Chapter 34
Gabe had a suspicion it was one of those days before he’d even had his first cup of coffee. He’d turned up at the office only to discover that he wasn’t up at the lighthouse site as he’d hoped, and then managed to lock his keys in the cottage when Stanley unexpectedly bolted out the front door after a cat which happened to be walking past. His phone had rung three times with missed calls from a number he hadn’t recognised, and whoever it was hadn’t left a message.
‘Penny for them?’ Donald looked across at him as they headed back towards Applemore after taking a look at the deer fencing site.
‘Just thinking I must be on one of those junk call lists. I’ve had three dropped calls today.’
‘You should do what I do,’ chuckled Donald. ‘I let ’em rabbit on, then start singing down the phone to them. They soon hang up and leave me alone.’
Gabe grinned. ‘Maybe I’ll try it if they call back.’
They drove on in comfortable silence, Gabe looking out of the window as the Highland scenery whizzed past. It was strange how it contrasted to his old life – back then he hadn’t noticed the change in the seasons at all. Summer had, of course, meant a holiday in some exotic location, and winter a week or two skiing from a chalet, but he couldn’t remember a time in his life when he’d watched the leaves growing day by day from the tiniest buds on the trees, or seen the vivid green of ferns as they appeared – the first tiny spirals in the undergrowth, unfurling to reveal themselves along the verges of the single track roads that wound through the hills. He’d come to Applemore to escape, and somehow here he was with a whole new life ahead of him. The only challenge he was facing was -
‘That didn’t take as long as I was thinking.’ Donald broke into his thoughts. ‘I think I’ll nip off early and get the kids from school as a surprise.’
His phone rang once more. The same unfamiliar number appeared on the screen. Donald grinned wickedly.
‘Now’s your chance. Do you want me to join in with the chorus?’
Gabe lifted an eyebrow in amusement and accepted the call.
‘Hello?’
‘Gabe.’ The voice was immediately familiar. He felt a lurch in his stomach.
‘Don’t hang up.’
Donald raised a finger, and Gabe widened his eyes slightly, shaking his head. Realising something was up, his boss gave the briefest of nods.
‘I can’t talk now.’ His voice was terse.
‘I need to talk to you. Can you call me on this number?’
He gritted his teeth, closing his eyes and exhaling through his nostrils as he tried to gather his thoughts.
‘Fine,’ he said after a moment. ‘I’ll call you in half an hour.’
‘Everything alright?’ Donald turned his Defender onto the road that led down towards Applemore. A young deer stood on the edge of the moor, stock still, watching them as they passed.
‘Yeah.’ He turned the phone over in his hands, staring at it as if it was an unexploded bomb. ‘I hope so, anyway.’
When they got back to the office, Donald dropped a hand on his shoulder in the yard.
‘Let me know if there’s anything you need, alright? I’m on the end of the phone if you need me.’
‘Thanks.’ Gabe watched as he headed out of the yard and climbed into his car to collect the children.
He crossed the yard and popped his head into the office, where Una was standing with a baby in her arms, talking to a skinny young girl in black jeans and a cardigan.
‘Gabe,’ Una said, looking at the baby with delight. ‘Look at our new office colleague. Isn’t he a cutie?’
The baby grabbed the beads Una was wearing round her neck and stuffed them into his mouth, covering them – and Una – with drool. She looked at him starry-eyed.
‘Very cute,’ said Gabe more grimly than he intended to. He shot the young girl a smile to make up for it. This must be Laurel. Meg would be delighted at the news that things seemed to be working out.
‘Just got to make a call,’ he said to Una, who wasn’t paying attention. He walked back from the yard to his cottage, giving Mrs Birnie next door a quick wave hello as he passed. He opened the door to find Stanley had dismembered his favourite stuffed toy and the rug in the hallway was covered in fluff.
‘Come on, you,’ he said, clipping on Stan’s leash, ‘I’ll take you over to the grass for a quick pee.’
He sat on the wooden picnic bench that looked out across the bay, Stanley whizzing around at the full extent of his lead. The phone felt like a lead weight.
Across the harbour, tall in the distance, stood the lighthouse. He turned away, letting out a sigh of resignation, and pulled the phone out of his pocket.
‘Thanks for calling back,’ said Rebecca.
He’d blocked her number when they split – not out of spite, but out of self-preservation. Whenever she’d had too much to drink, which was every night, she’d call and leave long, angry messages on his voicemail, speaking until the time ran out, calling again an hour later, apologising for being unpleasant, calling again as she opened another bottle of wine and her temper rose. Then the next day he’d get a stream of long, sometimes apologetic messages. And then the whole thing would start all over again.
‘Look, I’ll keep it quick,’ she said, into the silence. ‘It’s about the house. I need to talk to you.’
‘I don’t think we have anything to say to each other.’ He stared out to sea, watching as a fishing boat set off from the harbour.
‘I understand. And I know why you feel that way.’ Her tone was conciliatory, but it was nothing he hadn’t heard before.
‘I don’t know where you are,’ she continued. ‘I spoke to Jake the other day, and he said he’d spoken to you, but…’
He hadn’t explicitly stated to Jacob that he didn’t want his mother knowing where he was, but the agreement had hung in the air, unspoken. They’d both been through enough.
‘I’d like to meet up. I can come to you –’
‘No,’ Gabe snapped the word out, stopping her mid-sentence. It was the last thing he wanted. Applemore was his escape.
‘It’s about the house,’ she repeated.
‘Fine.’ He’d compromised enough for her in the past – she could do the same for him. ‘I can be free this weekend.’
He swallowed back the immediate feeling of bitter regret that rose in his throat. How – even now, even after all this time and moving to the other end of the country – was she still disrupting his plans for happiness?
‘Oh –’ her voice was quiet. ‘Thank you. I mean it, Gabe. Thanks.’
‘It’s fine,’ he said, aware his jaw was rigid with tension as he spoke. ‘I’ll be there tomorrow afternoon.’
‘Do you want to come to the house?’
He shook his head silently. ‘No, I do not. I’ll meet you in Thursby’s on the High Street at three.’
‘Oh, that’s great. Good idea. I’ll see you then.’
He watched as the fishing boat moved across the water, heading out to sea.
‘Gabe?’ Rebecca’s voice said, bringing him back.
‘Sorry. Right. See you tomorrow.’
He hung up without saying goodbye, putting the phone down on the table and staring at it for a moment as if it was an unexploded bomb. It had been a long time before he’d lost that feeling of dread when it rang, and now here he was again.
He sent a quick message to Donald, explaining that he’d some business to attend to back in England, but that he’d be back to work on Monday all being well.
You’ll be worn out from the drive,Donald replied swiftly, take Monday off. That’s an order.
That was work dealt with. Whatever the hell was going on with Rebecca, the truth was he needed it dealt with. He’d brushed the issue of the house under the carpet, knowing that at some point he’d have to address it, and it looked like the time was now.
More importantly – and he was only realising now how much more important it felt to him – he had Meg to deal with.
He called Stanley and started walking down the path to the beach. Perhaps a walk would give him time to work out what to say to her.
‘I’m really sorry.’
He’d found her in the garden in a pair of pale blue jeans which were grass-streaked and muddy at the knees. She’d looked up to see him walking towards the garden gate, her pretty face open and smiling as she straightened up and came towards him, unaware he was about to blow out her date in favour of… of what? That was the trouble. He had no idea.
‘I’m sorry, something’s come up. I’m going to have to take a rain check on tomorrow.’
Meg was standing on the opposite side of the garden wall, hands leaning on the stone, her hair blowing in the wind. She looked up at him, frowning at the sun in her eyes.
‘It’s fine,’ she said. Her voice was a little too bright.
He swallowed. ‘I need to go down south. I told you about the house situation.’
She nodded and brushed her hair back from her face. ‘Oh yes, of course.’
‘Believe me, if there was any way I could avoid this, I would. I’ve been putting it off for long enough.’
She pressed her lips together and gave a little nod of acknowledgement.
‘It’s fine,’ she said again. ‘We can do it another time.’
‘I’d like that,’ he said. ‘Let me just get this ironed out.’
They chatted briefly. He made her laugh, telling her about Una starry-eyed with the baby in the office, and she said that Laurel had messaged to say thank you and that she was going in on Monday to sign a contract. But his mind was elsewhere, and after a few minutes he whistled Stanley and said his goodbyes, heading back down the path towards the library and back to the cottage to throw some things in an overnight bag.
Rebecca was unpredictable, and he had no idea what he was walking into – but if he was to have any chance of a future, he needed to face up to the past.