It looked more like somewhere to hide than think. Jack wondered why she should need such a place when she was clearly surrounded by family and friends here. She seemed so involved with her community, so trusted, and yet somehow she held herself apart from it.
All the same, for some reason she’d let him in and it felt like too much of a privilege to question it. Jack took his jacket off and sat down on one of the stone benches that ran the length of the porch. She proffered a cushion, from a pile hidden away in an alcove in the corner, and he took it gratefully.
‘You’ve made yourself at home here. It’s warm as well. And oddly peaceful.’ Jack looked around. Listening to the storm outside, rather than struggling against it, made the old walls seem like a safe cocoon.
‘I like it. These stones are so thick it’s always the same temperature, winter or summer.’ She laid her coat out on the bench and smoothed her half-dried hair behind her ears.
‘Makes a good refuge.’ He smiled, in an indication that she could either take the observation seriously or pass it off as a joke if she chose.
‘Yeah. You should ask Martin about that; he’s a bit of a history buff. Apparently there was an incident during the English Civil War when Cavaliers claimed refuge here. They camped out in this porch for weeks.’
Fair enough. So she didn’t want to talk about it.
‘I’d like you to stay with Lynette tonight, at the vicarage. Keep an eye on her.’
She nodded. ‘I don’t have much choice. My house is a little way downriver from the bridge. It was partially flooded even before this afternoon.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that.’
Cass leaned back, stretching her legs out in front of her. ‘I’ve been expecting it for days and at least I had a chance to get everything upstairs, which is a lot more than some people have had. It’s my own stupid fault, anyway.’
‘So you’re the one, are you? That’s been making it rain.’
She really was stunningly beautiful when she smiled. Warm and beautiful, actually, with a touch of vulnerability that belied her matter-of-fact attitude and her capable do-anything frame. But she seemed far too ready to blame herself when things went wrong.
‘I wish. Then I could make it stop. The house has been in my family for generations and it’s always been safe from flooding.’
‘But not on your watch?’ Jack realised he’d hit a nerve from the slight downward quirk of her lips.
‘There used to be a drystone wall, banked up on the inside, which acted as a barrier between the house and the river. My grandparents levelled a stretch of it to give easy access to build an extension at the back. When they died they left the house to Lynette and me and, as she and Steven already had a place up in the village, I bought her out. I was pretty stretched for cash and thought I couldn’t afford to reinstate the wall for a few years. Turns out I couldn’t afford not to.’
‘You’re being a bit hard on yourself, aren’t you? I’d be devastated if my place were flooded.’
Cass shrugged. ‘I’m concentrating on Lynette and the baby. Bricks and mortar can wait.’
Jack nodded, sipping his tea.
‘So how about you?’ She seemed intent on changing the subject now. ‘You have children?’
‘A little girl. Ellie’s four.’
She smiled. ‘That’s nice. I’m sorry we’re keeping you away from her.’
If he was honest, he was sorry about that too. Jack knew exactly what it was like to have to come to terms with the idea that his father was never coming back, and he’d promised Ellie that he would always come back for her. Right now the storm and the floods made that impossible, and the feeling that he was letting Ellie down was eating at him.
Cass didn’t need to know that. ‘I’m concentrating on Lynette and the baby too.’ He received a bright grin in acknowledgement of the sentiment. ‘I’d really like to call my daughter to say goodnight, though. Would you mind if I borrowed your phone?’
‘Yes, of course.’ She stood up, handing her phone over. ‘I’ll leave you to it.’
‘That’s okay. Say hello to her.’
She hesitated and then sat back down with a bump. Awkwardly, she pointed to one of the icons on the small screen.
‘You could try a video call. She might like to see you.’
‘Yeah, she would. Thanks.’
Jack couldn’t remember his sister’s mobile number so he called the landline, repeating Cass’s mobile number over to Sarah. ‘My sister’s going to get back to us.’
‘Your wife works too?’
‘I’m a single father. Sarah has a boy of Ellie’s age and she looks after her when I’m working.’
‘Sounds like a good arrangement.’ She seemed to be getting more uncomfortable by the minute. If he hadn’t already come to the conclusion that Cass could deal with almost anything, he would have said she was flustered.
He didn’t have time to question why because the phone rang. Cass leaned over, jabbing an icon on the screen to switch on the camera and answer the call.
* * *
He was so in love with Ellie. Cass had reckoned that a wife and family would put Jack firmly out of bounds, which was the best place for him as far as she was concerned. But he was handsome, caring, funny...and single. She was going to have to work a little harder now, because allowing herself to be tempted by Jack was just an exercise in loss.
‘Daddeee!’ An excited squeal came from the phone and Cass averted her gaze. Jack held the phone out in front of him, his features softening into a grin that made her want to run away screaming.
‘Ellie! What are you up to, darling?’
‘We’re having tea. Then Ethan and me are going to watch our film.’
‘Again, sweetie? Doesn’t Auntie Sarah want to watch something else on TV?’ He chuckled as a woman’s voice sounded, saying that if it kept the kids quiet, she was happy.
‘Listen, Ellie...’ He waited until the commotion on the other end of the line subsided. ‘Ellie, Daddy’s got to work, so you’ll be staying with Auntie Sarah for tonight.’
Silence. Then a little voice sounded. ‘I know. Miss you, Daddy.’
Cass almost choked with emotion. When she looked at Jack, he seemed to have something in his eye. ‘I miss you too, sweetie. You know you’re always my number one girl. And I’ll be back soon to give you big hugs.’
‘How big?’
‘As big as a bear. No, bigger than that. As big as our house.’
A little squeal of delight from Ellie. Cass imagined that Jack’s hugs were something to look forward to.
‘As big as our house...’
‘Yeah.’ Jack was grinning broadly now. ‘Be good for Auntie Sarah, won’t you.’
‘I’m always good.’ Ellie’s voice carried a note of reproof.
‘Sure you are. Would you like to meet my new friend?’ He winked at Cass and her heart jolted so hard she almost fainted. ‘She’s a firefighter.’
‘She has a fire engine?’ Ellie was obviously quite taken with the idea.
‘Why don’t you ask her?’ Jack chuckled and handed the phone over to Cass.
A little girl was staring at her. Light brown curls and luminous brown eyes. She was the image of Jack.
‘Hi, Ellie. I’m