Pulling it on before she opened her curtains, she looked outside at the long garden that backed onto a farmer’s field. Alex had told her not to worry, that there was nothing to suggest the break in at Scott’s bar had anything to do with her, but it was playing on her mind. As glorious a day as it was, she felt cold.
There weren’t any messages on her phone. Few people had the number, no one to do with her old life and she’d never been the sort of person to be glued to technology anyway. Reception wasn’t always available when you were hanging off a mountainside. She had an old but still okay laptop for her blog and she took that out now, taking it down to the kitchen.
Gretel and Hansel had an outdoor area in the garden where they preferred to sleep in summer and while Alex usually took the dogs into the station with him, he hadn’t today, probably because it was too early when he left for Scott’s.
Abby let the dogs into the house and fed them, making herself a coffee and grabbing one of the croissants they’d picked up yesterday from the bakers. She was achy and her muscles were tired, still not used to the climb, but it felt good. Other places felt good too; she knew she was becoming addicted to the scent of Alex, but she figured she was becoming addicted to him too.
Opening her laptop, she logged onto her blog and started writing up yesterday’s climb, keeping her content light but making reference to what it was like getting back into climbing after a long break, putting in tips to help aching muscles. If it had been three years ago, she would’ve filmed herself stretching and uploaded the videos, promoting whichever sportswear she was being sponsored by.
She was in the middle of uploading the photos that Alex had taken of her climbing when the doorbell rang, making her heart beat too fast immediately and a wave of panic filtrated through her.
It was irrational, she knew, but ever since she’d come home after Tilly’s disappearance the paranoia hadn’t left. The only thing that would stop it would be to find out what had happened to her sister and know it was over, one way or another.
Before she unlocked the door, she checked through the window and saw one of her two bosses. This one was grumpy and gruff, with one the of most magical voice she’d ever heard live. Abby knew that as growly as Scott could be, it was all a front.
She opened the door, his frown reminding her of what she was wearing.
“Is that Alex’s?”
The hoodie. Shit. “It was…” She was actually sure Alex wouldn't be getting it back, other than to wear it once to make sure it still smelled of him once she’d washed it.
Scott chuckled. “Any chance of coffee? It’s been a busy night.”
“Sure, come in. Have a seat while I get changed.”
There was another chuckle.
Abby legged it upstairs and switched into something that didn’t shoutI’ve been shagging your brotheras much as Alex’s hoodie, bare legs and what was definitely sex hair screamed.
Scott, when she came back down, was in the living room, games console in hand and cursing at the screen.
“You’re as bad as Alex.”
He accepted the coffee she passed him and put the controller down. “The only person who’s any good at this game is Jake. Which is a serious pain in the arse because he never lets any of us forget it. You heard from Alex yet?”
The chair she sat on had seen better days, but it was worn in the right places, letting her sink into its softness. For some reason, even though she knew that Scott wouldn’t be here to be argumentative, she was nervous and the chair felt a little bit like a defensive wall.
“Not yet. He said he’d give me a call this morning. What happened at the bar?”
Scott took a long drink of the coffee that was strong enough to walk out of the room on its own. She knew exactly how he drank it, having made it often enough. Before he was with Keren, he’d been even more bad tempered, especially if he thought she was seeing anyone.
“It looks like it’s one of the kids who broke into a store in Waterfoot the other evening. The CCTV in both places got a shot of this lad’s face and Mia’s technical people or whatever they’re called said it was a match.”
“That was fast. I though stuff like that took ages to sort out.”
Scott nodded. “It does if you’re in the city. But the Peaks just managed to get the funding for their own crime lab and given that fuck all generally happens here, there isn’t the same backlog. Plus, I’m Alex’s brother and most of the techies drink at the bar. Sometimes it’s who you know.”
“True. Any idea why they broke in.”
“Money. Possibly getting some of the spirits to sell. No one thinks it’s any more than that. They’re trying to ID the kid.”
“I bet Alex has a theory.”
“You bet right. You’ll probably be able to guess in one what it is too. Decent coffee, Abs.” He held up the mug as if to tap for cheers.
“He thinks it’s something to do with Felley Manor.”
“And?” Scott said it as if he already knew. “And before you answer, remember that my wife and Rayah are best friends and have been since they were in infant school.”
