“I won!” she cried jumping to her feet and doing a victory dance around the small room. She ended up standing in front of Gideon, her bare feet planted firmly apart and her hands on her hips. “I’m better than you!” she said childishly and grinned down at him, her long hair swinging in front of her face. Gideon got to his feet and towered above her. She looked up at him, and he reached out a hand and brushed her hair back from her face.
“That’s better,” he murmured, smiling down at her. She stared back, suddenly insecure, and chewed on her bottom lip. She tried to move her head forward to release her hair, but Gideon was holding it behind her ears. She swallowed nervously, realising that for once she wasn’t in control. Gideon let go of her hair and gently touched her cheek with his finger, then he grinned at her and said, “Yep, you won. Were you always this competitive? I don’t remember.”
Abi took a step away, and the tension was broken.
“Oh, yes, always,” she said, slightly breathless, wrapping her arms around her body and walking towards the window. “Don’t you remember the hula hoops?” she added cryptically.
Gideon laughed and moved off towards his bedroom.
“I’m going to get dressed. Too cold to sit around in underwear any longer,” he observed, and he ducked into the tiny room and shut the door behind him.
Abi watched him go, then slumped down on the window seat with a shuddering sigh. What on earth was going on this morning? Had she really challenged Gideon Hawk to a plug-changing race? She shook her head in despair. Slowly she got to her feet and shuffled back to her room to get dressed. Maybe life would make more sense if she was wearing clothes.
****
“Just seen your car on the news, Caroline,” called Roger, rubbing his hands in delight. “This really is rather exciting! It’s being followed all over Cornwall.”
Caroline sighed and sat down in front of the television. There was a close-up shot of her Range Rover with two people in it, driving along the A30 near Penzance. She peered closely at it.
“That’s not Gideon,” she said firmly. “So I doubt if that’s Abi, either. They must be decoys!” she added with a smug smile.
Roger looked at her in surprise. “Very clever,” he said admiringly. “So where’s our boy, then? And who’s that in the car?”
Caroline shrugged. “Only one way to find out,” she said and reached for her mobile. She very quickly sent a text, then smiled at her husband. “If the press are following my car, then the decoy must have worked. I wonder where they’ve gone?”
“I wonder when you’ll get your car back?” remarked Roger with a grin.
Caroline’s mobile bleeped and she picked it up and peered at the screen.
“Wales,” she said in satisfaction. “They’re holed up in Wales.”
Roger stared at her. “Holed up?” he repeated, chuckling. “Good heavens, Caroline, where do you hear these things?”
Caroline tutted. “Holed up, in hiding, under cover…call it what you like, but they’ve escaped the paparazzi for now,” she said with a satisfied nod.
“But we still don’t know who has your car,” added Roger with a gleam in his eye.
****
Simon sat nursing a cup of lukewarm coffee and staring down at a half-eaten full English breakfast. He wished he’d got a burger instead as he pushed the plate away in disgust. He’d spent the previous afternoon racing down to Sennen to catch Gideon, only to find he was too late and the birds had flown the nest. He had also discovered it was actually Abi’s house Gideon had been staying in, so his trip was in vain anyway. He cursed his mother for not telling him the whole story the morning before. She could have saved him a lot of trouble.
He downed the rest of his coffee and sat back in his chair. He hated motorway service stations, and this one was no exception. He had attempted to get some sleep in the car in a lay-by just before Exeter, but it had not been very successful, and he was now wondering if he was going to manage the drive back to Newbury without a proper nap. Now he knew Gideon and Abi had reconnected, he really had no idea what he should do. It was only a matter of time before Gideon found out about, or at least suspected, his deception, and he really didn’t want to be around when that happened. He wondered if he should just cut his losses and go back to the States. Maybe travel for a while. He had plenty of money; might as well use it.
He pushed back his chair and left the café, pausing to buy a newspaper as he passed the shop. As expected, the front page was covered in pictures of Abi’s cottage, and of a Range Rover driving away from the house in the dark. Simon peered at the grainy photograph and shook his head. That didn’t look like Gideon to him. A small picture at the bottom of the page showed another smaller car leaving the cottage earlier in the afternoon, and on closer examination, Simon surmised Gideon and Abi were in that one. Clever, he thought to himself. Someone hatched a decoy plan. Seemed a bit too clever for Gideon, and Simon reckoned he saw Judy’s hand in it. Still meddling, he thought to himself as he got back into his hired car and set off up the M5 towards Bristol. Leaving the country was beginning to seem like the most attractive option.
****
“We’re going to need to do some shopping,” said Abi after unpacking the box of food Judy had sent with them. “Unless we can survive entirely on tea, coffee, wine, and chocolate biscuits,” she added with a grin.
“Sounds all right to me,” came the reply, from where Gideon was attempting to tune in the television. “What else do we need?”
Abi stuck her head round the corner and made a face at him.
“You say that now,” she said, “but you wait until this evening. You’ll be starving after our long walk.”
Gideon looked up and frowned at her.
“Long walk?” he asked suspiciously. “You never said anything about a walk. We’re in hiding, you know.”
“We’re on the edge of a three-mile-long beach, one of the most beautiful in Britain,” she said severely. “We’re going to walk along it. From one end to the other.”
Gideon got to his feet and walked to the window.
“We’re right in the middle of it,” he objected. “If we go from one end to the other we’ll have to walk one and a half miles one way to that end, then turn round and come back…” Abi picked up a cushion and threw it at him. “All right, we’ll go for a walk. Is there a pub at the end of it?” he added hopefully.
Abi grinned. “Actually, yes,” she said. “But we can’t go. We’re in hiding, remember?”
Gideon swore under his breath. “Okay, we’d better go shopping, then. How do we do that without being seen?”
“Well, there’s a shop on the site,” said Abi. “But I’m not sure if it’s open, ’cause the campsite bit is closed now, and it mostly serves that. Shall we go and look?”
Gideon shrugged. “Okay, may as well,” he said, and squeezed into his bedroom to find his jacket.
Ten minutes later the two of them were wandering through the ranks of deserted caravans towards the entrance to the site where the small shop was situated. From what Abi could remember, it sold most essentials, and hopefully they would be able to get a couple of meals’ worth without leaving the caravan site.
“Some of these caravans are massive!” marvelled Gideon, peering into them as they walked by. “Pity ours isn’t that big.”
“We’re lucky to have it,” chided Abi. “Imagine if we were still besieged in my cottage?”
Gideon grinned at her. “That was fun, too,” he said. “Specially making tea in the bathroom.”
Abi grinned back. “I guess so,” she conceded. “But this is more relaxing.”
Gideon wrinkled his nose. “I’m not really used to relaxing,” he said. “I’ve pretty much been on tour for the last ten years. No time to call my own. This is a rare treat.”
Abi glanced at him. “Hope you don’t get too bored,” she said with a little smile.
He reached over, pulled her hand out of her pocket, and held it in his.
&
nbsp; “Not a chance,” he said decisively without looking at her.
Self-consciously, Abi bent her head and let her hair conceal her face. His large hand was gripping her hand very tightly, and she was wishing she hadn’t worn her gloves. The thought of feeling his skin on hers was tantalising, and she wriggled her fingers and squeezed his hand. He looked down at her.
“Okay?” he asked with a gleam in his eye. She nodded and gave a small smile.
The little shop luckily proved to be open, although only for a couple of hours a day, and Abi and Gideon quickly stocked up on a variety of tins, as much bread as they could, cheese, milk, bacon, eggs, wine, and lager. They were just about to pay when Gideon added half a dozen packets of crisps and a large bar of chocolate.
“Rock star food,” he said winking at her. Abi grinned and delved into her bag for her purse. She suddenly became aware that the teenage boy behind the counter was staring at them.
“Gid,” she whispered, “I think we’ve been rumbled.”
Gideon smiled at the boy, who swallowed and managed to croak, “Oh, my god, you’re Gideon Hawk! You’re all over the papers this morning.” He turned to Abi. “And you’re Abigail Thomson. Wow, what’re you doing here?”
Abi’s face fell as she realised that she too was now going to be recognised, but Gideon smiled at the boy.
“We’re staying here to escape the press,” he explained with a conspiratorial wink. “Any chance you could keep our presence a secret?”
The boy nodded eagerly. “’Course I can. I’m a real fan. Please, can I get your autograph?” he asked, turning bright red as his feet shuffled awkwardly.
Gideon grinned. “Of course.” He scribbled his name on the proffered piece of paper. “Just remember—we’re not really here.” He smiled again as the boy nodded.
Abi handed over the money for the provisions, and they thanked the boy for his discretion and made their way back to the caravan.
“This box is incredibly heavy,” complained Gideon. “What did we buy?”
Abi grinned. “I think that one is mostly booze,” she admitted with a laugh. “I’ve got the healthy stuff here.”
“Not sure tinned chilli is very healthy,” commented Gideon, puffing slightly as they finally approached their caravan.
Abi eyed him curiously. “You’re a bit out of condition. Would have thought your concerts would have kept you fit.”
“Sure, the concerts are fine, it’s what gets eaten, drunk, and smoked afterwards that does you in,” he replied with a guilty grin, attempting to open the caravan door with his elbow. Once inside, they unpacked all the shopping, and Abi made a couple of cheese sandwiches to keep them going on their walk.
A watery sun was just beginning to peep out from behind the clouds as they ran down the sand dunes and onto the beach. The tide was more than half way out, and there was plenty of sand available to walk on. Abi stopped at the bottom of the dunes and considered.
“If we go that way”—she pointed to the left—“we’ll get to Rhossili. That’s where the pub is and where you can walk to Worm’s Head from. And if we go the other way, we can explore Burry Holms.” She nodded to the right. “That’s the little island. It’s accessible at low tide, which should be in about an hour. Which do you prefer?” she asked, looking up at Gideon.
He looked from one to the other. “Let’s go to the island,” he said. “We can’t go to the pub, and it’s probably a bit late to walk all the way to Worm’s Head now, isn’t it?”
Abi nodded. “Yes. You have to be really careful with the tides there, too. You only have a small window to cross the causeway and get back before the tide comes back in. If we tried today, it would be getting dark before we got back, and that’d be dangerous.” She turned to him, the wind whipping her hair across her face. “Maybe we could try that tomorrow, if the tide times are right.”
Gideon reached out and pushed her hair back.
“Maybe,” he agreed cautiously. “Let’s see how tiring this is first.”
Abi laughed. “You wimp,” she said, her eyes glinting. “This is nothing. I walk the dogs along Sennen beach every day, and that’s pretty big. Now, come on, let’s go and explore.” She set off across the sand in the direction of the little island at the far end of the beach.
Gideon grinned and ran to catch up with her, wondering whether it would be appropriate for him to hold her hand again. He fell into step alongside her and watched as she drew in the sharp salty air, and lifted her face to the chilly breeze. Tentatively he reached out and took her hand in his. She was not wearing gloves this time, and it felt soft and cold in his large hand. She glanced over at him and smiled slightly.
“You’ll have to walk at my pace, then,” she said. “I don’t hang around.”
Gideon grinned at her and picked up his pace to keep alongside her. They strode briskly along the beach, stopping every now and then to examine the various shells and bits of flotsam that had been washed ashore with the last high tide. Abi pointed out the different types of crabs they came across, and identified all the sea birds wheeling above them. As they approached Burry Holms, she told Gideon all about its history, and he found himself getting caught up in the romance of the tales of Iron Age forts and mediaeval monasteries. He looked at Abi with respect.
“You really know your stuff, don’t you?”
Abi shrugged. “Spent a lot of holidays here. Judy’s dad would take us everywhere and give us a history lesson or a nature lesson. I guess some of it stuck,” she said with a grin. “Those were lovely holidays. I miss those days.”
Gideon squeezed her hand and smiled down at her.
“Well, we’re here now. Let’s enjoy it.”
She smiled back and nodded. “Look, the tide’s nearly out far enough for us to get onto Burry Holms.” She pointed to the narrow strip of rocks between the beach and the island, water still rushing across it. She turned to Gideon. “You should never cross until it’s really clear,” she said severely. “People have got swept away trying to go across when the tide’s coming in. It rushes round much faster than you’d expect.”
They stood together on the shore and watched as the sea slowly receded, until it was safe to clamber across onto the little island. Abi led the way, and Gideon found himself paying far more attention to her figure in front of him than to where he was walking. After a few minutes of scrambling, they found themselves on the grassy top of the small island and stood together gazing out across the wide expanse of sea, over towards the distant coast of Devon. To their left was the long promontory of Worms Head, stretching out from Rhossili at the other end of the bay, and the three-mile stretch of sand between them appeared completely deserted.
Abi glanced around. “Unusual not to see some fishermen out here at low tide,” she said. “Some of them strand themselves and stay on here to fish until the next tide. Maybe it’s the wrong season for fishing. I’m used to being here in August.” She laughed and pulled her jacket more tightly around her against the cold November wind.
“Hope the weather was better then,” remarked Gideon, moving slightly closer to her so their arms were touching.
“Usually,” said Abi with a grin. “But I remember a couple of dreadfully cold Augusts.”
They walked all the way around the island, and Abi pointed out a number of things of archaeological interest before they finally succumbed to the chill of the wind and decided to make their way back. Once down on the sand, Gideon took Abi’s hand in his again and set off at a smart pace. She laughed, running to keep up with his long legs.
“Hey, wait up! Where’d this energy come from?” she demanded, attempting to slow him down by pulling on his arm.
Gideon chuckled. “I don’t know about you,” he said, puffing slightly, “but I’m freezing, and the thought of that nice gas fire and a can of lager is becoming ever more attractive.” He grinned down at her. “Even the tinned chilli seems rather appealing.”
Abi grinned back, and together they made it back to the ca
ravan in record time. Even without the fire lit, it felt cosy and safe, and while Gideon went round putting on all the gas fires, Abi poured a glass of wine for herself and opened a can of lager for Gideon. She carried the drinks into the living area, put them down on the coffee table, and then curled up on the window seat. Gideon came in rubbing his hands together.
“Right. That’s all the heaters on. It should be really warm in a minute,” he said, picking up the lager and taking a long swig. “Ahh, that’s better. Feel civilised now.” He sat down at the other end of the window seat.
Abi pushed her hair behind her ears and looked at him seriously.
“I had a lovely time today,” she said. “We never really did anything like that before, did we? When we were young.”
There was a moment’s silence, and then Gideon grinned.
“No, I guess not. It was more a case of sneaking around trying to avoid your mother, and pretending we were at the cinema,” he said. “We didn’t really go places and just enjoy it. Too much stress.”
Abi nodded in agreement and took a long swig of her wine.
“Shall we walk to Worm’s Head tomorrow?” she asked with a gleam in her eye.
Gideon looked doubtful. “Maybe,” he said cautiously. “Looks a long way on a cold day.”
Abi snorted. “Wimp,” she retorted. “It’ll warm you up walking. Maybe we could risk the pub afterwards. If we go in disguise.”
Gideon grinned. “Maybe. We’ll see.”
Chapter 21
Friday, 25th November 2005
Abi awoke the next morning feeling very relaxed and much warmer. They had kept the gas heaters on until they went to bed, and the caravan seemed to have retained its heat fairly well during the night. She lay on her back and stared up at the white melamine ceiling, the quilt pulled up to her chin. They had spent the evening very quietly, watching television, playing Scrabble, and chatting about innocuous subjects. Both of them had avoided talking about anything to do with their previous relationship or the recent revelations that had come to light, but Abi had felt her whole body tingle just at the thought of Gideon’s touch. Even when he’d held her hand on the beach she’d felt ready to burst. She had no idea if he felt the same, and she certainly wasn’t ready to ask him.
Storm Rising Page 23
