Sparks Fly

by Emily Harvale

  'Oh that. Yes, of course. But Sunday lunch is a bit short notice. Let's ask them round for supper one day in the week, shall we?'

  'Have you lost interest in the man in the photo already, now that you've met a man in the flesh, so to speak?'

  Mary tutted. 'Of course not. I'm just as keen to find out all we can about that man as you are. But I think perhaps we should simply open one of the letters. It would be so much quicker and then we might not have to trouble William at all.'

  Cat sighed. What Mary was really saying was that now that she'd met Jeremy Stone, she'd rather spend all her time with him. There had been a few Jeremy-types in the past and Cat remembered how Mary had behaved back then. She also remembered how they had all turned out. She hoped Jeremy wouldn't turn out to be the same.

  'What time is he coming?' Cat asked.

  'He'll be here at 5 p.m. and I was wondering if, perhaps, you and Kyra might like to take a walk while he's here. Or maybe visit Mother. We don't want the poor man to be surrounded by women, do we? It might put him off his stride.'

  It might make him wonder if he wants to get involved with a woman who has an unmarried daughter and granddaughter currently staying with her, is what Mary meant. Cat knew that.

  She threw Kyra a look and managed a smile. 'No problem. We'll stay out of the way. Will an hour suffice?'

  'Best make it two. It is a large house, after all. Or possibly three. Just to be on the safe side.' She beamed at Cat and Kyra.

  Cat shook her head and drank her coffee. Kyra was right. Mary and Jeremy would clearly be having sex despite the fact they'd only met last night.

  Mary Devon hadn't changed much at all.

  Chapter Six

  'You can tell it's now officially autumn,' Kyra said. 'Since Sunday, it's been raining for three whole days and nights.'

  Cat grinned and ruffled Kyra's hair as she placed a cooked breakfast in front of her. 'Beginning to wish you'd gone to university, after all?'

  'Nope.' Kyra returned the grin. 'Just wishing the sun would come out, even if it's only for an hour. I was starting to build up a reasonable tan. And windsurfing isn't quite as much fun in the rain, although Amias says it's good for me to be able to sail in all weather conditions. Choppy seas are definitely a new dimension and yesterday he showed me how to use a harness for the first time. I'm going to have a go at kiteboarding too, but only if the rain stops.'

  'Has he mentioned last Saturday night at all?' Cat tried to quell the butterflies in her stomach as she poured herself more coffee and sat at the table.

  Kyra threw her a teasingly exasperated look. 'As I told you on Sunday evening at the hospital, Monday afternoon whilst clearing out the attic, Tuesday over lunch and Wednesday at dinner ... no. He hasn't. I promise to tell you if he does. I'll even send you a text. Why don't you just come down to the bay and see him?'

  Cat slathered butter on her toast. 'I don't want to see him. I just wondered if he'd said anything, that's all.'

  'Nope. Not even yesterday when I told him that Granny Mary and 'no job's too big, Jeremy' are having sex. And what you said about it.'

  Cat choked on the bite of toast she'd just taken and had to swallow down several gulps of coffee until she was able to speak.

  'Dear God, Kyra! What did you say? And why didn't you tell me last night?'

  Kyra grinned. 'I couldn't tell you last night because Granny Mary and Jeremy appeared just after you asked me, yet again, if Amias had said anything. All I said to Amias was that Gran had met a builder in the pub on Saturday night and he was now going to be doing a lot of work at Devon Villa. And that you weren't sure you liked him but didn't want to say anything to Gran in case she thought you were jealous because she was the only one of the three of us who was having any sex.'

  Cat screwed up her face and bobbed her head from side to side. 'OK. I suppose that's not too bad. For a minute I thought you were going to say what I'd said about being tempted to grab someone off the street because listening to the pair of them going at it like rabbits was making me feel a bit frustrated.' She laughed but the sound died on her lips as she saw Kyra bite her bottom lip. 'Please tell me you didn't tell him that bit.'

  Kyra pulled a face. 'I could tell you that. But I'd be lying. He still didn't say anything though. Not a word. He looked a bit surprised at first and then he just smiled. He really does have the most gorgeous smile, doesn't he?'

  Cat let her head drop towards her plate. 'If this was a bowl of cereal, I'd drown myself in the milk. You told him I was sexually frustrated and all he did was smile? He didn't say anything mean or sarcastic?'

  'Not a single thing. But later, he did say that he might ask around about Jeremy. That's OK, isn't it? Because I didn't say he shouldn't.'

  Cat nodded. 'I think so. As long as Mum and Jeremy don't find out and think we're doing something we have no right to do. It does make me feel a bit of a hypocrite though. I criticise Mum for saying things about Kyle and yet I'm saying I'm not sure I like her latest man and I'm asking someone to check into him.'

  'You didn't ask. Amias offered. And you wouldn't have known anything about it if I hadn't told you. Oh. I asked him about the photograph. I said we'd been meaning to ask him for a couple of days but things had got a bit weird with Jeremy here all hours of the day and night. I explained about the letters and that Gran now thinks we should open one after all, but that you still think we shouldn't. He says he agrees with you and that he'd be happy to help if he can. He's going to be at the museum tomorrow, working on his plane, so if we want to drop by then, he'll be happy to take a look.'

  The butterflies had taken flight and had doubled in number. Cat put a hand on her stomach in a bid to settle them.

  'Didn't you take as picture of the photo with your phone? Couldn't you have simply shown him that?'

  'Um. I forgot.' Kyra looked furtive and Cat didn't believe that for a second. 'Besides, the actual photo is clearer. It's best if he sees the real thing, I think.'

  'Hmm. I'm not sure I want to see him again just yet. Especially now he thinks I'm sexually frustrated.'

  'Why not?' Kyra gave her a wicked smile. 'He might be happy to help with that too. Or is that what you're worried about? That he might try to take advantage of you?'

  Cat shook her head. 'I think I'm more concerned that I might throw myself at him and he'd tell me to get lost. I did that once before. It didn't have a happy ending.'

  'He might not tell you to get lost this time.'

  Cat met Kyra's gaze and held it. 'I'm pretty sure he would, sweetheart. Sadly, life isn't like it is in the movies. Amias Wells isn't going to suddenly fall in love with me. Whether I'd like him to or not.'

  'Morning, ladies.' Jeremy Stone strutted into the kitchen like a peacock. He was wearing pale blue chinos, a pale mauve polo shirt and the sleeves of a white cricket jumper were tied about his neck as the rest of it hung down his back, looking as if he'd spent some time ensuring it sat perfectly. 'That breakfast looks good. I could murder a Full English.' He plonked himself at the table and beamed at them. 'And a coffee. Lots of milk, lots of sugar. Mary's in the shower. There isn't room in there for two but give me another few days and there will be.' He winked at them.

  'Sorry, Jeremy,' Cat said. 'But Kyra and I are in a bit of a rush and don't have time to wait on you. There's coffee in the pot and as you can see, lots of pans for you to cook yourself some breakfast.' She gave him a cheerful smile.

  His eyes narrowed the merest fraction. 'Never mind. Mary will be down any minute.'

  'Yes,' Kyra said. 'So you could cook her breakfast too. I'm sure she would love that. Gran is always saying how rare it is to meet a man who cooks for her and how wonderful it would be if she did.'

  His brows shot up. 'Is she indeed? Then she's in luck. Because I'm that man.'

  He leapt to his feet, and busied himself with his task, humming some tune or other. Or perhaps strangling a tune might be a more apt description. Cat watched him for a moment before grinning at Kyra.

  Foo
tsteps on the stairs told them Mary was on her way.

  'Time to go, Mum,' Kyra said, getting to her feet. 'Morning, Gran.'

  'Good morning, Kyra. Good morning, Catherine. Jeremy? What in God's name are you doing? That pan is for rice. And I never use oil to cook eggs. We poach them. For heaven's sake sit down and let me do it. There is nothing worse than a man running loose in the kitchen. What were you thinking?'

  'If looks could kill,' Cat whispered, hurrying Kyra into the hall, 'we wouldn't have stood a chance. Perhaps that was a little bit mean of us, sweetheart?'

  'He's an arrogant pig, Mum. He actually expected us to cook his breakfast. Who does he think he is? If he'd asked and said please, it might have been a different matter but to plonk himself down and tell us what he wanted was really not on. He deserves everything he gets.'

  'We'll no doubt get some flak from Mum when he tells her we suggested it.'

  Kyra shrugged. 'That's OK. We can cope with that.' She linked her arm through Cat's and grinned. 'We're Devons, remember?'

  Chapter Seven

  Cat changed her clothes at least eight times before she finally decided on jeans, a pale green cotton T-shirt and a matching green and white striped linen over shirt with a high collar. It was still raining on Friday morning so she was wearing boots and also a lightweight jacket as she and Kyra walked into the Merriment Bay WWII Museum.

  'Are you sure I look OK?'

  Kyra grinned. 'What would you do now if I said you didn't? Turn and run home to Devon Villa and change your clothes for the sixty-fifth time? You look gorgeous, Mum. You always do.'

  'I don't think I've ever looked gorgeous in my life, sweetheart. But thank you for saying that.'

  'Oh. Lucas and Marcus are here. Hey, you two.' Kyra waved at them and they smiled back.

  'Hey, yourself. Hey, Miss Devon. I'm Lucas. I haven't had the pleasure.' He shoved a lock of blond waves behind one ear.

  Cat rolled her eyes. 'It's Cat, Lucas. Miss Devon makes me sound like a school teacher or something. And no. But you nearly did when my daughter came home very drunk on Saturday night. Although it might not have been a pleasure.'

  He grinned. 'None of my teachers looked like you, Cat.' He emphasized her name as he looked her up and down. 'And yeah. Sorry about that. We all had a few too many. No harm done though. Amias made sure of that.'

  Amias appeared from nowhere and gave him a playful slap on the arm and a reprimanding look.

  'Cat's Kyra's mum, remember that.'

  Lucas grinned all the more. 'Hey. Enough said. I get it. The lady's off limits.'

  Something was going on but Cat wasn't quite sure what. She smiled at the other blond young man. A paler, thinner version of Lucas.

  'Hi. You must be Marcus.'

  'Hey.' He gave her a sheepish smile and glanced at Kyra who was showing something to Lucas on her phone. 'Yeah. I'm the cousin.'

  'Kyra tells me you're off to Oxford University next week to study Mathematics and Computer Science at Balliol. That's impressive.'

  He shrugged. 'It's what I'm good at.'

  'You must be very good to get in there. They don't take just anyone from what I hear. Not that I know much about Oxford. Your parents must be extremely proud.'

  He smiled. 'They are. Even Granddad is. At least he says he is.'

  Amias placed a hand on Marcus' shoulder. 'Everyone is proud of you, Marcus. And Maths and Computers aren't all you're good at. You hold the highest score on our simulator for shooting down enemy planes.'

  'That'll come in handy if there's another war,' Marcus said, in a self-deprecating tone. 'Although I'd probably be crap at the real thing.'

  'You'd be brilliant, Marcus,' Lucas said. 'You're brilliant at everything.'

  'No I'm not. But thanks.'

  He hadn't taken his gaze from Kyra and when she turned, smiled and winked at him, he immediately brightened.

  'And you're taking a year out, Lucas?' Cat was beginning to wish he was the one heading off to university and Marcus was the one staying behind.

  'Yeah. I'll be working in my dad's firm for a few months. I'm leaning towards law but I'm also leaning towards bumming around the world with my kiteboard and entering competitions. It's a dilemma.' He laughed and so did Kyra. 'But mainly for my mum and dad. I'm not that bothered either way.'

  Amias caught Cat's eye. 'He's trying to make you believe he's a free spirit but deep down he's a lawyer on a surfboard. And he's a good kid.'

  Lucas tutted and rolled his eyes. 'Thanks, man.'

  Amias grinned. 'You're welcome. Why don't you show Cat how good you are at making coffee?'

  Another tut, but he grinned and walked away with Kyra and Marcus following behind him.

  'You've got them well trained.' Cat avoided looking at Amias. 'Lucas is very good-looking. I expect he's a hit with the girls. Marcus seems more reserved.'

  'I've been keeping an eye on both of them when Kyra's around. I don't think you've got anything to worry about though. Kyra's got her head screwed on.'

  'Is that a not particularly tactful way of saying that I hadn't?'

  He frowned. 'What? When? Oh Jesus, Cat. I wasn't talking about the past. But if we are then I'd have to say you definitely had your head screwed on. You knew exactly what you wanted and how to get it.'

  'Mum and Granny Viola wouldn't agree. And nor would I. Knowing exactly how to get what I wanted couldn't have been further from how I felt at the time. Or even if I really wanted it. Or what I wanted.'

  The frown deepened. 'You're saying you didn't? That you regret it? You regret having Kyra? That astonishes me.'

  'No. That's not what I'm saying. Kyra's the best thing in my life. She's the one thing I don't regret.'

  'I don't understand. You were crazy about Kyle and over the moon to be pregnant, so I heard. And you wanted to move to Edinburgh. You definitely couldn't wait to leave here.'

  'And look where that got us. But that wasn't what I wanted. I hadn't planned that, Amias. On the contrary. Discovering I was pregnant blew my mind. I didn't know whether I was coming or going. I was a convent girl, remember. That first summer on the beach was my first taste of real freedom. I had no idea what I was doing. When I discovered I was pregnant, Mum and Granny Viola were livid and wanted me to get rid of her. But I couldn't do that. And Kyle was ecstatic. It was a snap decision to leave. And it was Kyle who suggested it. Not me. I wanted to be with him by then. That was true. And yes. It had been my dream to study in Edinburgh, but not once I discovered I was pregnant. Kyle suggested it might still be possible.'

  'Wait. What? You're saying you hadn't planned to get pregnant? You hadn't planned to leave? You didn't talk him into it? That wasn't what you'd wanted all along?'

  She stared at him. 'Of course not. Why on earth would you think it was?'

  'Because that's what Kyle told me.' He looked genuinely dumbfounded. 'And that's what Devon women do, according to Dad.'

  'What Devon women do?' Cat almost hissed the words.

  A horrified expression swept across his face. 'I didn't mean to say that. I was taken aback by what you said.'

  'You think I got pregnant on purpose? You think I talked Kyle into leaving? And you're saying Kyle told you that? And what the hell has your dad got to do with it?'

  'If this tastes like pee, blame Amias.' Lucas carried three mugs in his hands. 'What's up? Are you two having a lover's tiff, as Mum would call it?'

  'Give us a minute would you, Lucas? And take Kyra and Marcus with you.' Amias didn't take his eyes off Cat.

  'Mum? What's going on?'

  'I'm not sure, sweetheart. But for some reason, Amias seems to be lying about your dad, and insulting our entire family.'

  Cat glowered at Amias and he glared right back.

  'I don't tell lies. And the truth can't really be an insult.'

  Cat's nostrils flared and she clenched her fists. 'You seriously expect me to believe that Kyle effectively told you I'd trapped him into leaving with me? And you seem to be saying that your dad told
you that's what my family does? Really?'

  'Yes. No. Not exactly.'

  'Then what are you saying? Exactly?'

  He ran a hand through his hair. 'It was a long time ago. I'm not sure I remember.'

  'I think you do. Otherwise you wouldn't have said it.'

  He shot a look to his right and scowled. 'Are you three still here?'

  'Kyra's staying. I want her to hear what you've got to say about her dad.'

  Amias sucked in a breath. 'I'm not saying anything. Forget it. I must've misunderstood. I must've been mistaken.'

  'No, Amias. I'm the one who has been mistaken. Perhaps my mum was right about you, after all. Come along, Kyra. I think we're done here.'

  'What? But why? What's going on? Mum! Wait for me.'

  Cat stormed out of the museum, shoving the door so hard it thumped against the front wall with a resounding thud.

  Kyra dashed after her and jumped into the car. Cat sped off, sending an arc of water into the air behind her.

  'Er. Are you going to tell me what the hell just happened, Mum?'

  It took Cat a few moments to catch her breath.

  'I wish I could. But I'm not really sure I know.'

  Chapter Eight

  'That bloody woman.' Amias marched into Natalia's kitchen and stopped in his tracks. 'Why are you always on the damn phone?'

  'Er. I'll call you back, Josh. Amias is here and he's in an almighty strop.' She hung up and glared at Amias. 'Firstly, please don't just barge into my house as if you own the place, and secondly, I'm not always on the phone. I assume “that bloody woman” is Cat Devon.'

  'What? The door was open.'

  'The door was unlocked, not open.'

  'It's the same thing.'

  'It's not the same thing at all.'

  'Why does it matter? Can't you see I'm furious?'

  'Are you? I hadn't noticed.'

  'I'm not in the mood for humour.'

  'I wasn't trying to be funny.'

  'For God's sake, Natalia. I need your help. Not your sarcasm.'