Page 111 of The Life Daisy Devlin Designed
“The river’s burst its banks again,” Daisy said, “and Kayley just phoned to say her car is stuck on the road beyond the driveway. Tim isn’t with her but her bodyguard must be. She might have said something about being injured – Matt couldn’t hear properly and then got cut off.” She turned to Matt. “Have you a rain jacket I can borrow? I’ll come with you. And do you have some torches? Just in case?”
He nodded to one of the kitchen drawers and went out to the cloakroom. Daisy opened the drawer to find a collection of random items, from DIY bits to first aid supplies. She grabbed a couple of small torches and as an afterthought, a roll of bandage, still in its plastic packaging, and shoved them into her jacket pocket.
Matt returned with a few brightly coloured rain jackets and handed one to Daisy. “It should fit.”
“I’m coming too,” Niamh said, taking another jacket from him.
“Stay here, Fionn,” Daisy said. “Have your phone on in case we need you. And get in touch with Tim and let him know what’shappening. Oh, Matt – can you send Tim’s number to Fionn right now?”
He did so.
The rain was hitting the ground hard as Matt, Daisy and Niamh stepped outside and immediately Daisy could feel it starting to soak through her tights. She glanced down at her shoes. “Go ahead! I’ll catch up,” she said. “I must change my shoes.”
She opened her car, grateful there was no need to lock it out here, and kicked off her shoes, throwing them into the back, before sitting briefly in to pull her runners back on.
She just hoped the flooding wasn’t as bad as last time. If she couldn’t drive, she’d rather swim home than be stuck here another minute. Briefly, she wondered how long it would be her home. Maybe she and James would be one of those couples who couldn’t afford to sell and would be forced to live separate lives under the same roof. It was a depressing thought.
She hurried to catch up with the others at the gate and, as they stepped out onto the road, the water rushed up around their legs.
Matt waded ahead.
“Fuck,” Niamh muttered. “We’re lucky there’s no electricity wires along this road. If a wire came down in this!”
Crap!Daisy hadn’t even thought of that. “You’re sure there aren’t?” She looked up nervously.
Niamh shook her head. “Nah, they’re on the other side of the house.” She raised her voice to be heard above a loud rumble of thunder. “I noticed the first day I arrived out.”
“I can’t see the car!” Matt shouted back to them.
Daisy squinted along the road. No car yet visible. She waded on. Was it her imagination or was the water getting deeper? It certainly seemed to be getting faster.
“This is pretty scary shit,” muttered Niamh.
Matt stumbled over something and almost fell into the water. As he righted himself, Daisy and Niamh caught up with him and they waded on.
“Where the fuck’s the car?” Matt muttered. “If anything’s happened to Kayley ...”
“Sucks for her!” Niamh said. “You can’t control the weather.”
Matt glared at her. “Kayley could be injured! In any case, she’s panicking!”
Niamh stopped for a moment to find her footing. “Yeah, but you’re not responsible for her. Like, you barely know her!”
Matt halted. “Actually, I do.” He was breathing heavily, from anger and effort. “Look, you both might as well know. Kayley and me – we’re together.”
Niamh stopped walking. “What thefuckare you on about?”
What did he say?Daisy halted.Together?
And suddenly she realised the truth. She just hadn’t registered the clues. She was the woman in the photo in Matt’s bedroom. And he was the reason she was starting her Irish tour in the grounds of an old house that until a few months ago only a small number of people even knew about!
She stared at Matt but he didn’t meet her eyes.
“Kayley and I dated for nearly a year. We’ve been on a break.”
“But you’re back together now?” Daisy almost laughed.
Matt started to speak, but Niamh yelled over him. “How come nobody knew? I mean, she’s this big country singer, and somehow nobody knew she was dating you?”
