AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘You don’t know what I was about to say.’
‘Whatever it is.’ He leaned back in his chair, letting the warmth from the fire relax his knotted muscles. Just one evening off from the continual, nagging demands that had dogged him from one side of the Atlantic to the other. ‘Can we talk about it another time?’
She didn’t seem sorry to let it go for a while, shifting in her chair, snuggling and stretching like a cat. ‘Okay. Another time.’
He put some music on. Sleepy background music, playing softly so that it didn’t drown out their conversation. The talk drifted, sliding effortlessly from the plans for Christmas at the hospital to model making and then on to storytelling.
‘This is just the place. An open fire, cold outside, not another soul for miles.’ She grinned wickedly. ‘It was a dark and stormy night… ’
‘And the electricity was off.’
‘And the water.’
‘Water? Does that matter?’ She shrugged and he grinned at her. ‘Okay, then the gas is off too.’
She snorted with laughter. ‘That doesn’t matter either. Ghosts don’t mind gas.’
‘How do you know?’
‘They’re ephemeral beings. They are probably some sort of gas themselves.’
‘If you say so. The gas was on, then, and the candlelight flickered low around the people stranded in the middle of nowhere.’
‘Whose car had broken down.’
‘And then they realised that they’d both forgotten to recharge their phones.’
‘Yep. And the landline’s down as well.’
‘And the walk down to the next village is blocked by snow.’
‘And they’ve forgotten their snow boots.’ She was laughing now.
‘Reasonable enough thing to do. So they’re alone in the house, quite unaware that something’s lurking.’
‘And they put some music on… ’
‘I thought the electricity was out.’
She grinned. ‘He’s very resourceful, he’s managed to fix it. They put some music on to drown out the sound of the rain on the windows and the bumps and creaks in the house.’
‘Yeah. Only it’s snowing, not raining.’
‘Snow doesn’t make a noise on the windows.’
‘Sleet, then.’
‘Okay, sleet.’ She nodded, the way she always did when she considered something sorted. In the firelight she was almost unbearably beautiful. ‘They turn the music up loud, because they’re out in the country now and don’t have to worry about disturbing the neighbours.’
‘Like this.’ Greg leaned over, sweeping his finger across the shiny surface of his mp3 player, choosing a slow dance track and cranking up the volume.
‘Just like that.’ Her fingers started to follow the beat, moving gently on the arm of her chair. Almost a caress.
‘And they dance.’ The story was taking a volatile turn, but Greg didn’t care. It was just a story. Something to ward off the darkness.
She hesitated. ‘She’s not really dressed for dancing.’
‘But it doesn’t matter, because she’s exquisitely beautiful in the firelight.’ Greg got to his feet. Took her hand and in response to his gentle tug she was on her feet. In his arms.
