Chapter Nineteen
As well as bits and pieces for Ohana, Gabe had treated himself to a new pair of boots and Nick had purchased some walking boots and a proper raincoat. They had made plans to explore the area together and Gabe had suggested some suitable outdoor clothes. The drive home was less than an hour so they walked around the city, promising that they would return when it wasn’t actually tipping it down. The weather was becoming wild, and both were aware that they had a potentially tricky crossing ahead of them. In the end they decided to skip lunch and head back. Nick felt that had she suggested eating out Gabe would have been all for it, but the thought of waves crashing over the causeway was making her nervous.
As they drove home, they laughed and swapped stories of their childhoods. Nick marvelled at the difference in their backgrounds. For all that, though, she noticed Gabe never mentioned his father or his older half-siblings. How odd to have family that you didn’t want to talk about. Still, they chatted about all and everything and fell into a relaxed banter until they approached Ballinfeen. Gabe pulled the car to one side as the pair of them looked at the sea, Nick worrying that they had left it too late to get back onto the island.
The tide was already halfway up the shore and the waves were crashing along the base of the causeway. The road sat a good two metres above the beach but now the occasional spray from a large wave slapped onto its surface .
Nick bit her lip. ‘Do you think it’s safe?’ She didn’t want to sound nervous, but she was completely out of her comfort zone.
‘Absolutely fine, but I can see why Mrs Devaney said to be back before high tide. Ready?’
Nick appreciated Gabe’s matter-of-fact tone and calmed down. After all, a bit of spray wouldn’t hurt anyone. Gabe was driving slowly, conscious of shingle and seaweed on the road already. Ahead the island rose up offering warmth and safety if they could just get to it. As they watched the island a huge plume of white water rose up on one side of it and Nick gasped in wonder.
‘That was amazing!’ Turning to Gabe she was surprised to see concern on his face. ‘It’s okay, the wave was over there.’
‘Waves don’t stop, Letta, until they get to the shore. Hang on, this might be bumpy.’
Gabe started to drive quickly – he would happily drive on a punctured tyre, but he didn’t want to be stuck on the causeway when that wave reached them.
‘Ugh!’ cried Nick in alarm as rain and wind blew in the window. ‘Put the windows back up!’
‘If we get pushed into the sea, the electrics will fail. You’ll need to swim out of the window.’
‘What! Should I undo my belt now?’ Nick couldn’t keep the fear out of her voice as Gabe sped towards the island, and the wave raced towards them.
‘No, it’s coming in sideways. Keep your belt on until we hit the water.’
Nick watched as the white plume moved towards them, crashing on rocks as it made landfall. Ahead of the white plume surged a lump of water, a beast of a wave heading towards them.
‘Fuck!’ The wave broke over the end of the causeway ahead of them. Gabe drove the car to the side of the road nearest the wave and stopped. ‘Hang on.’
Nick looked at him in horror and he grabbed her hand smiling. ‘It will be fine. Worst thing that will happen will be that we get a bit wet. Actually, look at it. I don’t think it will be that bad.’
The two of them watched as the white spray hit the road, as the wave rolled towards the shore, the foam getting closer.
‘It’s only the spray, not the wave itself. In fact, windows up!’
A second later they were engulfed. A giant bucket’s worth of water landed on the roof of the car and for a second all Nick could see was water and then just like that, the road was clear ahead of her.
Apologising for her small scream she turned to Gabe who was soaked but grinning back at her.
‘I didn’t get the window up in time!’ he gasped, laughing at her.
‘You look like you’ve been for a swim.’
‘I think I drank some of it too. Come on, let’s not wait for the next one.’
The car started first time and Gabe carefully drove back through the debris that the wave had left on the road. For a moment Gabe had thought it would be touch and go. He knew the water had the power to shift the car which was why he had driven to one side of the road. He had planned on still being on the road after the wave had passed them by. Now he felt exhilarated, and he grabbed Letta’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze. She had been brilliant.
The pair of them dashed into the hotel as the wind and rain pulled at their clothes, dropping bags everywhere and laughing as they did so. A team of staff laden with towels met them, having seen their drive across the causeway.
‘That was a rogue wave and a half. You handled it well,’ said one of the porters with a nod of satisfaction. ‘Mind you, you look like you went for a bit of a swim.’
Gabe explained how at the last second he realised the wave wasn’t big enough to push them off the causeway, so he tried to get his window back up in time.
‘There’s not many would have thought to drop the window in the first place.’
‘It’s the first thing they teach you in D of E,’ giggled Nick weakly and was cheered when Gabe replied with the EastEnders drum roll. The staff watched the pair of them and scratched their heads. The English were a mad lot.
Mrs Devaney joined the crowd with Ohana in her arms, who instantly struggled to join Nick, much to her joy. That tiny little bundle that she had only known a few days was desperate to be with her.
‘That’s a strong bond you forged already. Clearly you’re doing something right.’
Nick tried to play it cool and aloof, but she couldn’t help but beam as Ohana tried to lick her face.
‘Now you don’t want to let her do that,’ said Mairead sternly and Nick agreed. Her new little friend was adorable but had awful hygiene .
‘Ohana, no. And stop struggling. I need to manage you and the bags.’
Gabe, who had been watching the little reunion with a smile, offered to help but Nick took one look at him and shook her head. ‘You need to go and change.’
Gabe wiped his face again, his wet hair dripping in his eyes. ‘Agreed. Tell you what, join me for dinner?’
‘It’s a date,’ laughed Nick and followed the porter as he carried her shopping up to her room. Look at me, she thought, I’m one of those women who makes dates with wildly handsome strangers and carries her toy dog around with her. When the hell did that happen?
***
After the porter left, Nick made up Ohana’s dog basket and put some of the new chew toys in there as well. Then she set down some food and water in the bathroom and watched Ohana explore for a bit. Half an hour later Nick discovered that dogs were an excellent source of distraction and she stopped playing with her and fired up her laptop. It came as a shock to realise that she hadn’t gone online in the past forty-eight hours. Nick struggled to remember if that had ever happened before.
Making herself a coffee, she settled down and began to run through the markets. After that she read a few blogs and tweets, keeping an eye on trends. A little anomaly would catch her eye and she’d follow that thread seeing what was going on there. Often it led to nothing, sometimes though it yielded interesting results. Making notes, she sent off a quick email to Ari with some suggestions to invest in some places and take money from others. There wasn’t much going on, but it was good to keep an eye on things.
Having got everything in order she headed down for dinner, with Ohana asleep in her crate, and spent the next hour laughing with Gabe as they recounted their day. However, by the end she was furious to find herself yawning, then disappointed to see Gabe was yawning as well. Was she so boring? Did he think she was bored of him?
‘Oh dear. This sea air is a killer, isn’t it?’
‘At least you’ve only had to deal with sea air. I think I still have sand in my hair.’
Nick liked the way he ran his fingers through his mop of hair. It was tousled and longer than she thought a barrister could really get away with but maybe he used the length to play out his boyish charm? Blinking, she realised she may have been staring at him too long and she blushed. God knows she didn’t want him to think she was mooning over him.
‘Early night for me, I think,’ she said in a brisk tone.
‘I don’t think you’ll get much sleep,’ said Gabe as a sudden gust of wind howled past the hotel. ‘Looks like we’re in for quite a night.’
Nick agreed and then left quickly, feeling suddenly awkward. She hadn’t worked out a way of leaving Gabe that didn’t seem abrupt. The problem was, she thought, that she didn’t actually want to leave him. He was such great company that she hated saying goodbye. No doubt he was already wondering what he could do to shake her off.