‘But this all happened this morning, so it’s basically too late now,’ Hallie guessed. ‘Everyone’s already seen them.’
Fay pulled a face. ‘Pretty much. We’ll just tell them the truth, though. It’ll be fine.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Well,’ Fay said brightly, ‘at least you two aren’t having an affair. That’s good!’
And yes, it was still embarrassing, too. Hallie said, ‘Mum, could you please stop saying it?’
‘OK. Anyway, we’d better get your stuff together and make a move.’
‘What, now? But we’re watching a film. Shawshank!’
‘Oh, that one. You’ve seen it a million times already.’ Morphing into bossy mode, Fay jangled her car keys at them. ‘And I’m back now, so you need to come home with me if you don’t want the whole village to explode with gossip. Luke, it was very kind of you to look after her, but we’ll leave you in peace now. You can have the rest of your weekend back. Oh, and by the way, guess who Marilyn bumped into the other day in Cheltenham? Christina!’
‘She did?’ Luke looked suitably interested and polite.
‘In the hairdresser’s. Marilyn said she was looking fantastic. And she’s still single,’ Fay went on as she started throwing stuff into Hallie’s suitcase. ‘You know, you two really should get back together. We all liked her so much!’
And that was it. Within ten minutes, everything had been loaded into her mother’s car and Hallie found herself being driven back to her own home. No more Shawshank, no cosy crackling fire, no takeaway pizza, good company and easy conversation . . .
OK, maybe that wasn’t fair. She still had her mum, who had cut short her own mini break in order to race back and rescue her from the clutches of their unscrupulous and dastardly local GP. They would have a nice evening together, she was sure.
But she’d been looking forward to spending the next twenty-four hours with Luke, and now it wasn’t going to happen.
Hallie twisted her fingers together in her lap. She was only human; in a life with fewer than usual highlights and more than its share of restrictions, it was a disappointing change of plan, that was all.
Chapter 18
‘Oh hi, is that Tasha? This is Joe, Rory’s friend. Just calling to let you know he’s absolutely fine.’
‘Hello, Joe, you’re lucky this is my favourite scarf,’ Tasha replied patiently. ‘Otherwise I might wrap it round your neck and strangle you with it.’
Joe cackled with laughter into his phone. The four of them were in the car heading down the M4 to Bristol. Rory was driving, Joe was in the passenger seat directly in front of Tasha, and Carmel was to her right, rolling her eyes and smiling despite herself, because although Joe’s endless capacity for silly pranks drove her demented, he could be quite funny sometimes.
‘Aarrrghh.’ Joe clutched his throat as if Tasha had thrown her scarf around his neck and was pulling it tight, Bond-villain style.
‘Bristol fifteen miles.’ She pointed to the sign as it flashed by. ‘Nearly there.’
‘Great,’ said Carmel. ‘Just enough time to saw almost all the way through Joe’s climbing rope.’
Some people had the oddest ideas of what constituted a good time. It was a freezing day in early February, with remnants of snow and frost on the ground, yet Rory and Joe were planning to spend the day climbing up the Avon Gorge and abseiling back down it.
The mad fools.
Tasha quelled her inner anxieties. Ah well, it took all sorts. She was determined to be brave this time, and at least she wouldn’t have to watch. While the two boys were out in the cold, risking life and limb, she and Carmel were going to spend the day exploring Bristol, shopping in Clifton and enjoying a fantastic lunch.
When they reached the centre of Clifton, Rory pulled up to let them out before he and Joe headed off to the lay-by on the Portway where they were meeting up with the rest of the rock climbers. As Rory jumped out of the car, Tasha’s phone began to ring with yet another unknown number.
‘Hello?’
‘Hi, this is Joe, just letting you know that Rory’s jumped out of the car. Ow,’ he added as Carmel leaned in and gave him a playful swipe around the ear.
‘OK, have a good time.’ Tasha lifted her face for a kiss from Rory. ‘We’ll see you in a bit.’ Then, giving Joe a meaningful look, ‘And no more prank calls, OK? Promise. Otherwise I’ll never be able to relax.’
‘OK.’ Joe nodded, because beneath the teasing, he knew what she was like.
‘Don’t worry, I won’t let him do it. We’ll phone you when we’re finished.’ Rory gave her another hug and a kiss. ‘You two have fun as well.’