The Girls in the Woods (8 page)

Will walked away from him, leaving Stu staring after him, shocked at his boss’s tantrum. Then, realising he’d been a complete idiot and so wrong it would be hard to put it right, he hurried after Will – trying his best to think of all the ways he could make it up to him.

Chapter 8

Annie walked down the lane towards Apple Tree Cottage and felt her heart fill with joy to see Jake and his adorable baby girl, Alice, playing in her front garden. It never failed to melt her heart – the sight of huge, tough, gorgeous Jake playing with Alice. She opened the gate and Alice began to squeal with delight at the sight of Annie. She hurried over to scoop her up into her arms and plaster her with kisses. Alice giggled. Lifting her small, chubby finger she began to twirl it around one of Annie’s curls that had escaped her ponytail.

‘Well, hello, my adorable Alice, I’ve missed you so much – did you miss me?’

Alice began gurgling at her.

‘Yes, you did, I know that you did.’

Jake walked over and bent to kiss Annie’s cheek.

‘Yes, she did, I cannot lie. The poor kid almost had to go cold turkey off the chocolate buttons because Alex banned chocolate from the house for a week. I missed you as well, though. You look really well, you look...’

Annie slapped his arm.

‘Don’t you dare say that I’m blooming. I hate that expression. I have a bad back which is keeping me awake at night, can’t stop peeing and I still want to devour box after box of Coco Pops.’

‘Best not get you started on the haemorrhoids then.’

He winked at her and began to laugh.

‘Suit yourself – I won’t say it then. Tell me, how was your holiday? That’s what I’ve come to see you for. I want to know every sordid detail, every cocktail that you drank and where was the most exotic location you two had sex?’

‘I’m not telling you that even though you are my bestie. What’s the matter with you?’

Jake pouted.

‘Well, did you at least join the mile-high club?’

‘In case it’s escaped your notice, Jake, I’m six months pregnant – I could only just squeeze myself into the toilet on the plane. There was no room for me to manoeuvre, never mind Will! Come on, let’s go inside. I’ll make us a cool drink and fill you in on everything.’

‘Everything?’

‘Well, almost everything – there are some things a lady should never discuss.’

He looked around the garden, ‘What lady?’

She ignored him and walked to the front door, passing Alice to him so she could open it. It was cool inside. She hadn’t realised how warm it was outside until she stepped onto the cold tiled floor and kicked her shoes off. Jake ducked under the porch and followed her in.

‘No sign of?’

He didn’t finish it; he knew the rules. Neither of them was to speak about that woman inside the perimeter of the house and gardens. Annie shook her head.

‘No, but I saw those two little boys earlier, looking out of the bedroom window, and I can’t help thinking that if she was around they wouldn’t be here, would they? They kept their distance when it was all going on and I don’t mind kids as long as they’re sweet and innocent like Sophie.’

Sophie was the little girl whose soul had been stolen by the shadow man. Annie had never been so scared as the day she had to do battle with the dark entity that collected souls of the innocent and who had wanted Annie’s soul. Jake had been there in the church whilst Annie had done her very best to fight the shadow man and send him back to hell; she’d done it with a little help from Sophie and her mum, who had both died in 1984. All three of them had held hands and fought against him, managing to get rid of him for good – or so Annie hoped. She had watched Sophie be reunited with her mum, who she hadn’t seen for twenty years, and she’d known then that as scary as her newly found psychic gift was it was also very wonderful.

‘That’s good. In fact it’s more than good – it’s a huge relief. I mean, you have this fabulous house and it would be terrible if you had to sell it because of its ghostly inhabitants – not that anyone would want to buy it if they knew it was haunted. So come on then, what was Hawaii like? Am I going to want to get the next plane there?’

‘Oh yes, it was beautiful and the people were so nice – in fact they were amazing. I would seriously think about living out there if I didn’t have to worry about leaving you all behind.’

‘See, you’re a posh bird now. You’ve gone up in the world since you married into money. I’m surprised that you still talk to us lower-class heathens.’

‘Pft, Alex is by no means lower class, Jake, and you live in the poshest part of Barrow so stop talking rubbish. Who’d have thought it, though, I mean seriously – you ended up with the man of your dreams, who just happened to be rolling in it with a good job. And I met the man of my dreams, who I had no idea was rolling in it because he kept it so well hidden. I’m not going to lie; it’s a lovely feeling seeing the brown envelopes come through the door and not have to worry if my wages will be enough to cover the bills – but if I lost it all tomorrow it wouldn’t matter as long as I had Will and the baby.’

‘We did all right, didn’t we, kid? We’ve survived some scary shit but we’ve come out the other side. Bloody hell, we should be drinking champagne not…’ He took a sip from the tall glass filled with ice and juice that she passed him. ‘What is this?’

‘A non-alcoholic Pimm’s.’

Jake spat an ice cube down the front of his shirt.

‘Since when did you drink Pimm’s?’

‘See, you don’t know everything about me. I do have some secrets.’

‘You’re a dark horse, Annie Graham – I mean Ashworth. I can’t get used to calling you that, by the way. You know you will always be Annie Graham to me, don’t you.’

She nodded.

‘I know.’

‘Good, I love my plain old Annie.’

‘And I love my red hot Jake.’

‘Calm it down, woman – you know I’m a married man now.’

But he winked at her, relieved to see that for once she had a lovely golden glow, wasn’t missing half of her hair, didn’t have any black eyes or bruises and wasn’t being stalked by a serial killer or a scary ghost. He just hoped that he wasn’t jinxing things by being so happy for her. She’d had such a rough couple of years he was amazed she wasn’t hooked on vodka and anti-depressants. Annie led them into the living room and flopped down onto the sofa.

‘You may have to haul me off this thing before you go or, if you can’t, hire a crane. I’m so tired all the time. I had no idea it would feel like this.’

‘I could haul you off there with one hand. You’re not that big.’

‘Really, because I feel as if I’m the size of a house. I’m scared to look in the mirror sideways or have a bath when Will isn’t here in case I get stuck and can’t get out – I don’t fancy sitting in a bath tub for hours on end.’

He laughed. Alice was sitting on the soft cream rug by his feet playing with an assortment of toys Annie had brought in from the cupboard under the stairs. They both watched her play and Annie had to stop herself from sighing out loud. She couldn’t wait to watch their baby playing with Alice. The ball, which had rolled away from Alice and was too far out of her reach, began to roll back towards her. Annie watched it and smiled. Jake grabbed her arm.

‘Did you see that? Jesus, look – it’s moving on its own!’

‘It’s a ball, Jake. They’re circular and are known for rolling around.’

He shook his head.

‘Not like that.’

It reached Alice and she chuckled, pushing it back away again. Once more it began to roll towards her.

‘Should I be worried? Annie, I thought you said it was okay here now. What’s going on?’

‘No, you definitely don’t need to worry – it’s only Sophie. She’s come to play with Alice. Hello, Sophie, where have you been? It’s been ever so quiet without you.’

Jake’s tanned face turned white, but there was no reply. The room was chillier than before but it didn’t feel menacing. A voice whispered into Annie’s ear.

‘Hello, Annie, I just brought our Alice to meet Jake’s Alice. She’s in love with her. You can tell him that his little Alice now has her very own guardian angel because she’s besotted.’

‘That’s lovely. I can’t see either of you but I miss you both.’

Jake stared at her. He couldn’t hear anyone but Annie. ‘Who are you talking to?’

‘Don’t worry, Annie, we’re still around but you haven’t needed us as much so we’ve been keeping an eye on you from afar.’

Annie felt an ice-cold squeeze as Sophie wrapped her arms around her and hugged her. Annie tried her best to hug her back but it was hard to hug someone that you couldn’t always see. The baby began to cry and Annie realised that her ghostly friends had left – it made her wonder if little Alice already had a sixth sense because there was no reason for her to be crying. Jake was staring at Annie, who had scooped Alice into her arms. ‘Did you like playing with Sophie and Alice. They liked playing with you.’

‘What just happened? Was it Sophie? Because I can cope if it’s a ghost I know but I don’t want any old ghost playing with my daughter. I’m still not one hundred per cent sure about all this weird stuff, you know.’

Annie began to laugh. Alice Heaton had died a very long time ago; she had helped Annie to overcome Henry Smith the first time he’d tried to kill her in the derelict mansion in Abbeywood that her brother Ben had been the caretaker of. If it hadn’t been for Alice she didn’t know if she would still be here to tell the tale of what happened at the ghost house, as Will had nicknamed it. It was so sweet how Alice and Sophie had both become such good friends and her very own guardian angels.

‘Yes, it’s all fine. Sophie and Alice wanted to come and see your Alice. They are the kindest, most beautiful souls I’ve ever met and if little Alice has them watching out for her she will be just fine. They make a pretty good team and they’ve helped me out more than enough times when I really needed them.’

‘Dear God, our lives are never just normal, are they?’

He wasn’t expecting an answer to that question, because he knew the answer. Normal had left his life when Annie became psychic after the terrible head injury that Mike, her now-dead husband, had inflicted upon her a couple of years ago. She changed the subject. The baby was playing with the gold cross that she always wore around her neck. It had been a present from her friend Father John – who had blessed it after their encounter with that awful woman he’d helped them to bury in the churchyard – and it meant the world to her.

‘So what’s going on in the busy world of Bowness? I bet you’re bored without me. Not to mention skint. Do you have to pay for your coffee now I’m not with you to go inside and get it?’

‘Yes and no. It’s still free when Gustav is in but he’s not been well the last couple of weeks so I had to pay, three times.’

Annie snorted.

‘Just imagine how much it would have cost you if you hadn’t got all those freebies. Poor Gustav. Do you know what’s up with him? I like him. I know he’s a big flirt but he’s good hearted and sweet. I’m surprised he isn’t married, he’s so good looking.’

‘I can tell you why he isn’t married. Isn’t it obvious?’

She shook her head.

‘He isn’t married because he sleeps with anything that walks on two legs.’

‘I still think he’s a sweetie. We all have our faults.’

‘Talking about faults, where is your lord and master today. I thought he was off work?

‘To be honest, I’m not sure. He went back to work yesterday and got called into work earlier so I don’t know when I’ll see him again. You know what it’s like. Some job comes in and there’s never anyone on to cover. It’s getting worse. He promised me he wasn’t going to work late today and that he was easing himself back into it, but I should have known better. I wanted him to finish painting the nursery and build the cot.’

Jake began laughing.

‘You won’t see him again; he probably texted Stu and told him to make a job up, if all you wanted him to do was paint and put together a ten-thousand-part cot. Well, if it was me you wouldn’t see me for the rest of the day. There’s nothing more depressing than trying to build flat-pack furniture.’

‘He wouldn’t do that – he likes doing stuff around the house. Doesn’t he?’

‘Not for me to say, princess, but there are some things a man doesn’t like doing no matter how much he loves you. Right, we need to get going. I have loads to do and can’t waste all day sitting here with you.’

‘Thanks, Jake. I’d hate you to waste your time on me.’

He leant over – wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her forehead.

‘I don’t mean it like that. I just have so much to do. Two days off aren’t enough, especially not with Alice. I just want to make them count. I had no idea being a parent was so time-consuming, but wonderful. Not long now before you and the man discover this as well – make the most of your freedom because things will change drastically once baby Ashworth arrives. There won’t be any of this flying off to exotic locations for long, lazy holidays.’

He stood up. Tucking the baby under one arm, he held out his other hand for Annie to pull her up. She grabbed it and before she could sit forward he’d yanked her to her feet.

‘Wow, I’d forgotten just how big and strong you are.’

‘See, told you I wasn’t losing my touch.’

He winked at her and she smiled, wishing he could stay longer. Being pregnant was the most amazing thing that had happened to her, but it was driving her mad being at home all day. She had never been so fed up. Kissing Alice and tickling her she then stood on her tiptoes and kissed Jake’s cheek. They walked to the front door and she led them outside, watching Jake buckle his bundle of love into her car seat, then walk around and get into the driver’s seat.

‘See you soon, my friend.’

‘I hope so Jake, because I miss you.’

He blew her a kiss then began reversing out of the drive. Annie watched him until the tail lights on his car disappeared from sight, then she turned to go back inside. She would finish the painting and build the cot herself if Will wasn’t man enough to say he didn’t want to. At least that would pass the time until he was back with her.

Doctor Paul Miller sighed as his last patient for the day left his office; he had the rest of the day to himself which was a nice change. He had been planning on going fell walking but all he could think about was Jo Tyson. He’d never liked Heath since the day they’d fallen out over Jo – she never knew about the big argument they’d had, which had turned into a fight. One which Paul had won in the physical sense because he’d hit Heath so hard he’d fallen back, hitting his head against the slate wall in the darkened car park of the Queen’s pub, which knocked him out. It had been the one and only time Paul had ever fought over a girl in his life.