Free Harkett's Haven by Ally Forbes

her bedroom. Sitting on the bed she realised that she felt lighter in step and in heart than she had done for as long as she could remember. The cloud that had been hanging over her had lifted and she could see a way ahead. She had been looking back, living in the past and in fear, but as of now she decided that she was going to try to look forward. What point was there dwelling on the past? She had to move on. For her own sanity she had to move on with her life.
    She pulled on a pair of jeans and black roll neck sweater. She sat at the small mirror, pulled a brush through her long dark hair and put on some light make-up.
    When she got downstairs, Eric was standing at the window gazing out to sea.
    Rachel decided to leave him to his thoughts and tidy up the breakfast dishes and make some lunch to take with them. It was a lot to take in she thought to herself. She had had many, many months to come to terms with what had happened to her but she understood that to hear this for the first time must be something of a shock.
    She glanced at him as she worked and worried. She had only known him a few days and his reaction was ....well....unexpectedly strong.
    She went to him and stood beside him, holding his arm.
    ‘Come on Eric. Let’s make tracks. We’re going to miss the tide if we wait any longer.’
    He smiled at her and took her bags.
    ‘I’m looking forward to this.’
    They made their way out the door and Rachel took them to a garage at the back of the cottage. She had an old 4 x 4 which she reversed into the garage and hooked up the boat trailer to. There was a small dinghy on the back and Rachel felt the excitement she always felt at a trip to sea. This feeling had never shown any signs of abating despite the years she had been doing this.
    ‘There’s a small slipway at the other side of the bay I use. We’re heading out to Ersay......should only take fifteen minutes to get there and the sea’s flat calm.....couldn’t be more perfect,’ she smiled at him, ‘I’m doing an intertidal survey and it would be great to have an extra set of hands......and after all my stories this morning, you can maybe tell me more about yourself .’ She winked at him.
    She could tell that the anger in him was abating but he was still pre-occupied. They climbed in the big car and Rachel drove off carefully down the unmade track.
    ‘Rachel, I’m sorry to keep speaking about this when I’m sure you’d rather put it to bed but could you tell me more about this man....I’d like to know who I’m dealing with.’
    Rachel’s heart sped up, more than slightly alarmed.
    ‘Eric. It’s not your problem now. I’m sure I won’t see or hear from this man again ..... after all this time has passed. It’s water under the bridge and not your problem.’
    ‘I want to be prepared ....just in case...’
    ‘Please Eric. We’ve only just met..... and I don’t want to let my past intrude on my future any more. Don’t let what happened to me cloud things any more than it has already.’
    They rounded the hill at the other side of the bay from Rachel’s cottage and descended towards a small beach and a small concrete slipway.
    She added in a whisper, ‘I only felt I needed to tell you this because the experience has.....left its scars.’
    She pulled the car and the boat up beside the slipway and opened her window, reversing the boat trailer carefully down towards the sea. When the boat was in position she cut the car’s engine.
    Eric grabbed her and kissed her again. She responded to his need, delighting in the ferocity of his kiss.
    ‘I want you like I’ve never wanted anyone before Rachel.....the thought of what that man did to you chews me up inside......’
    She kissed him again, his confession of his feelings sending tingles of desire and hope through her. She had thought that after Tom she would never want a relationship again, that she had lost her need for intimacy and love. In the few short days, she had known Eric, a small