‘William.’ Nick gave a nod. He wasn’t surprised to see him there – half of the village was out helping with the clean-up operation, in one way or another. Some were helping to strip out the damaged houses while others, like Tia, were on the phone organising alternative accommodation for the three families made homeless by the flood. At least they didn’t have to worry about Betty, as she was being well looked after by Stevie.
‘Nick.’ William nodded back.
Nick wanted to say something to ease the tension but didn’t know where to start. Tia loved William, William loved Tia – it should all be quite straightforward, but it wasn’t. Maybe he’d have a quiet word with him later? But then again, what could he say when Tia was so adamant about the situation.
‘The power’s off,’ Nick said, stating the obvious after a considerable pause.
‘I thought it might be, so I’ve brought a genny,’ William said. ‘I’ll need a hand to get it off the van.’
The two men worked in silence except for panting, grunting and the odd curse as they manoeuvred the generator to the edge of the van’s bed and lifted it off. A couple of other men stopped what they were doing and gave them a hand. Muscles straining, they gently lowered it to the ground and Nick straightened up, his back in bits already and he hadn’t got started yet.
‘Thanks, guys,’ he said, as they returned to their own tasks. ‘I’ve got a spare at the stables. Sorry, I didn’t think to bring it, but I’ll pop home later and fetch it, and I’ll ask my sister to ring around a couple of the nearby farms and see if we can rustle up another two or three.’
‘Geoff Green was bound to have a genny he could spare for a week or two,’ Nick thought then frowned when the thought of Geoff’s farm led to thoughts of Saul and his date with Stevie.
‘Wait, there’s a trolley in the back.’ William hopped into the van and pushed the trolley to the edge. Thankful for the distraction, Nick turned his attention to the job in hand, and lifted it off as William jumped back down.
‘I’ll help you get it started,’ William said, wrestling the generator onto the trolley and heading off down the path to Betty’s house.
The cottage was a mess. The water had reached knee height and had left a disgusting tidemark to show how far up the walls it had come. The carpets were sodden and reeking, most of the furniture was beyond saving, especially the upholstered stuff, the electrics were probably shot (although they wouldn’t know until they tried to switch the power back on) and the whole place stank. The smell was a mixture of mud, rotting vegetation and sewage, although as far as Nick knew, the sewerage system hadn’t been affected.
William halted just inside the door and scratched his head. ‘Oh boy, where do we start?’
‘We take everything salvageable upstairs, the rest we take outside. I’ll organise a skip. The other owners will need one anyway and we might be able to share the cost,’ Nick said.
‘Good idea. I’ll get started in here.’
“Here” was the living room. Nick squelched his way past it to get to the kitchen and found the source of the smell – rotting food from the dead fridge-freezer, and an even deader pigeon.
Wishing he’d thought to bring thick rubber gloves, he gingerly picked the bird up by its tail feathers and deposited it outside. Operation clean-up was going to take longer than he’d anticipated.
By lunchtime, the two men had made a good start. Nothing could be done about the kitchen cupboards (they would have to be ripped out and replaced), but the living room was now empty, and William had got to work with a bucket and some hot soapy water (courtesy of the generator and a kettle) and was busy sponging the walls down.
Nick left William to it and was in the middle of pulling up the hall carpet to reveal a lovely Victorian tiled floor, when a familiar voice called out, ‘Fancy a spot of lunch?’
Stevie. His heart flipped over – an odd sensation – and he paused for a second, trying to regain control of the thud in his chest. To give himself time, he rinsed his hands under the tap, found a clean tea towel and sauntered casually outside, feeling anything but casual.
William was already helping himself to a sandwich from a loaded tray which Stevie had balanced on the low wall which ran the full length of the cottages. She called to the other owners and volunteers to come and help themselves. ‘There’s plenty to go around and I can always pop back and get some more.’
He could see her trying not to look at the sorry pile of Betty’s things which were stacked beside the path, and he watched as her eyes filled with tears.
‘Poor Betty,’ she said. ‘She’ll be devastated.’
Nick nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He and William were in the middle of throwing away memories as well as possessions, but there was simply nothing that could be done to save most of it.
‘Can I see inside?’ Stevie asked, and Nick gestured for William to carry on with his lunch. It was pointless both of them showing Stevie the mess. He could do that easily enough on his own. Besides, he wasn’t particularly hungry, despite the morning of manual labour. He told himself it was because he was used to hard physical work, and had absolutely nothing to do with the fact his stomach knotted up every time he looked at her.
She stopped at the entrance to the living room and turned to face him, the tears he noticed earlier finally spilling down her cheeks.
Without thinking he stepped towards her, gathered her in his arms, and pressed her into his chest.
‘I’m sorry,’ she cried. ‘I don’t know what’s come over me.’
‘You’re suffering from a healthy dose of compassion and kindness,’ he said into her hair, his voice slightly muffled as he buried his face in it. It smelled of apples and icing sugar and she was warm and soft in his arms, and felt so right there, as if she belonged. He instinctively held her tighter, hating she was so upset. He wanted to hold her like this forever…
Nick drew back swiftly when he realised what he was doing, but as he tried to put some air between them by taking a step back and holding her at arm’s length, he dipped his head at exactly the same time as she lifted her chin and their lips met.
Tentatively, feather-light at first, but with the taste of her invading his senses, Nick kissed her. He closed his eyes and revelled in the feel of her lips on his, trying not to tremble like a teenager, wanting to grab her and crush her to him. Instead, he gently wrapped his arms around her once more, and she melted into him, her body soft against his. Her lips parted and—
Oh Lord, what was he doing? he thought. He pulled away and released her. What must she think of me, taking advantage of her when she was so upset? he wondered.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, his voice rough. ‘I shouldn’t have…’
Stevie put a hand to her lips. He saw how her fingers trembled and he hated himself for putting her in this position. If he’d just been able to control himself and keep her at a safe distance, then she wouldn’t be looking at him now as if he’d just kicked a puppy.
Unable to stand her expression for a moment longer, he whirled on his heel and marched outside, leaving Stevie standing alone in the empty room.
He took a coffee off the tray, ignoring the food. There wasn’t a great deal left, but any appetite he might have had, had fled in the wake of a much earthier one. Desire wracked him, his heart pounded, and he was as coiled as a snake ready to strike. No matter what his head said, his body had a different idea and he wanted her with every cell of it.
William kept shooting Nick little looks out of the corner of his eye, but refrained from saying anything and Nick was glad William didn’t suggest returning to work while Stevie was still inside the cottage.
He leaned against the wall, legs crossed at the ankle, trying to pretend nothing had taken place, trying vainly to look relaxed and unconcerned while feeling so tense he thought he might snap if anyone touched him. He held the cooling coffee cradled in his hand and waited for her to come out.
Stevie took an age to emerge from the cottage and when she did she carried a small suitcase. She’d obviously packed some essentials for Betty.
It hurt when she refused to look at him, her gaze turning to William instead, who was furthest away from the little wooden gate. ‘When do you think Betty can move back in?’ she asked.
‘Want to get rid of her already?’ Nick quipped, trying to lighten the mood, to pretend he hadn’t been affected by what they’d just done. Unfortunately, as soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew he’d said the wrong thing, especially since the light-hearted tone he was aiming for morphed into a gruff accusation the moment they left his lips.
Stevie still didn’t look at him, but he saw her tense and she lifted her chin, her lips narrowing. ‘Betty is welcome to stay as long as she likes,’ she said to William. ‘I’m only asking because I know how much she wants to return home.’
William wiped his hands on his filthy, wet jeans, and looked rather uncomfortable at being caught in the middle of something. ‘It’ll be some time yet. We’ve gotta set up the dehumidifiers to suck the moisture out of the walls, and that’ll take a couple of weeks I expect, then she’ll probably need new electrics and a new kitchen for definite. Then there’s the furniture that’ll need replacing…’ he trailed off, then added, ‘And the insurance won’t be quick to come through either.’
‘Thanks,’ Stevie said. ‘Betty got in touch with her insurance company this morning. She wasn’t too keen, but I told her it had to be done, and sooner rather than later. They’re going to send an assessor out, but who knows how long that’s going to take.’
With her head held high, Stevie brushed past Nick and was out of the gate in a trice. He watched her go, noting the rigid set of her shoulders and felt like the biggest cad on the planet.