LITMIR.BIZ

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about their days over mealtimes. Ben’s friends coming over to play – his mother had always been happy to fill the house with his friends, even more so after his dad had died.

      He smiled, thinking how his mother would have loved Eva. Loved that she was practical, independent, loving, and caring – those were things that would matter to her.

      On a practical level, there had been plenty to do. Arthur had been more than willing to help, driving them to a DIY store where they bought extra security lighting. He’d managed to get an emergency locksmith to upgrade all the locks and a glazier to fix the broken glass.

      He’d taken Arthur and Mary out to dinner to a local restaurant – it was the least he could do – and this morning when Arthur had asked him what his plans were, Ben had replied truthfully he didn’t know yet but would very soon. He wanted all his future decisions to involve Eva and he couldn’t wait to get back to her.

      From that very first moment he’d met Eva something had pulled him in. Every time they met, he’d wanted more. At first he’d struggled with the knowledge a woman he’d just met could make him feel the way he did. It hadn’t exactly been the best of timings. The end of his relationship, moving, and starting a new job, the last thing he had expected was to find true love. His life with Samantha felt a million years away and he was amazed at how little he thought of her now.

      With hindsight he could see what was blatantly obvious: that their relationship was never going to last. He had never given his heart to Samantha, never truly loved her, and he doubted she ever really loved him. In some ways maybe they had both been guilty of deceiving each other, clinging to each other as a means to an end. He hoped Samantha found happiness and if she was really lucky, found someone she loved too. Because Ben now knew he loved Eva with everything he had.

      For the past five years Ben’s life had been at a standstill, existing on autopilot in a state of limbo. But now he knew exactly what he wanted, how he wanted his future to be, and was filled with a sense of coming home that he’d never experienced before. To Ben, everything now made sense.

      ***

      Eva chewed her nail and looked out of the window. There was still no sign of Jamie and Hamish. How long had they been? She’d lost track of time but it felt like ages. She turned from the window telling herself not to panic, they would be home soon.

      At least both her guests were now settled in their rooms, Dr Hargreaves appearing placated with the food she had provided. In the kitchen she busied herself wiping down already clean surfaces and needlessly moving things about. All she wanted was Jamie and Hamish to come home so they could all be tucked up safely. Not only was she sure she had a nasty cold, but her cut finger was throbbing with pain as well.

      She paced back to the window and looked out again, a horrible feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. She hadn’t realized how heavy the rain was or how strong the wind had become. What had she been thinking asking Jamie to go out in this? She had only meant for him to take Hamish along the street for a few minutes. Where were they?

      She took a deep breath, willing herself to be calm. But no matter how much she tried to convince herself, she knew they should be home by now. Ben’s driveway was still empty and his house still in darkness. His absence vexed her but she didn’t know why. Part of her longed to rush to him, for him to somehow protect her and make everything all right.

      But he didn’t owe her any explanations as to his whereabouts. Just because they’d spent the night together didn’t mean he was responsible for her and Jamie in any way. It didn’t mean he was going to come and rescue her. This was down to her, the way it had always been.

      The street was deserted as you’d expect. No sane person would choose to out on a night like this yet she had actually sent her son out into it. She tried to think where Jamie would go, what he would do. Of course! He’d go to Fraser’s house. They’d be there now, engrossed in some game, totally unaware of the time. But even as she dialled the number, she knew Heather would have phoned her if Jamie had turned up at their house. By now the phone was ringing anyway and Douglas answered.

      ‘I don’t suppose Jamie’s at your house by any chance?’ She thought she probably sounded slightly hysterical.

      ‘Heather’s at her mother’s house and Fraser’s upstairs,’ Douglas told her.

      ‘Right, of course.’ Eva bit her lip.

      ‘Do you want me to come round?’ Douglas offered after Eva explained the situation.

      ‘No, no. I’m sure he’ll be back any minute.’ Eva hung up, her fear now full on. Her heart was racing and every ‘what if’ scenario was racing through her mind, none of them good.

      For some reason the memory of one Halloween came to her when she had been a small girl. She’d been trick or treating with Sarah and someone dressed up as a ghost had jumped out at them, the deathly image terrifying Eva. She had run back to the house and thrown herself into her father’s arms. For those few moments she had felt utterly safe and protected. The memory of her dad holding her and a longing to feel that comfort again was so great it took her breath away. Eva suddenly felt very alone.

      ***

      Ben pulled up in the driveway and instantly knew something was wrong. He saw Eva’s shape illuminated in her doorway, looking like she was about to go out and even from a distance he could tell she was agitated, her body tense. He climbed out of the car and ran over to her.

      ‘Eva?’

      She turned to him, her beautiful face a picture of anguish. ‘I don’t know where Jamie is,’ she sobbed.

      ‘What do you mean?’

      She wiped her hand across her face. ‘The guests arrived earlier. One of them was a bit difficult with Hamish so I asked Jamie to take him out for a walk.’ She paused, fighting to contain herself. ‘I only meant him to be ten minutes. I didn’t notice how bad the weather was otherwise I wouldn’t have asked him. He hasn’t come back. What if he went to the beach? What if Hamish went down to the water? Oh God –’ She ran a hand distractedly over her face.

      ‘How long have they been gone?’

      ‘Almost an hour I think … I just know he wouldn’t take that long unless something had happened. I’m out going to look for them.’

      Ben placed his hands gently on the top of her shoulders forcing her to look at him.

      ‘Listen to me. They’ll be all right. Jamie’s a sensible boy.’ He hoped his reassurance would somehow infiltrate her panic. The look of fear on her face was almost destroying him.

      ‘I have to go and find him,’ she said determinedly, starting to move away from him.

      ‘Eva, what if he comes back and you’re not here? You have to stay here and let me go. Have you any idea where they might walk?’

      Eva ran a hand distractedly through her hair. ‘Not really – I thought they’d go to the end of the street and back.’

      Ben took a step closer to her, took her hand in his. ‘It’s going to be okay. I’ll bring them back.’ Eva looked at him with huge eyes, and nodded mutely.

      Ben pulled up his hood against the rain and headed straight to the beach. Despite reassuring Eva, he didn’t like the idea of Jamie being out in this and the water was his biggest fear. Within seconds he was drenched and as he approached the beach he could see the wind whipping at the water’s edge and thought how easy it would be to become disorientated in this weather.

      Wherever he was, he hoped Jamie wasn’t frightened. Images flashed into his mind of the time he’d got lost on holiday and he hated to think of Eva now and how frantic she must be. He continued to walk along the water’s edge scouring the wet sand for footprints, the wind buffeting against his body.

      He walked the full length of beach shouting out Jamie’s name, then Hamish’s but the wind snatched his voice away. By the time he reached an outcrop of rocks at the end of beach there was still no sign of them and he started

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