Nick sighed, lifting his eyes to Brogan who was busy pouring tea, her stunning auburn hair framing her pretty face. Matt was right, he had no idea if she knew how he felt, but he wanted more than anything to tell her. Yes, he decided, now was the time. He felt a ripple of nerves in his stomach.

He was prepared for her to be shocked,hell, no one was more surprised than he was to be feeling this way. It had hit him with such a force the moment he’d set eyes on her, it had knocked his senses completely off kilter; then her early disappearance had brought him down to earth with a nasty bump. But he’d known from the struggle he’d had to get her out of his mind after their brief time together at the wedding, that she’d stolen his heart.

Seeing her again, combined with all that had happened over the last week, had brought his feelings rushing back to the surface; had given him hope. And he didn’t want to lose her so easily a second time.

Maudie, as if she was reading his mind, shot him one of her withering looks as if to say, ‘What on earth has taken you so long?’

Time to bite the bullet, he thought.

He headed over to the table where Brogan glanced up at him shyly. ‘There you go.’ She handed him a mug of tea.

‘Thanks.’ He set it down on the table and pulled out a chair. He marshalled his thoughts, making sure he brought up the subject in the best way he could, his heart thumping. He was just about to speak when the familiar rumble of a Land Rover caught their attention. Wilf and Maudie barked and trotted to the door.

Brogan went over to the window, peering out. ‘It’s Kristy and Noushka,’ she said happily.

‘Great.’ Nick mustered up a smile. What he really meant was “bugger”! That was their conversation scuppered before it even got started. He was beginning to wonder if they were ever going to get round to having it.

Brogan rushed to open the door which she now kept permanently locked. She greeted her friends cheerily. ‘Talk about perfect timing. I’ve just made a pot of tea.’

Nick didn’t have anything against the two young women, but right now he’d have to argue that their timing was less than perfect. In fact, he’d say it was quite the opposite.

‘Ah, well, you know what Noushka’s like, she can sniff out a freshly-filled teapot a mile off.’ Kristy gave a hearty giggle.

‘It’s a skill I’ve honed to perfection,’ said Anoushka, grinning broadly. ‘Anyroad, how are you doing, chick?’ She flicked her plait over her shoulder and pulled Brogan into a hug, planting a kiss on her friend’s cheek.

‘Aye, last night sounds like it was bloody awful,’ said Kristy, hugging her close once Anoushka had done. ‘We needed to come, make sure you were okay, flower.’

‘I’m fine. I’ve got Nick with me.’

‘So we see,’ Kristy said in a knowing tone, waggling her eyebrows.

Anoushka bit down on a grin.

‘Right, tea,’ said Brogan decisively. The warning look she shot her friends didn’t go unnoticed by Nick.

The two women stayed for just over an hour, their bubbly chat filling the kitchen. They’d come straight from Bert’s, having heard what had happened with Nell, and had been tasked with taking him a casserole that Kitty had made and some of Lucy’s homemade chocolate biscuits Molly had picked up from the village shop.

‘It’s unnerving having people like that creeping around,’ said Anoushka.

‘Aye, it is. There’s been no sign of them today, makes you wonder if they’ll come back,’ said Kristy.

‘Well, if they do, let’s hope PC Snaith and his colleagues manage to nab them,’ said Nick, spotting the worry returning to Brogan’s eyes.

38

NICK

By seven o’clock, the events of the previous evening and subsequent late night, followed by an early morning, were catching up with Nick and Brogan. They were watching television in the living room. Nick was slumped in the armchair, while Brogan was stretched out on the sofa, smoothing Wilf’s ears. He’d flopped down on the floor beside her after overheating in front of the fire. Maudie had joined him, nudging Brogan’s hand for a share of the attention.

Nick felt his eyelids grow heavy, until his eyes eventually closed. A moment later, he woke with a start to see Brogan rooting around for something in one of the cupboards of the large, dark wood dresser. She returned to the sofa with what appeared to be a photo album in her hands.

‘Just came over me to have a flick through this,’ she said, smoothing her fingers over the cover.

He rubbed his eyes. ‘Can I join you?’

‘If you think you can stay awake long enough,’ she said with a giggle.

‘Cheeky.’ He grinned at her as he heaved himself up and wandered over, his limbs heavy.