by Lisa Hobman
‘I’ve been meaning to call on you. I’m Sally Cairns. Doctor Cairns’ wife.’ She held out her hand and Cassie shook it, realising she recognised her from the surf lesson on the beach. ‘I was going to pop in and invite you to our coffee morning. It’s on Wednesdays and the mums in the village all gather for a coffee and a chat.’
Cassie cringed. ‘Oh… erm I’m afraid I don’t have children.’
‘Oh that’s no problem. We chat about all sorts. Movies we’ve seen, books we’ve read.’ She leaned in conspiratorially. ‘Oh and it’s a great opportunity to moan about the men in our lives too.’
‘I currently don’t have a man either, I’m afraid.’
Sally shrugged. ‘Like I said it’s not a problem, honestly. You’ll be the envy of the group. Anyway, we may be able to help you on the man front. Lots of eligible bachelors around these parts, you know.’
Cassie shivered at the thought. ‘Ugh no thanks. I’m fine on my own. Looking for a man is way down on my list of priorities after the last one.’
‘Ooh, that sounds ominous. Maybe you can tell me about it over that coffee on Wednesday? I have to get back to collect Jack from nursery now. But honestly, you’ll be more than welcome. We just live by the surgery and we meet at our house at ten. I really hope you can make it, Cassie.’
Cassie nodded. ‘Thank you for inviting me. I’ll try to make it.’
She appreciated the offer and kind hand of friendship from Sally but in all honesty, she wasn’t sure she wanted to be the spare wheel—the childless, single woman in a room full of married mums. She decided to think about it closer to the day.
Chapter Twenty
Cassie stood in the wetsuit and surfboard rental shop by the beach staring at rack upon rack of neoprene garments and wondering if there was a shop for lost marbles close by. If there was one, she would no doubt locate hers in there because she had definitely misplaced them.
A pretty, dark haired young woman with a nose piercing appeared beside her. ‘Hi there. You look a little lost.’
Cassie sighed. ‘You could say that. Someone has offered to teach me to surf and I think I may be crazy because I’ve taken him up on it. The trouble is I’ve no idea which wetsuit to get.’
‘Oh right. Is it Mac by any chance?’
Cassie chewed on her bottom lip. ‘Yes. That’s him. I saw him last night when I was out with my dog and he said he’d had a cancellation this afternoon. Am I crazy?’
The woman laughed out loud. ‘Absolutely not! Mac is the best teacher around here. He’s a nice guy too. Heart of gold. And surfing is awesome. You’ll love it, I promise.’
A wave of relief washed over Cassie and she knew she was going to be in safe hands. ‘That’s good to hear. Now… please can you help me because all these suits look the same.’
‘Of course.’ She assessed her for a moment. ‘Okay, you’re a beginner, which means you’ll probably be better with a full suit. And I’d suggest maybe a 4/5 because the water can be very cold even at this time of year. Here you go.’ She pulled a black and purple suit from the rack. ‘Try this. Give me a shout if you need any help. Changing room is over that way.’
An hour later, as agreed, Cassie was changed and standing beside Mac on the beach. His wetsuit clung to the contours of his body and she tried hard not to look. Of course, this also meant she was self-conscious because of her own curves. Mac didn’t seem to notice, or if he did he chose this moment to show some tact. He talked her through some warm up exercises and then it was time to get in the water.
Or so Cassie thought.
‘You can swim, eh?’ he asked. She gave him a what do you think stare accompanied by raised eyebrows. ‘Right, I’ll take that as “shut the fuck up, Mac”. Okay, so, lay your board flat on the sand.’
She scrunched her brow. ‘On the sand? I won’t catch any waves down there.’
He smiled and rolled his eyes. ‘Oh you’re going to be one of those students are you?’ He took her board and placed it down. ‘Before you can go in the water, you have to learn how to lie on a board. If you don’t know the basics, you can’t go in the water.’
She mock saluted. ‘Yes, boss.’
‘That’s more like it. Now on you go and lie down on your belly. Or what you have of one anyway.’
She glanced down at her stomach. Life after Seth had meant a lack of appetite. She guessed it was showing.
For the next hour she followed instruction after instruction about how to hold her arms like chicken wings. How to keep her toes on the tail of the board. She was the model student and was surprised at how much she had enjoyed learning the so-called basics.
‘Right, time for you to get into the sea.’ Mac grinned.
She clapped her hands together. ‘About time!’
Before she knew what was happening she was flung up in the air and was then dangling down Mac’s rather hard back as he carried her towards the waves. Suddenly she met the water with a slap and found herself sitting in the shallows, gasping and squealing like a teenager being chased with seaweed.
‘Mac! You utter shit! It’s freezing!’
Mac doubled over in a hysterical fit of laughter. ‘Ah, I wish I had my camera!’ She stood and began to chase him but he laughed louder and ran. ‘You said you wanted to be in the sea. So you got your wish, Montgomery!’ Luckily for Mac he was fast and managed to dodge her at every turn until she eventually gave up and collapsed in a panting, giggling heap on the sand.
Once they’d dried off, they sat on the sand watching as the sun descended and the people on the beach, lit lanterns and barbecues.
‘So, what made you want to teach surfing?’ Cassie asked, genuinely intrigued.
Mac shrugged. ‘It’s in my blood I guess. The sea, the outdoors. It’s where I belong. I’ve always felt that way. I guess surfing is part and parcel of all that.’ She listened intently as he spoke. Passion oozed from him as an almost tangible entity. ‘There’s something so vital about the sea. The way it moves. The way it sounds. It calls to me. It’s part of me.’ He shrugged. ‘God! I must sound like a total tube.’
She wasn’t familiar with the turn of phrase but understood its meaning. ‘Not at all. You clearly love it here. By the sea. I understand that. It’s always been a part of my life too.’
He nudged her with his shoulder. ‘See, we have something in common.’
She lifted her chin and for a moment she was caught in his gaze. Electricity crackled in the air between them. But she couldn’t have that. So she doused it.
‘Well, I’d better be getting back. Cliff needs his walk.’ She stood and gathered up her bag from the sand. ‘Thanks for today. I had fun.’ She smiled down at him where he remained.
‘Aye, I can tell. We’ll have to stop that, eh? You’ll not be used to it.’ He winked and instead of getting annoyed, for once she shook her head and grinned.
‘Goodnight, Mac.’
‘Goodnight, Montgomery.’ He saluted her and she turned to make her way home.
*
The following day Cliff was in his favourite spot, curled up in front of the fire on his blanket snoozing and Cassie was sitting on the couch with her computer on her lap. She was working on a business eBook manuscript for another new client in London when her phone bleeped to indicate a new message.
She picked it up and hit read.
Cassie it’s getting bad. I’m away in France with Harry but Seth keeps calling and messaging. He’s determined to find you and come to see you. He keeps saying things about winning. I hate to see him like this when it’s you he’s speaking of. So angry and determined. He’s behaving like he does at work and that’s not right. I’m really worried, Cassie. Please be careful, okay? I don’t think he’d hurt you or anything silly like that. But he’s just not prepared to admit defeat. I haven’t told him where you are but I’m sure he’ll find out. He has so many contacts. He keeps saying I should be taking his side because we’re family. But you’re my family too. I hate this. V x
Oh gr
eat. That’s all I need. Why can’t he just let me go?
The last thing she needed was a scorned Seth Guthrie turning up on her doorstep uninvited. She was settling in so well and she didn’t want him here in Coldingham to remind her of the reasons she left Glasgow behind so readily.
She chose not to reply right away, she had work to do and quite frankly didn’t have the energy to have this conversation right now. She turned her phone to silent so she wouldn’t be disturbed again.
The next time she glanced at her phone it was six o’clock and Cliff was padding around her feet wanting attention. ‘Are you hungry, little guy? Do you want dinner?’ The responding excited bark and frantic tail wagging gave her the answer she needed so she closed her laptop and went to the pantry. Once Cliff’s bowl was topped up with Coldstream Crunch she opened the fridge to see what delights lay therein for her own dinner.
With a deep sigh she closed the door. ‘I really need to start shopping properly, Cliff. I feel like Mother Hubbard just now. I don’t think I can conjure up a meal out of two eggs and a half a tub of pâté.’ Cliff stopped munching long enough to give her a head tilted glance that almost looked like pity. ‘Right, well whilst you’re eating, I’ll nip to the shop. Honestly it’s a good job it’s there or I may starve.’ Cliff was already back to crunching his food.
She grabbed her bag, scratched her occupied dog behind the ear and left the house. It was funny how she remembered to order Cliff’s food online from the pet shop in Coldstream but completely neglected to make similar arrangements for herself. As she walked she realised she hadn’t replied to Vina’s text so took out her phone from her back pocket and sure enough there were more messages.
Are you okay Cassie? You’re awfully quiet and I’m worried about you. Text or call please. V x
And then…
Are you angry with me? I didn’t mean to weigh you down with my problems. He’s just getting on at me and you’re the person I usually talk to when I need someone. I suppose it’s difficult when he’s your problem too. V x
And finally…
Cassie, I tried calling but it went to voicemail. I just wanted you to know that Seth knows where you are. But it wasn’t through me. I swear. I’ve begged him to leave you in peace but he won’t listen. You should expect a visit although you didn’t hear that from me! He’s determined to get you back Cass, even though I’ve repeatedly told him it’s over. He says he will make sure you hear him out. I’ve never seen him like this. Love V x
Oh shitty shitty shit.
Anger knotted her stomach. How the hell could she be expected to hear him out? Vina knew exactly what Seth had done and she had been so angry with him. Cassie was shocked that she had refused to give in and tell him where his ex-fiancée was hiding—after all blood was supposedly thicker than water—but Vina had proved the type of friend she was and Cassie was so grateful for it. It must have been heartbreaking to discover the brother she had always idolised was an expert at lying and cheating. How the mighty fall hard from their pedestals. She hit reply and began to type back an angry response when her foot slipped off the curb, and she yelped before there was a screeching of tyres, a loud scream and then nothing.
*
Cassie’s eyes fluttered open and the smell of disinfectant assaulted her olfactory senses. She glanced around and discovered she was lying on a bed in cubicle surrounded by a closed blue curtain. What the hell? Her head throbbed and she raised her hand to find a plaster on a very tender spot on her forehead. She lifted the blanket that covered her to discover her jeans were gone and there was a sizeable gash on her knee which appeared to have been stitched. In addition to all of that her ankle was swollen and had turned a rather sickly shade of purple.
‘Oh, hi. You’ve re-joined the land of the living, eh?’
She glanced over to find Mac’s head poking through the curtain. ‘Erm… what happened? Where am I?’
He stepped inside. ‘You had a very rapid introduction to the tarmac road of the High Street. Knocked yoursel’ clean out too. Too busy looking at your phone to watch where you were heading. Thankfully I was coming out of the shop and witnessed the whole sorry affair, so I was able to look after you.’
Cassie gasped. ‘Oh god. How long was I unconscious?’
He chuckled. ‘Don’t worry, it’s not weeks or anything. You’ve been out for just a couple of hours. But I called an ambulance and followed you here to A and E in my car as a precaution.’
A man in dark blue scrubs with a stethoscope around his neck pushed into the cubicle and Mac nodded before leaving them alone.
‘Ah, Miss Montgomery. It’s good to see you awake. How are you feeling?’ He bent and shined a light in her eyes and asked her to look up and down.
‘A little stupid. And a lot sore,’ she replied as she felt her cheeks colouring.
‘Well you’ll be glad to know there are no broken bones. Just a mild concussion, a stitched knee and a badly sprained ankle. Oh, and by the sound of it a little wounded pride too.’ He smiled. ‘But if you feel up to it in an hour or so you should be okay to go home. Provided you get someone else to look after the cats for a few days.’
She scrunched her brow. ‘Cats?’
‘Yes, your boyfriend says you’re a cat sitter?’
She decided maybe it was the concussion because she didn’t understand what the hell he was talking about. ‘Erm… I don’t have a boyfriend. Nor do I have any cats at home. I don’t under—’
‘Ah, don’t worry yourself, Miss Montgomery. You may be a little confused for a couple of hours. You did suffer a blow to your head.’ He picked up the clipboard with her notes attached and began to write.
‘Excuse me Doctor, I… I don’t know how I’ll get home. Can I borrow a phone to call a taxi or something?’
‘It’s fine, your boyfriend is still here and he assures me he will get you home safe.’
‘But I don’t have a boyf—’ It suddenly dawned on her that Mac was the mysterious boyfriend she didn’t have. And he must’ve been the one who told the doctor she was a cat sitter. I’ll bloody kill him! ‘Oh, you mean Mr Mackenzie. He’s not my boyfriend. I hardly know him in fact. And he was wrong about my occupation too. I’m a proofreader and editor. I run my own business.’
The doctor was still busy making notes and didn’t look up. ‘Ah well, that’s grand. You won’t need a doctor’s note to excuse you from work seeing as your boss is no doubt a little easier on you than most.’ He grinned at his own joke. ‘But you will need someone to sort out your own cat for a while maybe. Can’t have you chasing it around the streets on that ankle. Not for a while anyway.’
‘Cliff is a dog,’ she stated plainly as she mentally planned her revenge on Mac.
The doctor looked up from the clipboard and frowned. ‘Miss Montgomery, there’s no need to be so hard on him. I think he was only trying to help and it’s understandable if he got your job wrong with not knowing you that well. But he cared enough to follow you to the hospital.’
She shook her head but it hurt to do so. ‘No, I wasn’t talking about Mr Mackenzie being a dog. His name isn’t Cliff it’s… well anyway, Cliff is my dog. I don’t have a cat. I have Cliff, the dog. But… oh never mind.’ She didn’t have the energy to explain further. But she did have enough energy to give Tiger a piece of her mind on the way home.
Once the doctor had instructed her to get dressed and had left her to it she sat up slowly and the throbbing in her head kicked up a notch. Thankfully the doctor had left a prescription for pain killers so she knew she would soon be feeling better.
Feeling a little out of breath and a lot pissed off she sat in the chair beside the bed and waited for Mac to return. She was beginning to think he had left her there when he appeared once again.
‘Your chariot awaits m’lady,’ he said with a flourish and a small bow. He was grinning like an idiot.
She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. ‘Oh, thank you darling. Better get home to all my cats, eh?’ Her voice dripped
with so much sarcasm it was a wonder she didn’t have to swim out of the cubicle.
His cheeks turned pink and he cringed. ‘Ah shit. The doc told you. In my defence I didn’t tell him I was your boyfriend. He just presumed.’
Her scowl deepened. ‘And you didn’t think to correct him?’
He scratched his head. ‘Erm… It didn’t seem important in the great scheme of things. You were unconscious and they were firing questions at me. And I have no clue what you actually do for a living so I had to think on ma feet.’
She folded her arms across her chest. ‘Well your feet haven’t got enough brains to knock your socks off, Mr Mackenzie. They clearly can’t be trusted.’
He curled his lip, à la Billy Idol. ‘I was right about you having a sense of humour bypass. Do you ever see the funny side of stuff?’
She huffed and flared her nostrils. ‘When there’s a funny side to be seen, I do. Look, I appreciate you waiting for me. But could you please just take me home? I’m tired and feel like shit.’
‘Yeah well you look like shit too,’ he replied like a sulky teen. ‘And we wouldn’t be in this predicament if you hadn’t been texting and walking, would we?’
She held up her hands. ‘Okay, that’s it. I’ve had enough. You can go. Just please can you call someone to get me a cab first?’
He growled in exasperation. ‘Jeez! I can see why you’re single, you bloody stubborn woman.’
His words stung but she realised right then that she had been an absolute bitch to the one person who had been considerate enough to follow her to the hospital in the first place. In fact, she had been an absolute bitch from day one in Coldingham where Mac was concerned. There was no other reason for it than he was male and she had recently discovered that that particular strain of humanity was not to be trusted. But as an individual human being, irrespective of his gender, he’d been a fairly decent person all along—aside from his ridiculous jokes that weren’t funny and his ability to push her buttons and get her back up.
Her lip trembled and her eyes began to sting with that all too familiar pre-crying sensation. Ugh, this is all I bloody need, the waterworks again. I really am pathetic.