Because She Could: The unputdownable debut novel that spans the globe (The Osprey Series Book 1)

by Kaylie Kay

  She breathed in deeply and stood up, taking it all in, before beginning the run back, starting with the steps down from her resting place. It was a quick turnaround and the wake-up call was booked for 5am local. The sun was beginning to set in the distance as she jogged back to the hotel, happy in her own mind.

  Chapter 45

  Sarah stared at the stick, trying to work out what she was seeing. Surely it was a mistake. She couldn’t be pregnant, could she? Tom had used a condom every time they had made love, he had insisted. She felt her stomach lurch and her heart thud in her chest as she remembered Ethan, she had been so drunk, she couldn’t remember if he had been careful. She sat on the sofa and her thoughts collided noisily in her mind. What the hell was she going to do?

  Since the meal there had been more times. Tom couldn’t see past his desire now, couldn’t think with his head. Men were all the same. He had connected with her that night, and now his body was drawn to her, and he couldn’t resist the urges. She almost felt bad for him when he expressed his guilt over Olivia, announcing each time that it couldn’t happen again, that his future was with Olivia. Then why was he making love to her? Why was it her that was laid naked across his desk, again, as he devoured her? She had wondered when the push would come, she had to remain dignified and a good person, but eventually he would have to choose, and she certainly wasn’t intending on making it easy for him.

  She looked at the blue cross again. Maybe this was it. She wasn’t averse to having a baby, although she had thought it would be later in life, and planned. Tom had everything she needed though and could give her a good life, so maybe this was meant to be. Nobody knew about Ethan, and nobody ever would.

  ‘I have to get off.’

  Olivia looked at the sheer terror in the girl’s eyes as she pleaded with her to let her off the plane. Everyone had boarded and the pilots had just signed the final paperwork ready for departure. The last member of ground staff stood next to her at the boarding door and Olivia could read her thoughts. Please don’t get off, please, you have no idea how much work that will create for me, or something very similar to that.

  ‘Madam, honestly, you will be absolutely fine. All of us have been flying for years and have never had anything bad happen.’ Apart from falling down the stairs, she thought, but decided against sharing.

  ‘I can’t, I’m so sorry, I thought I could do it but I can’t.’ Tears sprung from her eyes and rolled down her face. Olivia wanted to hug her but instead rubbed her arm gently. She couldn’t force her, they couldn’t take the poor thing hostage, and she was travelling alone so there was no one else to take responsibility for her.

  ‘Come with me.’ Even the ground staff lady sounded a little sympathetic despite the fact that she would now have to locate her suitcase in the hold and reissue the paperwork.

  As was often the case, one problem led to another, and in the time it took to locate the suitcase, which couldn’t be on the plane without the owner, they missed their take-off slot. The airport was crazily busy and another one couldn’t be allocated for ninety minutes. The crew did their best, giving out drinks and trying to help those with tight connections, but it was what it was. Some would have to stay overnight at Heathrow now and hope their onward airlines could get them away the next day. Such was aviation, things didn’t always run smoothly.

  ‘I want to get off.’

  For a moment Olivia couldn’t process what she heard; it was like an echo, a previous event repeating itself. She turned to see a tall man in his fifties glaring at her, with a backpack slung over his shoulder.

  ‘I’m gonna miss my connection so I’m getting off,’ he declared in a soft southern drawl.

  ‘But sir, we are due to leave in just twenty minutes, I’m sure you can make it.’

  ‘No ma’am, I only had two hours so I’m sure to miss it, therefore I’m off.’

  ‘Do you have baggage in the hold?’ She crossed her fingers and hoped that he didn’t.

  ‘Sure do.’ His face was deadpan; he knew what he wanted to do and he was going to do it.

  ‘Sir, I can’t make you stay onboard, but if you get off now it could delay us significantly more, and these poor people want to get home,’ she pleaded with him.

  ‘I don’t give a rat’s ass about people I don’t even know, miss, now get me my bag and I’ll be on my way.’ He thrust his baggage receipt at her and stepped off the aircraft onto the jetbridge. The ground staff lady stopped in her tracks as she turned into the jetty clutching the new paperwork, and looked despairingly at the man standing off the aircraft. Olivia held up her hands, hunching her shoulders to signal she couldn’t do anything about it, the man knew his rights and was quite clear that he wasn’t for reasoning with.

  The ensuing delay stretched the six-and-a-halfhour flight time to over ten hours, and with the time from checking in to pulling up at their gate in Heathrow, the crew were almost out of hours. It was dark and the roads were empty as Olivia drove home, feeling quite exhausted. They had still had to deliver all of the services once they took off, leaving little time for a break in such a long day. At least she could go home though, she consoled herself, unlike some of the poor people who were now trying to find somewhere to stay after missing their connections.

  Olivia climbed into bed quietly, wrapping her arm around Tom’s warm sleeping body. It was good to be back.

  Chapter 46

  Something was a matter with Tom, she knew it, but whenever she asked him he just said that it was nothing. He had been like this since she got back from Washington three days ago, seeming worried, and she could only assume it was about work. He probably didn’t want to concern her, she told herself, or maybe he thought she wouldn’t understand. So she stopped asking and just tried to support him, making him nice lunches each day and showing him lots of affection in the way of cuddles and so forth. He wasn’t interested in sex though. She had never known him to be like that, but she didn’t force things, hoping that whatever it was that was worrying him would be sorted soon. Maybe she would have pushed him for answers if he was being grumpy with her as a result, but he wasn’t, quite the opposite in fact, telling her constantly how much he loved her. At least there was a positive side to his strange mood, and if it wasn’t affecting her adversely she would just go with it.

  Flights came and went in the ensuing two weeks, Los Angeles and San Diego, and still Tom acted strangely when she was home. She couldn’t fathom it, he was almost clingy, like he was afraid he was going to lose her, but surely he knew that no matter what, even if heaven forbid the business failed, she would still love him?

  She wasn’t helping in the office now so she didn’t know what the problem could be, but she had decided that seeing Sarah made her unsettled so she chose to avoid the situation. Fiona had messaged to say her friend wasn’t aware of any problems, that Sarah was always a little bit of a loner, and Olivia was happy to just move on now, dropping her obsession.

  It had come to the crunch now though, and as she pulled into the gravel car park for the first time in weeks she was determined to get to the bottom of what was worrying him. She had watched him pacing up and down that morning in the kitchen, looking at his phone and rubbing his face. He hadn’t known she was there, managing a fake smile when she walked into the room, before hugging her and heading off. Maybe she would have to ask Sarah if Tom wouldn’t tell her. Maybe she would know what was troubling him.

  No one was in the front office when she opened the door, so she knocked gently on the door of Tom’s. Sarah opened it and her face dropped when she saw it was Olivia standing there. She said nothing, looking back at Tom who was leaning against the window. She wondered what they had been talking about; the atmosphere was thick and she could feel the gravity in the air.

  ‘Everything ok?’ she asked, looking from Sarah to Tom.

  Tom straightened himself. ‘Olivia, what are you doing here?’ he asked, trying to sound carefree but failing miserably.

  ‘I bought you some lunch, yo
u skipped breakfast.’ She held up the bag she was carrying, her decoy, the reason she needed just to pop by.

  ‘Thanks babe.’ He walked over and took the bag from her.

  Sarah hadn’t moved, she was just stood there watching Tom. Olivia wondered if they had fallen out; there was definitely something between them.

  ‘Sarah, I need to speak to Tom, alone.’ She didn’t say it meanly, but Sarah looked back at her defiantly and then at Tom.

  ‘Sarah, please.’ He gestured for her to leave, almost pleadingly, and she closed the door loudly behind her. ‘What the hell is wrong with her?’ Olivia asked.

  ‘No idea, I’ll never understand women,’ he quipped, not making eye contact.

  ‘Tom, I need to know what’s going on.’

  For a moment she thought she saw a look of panic flash across his eyes, but it was gone before she could be really sure.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Oh, Tom, stop it, stop telling me there’s nothing wrong. I’m not stupid, I know you. You can tell me what it is, if things are going wrong here you can be honest you know, I’ll still love you even if you are bankrupt!’ She smiled, although she meant it she hoped it wasn’t that serious, she had grown accustomed to her comfortable life.

  Tom laughed, not a full belly laugh, but he was obviously amused, and he looked a little relieved, she thought. She was glad to see him lighten up a bit.

  ‘Oh babe, I’m not going bankrupt!’ He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head. ‘But it’s nice to know you would stay with me even if I was.’

  ‘So what is it, Tom? I need to know. I watch you worrying, I know something is up. Are there problems here?’

  He held onto her, so she couldn’t see his face. ‘Just a problem with one of the contracts, babe, but I’m sorting it, nothing for you to worry about.’

  She pulled herself back and looked at him seriously. ‘Ok, but you can talk to me you know. I might not know a lot about the business but I’m a good listener.’

  ‘Thanks. I do love you, Olivia.’

  ‘I know you do. Don’t be late tonight,’ she said as Tom opened the door to let her out. ‘I’m cooking your favourite.’ She turned and kissed him.

  Sarah coughed, reminding Olivia that she was there. ‘Hey Olivia, did Tom tell you my news?’

  ‘No,’ she replied, hoping that it was about her leaving.

  ‘I’m pregnant,’ she smiled. ‘I can’t believe you didn’t tell her, Tom.’

  ‘Oh yeah, sorry I just forgot. Anyway I really need to get on.’ He placed his hand in the small of Olivia’s back and gently pushed her towards the door. Olivia was so shocked by Sarah’s news that she hadn’t noticed the colour drain from Tom’s face or the smug look on Sarah’s.

  ‘Um, congratulations,’ she called over her shoulder, already at the door with Tom practically pulling her out of it on the pretence of walking her to her car.

  ‘Sorry babe, I’m really up to my neck in it, I’ve got to get on, thanks so much for the lunch.’ He kissed her and turned back to the office. Olivia got into her car dazed and a little confused, trying to process what had just happened. So Sarah was pregnant, that must mean she had a man, and that would mean a long maternity leave coming up soon too. Bingo! She grinned broadly as she drove out of the yard.

  Chapter 47

  ‘Tom, I think you need a break. Come to New York with me this weekend,’ she suggested as they sat either end of the sofa after dinner. ‘Before you say you can’t, it checks in late Friday so you can go into work in the morning, and gets back Sunday night.

  Pete can cover for you if anything comes up.’

  ‘That would be great.’

  She hadn’t expected it to be that easy, thinking he would need a lot more persuasion being the workaholic he had been these past months.

  ‘Fabulous, I’ll book your ticket now!’ She got up to get the laptop, excited now about her next flight.

  It couldn’t have worked out better. The flight was wide open with lots of empty seats, and Tom had been allocated one in First Class, not bad for a £140 standby ticket.

  ‘Your drink, sir.’ She placed a whisky down on his table and winked. She didn’t want to upset the other passengers, who had paid thousands for the same seats, so she had to be discreet. Tom looked so relaxed now that he was away from it all, like his worries had been left in England. He smiled back at her gratefully. She wasn’t working in this cabin but she had just wanted to make sure he was ok, and she returned back through the curtain to economy, pleased that her idea had worked.

  ‘Phone,’ Olivia demanded, holding out her hand. Tom was just about to open the hotel room door as they headed out the next morning, turning back and looking at her with a confused, maybe worried expression.

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘You are leaving your phone here. It’s Saturday, and we are going to have a nice day. I’m fed up of people keep messaging you, and you worrying. This was meant to be a break.’ Tom’s phone had been beeping since he arrived, and even when he had put it on silent she knew he was checking it in the bathroom and when he thought she was asleep. Surely nothing could be that important Pete couldn’t deal with it. ‘I mean it,’ she said in her best school teacher voice.

  He reluctantly handed it to her, just as another message came through and the screen lit up. Tom grabbed it so fast she didn’t have time to read the message, but she had seen who it was from, it was from Sarah.

  ‘What the hell does she want? Surely she’s not in on a Saturday.’

  ‘Um, yeah, she was popping in to catch up on some stuff, just needed to know where something is,’ he stumbled. He quickly typed a reply and turned the phone off this time, before walking over and putting it in the safe himself. Olivia had never been a snooper, it had never even crossed her mind to check Tom’s phone, but for a moment she felt an overwhelming curiosity. Perhaps if she had a quick look when she got a chance then she could get a better idea of what was worrying him lately. It couldn’t hurt, she would be doing it with best intentions. She instantly scolded herself. How could she even consider it? You didn’t do things like that. What was wrong with her? Tom finished typing the code into the safe keypad and walked back to the door.

  ‘Right, let’s go, no more calls.’ He seemed relieved.

  New York City never failed to disappoint. They strolled through Central Park and then along Fifth Avenue, with its designer stores and huge skyscrapers. Tom carried Olivia’s bags dutifully, encouraging her to buy whatever she wanted, within reason of course, and she didn’t need to be persuaded. They, or rather Olivia, marvelled at the rings in Tiffany’s, hinting somewhat unsubtly at the designs that she liked, making sure that he was clear on her tastes.

  They posed for selfies at the top of the Empire State Building, spending an age looking out over this vast city, in awe of the buildings that really did scrape the sky. Central Park, in its autumnal colours stretched out in the middle, a picture of calm that contrasted with the buildings looming over it on all sides. They strolled along Broadway and as dusk settled over the city they looked around for somewhere to eat.

  ‘I wish we didn’t have to go home tomorrow,’ sighed Olivia. They sat in the window of the restaurant that revolved at the top of the Marriott in Times Square, passing the famous buildings, trying to place them on the map that was printed on their cocktail napkins. Olivia’s shopping bags spilled out from under the table into the floor area around them.

  ‘Me too,’ Tom agreed. Olivia could see he really meant it.

  ‘I hope things get better at work soon, I hate seeing you under all this pressure.’

  ‘I’ll sort it out, I promise. You don’t deserve the way I have been.’ He was looking out blankly into the city and Olivia thought he looked sad.

  ‘Come on, no moping, we only have tonight and we need to make the most of it.’ She signalled for the waiter who was passing.

  ‘Can I get a bottle of champagne please?’

  For the rest of the night the
re were no worries; they laughed and chatted like they hadn’t a care in the world. When they got back to the hotel they made love and it was like it used to be, before Tom had changed, but he was still there and she hoped he would be back for good soon. His phone stayed firmly locked away until they left the next day, and even then he didn’t turn it on.

  ‘Did you have a nice time?’ asked the captain as they came down to reception to check out.

  ‘Lovely, thanks,’ replied Olivia.

  ‘Yeah, really nice,’ agreed Tom, ‘we should do this more often.’ He smiled at Olivia.

  ‘Shame about the loads, but the jumpseat’s yours if you want it.’

  Olivia looked at the captain, puzzled.

  ‘There’s about fifty spare, isn’t there?’

  ‘No, I don’t know what happened, I think one of the flights got cancelled so we are full now.’

  ‘Oh!’ Olivia hadn’t thought to check the loads again. Thank goodness she was the only one with a companion as there was only one spare jumpseat on this aircraft, which they could use if the captain said so. ‘Thank you so much, that was a close one! Sorry babe,’ she apologised to Tom.

  ‘No worries, can’t complain, I’m happy to stay here if I have to,’ he joked.

  The joys of standby travel, thought Olivia, but she knew Tom would be ok, it was only six hours, and it was a day flight, a couple of films on his iPad and they’d be there. At least he was getting on.

  Chapter 48

  It was amazing, she thought, how the black cloud had descended back over Tom’s head as soon as they touched down in London. She watched him getting off of the plane from where she stood at her door, looking down at his phone with that look of concern that was so often on his face lately. She sighed inwardly; at least they had had a brief moment together when things were ok. She hoped it was enough to carry him through the week and the troubles he bore. She wondered if things were too much for him, if he had taken on too much, but he had always coped before, working hard and keeping a level head. When he slept that night she couldn’t resist the urge, and reached over to where his phone laid next to the bed. It was pin locked though, and after two failed attempts she sighed as she put it back. No answers were to be found there. Just as she drifted off it rang, the cheerful jingle confusing her momentarily.