It was earlier than he’d usually be up, but Josh had offered to drive the Carter-Laings to Newquay airport to catch their flight back to Edinburgh. As they’d been leaving the hotel, Griff had jumped out of his basket and followed them out to the car, whining and pleading to be allowed along for the ride. Which had seemed like a decent enough idea; after dropping off the Carter-Laings, he could take the dog for a proper run along the beach before breakfast.
But as he’d been heading back along the coast road, Josh had come across something unexpected: there was Sophie’s car, parked up in a lay-by in the middle of nowhere behind a dark gray Toyota Corolla.
Did this mean it had been stolen? Was that likely? Had she broken down? Where was she and what could she be doing at this time of the morning? Puzzled, Josh parked in front of the Toyota and switched off the ignition. It was the sheer oddness of the situation that propelled him to push open the driver’s door. He had to know for sure that Sophie was all right.
As he made his way across the wet grass with Griff bounding joyfully along at his heels, Josh took out his phone and called Sophie’s cell phone. When it rang and rang and wasn’t picked up, his level of concern ramped up a couple more notches. Had a deranged killer flagged her down, dragged her out of the car, and thrown her off the edge of the cliff onto the rocks below?
He sped up, blinking rain out of his eyes. It had to be over a decade since he’d last visited Mizzen Cove; it was too much like hard work for all but the most hardy and determined beach finder. The thought that something sinister could have happened to Sophie was making his mouth dry…
Josh held his breath as they approached the cliff edge, needing to know but not wanting to look. The next moment he heard a shriek of laughter and saw her.
Sophie, wearing no clothes, none at all. She had her back to him but it was unmistakably her, dancing across the golden sand with her arms stretched wide and her blond hair streaming behind her. Jesus, thank goodness she was alive…and look at her, just look…
Relief at not finding an inert body lying broken on the rocks instantly gave way to admiration; basically, the last thing he’d expected to see was Sophie dancing naked on the beach, being photographed by a plump older woman who was similarly unclothed.
Josh smiled at the incongruous sight of the two of them. He had no idea what the photos might be in aid of, but the fact that Sophie was up for such an adventure was enough to make his day complete. And who knew, this could be a regular thing; maybe these days Mizzen Cove was a designated naturist beach and people came here every week to shed their clothes and their inhibitions.
“Woof woof woof-woof WOOF!” Pricking his ears up, Griff wriggled with delight as he recognized Sophie. The next moment he’d launched himself down the steep zigzagging path, eager to join the fun being had by the naked people on the beach below.
Shit…
Looking up and spotting him, Sophie appeared to share the sentiment. She let out a muffled shriek and attempted to cover herself with her hands. As she turned away, he saw the blue-gray bruise on her back from last week’s fall. Griff, scrabbling down the last bit of the overgrown path, reached the bottom and raced across the sand, leaping around her in wriggly circles and yapping like a lunatic.
“Oh my God, Griff, go away,” Sophie wailed. Which had the exact opposite effect; tail wagging furiously, he attempted to launch himself into her arms.
Josh yelled, “GRIFF! COME HERE THIS MINUTE.” Which, predictably, had no effect whatsoever.
The other woman on the beach stood with her hands on her hips and called up, “If you can’t control your dog, young man, you really should keep it on a leash.”
Mental images of Griff rampaging around the all-white room at the hotel the other week flickered through Josh’s brain. Talk about déjà vu.
“I would have if I’d known I needed to.” The woman had the in-control manner of a teacher and had just called him young man. “I saw Sophie’s car back there and wanted to make sure she was okay. I was worried about her,” he insisted, because the woman was giving him a raised-eyebrow look.
“I’m here because I’m working,” Sophie protested. Having moved like lightning, she was now back in her denim shorts and buttoning up her blue shirt.
“Of course you are. Sorry.” Josh managed to keep a straight face. “For some reason it didn’t occur to me that you wouldn’t have any clothes on.” Unable to resist it, he added, “Again.”
Sophie shot him a look. “Okay, okay. You can come and get Griff now. Actually, no.” She turned to her companion. “Do you want to get dressed first?”
The plump woman beamed, utterly unfazed. “Don’t worry; I’m fine as I am.”
Griff continued cavorting around with a carefree gleam in his eye and a long strand of seaweed trailing from his mouth. As Josh climbed down to beach level, he noticed Sophie wince with pain as she knelt and discreetly stuffed her bra and panties into her camera case. Eventually he persuaded Griff to return to him and give up the prized tangle of seaweed.
“So,” said the woman, who’d been eyeing him with interest, “you and Sophie know each other.”
“We do.” He tucked Griff securely into the crook of his arm.
“I’m Elizabeth, by the way.” Stepping forward, she held out a hand for him to shake. “Good to meet you.”
“Josh. Nice to meet you too.” Her remaining breast jiggled as they shook hands.
Her tone conversational, Elizabeth said, “Ever seen a mastectomy scar up close before, Josh?”
“Er, well… No, can’t say I have.”
“And does it look horrendous?”
Okay, if she could be this up front about it, so could he. Josh studied her chest and shook his head. “No, not horrendous. It’s just scar tissue. It’s fine.”
Elizabeth beamed. “Thank you. They offered me a falsie—you know, reconstruction—but I don’t think I’m going to bother.”
“Good for you.” Josh smiled; she might be as mad as a box of rabbits, but there was something refreshingly honest about her.
“We came here to do the photographs because we thought we’d be uninterrupted. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about a stranger seeing me in the buff like this—a civilian, I mean, not one of the medical staff at the hospital.” She shrugged, smiled, and spread her hands. “But now it’s happened; you’re here. And it’s no problem at all!”
“Excellent,” said Josh. “Happy to help.”
“Ever done it yourself?” Her head was tilted inquiringly to one side.
“Run around naked on a beach? Not since I was two years old.”
“You should give it a try. Really. It’s wonderful!”
“I’m sure it is.” She was definitely mad.
“You could do it now,” said Elizabeth.
“No, I definitely couldn’t.”
“Oh, go on,” Sophie chimed in, braver now she had her own clothes back on. Innocently she said, “I could take photos of you. I’d be discreet.”
“Is this how she got you to do it?”
Sophie smiled. “Yes. And it actually was great, until you came along. The rain on your skin, the feeling of freedom. Being at one with nature.” Up close, her gray eyes were flecked with silver and danced with mischief. “I dare you.”
Griff was gazing up at him too, his tail wagging in encouraging collusion. It was definitely time to get out of here. Josh said, “Thanks for the kind offer, but not in a million years.”
***
Sophie and Elizabeth watched as Josh and Griff made their way back up the steep path, reached the top, and disappeared from view. A minute or so later, they heard the sound of his car driving away.
“Well,” said Elizabeth. “He’s rather gorgeous.”
Sophie grinned at the look on her face. “You think?”
“Hey, just because I’m a single-breasted, middle-aged history teacher doesn’t mean I don’t notice these things.” Elizabeth did a playful hip shimmy followed by jazz hands. “I’m not dead yet.”