‘I can walk her. I have to walk Billy anyway so it’s no hassle.’
She peered at him through heavy eyes. Why did he have to be so nice? Every time he was kind she felt herself falling for him a little bit more and it hurt even more the next time he was angry with her. She just didn’t have the energy to argue against his offer of help.
She stood up and Finn offered her his hand and she took it, glad of the support, her legs were wobbly and she had the worst hangover of her life.
Finn led her out into his garden and then through the gate to hers. Zach was in his own garden and he glanced over as they came out of Finn’s house, hand in hand.
‘Oh I see,’ Zach said, letting himself through the connecting gate. ‘So you had a problem with me sleeping with her but it was ok for you to fool around with her?’
‘Nothing happened,’ Finn said.
‘So what’s with all the glitter all over your chest then?’
Finn tried to wipe it off but it stayed resolute. ‘It’s not what it looks like.’
Joy’s head was pounding and she had no time for Zach today. ‘Before you start getting all judgemental, you should look at your own morals. Last night I was high on magic mushrooms or something. I was clearly having hallucinations yet you were more than willing to take advantage of my vulnerability and sleep with me. I have no time for men like that.’
Zach looked mortified.
Joy made to walk into her house but Zach stopped her with his hand on her arm. Finn moved closer, glaring down at Zach, and he quickly released her.
‘Joy, I’m not… I didn’t… I’m attracted to you. Look I’m sorry if you thought I was a bit of a creep. You know how I feel about you. It was hard to ignore those feelings when you were naked and so horny.’
She brushed past him, pulled Finn in after her and closed the door on Zach’s horrified and guilty face.
‘I’m going for a shower.’
‘Do you need some help?’
‘Ha!’ She gestured to their hands that were still linked. ‘We’ve already crossed over the boundaries of friendship in so many different ways. Showering together is going to destroy any last hold of the friendship that you’re clinging to so tightly. I really like you, you know that, but if you honestly think that we can shower together with all these sparks flying between us and nothing happen, then sure by all means, you can come and wash my back.’
She walked upstairs, not even sure anymore whether she actually wanted him to follow her or not.
*
Finn watched her go upstairs, her red hair looking like fire against his white shirt. It took every ounce of strength he had not to follow her.
He turned away before he got a glimpse of her bum under his shirt as she reached the top of the stairs.
Friends. How long was that going to last exactly? He put some fresh food and water down for Darcy, let her out into the garden and went back to his own house to get changed.
When he came back into Joy’s house a few minutes later with Billy, he could hear the sound of the shower upstairs and he closed his eyes and counted to ten.
Who was he kidding? He stood more chance of sprouting wings and learning how to fly than of succeeding in being just friends with Joy.
He opened his eyes and spotted the quiche on the kitchen unit. He broke it apart with his hands, keen to see the mushrooms himself to put his mind at ease. He wasn’t an expert on mushrooms but his dad was a gardener, just like him, and had taught Finn what different mushrooms looked like. He knew that some mushrooms had different effects; some caused hallucinations, some caused sickness and stomach pains and some caused organ failure and death. Death in many cases was prolonged, sometimes two or three weeks after eating them. Thankfully, these weren’t deadly ones but they were highly hallucinogenic and nothing like any variation of edible mushroom. Someone had deliberately used these to poison her.
The reaction to him sharing Joy’s lease with the villagers the day before had been met with various degrees of disbelief. As much as they all adored him, they wanted to believe that Joy was a monster even more. This was going to have to stop. He gave Casey a quick call and he agreed to come round in an hour.
He put Darcy on her lead and was about to go and that’s when he saw them. Sitting on the breakfast bar were three intricate plasticine animals, a stag, a scorpion and a bear. They were fantastic, so detailed, so lifelike… and so going to get Joy into trouble if Casey saw them. He looked around for somewhere to stash them. He opened a drawer, threw them in, grabbed Darcy and Billy and left.
Chapter Twelve
Finn sat down on the hilltop, Billy was sniffing around behind him, but he had Darcy still on the lead next to him. She wasn’t his dog and had no idea whether she would come back when he called.
God that woman. He couldn’t stay away from her, couldn’t stop thinking about her. It was lust, pure and simple. If he slept with her, things would be better between them, the air would be clearer. At the moment there was so much sexual tension flying around that it was impossible to ignore. He had tried to push her away, but she had clawed her way into his life and his heart whether he liked it or not.
And now it seemed she could be the diamond thief. He didn’t want to believe that of her but the evidence was mounting up.
Suddenly aware that Darcy was no longer sitting at his side, he whirled round to find her. There was Billy, getting the quick, hard shag he so desperately needed. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth with a demented grin on his face. Darcy, though quite willing to stand there and let Billy have his wicked way with her, seemed quite bored by the whole affair. Women, they were all the same, they bored easily and were soon onto the next willing man. Pippa had been bored very easily, and Joy would be the same. She would move on soon, once she tired of this village, this home – and he would never see her again. He wasn’t going to allow himself to get hurt again.
He stood up and clapped his hands at the two dogs, but Billy was already finished. Dismounting the huge dog, Billy looked at her hopefully as if waiting for some compliment on his prowess. Darcy didn’t even give him a backward glance as she ambled over to a pile of poo and sniffed at it half-heartedly. He grabbed her lead and headed towards home. Billy had a skip in his step as he trotted along, and grinned up at Finn as if to say, ‘See, that’s how you do it, a quick, harmless shag and everyone is happy.’
*
When Joy came downstairs later, Finn and Casey were waiting for her. She smiled at her friend, though she wasn’t sure what look to give Finn. They certainly couldn’t be friends, that much was clear and she didn’t really know where that left them.
It took a second to realise that Casey was very serious.
‘Finn told me about the magic mushrooms.’
Joy’s face fell. ‘I don’t take drugs if that’s what you’re thinking. Jeez, Joy lives in a nice house, drives a nice car, she must be a drug dealer. Well thanks very much, both of you.’
‘Calm down little fire cracker,’ Casey laughed. ‘Come and sit down. I’m under no illusions that you’re making meth in your cellar and selling cocaine to the kids at the school. Finn said someone made you the quiche with hallucinogenic mushrooms in it. This is very serious.’
Joy sighed. ‘I can’t believe someone would try to kill me over this Mrs Kemblewick fiasco. Maybe it was a gift from someone really naïve about mushrooms.’
‘Did the quiche come with a card?’ Casey said.
Joy shook her head.
‘You seem very blasé about all this, someone tried to poison you,’ Finn said.
‘I’m not blasé. I want this to stop, I do. But we don’t know who’s doing it. I’m not sure if it’s one person or every idiot in the village. I’ve tried to tell them who I am, you’ve tried, how did that work out for you?’
‘Not good.’
‘Exactly. What am I going to do, sue the whole village for harassment? I’d like to see that stand up in a court of law.’
‘You can’t
let them win,’ Finn said.
‘If I’d let them win, I would have moved out by now.’
‘I’m going to take the quiche tray in for fingerprinting, see if we can start from there,’ Casey said. ‘I’m also going to arrange for CCTV to be installed round the front and back of the house, see if we can catch these little bastards. In the meantime, I’d like you to keep a diary of all the events and as gross as it sounds, the next time that dog crap gets shoved through the door, I want you to keep some of it.’
‘Are you kidding me?’
‘That dog crap is coming from somewhere. That can be analysed too. If we can link it to a specific dog, then we can link it to the owner. We’re going to stop this.’
Joy nodded wearily.
Casey stood up to go. ‘Come on Firecracker, show these bastards some of that fire.’
She smiled and he kissed her on the head and left, leaving her on her own with Finn. Immediately the atmosphere crackled with sparks and tension.
She stood, not really knowing what to do with herself, Finn stood too.
‘Thank you for taking Darcy for a walk.’
‘My pleasure.’
Wow this was all very polite, she could go and shake his hand in a minute.
‘You look better.’
‘I feel better.’
Silence. Man this was awkward. She felt at a loss for something to say. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted him to grab her and kiss her like he’d done in the garden the other day. Surely he wanted that too. She had to say something now. The silence was dragging on too long.
‘So I guess your carer duties are officially over.’
Finn reached out with one finger and briefly stroked the back of her hand. His touch sent a jolt of electricity zinging through her. ‘Pity. I was kind of enjoying it.’ He stepped back, a smile playing on his lips. ‘Well you know where I am if you need me. Big spider in the bath or scary movie you don’t want to watch alone, I’m your man.’
‘I’ll remember that.’
He smiled and ducked out the back door.
Joy had to stop herself doing a little giddy dance. She was sure she could find something he could help her with. Then the phone rang and as she answered it the smile fell off her face.
*
Finn was attempting to read again when Joy knocked on the back door with a bottle of wine. She looked stunning in a simple green summer dress that swished and sparkled as she moved.
‘I’ve come for my date,’ she smiled shyly.
He stared at her and then remembered the arrangements they’d made the day before. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
He stood up and moved over to her. ‘It wasn’t a date. I was just going to teach you how to cook. If it was a date, there would have been candles, romantic music, great food, maybe a bit of dancing. And probably some amazing sex to finish off the perfect night.’
Joy laughed at his candour. ‘Wow, that’s some date. Could we maybe skip all of the food and music and go straight for the hot sex?’
He stared at her, all the words he wanted to say stuck in his throat.
‘I’m joking Finn, though I could really do with a distraction tonight and someone to talk to.’
‘Ok.’
‘We can do that, can’t we? We are friends after all.’
He thought for a moment. She needed a distraction, but it had to be something that wasn’t remotely romantic. They didn’t need any further temptation. They were friends, what did friends do?
‘Board games.’
‘What?’
He took the wine off her and pulled her into the dining room. ‘I’m a demon at Jenga.’ He opened a cupboard and pulled out a box. ‘And I’m pretty good at Cluedo too. Anything you fancy, I’ve got Monopoly, Pictionary, Trivial Pursuit?’
Joy leaned round the cupboard door and looked in, clearly confused with how the evening was suddenly turning. ‘Oooh Hungry Hippos, I used to love that as a child.’
‘You do realise you’re speaking to the regional Hungry Hippo champion?’
Joy laughed. ‘That sounds like a challenge.’
*
Finn laughed as Joy tried to bounce the ball into the cup for the thirty-eighth time.
‘Stop laughing, this is really hard.’ The ball hit the rim and bounced off onto the floor. Again.
‘I’ve never seen someone play The Cube before with so much ineptitude and so much lack of skill.’
Joy disappeared under the table to retrieve the ball, grinning to herself. She hadn’t stopped laughing all night. They had played one board game after another after another. Finn had pretty much ruthlessly thrashed her at every game they’d played. The sexual tension had completely disappeared and she was just really enjoying being in his company.
‘I can’t find the ball.’
‘Oh well, I think it’s best we called it a night anyway. You can go home and lick your wounds about how truly terrible you are at playing games.’
She pulled herself up from the floor and went and sat on the sofa.
‘Thank you for my date tonight, I had a lot of fun.’
‘It wasn’t a date.’
‘That’s a shame because there’s one part of your list for an amazing date that I’d be very interested in.’
‘Oh yes?’ He was teasing her now, his face was straight but his eyes were filled with mischief.
‘I’d like to see you dance, I think that would be very amusing.’
He laughed. ‘I’m a very proficient dancer I’ll have you know.’
‘Well if you ever ask me out on a date, I’ll be the judge of that.’
He frowned slightly and she thought perhaps she might have pushed the conversation too far.
‘Well, Casey told me it was your birthday next week, Wednesday was it? I thought maybe we could go out, do something for the day, that’s if you don’t have plans?’
She stared at him.
‘It’s not a date, so you don’t need to bring your dancing shoes. Just two friends out together.’
She smiled. ‘I’d like that.’
‘Good. And as for the slur on my dancing ability…’ He got up and loaded a CD into the stereo. He hit play and the dramatic sound of the traditional waltz music filled the room. Finn came towards her and took her hand.
‘No, Finn. I trust you, you can dance, I get it.’ He pulled her to her feet. ‘Please, no, I don’t need proof.’
But he wasn’t taking no for an answer. With one hand in hers and the other at her waist, he was suddenly sweeping across the room in a seemingly faultless waltz. And although she had always thought of herself as clumsy and ungainly, she was now waltzing seamlessly too. Finn looked down at her with a huge smile on his face. It filled her heart to see it. The song went on for a good five minutes and Finn didn’t miss a step but eventually the song came to an end and as Finn released her she flopped back onto the sofa, exhausted.
‘You really can dance.’
Finn turned the stereo off. ‘I had to learn for The Darkness trilogy.’
‘I must watch these films one day. I expect your partner was some beautiful movie star.’
‘Hardly, they paired me with some six foot five woman who kept stamping on my feet through every take. I got my own back though when I ripped her throat out.’
‘What?’
He laughed. ‘I was a vampire. I danced with her and then killed her. She hated the fake blood all over her so I kept screwing up the take so we’d have to reshoot it again and again. Pissed her right off.’
‘You really have a way with women don’t you?’
‘I have my moments. Now do you want to tell me what tonight was about before you go home?’
Joy’s face fell and she sighed, her little bubble of happiness popping as she remembered what she wanted a distraction from. ‘PC Annabel French rang me earlier, asking if I wanted to meet up with her and Craig Peters tomorrow? I said I’d go but now I’m wishing I hadn’t.’
Finn took her hand. ‘You don’
t have to meet him.’
‘I think I do.’
‘Then I’ll come with you.’
This time she wasn’t going to argue.
*
Joy was lying on the chair swing early the next day, watching the pink morning clouds roll lazily across the pale blue sky. Determined not to spend the night worrying about Craig Peters, she had allowed herself to think about Finn instead. How lovely he was. Although those thoughts had quickly been replaced with thoughts of that amazing passionate kiss in the garden. Regardless of the wonderful ‘friend’ night they’d had the night before, she wanted to finish that kiss and her dreams had been filled with finishing that kiss in the shower, sometimes up against a wall – and her favourite was on Finn’s huge dining table. Desire and need bubbled through her. She felt like a coke can, all shook up and waiting to explode.
‘Knock, knock?’ called Zach, as he let himself through the connecting gate.
She sat up, annoyed at the distraction. He was carrying a big bunch of flowers. Casey was right; Zach was good with the charm. He offered them to her, a collection of white roses and tiny little purple flowers interspersed between them, an artfully arranged shop bought bouquet but she didn’t take them.
His face fell when he saw she was still angry with him and that made her feel guilty. She hadn’t seen him since she accused him of being a letch and she wanted to clear the air between them. Nothing was going to happen between them, the desire she’d first had for him had well and truly passed but Casey seemed to think Zach wasn’t a bad person so maybe they could at least be friends.
‘I’m so sorry for what I did the other night, it was completely inappropriate and I’m really sorry. I just… I really like sex and you were so keen for it and… I just thought at first you were drunk and I know that’s no excuse either… God I’m sorry. I’m glad Finn was there.’
‘So am I.’
He looked distraught.
‘Look, you should know more than anyone that it’s a horrible thing to take advantage of someone when they’re drunk, like Pippa did to you.’
Beneath the Moon and the Stars Page 17