We were outside the shop now and the rain was pattering down. Not heavily as such, but leaving two-pence-sized dark splotches on the pavement. I ducked into the doorway and fumbled for my keys.
‘Let me just get my umbrella a second.’
‘All right, but you’ll have to hold it – tall person’s burden.’
I laughed. ‘Okay, deal.’
I was trying to get the stiff old lock on the door to cooperate and was very glad that we were under cover. The scent of petrichor rose up, reminding me of school playgrounds at the end of summer, the first heavy autumnal showers driving us inside to play board games instead of skipping. I was so absorbed in the nostalgic scent that it took me a moment to realise that Cooper had stiffened beside me.
I glanced around and saw an unfamiliar car moving slowly past us. Obviously not a local – they were crawling along like they were looking for an address and were going the wrong way in the one-way system. Besides, I’d have remembered if anyone in Leaford had a shiny red BMW with a 2025 plate. I wasn’t really a car person, but that really would have stood out amongst the school-run Land Rovers and banjaxed two-door runabouts of the local population. Myself included.
‘Fancy,’ I said, offhandedly, but Cooper didn’t respond. Instead he turned towards the shop, hunching his shoulders inside his too-big jacket and dipping his head down. He was hiding, I realised. From the car and whoever was driving it.
A prickle went up the back of my neck. All the odd little things I’d noticed about him were suddenly not just quirks and slightly weird niggles, but a solid red flag waving in front of me. Burner phone, lack of personal details, jumpiness and now hiding from a strange, posh car. Cooper wasn’t just an eccentric, he was actively trying to avoid something. Or someone.
The question was why?
And what was he so scared of?
Chapter 20
Ifinally got thedoor open and Cooper followed me inside, quickly closing the door behind us. Outside the rain was falling steadily now and I was fairly certain that between the rain on the windscreen and Cooper disappearing into his jacket, the person in the car couldn’t have recognised him. I guessed he was thinking the same, because he visibly relaxed once we were inside.
‘Bloody weather, eh?’ he said, jerking a thumb towards the windows. It was too performatively casual, the way he said it. It was all wrong and my insides twisted uncomfortably. A moment ago I’d been desperate to kiss him, now I was doused in the cold realisation that I still barely knew him.
‘Yeah,’ I muttered, twisting one of my hands into my scarf anxiously. Was I really going to say something? But, in the end, it just sort of slipped out. ‘So… what was that about?’
‘What?’ His expression was open and innocent, those brown puppy eyes big and confused. But underneath it there was a sliver of tension in his jaw. He knew I’d noticed something going on. I think we were both surprised I’d actually called him on it.
‘You sort of freaked out a bit when that car came past. Like you were worried someone was going to jump out and grab you,’ I said, trying to keep my voice light.
Rain rattled off the windows in the silence and Cooper was the first to look away, glancing down at the floor and shifting his boots around. I waited, and inside I could feel my good mood fading away. The temperature was dropping rapidly and it wasn’t just the rain behind it. So it wasn’t just Richard who’d lied to me. Were there any honest men at all?
What hurt the most was that I didn’t even really have any right to feel upset or angry. Who was Cooper to me, really? I’d met him a handful of times and chatted a bit and yes, I’d felt a pull towards him. A spark there that I’d tried to ignore but maybe that had all been delusion. A weird aftershock of my break-up. Literally the day after I caught Richard cheating, I’d happened upon Cooper, and it was hard to ignore the implications of that. First the break-up, then the mysterious stranger – it was like a film. I’d let myself get carried away.
‘Look, you don’t have to tell me,’ I said, as neutrally as possible. ‘I know I don’t have any right to know about your life, and it’s none of my business, but… it’s sort of obvious that you’re worried about something, or someone. That you’re running away or hiding… and if you want to talk about it, I’d like to help. If I can. You don’t have to deal with it all by yourself.’
Cooper’s jaw worked for a second and I watched the way his lip moved as he ran his tongue over his teeth, chasing words as he looked for something to say. I stood there, watching him and listening to the rain lashing down outside, and told myself that whatever he said next, I would try to be supportive and not let shock get the better of me. Even if he said he was on the run from a drug dealer, or that he’d stolen money from his last employer, or he had a wife and child somewhere. I could be a good friend. He clearly needed one.
Then he cleared his throat. ‘You know what, you’re right…’
I took a steadying breath.
‘… it is none of your business.’
The words stung like a slap, not just because they were unexpected and mean, but because he was right. I didn’t have any right to probe into Cooper’s secrets. We were basically strangers. In fact, I felt it more so in that moment than I had when we’d first met. He was so cold and sharp, looking at me as if he’d caught me going through his things. I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself. Before I could think of anything to say to that, he’d turned and let himself out into the pouring rain.
‘Cooper!’ It burst out of me in shock. I ran to the door and threw it open, ignoring the jingling of the bell, which was quickly swallowed up by the downpour outside. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, it’s pouring!’
But he was already running down the street, a blur in the rain, his hair plastered to his scalp. The shadows of the oncoming evening gobbled him up and I was left with just the rain and the hissing of a passing car. Damn it.
I shut the door and leant against it. It wasn’t just the weather that had me trembling. I hadn’t been afraid of Cooper at all – not when he’d shouted at me when we met, or when I was getting changed on his boat, not even when he randomly showed up while I was shopping. I wasn’t afraid of him even now I knew he had a secret. But, at the same time, I did feel really, really stupid. Who was he really? He was just a random man that chance had thrown in my path. I didn’t even know his first name. Yet I’d just trusted him immediately – borrowed his clothes and let him into my car, my home, into my shop after hours. I’d offered him the use of my business address only a half-hour ago.
Just me being a naïve, trusting little fool all over again. Exactly as I’d been with Richard. I sat down behind the counter, ashamed and angry with myself. Given all the risks I’d taken, I was lucky all I’d got was a scathing remark. He could easily have gone through my handbag while I was changing on the boat, or used my address to commit fraud. Whatever Cooper’s secrets were, they were nothing I wanted to get involved with. Really, he’d done me a favour by throwing my concern in my face.
With my umbrella in hand, I left the shop and was careful to lock up properly. The time to be open and trusting was over. I’d let myself be taken advantage of twice now, by Richard and then by Cooper. Mum had always told me I was too idealistic, that I expected too much of people. Maybe she was right.
I knew where I needed to go.
