Classic Bestsellers from Josephine Cox: Bumper Collection

He took a moment to observe her, and his heart was full. As she leaned against the rail, her hair loosened by the wind, he saw the seductive yet innocent way her blouse was open to show the rise of her breasts, and those wonderful light-brown eyes looking up at him with a sense of curiosity. He thought she was the most beautiful creature on God’s earth.

As always, whenever his emotions ran riot, the guilt enveloped him. His wife had been beautiful, he reminded himself. And, suddenly, the magic of the moment was gone.

His mood was instantly changed. ‘Let’s have some lunch.’

‘Yes, I’m ravenous.’ Kathy had seen the swift change of mood in him and she knew why. Yet she daren’t open that particular conversation, for fear it might drive him further away. Instead she answered in light-hearted vein, ‘The sea air seems to have given me an appetite.’

‘So, what do you fancy?’

‘Let’s see … As you’re doing the cooking, I’ll have roast beef, Yorkshire pudding – oh, and an apple pie.’ She felt full up just saying it.

He laughed. ‘I’ve got a bag of sandwiches, and some lemonade.’ He grimaced. ‘Sorry. It’s not much of a choice, is it?’

Kathy smiled brightly. ‘That sounds wonderful to me.’

In fact, Kathy thought everything was wonderful. Lazing here in this pretty bay, with the late summer sun shining down, and the sea sparkling all around them, was wonderful. More than that, just being here with him was the most wonderful thing of all.

Watching her, Tom was torn. He longed to take her in his arms and ask her to be his wife, but always the same crippling memories held him back.

He wanted Kathy, more than anything in this world, and yet too much of him was still back there … going over the cliff-edge, with the sound of his family screaming in terror. And, though he tried hard to put it behind him, it continued to haunt him day and night.

Suddenly, Kathy was standing before him. He had been so steeped in those vivid, crippling images that he hadn’t even noticed her approaching. ‘Do you want to go back?’ Her voice was soft, gently soothing.

Ashamed, he apologised. ‘I’m sorry.’

Kathy wished with all her heart she could do something, but it wasn’t in her power. ‘Don’t be sorry,’ she urged. ‘I understand.’

He wondered how anyone could understand, yet she really did seem to. It was the amazing way she lifted his spirits, and her genuine, heartfelt compassion, that made him love her all the more.

Coming closer, he looked into her face and saw the anguish there. ‘I know how difficult it must be for you as well. But I meant what I said before,’ he promised. ‘I do love you. And our time will come.’

She slid her hand into his. ‘I know.’

His smile was tenderly intimate, yet teasing. ‘So, are you hungry?’

‘Starving … I told you! But I’ll get the sandwiches.’

‘Absolutely not!’ With a stern expression, he playfully demanded, ‘Who’s the captain on this ship … you or me?’

‘You, sir!’ She snapped her heels and saluted smartly.

‘Exactly,’ he laughed. ‘So sit yourself down and enjoy the view, while I get on with my duties.’

Smiling happily, Kathy obeyed the order. It was all a game, and she was content to play along. She was with Tom, and nothing else mattered. But in the back of her mind, the questions never went away. Would he ever be free of those nightmares? Was there a future for them? Or would it all end in tears?

After lunch they made their way further along the coast to the village of Lyme Regis. Here, they came ashore, and, hand-in-hand, they went off to explore the narrow streets. They walked along the Cobb and up to the cliff-tops, from where they could see the coastline stretching away in both directions. They held hands and ran and laughed like children; when he kissed her, she melted into his arms. Now, more than ever, she knew that was where she belonged.

The hours passed and soon the daylight was fading. When evening began to draw in, he suggested reluctantly, ‘I think it’s time we went back.’

Equally reluctant, Kathy agreed, pulling on her jumper as the air grew chillier. ‘Will you teach me to swim?’ she asked him on the way back, and Tom said he would.

As they threaded their way along the coast, it started to rain. Tom fell silent. Kathy sensed his dark mood, but wisely said nothing. If he wanted to confide in her, he would, she thought.

And to her relief, he did. The minute the boat was safely anchored in the harbour, he asked her to stay a while. ‘Wait till the rain stops,’ he said. ‘I’ll walk you home later.’

‘What is it, Tom?’ She always knew when he was troubled, but this time it was different somehow. ‘What’s wrong?’

He shook his head from side to side as he fondly observed her. ‘You know me too well.’

‘So, there is something wrong?’ Afraid now, her stomach lurched. Was this where he told her he wanted it all to end?

Her heart sank when he admitted, ‘There’s something I need to tell you.’

Trying to put on a brave face, she urged, ‘You don’t want to see me any more. That’s it, isn’t it?’

His dark eyes grew wide with amazement. ‘Oh no!’ Gripping her by the shoulders, he told her reassuringly, ‘I would never want that! If you believe anything, you must believe that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Oh, Kathy! I can’t tell you how much I want to be with you.’ His voice shook with emotion. ‘You’re everything to me!’

Relieved, she clung to him, and for a time they took comfort in each other. Presently, he held her at arm’s length. ‘You knew I would have to go away sooner or later, didn’t you?’

She nodded resignedly. ‘Is that what you have to tell me … that you’re ready to leave me?’

He nodded, a look of reluctance on his face. ‘I’ve already made arrangements to see Inspector Lawson, the man who handled the case from the outset. He’s based in London now. I want us to go through everything again, with a fine-tooth comb. Dorset police say they’ve exhausted all lines of enquiry, but there has to be a way of tracking that car, and the person who sent my family to their deaths.’

His fists clenched and unclenched as he thought about it. ‘The police have missed something, I’m sure of it. A car and its driver can’t just vanish into thin air!’

Seeing how, in spite of him saying his rage was under control, Tom was growing agitated, Kathy wrapped her warm, gentle hands over his fist; it was clenched so tight his knuckles had bled white. ‘Tom?’

‘Yes, darling?’ Calmer now, his dark eyes smiled down on her.

‘Are you sure you’re ready to deal with all that?’

Again, for a brief second, he seemed miles away. ‘If we’re to have any future, yes. I need to see it through.’ He readily admitted, ‘There are still times when the anger takes a hold, but now, at long last, I really can think clearly about what happened. And there’s another thing …’ He hesitated. ‘I’m convinced my wife Sheila knew who it was that drove us over the cliff.’

He let his mind go back to that moment when he first sensed it. ‘Just before we went over the cliff, she glanced back. I saw the look in her eyes, Kathy! I saw the flicker of recognition, then it was too late and all hell was let loose.’ Running his hands through his hair, he closed his eyes in torment. ‘She knew. I swear to God she knew who it was!’

Realising how it was troubling him, Kathy tried to rationalise his suspicions. ‘Did she call out a name?’

‘No,’ he recalled, ‘there was no name.’

‘Did she say anything at all that caused you to think she knew who it was?’

Again he shook his head. ‘It wasn’t anything Sheila said … there was no time for that. It was just that instant when I glanced at her … an instinctive thing. It was there in her eyes … the way she looked back … the way her face fell in astonishment.’

He banged his fist on the hull. ‘There was no time! Later, I forgot all about it for a while. I was too sick with hatred … I couldn’t think of anything else … But, now, I’m certain of it. She did know who it was. There’s no doubt in my mind about it.’

‘And have you thought who it could be?’

‘Endlessly!’