Next of Kin (11 page)

Chapter Twelve

‘Oh my god, you’re getting married?’ whooped Anessa, throwing her arms around Sarah and hugging her tight up against her chest. ‘That is just brilliant. I’m so pleased for you. You are such a dark horse, Sarah. I didn’t realise you and Josh were—’

‘No, not Josh,’ Sarah said hastily, stepping away and stopping Anessa dead in her tracks.

It was her first day back at work and she had been mulling over when to say something. Time, Woody said, was pressing. They hadn’t got long. The wedding was just a matter of weeks away.

Sarah and Anessa had been busy restocking the plant tables out in the retail poly tunnels, trying to get everything sorted before the weekend rush. The air was heavy with the scent of loam and water, and the sweet high notes of the jasmine that they had been arranging on one of the displays.

Anessa pulled a face. ‘What do you mean
not
Josh? But I thought…’ She grinned. ‘You’re pulling my leg, aren’t you?’

Sarah could feel her colour rising. ‘No, no I’m not. I’ve been seeing someone else for a while, on and off before I started seeing Josh. I don’t think either of us realised that it was serious, and then I met Josh and…’ She paused. She had been rehearsing the lie, trying to make it sound plausible so that it would fend people off but now, said aloud, it sounded crazy.

Anessa was waiting, hanging on her every word.

‘It’s complicated,’ Sarah fudged, waving Anessa’s curiosity away. ‘I think seeing me with someone else made him realise that he wanted to settle down. Wanted to make a commitment. ’ She paused, not quite able to meet Anessa’s eye. ‘And me too, and so he asked me to marry him and I said yes.’

‘So who is it then?’ pressed Anessa.

‘Woody,’ Sarah began.

‘Oh my god, not your lodger?’ Anessa squealed. ‘Oh wow. That is just so bad. You are such a naughty, naughty girl.’ She wagged her finger at Sarah. ‘I thought you said he was a bit of a nerd. Mind you they do say it’s the quiet ones you have to watch. I’d never have guessed.’ Anessa was giggling now. ‘I never had any idea. Wow, that is just amazing. Bloody hell.’

Sarah realised that Anessa was totally taken in.

‘So when is it, then? I am getting an invite, aren’t I? Is it a church do?’ She paused. ‘He’s Muslim presumably?’

Sarah hesitated. ‘We’re having a register office wedding. Saves all the hassle. Neither of us is really religious.’

Anessa nodded. ‘God, that sounds so sensible. I wish someone would tell that to my mum and dad. So what are you going to wear? Have you got your dress yet? I saw this most amazing dress the other day. It would look fabulous on you. Maybe we could nip into town sometime and I could show it to you?’

Sarah nodded. Within no time at all the blue touch paper on the rumour mill caught light. By the end of the day everyone at the nursery, including half the customers knew that Sarah was getting married.

*

‘Sarah, Sarah. Wait! Please.’

Sarah swung round at the sound of her name to see Josh running across the car park towards her. It had just started to rain, big fat droplets of rain that exploded onto the dry dusty tarmac. She was heading home. It was a few minutes after six and the nursery had closed for the day. Josh had pulled his jacket up to his ears; he was dressed for work in jeans and a tee shirt. His expression was somewhere between a smile and something more serious.

He had to have been waiting for her to come out. The sight of Josh made Sarah’s heart ache. She hesitated for a split second, wondering if there was some way she could explain to him what was going on, something she could say that would make it right, but hadn’t Woody already impressed on her she couldn’t say anything, not a word? And that implied threat that if she didn’t keep quiet that Josh would be in as much danger as Ryan. She turned and, putting her head down, hurried away from him.

‘Please, wait,’ Josh said, as he caught up to her, breathing hard. ‘What on earth is going on? Can’t we just talk, Sarah? Just stop for a minute, will you? What’s happened? Have I done something?’

Sarah shook her head.

‘No, no it’s not you,’ she said, trying hard not to catch his eye in case he could somehow see the truth. ‘I’m really sorry, Josh. I can’t stop. I’ve got someone waiting for me,’ she said.

‘I don’t understand.’

Sarah glanced without focusing across the car park to where she knew Woody was parked up by the fence. Since she had gone back to work he had been dropping her off at the beginning of her shift and picking her up when she was done, and had told her that he thought it was a good idea if he gave her a lift until the wedding, maybe even longer, just in case she got any ideas. That’s what he said,
any ideas
. He’d been laughing when he said, but she knew he meant it; he didn’t trust her. She guessed he was worried that maybe she would change her mind about the wedding – as if she could. It felt as if she was on a very short leash. While at home Woody barely spoke to her but when she was out he had made it clear he would be watching her like a hawk.

So, even though Sarah couldn’t see his face she knew Woody would be watching her now.

‘Surely you can spare a couple of minutes, Sarah. Please,’ Josh said.

She shook her head. ‘I’m sorry. I really can’t.’ She pulled her coat tight around her and was about to walk off again when Josh caught hold of her arm.

‘Look, will you just stop and talk to me? For god’s sake, Sarah, what’ll it take? I just don’t understand what happened. Are you okay? I’m worried about you.’ She could hear the frustration in his voice along with his concern, distress and confusion. ‘I’m not going to hurt you or be angry, Sarah, I love you. I thought you loved me. I don’t understand what’s going on here. I’d just like some sort of explanation. Is it too much to ask?’

Of course it wasn’t. Sarah made the mistake of looking up, and heard the breath catch in his throat when he saw her face. She didn’t know what it was Josh saw there, but when he spoke again his tone was more anxious, softer, worried. ‘What the hell is going on, Sarah. Are you ill? Is that what this is about? Let me help – let me in – I want to help you.’

She shook her head. ‘You can’t,’ she said, ‘I’m fine. I just need to get home.’

‘You don’t look fine.’

‘Really, I am, but I have to go.’

‘When can I see you?’ he said, as she pulled herself clear of him. ‘We could meet up for a coffee or something. Or lunch? Whatever it is, whatever the problem is, at least let’s talk about it. Let me help you.’

‘You can’t, Josh. Please. I can’t see you again,’ Sarah said, trying hard to keep the emotion out of her voice. ‘Please just leave me alone.’

‘What do you mean,
can’t
?’

‘I mean I don’t want to,’ she said, more carefully.

‘I don’t believe you. What the hell is going on here, Sarah?’

‘Nothing. Please go now, Josh,
please
. I don’t want to see you again. Do you understand?’

‘I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t believe you.’

‘I have to go now,’ said Sarah.

And with that she pulled away from him, her heart pounding as she hurried across to the car. When she got to the passenger side Woody leaned over and opened the door for her. ‘Get in,’ he said, tone neutral.

Sarah nodded and did as she was told, keeping her chin tucked down onto her chest.

Josh stood watching the car as it pulled away. As they drove out of the car park, Sarah could see him in the wing mirror, Josh finally turning and slowly walking back to his truck.

‘So what did he say to you?’ Woody asked, pulling out into the early evening traffic.

‘Nothing much,’ Sarah dropped her bag into the foot-well and made a show of arranging her coat so that she didn’t have to look Woody in the eyes. She didn’t want him to see the pain and the welling glassy tears. She didn’t want to give him the pleasure.

‘I’m not stupid, Sarah. I saw him talking to you. What did he say to you?’ he pressed.

‘He just wanted to talk.’

‘And?’

‘And nothing. I told him it was over. That’s all.’

‘So, did you arrange to meet him? To talk to him later maybe?’ Woody’s tone was reasonable, almost conversational, as if the main thrust of his attention was elsewhere, but Sarah wasn’t fooled. It felt like he was trying to lull her into a false sense of security, to catch her out, to make her trip and fall.

‘No, of course not. What can I say to him?’ she said, deliberately keeping her tone light to match his.

‘So why was he here? Did you ring him? Arrange for him to meet you after work?’

‘No. He just turned up. And I told him I didn’t want to see him again. He wants to know why. It’s not unreasonable.’

Woody nodded as if there was some possibility that he might agree. They joined the rush hour queue; Woody with his eyes firmly fixed on the road, said, ‘Maybe I should ask Farouk to have a little word with him.’

Sarah turned and stared at him. ‘What?’

‘Maybe. I mean what does it take to make this guy to back off? He’s rung the house, left god knows how many messages on the answer machine, and now pitched up here. How many hints does the guy need? Seems to me that if he can’t take no for an answer, maybe Farouk can help him with that.’

Sarah swallowed hard, tempering her voice. ‘Why would you want to do that? What has Josh ever done to you?’

‘Turning up here after you told him it was over, ringing. Maybe he needs the situation explaining to him a little more clearly.’

‘I’m already doing what you ask, Woody, leave Josh alone.’ She tried to make it sound like a command and not as if she was begging.

Woody turned round and grinned, then threw back his head and laughed. ‘Had you worried there, didn’t I? You should see your face. What sort of person do you take me for?’

Speechless, Sarah stared at him; wasn’t that the problem? She had no idea what sort of person Woody was.

‘Just make sure you leave him alone, don’t contact him, don’t answer any calls. And if he turns up here again, or at the house, I want you to tell me, is that clear?’

‘You’re going to know anyway – you pick me up, you drop me off.’

He dropped his hand on her thigh. ‘Only because I care about you, Sarah. I don’t want you getting any funny ideas, and I don’t want Farouk getting any either, if you get my drift. There is too much at stake.’

‘You think Farouk will come after me?’ said Sarah, appalled. The idea hadn’t crossed her mind. She certainly hadn’t considered Woody might be picking her up to protect her from Farouk. ‘I thought you said we were safe, that you’d sorted it?’

‘I have. But it always pays to be careful where Farouk is concerned,’ Woody said. ‘When are you at the nursery next?’

‘Friday.’

‘Okay, I want you to take the invitations in with you. We haven’t got that long to get everything sorted out.’

‘The invitations?’

He nodded. ‘Yes, the wedding invitations; I printed them out this morning. Like I said before, the more people we have there the better.’

Sarah wanted to win at something; to feel some sense of control. ‘Have you told your parents yet?’ she asked.

‘No.’

‘Why not? You could email them. Or Skype them. Surely you should say something.’

‘No,’ he snapped angrily. ‘And I don’t want to talk about them. And I don’t want you to talk about them. Is that clear?’

‘Why not? Won’t they want to know why you’re staying in the UK, why you’re not going home? Won’t they want to know you’re getting married?’

‘No, just leave it alone.’

‘But—’

The look he gave her dried the words in her throat.

Sarah

‘So, you didn’t have any contact with his parents before the wedding?’

‘No, Woody was adamant. I wondered if he had fallen out with them about something else, maybe they didn’t want him to stay – I don’t know, but he was really uncomfortable about discussing his family.’

‘How did the wedding go?’

‘I was in a bit of a daze the whole day. It didn’t feel real. Quite a few people came to the registry office. Although I didn’t know half of them they seemed to know me. Some of them were friends of Woody’s, quite a lot of Ryan’s friends, and some people from work, some from the nursery, a couple from the restaurant. My boss couldn’t come so he arranged for the flowers for the registry office.

‘It was like a bad dream. I kept thinking I’d wake up. And I kept thinking – hoping – that Josh might turn up and save me. You know, like they do in films. I wanted to look over and see him there.’

‘As a guest?’

‘No, god no, not as a guest, standing there beside me instead of Woody.’

‘And did you think that Josh might show up?’

‘I didn’t honestly know. I wondered if someone at the nursery might have said something to him. Told him about the wedding. I suppose I was grasping at straws.’

‘So did he?’