Unravelled

by Jade Winters

  It was a credit card bill she had failed to keep payments up on. The angry red letter was demanding the full payment of five thousand pounds or else they would take her to court.

  Lindsay briefly closed her eyes. What the hell am I going to do?

  The truth was there was nothing she could do.

  Except pray for a miracle.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Rae thought they’d never leave. The owners of the quaint cottage Callum had hired for the weekend had gone over the same loop of instructions several times.

  Through it all Rae tried to be as attentive as she could. But her glance always turned to Callum. He seemed in a world of his own. A faint smirk had been on his face when he picked her up that morning. He had acted like nothing had happened the previous night. As if he hadn’t been flirting outrageously with Candice at the restaurant, so much so the waiter had thought they were a couple and Rae was Candice’s aunt.

  Rae was grateful he had slept most of the journey, leaving the five-hour drive to her. It had given her time to think. To put things into perspective. In the end she decided Callum was right. The green-eyed monster had obviously got the better of her.

  Every new relationship had teething problems. Clearly, she had overreacted. Callum was just being his normal, charming self. And as for Candice, well, she was the biggest flirt going; but underneath it all she never meant any harm. It was hard to believe, but she was still a virgin. She had always told Rae she was saving herself for the right man. That she wasn’t in a rush to have sex just for the sake of it.

  Pushing all thoughts of the previous night to the back of her mind, Rae took their cases upstairs while Callum put the kettle on. Entering the small compact bedroom, she nodded her head in approval. The rustic design with its dark beams lining the ceiling and a small window seat carved out of wood, overflowing with mismatched cushions, was perfect. In the corner sat an old mahogany table with a flowery modern upholstered chair in front of it. The old with the new didn’t detract from its charm; in fact, it only added to it. Rae smiled as she eyed the four-poster double bed. She had all weekend to make it up to Callum and there couldn’t have been a better place to do it.

  Rae dragged their cases over to a mahogany chest of drawers situated in the corner of the room and began to unpack. Her back snapped up instinctively when Callum slid his arms around her waist and pulled her up against him. He had an annoying habit of sneaking up on her.

  ‘I don’t think you should pack that away, do you? It’s going to come in handy pretty soon,’ he said eyeing the red negligee she held in her hands.

  Rae rested her head back against his chest. ‘About last night. I’m sorry—’

  ‘Shhh,’ he whispered in her ear before planting kisses along the nape of her neck. ‘Don’t spoil things.’

  He pulled her harder against him.

  ‘I think you should put it on now,’ he said huskily as he begun to unbutton her blouse.

  She turned around in his arms and looked up at him. Passion burnt in his eyes. She pushed him backwards until he stumbled and fell on the bed.

  ‘I don’t think we’ve got time for that. Do you?’ She unbuckled his trousers. ‘We’ve got all night for dressing up.’

  ***

  When Rae awoke, the blue skies were covered with dark grey clouds. Callum slept beside her, his soft breath caressing her neck as he held her close. She wished they could stay in that little cottage forever. Making love, talking, doing all the things people in love do. Her thoughts stopped abruptly and reversed. Did she love Callum? Really and truly? Or was she just infatuated with him?

  She slipped out of bed as quietly as possible and made her way downstairs to the kitchen. Relieved to see that Callum had packed away the shopping they had brought from London, Rae flipped the kettle on. A quick cup of coffee and a cigarette, then she’d make Callum his favourite meal—steak, chips and mushrooms. The vintage 1995 wine, which she had been saving for a special occasion, sat on the worktop. Leo had given it to her five years previously when she completed a huge project. I hope it isn’t corked.

  She retrieved her handbag from the chair and fished out her cigarettes and lighter. Walking to the back door she opened it and inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with clean fresh air before polluting them with tobacco smoke.

  After a long drag on the cigarette, the familiar satisfaction she gained from smoking filled her. She knew it was a filthy habit and was akin to wrapping her lips around an exhaust pipe but she couldn’t help herself. While some were disgusted by the smell, she loved it. Even years ago, when she had given up smoking herself, she still liked to smell other people’s smoke.

  ‘You know, you should quit smoking,’ Callum said from inside the kitchen.

  Rae jumped when she heard his voice. ‘Can you at least make a noise so I know when you’re …’ She spun around and the words were lost in her throat. Callum was wearing only a pair of black boxer shorts. His hair was wet from the shower. His toned chest still had droplets of water shimmering on its surface. Her eyes roamed over his body. It was hard to believe that Callum was all hers.

  Every last bit of that Adonis.

  ‘That thing reeks. Out it will you?’ he said, gesturing to the cigarette she still held.

  ‘Well, um … you know I’ve been trying,’ she said, bending down to stub the cigarette out on the step. ‘I need something to make me stop. Something drastic.’

  ‘I have a good reason for you,’ he replied casually and opened the fridge door. ‘You’ll have to quit when you get pregnant.’

  His back was towards her so he didn’t see her open-mouthed expression as she straightened.

  ‘Pregnant? Ha!’ she exclaimed in amusement as she shut the back door. ‘You’re a funny one aren’t you? Can you grab the bottle opener and pour us some wine please?’

  She walked behind him frowning as she neared. ‘How did you get those scratches on your back?’

  ‘Scratches? I didn’t know there were any. Bourbon must have done it when I was playing with him.’

  ‘Bourbon did that? Jesus, I need to get his nails trimmed if—’

  Callum turned to her, his face a serious mask. ‘Rae, please don’t go off topic. You aren’t planning on going through life without children, are you?’ he said.

  Scratches forgotten, Rae burst out laughing. ‘Of course I’m not going to have children. Do you really think I want to ruin all this?’ she asked, and opened her shirt to remind him of her nearly perfect physique, lean and without a single blemish.

  ‘You have breasts for one reason and one reason only. To feed your child. They aren’t ornaments,’ he said.

  Rae frowned, not sure what to make of his attitude. It struck her as rather conservative and chauvinistic, but she didn’t want to spoil their idyllic break with an argument.

  ‘Callum, you know how old I am right? I think it’s a little too late for me to be thinking about having babies.’

  ‘You don’t really mean that do you? You haven’t had your menopause,’ he said with weary resignation.

  Dread tore at her heart as she suddenly realised the seriousness of the situation. How stupid had she been? How could she have overlooked something so obvious? Of course Callum would want to have a family at his age. He was only thirty after all. It hadn’t even occurred to her that he would think she would have a baby at her age.

  ‘Maybe we should have spoken about this before we got too involved,’ she began slowly. ‘So you definitely want children?’

  He looked at her as if she had just stepped off a spaceship. ‘Of course. Isn’t that what everyone wants? A family. Someone to continue the bloodline. I want children as soon as possible. Even just one,’ he said as he reached for the bottle of wine on the worktop. ‘I’ve always wanted a child while I was young enough to, sort of, grow up with him or her.’ He looked at her, deadpan. ‘Besides, your time is nearly up, you’re not exactly getting any younger are you?’

  She stared. Nonplussed. Rae felt her
stomach turn. The remark was the worst thing he could have said.

  Why did he say such a hurtful thing?

  ‘To answer your question, no. Having a baby is not what every woman wants. Believe it or not, some of us aren’t ruled by our hormones.’ It was a clear display of malcontent that he was obviously too insensitive to heed.

  Callum popped the cork on the wine and sniffed the aroma. He smiled, before pouring himself a glass. ‘You say that now but you’ll change your mind. By then it will be too late. In a few years you might not even be able to conceive.’

  Rae’s lips parted slightly. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. There was no way she was going to end up like Lindsay. Struggling with two kids, drifting aimlessly through life. In the blink of an eye she replayed past visits to Lindsay’s house when her children were babies—the incessant crying, the stench of dirty nappies and, most of all, the exhausted visage of her best friend who had lost the spark in her spirit.

  No way is that going to happen to me.

  There was a thoughtful silence before Rae spoke again. ‘So, let me get this straight. You want me to give up my career to stay at home and breed? Give up my dreams and goals to make sure you have someone to “grow up with?”’ she said sarcastically.

  ‘Your career is very successful. You’ve reached the summit. What’s left to do? Don’t you think it’s time for a new stage in your … our life?’

  A tremor of rage rippled through Rae with every word he spoke. ‘Wait, you really expect me to actually exchange my career, my freedom and my body for a life at home, changing nappies and never sleeping again? No way! I’m not having children, Callum. Not now. Not ever. My God, what do you think women are? A production line?’

  Callum slammed the bottle down on the worktop and stormed out of the kitchen.

  ‘For God’s sake what are you going to do now, sit upstairs like a moody teenager because you don’t like the fact I have a different opinion to yours?’ Rae called after him.

  Thunderous footsteps stomped up the stairs and into the room above. Minutes later he came back down the stairs and Rae rushed out into the hallway.

  ‘Callum, will you stop behaving like a child? Why do you always run away every time I say something you don’t like?’

  Her question was answered with the slam of the door.

  Rae turned and walked back into the kitchen and poured herself a drink. What on earth have I got myself into with him? She let out a heavy sigh. Jesus Christ.

  Normally when she had a problem of this magnitude she would have been straight on the phone to Lindsay. But she couldn’t now. Not after blowing her trumpet about what a great catch Callum was. She took both the wine bottle and glass to the small dining table and slumped onto the wooden chair.

  Was this it? The end of their relationship? It had to be, as she couldn’t see a way around their problem. She wasn’t about to give in, yet at the same time she couldn’t expect Callum to either. If he had his heart set on being a father, who was she to deny him that?

  The situation she now found herself in reminded her of the dark days she’d lived through when Greg left. But somehow this was so much more painful. So much more raw.

  She loved Callum. More than she’d ever loved anyone. I can’t lose him. I just can’t.

  Three glasses of wine later her mindset had changed. Maybe this didn’t have to be the end of things. There was no point jumping the gun. She would wait until Callum got back, then they could talk about it like adults. Work out a compromise—perhaps he could be a mentor for troubled children who needed a positive male role model.

  Yes, she would encourage him to do something like that.

  With the whole bottle of wine now finished, Rae’s anger had completely abated. The scent of Callum’s aftershave still emanated from her skin and she missed him so much, even though he’d only been gone a couple of hours. Imagine a whole lifetime without him.

  Standing and slightly veering over, Rae held onto the wall as she made her way into the hallway and up the stairs.

  She had to see Callum. No, she needed to see him.

  Dressing quickly in jeans and a jumper, she slid on her walking boots and cautiously made her way back down the stairs.

  Locking the door behind her, she embarked on the short journey down the steep narrow road towards the edge of the icy water. Her eyes played over the vast open spaces of the island, the carpet of beautiful emerald that spread over the hills and meandering rivers like a family of great sleeping giants under their mossy blankets.

  There was only one place Callum could have headed; the single village pub.

  Locating it in only five minutes, she pushed the wooden door open and stepped inside. Her windswept hair fell over her face, impairing her view slightly as she scanned the room for Callum. Flags and harpoons adorned the dark wooden panels of the interior facade. A lone middle-aged man sat at a small table in the corner of the room, his eyes focused on his iPhone.

  Her shoulders drooped at the realisation Callum wasn’t there. Rather than go back to the cottage alone, she took a seat at the bar.

  ‘Vodka, please,’ she told the bartender whose arms were covered with tattoos.

  ‘Vodka straight?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, in fact make it a double, please.’

  Rae took the drink from the barman and paid. Instead of moving to sit at one of the tables, she remained seated at the bar, swirling the drink around at the bottom of the glass.

  Raucous laughter suddenly echoed through the room and she realised there was another section to the pub.

  Unsteadily she rose to her feet and tentatively followed the ruckus. As she rounded the corner she spotted Callum straight away. He was surrounded by four women who seemed to be hanging on to his every word.

  Her first thought was something that Lindsay had once warned her about handsome men. She referred to them as Ferraris—dating them was like winning a sports car.

  ‘Yes, you’ll own a flashy sports car,’ she heard Lindsay’s voice in her head, ‘but be careful where you park it. There’ll always be someone out to steal it from you.’

  Lindsay ended her speech with something about it being better to have a boring, but loyal, husband than to have a peacock with irresistible feathers luring unwanted seduction.

  Rae sat on an empty chair where her location kept her invisible to Callum. It horrified her to watch the women flirting with him, but what scared her even more was the thought of him surrendering to their temptations.

  They were all young pretty women.

  More importantly, they were at an age where they were fertile.

  What if one of them agreed to have his precious baby? Her chest tightened and her palms became clammy. He wouldn’t hesitate to dump me for someone who could give him what he wants. I can’t let that happen. Not a second time.

  Rae rose noisily from her chair. Dizzy from mixing wine with vodka, she stumbled over to their table and, with ownership, ran her fingers suggestively over Callum’s shoulders and down the front of his chest. Callum stiffened, but relaxed when he looked up and saw her.

  She leant forward, reaching her hands further down his abdomen and shamelessly slipped them into his jeans.

  Gasping, the women around Callum froze. Callum grabbed Rae’s hands firmly, preventing her display from continuing.

  ‘Ladies, I have to go.’ He smiled as he stood up and wrapped his arms around Rae’s waist. ‘Looks like I’m needed at home.’

  Amongst their howls of playful disappointment and protest, Callum and Rae left the pub.

  ‘That was some display back there,’ Callum said as they headed back to the cottage.

  ‘Display?’ She slurred a little, but kept her composure. ‘If anyone was displaying anything it was you … with those slappers.’

  Her body was hot from alcohol and, much to her denied admittance, watching Callum being fawned over by young women and knowing he was hers and hers alone spurred something in her.

  She was goin
g to stay in the driver’s seat of this Ferrari and nobody was going to steal him from her. She knew just how to keep him locked in the garage too.

  ‘I’ve given it all some thought,’ she told Callum as they crossed the road, before the small pathway to their cottage, ‘and you’re right. I’ve achieved a lot already. And ... if you really want a baby, I don’t think it will be too terrible to give motherhood a go.’

  Callum’s eyes widened in surprise.

  Now I’ve got him.

  If it meant conceding to his wishes against her own, it was a sacrifice worth making to hold on to him.

  She would not lose him, ever.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Lindsay stood by the window, staring out into space. She twirled a strand of hair around her finger as her mind navigated her problems. Problems she could only blame herself for. It had been weeks since letters from solicitors had started arriving. They slowly trickled in until she had decided to stop opening them. Instead, she opted to hide them under the sofa. Out of sight, out of mind. Only they weren’t. They invaded her thoughts day and night. A County Court Judgement had the potential to be the final catalyst that buried her relationship with Kim.

  I’d rather lose my self-respect than lose Kim. The call she was about to make was the last thing Lindsay wanted to do. But he was her only hope now. She had shot down the idea of taking out a short term loan as it would only leave her in more debt. That’s when Steve had become her only solution.

  Yes, it would be humiliating. Soul destroying, even. But if it saved her relationship with Kim, it would be worth it.

  Steve answered after two rings. ‘Ah the ex-wifey. What can I do for you?’

  ‘I need to ask you something.’

  ‘I’m all ears.’

  Lindsay held her breath for a moment then let it out. ‘This is hard for me—’

  ‘Harder than fucking some dyke behind my back, while I was out working like a dog to support my family?’