The Devil To Pay (Hennessey.) (74 page)

She took it from him and put it on. He turned and picked up a cool bag that he had placed on the ground, the picnic obviously. He put the bag over his shoulder and said, ‘come on, this way.’ He took her arm but she sidestepped him and walked on ahead of him. His face darkened for a moment then he shrugged. She was angry and he had to admit with just cause, he would give her some leeway. Besides, it was quite a treat to see her anything but sweet and polite as well as cool and in control, it reminded him of the previous night when she had let herself go and became uninhibited and unrestrained. He smiled to himself.

They had walked only a few hundred yards when they came to the stream. Adela stopped still and gazed in wonder, it was indeed a lovely sight. Surrounded by big trees and bright foliage, it was on a slight incline and the sound of the water running down was like soft music.

He said, ‘we’ll cross the stream if you like and have our picnic on the other side.’

She nodded. He held out his hand to assist her over the stepping stones but she ignored it saying, ‘I think I can manage, thank you.’

He stared at her retreating figure his hand still out in front of him, his face was set and hard then he sighed and lowered his hand. Leeway.

She leapt lightly from stone to stone, she was pretty nifty on her feet he would give her that. She had almost reached the other side when she stopped three stones from the edge of the stream. He realised immediately why she had hesitated, the gap was too wide for her to leap to the next stone. He stepped onto the stone behind her and with one quick movement lifted her into his arms. The action caught her by surprise and she gasped then looked at him first in fear then annoyance. She said tightly, ‘I said I can manage, thank you.’

He grinned, ‘sure you can, but my way is better, we don’t want you spoiling those pretty sandals do we?’

She looked down at said sandals and opened her mouth to speak, before she could say anything however, he had stepped agilely onto the next stone then the next, one more small step, for him anyway, and they were on dry land.

He looked down at her face as she remained stiff in his arms, she expected him to put her down, instead he carried on walking towards the trees.

She said, ‘thank you, you can put me down now.’ He ignored her so she insisted, ‘I said you can put me down now, I’m quite capable of walking you know.’

Again she was ignored and she began to wriggle trying to get free but his hold was very firm. Suddenly he stopped under a great oak tree and looked down at her again, at the irritation and exasperation on her face. Before she could speak or react he bent his head, at the same time drawing her closer to his chest and kissed her lips.

It was a fierce and provocative kiss and she was so taken aback that at first she did not attempt to push him away. After the initial shock wore off she pushed at his chest but to no avail, he only increased the pressure on her mouth until she gave up and let herself sink into him and returned his kiss with enthusiasm. Just when she thought he would kiss the breath right out of her he withdrew his lips from hers and looked into eyes that were now very bright.

She expected him to smirk or smile triumphantly at how easily she had succumbed to him, but there was nothing on his face except desire. She looked away ashamed of herself for responding to the possessiveness that had been contained in the kiss he had given her. He said nothing as he set her on her feet then shrugged the bag containing the picnic off his shoulder and opening it took out a thin sheet which he put on the floor, then looking at her and pointing at the cloth said, ‘please, sit down.’

He sat down too, not next to her but opposite and began to take out the food and plates; he had even brought little plastic knives and forks plus two glasses, a small bottle of wine and a bottle of lemonade just in case she didn’t want to drink the wine.

She watched him thinking how thoughtful he could be, he had arranged this picnic and  brought things he knew she would like. But he could change so suddenly and be rude and horrible like he was with Dean and the Carters and even the sheriff. She wondered why he reacted to people as he did, as though he resented them, as though they were beneath him somehow. She wondered why he spent so much time with her since he seemed to dislike people so much.

He said, ‘before we eat I think we should clear the air.’ She lowered her eyes but he took her hand, the one with the bruised knuckles and caressed it gently, ‘I’ll echo you and say, “You’re angry” but in your case the anger is justified. You were right, I
was
rude and obnoxious and mean,’ her head shot up in surprise, ‘I was angry because we have so little time together, just this day really, which I wanted to be perfect and I thought the Carters would invite themselves to our little picnic. And I was rude because I wanted to dissuade them from that notion; I wanted you all to myself on our last day together. And also you were about to tell me something important to you, something that’s been bothering you.’

He paused as if waiting for a reply, she made none, only looked away from his eyes so he went on, ‘I was obnoxious because I hate the way women like that behave, like, well, you know, and in front of her husband too, who seems to either turn a blind eye to his wife’s outrageous behaviour or doesn’t care.’

Adela saw his fist clench as he said this and frowned wondering why Angela and Scott’s behaviour should upset him so. Before she could ask he continued, ‘but mostly I was angry because she was embarrassing you by her suggestive comments. I know that none of that is an excuse for my behaviour and for the things I said to you and for hurting you. I never meant to, you did nothing wrong, and I had no right to speak to you as I did. I was out of line. I’m very sorry.’

She searched his face for any sign of insincerity or mockery, but there was nothing there but genuine earnestness and concern. She began to feel much better but could still not entirely shrug off the things he’d said and the way he had acted towards her, the way he had dismissed her request for him to take her home.

He let out another sigh and relinquished her hand, ‘you’re still angry.’

She shook her head before saying, quietly, ‘no, not angry, just disappointed.’

‘Disappointed?’

‘Yes.’

‘In me of course.’

She nodded and said, ‘I appreciate your being angry on my behalf, but I was not half as embarrassed by Angela’s suggestive comments as I was by your actions, and not only by what you said but…’

‘But what?’

‘The way you dropped my hand as though…as though you were ashamed to be caught holding it.’

He stared hard at her but she looked down at her plate not wanting to look at him believing he was about to argue again. He thought, ah so that was it, she was upset because he had dropped her hand as though he didn’t want anyone to know that they were more than friends. He felt quite pleased, honoured actually, that she liked him enough to feel that way.

He surprised her by saying, ‘I think you know that’s not true, what is there to be ashamed of? I dropped your hand because it was then I realised I was holding on so tightly and hurting you. Plus, I thought you wouldn’t like to stand there holding hands while they were there, she’s the kind to blab to all and sundry and embarrass you back in
Eden. It was just instinctive that’s all.’

She said nothing and he sighed heavily before saying, ‘look, I’ve had a few relationships in my time, not many and none that lasted for any length of time, but I know that you haven’t had any relationships at all.’ She did look up now and quickly, thinking he was being insulting again, but before she could speak he hurried on, ‘so of the two of us I think I have a little more experience in the way that people behave towards one another, that they sometimes disagree about stuff, they argue, even fight on occasion. We’ve had a little spat,’ when she narrowed her eyes he corrected himself, ‘all right a
big
spat, but that’s what happens when two people are close as we are, as I
hope
we are.

I know we haven’t known one another very long but I really believe that there’s a closeness and affection between us that sometimes months or even years of knowing someone can’t accomplish. The only reason I didn’t acquiesce to your wishes earlier was because I didn’t want our friendship to end like this, I didn’t want you to go back to Eden mad at me, or to leave Mississippi hating me,’ he shook his head despondently, ‘but I see that I’ve only made things worse. I’m sorry that you’re disappointed in me, and if you want me to take you back to
Eden, I will.’ The strange thing was, seeing her  rueful expression, he was sorry and not just because she had been about to give up her secret..

She couldn’t have been more surprised, he had caught her off guard with his very nice and sincere apology. She was beginning to think that maybe she had overreacted to what had happened. Maybe she had been tense and anxious about what she had been about to tell him and that had manifested itself in anger. And he was right, Angela
had
acted inappropriately. She said, ‘oh no you don’t, you brought me here so the least you can do is feed me.’

His eyes widened then a slow smile spread across his face, ‘so I take it you forgive me for as acting like a spoilt child.’

She was relieved and happy again, ‘yes, and thank you for the apology.’

His expression was very earnest, ‘it was honestly meant.’

Her voice was soft, ‘I know. And, Sterling, just so you know, I wouldn’t have left Mississippi hating you, I could
never
do that.’

He thought, oh, I think you might, but took her hand again and his tone matched hers, ‘I’m glad about that, but your disappointment in me would have been almost as bad as your hatred.’

She looked away from the look in his eyes. He said, ‘so are we all right now, are we cool?’

It was her turn to smile, ‘yes, we’re cool.’

He grinned, ‘well that’s a relief because I’m starving. But before we eat and just to prove there are really no hard feelings and we really are cool, I think we should seal our new found harmony.’

As he leaned forward Adela thought he meant to open the wine for a toast but instead he leaned over and kissed her lips again, this time softly and gently. She leaned into him and kissed him back this time with eagerness.

He eventually broke the kiss and murmured, ‘cool.’

She laughed out loud and he joined in, although his laughter was more with relief and satisfaction than amusement.

He handed her a plate she took it and put a small tomato, a piece of chicken and a piece of lettuce onto it. He snatched the plate from her hand and began to pile it with chicken drumsticks, tomatoes and salad; he had even brought coleslaw which she loved and piled it onto her plate. She looked askance at him; he said ‘don’t look at me like that, you’re not getting away with those tiny amounts you eat, you’re going to finish everything I give you, understand?’

She didn’t know whether to be infuriated by his authoritativeness or pleased that he cared enough to be concerned about her appetite, but she didn’t want another argument over something so trivial, so she thanked him and picked up a fork and began to eat.

Again he was amazed at how easily she let him win their small battle of wills. She had tried to hide it and she would never admit to it, but she was pleased by his peremptoriness.

As they ate they chatted and laughed and as they did their laughter became less and less strained and the argument or “spat,” as he had called it became less and less important.

When they had eaten and he had given her a disapproving look because she had not eaten all he had put in front of her he said, ‘would you like to take a walk? I’ll show you the river.’

She said with alacrity, ‘yes please.’ She made to rise but he was up before her and held out his hand which this time she accepted.

They walked hand in hand through the trees towards the river. When they got there she let go of his hand and ran towards it. She stood staring in awe at the crystal clear water and the sight of the fish leaping in and out as though showing off to her. She turned to him and the smile she gave him made the sun seem pale in comparison.

He said mischievously, ‘now are you glad you didn’t stay in the car.’

She pursed her lips and have him an impatient look, ‘you do like to push your luck don’t you.’

‘Always.’

She stuck out her tongue and he laughed, ‘there it is again, that oh so ladylike habit.’

She laughed
too and he came to stand beside her. He took her hand again most gratified when she squeezed his fingers affectionately.

They sat down and were silent for some time just enjoying the scenery and each other.

Eventually his tone serious he said, ‘look, I don’t want really want to resurrect what happened earlier but I have to say this, you might get some aggravation from the Carters about it. I’m leaving tomorrow and feel as if I’m leaving you in the middle of the fray.’

She looked across the river and said, ‘don’t worry about me, I’m used to aggravation.’

‘Maybe, but I still feel bad. I was the one that was rude, you did nothing wrong, but they might tell others, they seem to know everyone in Eden and they might treat you differently, maybe give you a hard time, make you uncomfortable.’