Page 17 of The Twilight Garden

‘No, Leo, please. Don’t do that. I’m okay, I’ll just take it slow.’

‘Why do you always have to be so damn independent?’ he muttered.

Willow glanced between them. ‘Do you two know one another?’ Her expression was guarded, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

‘We do,’ replied Gemma, sucking in a breath through her teeth. ‘We used to be married.’

7

It seemed to take forever to get back to the house, and by the time they did, Gemma felt sick and dizzy. She allowed herself to be lowered into a kitchen chair where she sat with her head in her hands, wishing for everything to go away, while both Willow and Leo clattered about the room, making more drinks, fetching an ice pack, back and forth, to and fro. It made her head spin even faster and she closed her eyes.

The next thing she knew, Willow was gently easing off her boots, her face taut with concern as Gemma winced in pain. Her jacket followed, covered in mud from where she’d lain on the ground, and which Willow hung on a hook for now. When Gemma grimaced at the state of her jeans, Willow waved away her concern; although by the time she was helped into the living room, Leo had procured a blanket from somewhere which he draped over the armchair before she sat down.

Willow’s unnaturally bright conversation continued for several more moments, and was clearly an attempt at masking the awkward silence between her and Leo. Eventually, she ran out of things to say and backed out of the room wearing an oversized smile.

‘I’ll just go and see where Rowan has got to,’ she said as she left, and suddenly, it was just the two of them. The last thing Gemma wanted to do was talk, but she could hardly ignore Leo – he was perched on a chair opposite, watching her. She couldn’t even study him surreptitiously, although time had been good to him, that much was obvious. Still the same unruly crop of jet-black hair, the same deep-blue eyes which even the faint laughter lines surrounding them couldn’t diminish. His jaw was just as angular too, covered with a light stubble just as it had aways been. She dreaded to think what she looked like – her chestnut hair threaded with grey and her eyes ringed with what could only be described as wrinkles. They stopped being laughter lines some while ago. It really wasn’t fair.

‘So…’ he said, the word somehow containing three syllables. ‘What’s the story here, then? I must admit you’re the last person I expected to see.’

‘Likewise,’ muttered Gemma. ‘Although in your case, I guess it’s not much of a surprise to find you in a place like this. Looks like your dream came true.’

Leo’s eyes narrowed. ‘If you mean did I finally manage to get my business off the ground, yes, I did. With quite a few setbacks and a helluva lot of hard work. Even now I’m only just—’ He stopped abruptly. ‘Never mind. I’m sure you’re not interested in the details. But I met Rowan a while back and they’re friends now, he and Willow. They’ve been good to me.’

‘Willow said you were a bit of a guru.’ She raised her eyebrows, wondering if Leo could see the irony as well as she could.

‘It’s a big project,’ Leo replied. ‘There’s a lot they need help with.’ He raised his eyebrows in return. ‘Rowan mentioned someone else was coming on board, but I’m struggling to see which aspect of it you might be helping with. Not really your natural habitat any more, is it?’

His look was a challenge, but he could throw down the gauntlet all he liked. There was a lot he didn’t know, and she wasn’t about to tell him.

‘Leo, I can’t do this now…’ The defeated tone in her voice surprised even her, and, even more surprising, he was instantly contrite.

‘No, of course not, I’m sorry. Here, drink some of your tea.’ He passed her one of the mugs which Willow had left on the table.

She took a sip and passed it back, eyeing the flapjacks which Willow had also left.

‘Shouldn’t you be helping with something?’

Leo smiled. ‘I forgot how subtle you can be.’ He tipped his head to look at her. ‘I’m sure you do want to be left alone, but I can’t do that, I’m afraid. I wasn’t joking when I said I was worried you might have concussion, and I promised Willow I’d keep a check on you. So… I will sit here, I will promise not to engage you in conversation, and I will be quiet as a mouse so that you won’t even know I’m here. But what I won’t do, is leave you on your own.’

‘I think I just need to sleep,’ admitted Gemma, feeling the kind of overwhelming weariness which had hit her after her mum died. ‘And before you say anything, the fact about it being something you shouldn’t do following a concussion is an old wives’ tale. Besides, I don’t have concussion.’

Leo merely nodded. ‘So, sleep. It’s probably a good idea. Concussion or no concussion, you have had a shock. And I should warn you that you’ll probably feel a lot worse when you wake up. Let me get you some painkillers.’

He was out of the room before Gemma could protest. She laid her head against the back of the chair and sighed. It was hard to see how things could get any worse, and she could readily imagine the conversation Willow would have with Rowan when she found him – one where they regretted their offer for Gemma to join them. She’d managed to turn herself into a liability within a matter of hours.

Leo reappeared after about thirty seconds. ‘Here,’ he said, holding out two tablets on the palm of his hand. ‘Just paracetamol, but they should help.’ He passed her tea across so she could take them.

‘I suppose that enormous hound belongs to you, does it?’ she said, grudgingly accepting the painkillers. ‘Mulligan, I might have known. You always did want a dog called Mulligan.’

Leo grinned. ‘Have you met?’ He held her look. ‘I knew you’d love him.’

Gemma opened her mouth to protest before closing it again. She would not let Leo goad her. Not this time.

She swallowed the tablets, handing back her mug. ‘So what are you going to do now? Sit and watch me?’

‘Nope…’ The corners of Leo’s mouth twitched. ‘I’m going to light the log burner and then I’m going to read. Willow borrowed some local history books from the library in the hope that we might find out some more about this place. Now seems as good a time as any for a little research. I know nothing about this part of Cornwall.’ He knelt in front of the hearth and, ignoring her completely, began to build a fire as if he’d done it every day of his life.

Gemma pursed her lips, trying to relax. The armchair was squishingly comfortable, and although she wasn’t cold, the added warmth in the room would be soothing and most welcome. Her ankle was throbbing, her jaw was beginning to stiffen and the beginnings of a headache were looming. She would like to give in to all of it and let the oblivion of sleep claim her, but how could she do that with Leo in the room? Claiming her attention, dredging up thoughts she hadn’t had in years? The breakdown of her marriage was not something she wanted to revisit. It belonged to the other time in her life when her world had come crashing down, and its loss, while still listed as a hurt in her life’s tally, had loosened the grip it held on her over time. It was not something she wished to stoke back into life.