Chapter 19 #3
‘I’m sure you’re taking good care of him – which is good because no one’s claimed him yet. But yeah, tea and a dog cuddle sounds good,’ I said softly.
I was thinking about Maeve and what she’d said about the biscuits. Had he planned to invite me back to his and it was just chance that he’d managed it so quickly? Or had they been intended for someone else?
Why did it matter? Just because he made me feel as if I was a person first and a woman second.
Just because I was standing inches from him in the library and wishing he would kiss me.
I was astounded at how badly I wanted him to.
Had I ever wanted Richard this much? Ever felt this way before?
The full – butterflies in my stomach, skin overheating, breath catching in my throat, practically giddy with it – need?
Outwardly I tried to seem normal, though inside I was alternating between the urge to kiss him and guilt over how quickly this was all happening after Richard.
We kept chatting about the dog as we left the library.
The sky had turned a menacing gunmetal grey and the air smelled of coming rain.
Wonderful, maybe it would cool me off. I’d left my umbrella at the shop as well.
My boucle coat wasn’t exactly waterproof either.
‘Poor bastard,’ Cooper sighed, as we walked down the chilly street. ‘I hope someone comes forward soon – he deserves to find his way home. He’s a good dog, even if he is eating me out of house and home. Boat and home, whatever.’
‘He at least deserves a name,’ I said, easily keeping pace with him. Occasionally our arms swung in such a way that our fingers brushed – it was electrifying. What was wrong with me?
‘Mmm, weird no one put it on his collar,’ Cooper muttered. ‘I’ve been…’ He cut himself off, apparently embarrassed.
‘What?’ I couldn’t help but ask, already half-smiling. ‘You’ve been…?’
‘It’s nothing,’ he waved me off, pulling his oversized waxed jacket tighter around himself.
At the collar I could see the edge of the cashmere jumper poking out.
I wondered if the jacket was something he’d bought at the charity shop or found on the boat.
He didn’t seem to have much stuff of his own that I’d seen and it was adorably big on him.
I found myself thinking that I could easily fit inside it with him if I wrapped my arms around his waist. He’d probably offer too, if we were waiting in the cold.
‘Come on, what?’ I nudged him and he sighed, but he was smiling now too.
‘I’ve been calling him Charlie. As in…’
‘As in Charles and Lady Di,’ I giggled. ‘Does that make him the boat’s official mascot?’
‘Hey, I’m the official mascot – he’s the captain.
’ A few raindrops fell and Cooper tucked the photocopied pages under his coat for protection.
‘I think he knows more about that boat than I do. He’s definitely been in all the nooks and crannies since he moved in.
You should see some of the stuff he’s dragged out of the little cubby holes.
So many old doilies and dusty Dianas.’ He shuddered theatrically. ‘Haunting.’
‘Or haunted.’
We were outside the shop now and the rain was pattering down. Not heavily as such, but leaving two-pence-sized dark splotches on the pavement. I ducked into the doorway and fumbled for my keys.
‘Let me just get my umbrella a second.’
‘All right, but you’ll have to hold it – tall person’s burden.’
I laughed. ‘Okay, deal.’
I was trying to get the stiff old lock on the door to cooperate and was very glad that we were under cover.
The scent of petrichor rose up, reminding me of school playgrounds at the end of summer, the first heavy autumnal showers driving us inside to play board games instead of skipping.
I was so absorbed in the nostalgic scent that it took me a moment to realise that Cooper had stiffened beside me.
I glanced around and saw an unfamiliar car moving slowly past us.
Obviously not a local – they were crawling along like they were looking for an address and were going the wrong way in the one-way system.
Besides, I’d have remembered if anyone in Leaford had a shiny red BMW with a 2025 plate.
I wasn’t really a car person, but that really would have stood out amongst the school-run Land Rovers and banjaxed two-door runabouts of the local population. Myself included.
‘Fancy,’ I said, offhandedly, but Cooper didn’t respond. Instead he turned towards the shop, hunching his shoulders inside his too-big jacket and dipping his head down. He was hiding, I realised. From the car and whoever was driving it.
A prickle went up the back of my neck. All the odd little things I’d noticed about him were suddenly not just quirks and slightly weird niggles, but a solid red flag waving in front of me.
Burner phone, lack of personal details, jumpiness and now hiding from a strange, posh car.
Cooper wasn’t just an eccentric, he was actively trying to avoid something. Or someone.
The question was why?
And what was he so scared of?