Scarred Horizon (Scarred Series Book 4)

by Jackie Williams

  Amy nodded as she ran a hand down one of the silken drapes.

  “I hope so. He needs his independence back and I just know that a job like this will give it to him,” she spoke wistfully as the material fluttered away from her hand.

  Lucy looked at the young woman carefully. She laughed again.

  “I don’t think he wants to be too independent Amy. I saw the way you looked at him. Don’t try to deny it. You’re in love with him.”

  Amy felt her cheeks flush. She tried to still her rapidly beating heart but in the end it was hopeless. She looked back at Lucy whose eyes shone with expectation. Amy gave up the struggle and caved in to her emotions.

  “I fell for him the moment I first saw him. He walked into our office looking like a lost Adonis and that was it. I was in love. I can’t stop thinking about him, or wanting him. I shouldn’t even be his case worker as I am so involved but when the chance came up I just couldn’t refuse. Trouble is that he doesn’t even want to know me and after this ridiculous thing the judge dreamed up he just sees me as his enemy.” She sniffed miserably.

  Lucy shook her head and spoke cheerfully.

  “And I thought that Paul was the blind one. Oh well, you’re here for a month. Let’s hope the two of you can sort yourselves out during that time. Why don’t you take a few minutes and freshen up. We’re going down to help finish the dinner aren’t we Rose?” She picked up the little girl who was trying to climb on the bed beside Amy and sat her on her own lap. “We’ll be eating together in the kitchen tonight. If you go back down into the hall, it’s the little door under the stairs. Follow your nose after that, Patrick makes the most heavenly dinners and now he’s arrived home I expect he’s taken over the preparations. We eat at seven and we dress casually.” She stood up with rose on her hip, walked to the door and closed it behind her as she left the room.

  Amy stayed on the huge bed. She couldn’t believe that Lucy had seen through her so quickly. It had taken weeks to admit the truth to herself. Now all she could do was try to persuade Paul to see how she felt and hope that he felt the same way.

  She stood up again and glanced at her watch. There was still a good hour before dinner time. She looked beyond the half open door to the bathroom. There was no way that she could resist. The luxuriously sunken tub was begging for someone to immerse themselves in it and she smiled as she realized that it was plenty big enough for two to share. It took her a few moments more to consider that the bath might not have been made that size with lovers in mind and her heart tightened at the thought.

  She assumed that she had seen suffering in her time as a social worker but nothing had prepared her for the way her heart pounded at the realization of the sacrifice these men had made. Both their lives and their bodies had been ripped apart.

  That Patrick, David and Joe were clearly blissfully happy made her feel slightly more positive about their situation. Their wives clearly didn’t consider that a few missing body parts should mean they thought any less of their men. Though she hadn’t yet met Geraldine or Ellen, the expressions that graced David’s and Patrick’s faces when they spoke of them told Amy that they were deeply in love with their wives. Lucy had been positively radiant too and the look on Joe’s face told her everything she needed to know.

  She turned on the bathwater and unpinned her long blonde hair from the tight chignon she had worn to travel. She dropped the pins into a little dish that sat on the shelf below the mirror and she stared at her reflection. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and the rosy tint deepened as she thought of Paul and how his expression had leapt from joy to anger when he realized who the judge meant when he had said that Paul should be accompanied. For a few seconds he had assumed the man meant Patrick but when the judge mentioned that he would need a report from her after the four weeks were up a dark cloud had appeared to settle over him.

  She had thought that he was going to protest but Patrick had laid a firm hand on his arm and had expressed his thanks for the judge’s benevolence on Paul’s behalf. They had left the court room quickly and they had been outside and hailing a cab before Paul could protest. She could remember the contempt in his tone when he told them what he thought of her coming with them and it had taken Patrick’s bellowed, ‘You are going to prison if you don’t accept this compromise so put up or shut up you stubborn blockhead!’ to pull Paul up sharply and make him see sense. His bitter words rattled around in her head.

  “But I don’t need a flipping babysitter. I just need a job. I can look after myself perfectly well. For goodness sake Patrick, I was completely blind for well over a year before the bionics. No bloody social worker seemed to mind then that I couldn’t see a damn thing!”

  Amy had tried to stand her ground. Though she knew that she was in love with the tall, grumpy man she couldn’t let him speak about her like that.

  “Don’t for one minute think that I am going to babysit you. You’re a big boy, you can babysit yourself. The judge only asked me to make a bloody report on you, nothing else and believe you me that’s all I will be doing. I’m not paid to be at your beck and call so you can get any ideas about that out of your thick head right now.” She had been about to walk away from the pair of them but Patrick stopped her with a heartfelt plea.

  “Amy, please. No one is going to make you babysit anyone. If you can pack a bag as soon as possible I can organize us some flights. I really don’t want to be away from home much longer.”

  Paul had grunted and slung the bag holding all his possessions over his very broad shoulder as he turned towards Patrick again.

  “Well, I’m not holding you up. Everything I own is in that duffel bag. I can leave as soon as you are ready.” Amy muttered something under her breath and Paul had laughed. “No, sorry to disappoint you but my good manners are not packed in there with my other gear. I left them back in Afghanistan along with my sight.” He pulled out and unfolded his white cane to help him negotiate the crowded pavement as he turned his back to her and he had practically ignored her ever since.

  She undressed quickly and slid a slim leg into the luxurious bath. The soft water caressed her skin and she let out a deep sigh. She glanced about the deep tub and noticed several different bottles of luxury gels and oils. She opened one and sniffed at the contents. Beautiful! Maybe this month wasn’t going to be as bad as she had expected. The comfort enjoyed at the château was of a quality she had never experienced before and was unlikely to ever again. No wonder the hotel was booked for years in advance.

  She lay back in the water and began to relax at last.

  Paul stomped along the corridor. Only the luxuriously thick carpet deadened the sound of his heavy footsteps. He listened carefully and counted as he passed the doors of the rooms. The sound travelled well in the old château and even without brushing his hand along the wall he could immediately tell how many bedrooms he had passed.

  He slowed as he came to the end of the corridor and turned right. Fortunately he could remember the layout of the vast building from his previous visits but he couldn’t remember the exact amount of rooms there were in each wing. He stopped and held out his hand again as he turned the corner. He touched the smooth stone and enjoyed its cooling effect on his temper. He had noticed on his first visit when the château was not even open that the stone kept the place beautifully cool in hot weather. Now he leaned forwards and pressed his heated brow to the stone.

  He pulled in a long breath and let the tension in his shoulders go. This wasn’t what he had envisioned for his future life but as it happened he was really looking forward to the challenge.

  Patrick had begun explaining the new venture as they were in mid-air half way across the English Channel. David and Ellen were looking for another château to house their new project but this time it was not going to be a luxury getaway hotel. This was going to be a full on rehabilitation centre for war-wounded servicemen. All the Allied forces would be using the facilities and the programme would be funded by the joint countries of the Europe
an Union and the United States. Ellen and David’s luxury hotel had been declared such a success that this was the obvious next step.

  Paul would be their manager and chief mentor. Though things had not gone right for him recently, he had mountains of experience at getting over the first few months of bitter resentment that life changing injuries could bring. All of them had, but Paul’s double disappointment of his sight being taken from him for a second time put him in a unique position. The only fly in the ointment had been bringing his social worker along too.

  He ground his teeth together at the renewed feeling of humiliation and bit back a snort of indignation as he remembered Amy’s muttered jibe about his manners. His hearing was spectacularly good, a small concession to his lack of sight he assumed and at least she had learned her lesson. She had barely spoken to him again since.

  He thought back to her concise instructions back on the château forecourt. He had refused to bring out his humiliating white cane but she hadn’t babied him or forced herself on him with any embarrassing arm holding. She had simply told him exactly what he had needed to know to facilitate his entry into the château and she had been right too. Even though Joe had laughingly grabbed hold of him and dragged him inside, Paul had made himself count to make sure.

  He didn’t want to be impressed though. He grumbled as he breathed. She could have just made a lucky guess.

  He stood away from the cool wall and began walking more slowly along the corridor. His room should be the fourth door along. He passed two more doors and then stopped as he came up to the third. Just the slightest sound had caught his attention. He leaned against the door and pressed his ear against the frame for a moment, listening intently. The door moved under the pressure of his shoulder and opened with a faint click.

  He could hear gentle singing coming from inside the room and he smelled just a hint of a flowery soap. He stepped back and frowned at the door. There were no other residents until the end of the week. Would Ellen really have put him right next door to his social worker? He was about to retrace his steps and ask for a different room when he realized how ridiculously spoiled he would sound. David and Ellen were doing him a massive favour as it was even having him at the château let alone offering him a fabulous job. He didn’t need to be told that there were plenty of other people capable of mentoring for them in their new centre. He was deeply flattered that they would even consider him. To go and complain about where he would be sleeping suddenly appeared very childish especially as all of the rooms were of a splendour and luxury rarely enjoyed elsewhere.

  He listened at the door again as Amy’s gentle voice sang out. It really was lovely and just for a moment he wondered if her face was as pretty as she sounded.

  He gave himself a small shake and was about to move away when the scent of the soap hit him again. It was beautifully delicate and he knew that it suited her. Her fragrance had tantalized his nostrils for the best part of the day and however annoyed he had been, it had taken all he had not to lean into her and breathe in the scent of her hair as they sat in the back of the taxi together.

  Patrick had filled the awkward silences as they had been driven from the airport to the château but that hadn’t stopped Paul wishing that he hadn’t been quite so harsh with her the previous day.

  Patrick had given him a real dressing down the previous night and he had wanted to apologize for his appalling behaviour but the frosty reception he had received from her the following afternoon as they had met to wait for their flight from Stansted to Dinard had put him off completely.

  Now as he stood outside her open door, he wondered what she really looked like, whether her hair was long or short, brown or red or blonde. He had a soft spot for blondes normally, not that it mattered now that he couldn’t see. She could look like the back end of a bus as far as he was concerned but he was interested all the same.

  He took a last breath and ran his fingers over the door. He caught hold of the handle and carefully pulled it shut again before he moved forwards along the corridor again. He found the next door, turned the handle and walked into his room. He stood on the threshold for a few seconds and clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth, listening to the space around him, gauging the area before he moved forwards. He knew that David or Joe would have moved any furniture out of his direct path across the room. Knowing the rough size of the rooms from his previous visits he guessed that the bed would probably be about ten paces inside the door.

  He strode out the ten paces confidently and sure enough his shins brushed the side of the bed. He bent forwards slightly and sighed as he ran his hand over the silken bed linen. It was smooth and cool and smelled of fields of wild flowers. He noted the turned back duvet and he pressed his palm to the plump, springy pillows, letting them bounce back into shape under his hand. After several weeks of sleeping rough, he knew it was going to be just heavenly to lie down in this bed. At the end of the bed he discovered that the curtains were tied back with thick, twisted rope to the wooden post. He assumed that the drapes were held back so that he wouldn’t tangle himself in them.

  He sat on the edge of the bed and kicked off his boots and socks. He wriggled his toes into the thick pile of the carpet before he remembered that Iranian rugs of the highest quality carpeted most of the rooms. He leaned forwards as he ran his hand across his chin. Though he and Patrick had stayed at a hotel the previous night and he had showered, for the fortnight prior to that he had been sleeping either rough or in a less than adequate cell in the police station. A long soak in the bath and a clean shave were definitely called for.

  He stood up again and waited until he had gained his bearings, assuming that if his bed was roughly in the middle of the room then his bathroom would be either immediately on his left or right. To the right he guessed. For plumbing reasons, he expected that his bathroom would be back to back with Amy’s and he had heard her voice coming from the left of her door. He took several steps with his hand stretched out in front of him and was rewarded when he heard the gentle thump of a wooden panel as his fingertips hit the wall softly. He swept his hand lower and grasped an inset handle. Pleased that he had found his way easily and without the need of his cane or any further assistance, he pulled the door open and marched confidently into his bathroom.

  There was an ear splitting shriek as Paul immediately collided with something small and soft and fragrant and clearly completely naked. He jumped back in confusion but not before all of his remaining senses had been utterly assaulted.

  Soft, flowing hair brushed against his lips as her head jolted up at his unexpected intrusion. His fingertips danced over the warm, silken skin of her shoulders and he guessed that she had only just finished drying her hair. His nostrils caught her peppermint breath at the same time as her delicate womanly scent. She leaped away from him.

  “My God! You scared the life out of me,” she stammered when she saw who the intruder was. “What on earth do you think you are doing coming into my room?”

  He heard her scrabbling for clothes or a towel and for an insane moment he almost wanted to laugh. Had she forgotten that he couldn’t see a damn thing? He took in another huge breath as he was about to explain when her fragrance suddenly sent him staggering backwards.

  “I was trying to find my…my bathroom.” He could barely hide the shock in his voice as he stumbled away from her, his head reeling in surprise with the sensations suddenly coursing through his body. He had never felt anything like it in his life and he knew instantly that he wanted to feel it more but before he could even apologize he was being shoved backwards into his room by small, soft hands pressing firmly against his chest.

  “Well go and find it somewhere else. This is obviously just a connecting door. It’s almost impossible to see in the panelling but I’m surprised it was left open. I’m going to find the key so you can’t make the same mistake again.” And with that he felt a sudden draft and heard the door click firmly shut in his face.

  Chapter Three

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nbsp; “You did what? I thought I had locked all the connecting doors.” Ellen couldn’t keep the laughter out of her tone. “No wonder she hasn’t come down to eat. You probably put her off her food if you stumbled across her stark naked!”

  Paul dropped his head into his hands and he groaned with embarrassment. He hadn’t meant to tell anyone of the bathroom incident but when Amy didn’t show up for Patrick’s delicious dinner Ellen had threatened to go and fetch her and he had to confess.

  “I wasn’t the naked one. I had only just taken off my boots and decided to go for a long hot soak. I was going to get the water running before I undressed. She was the one with nothing on. She might have spoiled my appetite. I wish you had told me that you had connecting doors put in. I thought I was heading into the bathroom.”

  There was a slight scrape behind him and he lifted his head at the sound.

  “Yes, you might have told me too. That panel is nearly invisible from my side. I had no idea it was even there and I nearly died of fright when that brute marched in. I was completely starkers.”

  Everyone looked up at the kitchen door as Amy walked in. David immediately left the table and showed her to the only free chair. Paul shifted uncomfortably in his seat as she moved to the place beside him.