It’s Your Turn Now

Chapter One of a novel by

Rachel Brimble

 Email: rachel.brimble@btinternet.com

Kat took her mother by the ankles and dragged her along the floor into the bedroom.  The alcohol fumes didn’t just emanate from Julia Forrester’s breath, they were also coming from the dark stains on her Versace blouse and skirt.  Biting down hard on her bottom lip to stem her tears of frustration, Kat came to a stop by the bed.  This couldn’t go on any more.  Her own life was passing her by.  At twenty-eight, Kat wanted to start living.

      Throwing a blanket over her sleeping mother, she walked from the room and into her own bedroom.  Lying down on the bed, the muscles in her arms started to ache from the strain of moving the two hundred pound mess she was duty bound to call Mom.  She stared at the ceiling.  It was time her brother took some of the responsibility – who had designated her as chief guardian? 

Kat leapt up from the bed and flung open her wardrobe doors.  Reaching up to the top shelf, she pulled down a huge suitcase and started filling it with clothes, shoes and toiletries.  She was leaving.  Today.  It was someone else’s turn to deal with the wreck that was her mother.

She slammed down the lid of the case and turned to look at herself in the full-length mirror.  Her long, dark hair was tied back from her face with a bandanna, her complexion tired and drawn from the last few nights of little sleep.  At one time, complete strangers would comment on her huge eyes and high cheekbones.  Now those same eyes looked out at her with no flicker of life behind them and her translucent skin was stretched taut across the sharp bones.  Turning away from her reflection, Kat reached for the phone and dialed.

Her younger brother picked up on the second ring.

“Chris Forrester.”

“It’s me.  I’m leaving.  It’s your turn.”

“Whoa, Kat.  What’s happened? What do you mean you’re leaving?” he demanded.  “I’m up to my eyeballs in work here.”

“I don’t care, Chris.  I can’t do this any more.  I’m tired.  I’ve had enough,” she said.  “Get your butt over here right now and sit with her until she wakes up.”

“But –”

“No, Chris! I’ve had it,” yelled Kat.  “For once in my life, I’m going to do what’s best for me.  You can pick up the slack for a while.  I’ll wait one hour, if you’re not here by midday, I’m going.”

He breathed out a sigh.  “Okay, okay, calm down.  I’ll be right over.  How long will you be gone?”

“Oh, I don’t know.  Dad died thirteen years ago and I’ve looked after pretty much everything since then.  So, I don’t know, twenty-nineteen?”

“Kat, come on –”

“The clock’s ticking, Chris.”

She put down the phone and inhaled a deep breath.  Grabbing her case, she walked past her mother’s room without as much as a passing glance inside.  She was really going to do this.  Kat was going to find out just who she was and what she could achieve.

She walked down the long, winding staircase into the huge marbled-floor hallway.  Lifting her head, she looked around at the beautiful home her father had worked so hard to provide for them.  Piece by piece, her mother had sold off priceless antiques for a minimum of their worth, precious family heirlooms had disappeared unaccounted for. 

Her mother had drunk her father’s fortune but Kat and her brother still had fairly healthy trust funds.  Kat had been frugal with her wealth, knowing from a fairly early age that Julia Forrester would not care whether her children were fed or warm.  Her mother’s caring sensitivity vanished the same day as her father’s Austin Martin.

Tucking her bank book and credit card into her handbag, Kat shifted the strap onto her shoulder and looked at her watch.  Her brother would be here soon enough and then she would be gone.

By half past twelve, she was standing on platform ten of Reading station, waiting for the train to Templeton Cove.  Her heart slammed rhythmically against her chest and her hands trembled.  Kat wanted nothing more than to see the one place etched so clearly in her mind; she could see it like a picture postcard whenever she closed her eyes. Thoughts of her mother refused to cease tormenting her but there was no way she was turning back. She lifted her gaze to the sky.

It was a beautiful June day, the sun warm against her skin.  All around her, people were going about their business, living their lives through their own choices and decisions.  Kat wanted that opportunity too.  A slow rumble on the tracks announced an approaching train and she shielded her eyes against the sun’s brightness just as it came into view.

A smile played at her lips and she pulled back her shoulders to stand a little taller.  The hour-long trip to the Cove was one many families took with their children for vacations and day trips.  The train added to the enchantment of its destination with old-fashioned carriages and the endless trail of billowing steam from its funnel.  The huge black beast rounded the corner and Kat grinned.  She felt as though she were greeting an old friend.

The ear-splitting screech of brakes and the smell of grease sealed the fact she was about to embark on a journey that could change her life.  Lifting her suitcase, she yanked open the carriage door and stepped onto the train.  It was busier than she’d anticipated and she had to struggle along the narrow corridor until she found an empty carriage.  Dumping her luggage on the seat, Kat took a place right beside the window.  The smell of oak and dusty cushions filled her nostrils and she closed her eyes.

It was almost as though her father were right there beside her, holding her small hand in his.  She could hear his gentle voice whispering the secrets of the train and its passengers from days gone by.  She could not remember a time since when she’d felt as happy as she did then.

The high pitched scream of the guard’s whistle caused her eyelids to snap open and she leaned forward to look out the window.  Slowly, their speed increased until the station disappeared, giving way to nothing but lush, green fields.

She took a deep breath and settled back in her seat.  All she wanted for now was a journey of peace and quiet, a setting that was so rare in Kat’s life it was as precious as time itself.   But as usual, what Kat wanted she wasn’t going to get, so when the carriage door slid back on its wheels she lifted her scowling face to the intruder.  But he barely glanced at her as he put his briefcase on the rack above her head.  She abruptly turned to look back out the window.

From the corner of her eye, Kat watched him remove his overcoat and take a seat directly opposite her.  He then proceeded to start whistling “Anything You Can Do” from Calamity Jane.  The sound grated along her nerves like nails down a chalkboard.  She knew he was looking at her but the last thing she wanted to do was give him the satisfaction of telling him to shut up.  She cleared her throat and shifted around a little to make her message clear.

The whistling stopped.  “Business or pleasure?” he asked.

Obviously the man didn’t understand the subtleties of body language.  She forced a smile and turned to look at him.

“Neither,” she said, immediately struggling to keep eye contact.  He was looking at her so intensely, she felt naked beneath his gaze. 

He smiled.  “Well, it be must be one or the other.”

“I’m moving away.”

He arched an eyebrow.  “Really?  You’re going to live in the Cove?”

The pitch of disbelief in his tone caused a barrage of defenses to jump to attention in the pit of her stomach.

“Is there something wrong with that?” she asked.

His dropped his gaze to look over her worn jeans and white T-shirt.  “The accommodation there is quite expensive, you know.  In fact, Kerrington Downs might suit your needs a little better.”

Kat narrowed her eyes.  “Is there something you’re trying to say to me?  Do you think I can’t afford to stay at Templeton Cove, is that it?”

The man didn’t even have the decency to look embarrassed.  Instead, amusement danced in his amazingly disconcerting steel-gray eyes.  Kat waited for his answer.

He placed a hand on his chest.  “Hey, I didn’t mean to offend you.  The residents can be a little stuffy sometimes, that’s all.”

Kat folded her arms.  “Is that so?  I can safely assume you live there then?”

He tipped his head back and laughed out loud.  The sound was deep and honest, washing over Kat’s inner senses and filling her own throat with a sudden urge to laugh right along with him.  She closed her eyes for a second and smiled.

“I’m sorry,” she said.  “I’m a little tense right now.”

He leaned forward to shake her hand.

“Apology accepted and I’m sorry if I insulted you.  Shall we start again?” he asked.  “I’m Jay Garrett and it’s very nice to meet you.”

She took his hand in hers.  “Kat Forrester.  It’s nice to meet you too.  I think.”

He continued to stare at her and heat rose up her neck.  She felt as though she was under scrutiny.  Like any second now he would hold up a card giving her a score out of ten.  She cleared her throat.

“So…do you really live in Templeton Cove?” she asked.  “Or do you just scout out any unsuitable interest?”

He smiled.  “Yes, I live there.  There’s no better place in the world as far as I’m concerned.”

Kat sighed.  “Well, I can’t disagree with that.  I spent a lot of time there as a child but I’ve never been back.”

“Ah, you won’t have seen my place then.  We had it built about fifteen years ago.”

“Whereabouts? I can still remember the Cove like I visited yesterday.”

“It’s right on top of Clover Point.”

Shock caused her to blanch.  “Clover Point?  Are you serious?”

“Uh-huh.”

Kat bit back an impulse to throw her hands up in disgust.  Clover Point was a huge heather-covered hill that stood high above the Cove.  A place where residents and visitors could come to see the entire town in all its glory.  A place to picnic and barbecue, play and have fun.  Now this egocentric hooligan had ruined it by erecting bricks and mortar.

He leaned forward and waved a hand in front of her face.  “Have I said something wrong?  Your eyes are shooting lasers at me.”

She blinked and forced a smile.  “No, I just remember the grassland well.  I can’t imagine a home being built there.”

“Trust me, it looks great.”

I’m sure it does.  To you, at least.

Kat turned back to the window.  As far as she was concerned the conversation had just dried up.  But it seemed Jay Garrett had other ideas.

“And so now you’re coming back?” he asked.   

She nodded.  “Yep”

“Where will you be living? Near the harbour?”

Kat looked out the window, suddenly feeling a little stupid at her usual lack of planning.  “Um…yes, I’ll, um, yes, that’s right.  I’ll be living by the harbour.”

“Are you sure about that?”

She snapped her head around to look at him.  “Yes, I’m sure.”

He raised his hands in mock surrender.  “Okay, okay.  I just didn’t know there were any places for sale down there right now.”

“Well, there is.  Do you mind stop throwing questions at me?  I can feel a headache coming on.”

The excuse was lame and downright rude but this man was beginning to get on her nerves.  He might have had the most unusual eyes she had every seen and a smile bright enough to melt the artic circle, but Kat was running out of commentary to keep him at bay.

A line furrowed his brow but he still continued to study her.  He gave a shrug.

“Sure.  Whatever you want.”

     The next twenty minutes passed in silence.  The train pulled into the tiny station and Kat’s stomach churned with excitement as she looked out the window.  In the distance she could see the harbour with its gleaming boats bobbing on the surface of the crystal blue water.  Elation filled her.  She was finally free. 

Inhaling a deep breath, she turned and they both stood up at the same time.  The small carriage suddenly felt miniscule as he leaned around her for his briefcase.  His body was inches from hers and Kat’s nostrils filled with the scent of pine leaves and fresh air.  She resisted the urge to close her eyes and breathe him in.

He pulled down the case and smiled. 

“Well, I guess I might see you around then.”

Kat swallowed.  “Yes, maybe.”

And then he walked from the carriage and was gone. 

Taking a deep breath, she picked up her suitcase and strode from the train onto the platform.  There were two or three cabs lined up outside the sliding doors of the station but Kat walked straight past them.  She wanted to walk down the cobbled streets she remembered so well, see the old thatched cottages up close and run her hand along the limestone walls the same way she had as a child.

She came to a stop at the top of a huge grassy bank that gave a panoramic view of the tiny fishing village.  It seemed as though the Cove had been frozen in time, the picture was just the same.  Her eyes ran over the horizon and then came to a stop.  She slowly shook her head.  Well, there was at least one new addition to the landscape.  Far out at the very side of the inlet was Clover Point and right at its very apex stood the ugliest monstrosity Kat had ever seen.  The mansion was huge.  The place was vulgar in it architecture and not at all in fitting with the ambiance of Templeton Cove.

She dropped her suitcase and fisted her hands at her hips.  Jay Garrett.  The guy was an idiot.

©2006 Rachel Brimble

Rachel would love to hear what you think of her writing - email her now

BACK