19. Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Nineteen
F or a moment, Evie’s head span with the possibilities. Why was it whenever she had the most to do she couldn’t focus enough to do them? Instead she sat immobile. Dithering over where James might be hiding.
In situations like this, when her whole world was too confusing, she had one person she relied upon more than anyone else in the world. Looking up the contact on her phone, Evie pressed call and hoped he would pick up.
‘Hey doodlepops,’ her dad answered the phone the way he always did when she called.
‘Hi Dad,’ she exhaled deeply.
‘Everything alright?’ The note of concern in her dad’s voice spurred Evie on to explain herself, as best she could.
‘Do you remember that boy I was dating who stood me up for prom?’
There was a grunt on the other end of the phone, ‘Vaguely. Jack something wasn’t it?’
Evie grinned. ‘Close, it was James.’
‘That’s the one. Meant I got to go to prom for the second time in my life,’ he laughed down the phone. ‘Why in heavens are you thinking about him? I thought you were at that house doing work you couldn’t possibly tell your mother and I about in case we blabbed it to the tabloids…not that we would of course.’
Bristling a little at the way on one hand she liked being the apple of his eye, on the other she didn’t like the way he couldn’t see her as an adult, Evie tried to get the conversation back on course.
‘I met him again. He’s my boss,’ she explained, then told him about rekindling their relationship, her feelings for him but his strange disappearance and the odd things she overheard. When she came to the end of her explanation, her dad was quiet.
‘So now I’m trying to figure out where he is,’ she added.
‘Why?’
Evie was flummoxed. ‘Why? Because I think I really like him, but even if that weren’t a consideration I really need him for this project. It’s all going to fall apart without him.’
‘Evie,’ her dad sounded impatient, something she rarely heard in him. ‘I’m surprised you even went back to him after he stood you up. Did he give you a reason why he left you on that night alone? And now, when you need him most again he’s disappeared. It sounds to me like he needs you more than you need him. If he doesn’t get back and the project goes badly it’s because he wasn’t there to oversee it. If he doesn’t get back and it goes well because you’ve been in charge, he’ll get the outcome he deserves. I don’t think you should be troubling yourself trying to find him. Especially you,’ he added, before drawing breath. ‘If that’s everything, your mum is calling. I need to go. Look after yourself love.’
Staring at her phone, surprised by her dad’s outburst, Evie stroked Lou Lou on the head as she recalled what he said. ‘He’s wrong Lou Lou, dad is comparing the sixteen year old James to the twenty six year old one. I know he’s changed. I’m going to look for him,’ she told the little dog who woofed at her. ‘Yes you can come too. I know you like him.’
Later, armed with a flask of coffee, should she need to do any sort of night-time waiting, Evie borrowed James’ car keys from where they sat in a bowl by the door and headed to his car. She’d left a note saying to call her if he got in, in case they crossed paths.
Lou Lou settled happily into her little bed that Evie had placed on the front seat of James’ car, secured in with the seatbelt, as though she was always chauffeured around. Which, Evie considered, was probably the case. That little dog had spent more time on private jets than she’d ridden her trusty bike. What she would give to have a bike right now, she thought, as her hands shook so much she struggled to get the car into gear. It had been so long since she'd driven she was convinced she'd forgotten everything.
‘Where first Lou Lou?’ as Evie spoke the little dog’s ears pricked up which warmed her heart. She was starting to think she’d have a hard time returning her at this rate.
‘Beach? Let’s try there first.’ It was still light, with the golden glow of late summer sunshine highlighting the tops of the trees as they drove along to where Evie and James had spent their idyllic morning, what felt like weeks ago, but had only been forty eight hours.
But when Evie arrived and began to make the descent down the steps, with Lou Lou under her arm, she stopped quickly when she realised the whole cove was flooded, it was high tide. If he had been there James couldn’t be now.
‘Come on girl, where else can we go?’ Evie returned to the car and considered the few places they’d visited this past fortnight. They’d spent so much time at the cottage and the house they hadn’t had the chance to be off anywhere else. Then she had an idea.
‘Pub, Lou Lou?’
Putting the car into reverse, Evie swung it out onto the road and retraced the route, annoyed that she hadn’t thought of it before. Driving into the car park Evie was brimming with happiness that she’d find James inside. Maybe they had rooms and he’d been staying there, keeping his distance for whatever reason.
Walking inside Evie smiled broadly at the landlord wiping down the bar, he returned the grin. ‘Not back for more cider are you? I’d have thought you had enough last night?’
Evie laughed uncomfortably. ‘Ha, no, I’m having a quiet one tonight…’ she didn’t want to make not being able to find James dramatic, but she was beginning to wonder what had happened to him to make him stay away. ‘Do you…that is…have you seen my…the boss I mean…my boss…the man who comes in with our team, called James?’
The landlord shook his head. ‘No love.’
‘You don’t have any rooms he might be in?’ she asked with hope which was dashed to the floor when he shook his head again.
‘Rooms? No, we've only got three and they're all taken, summer isn't it?' he explained, shrugging. 'Sorry love – have you lost him?’
‘I…’ Evie broke off, unable to explain and interrupted at the same time by a young woman who had come in carrying an enormous basket overflowing with bottles of tonic and juice.
‘Chloe.’
The woman turned in recognition of her name. ‘Yes – you okay?’
‘This one’s looking for her boss, says she can’t find him. Don’t suppose you know anything about it…do you?’ the landlord asked with an implication Evie couldn’t miss. Neither could she miss the pink warming Chloe’s cheeks that she tried to hide by turning away to place the basket of bottles down.
‘James you mean?’ she asked, her voice muffled as she began loading the drinks into a cooler beneath the bar.
‘Yes James. Who else?’ Evie was frustrated with how this conversation was going. Chloe stood up slowly, wiped her hands on a towel and fixed Evie with a smile that didn’t meet her eyes.
‘He’s at mine, I left him in bed there this morning.’
Evie paused for a moment and grabbed the side of the bar to steady herself. James had stayed at Chloe’s?
The barmaid had moved onto emptying the dishwasher and was replacing the glassware on the shelves. It wasn’t difficult to see the attraction James almost certainly had towards the blonde, beautiful and slim woman with the pouty lips. Self-consciously, Evie placed a hand to her very undone bun of stringy hair that desperately needed a wash.
‘I see and is he…free for callers?’ Evie wondered why she’d suddenly become as formal as though she were auditioning for Bridgerton. Next thing she’d be wearing bias cut dresses and fanning herself in a seductive yet coy fashion to get James’ attention.
Chloe’s back was to her as she replied and didn’t seem to notice. ‘He stayed there last night and I said he could stay for the day if he wanted. He seemed like he needed it.’
‘I see,’ Evie replied, though she didn’t. She couldn’t understand what he was playing at. Surely if there was a problem between the two of them he should just come and talk to her? Like a grown up. They weren’t sixteen anymore, they couldn’t run away from their problems and wait for their parents to step in and fix everything. Though that would have been preferable to this unknowing.
Turning back to look at Evie, Chloe smiled widely at her. ‘He’s quite something isn’t he? Excellent arms – must be all the gym work he does,’ she said chuckling a little as she leant in to share with Evie.
She laughed, then looked at Evie who wasn’t joining in. ‘What’s up? Nothing serious I hope?’
‘It would seem not,’ Evie replied, turning round, scooping up Lou Lou and walking as quickly to James’ car as possible before she burst into tears. She could see she’d been ridiculous, believing in the stories he’d spun her. Allowing herself to fall for him when she promised herself she wouldn’t. Only for him to break her heart. Again.
Reversing quickly out of the carpark she spoke to Lou Lou who watched her, passing no judgement.
‘We have one week left until the wedding, I can ignore him. If he wants to spend time in other women’s beds…then that’s his decision. It’s not like we’re married,’ she sobbed. ‘It’s not like I’ve thought about him for years as the one that got away.’ She wiped her nose with the back of her hand and sniffed hard. ‘It’s not like he said we’d be together forever did he? He must have been looking at a way of keeping himself entertained whilst we finished this project off. Just a bit of fun,’ she slammed her hands hard against the steering wheel, surprising her and Lou Lou as she hit the horn which blasted out.
A deer darted out from behind a hedge, startled by the noise and Evie quickly veered to avoid hitting it, her heart hammering as she tried to control the car back on the road. In her rear-view mirror the deer seemed unhurt and carried on across the road to the next field. Whereas Evie’s whole body felt as though it had been drenched in ice cold water. She clung onto the steering wheel so much her knuckles were pure white when she drove into Cyan’s driveway, her nerves barely settling as she parked at the cottage.
Evie cut the engine and enjoyed the silence. The countryside at dusk had a magical quality to it, wisps of burnt orange sky grazed the edges of golden hued fields, whilst nearby birds soon to head to their nests for the night tweeted to their neighbours.
Getting out of the car, Evie felt like she saw everything in a new light. The world was beautiful. She’d been lucky not to be in a dangerous accident and it was all because she’d let her emotions get the better of her.
James didn't belong to her. He didn’t owe her anything, and she didn’t owe him anything either. If he didn’t want to be in contact then she was going to leave him to it. This project would be her chance to prove to Malcolm she was ready for wherever the next step took her.
‘Come on Lou Lou, girl’s night. I’m having a bath and a glass of wine, you’re allowed some chicken. Then it’s bed.’