaller one tutted dramatically. “Oh dear, Red. Look what you did. Now you’ll have to refill them.”