Keeping Sam by Joanne Phillips

winked broadly and turned to greet her other lodger.
     

Chapter 13
     
    Willow Woods was a misnomer, as far as Kate could tell. She’d asked Patrick to explain the difference between a woodland and a forest, but the answer had been so complicated she wasn’t sure she understood any better now than before. What she did know was, the woodlands he managed were vast and sprawling, covering much of the land between Corrin Cove and the inland villages that dotted the gently rising hills.
    The journey to Willow Woods took them through a densely forested landscape, the trees folding over the narrow road to form an impenetrable canopy. By the time they reached their destination there was no sign of the bright September sun they’d left behind in Corrin Cove. Marie’s picnic bounced on the back seat of Patrick’s jeep, and Kate sat in silence, lamenting the fact that she hadn’t been able to persuade Marie to accompany them.
    ‘I have an appointment for a bikini wax,’ Marie had announced loudly, sending Patrick rushing off downstairs, while Kate slapped her landlady on the arm for behaving so badly.
    They left Patrick’s jeep parked outside his ‘office’ – a timber structure suspended between two sturdy oaks. Kate’s eyes nearly popped out of her head at the sight of it; she was even more astonished when Patrick told her he’d constructed it himself. It was utterly charming, and Kate told him so.
    ‘You work there ?’ she said, shaking her head in amazement. ‘But that’s just … It must be every boy’s dream to grow up and have a job in a place like this.’
    He grinned. ‘Kind of. Come on, there’s more to see.’
    She followed him into the woods, glancing at his profile as they trudged side by side through the soft undergrowth. He was a handsome man, there was no denying it. There was a solidity to him, and a calmness that she thought might come from spending so much time out here, at one with nature. A sigh escaped her lips, and Patrick looked down at her, his eyebrows raised.
    ‘Are you okay?’ he said. ‘It’s not too much for you, is it?’
    She shook her head. She had brought her cane for support, but she only intended to use it if she began to tire. They walked on in silence for a while. The quiet in here was absolute, like nothing Kate had experienced before. She could hear her own breath and her heartbeat; she was aware of every step, every crack of a twig, every snap of a branch pulled back and let go again. And she was just as aware of Patrick’s breath, the rustle of his jacket, the regularity of his stride. There were no birds singing, no aeroplanes overhead, only the shushing of the wind in the trees far, far above them. You could get lost in here, she thought, and never find your way out again. If someone chose to bring you in here and leave you for dead, no one would ever find you.
    Biting down an irrational surge of panic, Kate pressed on, keeping her head down so she could see only the ground in front of her. Patrick began to whistle under his breath. Kate frowned. The tune was familiar. She thought hard, trying to place it. It reminded her of childhood, of nursery rhymes and long summer days. And then she had it: the Teddy Bears’ Picnic. Well, that was sort of appropriate, she supposed …
    She stopped suddenly, her eyes flashing a warning.
    ‘What’s wrong?’ Patrick was ahead of her; he turned around, his expression one of mild enquiry.
    ‘If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise?’ Kate spoke the words instead of singing them. She threw Patrick a challenging look. ‘Are you trying to tell me something?’
    He grinned again, a mischievous glint twinkling in his eyes. ‘I wondered whether you’d pick up on that.’
    ‘Oh, very funny.’ Kate carried on walking, and Patrick fell into step beside her once more. ‘So,’ she said, ‘do you have a big surprise for me down here in the woods?’
    ‘I certainly do.’
    She glanced up, trying to gauge