‘Eve?’
‘Oh … yeah?’
‘I said take care and let me know if you need anything.’
‘Thanks, chick, I will. You know, I wouldn’t be able to cope without you.’
‘The feeling’s mutual, honey. TTFN!’
As Eve ended the call, she felt as if a weight had lifted, if only an inch or two. She’d made the decision to stay in Conwenna for two more weeks. Perhaps even three if she stayed for half-term too. Once she’d spoken to the doctor, she’d be able to relax a bit and allow herself to heal properly, as well as to enjoy several more delicious cream teas.
She might as well make the most of it while she was here.
Chapter 13
‘What do you think of this one?’ Eve asked as she showed her aunt a blue and green checked neckerchief.
‘That’s a nice colour.’
‘Will it suit him?’
‘Probably, with his dark hair and dark eyes. It should be lovely on him.’
Eve nodded. She could just picture it tied around his strong neck and the thought made her tingle. She took the scarf to the counter and paid for it, then tucked it into her handbag.
‘Did you find everything you were looking for?’ the assistant asked. Eve scanned the range of dog toys and treats behind the girl.
‘Actually, give me a bag of those dental stick things too, would you? I’m sure he could do with something to keep his teeth clean.’
‘What’s his name? The lucky boy?’
‘Gabe.’ Eve smiled. ‘He’s gorgeous.’
‘How long have you had him?’
‘Oh … uh … he’s not mine. I just helped out at the rescue sanctuary with him and he kind of stole my heart.’
‘No doubt he’ll be coming home with you soon then, Eve,’ Aunt Mary said as she placed a hand on Eve’s shoulder.
‘Well, I don’t know. I mean, I’d love to adopt a hound but is it really practical with me living alone and so far away?’ She wished Aunt Mary could say what she wanted to hear, but she knew the practicalities of the situation made it impossible.
‘Wait and see, dear. Things have a way of working out.’
Eve swallowed a sigh and nodded, then put the treats into her bag with the scarf. She wished she had Aunt Mary’s quiet confidence that things would work out; it would be wonderful to feel the freedom of knowing it would all be okay, but how could it be? She was caught like lamb’s wool on a wire fence, waving wildly in the breeze yet unable to extricate herself. And she didn’t know which direction she would go in if she could.
As they strolled along the street, Eve gazed around her. Some of the people were already familiar, if only because she’d seen them once or twice when she’d wandered through the town. In two weeks’ time, she might well know their names too, and they might know hers. What would it be like to live in a place where people knew her name and took the time to make conversation as the sun shone above them? If she did get to know the people of Conwenna, it could make leaving even harder.
Her aunt patted her hand. ‘There’s Jack, dear!’
Eve followed Mary’s finger and sure enough, there he was at the rail along the side of the harbour, peering down at the water and apparently watching the boats bobbing on the afternoon tide.
‘Oh! Eve!’ Aunt Mary covered her mouth and raised her eyebrows. ‘I’ve only gone and left my … uh … glasses at the cafe.’
‘Really?’ Eve tore her eyes from Jack.
‘Yes. I’d better go back and get them. You go on ahead and speak to Jack. Don’t wait for me, though. I’ll probably get caught up talking to Nate. I’ll see you back at the cottage.’
‘Are you sure?’ Eve kept looking back towards the harbour, afraid that Jack would disappear if she didn’t keep watching him.
‘Yes. Absolutely.’ Aunt Mary waved at her. ‘Go on!’
Eve nodded, then turned away and headed down to the harbour. She didn’t have the heart to tell Aunt Mary that her glasses were, in fact, perched upon her head. Her aunt obviously sensed that she needed to speak to Jack alone, and she had manufactured the perfect opportunity.
Eve approached Jack cautiously, quietly, the way she imagined a photographer would a wild animal in a nature documentary. He was deep in thought, his strong arms bulging from the sleeves of his T-shirt as he leaned on the black iron rail and stared down at the water.
‘Don’t do it!’ she whispered as she reached him.
He started and turned towards her. His face was golden and he looked handsome and healthy in his white T-shirt and faded blue jeans. He had a pair of battered trainers on his feet, and as Eve looked closer, she saw that there was mud on his jeans. He’d been gardening again.
‘Hello.’ He nodded at her then turned back to the rail.
‘Jack. I need to apologize to you.’
He sighed deeply then faced her again. ‘You do?’
‘Yes.’ Eve’s cheeks burned under the intensity of his gaze and she wanted to cover them with her hands. She felt like a naughty child being carpeted by an angry teacher.
‘You have nothing to apologize for. Don’t worry about it.’ He tucked his hands in his pockets. ‘Are you feeling better?’
Eve frowned.
‘Mary told me you’d been rough. I didn’t want to bother you until you’d recovered.’
‘I guess I just need to avoid all stressful situations.’
‘I guess so.’
‘Like creeping around my aunt’s lodger’s garden and snooping in his shed. Oh Jack, I’m so sorry.’
He shook his head. ‘I overreacted, Eve. I’m sorry too. It’s just no one’s ever been in there except me. That stuff is … well it’s …’
‘Wonderful? Incredible? Heartbreaking?’
He ran a hand over his hair. ‘I don’t know about that. I was going to say personal, emotional, cathartic.’
‘Cathartic?’
‘Yeah. Tell you what, if you haven’t got any other plans, why don’t we grab a few things from the delicatessen then take a walk over to the cove? I bet it hasn’t changed since you were a child. It’s one of those places that seems to be protected from the outside world.’
Ten minutes later, they had purchased the basics for an impromptu picnic from the deli and were heading along the narrow path that wound over the cliffs and led down to the secluded beach. Tourists tended to swarm to the larger beaches a bit further along the coast, so the cove was used more by the locals. During the day, it was often busy with families with children who needed to burn off some energy, but at night it was a favourite with young courting couples. As Eve and Jack were neither, she wondered how they would appear there.
As the path began to descend, Eve slipped and landed with a thump on her behind. ‘Ouch!’
Jack turned and relieved her of the carrier bag that held a fresh baguette and a block of creamy garlic cheese, then helped her up. ‘Be careful, Eve! Stay close to me and you’ll be fine.’
He placed her hands on his shoulders then moved slowly forward. Eve tried to keep her touch light, but the path was steep and she couldn’t help tightening her grip on him. Beneath her hands, his shoulders were broad and muscular, and it was hard not to become distracted by how good he felt. But she needed to focus on staying upright rather than gazing at the impressive physique of her aunt’s lodger.
As they neared the bottom, she pulled her hands away and waited as Jack carefully stepped down onto the sand. It wasn’t a big drop, but she could see that the lower step that had been carved into the rock had been worn away by the tide, so it was steeper than it used to be when she’d come here as a child. Unless she’d just been fearless then. She could recall throwing herself off the step and racing across the sand with the dogs, eager to dive into the foamy water to cool down. Jack hooked both bags on one hand, then turned and held out his free hand to her.
‘I’m not the Queen, you know. Or an old lady.’
He smiled. ‘I know that. But you are a lady and I want to help.’
<
br /> ‘Okay then, but I’m tougher than I look.’
He nodded. ‘I know you’re strong, Eve.’
‘Yes, I am. Usually …’
As she went to take his hand, he leaned forward and slid his arm around her waist then lifted her off her feet. She gasped and flung her arms around his neck as he turned and lowered her to the sand.
‘You can let go now.’
‘What?’ Her voice was muffled from where it was pressed against the warm skin of his neck.
‘Well you can stay like that if you want, but I’ll have to carry you across to the shade.’ Eve felt him shaking against her and realized that he was laughing. She slowly released him then took a step back.
‘You startled me.’
‘Sorry.’
‘It’s okay.’ She could still smell his skin on hers, and when she licked her lips, she could taste him too. She couldn’t recall the last time a man had affected her so much. Was it possible that Jack Adams was awakening some part of her that she’d shut down long ago? Or perhaps it was a part that she’d never actually met before.
‘Come on.’ He grabbed her hand before she could argue and they made their way across the golden sand towards the shaded area at the far end of the beach. Apart from a few teenagers playing football and an older couple sharing a flask of tea, the cove was quiet.
Jack placed the plastic bags on the ground, then sat down and patted the sand next to him. ‘How about one of those beers we bought? Before they get too warm?’
‘Sounds like a good plan,’ Eve replied as she sat next to him.
‘Then I’m going to try to apologize properly, and to explain why I paint those scenes that you saw in the shed.’
He pulled two bottles of beer from the bag, unscrewed them and handed one to Eve, then took a long draw from his. Eve watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed, before taking a deep slug from her own.
She had no idea why Jack felt he owed her an apology – it was she who had been in the wrong – but she knew she was about to find out.
* * *
Jack rubbed his thumb through the tiny beads of condensation on the neck of his beer bottle as he steeled himself to explain things to Eve. He felt like such an idiot for losing his temper with her when he’d found her in the shed. It wasn’t her fault that he had painted so many of those damned scenes or that some of them were so … graphic.
He took another swig of beer then turned to her. His breath caught in his throat at her effortless beauty. She had removed her shoes and now sat on the sand, in her simple jeans and T-shirt, with her windswept cropped hair glowing like gold in the afternoon sunshine. Her skin was radiant and her green eyes were luminous, deep green pools that made Jack want to paint her in order to capture the way they appeared in that moment. She gazed out at the sea, watching the waves breaking against the shore, and the word that came to Jack’s mind was serenity.
She could be my serenity …
‘Eve.’ He broke the spell.
She blinked then turned to him. ‘Yes?’
‘I’m so sorry for shouting at you in the shed. I completely overreacted.’ Her green eyes roamed over his face and for a moment he wondered if she would refuse to forgive him. ‘Will you accept my apology?’
‘Of course, Jack. As I said earlier, you had every right to be annoyed with me. I didn’t mean to but I guess I was … snooping.’ Her cheeks coloured and before he knew what he was doing, he’d taken hold of her hand.
‘No. Well, okay. You kind of were, but you were looking for me and only to bring me cake. Dammit!’ He rubbed a hand over his face and shook his head. ‘You were just being kind.’
‘Bringing you burnt cake?’ Eve’s mouth twitched.
‘I liked that cake very much. I was really disappointed to see it on the ground being consumed by ants.’
‘I’m sorry too … for going into your shed.’
‘Honestly, it doesn’t matter. I was shocked that you were there, that was all. It’s probably time I showed someone what I’ve been painting anyway.’
‘Your work is incredible. You are extremely talented, Jack.’
He didn’t know how to respond to the compliment, so he took a swig of beer. It was cold, refreshing and welcome.
‘The paintings of greyhounds in the art gallery were yours too, weren’t they?’
He nodded. ‘There are a few of them scattered around the village.’
‘I’d like one, if I may, to take back to Bristol with me.’
‘So you are leaving?’ His heart fluttered as he watched her face.
‘Not yet. I’m going to stay at least until half-term. I thought I’d come to the village fair … if that’s okay?’
Relief surged through him, relief that he shouldn’t be feeling because it shouldn’t matter if she stayed or not, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t want her to go yet; he wanted to spend more time with her, to get to know her properly. He hadn’t been interested in a woman in a long time and he knew he shouldn’t allow himself to get attached to Eve, because before he knew it she’d be gone. But he liked her; he was drawn to her. Whether it was because they were both wounded, both scarred by their pasts, or just down to good old-fashioned attraction, he didn’t know, but he couldn’t deny it. He wanted her.
But I have no right to … I’m damaged goods.
‘The painting you saw on the easel?’
‘Yes.’
‘It’s real.’
Eve frowned. ‘Real?’
‘Things I saw … when I was in Afghanistan.’
‘I did wonder if that was the case. Jack, that must have been so hard for you.’
‘It was hard for all the troops out there, especially the ones with children back home. I mean … seeing the poverty, the way the ordinary people suffered, it was just so disturbing. Our lives here are so different to theirs.’
‘I’ve seen things on the news, everyone has, but you’ve really captured the things the cameras might not see, or at least choose not to show. Unless it’s after ten p.m., and even then things are censored, biased.’
Jack nodded. Some of the scenes he’d painted were horrific; they showed wounded children, houses blown apart, families destroyed by grief. ‘Painting was like therapy for me. I mean, I did have counselling when I came back to England after I was injured, and that kind of helped, but I could talk about it all day and still never clear those images from my head. One counsellor suggested finding an artistic outlet to help me to deal with it all, and drawing and painting just seemed to work.’
‘We try to build the self-esteem of some of our more troubled pupils in school by encouraging them to be creative. Whether it’s painting or building things or writing poetry, it all helps.’
‘It was as if, once I started painting, I couldn’t stop, and now the images just pour out of me.’
‘I saw you, you know? Going out to the shed … wearing just your jeans.’ Eve lowered her eyes to her bottle and worried the label with her thumbnail.
‘It gets hot when I’m working.’ Had she been watching him?
‘I’d like to watch you work.’
Jack raised his eyebrows.
‘Oh my! Ah … what I meant was uh …’ Eve’s cheeks were bright red now and Jack started to laugh.
‘You want to watch me, Eve? Are you a closet voyeur or something?’
‘No!’ Her eyes were wide. ‘What I meant was that I’d like to watch how you start with an outline then fill it in. I find the whole creative process just amazing. I feel like such an idiot now!’ She drained her beer then placed it on the sand next to her.
‘Are you warm?’ Jack asked as he took their empty bottles and put them into a carrier bag, tucking it into the sand so it wouldn’t open and spill its contents. He removed his trainers and placed them next to it.
‘I am a bit. Why?’
‘Fancy a swim?’
Eve stared at him, then at the water, and he saw longing in her eyes.
‘I can’t. I don’t hav
e my costume.’
‘You could go in in your T-shirt,’ he suggested.
‘There are other people here.’ Eve gestured at the older couple, but they were packing up, and the teenagers had moved further up the beach and were inspecting some of the rock pools.
‘There’s no one to see … or to care.’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Come on, Eve. Let your hair down.’
Eve laughed and ran a hand over her crop. ‘That’s a bit difficult.’
‘You know what I mean.’ Jack stood before he could overthink it and pulled off his T-shirt, then unbuttoned his jeans and let them fall to his feet. As he kicked them off, he felt Eve’s eyes on him. It was with relief that he looked down to find he’d put a decent pair of boxers on that morning; he’d have been far more self-conscious in one of his scruffy old pairs. He held out a hand. ‘Coming?’
Eve moved onto her knees then stopped as she caught sight of his left leg. He shifted a bit, aware that his scarring was a shock whenever someone saw it for the first time. Back at the cottage, when Eve had caught him in just a barely-there towel, she’d presumably been distracted by his nudity as he’d tried to tighten his towel, but now, in the bright sunshine, there was no avoiding it. So he let her look.
‘Jack … is this why—’
‘I limp a bit. Yeah.’
She reached out a hand but stopped just before she touched him. ‘May I?’
She wanted to touch it? His horrific scar? One of the things that had made his ex-wife recoil in horror? He suddenly wanted to tell her about what had happened. ‘We were doing a tour of the area one day. We stopped to check out a suspicious vehicle and when we …’ He paused as the memories rushed in, vivid and painful, loud and horrifying.
Eve nodded. ‘Yes?’
‘When we were out in the open, away from our truck, a lone biker appeared from nowhere and threw a grenade at the parked vehicle. It all happened so fast … there wasn’t time to react. I was hit by shrapnel; it tore right through my flesh.’
The pain, the smoke, the sickening smell of charred skin, muscle and bone.
Summer at Conwenna Cove Page 13
