AllFreeNovel
Share Us
he leaned forward to test the rigidity of one of them, finding it firm and in exactly the right place. Then a little sprinkle of dust fell from it, red on the white tiles.
She leaned down to inspect it. Brick dust. The grab rail was solid and secure enough, though...
These were new. They were for her.
It wasn’t what he’d done, but the motive behind it. Leo had never shown any doubt as to her independence. This was his practical version of chocolates on her pillow. Freshly squeezed orange juice in the morning, or thick towels left on her bed. He’d taken the time to come down here and install a pair of grab rails. They didn’t have red ribbons tied around them but it was the sweetest thing he could have done.
* * *
Leo had hoped that working until his head swam with exhaustion would guarantee unbroken sleep when he finally did go to bed. But still he woke in the night, aware of Alex’s silent presence in the house.
He couldn’t allow himself to contemplate the short walk along the balcony, the idea of tapping on the glass and finding Alex awake and waiting for him. It might be below zero out there but he had a feeling that being packed in ice couldn’t cool the heat which seemed to draw him to her.
Breakfast was easier because he had something to do, to divert his attention from her smile. And this morning she was smiling, obviously enjoying the bright morning as much as he was.
‘Ready to go?’ Alex’s holdall was in the hall, the ruined silver sandals in a plastic bag on top of it. She was dressed in a warm fleece top and leggings, her hair scrunched into a ponytail. The one delicious reminder of last night was the delicate shine of clear polish on her fingernails.
‘Yes. You’ve got the coordinates?’ Alex had given him a set of coordinates instead of a postcode to enter into the satnav. Clearly, her father’s farm was relatively remote.
‘Yep.’ Leo decided that asking whether he could carry her over the bridge to the car was one step too far in wanting to recreate last night.
The morning was cold and crisp, seeming to hold all the potential of a new day. As he drove, the busy patchwork of villages and towns gave way to the more open landscape of the countryside.
‘Is this right?’ They’d reached the brow of a hill and, in the clear morning, he could see a smudge on the horizon which looked like the sea. In between there were just fields, dotted with clumps of trees and criss-crossed by narrow roads.
‘Yep. Turn off right there.’ She pointed to a track which wound around the edge of a field, leading to a large brick-built barn.
‘You climb in a barn?’
‘It’s been converted. Wait till you get there.’ There was a hint of pride in her voice which told Leo that the barn had been subjected to Alex’s endless ingenuity and energy. This he had to see.
As they drew nearer, he could see a battered truck parked outside. He stopped next to it on the hardstanding area and Alex jumped out of the car, obviously eager to show him inside.
Two sets of doors acted as an air lock. It was still chilly inside the barn but a good few degrees warmer than outside.
‘Dad...’ Alex ran over to a man who was sweeping the floor, greeting him with a hug. ‘This is Leo.’
Leo stepped forward, taking the man’s outstretched hand. Although his hair was salt-and-pepper grey, he had the same thoughtful brown eyes as Alex.
‘Howard Jackson. I’ve been listening to the programmes that Alex has been doing with you. I’m delighted to get the chance to meet you.’
A little shiver of embarrassment hit Leo. It felt as if he and Alex had been carrying out a very public exercise in intimacy over the last three weeks, and that had been okay up till now. Better than okay—it had made callers feel at ease and allowed everyone to talk freely. But at this moment it felt as if he needed to apologise for it.
‘We’ve been... Alex has been great. She’s a natural...’
‘Nice of you to say so.’ Howard smiled at his daughter. His daughter. ‘I detected a fair bit of guidance on your part.’
‘More than a bit, Dad. Leo’s taught me a lot.’
‘It’s just a matter of...’ Leo shrugged. This wasn’t just an exercise in seeing who could compliment who the most; it was suddenly important. ‘Alex gave us a lot of direction about what issues to cover. We helped her present them in a way she was comfortable with.’
Howard chuckled, apparently unfazed by the idea of his daughter discussing sex, thinly disguised as body issues, on the radio. ‘I like to call it direction as well. Even if she doesn’t compromise about exactly which direction she’s going in.’
Alex rolled her eyes, nudging her father in the ribs. ‘Where’s Mum?’
‘She’s descaling the urn. Should be finished by now; I was just about to go and collect her.’ Howard pulled a bunch of keys from his pocket and Alex took them from him.
‘I’ll go. You can show Leo around.’
