Josephine Cox Mother’s Day 3-Book Collection: Live the Dream, Lovers and Liars, The Beachcomber. Josephine Cox
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huge pot of tea. ‘I’ve made plenty.’ He grinned wickedly. ‘I figured, the more you have to eat and drink, the longer I might keep you here.’
Placing the tray on an upturned crate, he proceeded to pour the tea. ‘How do you like it?’
‘One sugar, plenty of milk.’ Kathy’s heart was racing after what he had said, and she was content to let him do the pouring. ‘Oh, and I might as well have a ginger-nut, seeing as you’ve gone to the trouble of bringing them out.’ Reaching forward, she helped herself to one. ‘You love this boat, don’t you?’ She felt so easy with him, it was incredible.
He glanced at her. ‘I do, yes.’ He wanted to say more, but the words were locked in, and he couldn’t let them out.
‘You said the boat was “different”,’ he reminded her.
Kathy took a sip of her tea. ‘Yes, I did.’ Turning her head, she looked back inside. Somehow the boat seemed to have taken on a heart since she had last seen it. ‘You’ve turned it into a home,’ she said. ‘Look at that – with the sun coming out, and the portholes open to the breeze, the whole place seems larger and brighter.’ There’s something else, too, she thought. There was an air of belonging … a sense of achievement. ‘It’s got your stamp all over it,’ she said. ‘I think it’s … lovely!’
Sitting on the curve of the seat, he looked at her for a moment, the merest suggestion of a smile in his eyes as he said softly, ‘I think you’re lovely.’
Kathy had never been one for blushing, but since meeting Tom she seemed to be blushing all the time. She blushed now, shrugged her shoulders; she didn’t know quite what to say. ‘Are you happy with the boat, Tom?’ she stammered. ‘Will you take her out soon?’
He laughed. ‘I’m not ready yet.’
Pointing to the tunnel of water that led out to sea, he explained, ‘That’s the thing I’m worried about … some days the water thrashes about like a demon. On bad days, I’ve seen experienced sailors get thrown about like matchwood. No, I’ve got to be a better sailor than I am now before I dare attempt it. Jasper reckons I’ll be good enough to take the wheel pretty soon.’
‘Tom?’
‘Yes.’
‘Will you tell me something?’
He grew anxious. ‘Depends what it is. But ask me anyway, and we’ll see.’ He had an idea what she was about to ask, and he had been dreading it.
‘It was something Rosie said.’
‘Who’s Rosie?’
‘A woman I work with.’ She smiled. ‘Lately, she’s taken it on herself to look after my interests.’
He nodded. ‘I see. And she’s told you to be careful of me, that I could be married, and trying to take advantage of you?’ He sensed her dilemma, and knew the moment had come when he had to be straight with her. Kathy was special to him and he didn’t want to lose her, yet neither did he feel able to confide in her … about what happened that day on the cliff, or what his true feelings were towards her now. How could he confide those things, when what happened was still so raw inside him?
Aware of his confusion, yet not knowing how to deal with it, Kathy apologised. ‘I’m sorry, Tom. I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that. Please … just forget I ever said anything.’
‘I can’t!’ He fought the inner struggle and was determined. ‘You have a right to know.’ He took another drink of his tea and, taking a deep breath, he turned to face her. With great difficulty, he began to describe what had happened. ‘In a way, I am married,’ he said quietly. ‘Though my wife isn’t alive on this earth, she’s very much a part of my life, and probably always will be until I find out why she was taken.’
‘No, please, Tom, don’t!’
Kathy had never seen anyone in such great pain as he seemed to be now. His hands were clenched and trembling and his voice almost inaudible; his face was etched with such powerful emotion, and he was clearly finding it difficult to talk.
‘It’s all right,’ she told him again, ‘you don’t have to tell me anything.’ She wished she could turn back the clock to that moment before she put the question, because now she had unleashed something that made her afraid. Why couldn’t she have left things as they were? Now it was spoilt; she was putting him through all kinds of agony, and he might never forgive her.
‘I have to tell you,’ he answered softly, ‘I want to.’
When he reached out to take her hand, she held him tight, waiting for him to go on, but it seemed an age before he began to describe his family, and how happy they were. ‘I was a lucky man,’ he said. ‘We had a beautiful house, no money troubles. I had a job that took me all over the country, though there were times when I would rather have stayed home with the family. I had a wife who loved me and two adorable children.’ His voice broke. ‘They were my life!’
Pausing to remember, he went on. ‘It was over a year ago now. We were returning home from a visit to the seaside – Bournemouth. It was a day much like today: the sun was shining and the kids were fighting in the back, as usual …’ He smiled, a painful, sorry smile that tore at Kathy’s heart. ‘I remember … the coastal roads were clear, and we were making good time.’
Like so many times before, he tried hard to remember every little detail of what happened. ‘I saw the car in my rear-view mirror … it was blue; I think it was a Hillman, or it could have been a Morris, I didn’t have time to get a good look. It got closer and closer, and I suddenly realised it was too close … he was on my tail … I could see he meant to hit us! Dear God … what was he doing? I yelled, but he couldn’t hear me … I couldn’t see his face … he was wearing dark glasses … his hat was pulled down low.’
He leaned back, closing his eyes, composing himself … reliving every minute of that terrible day.
Closing her hand over his, Kathy gave him strength.
He opened his eyes and glanced down at her upturned face. ‘There are times when it overwhelms me,’ he confessed. ‘I can’t sleep, and I can’t think straight. Then I have to walk the floor until the rage inside me begins to settle.’
He told her everything, every now and then his voice breaking and his hand gripping hers so hard that she could feel the blood flow out. ‘They tried to say it must have been an accident, but it was no accident, I can tell you. He came at me with the intention of sending me over that cliff.’ In his mind’s eye he could see the car bearing down on them. ‘Can you imagine? We were being driven over the cliff and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it! It was all too fast and furious … that maniac meant to kill us all, there’s no doubt in my mind about it!’
As he described the way it had been, it was as though he was there again, on that day, in the car, and the driver of the other car ramming them time and again. ‘I couldn’t turn … can you imagine, we were heading over the cliff, and I couldn’t turn the car. The kids were screaming … my wife … terrified. Oh, dear God!’
With a suddenness that startled Kathy, he sprang off the bench and hurried into the cabin. When Kathy found him he was slumped on the seat in the corner, his hands over his face. ‘I’m sorry.’ He looked up, his tear-stained face haggard. ‘I thought I could talk about it without breaking down.’
‘It’s all right.’ Kathy had been shocked by his story. ‘Don’t say any more.’ Sitting on the floor, she held his hands and, looking up, told him, ‘You don’t need to go on. I understand now why you seem so lonely at times … I do understand, Tom, and there’s no need to punish yourself.’
He shook his head. ‘No, Kathy. I need to tell you,’ he murmured. ‘I want you, of all people, to know what happened.’
After taking a moment, he went on. ‘We went over the cliff. There was this awful