Page 56 of Sunny Skies and Summer Kisses

‘Damonalwaysmade my skin crawl; there was something just too smooth, too perfect about him,’ said Kristy, her nose scrunching with distaste. ‘I’m just so bloody glad you came to your senses when you did, chick.’ She wrapped her arm around Anoushka’s neck and hugged her gently. ‘Flaming hell, Noushka, to think you could’ve ended up like that poor lass, Stevie; doesn’t bear thinking about.’

‘You’ve got to promise that if he shows up again, you’ll call someone. Me and Kristy will be with you quick as a flash if ever you need us.’ Brogan looked serious.

‘Too right. I’d love an excuse to kick the little worm’s arse right out of the village.’ Kristy’s eyes flashed angrily.

‘Same here; I’ll be right behind you with my great, hefty biker boots,’ said Brogan.

Anoushka couldn’t help but smile. ‘Thanks, lasses, I appreciate that. And I promise I’ll call someone if he turns up round here, but like I said, not a word to anyone, okay?’

‘Okay,’ they both said.

* * *

Anoushka had wokenon Monday morning, relieved she didn’t have to face any dance lessons that day – Sunday and Monday were her days off, the dance school closed. As Zander had instructed, she popped over to the surgery at Danskelfe where Jill the practice nurse checked over her wounds. ‘Ooh, they’re healing nicely,’ she said. ‘I’m going to put another dressing on for now. And, I know it’s tricky and you’ll feel like you’ve got to be a contortionist when you’re in the bath or the shower, but if you can carry on keeping them nice and dry just like you have been doing, they should be able to come off next time I see you; it’ll be good to let the air get to them by then. Just pop in again on Wednesday; I’m here ’til five o’clock, so any time before then’ll be fine.’ Her sympathetic smile suggested Zander had explained how Anoushka had sustained her injuries.

As she made her way home, Anoushka’s thoughts turned back to Gabe, a pang of guilt filling her chest.

Her mind had been too full of everything that had happened on Saturday for her to even start thinking about getting in touch with him. But as she headed down the country lanes towards Lytell Stangdale, seeing the flags fluttering at Danskelfe Castle, she made up her mind to seek him out that very afternoon. She’d already decided she wasn’t going to let Damon get to her, which she knew would be easier said than done, but his aim was to direct her attention towards him and she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. She was going to leave him to the police.

Once home, she changed out of the loose jersey t-shirt dress she’d worn to make it easy for Jill to change her dressings, and pulled on a pair of khaki combat trousers and a long-sleeved t-shirt that covered her injured arm – she’d already made up her mind she didn’t want Gabe to know about what had happened with Damon. Not just because she couldn’t face another round of questions about her ex, but she didn’t want the topic of conversation to revolve around that. Finally, she released her hair from its messy up-do and wove it into two plaits.

She checked her phone, disappointed to see there was nothing from the person she’d hoped most to hear from. Despite texting him twice that morning, Gabe still hadn’t replied though she could see her messages had been delivered.He’s still ignoring me; he must still be hurting.The radio silence spurred her on to head up to the castle right away, see if she could track him down.

‘What are your plans for the afternoon?’ Ollie asked as he took a bite from his sandwich.

‘I’m going to head out for a bit.’ Anoushka was reluctant to say where she was going, not wanting to encourage any speculation about her and Gabe, especially considering the conversation she wanted to have with him. It was the last thing she needed. She could see from the look in her parents’ eyes they were desperate to know, their worry for her being so great after what she’d imparted yesterday. She could completely understand; she’d feel the same if it had happened to Lily. But, much as she didn’t want to give them a reason to worry, she remained resolute not to share her reason for going out. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.’

‘Make sure you are, chick,’ said Kitty. ‘Though I’m sure you’ll be absolutely fine.’ She mustered up a smile.

‘Aye, I get that you don’t want to stay cooped up, but just keep your wits about you, Noushka, ’til we know that maniac’s properly under control. And if anything, anything at all, gives you cause for concern, no matter how small, get in touch with me or your mum and we’ll be with you like a shot,’ her dad said, his voice laced with concern.

‘Of course I will.’ Their warnings, though well meant, set anxiety squirming in her stomach but she did her best to quash it. She kissed them both goodbye, popped on her bucket hat and stepped out into the sunshine.

Fifteen minutes later, Anoushka’s car nosed its way into the castle courtyard, the building’s vast sandstone walls looming over her, sunlight glinting off them. Being this close up gave a greater sense of its size and presence; perched high on its craggy plinth, it seemed to grow out of the rocks. She was disappointed to see there was no sign of Gabe’s car so she reversed out and drove away, suddenly recalling him mentioning something about moving out of the castle and into one of the new lodges. With this in mind, she headed down the private track that wove its way to them.

After driving by a couple of newly constructed timber buildings with unfamiliar cars parked outside, she spotted one with Gabe’s four-wheel drive beside it. Her heart rate picked up and she felt a flurry of nerves in her stomach. She’d rehearsed what she wanted to say to him all the way here, but now her mind had gone utterly blank. ‘Oh, jeez,’ she said under her breath as she pulled on the handbrake. It would have been so easy to turn back, but the thought of him being hurt by her words had been eating away at her, and she was determined to smooth things over with him.

Knocking at the door several times, it was obvious Gabe wasn’t home. She stood for a moment, gazing around her, the heady scent of the rose in the pot by the door lingering on the warm air, butterflies dancing over its petals. Anoushka sighed. Maybe he’d taken Bob for a walk, she thought. She turned and set off down the track that led to the moors high up on Danskelfe Rigg, hoping with all her might she’d find him.

She did her best to ignore the sting in her injured leg as she followed the dusty path. The cry of a buzzard echoed around the dale and she glanced up to see it soaring high up in the clear blue sky. A couple of ewes with their lambs from Finn Marsay’s flock of sheep from Castlegate Farm were chewing their cud, watching her with interest as she headed past them. One of them gave a plaintive bleat which set off a chorus as the others joined in.

The sun was blazing down relentlessly and a trickle of sweat ran down her back, making her wish she hadn’t had to wear a long-sleeved top, but needs must; it was the only way she could hide the dressing on her arm.

Before long, the gentle strum of a guitar reached her ears, a familiar voice singing along softly. Gabe! Her heart fluttered in her chest. She followed the sound, noting the tune had a slightly melancholy feel to it, and before long, she spotted a figure sitting on a weather-smoothed rock, hunched over an acoustic guitar. Bob was stretched out on the grass beside him, his head on his paws, looking out over the view.

Here goes, she thought as she headed towards them, her stomach performing somersaults.

She was halfway there when Bob jumped up and turned to look at her, his tail wagging frantically. Gabe followed his gaze, a smile lighting up his face when he spotted her. ‘Rose!’ he said, his smile suddenly falling, memory of her words no doubt creeping in and wiping it away.

As she got closer she forced herself to ignore her jittery insides and the little voice that was telling her coming here was a mistake. ‘Hi, Gabe.’ She smiled back, raising her hand in a small wave. Bob whimpered and shot over to her, his lead trailing behind him. ‘And hello, Bob, this is a lovely welcome,’ she said as she bent to ruffle his ears.

Gabe had set his guitar down and got to his feet by the time she’d reached him. His skin had been kissed by the sun, she noticed, and the tips of his hair bleached golden-blond. A bolt of attraction shot through her, making her feel wrong-footed, leaving the words she’d planned to say scrambled in her mind.

‘What are you doing here? Is everything all right?’ he asked, taking his sunglasses off. The rich tone of his voice and the soft look in his eyes made her heart ache.

She cleared her throat and smiled up at him, her nerve wavering. ‘Yeah, it’s fine.’Go for it! Don’t back out now!‘I just wanted to clear something up with you, if that’s okay? Something I said in the pub the other night that I think you might have overheard.’ She swallowed, blimey, this was hard. ‘It’s just I didn’t really mean—’

He raised his palms. ‘Hey, it’s okay, there’s really no need.’ He returned her smile, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. She felt another tug at her heart.

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