Meet Me at Wisteria Cottage

by Teresa F. Morgan

  ‘Don’t get too excited.’ He raised a key in front of her face. She frowned, her anticipation vanishing. ‘It’s the new key to your front door.’

  ‘Oh, yes,’ she said, remembering the fitters had come this morning to install a new back door and kitchen window. ‘But I still think you’re overreacting about changing the lock on the front door too.’

  ‘Maddy, how many times do we have to go over this? Your house fire was arson,’ Harry said with a stern expression. ‘And if you move back into your house, I want to know you’re safe.’

  ‘Oh.’ She scratched her head, ruffling her hair.

  ‘When you move back in, I want to be able to sleep at night, and not worry you’re in danger.’

  ‘I’m not in danger.’ Maddy scoffed a laugh.

  Harry’s expression remained serious. ‘Maddy, whoever set fire to your house, I believe they used a key. I saw a man on your driveway as if he’d suddenly appeared. He’d come out your front door. I’m sure of it. I just didn’t see it.’

  ‘Okay,’ Maddy said, more soberly. ‘I suppose it’s better to be safe than sorry.’

  ‘You’ll sleep easier too.’

  ‘I’ll sleep easier, and safer, with you in my bed.’ She reached out, her fingertips brushing his back, relishing his hot flesh.

  Harry dropped his shovel and pulled Maddy in for a fierce kiss. ‘I’m not sure you’re safe with me in your bed.’

  She chuckled. ‘But I don’t like the thought of sleeping alone.’ Maddy swept her hands over his bare skin, toying with some of his chest hair. ‘Maybe you’ll have to share my bed with me, the first night I move back in.’

  ‘Great minds think alike.’ He dropped his head, so his mouth found hers again, and their kiss deepened. Closing her eyes, Maddy was lost to his touch, his tongue, the pooling sensation low in her abdomen. Her knees softened, relaxing into his hold. This man weakened her.

  A wolf whistle startled them both.

  They both looked in the direction from where it had come. Simon and his workmen were watching them. They had an audience.

  Maddy disentangled herself from Harry. ‘I’ll let you get on. I’ll get some dinner on, then we can have that bath.’

  ‘I like your thinking.’ Harry winked. ‘And later, I want to run some ideas by you for the garden.’

  ‘Which garden?’

  ‘This garden.’

  ‘But you’re the landscaper.’ Harry had cleared the garden now and had slowly been digging it over with a mini excavator to clear the weeds and bramble roots and maintain a path for Maddy to use. It looked so much larger now it had been cleared and would look fantastic once completed.

  ‘Yeah, I know, but if this was your garden, how would you like it to look?’

  ‘Oh, I haven’t really thought about it,’ Maddy said, glancing around the bare garden. Which was a tiny white lie. In her head, she’d pictured creating all sorts of nooks and crannies within the garden. She just didn’t want to get too attached to it as she was leaving soon.

  Maddy left Harry to continue working and approached the cottage. The extension was taking shape but was still not quite finished.

  ‘You’re working late,’ she said to Simon as she drew nearer. His men had resumed whatever they were doing, but it did look like they were packing up, so Maddy hoped she would soon have the cottage to herself. She knew time was running out and she would need to move back to her house, which she would be glad about, especially being back in her own bed, but she had a soft spot for Wisteria Cottage. The views, the location, the layout of the cottage …

  ‘Just making the most of the sunshine,’ Simon said. ‘You never know when the weather can turn. Rain is forecast this weekend.’

  ‘Oh, is it?’ Rain was never good for business. It meant instead of visiting the beach, the tourists took trips out to all-weather attractions. She wondered if Simon had been at the cottage all day, or had sloped off. She’d been asked to live there to keep an eye on things, but what things she wasn’t exactly sure. Each day there looked as if there was progress made on the property. ‘When did Roy want the work finished?’

  ‘We’re aiming for mid-September, but you never know.’

  Maybe Simon was dragging it out so he could charge more money? Either way, Maddy would have to move out soon. Her house would be habitable again, and the insurance company wouldn’t pay for rent they didn’t need to. Harry had insisted after their night out in Padstow that he had it all under control with Roy, and she didn’t need to get involved.

  ‘Right, well, I’ll probably catch you tomorrow morning,’ Maddy said, giving a little wave as she walked around to the side door which led into the kitchen. She turned the oven on, to cook the salmon fillets she’d bought. This time of year she never fancied cooking much. She planned on having a mixed salad with the salmon and there was enough if Harry wanted some too. She put a bottle of white wine in the fridge to chill.

  Half an hour later, Harry was still busy in the garden, but the builders had gone. Salmon cooked and cooling, Maddy ran the bath, pouring in the bubble bath, remembering just in time about the softer Cornish water. She didn’t want soapsuds overflowing the edge of the bath.

  Maddy stripped off, tying her hair up into a messy bun, and sank into the warm bath. She rested her head back and closed her eyes.

  ‘Maddy!’ She heard Harry call up the stairs.

  ‘In here.’ She’d left the door open so that he could join her.

  Harry entered the bathroom barefoot, wearing only his khaki shorts, his T-shirt slung over his shoulder.

  ‘Want to join me?’ she asked with a waggle of her eyebrows.

  To answer Maddy’s question, Harry was already removing his shorts and boxers. He climbed into the bath, slowly sinking in, making the water rise even further. He pulled Maddy into his arms, kissing her. Water splashed over the side. Once they’d exhausted themselves kissing, Harry leaned back at one end, resting his head, and Maddy copied him at her end of the bath. She loved how they both fitted comfortably, the plug and the taps in the middle, so no one got the duff end. Harry found her foot under the water, resting on his thigh, and with his thumbs, massaged her foot. She sank deeper and sighed, letting the heat of the water relax her, enjoying her much-needed foot massage.

  ‘This is nice,’ he said, his hand travelling up her calf, then back down to her heel. His thumbs then worked along the arch of her foot. ‘After a hard day’s work, to come home to a bubble bath with a beautiful woman in it.’

  ‘I hope you’re not expecting too much for dinner,’ she said as she laughed. ‘Because it’s salad.’

  ‘Sounds perfect to me.’

  Maddy closed her eyes again.

  After a moment, Harry spoke again, ‘So tell me what you’d like to see in the garden.’

  ‘But it’s not my garden. Maybe you should ask Roy.’

  ‘He told me he’d leave it up to me.’ Harry changed over and started rubbing Maddy’s other foot.

  ‘Well, it if was my cottage, I’d have another wisteria growing up the front.’ Maddy thought more. ‘And I suppose, because of the length of the garden, there could be different areas where you catch the sun at different times of day. You could have a path snaking down through the lawn to the bottom, and at the end there could be a patio area, facing east, to catch the sun in the morning.’

  Maddy reeled off her ideas, and Harry nodded dutifully. ‘Might not be able to incorporate all of these ideas, Roy has a budget, you know.’

  ‘You did ask.’ Maddy chuckled, splashing Harry with some water.

  There was mischief in Harry’s eyes. ‘Right!’ He shifted forward in the bath, so he was lying on her. She wrapped her legs around him as he leaned in, kissing her passionately.

  ‘Harry, you’re going to get water everywhere!’

  ***

  That night, as much as it pained him to do it, Harry drove home. The image of Maddy stayed vividly in Harry’s mind as he drove down the dark country lanes, coming across a badg
er and then a fox. Maddy had been wearing fresh cotton pyjamas as she’d stood on the doorstep of Wisteria Cottage, kissing him goodbye, smelling of bubble bath.

  ‘Thanks for organising a new key for the door,’ she’d said, her lips pressed to his.

  ‘I need to know you’re safe, Maddy,’ he’d replied.

  He could feel a darkness coming, trying to shroud him. He needed to make Maddy his light.

  Chapter 26

  Work had slowed at Maddy’s house. There had been a delay with some of the parts for the kitchen, which had meant Maddy staying at Wisteria Cottage a little longer. Or she’d used it as an excuse to stay longer. Harry knew she loved that cottage.

  He regularly called in on the workmen at Maddy’s and checked on the progress. He admired the new kitchen that was going in. Maddy had opted for a change of style – oak effect instead of the white that had been there. It was a mix of a contemporary design with a hint of country cottage. In fact, it was a similar style to the kitchen at Wisteria Cottage. She’d even picked out similar tiles. She’d told him she loved the kitchen there so much she’d picked as close as she could within her budget to match.

  But there were no excuses now that Maddy’s back door had been replaced last week. The house was secure, and she could move back in.

  Harry started to prepare dinner. They’d agreed to eat at his, and sleep at hers.

  ‘Hello!’ Harry heard Maddy call out.

  ‘I’m in the kitchen,’ he said, and waited for her to appear at the doorway.

  He felt her lips on his neck as she slipped her hands around his waist. ‘Oh, I’ve missed you today,’ she said.

  He turned, brushing loose tendrils of hair off her face as he kissed her back. ‘I’ve missed you, too.’

  They deepened the kiss, pressing their bodies against each other, he tightening his hold on Maddy as he kissed her, and she lacing her arms around his neck.

  There was a sizzle, and the smell of burning brought him back to reality as it hit the back of his throat.

  ‘Oh, shit,’ Harry said, detangling himself from Maddy and returning to the pot on the stove. He turned the gas off. He froze, his face paling, the stench triggering buried images … Karin, trapped, burning …

  ‘Harry? You okay?’Maddy frowned at him. ‘Is the food ruined?’

  ‘Sorry,’ Harry said, shaking his head. ‘It’s only something simple; I was making a cheese sauce for a macaroni cheese. It’ll survive.’

  ‘Oh, comfort food.’ With a seductive grumble, she tucked her hand into the waistband of his shorts, unable to stop touching him. He shifted so that she wouldn’t feel he wasn’t aroused. He was trying to shake off the bad memories. Focus on Maddy. He kissed her nose.

  ‘I figured I could put it in the oven in case you were late home. How was the gallery?’ He wanted to change the subject, think of the everyday things.

  ‘Mad.’

  ‘Yeah, it’s been crazy with the gardens too. The bit of rain we had the other night, then all the sunshine, makes the grass grow ridiculously.’

  ‘How long till dinner?’

  ‘It’ll need to be in the oven twenty minutes to brown. Go put your feet up in the lounge. I’ll join you in a minute.’

  She kissed his lips. ‘Okay.’

  Harry returned to making the dinner, but he couldn’t concentrate properly. The smell of burning from the saucepan had made him want to retch. Had Maddy noticed?

  Of course she had. She’d questioned his sudden silence.

  Harry didn’t want to let Maddy down. He needed to start taking his medication regularly again. His moods were changing, his sleep was disturbed, and that debilitating darkness in the corner of his mind … was growing … It didn’t matter how many times he shut himself in his gym and worked his body hard, it wasn’t working. His illness was returning …

  He needed to come clean with Maddy, tell her everything … but he was afraid. Afraid she might reject him. Did he even deserve her love?

  He wasn’t a coward. But he couldn’t think straight … Karin haunted him.

  Think about Maddy, not Karin. Think about Maddy.

  ***

  At first, it felt strange waking in her own bed, and it took her a moment to let it sink in. Not long ago it had seemed impossible to ever be here, at this time and moment, as if she’d never return. Although she hadn’t been out of the house that long, not quite two months, so no more than an extended holiday really. People holidayed in Australia for longer. Maddy could smell the fresh, cotton sheets mingled with the scent of fresh paint wafting from the hallway, but still there was the underlying smell of smoke. Only very faint, but it was still there, a reminder of her worst night ever. Maybe if she went around and bleached everything? The windows, cupboards, everything that could be wiped down. And sling the windows open. Let the air circulate throughout the whole of the house. Maybe it was more of a stuffy smell, a the-windows-haven’t-been-opened-in-weeks type smell, and once she moved back in properly the house would lose the staleness in the air.

  Feeling Harry’s warmth beside her, she wondered if the night of the fire really had been her worst night ever. She spooned in behind him, kissing his back. At the time it had been horrendous, but now, knowing how close she’d become to this man, how he continued to be her rock, would they be together like this if the fire hadn’t happened? Or would they still be arguing about her cat and where he parked his pickup, blind to the underlying attraction between them?

  Sookie was clearly glad to be back home. She’d slept on the end of the bed happily. Would the poor cat get confused? The kitchen fitters and the decorators hadn’t finished yet, but it did feel comforting to be back in her house, her bed … with Harry beside her.

  Last night, she and Harry had both felt tired, so had cuddled until they fell asleep. She’d noticed Harry had been off-ish, a little grumpy. And he had the cheek to call her moody at times. Maddy had put it down to being exhausted. It reassured her that the relationship wasn’t just about sex either.

  Her kissing and touches awoke Harry, he turned and kissed her back. ‘Good morning,’ he said, pulling her in close so she could feel his arousal.

  ‘Harry, the kitchen fitters will be here soon.’

  ‘So, we’ll be quick.’ He kissed and nuzzled, his mouth finding her breast, making her gasp at the pleasure of it. Their limbs tangled, their bodies responding to each other.

  ‘Harry …’ She kissed him back, feeling more and more turned on, and barely able to concentrate. ‘I don’t know if I have any condoms here.’ He made her so horny, though, a part of her didn’t care, she’d risk it … she wanted to feel him inside her … But as if she’d thrown a bucket of cold water over him, he sat bolt upright, fully awake now.

  ‘I can’t get you pregnant,’ he said, pulling away frostily, his blue eyes darkened by sadness. She noticed as he sat up his arousal had once again disappeared. As if ashamed, he covered himself up.

  ‘Harry?’

  But like the previous time, he shot out of bed and escaped to the bathroom. Within seconds, she heard the shower running.

  Was it her? Was it something she’d done? Okay, it might be too early in their relationship to be discussing children. But his reaction to the thought of her being pregnant … it had looked like it repulsed him. Did he not want a family some day? It wasn’t something Maddy thought about obsessively, and maybe she should speak to a doctor about some birth control alternatives, but she hoped, eventually, she’d meet someone who she could start a family with. She wasn’t averse to the idea of children. She adored her brother’s children, her niece and nephew. If Harry didn’t want children – ever – then they really were on the wrong page, and their paths in life were very different.

  Should she end this before she got seriously hurt? Before she fell any deeper in love with him?

  Because that’s what was happening. She was falling in love – too late, she was in love. She hadn’t learnt to harden her heart and protect it – obviously. However hard she
tried not to, Maddy gave her heart over willingly, every bloody time, and it usually ended in tears – her tears.

  That’s why after Connor, she was meant to concentrate on herself; her life, her gallery, her home … until the fire … until Harry.

  Well, Maddy needed to know, and she needed to know now. They needed to talk about this. He couldn’t keep running out on her, leaving her to feel this shit. Like a volcano about to erupt, she could feel her anger rising. She knew she wasn’t likely to face this as calmly as she needed to. But the longer Harry hid in the bathroom, the hotter Maddy’s temper got.

  ***

  Harry let the hot water pound the back of his head and run down his body. He needed to get out and face Maddy. And apologise. She didn’t know he had this fear; she didn’t know Karin had been pregnant when she died. Hell, she didn’t even know Karin had died! He carried this almighty ghost around with him, with the fear that history would repeat itself.

  He switched off the shower, grabbed a towel, and dried himself before stepping out of the bath.

  ‘Harry, open up this door,’ Maddy shouted from the other side of the door, banging on it hard.

  He opened it, and there stood Maddy, a dressing gown wrapped around her, her arms folded across her chest.

  ‘Can you please tell me what the fuck is wrong with you?’ Maddy said, clearly enraged. Cheeks flushed crimson, green eyes narrowed on him.

  ‘Maddy, I’m sorry, I want to tell you, but I can’t. Not now.’ Harry still couldn’t open up, especially in this fraught emotional atmosphere. Only the ones closest to him, his family, knew the full extent of what had happened and his subsequent illness. He knew he really should talk to Maddy about it, but she was already so angry.

  ‘No! I need to know where this is going?’

  ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘This has happened a couple of times now. Is it me?’

  ‘Oh, God, Maddy, no, it’s not you.’

  ‘Please don’t give me the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ bullshit. I know we haven’t been seeing each other long, and I know it kind of happened suddenly, but one day – ONE DAY – I would like children. So if this is something you don’t see in your future, then I need to know – now.’ The last time he’d seen Maddy this upset her house was on fire. He just couldn’t cope.