She was stunned to see so many vehicles and wished she had thought to ask whereabouts in the field the car had been left. Not wanting to take too long and risk the woman running out of the few bottles she had left, Melody quickly walked up and down the rows of cars, trying to find the right one.
She welcomed people and thanked others as they left, happy that so far at least the event was a success. Lettie would be enormously relieved and the rest of them justly proud for all their hard work setting everything up.
Soon there was no one apart from her in the car park.
She eventually came across the woman’s car and hurried over to it, vaguely aware that another couple of vehicles had arrived. Pressing the fob, she watched with satisfaction as the car lightsflickered, then went to the boot and opened it, surprised when she lifted one side of the box how heavy it was. The stallholder hadn’t been kidding, she thought.
‘So, this is where you’ve been hiding?’
Melody stilled, her breath catching in her throat. She didn’t need to turn around to know Rhys was standing behind her. Even if he hadn’t spoken, she was sure that his closeness would have caused her nerve endings to jangle. She looked from side to side, hoping to see other people around, but unsurprised that he had waited until they were alone. Bracing herself for what she was about to face, she turned around.
‘I’m not hiding anywhere,’ she snapped, determined not to show him how petrified she was of him still. ‘I’m fetching something for someone. You’re the one who is out of place here, Rhys.’ She almost spat his name, hoping her aggressive reaction to him made him realise she wasn’t the woman he’d spent those years bullying. ‘Why don’t you do yourself a favour and leave. You’ve no business being here, and you know it.’ She turned her back on him and focused on the box in the boot of the car, hoping he wouldn’t notice how much her hands were shaking as she reached to pick it up.
Before she knew what had hit her, his fingers grabbed hold of her neck from behind, squeezing tightly as he pushed her head lower towards the box. He bent over her, his body pressed against hers, making her cringe. She could feel the tension in his body as she clung to the sides of the box desperately hoping not to fall in.
‘Don’t you ever, ever, speak to me like that again, do you hear me?’ he hissed in her ear.
She didn’t have a chance to reply before his fingers let go and he moved back from her. Confused, she didn’t dare turn around straight away, hoping he had spotted someone coming and was about to leave.
‘And don’t let me ever see you touching her like that again,’ she heard Zac say. His voice was cold, reminding her of razor-sharp steel. Surprised and relieved, she turned to see him push Rhys backwards onto the grass. ‘In fact, I’d better not ever see you speaking to her again. Now, get the hell out of here and if I see you here or anywhere near Melody again, I promise you’ll regret it.’
She was stunned to see Rhys on the ground scrambling backwards as he tried to get to his feet. He glared up at Melody and opened his mouth to say something, but she turned away from him, unable to find the words to convey how much he disgusted her.
They watched Rhys stumble away from them, get in a hire car and speed out of the field.
Zac shook his head. ‘Thank heavens there isn’t anyone coming in the opposite direction,’ he said.
‘And that all the animals are up in the top fields.’
Zac turned to her. ‘Are you all right, Melody?’ he asked, his voice gentle as he placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her slowly to face him. ‘He didn’t hurt you, did he?’ He checked her neck. ‘I think you’re going to have a bit of bruising there.’
She saw the muscles in his jaw working and noticed he had clenched his teeth. She suspected Zac would have loved to punch Rhys, hard, and a part of her wished that he had. She was glad he hadn’t though. She loved Zac for his gentleness and just because Rhys was a thug who picked on people physically weaker than himself, Zac had no reason to do the same thing by hitting him.
‘Hey, you OK down there?’ a deep voice shouted and Melody looked over to see Joe.
‘Thanks, Joe,’ Zac replied. ‘We’re fine. Thanks though.’
After watching for a couple of seconds, Joe walked away seemingly satisfied that his help wasn’t needed. Zac gazed ather, his expression troubled, and she realised he needed her to comfort him as much as she needed to feel his arms around her.
‘I’m so glad you arrived when you did,’ she said, slipping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest. His heart was racing and she wasn’t sure if it was fear or suppressed rage. ‘I can’t believe he dared to come back when he knew people would be looking out for him.’
She realised that even if she had hoped Rhys wouldn’t return, she had never really believed it. He had always been self-assured and certain that he was right about most things, so why not believe he had every right to come back to Hollyhock Farm to confront her when he wanted to?
‘He’s a vicious bully,’ Zac said partly to himself. He leant back and peered into her eyes. ‘You can’t have had an easy life with him and that saddens me. You deserve so much more than him.’ He shook his head. ‘No one deserves to be with someone who treats them like that.’
‘I know. I promise you he wasn’t always like that. I never would have knowingly become involved with someone who behaved like he did today.’ She recalled the version of Rhys she had fallen in love with. ‘He used to be charming and kind.’ She gave a shuddering sigh. ‘I’m not sure what happened to make him change so drastically and I won’t make excuses for him because as far as I’m concerned no one has the right to behave like he does.’
‘And if I have anything to do with it, he won’t get another chance to take you by surprise like that.’
Melody rested her head against him again. ‘And I love that you feel so protective of me,’ she admitted. ‘But realistically there’s nothing much anyone can do.’ She felt him stiffen and looked up at him. ‘You have to work, Zac, and there are times when I will be out in the fields by myself or at the farm.’ She thought of all the people that seemed to be drawn to HollyhockFarm and smiled. ‘And what happens when I return to Edinburgh?’ It was something she wasn’t ready to think about. Not yet.
He went to say something, but Melody gasped.
‘What’s the matter?’ He looked over his shoulder then back at her.
‘Sorry. I’ve just remembered one of the stallholders is waiting for me to take a box of her products to her, but I’m going to be late for my class if I don’t hurry. Would you take them to her for me?’
‘Of course.’ His shoulders relaxed and he smiled. ‘You nearly gave me a heart attack just then. Right, where’s this box then?’
