Epilogue
Fourteen months later in one of London’s flagship bookstores…
The release of a new Hugh Hudson novel always created a frenzy of excitement among his loyal army of thriller fans, never more so than for his long-anticipated first book after the loss of his beloved wife, Eleanor.
They’d been impatiently patient, turning out in their pre-Christmas droves to welcome him back at book signings up and down the country.
Kate had been queuing for over an hour by the time she neared the front, a hardback under her arm.
She’d stuck a cap on and pulled her hair back, not that people tended to recognize her these days.
Things had gotten a little wild in the weeks following the whole Kate Darrowby thing, so she’d erred on the side of caution to make sure no one saw her as anything but an avid Hugh Hudson fan, which, to be fair, she absolutely was.
She watched as he chatted easily to the couple in front of her, signing four or five books for them at the same time.
The signing table had been placed just far enough away from the queue to allow fans to have him to themselves for a couple of minutes, and a Christmas tree set up to pose beside for a photo with the man himself.
Kate took her cap off as she approached his table. “I didn’t recognize you out of your T-Rex costume,” she said, handing him the hardback book.
“Kate Darrowby, as I live and breathe,” he laughed quietly, his rich, Welsh baritone instantly recognizable. His eyes lingered on the book title, different to all of the thrillers he’d signed that day.
“It’s good to see you,” he said. “How’s life in Cornwall?”
Kate couldn’t keep the smile from her face. “It’s bliss. Charlie worried it might feel isolated, but people visit all the time, Alice especially. You should come and see us in the spring.”
Hugh and Kate had been working together over the last year on the next Kate Darrowby book, exchanging chapters instead of emails these days. It was a work in progress, one they both found profoundly satisfying.
“Thank you, Hugh, for everything.”
She knew from Charlie that it was Hugh who’d arranged Pink Cottage for her rather than the publishing team. He’d also insisted she receive a full half of the royalties from The Power of Love, which given its bestseller status around the globe, had turned out to be a not-inconsiderable sum.
His pen hovered over the page for a few long seconds before he wrote anything, because his usual stock greeting wasn’t going to cut it for this one.
Kate swallowed down the ache of emotion in her windpipe as the queue manager approached to move things along, oblivious to the momentous meeting happening in front of her eyes. She nodded, moving to pose for a photograph together beside the Christmas tree.
“Just one second,” Hugh said, as she handed her phone to the assistant in charge of taking photos. “Come here, Diz.”
A massive Irish wolfhound climbed out of a basket beside Hugh’s signing table and ambled over to pose between them, clearly used to being called for photo duty.
She was a very Hugh kind of dog: grizzly exterior, gentle on the inside.
Her presence at the signing didn’t come as a surprise to Kate.
Dizzy had been the star of Hugh’s social media pages ever since he’d adopted her from a rescue center the previous winter.
She was as much in demand at his social events as he was.
“I tried calling her Dismal but it didn’t suit her,” Hugh said quietly. “She’s just too damn sweet.”
Kate laughed, her hand resting on the dog’s huge head, Hugh’s arm around her shoulders as they looked down the lens and smiled for the camera.
“Give Charlie my best,” he said.
She nodded. “Happy Christmas, Hugh,” she said.
“You too.” He hugged her quickly and pressed a kiss against her cheek. “Now get out of here before these avid detective fans put two and two together and mob you,” he said, handing her the book back.
She smiled and pulled her cap down low, leaving the shop with the book pressed tightly against her chest.
For Kate,
The best guardian angel this book, author, or T-Rex could ask for.
With our eternal thanks and admiration,
Hugh, Eleanor & Dizzy x