Eleanor Jones - A Place Called Home

“Okay,” she agreed. “I will take you up on your offer of a ride. Sure your wife won’t be jealous, though?”

“Young, free and single, that’s me,” he told her, fumbling in his pocket for his keys.

“So she dumped you, then. After all that?” She couldn’t help the barbed retort.

He laughed lightly. “Actually, no, I dumped her. To be honest, that relationship didn’t mean much...”

The breath froze in Ellie’s throat and was replaced almost instantly by a hot rush of anger. She had almost come to terms with the fact that Andy had fallen in love with someone else, but to find out that the whole thing had meant so little to him seemed somehow worse.

Oblivious to her reaction, he shot her a broad smile. “I was married, though...for a while.”

She raised her eyebrows, smothering her turbulent emotions. What did she care? Andy Montgomery was just a piece of her past. “And I take it that didn’t work out, either?”

“I guess I’m not the marrying kind. When is your wedding, anyway? Have you set a date?”

Ellie hesitated, her heart racing. Had they set a date? Had they ever even discussed a wedding? Her mind slid back to the night Matt had proposed. They had been seeing each other for just a few weeks; he was exciting and fun and so sure of himself. “Let’s get engaged,” he had cried in front of all his friends, and Ellie had felt a new door opening in her life. A door, she suddenly realized, that hadn’t actually opened after all. Come to think of it, neither of them had discussed marriage again after that, apart from the ring. She felt for the diamond on the third finger of her left hand, rubbing it gently. Was that what it had all been about then? The engagement? Did Matt really want to take their relationship to the next level? Did she? Slotting her confusing thoughts into the back of her mind, she looked up at Andy. What right had he to make her question her intentions?

“No,” she said. “Not yet.”

He stopped beside his battered green truck, holding her gaze for an endless moment.

“Make sure he’s the right one, Ell,” he said quietly.

Anger brought a flush to Ellie’s face. “And what gives you the right to offer me advice?”

He shrugged. “Just saying.”

“Don’t bother. You already messed my life up enough without trying to interfere in it now.”

He flashed her another one of his ever-ready smiles. “So you’re still angry with me? It’s been what—five, six years? Well, I suppose any emotion is better than none.”

“Don’t kid yourself, Andy.” She yanked open the passenger door, not wanting him to see how much he’d rattled her. “I was well over you years ago. You just make me remember home, that’s all.”

Before Ellie had a chance to climb into the truck, a small blue car drove up next to them.

“Paula’s back,” Andy said. “Come on, you’ll have to say hello at least.”

Slamming the door shut again, Ellie followed reluctantly.

Paula Carr was one of the most dazzling women Ellie had ever met. She wasn’t classically beautiful, but she radiated an inner warmth.

Paula hurried toward them, and when Andy reached down to give her a peck on the cheek, she smiled, squeezing his forearm. Her fair, shoulder-length hair shone in the sun, and her eyes were glowing. She’s in love with him , Ellie realized suddenly. She pushed away the knot in her stomach. What did she care? Andy Montgomery meant nothing to her anymore, and she felt sorry for any woman who came his way. It was obvious that he never stayed with anyone for too long, not even the woman he married.

“Paula, meet Ellie,” said Andy, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. Ellie sidestepped, uncomfortable with his touch.

“She found the fox I called to tell you about, on the side of the road.”

“I’ve got to confess,” Ellie said, “I didn’t exactly find it. My fiancé’s car clipped it. I feel terrible.”

Paula smiled, all-forgiving. “These things happen. At least you bothered to call for a vet—it sounds like you saved its life. Come on, then, show me the poor little thing.”

On the way back to the enclosure, Paula and Andy fell into a conversation about some creature or another, totally on the same wavelength. Totally suited for each other , Ellie thought. Unlike her and Matt? The idea niggled uncomfortably.

The cub was curled up in a dark corner, as settled as it could be in its new environment.

“We’ll have to keep an eye on it now,” said Paula, confirming what Andy had said earlier. “And perhaps before too long it can be released. Thanks again, Ellie, for saving it.”

Ellie squirmed. “Well, it was kind of my fault...our fault...so it was the least I could do.”

Paula shook her head. “Accidents happen to everyone. There’s no use in laying blame. It’s how you deal with the aftermath that really matters.”

“Right, then,” Andy interrupted. “I’m off to give Ellie a ride somewhere. I’ll be back in the morning, Paula, and in the meantime, call if you need me.”

“You’re a godsend, Andy.” Paula smiled. “I’ll go and get some food for the new arrival.” She stood in the doorway as they walked away.

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye to her?” Ellie asked, nudging Andy’s arm.

He frowned, raising one hand in farewell without looking back. “I’m in and out of here all the time, and Paula doesn’t need all the niceties. I’ll check on your fox in the morning, so if you give me your number I can let you know how it’s doing.”

Ellie paused. This would open contact between her and Andy again...contact she’d relinquished long ago.

Andy pulled his cell phone from the pocket of his jeans.

“No...” she heard herself saying. “It’s okay. I don’t need to bother you. The number for Cravendale is there on the sign. I can phone and ask Paula how it’s doing.”

Was that disappointment she could see in his face?

“Suit yourself,” he said, his voice distant. The voice of a stranger, thought Ellie, when he had once been her whole world. How could that happen?

CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER TWENTY CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE Copyright

ANDY DROVE ON AUTOMATIC, hunched forward over the wheel, staring straight ahead. He’d always had that habit of slipping totally into his own thoughts while he was driving, Ellie recalled, thinking of all the other times she’d sat beside him like this. That seemed like a lifetime ago, and yet it still felt so familiar.

It was true that he reminded her of home, and as they drove along narrow country lanes the memories she had kept locked away seeped from their confines, real and raw. The landscape around her didn’t have the same rugged beauty as her native Lake District, which was over fifty miles away, but the colors, sounds and smells were the same. Suddenly, she was consumed by a longing for the place she used to call home. Hope Farm in the Lakeland hills, near the village of Little Dale. It had been weeks since she’d spoken to her dad; she would call him tonight, she decided, just to make sure he was okay—even if he only answered in monosyllables.

“So where should I drop you?” Andy asked. “Hey, there...not asleep, are you?”

Ellie jerked herself out of her reverie. “No, of course not. Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“Nice thoughts, I hope.”

“Yes...” A half smile flitted across her face. “I guess they were.”