He put his phone down on the side, the action barely making a noise. Then he stood still and looked at her as if she was a piece of evidence.”
“Do you want a drink?”
“Tea. Please.”
“Come and sit down in the kitchen. Tell me how you like it.”
A range of responses to that shot through her head and she managed to push every one away, recalling the footsteps in the dark made it easy.
Abby followed him through the wooden door to the kitchen, one that looked new, almost unfinished.
“Have you done this?” It was shaker in its style and new, the wood unblemished.
“Yeah. Just about got round to it. It’s almost finished.” He sounded dismissive, as if the work he’d done wasn’t incredible. “How do you want your tea?”
She laughed quietly. “How about you tell me where stuff is and I’ll make it?” Forever the barmaid and waitress. She knew how Alex had a coffee or a mug of tea, because if he came into his brother’s bar during the day that’s what he would order.
He shuffled awkwardly. “You’ve worked all night, and probably all day. I can manage.”
“Okay.” She gave him instructions to make it the same as his, mainly because she wasn’t overly bothered.
“Do you want something to eat? I was going to do some toast.”
A dog – Gretel – slipped into the kitchen and lay down next to her feet. Abby sat on the edge of the bar stool that looked like it had been fashioned out of an old tractor seat and made to look good. Her stomach rumbled in response.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
She watched as he fumbled with the tea, using the Aga to start toasting the bread that she recognised had come from the local bakery, run by Nancy Hurst, a newcomer to the village which meant she’d lived there less than twenty years.
Alex didn’t try to make small talk. The silence between them was comfortable, as it had been on the occasions when he’d been the last customer in the bar, finishing his pint and then waiting for her to lock up so he could walk her home, again usually in silence.
He was the quiet one of the Maynard men. Scott, the eldest and her boss, was grumpy. He was a musician by trade and singing and playing guitar made him happy, along with Keren and his baby daughter. Zack was the next eldest and ran the local nursing home for the elderly. He was the worrier, infinitely sensible and completely taken with Sorrell, Abby’s other boss, who owned the boutique hotel just outside the town. Jake Maynard was their cousin, and the wild one who had taken over the family’s farms and was this year hosting Severfest, a music festival, intertwined with a whole lot of what Zack had termed ‘hippie-shit.’
A mug of hot tea and a plate of toast dripping with butter appeared in front of her. Alex took a seat at the table before getting up to retrieve his own drink, cursing under his breath.
“What time did you leave the bar?”
She heard the police officer in his words.
“Just after midnight.”
“Where were you when you thought someone was following you?”
“At the corner of Main Street and Maple Avenue.” She kept her answers minimal, knowing he wouldn’t want any detail unless he asked for it.
“What made you think you were being followed?”
“It sounds stupid, but it felt different. And then I heard footsteps.” The fear started to rush back. Abby put the piece of toast back down, suddenly feeling nauseous. Bile curdled in her throat.
“It doesn’t sound stupid.” Alex’s word were almost soft. “I know you’re hyper-observant. I just don’t know why you have to be.”
Abby looked up at him, biting her bottom lip. Of course he would’ve noticed how she looked at every new customer who walked into the bar, because his job was to notice everyone. Cops didn’t switch off.
His bicep flexed as he lifted his mug of tea. The distraction of it was helping her push away the fear that could consume her tonight.
“I think you need to put a T-shirt on.”
She saw his mouth curve into a grin.
“I’m good. Did you have anyone suspicious coming into the bar tonight? Anyone you didn’t recognise?”
Alex’s eyes darkened; she could tell he was studying her.
She knew why. Since she’d moved here she’d given away very little of herself, a stranger to the town with no known history. There had never been any visitors or family turning up, and detail about her background had been vague. For the first few months, she’d been eyed with suspicion, especially from the older residents. Eventually they’d stopped speculating and left her be, but she knew there were still questions about her.
Alex had never asked anything. Scott had, checking one night that she wasn’t running from an abusive partner or someone she owed money to. It had been followed with an explanation of what he, Jake and Zack would do to that person, if she wanted, which had given her an odd, warm feeling inside as it had been a long time since anyone had wanted to take her corner like that.
“It was just the regulars in tonight. The calm before the storm.” Because Jake’s festival was in a couple of weeks and the bars and Sorrell’s hotel would be packed with strangers. It made her nervous. Big events were a great cover for people to come looking; they could hide in the open.
Alex sat back and folded his arms, an action which only made his biceps look bigger, his shoulders broader.
“What’s your alarm system like?”
The question surprised Abby.
“It’s the same one Rayah had installed. I haven’t changed it.”
He was still watching her.
“Stay here tonight.”
“What?” She almost fell off her stool.
“You don’t freak out unnecessarily. I’ve seen you split up bar fights without raising an eyebrow and Jake has tried at least a dozen times to scare the shit out of you by hiding in the cellar. Something’s spooked you. You go home, you’re not going to sleep.” He didn’t smile. His expression was one of steel, his eyes watching her. Assessing.
He had a point. But there was no way she’d sleep if she was here either. This was the man she’d crushed hard on since he’d first walked into the bar with his brothers and cousin when she’d been hunting for a job and that crush had not waned a single ounce. It had only increased over time.
But police officers and people living under an assumed name were better not getting close.
“I can’t impose on you like that, Alex.”
“Other option: me and the dogs sleep on your sofa. What time’s your shift at the hotel in the morning?”
She shook her head. “I have a day off.” One that she wanted to spend walking up to Felley Manor, home of Severton’s very own religious community, and talking to a woman she’d met there who had belonged to it for the period of time Abby was interested in.
“Me too.” His arms were still folded and there was a look in his eye that challenged her, almost giving her the promise of a duel.
“Then you don’t need to spend it babysitting me. It was probably a fox or something. I’ll have overreacted.” She stood up at the same time Alex’s phone rang.
He looked at the caller before answering, then glanced at her. “Ste. Tell me what you know.”