Page 16 of The Clifftop Cottage

He didn’t turn, just nodded.

“I don’t know what you must think of me,” she said, the words barely there. Her gaze stayed fixed on the floor.

He struck a match and bent to the stove. “Don’t blame you for falling,” he said mildly. “Ground’s riddled with hare dens. Easy to go over.”

The flame caught. He blew out the match and fed the fire another log.

Erica’s hands were shaking now. She folded her arms tight around herself, waiting for feeling to return to her fingers. “I don’t know what happened,” she said. “It was like … I ended up there again.”

“You went for a walk,” he said, crouched by the stove. “Got caught in the rain.”

“I wasn’t thinking,” she whispered. “What if I had just⁠—”

He straightened, brushing his hands on his trousers. “You didn’t,” he said firmly, not unkind. “That’s all that matters.”

Her phone buzzed sharply, making her flinch. Leah’s name flashed on the screen.

Erica hesitated, then answered.

“Thank god,” Leah burst out. “Where are you? You just disappeared! It’s wild out there. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Erica said too quickly. “I just … went for a walk.”

“In this?” Leah demanded. “You’re not telling me something. Where are you?”

Erica’s mouth opened, then closed. She didn’t know how to explain it – not to Leah, not to herself.

Gabriel reached out and gently took the phone from her hand.

“Hi, Leah, is it?” Gabriel’s deep voice carried a calm authority. “Gabriel McTavish here. That’s right, the fireman. Well, I met your sister on the walk. The rain came down pretty bad, so I’ve got her here in my holiday cottage near the cliff.”

Erica could hear Leah’s voice on the other end, sharp with concern. “The cliff?”

“Yes,” Gabriel said, scratching the back of his neck. “She saw me heading out to look for my flock. I’ve got sheep, you see. Your sister kindly offered to help me find them, but the rain caught us off guard. Turns out the sheep were on the cliff. All safe and sound now, though. I’ll see her back to yours once this rain lets up.” He paused, waiting for Leah’s response, then nodded as though she could see him. “Very good.”

He handed the phone back to Erica with a small, reassuring smile. “She wants to talk to you.”

“Hi,” Erica said hesitantly.

“Why didn’t you just say all that?” Leah sighed. “Well, I suppose you could do worse than Gabriel McTavish. He’s well respected around here.”

“It’s not like that,” Erica said quickly, her cheeks flushing.

“Just come home soon, okay?”

“Yes,” Erica murmured, echoing Gabriel’s earlier words. “When the rain stops.”

Leah hung up and Erica let the phone rest in her lap, staring at the dark screen as if it might light up again. Her pulse slowly eased, each breath coming a little less jagged than the last.

“You know my sister?” she said at last, the words slipping out before she’d fully formed the thought.

Gabriel glanced over from the stove. “Aye.”

She frowned faintly. “How?”

He shrugged, adding another log to the fire, unhurried. “Hard not to, round here. Leah works nights, doesn’t she? Hospital rota. I’ve crossed paths with her a few times, fundraisers, village things. And you said your name earlier. I’d heard her sister was staying.” He paused, then added, almost apologetically, “Small place. You start piecing things together.”

Something about that – how ordinary it was – unsettled her more than it should have. In London, anonymity had been a given. Here, her name travelled faster than she did.