Trust Me - Sheryl Browne Page 0,88

was sure of it. Her antennae on red alert, she dared a glance over her shoulder. Seeing nothing but the dark shadows of overhanging branches, she took another few tentative steps. Her stomach lurched violently as another sound reached her – not the roar of an animal this time, but the rev of an engine, growling full throttle.

Shit. Her heart thrashing, she surged forward, the soles of her boots slipping and sliding beneath her. She heard the impact, dull, sickening. Felt white-hot pain jarring every bone in her body as she was tossed in the air to land heavily on the unforgiving tarmac. Seconds later, her heartbeat slowed, a slow pulse at the base of her neck, as a warm breath brushed her cheek. ‘Sorry, but I couldn’t let you tell,’ whispered a voice tinged with regret.

Swallowing back the salty, metallic taste in her mouth, she was vaguely aware of who it was. Strangely, she didn’t feel pain any more, didn’t feel anything other than that the lifeblood that flowered slowly beneath her was pleasantly warm. Blinking away the droplets of rain that ran like saltless tears down her cheeks, she stared up at the tiny pinpricks of light that held a promise of another life.

He’d never loved her, she realised as the ink blue of the sky faded to a blanket of black. He’d never intended to be with her.

Thirty-Five

Emily

As Emily came away from the makeshift bar in the village hall, Joyce hurried across to her and caught hold of her hands. ‘Thank you,’ she said, nodding across to Edward, who was doing his thing on the dance floor, along with several of their neighbours, to the Liverpool Lads’ version of ‘Twist and Shout’. ‘You’ve done him proud. The band is tip-top. You’d almost swear it was the Fab Four themselves.’

Emily smiled, pleased that Joyce and Edward were happy, though she herself was struggling to relax. She was aware that part of this might be due to withdrawal symptoms. She’d gone from feeling flat this morning, lacking in energy, to feeling jumpy and anxious. Not least because Jake was here. She hadn’t been sure he would come, having spent several nights in the surgery, bar one, when he’d slept in the spare room, at her suggestion. She’d said it was because her sleep patterns were worse than ever. She hadn’t told him the other reason: that if he received a call-out in the middle of the night, her suspicion would have gone into overdrive, inciting more arguments between them. She didn’t think she could bear that.

She looked across now to where he stood with one of his patients, who was no doubt trying to pick his brains about some illness or other. Jake was listening attentively, nodding politely, still as handsome as ever in a simple white polo shirt and jeans. Still the man she’d fallen in love with – on the outside, anyway. Her heart, which had been sinking steadily since discovering the email, settled like a cold stone in her chest as she acknowledged that she’d obviously never really known him as well as she’d thought she had. Was it poetic justice, she wondered; her just deserts for keeping secrets from him?

Joyce was still talking, she realised; she hoped the woman hadn’t noticed that her mind had drifted off. ‘They even look like them,’ she was saying, her gaze on the band.

Emily resisted pointing out that the mop-top wigs and collarless grey suits possibly helped. ‘Sally organised them,’ she said, leaning close to Joyce’s ear. She couldn’t take credit where it wasn’t due. They wouldn’t have had a band if not for Sally. Tears welling up out of nowhere, Emily bit them back. She missed her. She’d lost her two best friends overnight, it seemed.

‘Oh, well I must go and thank her too,’ Joyce said, glancing around. ‘Is she not here yet?’

Emily shook her head. ‘She’s been a bit poorly.’ She actually had no idea how Sally was. She hadn’t heard a word from her. And she could hardly ring her or ask Jake.

‘I’d better go and rein in my husband before he does himself an injury.’ Joyce rolled her eyes tolerantly. ‘You might want to rescue yours too, before he dies of boredom.’ She indicated Jake, who was doing his best to look interested as his patient pointed out various parts of his anatomy, obviously listing his aches and pains.

Nodding weakly, Emily watched Joyce head for the dance floor, a little twist of her hips in