Helen Phifer - The Forgotten Cottage

He nodded, not sure if he should be taking a young woman upstairs to her bedroom, but he didn’t want her falling. As she stumbled her way to the top and into her bedroom he followed her. She began to undress and once more he felt his cheeks begin to burn and he turned around to face the wall until she had put her got into bed. He felt her warm hands wrap around his waist and, as he turned to face her, she hugged him.

‘Thank you, Joss. Today you have been my protector and I like it. I like it very much. If I can ever repay the favour I will.’

‘You are very welcome, Betsy. Grief is a terrible thing.’

Before he could finish what he was saying she stood on her tiptoes and put her soft lips against his much rougher ones. He paused, knowing this was wrong, but then he pushed the thought to one side and kissed her back. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she didn’t stop and he didn’t want her to. Scooping her up, he carried her over to the bed and laid her down, climbing on next to her. His hands ran up and down her legs and he marvelled at how soft her skin was and how good she smelt. She began tugging at his trousers and he wanted nothing more than to bury himself inside her but he stopped, guilt at the thought of his dead wife and his two boys who were waiting for him back at the farm making everything which had seemed so wonderful only seconds ago feel so wrong.

He pulled himself off her and stood up. ‘I’m sorry, Betsy, I really am. I shouldn’t have acted like that with you, especially when you are so upset.’

‘Joss, now is not the time to take the moral high ground. I want you and I know you want me…well, you did a minute ago.’

She reached out and let her fingers trail over the front of his trousers.

‘Yes, I do want you, I did want you, but I have to get home to my boys. They will be wondering where I’ve got to. They need me.’

Betsy felt a cold shard of jealousy stab straight through her heart. He thought the little bastards were more important than her and what she would have let him do to her would have made most men’s dreams come true. Her eyes narrowed but she said nothing, just nodded.

He fastened his trousers and tucked his shirt back in. ‘I will come and see you tomorrow; you get some sleep.’

And with that he turned and left her alone in her bed. She waited until she heard him close the front door and then she screamed and hit her fists against the pillow in frustration, hatred forming in the pit of her stomach against nine-year-old twin boys she had never even met. They would not get in the way of what she wanted—and what she wanted was their father and his big house. The alcohol began to make her brain foggy and her eyes began to close. She drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a big cottage to live in, with just her and Joss and no horrid children running around in the garden spoiling her life.

Chapter Five

Annie handed a plate of scrambled egg on toast to Will and a mug of coffee, then she sat opposite him with her coffee.

He looked up at her. ‘Are you okay? It’s just you were tossing and turning so much in your sleep last night I thought you were doing an aerobics class.’

She laughed. ‘Maybe that’s why I’m so knackered this morning then. I’m fine, thanks. Just a bit tired. I keep having the same nightmare—I’m running away from a group of men who are chasing me but, before I find out what happens, I always wake up at the same part.’

‘Well, I hope it wasn’t me you were running from!’ He reached out for her hand. ‘You’re not having second thoughts about the wedding, are you? I understand if you are. I know you had a crap time with Mike. Plus it’s all been blown up way out of proportion, hasn’t it? I know Lil means well, but honestly, dancing lessons so we get the first dance right is going a little bit over the top if you ask me. What’s wrong with a fumble in the dark and a bit of drunken swaying from side to side? I can ask my dad to tell her to take a step back if you want?’

‘Don’t be daft. I want to be Mrs Ashworth more than I want anything in this whole world. There is no comparison between you and Mike; you could never be like him if you tried, and yes, the dancing lessons are a bit too far but she’s only trying to help. She wants it to be perfect and so do I. The first time round, it was more a marriage of convenience really. A quick “I do” in the register office and then back to the pub for pie and peas, all to get away from my mother. There’s just so much going on at the moment that I don’t know what to think about first. Alex and Jake are coming to the cottage with me this afternoon to go over Alex’s plans with the builders again. It comes in handy having an architect as a friend; he’s saved us a fortune.’

‘I know and he’s so good; I didn’t recognise the downstairs when I called a couple of days ago—it’s really taking shape. Are you happy with it?’

‘I love it; it’s everything I’ve ever dreamt of and more. Thank you.’

‘Don’t thank me; you own just as much of it as I do. I just want you to be happy, Annie, for us to be happy and spend the rest of our lives together.’

She stood up and walked around to where he was sitting and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him on the cheek. ‘I am happy, Will, in fact I’ve never been so happy.’

She left to go and get ready, put a bit of make-up on so she didn’t look like the Bride of Frankenstein, as Jake so lovingly called her. Will shouted goodbye as he went out of the front door and she ran to the bedroom window to knock on it and wave to him, blowing him a kiss. She tried not to think about the dreams that were threatening to take over but it was hard and they scared her because they were so real. Every morning she woke up at the same point, just as she fell over the rock and down the embankment into the icy-cold river. In a way she wanted to know what happened next: did she hit her head and die or did the men with the dogs catch up with her? Whatever it was and whoever the woman was, it must have been terrifying for her, all alone and being chased like a criminal. It never entered Annie’s mind that the woman might have committed some heinous act and that was the reason she was being chased.

She got herself ready and then spent the next couple of hours browsing the Internet for wallpaper and furnishings. She couldn’t wait until the house was ready for the finishing touches. She’d already started painting the bedrooms as they had needed the least work doing to them. She decided to let Jake and Alex follow her up to the house in their car so she could stop behind to finish painting the master bedroom. She had picked out a soft grey paint for the walls and had ordered lemon accessories so it wasn’t too girly for Will.

***

Tom was sitting up in bed. He hadn’t slept well last night so Lily had insisted he had to stay in bed until he’d had a couple more hours’ sleep. She walked into the bedroom carrying a breakfast tray even though it was mid-morning. She placed it on the bed and bent and kissed his forehead.

‘Morning, sleepyhead—who said they’d never go back to sleep? You were snoring before I’d finished in the bathroom.’

‘You’re not always right, maybe just now and again.’

‘Do you mind if I go and do some bits of stuff for the wedding? I said I’d go and see the florist and a couple of other people.’

Tom knew that Lily was having more fun planning this wedding than either Will or Annie but they’d both assured him they were fine with it.

He nodded. ‘Yes, I think I can manage without my nursemaid for a couple of hours.’

She kissed him again. ‘There’s a letter—well, it looks more like a card—for you on the tray. Probably a get well one. I hope it’s not from a secret admirer!’ She turned and left him to it.