Page 7 of Mitch

Autumn let her hand stay in his warm and strong one, his fingers wrapping around hers lazily. They stayed in the moment, each gazing at the other as if the air around them had grown static with the pressure from their touch.

A cry from the pram broke the spell and Autumn pulled her hand away as she bent to look at Maggie. “Okay, baby girl, we’ll go now.” Glancing back up, she smiled shyly at Mitch. “I should go.”

Mitch shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded. “Have fun.”

“We will.”

With a final grin for him, she and Maggie walked away. Autumn sensed the heat of his gaze on her back, and for the first time since Terrell died, she felt like a woman again. Her step brisker as if she could outrun the scary thoughts, Autumn made it into town just as the first raindrop fell.

Ducking into the cookshop, she picked up some useful kitchen utensils and a small handheld food blender that was on sale, knowing that weaning was in her not too distant future. The thought made her almost sad. Her baby was growing up too fast, and she felt cheated out of some of it by things beyond her control.

It had done one positive thing though, making her get off the hamster wheel and appreciate the moment. Instead of continually pushing herself to be the best, always working for the next promotion, she has paused. Her master’s degree in chemistry had led to her dream job as a senior research chemist for one of the leading Pharmaceutical giants, but it had also been the catalyst for her downfall.

Now her life was simpler day to day. Yes, she’d made some changes, including spending the year while she was in hiding doing an online certification in editing.

Autumn had always been a geek at school, wanting to learn, feeding her brain constantly. Somehow though, she’d evaded the label of swot or teacher’s pet because she got on with everyone, managing to span to divide between the cool kids and the brainiacs.

Meeting Terrell at University had only pushed her harder. Half of their relationship was based on always competing for the best grades. Landing jobs together so they could fulfil their dreams of research had been the icing on the cake.

Until it hadn’t, until her tidy little world had disintegrated before her eyes, leaving her to pick up the pieces of her life and move on despite the shadow that would always linger behind her.

Walking back up the hill towards her new home, a smile filtered over her lips. It felt right being here. Somehow, she knew this had been the first excellent decision in a series of bad ones. Bumping Maggie over the doorstep, she turned to close the door and saw a stunningly beautiful woman who watched her from the doorway of the bottom flat.

With amber skin and dark brown hair with rich reds flowing through it, she was like an image from an Arabian night’s novel. All she needed was the outfit, her hips were curved, waist tiny, with knowing, seductive dark eyes.

Autumn was mesmerised by her, terrifyingly so, because in those eyes she saw secrets that she’d never want to know.

“Mitch said you were beautiful, and he didn’t lie.”

The woman pushed off the door and stepped closer, the velour tracksuit bottoms and vest doing nothing to hide her sexuality. Autumn detected a slight accent but couldn’t place it.

“Autumn, nice to meet you.” Autumn moved Maggie from one hip to the other so she could offer her hand, knowing that being friendly was far less likely to arouse suspicion than being offhand.

“Bebe. It’s nice to meet you, Autumn.” Bebe shook Autumn’s hand and then smiled as she glanced at Maggie. “She’s adorable. How old?”

Autumn looked at her baby who was waving her hand around, trying to make a grab for Bebe. “Maggie is five months now.”

Bebe took Maggie’s tiny hand and gave it a jiggle. “You are just precious.”

Her eyes found Autumn’s then, and she detected a loneliness about this woman she couldn’t place, a watchfulness that she saw in her own eyes as if she couldn’t trust those around her or at the least, it was hard-earned.

“Would you like some help with your bags?”

Autumn looked at her feet and realised she’d bought more than she thought and would need to make two trips. “I can manage.”

Bebe rolled her eyes. “I didn’t ask if you could manage, I asked if you’d like help.” Her otherwise scathing reply had the heat taken away by the softness of her tone.

“Thank you. That would be great.”

Autumn led the way as Bebe took two of the bags and followed. Opening her flat door, she walked in and placed Maggie in her bouncer chair. Knowing she should at least offer her a drink, Autumn glanced at Bebe. “Would you like a drink?”

Bebe shook her head. “I have to get back. I have a work call coming in later. Maybe another time?”

“Sounds good.”

Autumn showed her to the door, waving as she walked down the stairs. Closing it, she tipped her head at the slightly strange encounter. It was as if the other woman had been assessing her under a microscope and she wasn’t sure, but she thought perhaps she’d passed some unknown test.

Mitch had said they all worked in a similar industry with odd hours, but he hadn’t said what exactly, just that it involved security. Maybe that made them a suspicious bunch, but she knew no security company would get past her background checks. The witness protection people had promised her she was watertight for anyone looking into her.

Keisha Anderson no longer existed, and Autumn Roberts went back to the day of her birth, providing a full background, including speeding tickets and a credit file. With a frown she let the thought go and set about making dinner for herself. Perhaps she’d make a little extra and leave some for Mitch and Bebe. It wouldn’t hurt to make friends surely, and the best way to go unnoticed according to her contact was to be ordinary and ordinary people did nice things.