Chapter 41
Kitty slowed her pace at the end of her run, looking forward to throwing herself under a hot shower. And slowed more as the cottage came into sight. A man was standing at the door. She froze, inching her way forward.
She didn’t recognise the man, and a baseball cap hid his face. Kitty took another few tentative steps, her shoulders relaxing as she took in his height and weight.
It wasn’t James. Where James was lanky and slim, the man at her door was short and squat. As she drew closer still, she noticed the logo on his T-shirt. And the enormous bunch of flowers in his arms.
‘Excuse me,’ she said, walking up to him. ‘Can I help you? This is my house.’
The man turned and smiled at her. ‘So you’re the lucky lady, are you?’
‘What? Sorry?’
‘These are for you.’ He handed over a giant bunch of red roses.
‘Oh… thanks. Do… do you know who sent them?’
‘Nah.’ He shrugged. ‘There’s a card with them.’
‘Right. OK.’
Kitty tried to squeeze past the man, but the roses were so huge there wasn’t room for both of them. The man laughed as they awkwardly danced around each other before he headed further down the path.
‘Have a great day,’ he called.
‘Thanks.’ Awkwardly clutching the massive bouquet, Kitty managed to put her key in the lock and let herself in.
She carried the roses through to the kitchen, their scent filling the air. After placing them on the worktop, Kitty picked out the small white envelope lodged between the petals. She removed a card from the envelope and turned it around in her fingers.
‘Darling, congratulations on your performance. I can’t wait to see it.’
Kitty dropped the card as if it had stung her.
She spun around so quickly she knocked a glass off the counter.
She jumped as it smashed on the tiled floor.
Without stopping to think, she snatched up the card, grabbed her jacket and ran out of the house.
The door slammed behind her as she headed to the village at a sprint.
Kitty arrived at Seashell Cottage so out of breath her lungs burned. She knocked on the door, leaning against it, trying to regulate her breathing. When Alice opened the door, she could have cried in relief.
‘Kitty? What are you doing here? Is everything OK?’
‘S… sorry to disturb your weekend,’ said Kitty, ‘but you said if I ever needed to, we could talk.’
‘Actually,’ said Alice with a frown, ‘I was going to come and find you this morning. Come on, come through to the living room. You look like you could do with a drink. Do you want water, or would you rather have tea?’
‘Both?’ asked Kitty, limping her way through to the sitting room with the most magnificent views over Saffron Bay.
‘It’s a lovely day,’ called Alice. ‘We can sit on the balcony if you want.’
‘Great,’ said Kitty.
Out on the balcony, Kitty curled up in a deep chair, pulling a tissue from her pocket to wipe the sweat from her brow. Her heart was still hammering, slowing now she was safe. The breeze that tickled her face was welcome.
Alice appeared, carrying a tray with water, tea, and slices of Victoria sponge.
‘May’s been baking,’ she said. ‘She’s got her A-level exams at the minute, and baking is one of the few things that helps de-stress her.
’ She peered at Kitty. ‘I should save all her produce for the school summer fair next week, but you look like you could do with some cake.’
‘That cake does look amazing,’ said Kitty. ‘And I could do with a bit of sugar.’
‘You look like you’ve seen a ghost.’ Alice sat down and poured the tea.
‘In a way, I have.’
She pulled the card that had come with the flowers from her pocket and handed it to Alice, who read it with a frown. ‘Is this from your ex?’
Kitty grimaced. ‘I can’t be sure, but instinct tells me it’s from James.’ She stared unseeing at the tea. ‘I’ve no idea how he found me.’
Alice groaned. ‘I think I can guess.’
‘What?’ Kitty jumped to her feet. ‘The things I told you were in confidence. You promised no one would find me here. You said I’d be safe. Who have you told?’
‘Calm down,’ said Alice, gesturing to the vacated seat.
Her firm voice made Kitty sit, although she perched on the edge, tense with dread at what Alice might reveal.
Alice picked up her phone and started scrolling. ‘Here.’ She handed the phone to Kitty.
Kitty’s eyes widened at the social media post. The fact it named her wasn’t the problem. The problem was the photo of her and Nick sitting at the table in the community centre, deep in conversation. ‘What is this?’ she asked.
Alice hovered beside her, adjusting the screen.
‘It was Margot,’ said Kitty, shaking her head. ‘When was this taken?’
‘Judging by the date, it must have been at the rehearsal. She must have taken a photograph without you realising. Read the post.’
Kitty read the post, mumbling out loud: ‘Saffron Bay’s superheroes.
I honestly can’t thank Kitty Brown and Nick Andrews enough for stepping in to save the day.
When Jan Cully broke her hip, we thought the play that forms the centrepiece of Saffron Bay’s Summer Extravaganza was in doubt.
Not anymore, thanks to these two. Our condensed Romeo and Juliet is on and will be better than ever before.
Be sure to book your tickets – July 25th, 7 PM, Saffron Bay Community Centre. Be there or be square. This is awful.’
‘I agree,’ said Alice. ‘I had no idea until I saw Margot last night and she asked if I’d seen her post. Apparently, it’s been shared thousands of times, and she’s over the moon to have something online go viral.’
‘Go viral?’ said Kitty. ‘Why would anyone want to share this?’
‘Who knows,’ shrugged Alice. ‘People are weird. Could be the community angle. Could be the fact you’re squeezing Romeo and Juliet into half an hour? Could be the way you and Nick are gazing at each other so adoringly?’
‘Adoringly?’ said Kitty. ‘I didn’t even like him when that photo was taken.’
‘You could have fooled me.’
Alice zoomed in on the photo, and Kitty couldn’t deny chemistry spilled from it. Brilliant. ‘So,’ she said, pushing the notion to the back of her mind for now, ‘you think James has seen this photo?’
‘Surely it’s the only explanation.’ Alice sat down and passed Kitty a piece of cake. ‘Eat this. It’ll help with the shock.’
Kitty was glad to have something to occupy her while she thought.
The post didn’t explain how James had found her address, but then, he was resourceful.
And it wouldn’t take many inquiries, once he’d learned which village she was in, for someone to give the information away.
He could be charming when he needed to be.
‘So,’ said Alice, ‘have you thought about what you want to do? You’re welcome to come and stay with me for a while if you think he might come looking for you.’
Kitty looked up at Alice. ‘Really?’
‘Yes. I mean, it’s not like we have much room. It’d have to be the sofa bed, I’m afraid. You’re very welcome to use it.’
Kitty took another bite of her cake. ‘Part of me doesn’t want to run away. On the other hand, if he comes here…’
‘Stay with me,’ said Alice. ‘At least for a couple of days, till you’ve made a plan.’
‘If that’s all right,’ said Kitty. ‘It would help a lot.’
‘Of course it is,’ said Alice. ‘Now, let’s finish this tea and cake, then I’ll come with you to your cottage and you can pack a bag.’
‘There’s no need for that. I can manage on my own.’
‘Kitty,’ said Alice, ‘I’m going to help you with this. I don’t want you to be on your own, not with your ex prowling around. Let me help.’
‘All right.’ Kitty was grateful. The roses and the card had shaken her badly. ‘Thank you. And to be honest,’ she said, making an effort to lighten the mood, ‘with cake that good, even if James wasn’t a threat, you’d be hard pressed to get me to leave.’