Rosie nodded. ‘Yes. I don’t think I’m quite in his league as a tour guide,’ she said. ‘Logan is here for the serious walking tours and I believe he is quite popular with the ladies who follow him on Instagram.’
‘Yes, I checked him out,’ said Luke. ‘I can see why he would be popular. His posts are great. He’s quite the actor.’
‘Are you jealous?’ she asked jokingly. ‘Yes, I have heard his Instagram posts are very entertaining. Though I haven’t seen them. But I’ve heard he is actually very down to earth.’ She was standing close to Luke now and gave him a small nudge.
‘Are you saying that I’m not?’ he said, his eyes wide.
She pursed her lips and shrugged. He was very easy to wind up. ‘Mm, I’ve not quite made up my mind yet.’
He feigned a look of outrage and, as they continued to walk, Rosie and Luke chatted like old friends. He was very easy company and a great storyteller. Especially when it came to some of the escapades that he and his band got up to while touring.
‘You have so many great tales to tell, Luke. You should put that in the book too. You’ve probably got several volumes of stuff there.’
He shrugged. ‘I don’t know about that. It’s just life, well, my life, and I find it tricky to know what people will be interested in. It’s fine when I’m verbalising stuff, like this to you. That’s when I think maybe I have got some good stories to share. It’s just when I sit down to write it that I seem to clam up.’
‘Have you thought about just recording yourself telling them and then transcribing them afterwards? Just pretend you’re talking to someone or leaving a very long voicemail.’
He considered this and nodded. ‘That’s a good idea. I hadn’t thought about that. But I will try it. Thank you.’
Rosie gave a self-conscious smile. He was doing that thing of staring at her again which she was finding unnerving. ‘Which do you prefer?’ she hurriedly asked. ‘The singing and touring or the acting?’ But just then Rosie’s phone started to buzz. She pulled it from her pocket and frowned when she realised it was Dermot. Ignoring the call, she switched it off and tucked it away in her small backpack.
‘Is everything okay?’ said Luke, concerned.
‘Fine, fine,’ she said, brushing off his comment and glancing ahead through the trees. ‘Sorry. What were we saying there?’ Rosie was annoyed that seeing Dermot’s name had thrown her and she couldn’t help wondering what he was calling about now. Surely, he wasn’t going to start up about getting the cottage valued again. She wanted to scream with frustration and she hoped Luke wouldn’t detect the shift in her mood.
‘I was saying that you’re really easy to talk to, Rosie. It just feels like the words flow when I’m telling you the stories. You’re a good listener.’
Rosie blushed and shook her head vehemently, wishing she could accept his comment graciously. But she was struggling to think any gracious thoughts right now. All she could think of was ways in which she could dispose of her ex-husband. But the way Luke held her gaze was certainly helping to sooth her anger.
‘I’m happy to listen, Rosie, if it would help to talk?’ he said gently.
Rosie was about to brush him off again but paused. He had a sincere look in his eyes and, well, maybe telling him might actually be helpful. ‘That was my soon-to-be ex-husband calling,’ she said tentatively. ‘It tends to trigger me when I see his name appear on the screen.’
Luke nodded at her but didn’t say anything.
‘He wants me to sell the cottage which I’m absolutelynotdoing. He decided to walk out and it was his choice to take up with another woman. . .’ Rosie’s voice wobbled slightly as the enormity of what Dermot had done hit her again.
Luke’s eyes were focused on Rosie and he gave her a kind smile. ‘I am so sorry, Rosie.’
She shrugged. ‘It’s okay . . . splitting was the right thing to do. I now realise that our marriage had been over for a while. It just still all came as a shock and I just can’t believe the cheek of him suggesting I should sell Creel Cottage. I mean, it belonged tomy parents.’ A tear trickled down her cheek and Luke reached forward and gently wiped it away. At which point Coisty came bounding up to her and sat barking for a treat.Honestly, she thought,it was like having a toddler at times. He had a way of ruining the moment which was probably just as well. ‘Honestly Coisty, what are you like?’ She shook her head and shrugged apologetically to Luke. ‘Anyway, we are here.’ She pointed to the sign at the small car park they had arrived in.
‘Oh, I know where you’re taking me,’ he said as they crossed the road to the start of the trail. ‘You’re going to take me to the library in the woods?’
‘You already know about it?’ asked Rosie, feeling a bit deflated.
He must have realised how disappointed she looked because he lay a hand on her wrist and she almost jumped at the spark she felt. He shrugged apologetically. ‘Another leaflet in the cottage,’ he said, cringing. ‘But there is no way I would have come up here alone, Rosie. I’m a bit out of my comfort zone just now. So, thank you for bringing me.’ He flashed her a grateful smile.
The rain had suddenly begun falling like a sheer mist and they both put their hoodies back on and pulled up their hoods as they started ascending the track towards the falls. The onlysound to be heard was their shoes crunching on the carpet of pine needles and leaves underfoot. Rosie was glad that Luke was happy to walk in companiable silence at times and didn’t feel awkward when there were lulls in their conversation. Especially as some of the climb was quite steep in places. She watched Luke as he glanced around in awe of the scenery.
‘It does feel like we are in the middle of nowhere,’ he said in a low voice as they stopped to glance at the waterfall. Coisty was running ahead and then back to check they were coming. The trail had an assortment of beautiful wood carvings and they stopped to admire their intricate details.
‘Look,’ he said, pointing over. ‘It’s like something from a fairy tale. It’s magical. Far better than what it looks like in the leaflet,’ he said softly. Luke had now walked towards the small cabin which was covered in moss and grass.
She followed him over. ‘Shall we go inside?’ She looked up at the sky, pointing at the blue patch in the distance. Inside the hut, the walls were covered with hundreds of pieces of paper which visitors had pinned up. A mixture of words, stories, pictures and poetry. ‘’It’s so peaceful,’ she murmured quietly. Luke was now standing very close and she felt him brush against her and she felt her legs turn to jelly.
‘Thank you, Rosie,’ he said. ‘I will never forget this. It’s incredible.’
Rosie wasn’t sure whether he was talking about the library or this moment and she felt as though invisible threads were drawing them closer. She sighed, longing to rest her head against him for a moment. Then she cringed at herself.Was she having some kind of midlife crisis after her marriage split?She’d forgotten what it felt like to be held and her heart was racing so quickly that she was sure he must hear its thud. Then, when she raised her eyes to look at him, he looked as though he was about to bend forward to kiss her. But when she heard ashout of ‘we made it’, they sprang apart as three walkers started to make their way through the door and into the library. The moment was lost.
