Chapter 34
34
All she had to do was nod and she’d be off the hook, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Not even for Sarah.
In a voice that didn’t sound like hers at all, she said, ‘No, you haven’t done that, Finn.’
He let go of her hand. ‘Good. I’m glad we’ve got that sorted out.’
She felt so weak with disappointment and relief she thought she might collapse at his feet. Then it struck her that perhaps he meant they could spend the night together now. This night. She’d have to think of some way of stopping it. She shivered. The effects of the alcohol were beginning to wear off, and it was starting to get cold. A stiff breeze had come up since they’d been walking, turning the breakers milky white and whisking up the top layer of sand.
He glanced at her. ‘It’s nearly one o’clock, Jade. We ought to get back soon, or we’ll never get up in the morning.’
The B&B’s lounge was still full of people when they got back and as they hesitated outside the door, they could hear a lot of rather slurred talk about plots and agents and six-figure advances.
‘Different world,’ Finn remarked as he followed her up the stairs to their room. He wished fervently they weren’t sharing. The barriers between them had crashed down again tonight, but he wasn’t going to push her. She had to come to him. He didn’t know how much longer he could stand it if she didn’t.
She went to get undressed and clean her teeth in the en suite and Finn sat on his bed. He felt ragged. When he’d suggested bringing her up here, his motives hadn’t been entirely altruistic. He’d thought if he got her away from home for a couple of days, it would be easier to tell her about Sarah. Easier to find out how she felt, and now he had a clue that she did feel the same as he did, he wasn’t sure what to do about it. He’d shot himself in the foot telling her about Sarah tonight. If he made the first move now, she might think he’d just been saying that to get her into bed.
He frowned. She’d opened up to him for the first time, let him see a little of what was behind the wall, and in doing so she’d been enormously vulnerable. He’d have been taking advantage of the situation if he’d done what he really wanted to do and made love to her right there on the beach.
Jade came back into the room, her robe belted loosely around her. There was a sprinkling of talc on her toes, he saw. He tore his eyes away, the intimacy of the moment catching in his throat.
‘Forgot my slippers,’ she said, following his gaze. ‘Bathroom’s free.’
‘Thanks.’
As he cleaned his teeth, he wondered if perhaps he should sleep in the bath. It would be a damn sight easier than sleeping in the same room as Jade. He shook his head. That was a crazy idea. He had to get a grip. He’d waited all this time, he could hold on a bit longer.
When he went back into their room, she’d turned the bedside light off and was curled away from him, the duvet moulding around her slender figure. He could hear her quiet breathing and realised with a little stab of irony that she was oblivious to the effect the evening had had on him. She was already asleep. He got into his own bed, swallowing an unfamiliar tenderness that was somehow metamorphosing into pain in his throat.
Jade kept her breathing as even as she could. She wasn’t asleep. But pretending to be was the only way she could guarantee she wouldn’t give herself away to Finn. One wrong move, one wrong look, and she had no doubt they’d have spent the night wide awake. They’d have pushed the two singles together and then… She halted her traitorous thoughts. It couldn’t happen. Pretending she was asleep might be the coward’s way out. But it was for the best.
The next morning, they had breakfast in a pink and white room, amidst dozens of romantic novelists who didn’t look in the least hungover.
‘Hardened drinkers, obviously,’ Finn said, pouring Jade’s tea. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘I’m all right.’
The truth was that she felt edgy as hell. She should have told him she wasn’t interested in him. She should have made some excuse about not mixing business with pleasure and, now she hadn’t, it was only a matter of time. So close and yet so far, she thought, hating herself for her weakness.
‘You look tired, Finn. Wasn’t the bed comfy?’
‘It was fine. What time did you say we were seeing this woman?’
‘Ten.’ He seemed tense too and he was having trouble meeting her eyes. Perhaps he was as embarrassed as she was. Perhaps she’d read more into what he’d said last night than had been there. Maybe he just wanted her to know that he wasn’t a one-night stand kind of man. Wanted the slur on his character gone.
‘I’ll just go and settle up,’ she said, getting up. ‘I don’t think I can manage a full breakfast this early. I’m still full from last night.’
‘I’ve already done it.’
‘But you can’t pay for the room, that’s not fair.’
‘I was going to pay for mine so it makes no difference.’ He frowned at her and she got up anyway.
‘I’ll go and get the bags, then.’
‘Whatever.’ He made no move to follow her. ‘If it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll have breakfast. I doubt we’ll have time to stop for lunch.’
They found the address of the woman with the donkey easily. She lived in the middle of a housing estate.
‘No wonder she can’t keep him here,’ Jade said, looking over the wall into what looked like a back garden, but was obviously the right place because a grey donkey was tethered to the fence. He was painfully thin, his head lowered in resignation as if nothing much surprised him any more.
‘I shouldn’t think the neighbours are too impressed,’ Finn remarked, opening the gate to let them in. ‘Do donkeys kick?’
‘He might. Best keep away from his rear end.’ They walked cautiously past, but they needn’t have worried about kicking. The donkey cowered away from them, particularly from Finn.
‘Poor little sod,’ he muttered. ‘Doesn’t look like he’s been a much-loved pet.’
‘I thought you didn’t care.’
‘I didn’t say I didn’t care.’ He glared at her and Jade felt almost as cowed as the donkey.
‘Blimey, you did get out of bed the wrong side, didn’t you?’
Finn didn’t reply and she decided he was the most contrary man she’d ever met. Last night on the beach he’d been so warm, tender almost. And now he couldn’t be more different. Was it any wonder she preferred animals? She stormed ahead of him and rapped on the back door. At least animals were consistent. You knew where you were with them.
Aiden was thinking exactly the same thing. He’d just been treating a goat for mastitis and her owner, Jimmy Stanton, had been issuing dire warnings from the moment he’d got there.
‘Molly’s a mean-tempered bugger,’ he’d said, as he’d introduced Aiden to his patient. ‘Mind you stay out of the way of her back legs and her teeth, or she’ll ’ave you.’
Molly had flicked her ears nonchalantly, as if attacking vets was the last thing on her mind and she’d submitted patiently to Aiden’s examination so that he’d wondered what on earth the man was talking about.
‘Watch yerself,’ Jimmy yelled excitedly as Aiden had moved around the goat, with apparent disregard for his warnings .
‘I’m pretty nifty on my feet,’ Aiden reassured him.
‘Not as nifty as Molly. She had my boy the other day. Sunk her teeth right into his hand. Little bitch.’
Aiden wondered what exactly the boy had been doing. Molly was one of the quietest patients he’d ever come across. But he’d decided it was best not to say anything. Animals were always fine with him. Like little Fang at the rescue, he thought with a pang of regret. She was supposed to be a raving lunatic, but she’d never so much as lifted her lip at him. It was all about how you treated them. Animals weren’t like humans. They didn’t make unprovoked attacks. He frowned, remembering Finn. How stupid that had been. He wondered how much longer he would need to leave it before he did as Emily suggested and called by Duck Pond Cottage – just to see how things were going. He finished his examination of Molly and she glanced at him, a benign look on her whiskery face.
‘You can put her back in her field,’ he told Jimmy as he packed away his vet bag and opened up the back of his jeep to put it away.
He was just about to close the back doors when he heard a shout of warning and, almost at the same time, felt a stabbing pain in the back of his thigh.
‘What the hell?’ Jerking away from the pain, he half turned and saw Molly, head down, lining herself up for another attack. Without stopping to think, he hurled himself into the back of his vehicle, bashing his head on the open door in the process, and landed in a heap amid a couple of cat baskets and some old blankets that smelt of dogs. Molly skidded to a halt in a cloud of dust.
‘You little bitch. You cow!’ Through the series of lights shooting in front of his eyes, Aiden was vaguely aware of Jimmy Stanton, dancing around in a fury outside the jeep. Then he passed out. He couldn’t have been out for more than a few seconds because when he came to, very much the same scene was going on outside, only now someone else had joined in. A younger version of Jimmy, presumably his boy, was also dancing around with what looked like a rope lasso in his hands. Molly had turned from the picture of docility to a raving nutter and was charging about the yard like a beast possessed. They’d never catch her like that, Aiden thought groggily. He put a hand up to his head and felt stickiness. Blood, he saw, lowering his hand and gazing at it. Or at least he thought it was blood. Everything kept going in and out of focus. Deciding he was no longer interested in Molly’s welfare, he lay back down again. His right buttock was on fire and a hot pain was spreading down the back of his leg. He shifted gingerly, turned his head to look, and saw there was a hole in his trousers and, more worryingly, a gash in his leg. Groaning, he stayed where he was, partly because it didn’t sound as if they’d caught Molly yet and partly because he felt too sick to move.
‘Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?’ Jade asked Finn again. They’d just stopped at a service station to give him a break and refuel and he looked worn out, his grey eyes shadowed and a little sad. Where was the sadness coming from? ‘I shouldn’t have kept you up so late,’ she added, biting her lip. ‘It was all right for me, I slept in the horsebox yesterday, but you’ve been on the go the whole time.’
‘I’m all right, Jade, really.’ Finn leaned into the driver’s section of the box and opened a little hatch so they could check on Richard.
The woman who’d rescued him had called him Richard – after her late husband apparently – and Jade had promised her they’d keep the name. His real one being unknown .
Richard hadn’t minded going into the horse box at all and he looked peaceful enough now. He was standing with his head down but he flicked his ears, clearly aware of their presence.
‘I wish I knew what had happened to him,’ Jade said. ‘I don’t think it’s just cruelty. His teeth aren’t good. Which means he probably can’t eat properly.’
‘Poor beggar.’ Finn’s voice softened. ‘He’ll be fine. It’s the future that counts, not the past. And his future is looking rosy.’
‘Yes.’ Before they’d left Skegness, Jade had phoned Maggie Crowther for some advice and Maggie had told her donkeys were quite social animals and much better when they weren’t alone.
‘He’ll perk up when he’s around his own kind,’ she’d added and then continued brightly, ‘Jade, I’m more than happy for you to bring him straight here. I’ve got three neddies already. One more won’t make any difference.’
‘Are you really sure?’ Jade’s heart had lifted. ‘That would be amazing. I’ll pay for his keep.’
‘No, you won’t. I’m happy to help. I owe you one for taking those kittens.’
‘Which have all been re-homed,’ Jade had told her happily.
So they were now taking Richard straight to Puddleduck Farm, which meant they’d be back at Duck Pond Cottage slightly later than planned.
As it turned out, they were home by six and were met by an anxious Sarah as they drove through the gates.
‘What’s happened?’ Jade asked, leaning through the window. ‘Is Ben OK?’
‘Everything’s fine. How’s the donkey? Did you drop him off OK?’
‘We did.’ Jade felt a thread of unease run through her because Sarah’s smile looked forced. Perhaps she suspected that away from the sanctuary Jade had caved in and told Finn the truth.
‘It’s OK, I haven’t said anything,’ she murmured so only Sarah could hear. ‘If that’s what you’re worried about.’
‘What? Oh, no, it’s not that. Actually, it’s Aiden. That new vet, Paul, came by earlier to drop off some antibiotics and he said Aiden had just been taken to hospital. He was attacked by one of his patients this morning. I know you’ve fallen out with him, but I thought you’d want to know.’
‘Is it serious? What happened? Not a dog, surely?’
‘No, it was a goat. It – er – charged him from behind, apparently, and took a chunk out of his rear end and he knocked himself out trying to get away from it.’
Finn, overhearing this bit, snorted and Jade glared at him. ‘It’s not funny, Finn.’
‘Paul seemed to think it was quite funny too. Poor Aiden does seem to get himself into trouble, doesn’t he?’
‘It couldn’t happen to a nicer chap,’ Finn said, ignoring Jade’s chastising look. ‘Are you dashing up to the hospital to play Florence Nightingale, Jade?’
‘No. I’m not.’ She was about to say something else, but he was already striding away.
‘What did happen in Skegness?’ Sarah asked when he was out of earshot.
‘Nothing,’ Jade said shortly. ‘Nothing at all.’
Sarah coloured up. ‘Sorry. That was insensitive. You still like him, don’t you?’
‘It doesn’t matter how I feel about him, does it? Tell me about Aiden. It must have been pretty nasty if he had to go to hospital. Did Paul say which hospital? ’
‘It’s Salisbury. Why? You’re not going to visit him, are you? I thought you wanted to keep out of his way.’
‘Yes, you’re right. I suppose it would be best not to go.’
But a bit later when Sarah had left and Finn had disappeared somewhere, in that way he often did, she decided she would go and see Aiden. He’d be feeling pretty sorry for himself and she’d never intended to bar him forever, just for long enough to make him realise she wouldn’t tolerate any more of his antagonism towards Finn.