CHAPTER 42
Jess arrived at the community centre shortly before seven that evening, slipping in at the back, as the hall continued to fill up. Everyone in Linford Village, it seemed, was curious to see the showdown between Linford Castle and the local residents’ association.
She’d been surprised that Ted had agreed to organise a village meeting so soon after her clumsy attempt to reason with him, until she’d casually mentioned the meeting to Holly, who’d told her that her mother had strong-armed him into it.
“Remember what I said about Mam? You don’t mess with her when she takes something into her head. ”
“She sounds like she might be related to mine,” Jess had joked.
Holly had looked surprised. “Maybe we should do one of those Ancestry DNA tests?”
Now Jess scanned the hall, which was filling quickly with locals. At the top was a small platform where a few chairs and a microphone on a stand had been placed.
As she looked carefully through the crowd, she spotted Ted near the front talking with Páidí, Sylvia and some of the other business owners. She sighed, wishing for the hundredth time that so much wasn’t resting on the outcome of this evening.
Anthony came into the room and Jess realised it was the first time she’d seen him in anything except the formal three-piece Victorian-style suits he wore for work.
In dark-blue trousers and a corduroy blazer, he reminded her of her old maths teacher from school.
Maybe he’d scare them all into submission, she thought with a smile. Unlikely, though.
“Thanks for coming, Jess,” Anthony said, approaching her.
She nodded. “This’ll be fine, I think. Ted just wants his day in court.”
They chatted for another few minutes as more people filed into the hall, the noise level rising as every seat was filled, those who couldn’t get one standing around the walls.
Beside her, Anthony took a breath. “The sooner we start the better, I suppose.”
“Good luck.” Jess watched as he walked up onto the platform and sat down. After a few moments, Ted joined him. Jess watched as Anthony tried to talk with him but, judging by Ted’s body language, he was wasting his time.
“We haven’t started yet, then.”
Jess whipped around to see Adam right beside her.
“No.” Her eyes automatically slid past him but there was no sign of his girlfriend. “I think they’re just about to.” She glanced at the extra chairs on the platform. “Are you supposed to be up there too?”
“Not yet.” Adam puffed out a breath. “Do me a favour? Come outside for a minute?”
“Why?” Her anxiety about the evening spiked. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” He sounded exasperated. “Please?”
“Fine.”
Jess’s pulse picked up as she followed him out of the hall, and a short way down the street. “Why are we here?” she asked when he stopped.
He shoved a hand back through his hair. “I feel like we got off on the wrong foot when I arrived down here to work. Let’s face it, Jess, it wouldn’t be the first time, would it?” When she said nothing, he added quietly, “I just thought we should talk.”
She stared at the ground as if it could supply an answer. Why did he always do this to her? How could they move on when he insisted on dragging up the past?
“There’s nothing to talk about, Adam.”
She could feel his eyes on her.
“I disagree.”
“What then?” She looked back up. “What exactly do you want to talk about?”
“I want to know how you are.”
This was a waste of time. “I told you earlier I was fine, remember?”
“I’m not talking about the riding incident.” His gaze gentled. “I didn’t forget, Jess.”
She swallowed painfully, her eyes blurring.
“I need to get back, Adam.”
The community hall had quietened, so she figured the meeting had already started. Not trusting herself to look at him, she stepped past him but he caught her hand, twining his fingers through hers.
“Wait. Please?”
She stood for a moment looking down at their hands.
“I’ve missed you, Jess.”
She tried to speak but nothing came out. Instead, she found herself holding her breath as Adam tucked some hair behind her ear, his hand lingering on her cheek.
“I’ve missed you so much,” he said.
His hand left her cheek to slide into her hair, cradling the back of her head.
She should tell him to stop. All she had to do was step backwards, and he would drop his hand.
Instead, she found herself moving closer until she could feel his warmth, every nerve on high alert until his mouth met hers.
Desire pooled deep inside her as she leaned in, shivering as his free hand slid down to her hip, pulling her even closer.
This was what she’d craved since they’d been apart.
It felt so right, so natural … shit, no, this was all wrong!
She pulled jerkily out of his arms, stumbling as she lost her balance, and shaking off Adam’s hand as he reached out to steady her.
“What are you doing?” She glared at him. “You’re with someone.”
He rubbed a hand across his face. “Look, Jess, I’m actually –”
“And … and so am I!” Her pulse was still racing, making her breathless as the words tumbled out. What was she thinking, making out in the middle of Linford Village with her ex?
“Jess.” His voice broke a little.
She forced herself not to give in. If they were meant to be, they would have found a way back together. Instead, just seven months after their breakup, they were both seeing new people. She wouldn’t let herself go back.
She took a breath. “There’s no more to say.” She turned to walk away but then turned back. “Do me a favour, Adam? Invite me up to that stage tonight?”
He looked startled. “When?”
“I’ll let you know.” She turned and forced herself to walk back to the hall, her lips tingling from their kiss, every moment of their encounter spinning like a reel in her head.
Ted was ranting loudly from the stage and jabbing his finger repeatedly in Anthony’s direction when Jess slipped back inside. Finally, he seemed to run out of steam and sat down to loud applause and lots of cheering from the crowd.
Jess’s stomach knotted – more than half the village seemed to be united behind him.
As the clapping died down, Adam strode up the aisle before stepping onto the platform and adjusting the mic.
“Hi, folks.” He cleared his throat and glanced around the room, smiling at a few people in the front rows.
“Thank you all for coming out tonight. My name is Adam Rourke, and I represent the Charleston Hotel Group. First, I want to thank Ted for outlining the problem so thoroughly.” He paused.
“I think we can all agree that we want the same thing – for the River Rathon to be properly cleaned and any damage repaired. As you know, as soon as we discovered the spill –”
“As soon as the residents’ association pointed out that Linford Castle was after causing it!” Ted cut in, red in the face.
Adam inclined his head. “We’re grateful to you for being on top of this. It’s extremely important to us that our hotels maintain the lowest carbon footprint possible.”
“How’s that working out for you?” someone shouted.
“As soon as the pollution was brought to our attention, Linford deployed a huge clean-up,” Adam continued. “But, as a gesture of goodwill, we’d like to establish a modest Green Fund, which the residents’ association can apply for in the future.”
“So you’re trying to buy us off!” Ted jabbed his finger in the air. “That’s not going to work!”
“You tell them, Ted!” shouted someone else.
Jesus, was Ted going to keep pushing this stupid lawsuit just for the sake of it? She could see Adam’s jaw tighten – and could almost imagine the deep breath he took. But before he had a chance to reply, she spoke up.
“We’re not trying to buy anyone off!” She thought her voice probably hadn’t reached the top of the room.
Adam’s eyes locked with hers and she gave a small nod.
“Jess, will you come up and take the mic?”
Grabbing the tote bag she’d brought, she made her way to the stage where she left the bag beside Anthony and went over to the mic.
Her mouth felt sandpaper-dry as she tried to gauge the mood of the hall. Most people looked bored or annoyed but a few smiled encouragingly at her. Her gaze drifted across the crowd, stopping when she got to Robert. He nodded at her and she managed a guilty smile.
“Hi, everyone. I’m Jess Bradley and I work for the Charleston Group. I’m not going to repeat what’s already been said here tonight.” She glanced over at Anthony. “But I understand how you feel about the river.”
There were a few dissenting voices from the front, and Jess took a deep breath.
“I understand, because I love rivers too. I love being around any water, in fact.”
She tried to wet her lips. Adam seemed to read her mind and appeared by her side with a small bottle of water. Briefly, she met his eyes as she accepted it, aware of some murmurs through the crowd.
She looked out to the audience again. Where was she?
“I live beside the sea in Dublin, and I try to walk on the beach every day. The Charleston Group’s head office is on the Grand Canal and I can see it from my office window.
I love to watch for the swans.” She smiled, and a few people in the room smiled back.
“I’ve also walked along the River Rathon.
” She swallowed hard, hoping Adam wouldn’t think she was remembering the afternoon where they’d walked by the river in Ballygobbin. Because she wasn’t. Definitely not.
The noise began to creep up again in the hall. Shit, she was losing them.
“It’s kind of magical,” she continued, “when you see an otter on the bank. The other day I saw a heron diving for a fish. It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it is, isn’t it?” She looked around the hall again.
People were nodding now, she noticed, and she could actually feel the atmosphere shift in the room. Time to wrap it up.
“All I wanted to say tonight is that I don’t think it’s the castle that makes Linford special.
It’s the village, and the little wood, and the River Rathon.
When Adam proposed a Green Fund, it wasn’t a crude attempt to buy anyone off.
It’s a genuine attempt to help maintain what’s important to all of us – the natural beauty of this area. ”
“Hear, hear!” somebody called.
“That’s more like it!” someone added.
As most of the crowd started to clap, Jess took a deep breath.
“On behalf of the group, I propose we take a vote. A vote in favour of dropping the lawsuit against the group.” She glanced over at Anthony, who was looking a bit worried.
“If the group loses the vote, the outcome will be the same. We’ll still do everything within our power to ensure that the river is restored to its former glory.
But we’d prefer to see us all working together, than making solicitors richer.
I’m hoping most of you might feel the same way. ”
Right, speech over. She turned to Ted. “Will you agree to a vote? And to the outcome of it?”
He sniffed loudly. “It can’t just be a show of hands!”
Jess hid a smile. “I agree. We’ll do a secret vote.” Retrieving the tote bag she’d left down, she took out two packs of luminous orange flashcards. “We’re going to distribute some flash cards, folks, so you can vote privately.”
Ted tutted loudly. “What do you need fancy flash cards for? A bit of paper will do.”
“Bits of paper can get lost,” Jess said. Or be added to. “Flash cards are better.” Holding them up, she smiled brightly at Ted. “We won’t lose these.”
Adam pulled Jess aside after the vote. “That was close enough – but you judged it well.”
She shrugged. “It went our way – that’s all that matters.”
“You moved them because you made it personal. Brought in your own experience.”
Jess looked at him.
“That time last year when we took that river walk together? We both saw a heron diving then.”
The same day Adam had kissed her. She tried to school her expression. “It’s a common sight, Adam.”
“Don’t be like that, Jess.”
He’s moved on, remember, Jess? And so have you. “Excuse me, I’ve got to go.”
A bit flustered, she stepped down off the stage and joined the throng of locals leaving the hall. Robert made his way over to her as they got outside, where it was still bright, but several degrees cooler now that the sun had set.
“Good speech, Jess. And a great idea to have a vote.”
She flashed him a grateful smile. “I wasn’t going to do it until I felt I had most people on my side.”
“You got the right outcome, that’s all that matters.” He winked. “They’re lucky to have you. I mean, that guy Adam is useless.”
“No, he’s not.” Jess pulled back, a bit surprised. “Anthony and Adam both did the hard work up there before I did my bit.”
“It’s called teamwork, Robert.”
They both turned to see Adam right behind them. He stared at Robert for a moment before turning his attention to Jess.
Robert muttered something and threw his arm around Jess’s shoulder, pulling her close. “Let’s get out of here.”
Jess winced, shooting an involuntary glance in Adam’s direction.
She knew Robert was probably still annoyed at Adam for accusing him of mistreating Zeffre the day they’d gone riding.
As for Adam, he needed to realise that he couldn’t just step back into her life whenever he felt like it.
She had boundaries. And after that kiss, it was time to redraw them.
She looked up at Robert. “I could do with a drink.”
He dropped a hard kiss on her lips. “I was thinking exactly the same thing.”