by Ally Forbes
He took her hand and looked at it, stroking it, not meeting her gaze.
‘Before I met you, I would have laughed at someone who believed in love at first sight.’ He smiled, his eyes crinkling. She watched him, his profile strong, perfect, masculine. She felt that familiar tingle of desire.
‘When I saw your cases packed tonight I felt like....my heart stopped, I swear......like I’d lost something I’d only just found, something that I’d been looking for all my life.’
‘Eric...’
He placed his fingers on her lips and fixed her with his dark eyes.
‘Shh Rachel. I need this chance to....well...I just need this chance.’
‘I know that something’s happened between me leaving you this afternoon and arriving here tonight. I know that if we hadn’t arrived unexpectedly tonight you would have left us without a word and I have to assume that it’s something to do with Tom Sullivan......you seemed to be happy this afternoon.’
He paused and watched her. It was her turn to avert her eyes. She felt unable to meet his gaze, feeling faint again, sick of running, of lying.
‘I want to take care of you, to love you. You can’t keep running Rachel.......what can this man do? You’ve been out of his life for over a year. You can’t keep running....... it’s your life he’s taking away from you.’
She shook her head, weary of trying to explain the power this man had, his total control over every aspect of his life.
‘I want to give you....us......some more time. I want you to consider coming with Esme and me to a house I have in Nova Scotia, close to Halifax. It’s remote, somewhere we won’t be found. I haven’t been there for years. No-one will know of our plans, I promise. Just a few days, maybe a week...’
‘You can’t just walk out of your practice, take Esme from school, leave your home,,....on a whim, for someone you hardly know?’ Her voice was hushed but urgent, upset.
‘I can do it and I will.’ He was calm and sure.
‘Please give us a chance Rachel.’
His gaze was direct and confident.
‘I know that if we go down this path, that at some point, whether it’s now , a month, six months, whatever, you and indirectly, Esme, will get dragged into something I don’t want you to be involved in.’
‘I can handle myself. I’m capable of taking care of you and Esme. I give you my word.’
And his words were like honey,I w like h sweet and tempting. Could he take care of her? She worried about Esme being caught up in an emotional whirlwind that a girl of her age couldn’t possibly comprehend.
‘We’ll leave tomorrow. Take a flight from Glasgow. I’ll call Esme off school for a short time, make something up. It won’t be for long.’
He stopped, searching her face for some kind of response.
‘Rachel I know you feel something for me. Give me....give us a chance. How often in life do you meet someone who is everything to you from the first?’
He took her in his arms and kissed her deep and gentle. And her heart melted.
She broke his embrace,
‘Eric. I feel it’s the wrong thing to do because I know what will happen if I do what you ask. And it’s something that will happen. Not something that might happen. Things will get nasty very quickly...’
‘Please tell me what happened this afternoon. Please. I want to know so I can help prepare for the storm that you say’s coming.’
She hesitated but her heart was ruling her head and she yearned more than anything to stop being frightened and to stop running.
‘Claire.’ she said simply.
His brow furrowed, perplexed.
‘What about Claire?’
‘She was in the house when we arrived back this afternoon.’
His face blanched and then darkened.
‘In the house? While we were.....’
Rachel nodded.
‘She broke in?’ His voice was incredulous and louder.
Rachel placed her finger over her lips to quiet his voice, worried that he would wake Esme.
‘She’s in love with you Eric.’
‘Jesus...’ he whispered, holding his head in his hands.
‘But why would she....?’
‘She did a bit of on-line detective work and wanted to confirm her findings by checking through my stuff. We arrived back early, surprised her.... and she hid in the bathroom.’
His face was stony.
‘I can’t believe it...’
‘Love can make you do strange things...’
‘But breaking into someone’s house, hiding while....while......,’ he grimaced, the thought of his ex-lover hidden in the bathroom while he made love to Rachel leaving a sour taste in his mouth.
‘What did she say to you?’
‘She’s worked out who I am. She asked Esme about me, where I came from and she checked out the newspapers, the local news.......seems I made the news when I left Tom and ......and she knows that he hasn’t stopped looking for me.’
Eric closed his eyes.
‘It’s important that you know this Eric. Claire wants me out of your life and she’s told me that she’ll call Tom if I don’t leave by tomorrow.’
His eyes remained closed and he sighed.
‘Christ Rachel. What a mess. I’m so sorry.’
She shrugged dejectedly, ‘I always knew I was taking a risk....you know.....getting involved with someone..’
‘Look, all this doesn’t change what I’ve just asked you.’
Rachel smiled at him.
‘I would love to come with you, take a chance......but..... ‘
He stopped her.
‘That’s all I need to know Rachel. I’ll arrange the flights and do the rest. You just pack what you need and I’ll pick you up first thing tomorrow.’ He paused and stood up, his face stern, serious.
‘I don’t want you to think that we’re running away from this. I want you to be sure of me and Esme ... to have some time together away from......all this. We’ll sort everything out once we get back.
He frowned, ‘I need to let you know that I’m going to call Claire. I need to explain a few things to her.’
‘No Eric. No. Please don’t do that.......after this afternoon, I’m just not ready to face her again. I don’t want to think about what’s coming.’
And she couldn’t. Rachel knew that the woman she faced this afternoon was bitter and crushed and would do anything to hurt her. A woman scorned....
He hushed her again.
‘It’s something I need to sort out.’
‘She’s hurting Eric. Sometimes it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie..........’
‘For the first time I feel hope for the future and whatever the issues between Claire and me, she shouldn’t have done what she did this afternoon.’
He stared hard at the floor.
‘I thought she knew that what we had. I didn’t give her any reason to think it was more than it was. I......’
‘It was maybe what you didn’t say Eric.’
He turned from her. There was silence for a moment.
‘I’ll deal with Claire. It’s my mess. She won’t bother you again.’ His voice was authoritative and his tone made it clear that he expected no answer.
‘I have to get Esme home. I’ll pick you up at about eight tomorrow morning./forow mor’
He turned back to her, his eyes devouring her as they swept down her body.
‘I want you Rachel. Tomorrow can’t come soon enough.’
That spark of electricity set the air around them alight and for a moment time skipped its incessant beat.
He traced his finger down her shoulder, his eyes lingering on her full breasts.
He broke the spell and turned from her and went to Esme’s side. He stood watching Esme for a moment, the love for his daughter written clearly on his face. He scooped her effortlessly into his arms without waking her. Rachel opened the door for him and helped him place the sleeping girl onto the back seat of his car. Onc
e she was secure and warm, he closed the door and pulled Rachel into his arms.
Rachel shivered against him in the cool night air but his arms enveloped her and he held her close.
His body was unyielding and strong; the sound of the waves rhythmic and timeless. Despite her misgivings and concern, she knew that if she walked out of their life now she would always regret it. She would always wonder what might have been.
He bent his head to kiss her, moving his hand up under her top, his strong hands rough and cold on her warm skin. She shivered involuntarily.
‘I couldn’t bear it if I lost you now Rachel.’
She felt the warmth and his love envelop her and for a moment she was safe and happy, untroubled by the world and its cares.
Kissing her again he left without another word.
Rachel returned to her cottage, shutting the door on the cold darkness, the warm glow from his caress remaining on her skin. She continued to pack her belongings, self doubt creeping slowly back, pushing out the certainty that Eric had instilled in her.
She felt sure that Claire would make contact with Tom and she wondered what Tom would do. Would he take the first plane over to confront her? Or would he play the waiting game, making her wonder and worry, perhaps watching from a distance, contact delayed for weeks, maybe months?
Rachel shuddered. That would be unbearable; the ‘not knowing’ scenario. Wondering if she was being watched. What if months passed and then he suddenly appeared?
As she packed, her hands automatically folding and tidying, she thought again about Tom.
She had been swept along by Tom, his attention unrelenting and she had not had the strength of character to reject him.
She had until then had a simple life, her course mapped out by her surroundings; a love of the sea and of Scotland. It was a natural progression from a small island upbringing to the study of the sea and the creatures and plants it contained. Islanders in particular had an affinity with their surroundings and the sea that was in their DNA.
She had had a boyfriend on the island but it was an innocent, tender love they shared and they drifted apart when Rachel left the island to go to university. She didn’t have time for men at university; she enjoyed a ger font>reat social life and a few brief sexual encounters but there was no-one that interested her enough to make her want to become part of their life. After graduating with a first class degree she was offered the job she had always wanted.
And looking back, she thought how naive she had been, what a sexual amateur she had been. Having enjoyed a wonderful, sheltered upbringing she had been totally unprepared for the sharks that circled in the deep waters of the world beyond her island.
Gradually and insidiously, Tom had taken control of her life. He had taught her about sex and she had delighted in her new found skills and pleasures. He had been equally delighted to have been her teacher. He had arranged for her to come on a business trip with him, arranging time off with her employer, packing a case for her. He had collected her from the beach late one afternoon and taken her away, everything arranged, her passport in his hand. She had been furious and had refused to leave the car when they arrived at the airport. He had apologised and promised he would never do this again. She realised now that he would have said anything to get her into that plane. And of course she had relented and climbed into his private plane and into the world that he inhabited.
It had been the first of the trips he had arranged for her, trips filled with top hotels, chauffeurs, Michelin star dining. Sex. Lots of great sex. She remembered her mobile phone had mysteriously gone missing on this trip. It was a small thing but she remembered it well; the search for the phone, not understanding how it could have gone missing from her zipped handbag. She was briefly suspicious of him and then told herself not to be so stupid. A man like Tom wouldn’t play at ‘hide-the-phone’. But she had been so wrong and it was the first small cut he made to the strings that tied her to her job and her family and her friends.
She had never been in love with Tom. She had enjoyed his company, had been flattered initially by the attention he lavished on her, flattered by his insatiable desire for her. She was seduced by his luxurious lifestyle. Very quickly he gave her little room to breathe, needed her to accompany him on the myriad business trips he made. She had felt stifled and unable to breathe. She had made moves to break the relationship.
Sensing what was coming Tom upped his game. He told her a contact needed a marine biologist on the East Coast of America, a two year contract. And it had been so tempting. She had attended the interviews, accepted the position, rented a house.
He had flown her to America and mysteriously the job had fallen through, there had been an ‘error’ with the house lease and she had found herself with no job and nowhere to go.
And of course Tom was there to pick up the pieces. He had taken her to his huge home in Connecticut and they had made love until the early hours. And it was then that he proposed. Rachel never said yes but more importantly, she didn’t say no and before she knew what was happening, a date had been set and she was a kept woman, thousands of miles from home.
From this distance, she could see what had happened and how easily Tom had manoeuvred her into position. He had bought her clothes, given her money, taken her travelling. He kept her so busy that she didn’t have time to think about what she needed but gradually she felt the mundanity of her existence and the loss of control over her own destiny. She woke up each morning in the perfect house with the perfect man unable to breathe, yearning for her freedom. Even a solitary walk on the beach was attended by a security man at a discreet distance. Tom told her it was for her own safety but Rachel knew it was more to keep tabs on what she was doing and who she spoke to. Security was there when she went shopping. Tom never asked her what she had been doing during the day because he already knew.
She continued to pack her belongings, her thoughts drifting from Tom back to Eric. He had an inner strength and an air of authority. He was someone Rachel thought she could trust implicitly and wouldn’t let her down. And a warmth and charisma that Rachel was drawn to like a moth to a light.
The little cottage was now empty of all the things that had made it home and the very process of clearing her home had prepared her mentally for the transition from the settled life of employment, routine and relative certainty to a period where her day to life would be unpredictable, maybe difficult, where heartache was more than a real possibility.
She knew she was making the right decision to leave with Eric and Esme because despite the difficulties she faced, her future uncertain, now she felt only excitement, butterflies whirling in her stomach.
Pulling the zips on her luggage, she hauled her cases to the door and did a last check around the cottage. She needed to contact her employer and her landlord.
Starting to feel sleepy, Rachel opened her laptop and typed out the messages, trying to tie up loose ends.
When she could no longer focus on her work she closed her laptop and got ready for bed, satisfied that she had done all that could reasonably be done.
Before she went up the little ladder to her room she stood at the door in her pyjamas and watched the universe in the night sky, spread out in front of her little cottage like a diamond studded piece of black velvet. The sea was flat calm and the sky reflected on the inky black surface. The beauty of the place was indescribable and Rachel felt a stab of grief at leaving her home, for it had become just that over the last months. She breathed in the fresh, sharp air and turned from the stars spread at her feet feeling at peace with herself and her surroundings, feeling sure that one day she would return here.
Rachel went to her bed, unaware of the woman who sobbed into her pillow, cursing her name and planning her revenge.
8.
Rachel woke up with the sun filtering through the blinds in her room and for a moment she thought about the work ahead for the day before events of the day before flooded her memory.
Excitement mad
e her hurry to strip the bedclothes and tidy up before jumping into the shower. The sunlight flooded into the cottage and as she stood drying her hair she watched the sparkle of the sun’s rays dance off the ocean. Doubts once again clouded her happiness. When it came down to it she was leaving here because she was being forced to leave, her arm twisted because of a short, lust-filled afflapair with the local doctor and the blackmail of his scorned lover.
She twisted her long dark, hair into a plait and dressed in a black crossover top and a pair of jeans. She traced her black eye pencil quickly round her eyes, applied some mascara and a light lipstick and she was just about ready.
She felt too nervous to eat but she forced herself to drink a strong coffee. She clutched the hot drink in her hands, sipping slowly.
A sharp knock on the door made her jump and she raced to the door.
Turning the key she was almost knocked off her feet, stumbling back into the cottage as Claire pushed her way in.
Rachel was shocked by her appearance; face puffy and red, dark shadows under her eyes and rage contorting her pretty features.
‘You bitch.’ Her voice was hoarse and fierce.
‘Claire please....’ Rachel’s heart hammered against her ribs, terrified of what this woman meant to do.
‘I told you that he wasn’t to know what we discussed yesterday and guess what? He called me last night and told me that he knew what I planned to do.’
She moved towards her and Rachel stepped back, moving to put the sofa between them.
‘He told me that we were over.....was disgusted with me. Disgusted!’ she shouted.
Still Claire advanced towards her and Rachel started to panic.
‘Please Claire...’ she tried again, her voice small and shaky.
‘Shut the fuck up.’ she snarled.
Claire lunged for her and Rachel turned to run.
Claire raked her back, managing to grab a handful of her top and pulled her to the ground.
Rachel landed hard on the floor, the impact taking her breath away and she felt Claire’s weight pin her down.