Sorrell shook her head and looked up at the lights, so much better than the ones she’d made do with, and gave one more shake of her head.
“Okay, they look amazing.” She walked over to Zack and put her arms around him. He’d noticed that she wasn’t one for showing affection in front of others, although she’d been more than happy to when they were on their own, so this was an acknowledgement that they weren’t just dating casually. It was more.
“Thank you. You remembered and it’s one of the nicest things anyone’s ever done and completely unnecessary to risk death to do,” she said. “But thank you.” Then she kissed him, not just a sweet kiss like she’d normally do if there were people about, but one that made his toes curl and his dick wake up.
“What about us? We helped. Don’t we get a thank you like that?”
It was Jake, of course.
She cast daggers at him with her eyes. “I know where those lips have been Jake Maynard and all I can say is that I hope you’ve used sanitizer on them!”
Zack looked from Sorrell to Scott who seemed equally clueless.
Jake shrugged, saying nothing in his defence because he probably didn’t have one.
“Let’s go inside. I’ll make you a coffee,” she said. “And find some disinfectant for Jake.”
Chapter 27
There were diamonds in the sky and on the ground, everywhere seeming to sparkle. Sorrell could smell cinnamon and the pine from the tree. She stood next to Keren who was manning a stand for the walkers when they finished their descent of the pike. The crowd was large and there was a soft buzz. One or two had mugs of mulled wine, others hot chocolate and a few had a plastic glass of beer.
The snow had stopped and it was forecast to stay that way until Christmas Day, when more was due. It would be a true white Christmas and she was looking forward to it, even though it was very different to the one she had expected at the start of the year. She hadn’t envisaged being involved in a Christmas dinner for seventy elderly people and some of their relatives, and then spending the evening at the farmhouse of her new boyfriend.
The boyfriend who was currently on top of a fairly high peak and about to descend it in what were pretty tough conditions.
All heads turned towards Scarhead Pike. A teenager cried out in far too enthusiastic tones that he could see the light, to which he received a rather sarcastic response from his father, but he was right. The orange dot in the distance was there, with another behind, and then another and another.
The river of fire had begun to roll down the peak, its flames contrasting sharply against the white snow and the black sky. A moving line of torches, remembering those that couldn’t be there, those that had gone.
A hush had descended on the town, the viewers spellbound by what they were seeing. The choir had fallen silent and even the children spoke in hushed voices, all but the youngest watching the flames as they were carried nearer.
“Zack’s leading,” Keren said. “Rayah told me before. She’s with her dad and uncle in the middle. Scott will be last down. He’ll do most of it in the dark.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?” Sorrell said. All of the line were there now, descending the peak. One torch was set further back, and now she knew that was Scott’s.
Keren shrugged. “He’s protected by Satan’s minions so he’ll be fine.”
“Seriously?” Sorrell said. It was hard enough walking on normal ground let alone down a slippery, rocky hill.
“He could walk that route down that peak blindfolded. He’s done loads of night rescues recently. You don’t need to worry about him. Out of the three of them, he’s the most cautious,” she said. Sorrell heard the tone of regret in her voice.
“But Alex is the detective,” she said. “Surely he’s the most sensible. Scott runs a bar.”
“Scott is, well, Scott,” Keren reasoned. “Look at it now. It is something, isn’t it?”
The night was clear; visibility was perfect, although Sorrell had found out that the river was carried out even when the weather was wet, as long as it wasn’t deemed too dangerous.
The flames grew brighter as Zack neared, followed by the line of walkers. She moved away from where Keren was standing closer to the finish line where they were given the piece of last year’s town Christmas tree to light then throw onto the bonfire. The torch was then taken off them by one of Jonny’s crew and extinguished safely. Then the aftercare began.
She saw Zack, recognising him by the way he walked quickly, the breadth of his shoulders and his confident pose. An older teenager was with him, smiling broadly and looking more tired than Zack despite his age. The crowd started to applaud, Zack looking unfazed, then he shifted back and allowed the young lad to go first, his expression elated.
It wasn’t a race, but Sorrell figured there were some bragging rights for those who finished at the front.
Zack took the piece of log and lit it when he approached the fire, passing his torch to one of Jonny’s men. The log had just a trickle of a flame, but erupted when it was thrown onto the fire, a round of applause from the crowd.
He headed straight to her, his eyes focused only on her. He wore a coat and trousers that were fleece lined and he appeared as if he’d just had a gentle stroll around town rather than going up a hill that was tough even without the ice and snow.
“How was your first River of Fire?” he said after he’d kissed her.
