Page 53 of Autumn at the Willow River Guesthouse
‘I didn’t mean to startle you,’ he said.
Lily stood frozen to the spot, unable to move. His voice … it was deep and calming like one of her mother’s motivational CDs, the kind of voice she could lose herself in. She made a mental note to tell Victoria to—to—to—
‘Are you alright? I do apologise if I disturbed you.’
He was a little taller than her, perhaps six foot, his shoulders wide, the shirt under his jacket tight around the waist. While he lacked the muscle of a bodybuilder, he looked like he jogged or spent hours walking each day.
Lily tried to pull her eyes away but failed.
The man chuckled. ‘I can ask up the street if you’d prefer. I passed a café—’
‘Guesthouse,’ Lily finally managed to say, lifting a hand and pointing at the guesthouse, clearly visible halfway up the hill a little further along the valley, although her tongue didn’t move properly, and the word came out more like, ‘Gowse.’
The man smiled, and Lily felt her knees go weak. She needed to sit down soon before she passed out. He was wearing something too, some kind of aftershave, not enough to be intrusive but just enough to be noticeable.
‘Wow, so close,’ the man said. ‘I can’t believe I didn’t see it. I think I must have my map upside down. Thank you very much for helping me.’
Lily managed to nod. She looked around, wondering where the man had come from, then noticed a bicycle leaning against the wall of the bridge on the other side of the road. It was an expensive one, with bags on either side of the back wheel and a storage box behind the seat.
‘Bike,’ she said, managing only a weak nod.
‘I cycled down from Exeter,’ the man said. ‘It was a lovely ride. Do you live around here?’
Lily nodded back over her shoulder as though to indication the direction of her parents’ house. The man just smiled again.
‘Well, I guess I’m going up the hill. You looked like you were going up the hill, too. If you give me a moment to get my bike, we can walk together.’
Lily felt all shivery inside. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this way, perhaps if ever. Her heart was thundering like one of the trains that had once passed beneath this bridge, her cheeks were smarting and her tongue felt dry. As the man crossed the road to get his bike, briefly turning those delightful eyes away from her, she gave her cheek a little slap, trying to get a hold of herself.
He collected his bike, waited for a moment as a car passed, then crossed back over.
‘This is a beautiful little village,’ he said with a smile. ‘You know, I came here a few times when I was young, but I haven’t been back here in several years. It looks so different now. My name’s Michael, by the way.’
Lily felt like she was sitting on the ground and looking up at a towering cliff as she reached out to take Michael’s offered hand. His palm felt warm, his fingers strong.
‘Lily,’ she said. ‘Lily Markham.’
Michael smiled, and a hint of red appeared in his cheeks. ‘Lily. I thought it was you. I’m so happy to see you again.’
26
Childhood Memories
It took a couple more minutes, but Lily eventually recovered the ability to speak in normal, rational sentences. Michael, however, upon learning of her identity, seemed to develop the same affliction with which she had initially suffered, stumbling over his words as though his previous rationality had deserted him.
‘I feel like we almost know each other already,’ Lily said, trying not to gush as she recovered her voice. ‘I mean, we were friends as kids, weren’t we?’
Michael nodded. ‘Kids. I … really—’
‘You rescued me from that tree.’
‘Tree? Oh, I—’
‘And I just remembered—’ Lily laughed. ‘Sorry, I really should shut up.’
‘It’s okay,’ Michael said.
‘Perhaps we should just take a deep breath,’ Lily said. ‘Maybe count to ten or something.’
