Gaby was riding pillion on the back of Stevie’s motorbike. She was clinging onto him for dear life, her screams snatched away by the wind roaring past her ears. She didn’t have a helmet on and she was begging him to slow down. He was crouched low over the handlebars, and her hands kept slipping from his leather jacket. The harder she tried to cling onto him, the more she lost her grip. A dazzling light blinded her and the next thing she knew she was flying through the air and landing with a massive thud in a clump of bushes.
Her first thought was that it was quite odd that she had survived a seventy mile an hour ejection from a motorbike when she wasn’t wearing a crash helmet and her second thought was, who is that man shining a torch in my eyes?
‘Am I in hospital?’ she said in the croaky, panicky way people did when they’ve been woken up very suddenly and unpleasantly.
‘No, but you were asleep on the floor!’
‘Whaaaa?’ She prised her lids open, flinching in the light. Her bottom was damp. In fact, most of her was damp and she was also very cold. She realised that she was lying on the rough concrete of the field workers’ shelter. ‘Ow …’ She rubbed at a sore spot on her thigh.
A light flashed in her eyes again, temporarily blinding her but she knew the voice instinctively.
‘You must have been in here for hours,’ said Will. ‘Why are you on the floor?’
Gaby shaded her eyes. ‘I dunno … would you mind not shining that in my face?’
The beam disappeared and Gaby rubbed her eyes. It took a few seconds to get used to the twilight again. Meanwhile, Will was talking a lot.
‘What happened? What were you doing in here? Did you pass out or have a fit and hit your head or something? Do I need to call the paramedics?’
‘Oww …’ Gaby groaned. Her lower back throbbed. She tried to sit up, but two hands pushed her down, which probably wouldn’t have been the best idea if she really did have a spinal injury, thought Gaby. However, they were Will’s hands and as she was still dazed and confused, she decided to let him carry on for now.
‘No, you’d better not get up. You might have broken something and I don’t think you should move. That’s what they tell us at rugby. You need to keep absolutely still. Shit, I’d better hold your neck still or something.’
Will got behind her and held her head between his hands. His face was upside-down from her point of view.
‘No, I’m fine. Honestly, I’m fine …’ she said, feeling that things might have gone far enough, actually.
‘You don’t know that. Do Not Move. Do not bloody move! Jess!’ he shouted over his shoulder towards the open door.
‘Will. Please don’t worry,’ said Gaby. ‘I fell asleep, that’s all. I must have rolled off the sofa onto the floor.’
Slowly, Will removed his hands from her head. She was still wearing the tea cosy. ‘Oh.’
‘Now, can I please get up?’
Her back clicked as she pushed herself up to sitting. She was as stiff as a board. Will was crouched by her side. He shone the torch around the wooden building. Gaby became aware of creaks in the old timbers and the wind whistling through the cracks. She also noticed something odd about Will.
‘Are you wearing pyjamas?’ she asked.
‘Yes, I went to the wedding in them instead of the suit.’ He sighed. ‘No one could find you earlier and we thought you were asleep in your room, but then I wondered if you’d had an accident out in the field or in the equipment sheds and I thought I’d check in here … I saw the fridge was full of flowers and put two and two together. What were you trying to do? Finish the whole field on your own?’
Gaby tried to stand up. She did feel light-headed but that was only from getting up suddenly and having had no dinner. She decided not to share this with Will though in case he started CPR, although maybe that wouldn’t have been a total disaster … In fact, it was a shame that she no longer needed her head cradled in his hands … On the other hand, what a prat she was to have fallen asleep and rolled off the sofa. No wonder she’d dreamed she’d fallen off Stevie’s bike. By the look of Will’s pyjamas, he’d also got out of bed specially to look for her.
‘What on earth were you doing?’ he said, still kneeling beside her, but brusquer now he was sure she wasn’t really hurt.
‘We’d almost finished the field by close of play so I sent the team home. They did well for newbies, especially Natalia, but then I came back and thought there wasn’t much to do and maybe I could carry on until the light had gone. I remember sitting down for a little rest after I’d done the last one and then … absolutely nothing until someone shone a great big light in my eyes and started shouting in my face.’
‘I thought you might be dead. You are completely mad, you do know that?’
‘It has been said,’ said Gaby proudly. ‘And I’m not dead, as you can see.’
Will stood up and put the torch on the sofa. He loomed over her. ‘But I might be after tonight. You almost gave me a heart attack when I saw you lying on the floor. There’s no way I would ever have put you under pressure to finish that field. You should have clocked off at the same time as everyone else.’
‘Probably,’ said Gaby, embarrassed but not wholly disappointed that he’d been so worried. She certainly didn’t want him to know the real reason that she’d stayed out to get the job done.
‘Let me give you a hand up.’ He reached out and pulled her to her feet. Still stiff and groggy, she overbalanced, so he steadied her with an arm around her back.
This was the moment when he should have let her go and she should have shrugged off his arm. There was no need for his help now she was upright and yet they were still connected. One hand in the small of her back became two hands on her waist, which swiftly turned into them both grabbing each other and kissing as if their lives depended on it. Even though the tassels of her hat kept getting in the way, it was an amazing kiss. Not too soft, not too hard, confident but not crushing – who knew he would be such a good kisser? The warmth spread through her face and arms, her back and right to the centre of her.
She moved her hands to the back of his pyjamas, resting her palms on his bottom through the thin jersey. He wore nothing underneath! Gaby suspected he’d only put the trousers on to come outside and the fabric did little to hide how his body was reacting to her. He slid his hands under her sweater and flicked the clasp of her bra which sprung open. His tongue explored her mouth deliciously and she pressed herself harder against him. Would he have a condom with him, she thought as he ran his warm palms over her back and started moving them around to her breasts. It was unlikely … they’d probably have to creep back to her room or be super careful. But how could she possibly wait, when she was already about to burst and Will was setting every nerve ending aglow and driving her insane with lust?
‘Hello? Is there anyone in there?’
‘Shit.’ They both said the word at the same time and sprang apart as if they’d been stung.
Will waved his torch in the air. ‘Jess! Gaby’s here in the shelter. She’s fine. She fell asleep.’
Gaby’s cheeks burned. In fact, the rest of her, so cold before, burned for all kinds of reasons. Had she really grabbed a handful of her boss’s admittedly lovely arse? Had he really stuck his tongue inside her mouth and enjoyed the best French kiss ever? Had they been minutes from shagging each other on the sofa in the barn in the dark?
It was hard to believe that any of that had happened given the way that Will was standing six feet away from her by the door as if she was Dracula. Any minute now, he’d be holding up a cross and garlic.
A torch beam wavered in the doorway and Jess materialised from the shadows.
‘In the shelter? What happened?’
Will hurried over to her. Probably for protection, thought Gaby.
Jess was wearing a hoodie over her pyjamas which were tucked into wellies, like Will’s. ‘Is everything OK?’
Will blinked. ‘It’s OK. Gaby decided to finish the field and fell asleep and rolled off the sofa. Disaster averted.’
‘I wouldn’t have said it was a disaster,’ said Gaby, fired up by his sudden change in attitude. ‘Sorry, Jess. I didn’t mean to worry you and Will.’
Jess stepped inside. ‘Have you finished the whole field?’
‘Sort of and then I must have nodded off.’
‘Will?’ Jess shone her torch right in his face as if he was a suspect she was about to interrogate.
He winced. ‘It’s not my fault. I never expected them to finish it all. And would you mind not pointing that light right in my eyes?’
Jess lowered the beam and spoke to Gaby kindly. ‘We didn’t expect you to do that. They were a new team. No one expects miracles on the first day,’ said Jess, obviously blaming Will for putting pressure on Gaby and her team.
‘It’s all fine,’ said Gaby, joining Jess. She was anxious to put space between her and Will now he’d gone so cold on her. ‘And I apologise for causing any anxiety and getting you both out of bed. Now, I’d really like to see mine, so shall we all go back inside?’
‘Why don’t you come into the farmhouse for a hot drink?’ said Jess. ‘Will, I think you’d better go inside and put the kettle on,’ she said pointedly.
Gaby cringed. The last thing she wanted was to sit around the table playing happy families. The evening had turned awkward enough. ‘No honestly, I am OK.’
‘Let’s get you warmed up first and then we can all go to bed. Will. Kettle.’
Still in two minds about accepting the offer, Gaby finally decided that it would cause more fuss if she refused. She walked with Jess and Will out of the shelter and through the back door into the farmhouse kitchen. The heat from the still warm Aga hit her immediately and she sat down on an old carver chair at the scrubbed table.
Will leant his bottom against the worktop, shooting glances at her when he thought she wasn’t looking. His feet were now bare and he’d put on an old faded hoodie as well as the pyjama bottoms. She knew he had nothing on under the hoodie or pyjamas because she’d had her hands all over his gorgeous, smooth, bare skin. He probably slept in the nude, Gaby thought, and shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
‘Tea or coffee? Or hot chocolate?’ Jess asked.
‘Chocolate, please.’ The words came out as a squeak. With Will brooding sexily a few feet from her, Gaby thought it was all getting very Cold Comfort Farm.
‘I’ll get the biscuits,’ Will muttered darkly. ‘Or there’s some fruit cake. If you fancy it.’
‘I do fancy it,’ she said. ‘Thanks.’
There was a large scrubbed oak table with grooves and dents that testified to its many decades of use. Initials had been scratched in the table: WG, and a failed attempt had been made to polish them out. No prizes for guessing whose they were. Gaby imagined Anna or their father giving Will a telling-off for carving them. However, despite the slight air of shabbiness, the framed prints of old Scilly scenes and the vintage china on the dresser gave the room a cosy feel that perfectly suited the age of the building. Family history was ingrained into every beam and picture. The farm was clearly part of Will’s DNA.
When Jess opened the fridge to get the milk, Gaby noticed a couple of photos of Will, Jess and their mother tacked by magnets onto the door. There were none of their father, as far as Gaby could see, which was hardly surprising since he’d left in acrimonious circumstances. Some of the experienced workers had long ago warned Gaby not to mention him.
While she sipped her chocolate and wolfed down a large slab of fruit cake, Gaby thought how much the kitchen reminded her of her family home. A blue glazed vase full of Yellow Cheer stood in the centre, mingling its fragrance with the faint tang of wood smoke from the chimney in the snug next door. Her family – oh God, she’d never got around to ringing them today. Her heart sank.
‘I’m going to bed now the drama’s over,’ said Jess.
‘There was no drama.’ Will and Gaby said the words almost at the same time.
‘OK. OK. But I’m still going to bed. Hopefully until morning this time.’
‘I’ll drink this up and turn in myself.’ Gaby took a larger gulp, burning her tongue in the process. ‘Ow.’
‘Don’t rush,’ said Jess with a smile. ‘We don’t want any more injuries. Goodnight.’
‘We won’t be long,’ said Will who had so far left his chocolate untouched. He’d kept as far away from her as possible too.
Jess shut the door to the kitchen and Gaby heard her footsteps as she climbed the stairs to her room. Gaby could still feel the tingle of Will’s lips on hers, the strength of his solid body beneath her fingers and his hands seeking the fastener of her bra under her sweater. How had that happened?
There were footsteps on the stairs again. Jess must be coming back down, thought Gaby, but instead, Anna swept in, in a flowery cerise dressing gown.
She glared at Gaby but addressed herself to Will. ‘What’s going on?’
‘Nothing, Mum. I found Gaby asleep in the field shelter and …’
Anna shot Gaby a horrified look that froze her mug halfway to her lips. ‘Asleep in the barn? What on earth were you doing in there?’
‘She was trying to finish harvesting the last of the Daymarks and lost track of time. Nothing to get worked up about. You can go back to sleep.’
Anna snorted. ‘Sleep? That’s what I was trying to do before I heard all this noise. I’m wide awake now.’
Will’s lips twisted as he bit back his frustration and Gaby lowered her mug to the table. It was more than half full but she couldn’t stand the tension any longer. ‘I really had better go back to my room,’ she said. ‘I’m sorry for causing trouble.’
‘Never mind. All’s well that ends well.’ Will pushed himself off the worktop. ‘Finish your drink first. You must have got pretty cold out there,’ he said gruffly.
She allowed herself a small smile. ‘Actually, I’ve warmed up very nicely now. Goodnight, Will.’
‘Wait,’ said Will, but she ignored him and got to her feet too.
‘Goodnight,’ she said to Anna.
Anna nodded. ‘Goodnight. And by the way, you’ll be delighted to know that Len will be back at work in the morning. He texted me earlier.’
‘I’m thrilled to hear that,’ said Gaby.
‘I’ll see you out,’ Will muttered then turned to his mother. ‘Goodnight, Mum.’
‘See you in the morning,’ she said, narrowing her eyes at Gaby.
She swept out of the kitchen but left the door open wide, presumably, thought Gaby, in case she attempted to leap on Will. Which, to be fair, she would have loved to do if he hadn’t made it so plain he wanted to keep his distance after his earlier lapse.
‘I’ll come with you to the staff house, in case you get lost,’ said Will once Anna had gone. It was possibly an attempt at a joke but Gaby was too tired to play nicely.
‘It’s OK. I know my way out. You’d better get to bed,’ she said before hurrying out of the kitchen door to grab her wellies from the porch. They were cold and damp but she struggled into them. She really needed some proper sleep but had a feeling that wasn’t going to happen while her mind was still whirling from the night’s events. Any triumph at finishing the field had evaporated: she’d convinced herself she’d been doing it for Stevie but she was now wondering if she’d also wanted to prove a point with Will – a point that he hadn’t expected or asked her to prove. And she had to be up early again tomorrow. God, why did she go off on these mad schemes?
The security light clicked on when she was halfway across the yard. She heard the crunch of gravel behind her and seconds later Will caught up with her. He was in his wellies now and despite the hoodie, he hugged himself to keep warm in the damp night air. Perhaps it was a gesture of defensiveness too.
Gaby held her breath, wondering if he’d had a change of heart and wanted to reignite their moment in the shelter.
‘Gaby. Wait. I must say this.’
‘Yes?’
‘We should probably forget what happened out there,’ he muttered.
She nodded. Her heart plunged into her boots. ‘You’re right.’
‘It was … pretty good … but I shouldn’t have done that.’
Her blood fired up. Only pretty good? ‘There were two of us involved, or have you forgotten?’
‘Yes, but even so. Things could get way too complicated if we carried on …’
‘They could.’
‘And our paths are headed in very different directions, aren’t they?’
She was struck dumb for a few moments. He wanted her to confirm what he was thinking: almost as if he wanted her to tell him to back off.
‘Yes, they are.’ Her ironic smile wasn’t returned by Will. His expression was impossible to fathom. Did she see guilt that he’d even started something with her? Or regret that it had ended too soon? If Jess hadn’t come along, would they still be in the shelter, ripping each other’s clothes off? ‘Well, goodnight. Boss,’ she said and left him without glancing back.
He was right: no matter how much she liked or lusted after him, how much fun the farm was, it was only a stepping stone on the road to her next destination. There was a life for her to live beyond Scilly eventually. Even though she loved it here, there was a whole world out there that she felt she had to live and explore, for Stevie’s sake as well as her own. It was probably best they didn’t take things any further. With Will so tied to the farm, she couldn’t imagine a place for him on her journey.