Sign of the Times (14 page)

“Whatever’s necessary.”

Meanwhile, he, Susan and Henry were waving their placards frantically in the air whilst Lee was leading the crowd in a chant of “No to the Visitor Centre”, “Save Black Watch”. The villagers occasionally joined in with a “Yay,” but you could tell some of them were uncomfortable.
 
It occurred to Jennifer that perhaps some of the B&Bs and restaurants would get good temporary business, from the very contractors, who were about to tear down their beloved centre.
 
She could hear the foreman’s voice rise as he stood gesticulating at Maggie, and Maggie’s own tone seemed to sharpen too.
 
The foreman walked away in exasperation, flipping open his mobile as he did so.
 
Maggie posed a ridiculous figure, prone on the dirt track in front of the centre.
 
She sat up and addressed the crowd, who half- heartedly yelled and jeered at the workmen.
 
Just then, a police car drew up.
 
Oh dear, thought Jennifer.
 
She stood, rooted to the spot, willing Maggie to get up.
 
But Maggie just lay there expectantly.
 

The older policeman spoke briefly with the foreman, then headed towards Maggie.
 
Jennifer couldn’t hear what was said.
 
Lee stood shaking his head and Susan looked on in despair.
 
Some of the onlookers started moving away, not wanting to get involved, if things were going to get serious.
  
The policeman seemed agitated, but Maggie just smiled at him.
 
Just then, a white van appeared, rounding the last bend at a higher than average speed.
 
It braked sharply at the sight of the police car.
 
The emblazoned logo of
The Lochaber News
meant that the press had come to join the circus.
 
This would be big news around here, Jennifer felt, protestors for the centre actually protesting, but oh, how much better a story, a woman lying down in front of a wrecking ball, with the police standing over her.
 
She found herself wondering if Maggie hadn’t engineered the press presence and resolved to ask her later.
 
Right now she was in a bit of a predicament.
 
Horrified, she looked on as Maggie was bodily removed and put in the back of the police car.
 
She ran towards the car but was stopped by the younger constable.

“Where are you taking her?”

“Fort William police station.”

She looked at Maggie across the distance that separated them, giving her a despairing glance, but Maggie even in the back of a police car, handcuffed, was still smiling, albeit grimly. The car pulled away and the crowd started to disperse.
  

“They’ve taken her to Fort William,” she relayed to the others.

“OK then,” said Jeremy decisively, “Pile in.
 
We’d better go and get her.
 
She’ll be out soon I’m sure.”

Jennifer wasn’t so certain, but hoped Jeremy was right.
  
Had she actually
been
arrested?
 
Didn’t they usually read you your rights?
 
Did
they and she hadn’t noticed?
 
She
had
been momentarily distracted by the arrival of the news team.
 
Maybe they read you your rights down at the station. You’d think she’d know after years of watching
The Bill.
 
Jennifer allowed herself a small smile.
 
How dreadful that her knowledge was gleaned almost solely from TV these days.
 
She dutifully clambered into the Renault Espace along with the other four and they set off on the fifteen mile journey to Fort William.

Jennifer went in to the station to find out what was happening.
  
The kind sergeant at the desk checked and told her Maggie would be interviewed in an hour or so.
 
Jennifer informed the others and they decided they’d be better waiting over the road at
The Lochaber.

Chapter Eighteen

“Oh Maggie!
 
Thank God.
 
Are you OK?
 
Do you have to pay bail?” Jennifer whispered the last part, as the swing doors she had just burst through swung to and fro behind her until they finally settled.

“It’s not quite
The Bill
you know, Jennifer and yes, I’m fine, even if my pride is a little dented.
 
I’m just upset about the centre. They let me off with a caution and told me to behave a bit more responsibly, if I really must protest at all.”

“Thank goodness.”

“Yeah.
 
Where are the others?”

“In
The Lochaber
.”
 

“Good. Let’s go.”

“Hey.
 
There’s the heroine of the hour,” Lee called.

“Hardly.
 
They’ve already started demolishing the centre.”

“You did your best, Maggie,” Jeremy consoled her.

“It wasn’t good enough,” she said matter-of-factly.

“You can’t win them all,” Susan put in.

“I know.
 
I really do,” Maggie admitted.
 
“OK, let’s get moving.
 
I’d like these tents up as soon as, so we can head over to the Aonach Inn?
 
I’m starving.”

“That was a fab meal,” declared Henry.

“Yes, it was good, wasn’t it?” agreed Jeremy.

A band played in the background.
 
Jennifer rather liked the blend of folk meets blues.
 
Hoochy Coochy Man
was the last rendition they’d given.
 
They were all chattering animatedly, trying to think of the next song they should request.
 
Irish Rover was top of most people’s list, not for the significance, but just because everyone knew it and it had a good rhythm. It wasn’t really the sort of thing the band was accustomed to.
 
They were just finalising their vote on who was going to go up and ask for
The Irish Rover,
fully expecting to be refused, when Jeremy shouted,

“Ben! Ben! Over here!”

A tall, well-built guy of about twenty five to thirty, looked over, grinned in recognition and made his way towards them.

“I’m fine Jez and you, what you been up to?”

“Rescuing this one from being arrested,” he indicated Maggie.
 
“You’ve been working too hard I hear.
 
You’re never home any more.” Jez chastised.
 
“No time for beers.

“I’ve time for beers now.”

“Are you on your own?”

“Yes, I’m supposed to be in Glasgow. I wasn’t meant to be working up here this weekend, but I’m covering for a mate who’s gone on holiday at the last minute.”

“Well, why don’t you join us?
 
Make way for one more, guys. Budge up!”

As introductions were made, Jennifer felt as if her hormones were going haywire. When she’d shaken Ben’s hand, a tingle had shot right through her.
 
A jolt of pure, unadulterated lust coursed through her. She’d almost forgotten what it felt like.
 
As Jez and Ben brought themselves up to speed, she took advantage of the fact that Henry had the others’ attention captured by some tale he was telling, to study Ben a bit better.
 
He wasn’t classically good looking.
 
He had sex appeal.
 
That’s what it was.
 
He had presence.
 
The way only people who’re sexy but don’t know it have.
 
His hair, like his eyes, was dark brown and it was cropped short.
  
He also sported a significant five o’clock shadow.
 
Jennifer hadn’t known she liked rugged types until now.
 
Her heartbeat accelerated and parts of her, long dormant, reawakened.
 
She could feel the heat rise in her and knew she had to get away from the table, before an intuitive Maggie noticed.
 

“Anyone for another?”

Unsurprisingly, everyone took her up on her offer.
 

“Ben, what are you having?”

“What are
you
having?” he smiled appealingly.
 
Jeez, he had the most incredible smile and fairly white, even teeth, with just a little gap to the bottom left side.
 
God, she sounded like a dentist!

“I-I’m having vodka and coke,” she stammered.

“Make that two.”

“OK” and she fled.

“Three vodkas and coke, a Baileys and ice, two pints of lager and a vodka and diet Irn Bru,” reeled off Jennifer.

“Coming up,” said the barman, eyeing her up.
 
Jennifer felt a little uncomfortable.
 
She wasn’t used to strange men eyeing her up.
 
She wasn’t used to anyone eyeing her up anymore, man, woman, martian, anyone.
 
But the barman could pass for her grandfather.

“I get off in half an hour,” the barman said meaningfully.

Desperately Jennifer said, “That’s nice.”

“Would you like to meet up later?”

“I-I-I…” she stammered again.

“I’m sure she’d love to, but we have plans later, don’t we darling?” a very welcome voice said, from behind her.

“Yes,” she said, unable to think of anything else to say, relieved beyond belief to have got rid of the barman and delighted that Ben, for she was sure it was Ben, had come to her rescue.
 
She twirled to face her rescuer who said,

“I came to help you with the drinks.”

“Thanks.”

“Can’t have you being set upon by the wolves,” at which Jennifer smiled faintly.

When Jennifer had placed the last drink down in front of Henry, she discovered on returning to her seat, that it was no longer Lee on her right hand side, but Ben.
 
The proximity of this man to her was intoxicating.
 
Jeremy, who sat on her other side, started up a conversation with Ben about mountain climbing.
 
She sat back and just listened to them, acknowledging some sort of involvement every so often.
 
Meanwhile, she was trying to make sense of her turbulent thoughts.
 
She felt a connection with this guy.
 
There was a lot of positive energy flowing between them.
 
She wished she’d studied her chakra books more, so she could understand it better.

The men started talking about abseiling, when suddenly Ben turned to her and asked her if
she’d
ever abseiled.

“Well yes, but not for years.”

“Did you enjoy it?”

“Yes. It was brilliant, but I was absolutely fearless when I was seven.”

They all laughed at that, then Lee excused himself to go to the toilet.
 

“Bring back more drinks,” Jez shouted after him.

“So, would you abseil again?” Ben asked

“I-I don’t know,” stumbled Jennifer.
 
“I don’t exactly get the opportunity.”

“You make your own opportunities in life.
 
If you want to go abseiling again, let me know. It’s my specialty.
 
You’d be perfectly safe with me.”

And Jennifer really thought she would be.
 
Even though he was sexy as hell and causing her to experience all sorts of emotions she hadn’t felt for years, she really did feel that he would be a dependable, reliable sort of guy.
 
But, what
was
she thinking of?
 
He wasn’t interested in her.
 
She fancied the pants off
him
, but there was no sign it was reciprocal.
 
And then she thought, well, why the hell not?
 
For once she decided she was going to be spontaneous.
 
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

“I’d really like that. When’s the best time to do it?”

Ben smiled and looked genuinely pleased that she wanted to pursue it further.

“Well, basically anytime when it’s not frosty or icy, if you’re a beginner, although once you get more adventurous, perhaps we can get you ice climbing,” he said, his eyes twinkling.
 
Jennifer wasn’t sure about ice climbing, but he was certainly making her heart rate climb.

“So, when am I taking you?” Ben broke into her reverie.

Now
, she wanted to say, but then she thought of her mother, so said, “I don’t have much free time,” at which he looked crestfallen and said, “That’s too bad.”

Again, she rallied and said, “It’s complicated” and briefly explained about her mum.

“That’s got to be hard on you.”

“Sometimes,” she admitted, “but I couldn’t live with myself if she had to go into care.”

Ben looked at her in open admiration.

“Well, if you ever have a free window, let me know,” and taking a supermarket receipt out of his wallet, he scrawled his mobile number on the back.

Jeremy’s reappearance pronounced the arrival of another round of drinks. The intimacy was gone and all seven of them settled into a big debate about travel and where was the most worthwhile place on Earth.
 
Jeremy said the missionaries in Africa must have the worst job, but with the greatest rewards.
 
The others all shot him down and said that they didn’t want to know about any noble causes. They just wanted his dream destination.
 
This debate raged until they had to leave, due to the campsite curfew.
 
Periodically Jennifer glanced at Ben and occasionally she thought she caught him looking at her too.

They all trudged along, singing and linking arms.
 
Jez had talked Ben into coming back to the campsite with them, rather than getting a cab back to his B&B in Ballachulish.
 
Lee was a dab hand at the old campfire and Henry had promised them all sausage sandwiches. They sat chatting for an hour or so.
 
Jennifer was beginning to feel quite tired, despite her exhilaration.
 
Excusing herself, she made for the Portakabin toilet at the other end of the campsite.
 
About a third of the way across, she cursed herself for not borrowing Lee’s Maglite.
 
She couldn’t see a damned thing.

Hands washed, Jennifer came out and banged straight into Ben.
 
Quickly regaining her composure after her initial fright at a shadow looming out of the dark at her, Jennifer teased,

“Sorry, but do you usually loiter around ladies’ toilets?”

“No, but I saw you struggling on the way over and figured I’d bring you a torch.”

Jennifer was touched.
 

“Did you really come all the way over here to bring me a torch?”

“Well, not exactly. The torch was an excuse.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, confused.

And in answer to her question, Ben bent down and kissed her very softly on the lips.

Gzing i
s what Jennifer felt.
 
She tingled all over.
 
He drew away from her and looked in her eyes. Seeing there what he wanted, he kissed her again, this time not so softly, parting her lips, making her catch the sound in her throat.
 
She almost gasped with pleasure.
 
His tongue tangled with hers, his arms moved up and down her back, as she snaked her arms around his neck.
 
Eventually, he drew away from her again. “I’ve wanted to do that all night. I couldn’t wait to see if you took up my offer of abseiling.”

“So I see,” she chuckled.

“I wasn’t too forward was I?”

“I’m glad you were.”

“So, where do we go from here?” and in response Jennifer drew him down to her again, devouring him hungrily, feeling him harden against her, igniting her own desire further.
  
It had been so long since she’d been touched like this.
 
Ben drew his fingers over her flat tummy and she almost climaxed there and then.

“We’d better go back or I’m not going to be able to control myself.”

“Me neither,” she breathed.

“When can I see you again?”

“We’ll sort something out,” Jennifer said, determined that she would.
 
Tonight had reminded her what life was all about.