Kitty's Countryside Dream by Christie Barlow Page A

I’m sorry if I’ve startled you; I needed to make sure you were OK.’
    This was my chance to tell him, my chance to set the record straight, my chance to come clean about why I had scurried off into the night.
    But I was too scared of his reaction; I couldn’t face his rejection.
    â€˜I’ve never had a girl disappear on me before.’
    Jeannie was his girl; he wasn’t interested in me.
    I didn’t answer him; my voice was suffocating from the large lump that was stuck in the back of my throat.
    â€˜Are you OK? I was worried – you vanished.’
    I swallowed the emotion in my throat, but still no words would come out.
    â€˜Can I come in? It’s freezing out here.’
    â€˜Yes,’ I breathed, against my better judgement.
    â€˜You’ve been crying.’
    He leant in towards me. Studying my face closely, he lifted my chin with his hand; his beautiful eyes met mine – again.
    I only managed a nod. Conscious of the lump still in my throat, I didn’t dare speak.
    Pulling a tissue from his pocket, he gently dabbed the tears away from my eyes.
    â€˜Don’t cry,’ he murmured softly.
    He reached for my hand. Entwining his fingers around mine, he squeezed them tightly then pulled me in close. Resting my head on his chest, it spun with alcohol. Hearing the constant thud of his heartbeat, more tears slipped from my eyes. He kissed the top of my head; his arms were wrapped tightly around my body. I wanted to stay there; I wanted to stay draped in his arms forever.
    Gradually releasing me, he tilted my head towards his. ‘Go and get some sleep now. I won’t keep you up, I just needed to know you were safe.’
    I managed a nod.
    â€˜I know this is all so difficult for you, the passing of your parents, living in a strange place, but remember I’m your friend; I’m here for you.’
    With one last peck on the cheek, he disappeared down the steps into the whirls of fog that had descended from the winter sky.
    I couldn’t deny my feelings. I didn’t want his friendship – I wanted him, full stop.

Chapter Fourteen
    L eaning my head against the carriage window, I closed my eyes for a moment whilst my body jolted along in time to the motion of the train. As the train swayed around the bend, I did my very best to stop the contents of my stomach rising towards my throat; the hangover from hell was battling against me at every twist and turn. I watched the rows and rows of terraced houses overlooking small concrete yards roll past.
    I was exhausted – shattered, to say the least. I’d tossed and turned the entire night, the room in a spin from the alcohol consumption and my body in turmoil from the tears that rolled. Luckily the weekend was stretched out in front of me; I had forty-eight hours to recover and pull myself together until I came face to face with Tom and Jeannie again.
    The cry of a baby sounded out behind me and the gentleman sat opposite peered over the top of his newspaper and sighed with frustration.
    The train trundled on past power stations, canals, bridges and fields, with the token abandoned trainer dangling from the power line above. Embankments were littered with rusty old cans and crisp packets and the odd item of clothing that had been dumped and forgotten.
    This journey wasn’t familiar to me. I’d only ever travelled it once before, but that had been in the opposite direction, the day my new adventure began. Now I was travelling back, back home to Cheshire: there was somewhere I needed to be today. Already out on her early-morning deliveries, Lucinda had spotted me and stopped her van outside the stone archway to the station. She was delivering a christening cake. I smiled but wasn’t in the mood for polite conversation. I made my excuses – I’d miss my train if I stopped to chat.
    â€˜Where are you going?’ she asked.
    â€˜Home, I’m going home,’ I replied before