The South West Series Box Set

by Rebecca Paulinyi

  “Now I am intrigued…”

  Beth paused and glanced at him. “I’ve never voted.”

  “What? How is that possible?”

  She put her head in her free hand and groaned. “I know, I know, it’s awful! I’m really ashamed of it, which is why no-one else knows.” Why she had decided to tell Caspian that little fact was beyond her, but there it was, out in the open. “My sister would kill me if she knew!”

  “Well, at least you feel bad about it,” Caspian said with a grin.

  “It started off with not caring, when I was younger. Then I just didn’t know who to vote for, and didn’t want to fall into the trap of just voting the way my mum does, and now here I am, twenty-eight and never voted.”

  Caspian shook his head. “It’s important to vote, make your voice heard.”

  “I know, I know, I do feel bad about it! Look, I promise next time there’s an election, I’ll do my research and vote, okay?”

  “Good.”

  “Your turn,” Beth said; “Tell me something nobody else knows.”

  He paused, clearly thinking through his answer, and Beth watched the reflection of the moonlight shimmer on the black ocean as they walked in a pleasant silence. The air had cooled off a little although it was not unpleasant; without discussing it they turned and started to walk back in the direction of the cottage.

  “I’m scared of ending up like my mum,” he finally said, and the words seemed to have so much gravity that Beth stopped in her tracks and lifted her chin so she could look up into his dark eyes.

  “What does that mean?” she asked, letting her fingers gently graze the stubble on his chin. “Old? On your own?”

  “Heartbroken,” he admitted, bravely maintaining their eye contact even though Beth could feel he wanted to look away.

  “She lost the love of her life,” Beth said, repeating words he’d said to her on that last date.

  He nodded. “And she’s never been the same since.”

  “Do you think, though, if you asked her, she’d rather have never loved him at all, to avoid the pain?”

  He shook his head, with a sad smile on his lips. “No, I don’t think so.”

  “'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all,” Beth said, pressing her lips to his for a moment, offering some sort of comfort she hoped to the pain he seemed to be feeling.

  “Tennyson?” Caspian asked, and Beth nodded.

  “I think - and this may be the cocktails talking,” she said, trying to lighten the mood just a little, “But I think that’s the price you have to be willing to pay for true love. I see my sister, and what she had with her first husband - that was never true love. What she’s got now, I think that’s the real deal - and she’d be devastated if she lost him. But I don’t think you can think like that. Otherwise how would anyone ever fall in love? Have children? Be happy?”

  “I think,” Caspian said, “And this may be the cocktails talking…”

  Beth laughed.

  “I think you’re very wise. And in this moonlight, in the glow of this amazing day, you make my fears seem a little less scary.”

  She kissed him then - what else could she do with the heady mix of alcohol, soul-baring and chemistry that they were soaking in? She let her fingers glide to his hair, holding onto it tightly as their tongues met and reason was abandoned. His hand was on her back, pressing her closer, wiping away all thoughts and just leaving a burning trail of passion, and emotion, and desire.

  ***

  It was very late that night when Beth lay wide awake in Caspian’s arms as he softly snored. She had watched him sleeping for a while, presuming sleep would wash over her after how busy they had been that day, but it evaded her into the small hours. His confession was on her mind, and she realised that she tried to live her life without any fear, even if that wasn’t always possible. It seemed he had lived his in fear for a long time, and that explained some of the mystery she felt surrounded him. She tried not to read into the fact that he was talking about love and heartbreak with her. It was all too soon; she couldn’t be falling for this man so quickly, else she worried she might end up with the broken heart. It wasn’t always possible to push the fear away…

  Easing herself from his arms without waking him, she reached for her notebook which was buried at the bottom of her holdall. She had taken to having it on her at all times, in case inspiration struck, and she was pleased she had done so. She held her breath as she flicked on the side light, hoping it wouldn’t wake Cas, and watched him for another moment or two as he steadily breathed in and out, his pattern unchanged by the intruding light.

  She put pen to paper and let the words flow out, feeling Adrienne’s longing and heartbreak keenly as she let inspiration take over and the rest of the story take shape.

  Chapter 24

  Beth awoke the next morning to the smell of bacon coming from the adjoining room. It took her a moment or two to figure out where she was, as the sunlight streamed in the large window and the sound of seagulls floated in. She grinned as it all came flooding back to her, and as she stretched in the empty bed she glanced up at the clock. It was gone eleven, which would have shocked her had she not been up until nearly five writing several chapters of her novel. She felt she was coming close to the end, and was excited about the prospect - although exhaustion had eventually got the better of her.

  “Good morning, sleeping beauty.” Caspian’s cheerful voice greeted her as she padded into the kitchen, wearing his shirt over her underwear. He grinned at the sight, but didn’t comment.

  “Where did all this come from?” she asked, as he loaded up plates with bacon, eggs, toast and sausages.

  “Well, I went for a run this morning-”

  “You did what?” Beth laughed and took a seat. “Do you never stop?”

  “You looked like you needed more sleep! Anyway, I went for a run and stopped to get some supplies on my way back. I hope I’m not ruining any date plans?”

  Beth shook her head. “Nope - just one more place for us to go before we drive back, but there’s no rush - shit, except your lunch with your mum!” In her exhaustion, she had forgotten all about her promise.

  “Relax,” he said, putting a plate in front of her and gently pushing her shoulder so she sat back down. “I rang my mum. Told her what a wonderful time I was having and promised to cook her a roast for dinner. So as long as I’m home by six, she won’t hate you.”

  “I didn’t plan to sleep in so late,” Beth said, realising how famished she was and spreading liberal amounts of butter on her toast. “You could have woken me! I’m really sorry.”

  “It’s okay, honest,” Caspian said, bringing over a mug of tea for her and sitting to tuck in himself. “Didn’t realise I’d exhausted you so much…”

  She batted him lightly on the forearm and laughed. “Not to ruin your mood, but I actually stayed up ridiculously late writing. Inspiration struck…”

  Caspian grinned. “That’s great! Can I read it?”

  “When it’s done,” Beth promised. “You can be the first, I promise.”

  “I’ll hold you to that.”

  ***

  The last stop on their little tour was an art gallery overlooking the ocean that Beth had read about when researching the area. Like so many places around, the exterior was made largely of glass, to make the most of the beautiful vistas in the area.

  They wandered quietly, and Beth wondered if he was feeling as exhausted by their weekend as she was. She certainly didn’t fancy the long drive back! As they looked at another beautiful sea scape, she made a mental note to stop for some caffeine before setting off properly.

  “I just love the water,” Beth said, looking at a beautiful oil painting of the scene that was displayed right in front of them. “It’s just so mesmerising. That’s what clinched the deal with moving to Dartmouth, I think; feeling so at peace when I looked over that water, with the sun shining off it…”

  “The sun doesn’t alw
ays shine off it!” Caspian said, as they moved along, out of the way of another couple.

  “You know what I mean,” she said with a smile. “You must feel it too - you and your midnight swims!”

  “There is something rather enticing about the open water, I guess,” he said.

  “You missed your swim last night…”

  “The only nights I’ve missed since April are when I’m away, or when I’m with you,” he said.

  “I hope I’m worth it.”

  “I think you are.”

  They were quiet again for a few moments, where Beth delighted in the glow of his compliment. Whenever she was with him, she felt like she couldn’t quite get her thoughts straight. Words came out of her mouth without her thinking, and when she finally got what she wanted to say organised in her mind, he’d throw a comment like that her way and send her back into a mush. How long, she mused as she looked at a familiar looking scene, could that dizzying feeling last?

  “It’s Dartmouth,” Caspian pointed out. “It’s just not the view you’re used to seeing. I think that’s from Greenway - but right at the top of the gardens.”

  She looked it at a moment longer before answering. “Oh yeah, I see what you mean. I’ll have to go up there on my next lunch break! It really is stunning.”

  “You think you made the right decision then, moving to Dartmouth on a whim?”

  Beth grinned broadly. “I really, truly do.”

  ***

  The pleasant weather they had basked in at the beginning of September unfortunately didn’t last as Autumn rapidly descended. The walk up to the main house at Greenway no longer seemed quite so exciting when it left Beth windswept and sodden, and she vowed to buy a really good quality raincoat on her next pay day. Then there was the day when the winds were too high for the ferry to run, and so she had to drive the long way round, ending up stressed and late, although Tanya had been very understanding.

  “It’s the pitfalls of living somewhere so beautiful,” she’d said, as Beth had rung out her hair and tried to make herself look presentable for the tour group waiting. “We’re surrounded by this beautiful water, but sometimes nature turns and it’s more of a curse!”

  “I think I’m falling out of love with the water,” Beth muttered, pasting on a smile as she went to greet the group.

  Tanya laughed. “That’ll change when the rain stops!”

  The fact that it had been two weeks since she’d seen Caspian wasn’t helping Beth’s mood. After she’d dropped him off at his mum’s that Sunday evening, with strict instructions to apologise for keeping him out later than agreed, she’d gone home and slept until her alarm had gone off for the fifth time on Monday morning. He’d rung that evening, and explained he was having to travel to New York, and would be gone for a couple of weeks at least. She had taken heart in the fact that he’d sounded as disappointed as she’d felt.

  “New York, though, that’ll be exciting.”

  “I wish I didn’t have to be away so long.”

  Me, too - that’s what Beth wanted to say, but she was worried about things getting too intense, too quickly. Well, more intense than they had already been.

  “Besides,” he continued. “We still haven’t gone for that coffee - at your sister’s café.”

  Beth rolled her eyes, even though he couldn’t see her. “Not forgotten about that, eh?”

  He laughed. “Not a chance.”

  “All right, all right. When you get back, our next date can be coffee in Totnes. Not quite sure how it’ll live up to previous dates…”

  But it had been nearly two weeks since that conversation, and the weather was horrible and Caspian was not yet back. They’d spoken on the phone almost every other night, and she’d spent her free weekends adding to her novel - to the point where she felt like she was almost finished with the first draft. But none of that quite made up for the fact that they hadn’t been able to go on a date for two weeks. Nor the fact that she was a little concerned with how much time she spent missing him…

  ***

  It was Saturday night, just after seven, and Beth had finished her dinner and was contemplating the last scene of her novel, when there was a knock at the door. She pushed her notebook aside, a little puzzled - whoever was at the door would have had to get past Sam down in the fish and chip shop, so it had to be someone she knew. Her heart raced a little as she hoped it would be Caspian…

  She flung the door open and her heart sank a little, and she chided herself for getting her hopes up.

  “Any chance you don’t have plans tonight?” Sam asked, still wearing his apron.

  Her eyebrows knitted together. “Depends why you’re asking…”

  He flashed her a smile. “No hot date, I’m afraid - but I’m snowed under downstairs. Apparently when it rains, people can’t be bothered to cook. Or something like that. Any chance you could come and give me a hand? I’ll pay you…”

  She sighed, and rolled her eyes. “Not making it easy for me to say no, are you,” she said. “Turning up on my doorstep.”

  “Sorry…” To give him credit, Sam looked sheepish.

  “No, no, it’s fine, I’m just in a bad mood. Give me five minutes to get out of my pyjamas - no, no dirty comments needed, thank you - and I’ll be down.”

  Another grin. “Thanks Beth. You’re a life saver.”

  She closed the door and headed to her bedroom to rummage around for something she didn’t mind smelling of grease and fish. She supposed she didn’t really have any other plans, other than her novel, and the mood she was in probably wouldn’t give the final romantic scene quite the right tone.

  The shop was indeed packed, and since Sam had abandoned it to come and beg her for help, they were behind on the orders. She washed her hands, threw on her apron, and got stuck into dishing up the chips.

  Time flew past in a flurry of orders and before she knew it, the clock on the microwave was flashing nine and the stream of people had slowed to a trickle.

  “I wonder what brought that many people here,” she mused aloud as she washed up. “It’s not even the holidays!”

  “The desire for chips is an unpredictable thing,” said Sam, in a voice that suggested he thought he was saying something deep. Beth laughed; Sam threw a tea towel at her.

  “Hello, what can I get you?”

  She focussed on the washing up, thinking she could get her money and get into a nice hot shower to get rid of the smell of fish and chips as soon as she was done, when the response made her turn.

  “Um… I was actually hoping to see Beth, who lives upstairs - can I knock?”

  “Beth!” Sam shouted, although she wasn’t exactly far away. “Loverboy’s here.”

  She emerged from behind the dishwasher, horribly aware of the mess she must look. Nevertheless, she grinned when she saw Caspian, wearing a long black coat and covered in a fine mist of rain, stood at the counter. She even resisted the urge to throw the tea towel back at Sam.

  “I didn’t know you were back!” she exclaimed, drying the soap suds off her hands.

  “Only landed a couple of hours ago…” he answered. “I did try to ring…”

  “Sorry, Sam roped me in to help out, I left my phone upstairs.” On cue, Sam handed her a twenty pound note.

  “Thanks, Beth - I can finish up. Appreciate you saving me!”

  “No worries.” She hung the apron on the hook and slipped out from behind the counter to the door that led to her flat. “Coming up?” she asked with a smile.

  “If that’s okay…” He seemed unusually unsure of himself, and so she took his hand and led him up the stairs without answering.

  Once inside, he removed his wet coat, hanging it neatly on the back of the door.

  “I’m sorry,” Beth said, “I’m a mess and so’s the flat, and I smell like I spent longer than two hours in that chip shop.”

  “You look wonderful,” Caspian said, running a hand through his hair. “I missed you.”

  Beth beamed. �
��Thank you for lying. And I missed you too. But I can’t kiss you like this. Let me jump in the shower, okay - make yourself at home.” It was as she walked towards the door that she realised she was missing out on an opportunity. She turned to face him, grinning and hoping her messy hair and greasy clothes weren’t too much of a turn off.

  “Unless you want to join me?”

  ***

  For the first time in a while, Beth felt like she had a proper night’s sleep. When she woke the next day, with no alarm and nowhere she needed to be, she felt truly rested. She watched Caspian for a while, still fast asleep next to her, and resisted the urge to trail her fingers across his face. He’d obviously been working too hard in New York, for there were dark circles under his eyes that she didn’t remember being there on their weekend away. Perhaps it was the lighting, she thought - back then they had been bathed in sunlight, whereas now the persistent rain definitely gave everything a greyish tinge.