Yesterday's Sun by Amanda Brooke Page A

to put her mind at ease. “I’ve still got a job, or at least I will have,” he said, but Holly sensed that he was softening the blow.
    “Tell me,” she demanded softly.
    “Peter Richards is retiring at the end of the year and they want me to be part of the new lineup.”
    “A news anchor? They want you to be an anchorman?”
    Holly was almost laughing, partly with relief and partly at the thought of Tom behind a desk in a slick, smart suit reading the news. “And that’s bad?”
    Tom grimaced. “Well, can you picture me in a shiny suit every day? Ah, I see by the wicked smile on your face that you’re already imagining it. But no, that’s not the bad news, not really.”
    Holly stopped smiling as she realized there was something else that Tom was trying to tell her. “So that’s at the end of the year. What do they have planned for you in the meantime?”
    “The merger has meant joining forces with a couple of other production companies and I’m being seconded. It means more special assignments and they’re going to involve quite a bit of travel. The first assignment is investigating the Canadian oil sands and I have to leave in a couple of weeks. Environmental impact of oil extraction, that kind of thing.”
    “You’re going to Canada?” Holly knew it was a stupid question and Tom had the good grace to bite his tongue rather than make a smart response.
    “So how long?” Holly continued.
    “At least a month.”
    “And after that?” Holly could feel her heart wrenching in her chest.
    “More traveling. I’m sorry, Holly.”
    Tom’s eyes were glistening and Holly’s heart pulled some more. She didn’t want to see Tom hurting, not again. She leaned over to kiss Tom on each of his eyes. “Kiss me,” she told him sternly.
    “Even when I smell of garlic?” Tom asked with a weak smile.
    “It just makes me hungry.”
    “So eat me.” The smile on his face had now reached his eyes.
    Holly giggled and the sound of laughter eased her disappointment. They had each other. They would always have each other, she told herself. She savored every kiss and every caress and when they made love Holly held on to Tom like she was never going to let go.
    Later that morning, when they had worn themselves out and had nothing to sustain their appetites other than a box of very squashed chocolates, Tom and Holly dragged themselves out of bed and down to the kitchen to raid the fridge.
    “So when do I get to see your fabulous new studio?” Tom asked.
    “As soon as you’re dressed and decent. This is a respectable village and I can’t have you going out in nothing but a pair of boxer shorts and risk frightening the locals.”
    “We don’t have any neighbors nearby,” replied Tom. “And anyway, if your friend Jocelyn comes calling it would probably make her day.”
    “Jocelyn won’t be calling, not today. Everyone knows to keep away for a day or two. Even Billy.”
    “Ah yes, Billy. I wouldn’t mind speaking to him.”
    “So he can finish your halfhearted attempt to landscape the garden, by any chance?”
    “My new job is going to mean more money. If I can’t be here to do the work myself, the least I can do is spend my hard-earned cash on making a beautiful garden for my wife. And I might just be able to afford another project I’ve had in mind,” Tom answered cryptically.
    Holly recalled standing beneath the full moon, standing on the well-manicured garden and looking toward the house. “What kind of project?” she asked as the now-familiar sense of fear crawled up her spine. She held the vision of the conservatory in her mind’s eye and willed Tom not to make the suggestion.
    “That’s going to be between me and Billy.”
    Holly shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t want to hear something that might give more substance to her hallucination. “Suit yourself, then,” she told Tom.
    Tom looked at Holly openmouthed, shocked, and a little disappointed by her quick submission. He wasn’t used to