After I’d had my fill, I decided to walk on a bit further. I reached the crest of a hill and then down the other side. I could see a quad bike in the distance but there was no one near it. Intrigued, I made my way down the slope, a wicked daydream filling my mind. He was hiding, waiting for me. When I reached the quad, he’d leap out and accuse me of trying to steal it, tie me up and throw me in the back and…and…and all of a sudden, the sun felt incredibly hot despite the breeze and the gathering clouds.
I had just reached the quad bike when I heard a noise coming from the drainage ditch next to it. Looking over the side, I saw George down at the bottom, trying ineffectually to tug his feet free from the mud. “You look like you need a hand,” I said, watching as he twisted his neck to stare up at me.
“No,” he snapped back. “I’m fine.”
EIGHT
DONNA
“Okay then, I’ll leave you to it,” I said with a wave, turning to head back along the path. If he was so stubborn as to refuse my offer of help then he was stupider than he looked. But as I started to walk away I heard him call out, “Wait.”
I turned round, a smile on my face that I made sure was gone by the time I peered over the edge of the ditch again. “You called?”
“I need help.”
“You certainly do. But for now, let’s concentrate on getting you out of that ditch, shall we?”
His eyes flared anger and it looked like he was barely keeping his temper in check. Somehow, he swallowed his rage before saying, “Bring me one of those fence posts.”
“These?” I said, pointing next to me.”
“Yes, those. Bring one over here.”
I walked over to the pile of posts, leaning down to grab the nearest one. I could barely move the thing but by combining kicking, rolling, and swearing, I managed to get it over to the edge of the ditch. “Am I building you a ladder?” I asked, the smile escaping onto my lips for a brief second before I got it under control.
“Lean it down here. That’s it. A bit more and I should be able to grab it.”
“It’s slipping,” I said, feeling the wood easing itself out from between my fingers.
“Don’t let it fall, hold onto it!”
I tried putting my feet on it but it kept sliding down the steep edge of the ditch.
“Do something,” he snapped. “Quickly.”
The tone of his voice made it impossible to disobey him. I panicked, throwing myself onto the fencepost, the mud underneath me coating my clothes as he caught the other end of the post in his hands. “That’s it,” he said, “stay there.”
I had to press my whole weight against the post, feeling the mud soaking through to my skin as he gripped the sides of the pole and began to wriggle his feet free. “Is it working?” I asked, my face squashed against the edge of the wood.
“Just don’t move.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“That’s it,” he said, a loud squelching sound suggesting he was getting somewhere at last. There was a grunt and then he began to climb up the side of the ditch, pulling himself up onto the ground next to me. “You can let go now.”
I peeled myself off the fencepost and stood up, looking down at the filth encrusting the front of my clothes. “You’re welcome,” I snapped. “Look at the state of me.”
Just to top the perfect morning for me, it began to rain, heavy splatters that made sure any part of me that wasn’t muddy was now soaking wet with rain instead. “You can change at mine,” he said, climbing onto the quad bike. “Come on, before it gets any worse.”
“I should go home,” I muttered, feeling suddenly nervous as he stared at me.
“Nonsense. You’ll be at mine quick enough on this. Get on.”
The way he said it made it impossible for me to do anything but climb onto the back of the quad. “I’m not sure about this,” I said.
“Hold on to me,” he replied. “It gets a bit bumpy.”
I put my arms round his chest, feeling the solid muscle under his shirt as he gunned the engine and we raced along the track, leaving the ditch far behind us.
I had to keep blinking as the rain continued to fall into my eyes but I didn’t mind. Nor did I mind about the mud coating my front. I should have minded. I should have cared that I was being taken back to the wolf’s lair. But instead I felt nothing but excitement mixed with tension. What was waiting for me at his house? What clothes was he going to change me into?
We got there after a couple of very rough minutes of riding, me having to cling onto him so I didn’t fall off as he tore across the fields towards his house. Once we reached his yard, he braked heavily and I was thrown against his back, close enough to smell his skin for the briefest of seconds before he was off and into the house, leaving the door open for me to follow in a daze