Hello My Angel - Sue Brown Page 0,5
to lean into her space, his face twisted with fury. She shrank back and Riley lost it. He shoved the man away from Lisa.
“I told you to stay away from my daughter.”
“Get your hands off me,” the man yelled and lunged for him.
Before he could reach Riley, Josh stuck his foot out and the man face-planted on the tarmac. The police officer handcuffed him and hauled him to his feet before he could start yelling again. He had scrapes and abrasions over his face, but at least he was quiet now.
“If you kick off again, I’m taking you to the station,” the police officer said.
“She hit my car!”
“No, she didn’t,” Josh said.
The man looked Josh up and down and sneered at him. “Who the hell are you?”
“The man who stopped you making a total ass of yourself.”
“I’ll have you,” the man snarled.
Josh gave him his most irritating smirk, guaranteed to wind him up. “Already taken, darling. If you don’t calm down, one of three things will happen. Her father will punch you, the nice police officer will arrest you, and if you continue to be an ass, he’ll shoot you.” He pointed at Cal.
The man blanched as he took in the size of Cal, but it didn’t stop him saying, “He wouldn’t.”
Cal folded his arms and stared at him with a ‘try me’ expression.
Josh rather hoped the man would continue to be an ass. Cal needed to let off some steam and a nice shooting would make him feel so much better.
The police officer coughed. “We don’t shoot people here.”
“Let me have him. He’ll wish he wasn’t born,” Riley snarled.
“You get him, Dad.”
With Lisa egging her dad on, Josh had a feeling this was going to turn into a reality TV show, something Josh wanted to avoid at all costs. He liked drama, but there were limits.
Josh smiled brightly at the cop. “We’ll leave this in your capable hands.”
He could have sworn he heard a whimper as he and Cal walked away.
Cal glanced over to Gil as they drove away from the crime scene. “I want to go back to Waterslea before we return to London.”
Josh caught Gil looking at him in the mirror. No, Gil didn’t like the idea any more than Josh did. “Are you sure, Charlie? It’s been a long day.”
“I need to see the house one more time,” Cal said, and that was the end of the conversation.
Gil drove the three of them in silence. Cal stared out of the passenger window, not talking to anyone. Josh pressed his lips together and fumed silently. Being ignored by Cal was something he wasn’t going to put up with for long.
They drove in through the wrought iron gates. It was fully dark by now and Gil used the headlights to guide his way up the long driveway to the house. It was odd seeing no lights from the windows. Despite the hive of activity from the emergency services, the house felt abandoned. Josh shivered, as if the ghost of Sir Gideon had walked over his grave.
Almost before the car stopped, Cal was out and staring up at the house. Josh stayed in the car to give Cal a moment. He placed a hand on Gil’s shoulder to keep him in the car. Cal needed his time alone. This was his inheritance, his uncle’s beloved house, staffed by women who had adored Sir Gee and Chopper.
“What do you think he’ll do?” Gil murmured.
“Huh?” Josh had been lost in his own thoughts and took a moment to process what Gil had said.
“Do you think he’ll keep Waterslea?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you like the house?”
Josh thought about it before he answered. “It’s very English. I feel like I should be curtseying to the lord of the manor every time I go in there.”
Gil gave a bark of laughter. “Bowing. Men bow, dude. Chicks curtsey.”
“Whatever.” Josh still felt uncomfortable in the house. He was an American, and in a house that was older than America he felt out of place.
“Cal’s not one for pomp and all that shit.”
“He went to Oxford University. That’s as much pomp as you can get.”
“And he’s lived all over the world in poor communities.”
Cal opened the car door and looked in. “Are you two getting out?”
“We need to get back to London,” Josh pointed out.
“I need another five minutes. Then we’ll be on our way.”
Josh scrambled out of the car and groaned as he stretched his back. “Why did you have to get a small car, Gil?”
Gil snorted.