Page 63

Jay looked pained. ‘Please don’t feel you have to. Si can come across as a bit… well, a complete arsehole, quite frankly, but he often just needs to have a rant.’

‘It’s true,’ Cole said as he leant back against the worktop, a box of Earl Grey tea in his hand as he waited for the kettle to boil.

‘I think it’s best you all catch up,’ Frankie said.

Jay looked like he was going to argue but then nodded.

Frankie picked up her coat and called her dogs. Storm reluctantly heaved herself up from her spot in front of the fire.

‘Are you still walking dogs?’ Cole asked Frankie conversationally. ‘And living in your converted barn, yes?’

‘Um… yeah.’ Frankie wondered how on earth Cole knew that.

Cole smiled as if reading her thoughts. ‘Day in, day out on a cramped tour bus together, we talked a lot. Of growing up, our families, our friends. I also have an annoying habit of remembering every minutia of detail.’

‘He does,’ Jay agreed, then looked slightly embarrassed when he said to Frankie, ‘Mum emailed me regularly and kept me up to date with everything that was going on in Drumkeldy so I knew you’d moved into a converted barn, and Rocco designed it for you. I know everything about all the residents here.’

Cole executed a flamboyant hand roll. ‘Ergo, so do we all.’

Frankie felt a little on the back foot. How much had Jay shared with his bandmates? Frankie could feel her cheeks redden at the thought of them laughing along with Jay’s stories of a little country village. Did they know she and Jay had slept together? Flustered, Frankie pulled on her woolly hat, unable to meet Jay’s eyes.

‘I’ll see you out,’ Jay said. ‘Then I’ll make Si a strong coffee.’

Cole frowned. ‘Best avoid caffeine as it won’t reduce the levels of alcohol and may adversely affect his ability to sleep, and Simon needs rest to allow his liver to metabolise the alcohol. We’ll give him water so he can rehydrate and, if he’s hungry, some toast would be good. Belligerent Simon will be enough to deal with tomorrow, without a hangover to boot.’

‘Okay, Dad!’ Jay joked.

‘Is that your van outside?’ Cole asked Frankie as she and Jay made to leave.

‘Yes.’

Cole pushed himself off the countertop. ‘I’d better come too, I think I’ve hemmed you in.’

‘I’m sorry you got dragged out by Si,’ Jay said as they walked along the hall.

‘Don’t be,’ Cole said. ‘I collected my new motor a few days ago and I was delighted to drive it up here.’

Frankie was interested to see what kind of car an internationally acclaimed musician bought himself. Maserati? Lamborghini? She didn’t know if Cole was that flash. Maybe he was more a top-of-the-range Land Rover with tinted windows type.

Jay opened the front door and Frankie did a bit of a double take when she saw the vehicle currently blocking her exit.

A Volkswagen Grand California camper van wasn’t her idea of rock and roll.

‘You got it!’ Jay said and clapped Cole on the shoulder. And to Frankie, ‘Cole has been talking about getting one of these for years.’

‘It’s a bit of an obsession,’ Cole said as he walked over to his shiny new purchase. ‘Great steering, comfortable, surprisingly nimble and with great suspension. Good storage, which is very handy as I didn’t know how long we’d be staying with you so I packed quite a bit,’ he added cheerfully as he pressed the key fob and got in.

‘Looks like you’ve got some house guests for a little while,’ Frankie said as she opened the door of her van to let the dogs in as Cole moved his vehicle to allow her to pass.

‘Looks like.’

‘They’re welcome to come along to the mince pie evening.’

Jay looked quite alarmed. ‘I hope they’ll be gone by then.’

Frankie got into the driver’s seat of her van and after a few failed attempts to start, the engine eventually turned over.

Jay appeared at her door and she rolled her window down.