Adam ordered the drinks and the man picked out a couple of glasses and began to pour. “Cold out there today,” he said.
“Yes. Nice and warm in here though,” Adam replied.
The man nodded. “Visiting the abbey, are we?”
Adam raised an eyebrow. “Which one’s that, then?”
“Durbent Abbey. Just down the road a way.”
“I didn’t even know there was one there,” Adam said.
“Well, it’s more of a ruin than an abbey these days, but there’s an interesting story surrounding it. That’s what gave this place its name.”
A few minutes later, Adam returned to their table and retook his seat. “Cheers,” he said and they clinked glasses and took a large swig. “I thought we could take a look at the abbey after we’ve finished, if you like?” he said. “There’s an old ruins not far from here. It might be worth a look?”
“Okay,” said Kate.
After pudding, Adam settled the bill and they walked back outside to the car.
“Right, I need you to spot for me,” he said. “Apparently we need to go left out of here and then the next right and follow the road for about a mile until we reach a fork. It should be up on the right. It’s hidden from the road by the trees in summer, but it shouldn’t be too hard to spot this time of year, apparently.”
The pair of them drove down the winding country roads until they reached the fork and then Adam slowed down to give them a chance to look around.
“Over there,” Kate said, pointing. “Behind the trees. See?”
Adam pulled over and got out of the car. He took hold of Kate’s hand and they walked together up to the abbey.
Moss clung around the crumbling walls and noisy crows hovered in the sky overhead, like vultures waiting to descend.
Kate stepped through a doorway and into a large roofless room. Looking up she saw the clouds gathering around them. The light was already fading, adding to its eerie charm. They walked on into another room, still mostly hidden from the sky and wings flapped. From the rafters above them, pigeons swooped out, startling Kate and making her jump.
Adam chuckled. “Seen enough of that room?” he asked. He squeezed her hand and led her on out of the gloom and back into the open air. Brambles snared the stones of the north wall, like a clawed hand grasping at its prey and Kate stepped carefully into a clearing, where all but the superficial rubble had been lost over the years. It was lighter there, but offering fewer walls for protection, the cold wind churned about them and Kate hugged her coat tighter.
Darkness was approaching from the west and although it was still early for the light to be fading, no romantic sunset was going to be visible that night. Adam grabbed Kate making her jump and he rolled up laughing.
Kate thumped him. “You scared me half to death,” she gasped. But he was soon forgiven as he pulled her into his arms and wrapped his coat around her, making her feel safe and warm.
Kate laid her cheek against his chest, in no hurry to pull away. From inside his coat she could feel his warm body surrounding and protecting her. The mixture of scent, touch and heat was incredibly seductive and had she not been out in the middle of nowhere on a cold winter’s afternoon, Kate was convinced she would have been putty in his hands.
“Apparently this abbey saw a couple of grisly murders in its day,” Adam said, releasing her from his safety, as he began to wander on through the ruins. He held out his hand to help her over the fallen masonry. “They say a long time ago a local farmer’s daughter was caught in the woods in the arms of a monk.”
Kate looked up.
“So the farmer marched them up to the abbey and insisted on a marriage between the two. But the abbot refused and the villagers turned against the monks and bad feeling rose up between them.”
He stepped a little closer.
“Not long after that, the abbot was found dead in his chamber; his throat had been cut and his cloak was gone, but no traces of his killer were ever found.”
Kate rolled her eyes as Adam tried hard to make it spooky.
He paused. “But a new abbot arrived and then the girl from the village had a baby. The new abbot got to hear about the baby and he kept the monk confined, going to meet her in his place and soon she was dead too. They say the girl’s cries could be heard across the valley and the abbot… had vanished.
Kate took a deep breath and let it out. “So who was the murderer then?” she asked.
Adam turned his head to the sky and then looked back towards her. “The abbot.”
Kate thought for a minute. “But I thought he got his throat cut?”
Adam looked at her. “Well it must have been the second abbot then. The one they sent to replace the first.”
“But, how could he have killed the first one if he didn’t arrive until after the first one was dead?”
Adam looked thoughtful. “No. Actually I remember it now. It was neither of them. It was the carpenter.
“What carpenter?”
“The one that loved the girl.”
“You never mentioned a carpenter. So why did the carpenter kill the girl if he loved her?”
Adam shrugged. “I don’t know. Because she had her wicked way with a monk, I suppose.”
“But why kill the abbot then?”
Adam grabbed her and bundled her against him. “Oh God, I don’t know. Just look impressed, will you. The chap in the inn only told me the story a few minutes ago. I can’t remember.”
Kate rolled up laughing. “I’m sorry. It was a great story… if a little flawed,” and he tickled her until she begged him to stop.
A white shape swooped silently by them in the darkening sky and Kate yelped, grabbing on to Adam, who wrapped her up in his arms and followed its arc. He leant down to kiss the top of her head. “It was only a barn owl,” he said softly. “It’s gone now.”
Kate’s heart was beating fast as she slowly pulled away and looked up into the sky. “I think I’ve had enough of abbeys for one day,” she said. “Can we get out of here?”
“You are a funny thing,” he said as they wandered back across the field to the car. “So full of fire one minute and as soft as a kitten the next.”
Kate considered that. “That must be what makes me so loveable,” she said and Adam nodded. His eyes dipped down to meet hers and he pulled her against him and kissed her with a simmering passion that promised so much.
“You are far too tempting,” he growled through dark hazy eyes and Kate took a breath and let it out, hugging herself against the wind.
Large drops of water began to splash down on them and Adam held out a hand and looked up at the sky. “I think it’s about to chuck it down,” he said and they ran the rest of the way back to the car, hopping inside just in time to watch the heavens open and the sky empty out all around them.
Back at Kate’s house, Adam walked her to the door. “Would you like to come in?” she asked him.
“Not this time, sadly” he said. “I’ve got a hundred and one things I need to do before the morning. But another time?”
Kate nodded.
“So when can I see you again?”
“Thursday I’m on an early, with a late the following day,” she said.
“Great. I’ll pick you up around seven?”
“Okay.”
“Good.” He kissed her again more tenderly than before and groaned as he pulled away. “Katherine Heath, you are killing me.” His lips met hers again very briefly and then he said goodbye and walked back to his car.
Kate stood and waved him off and then went inside and closed the front door.
Sophie was standing just inside the living room with a huge grin on her face. “Well?”
Kate’s face creased into an enormous smile as the pair of them squealed with delight. She collapsed down into the armchair and Sophie sat close by.
“So? Come on. You’re not going to do this to me again. I’m fit to burst here. How did you end up staying the night with our handsome Mr E
lliott? That is what happened, isn’t it? Tell me that much at least.”
Kate filled her in from the beginning of the evening. “And then we went to bed,” she said.
Sophie’s eyebrows could get no higher. “You harlot!”
“Not together.”
“What?”
“I slept in the spare room. Oh Sophie, it was beautiful,” she said.
“I thought you said you slept in the spare room?”
“I did,” Kate assured her. “I was talking about the spare room. It was immaculate, tastefully decorated and so clean. Just gorgeous.”
Sophie sat back. “You are seriously deranged, woman. You finally get to spend the night at Mr Elliott’s house after mooning around after him for… well… ages and the thing you get most excited about is the house?”
“No, of course not. It was a very nice apartment, but he was fabulous.”
“And absolutely no funny business?”
Kate shook her head. “He’s picking me up again on Thursday.”
Sophie slumped back into her seat and sighed.
“But you can’t tell anyone,” Kate added.
Sophie sat up again. “What? The hottest news of the year and I can’t tell anyone?”
Kate shook her head. “Not a word. Please. Just for a bit, Soph.”
“Why not?”
“Hospital gossip. You know what it’s like. We just want to have a bit of time to ourselves before the guys at work get hold of it. You won’t tell anyone, will you?”
Sophie zipped her mouth shut. “Not a word. But tell me, is he the one?”
Kate looked into her friend’s excited, happy face. “I hope so, Soph,” she said. “I really hope so.”
Sophie squealed again and stamped her feet on the floor in excitement. “I knew it. I told you you would know it when you felt it. Oh, I’m so pleased for you, Kate. Just think, if you get a crack on, we could even make it a double wedding.”
At this, Kate virtually choked with laughter. “Give us a chance, Soph. We’ve only been out once.”
“Okay. Okay. I’ll ask you again in a month.”
That night Kate was back in her own bed, thinking about the night before and how much had changed in such a short time. All failings now forgiven, they had fallen for each other in a big way. Kate knew that if he asked her, she would give him her heart without so much as a moment’s hesitation. She felt secure with him. He seemed to adore her and she him, and soon they would be able to tell the world and watch the faces of the rest of the staff as they looked at Kate in surprise, wondering what she could possibly see in grumpy old Jolly. But Kate knew what they did not, that Adam was a gorgeous, kind, funny and passionate man. And if they had made the effort to get to know him better, then maybe they would have been able see that too. Just as long as none of the prettier nurses began to appreciate him, Kate hoped she would be safe. For a moment there her heart quivered. Maybe the secrecy was a good thing, she thought.
Back in work, life carried on as usual. Kate moved through her day hiding her wonderful secret and Adam was… nowhere to be seen. It was as if nothing had even happened. And yet so much had changed in Kate’s life. She was now… Adam’s girlfriend, she supposed. She was going out with Mr Elliott, the stony-faced orthopaedic surgeon who everybody recognised, but nobody knew, and she wasn’t even allowed to talk about it.
Tuesday saw another early shift and Kate was finding it harder and harder to believe that what she thought had happened over the weekend really had taken place.
Wednesday she was on an early again and still no sign of Adam. By now she was desperate to see him, if only to reassure herself that it had been real. He hadn’t called even and Kate started to doubt everything. Did he really like her? Was there something special between them? What if it had just been a bit of an awkward mistake, by a man too polite to dump and run? Her days should have been filled with excitement and happiness, a woman blossoming in the first flush of love, but instead his words were twisting in her mind and she was beginning to feel more and more rejected. She had to talk to him.
That night Kate sat by her phone, wishing she had taken his phone number too. Butterflies beat their wings at the lining of her gut as she waited for Adam to call her. And then he rang.
“Hello?”
“Kate. It’s so good hear your voice. I’ve been thinking about you for days. I wanted to see you last night, but I didn’t want to just bowl up when you weren’t expecting me. You may have been busy or with someone else.”
“I would have loved to have seen you. At work it’s all just been same-old-same-old and it just feels so odd, like the weekend never really happened.”
“Oh, it happened, believe me. And I don’t want you swanning off with some other guy while I’m stuck in clinic staring at mangled hands, okay?”
And as easily as that Kate relaxed. Her smile remembered how much she had to be thankful for and they talked a little longer before, joyfully, Kate realised she now had Adam’s number and they agreed to meet earlier than previously arranged the following evening.
The next day Kate was back on form. She bounced into work and raced through her day with a sunny smile and methodical diligence.
On the way to break she spotted Adam. He was walking down the main corridor in the opposite direction. He didn’t seem to have noticed her. Kate approached, closer and closer, and still he gave no hint that he had seen her. He was almost in front of her when finally he looked her way. Kate’s breath held. His dark grey pinstriped suit was tailored perfectly to show off his lean masculine physique and his blue-grey eyes shone out from his handsome face as time slowed down, and just as he was almost out of sight, Adam winked and their fingers touched ever so briefly and then he was gone. Accelerating back up to speed, it was over in an instant and he was half way down the corridor behind her, but he had looked, and winked, and touched. Kate let out a big sigh and walked on up to the canteen with a contented smile playing merrily around her mouth.
She arrived home just before two and was struck by the thought: What if it happens tonight? She began to beautify as if her life depended on it. Something she definitely planned on doing was taking some spare underwear, tucked away discreetly in a pocket. What should she wear? Most of her wardrobe was pulled out and discarded in the race to find something suitable. In the end, she decided to go with the first thing she’d tried on, a long floaty skirt and matching top in forget-me-not blue with a white collar and cuffs; maybe a little dressy for an evening at the pub, but unlikely to look out of place at Adam’s.
~
Adam sat in his car in the hospital car park. He had finished work early for a change and was as nervous as a teenager on a first date. This was a real date, he thought. He couldn’t deny it any longer. The other night had just developed of its own free will. He had spent time with Kate the next day too, but still nothing serious had happened. This was different. This meant far more.
Part of him was desperate to see her; the spark between them was undeniable. Kate challenged him and impressed him with her strength and compassion, he found her compelling but he had given his heart before and he had promised it would be forever. Ali’s image drifted through his mind, searing his senses and tearing at his scars. What did it say about him, loving again so soon? About his endurance, his fortitude? Could he really bear to go down that road again? Yes. He had to.
He arrived at half past five, half an hour before Kate was expecting him. He knew he had to move fast or he would lose his nerve and so, game face on, he knocked.
~
Kate answered the door, her heart rate leaping with excitement, and there he was.
“I’m early. I hope that’s okay?” Adam said. “Are you on your own this time?” He was looking round her.
“Sophie’s on a late,” she told him.
“Good.” Adam stepped inside closing the door behind him and kissed her more passionately than ever before. Kate blushed, breathlessly steadying herself. “I’ve been thinking abo
ut that all day,” he said. “So, do I get the guided tour?”
What was there to see? “Oh, of course. Come in.” Kate showed him round their living room and kitchen. Pointed out the toilet, the tiny garden and then arrived back at the front, job done, she thought.
“Don’t I get to see upstairs?” he asked.
Kate shook her head, remembering the state she had left her bedroom in. “Absolutely not. It’s a complete mess.”
“I don’t care, come on.” He pulled on her hand, but Kate stubbornly refused to move. “You haven’t got a dartboard up there with my face on it or something, have you?” he asked.
“No.”
“Perhaps you’ve got another man tied up, waiting for you?”
“Certainly not!” she exclaimed.
“Well, come on then. How bad can it be?”
Adam pulled on Kate’s hand again and led the way upstairs. At the top he asked which way to her bedroom and Kate reluctantly pointed to her door and then quickly rushed in front of him barring his way. Slowly Adam approached.
“I don’t remember you showing me your bedroom,” she said to him trying anything to put him off, but Adam was having none of that.
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” he said, his eyes gleaming with the challenge. And then he leaned down and breathing hotly into her ear, he whispered how much he wanted her, kissed her neck and pulled her against him, devouring her. But distraction had been the heart of his plan all along and one delicious moment later he flipped her round and was staring at the mother of all messes on the inside of her room.
The walls inside were blue and the bed too, under the pile of clothes that was. He looked back at her, amused. Kate marched inside and gathered up all the clothes into her arms. “I didn’t know what to wear,” she huffed.
Adam turned to face her and took the bundle of clothes out of her arms, dropping them back down onto the bed. Then he took Kate’s chin delicately in his fingertips and looked into her eyes. “You look stunning.”
Pulling her against his side, he looked around her room. It really was very blue, she realised. Mid blue walls gave way to watery-blue bedding with darker blue on the carpet. On one wall, opposite her bed, was a picture of the ocean with a small sandy island, green trees, and a pair of flip-flops at the waterline.
By My Side Page 13