‘Hold on Logan,’ she shouted. Just the effort of breathing was painful. ‘I’m coming!’
It took Gabe about four minutes to realize he’d been a complete tool, and another twenty minutes to swallow his pride sufficiently to pack a bag, call a taxi and follow his wife back to Fittlescombe. Boarding school! He didn’t even care about bloody boarding school. He wasn’t one of ‘those’ dads, the kind who live vicariously through their sons. And he certainly didn’t believe that boys needed to be sent away to be toughened up, or any of that nonsense that he may or may not have said to Laura, in the heat of the moment and after the better part of a bottle of Newton unfiltered Merlot.
As the cab made its irritatingly slow way through the deserted Sussex countryside, Gabe tried to understand what it was that made him pick these stupid fights with Laura. He loved her. He’d always loved her, and needed her, now more than ever. But it was a love tinged with fear. The truth was, Laura was the only woman that Gabe Baxter had ever truly loved. Deep down he still couldn’t quite believe that she’d chosen him. As a result, he lived his inner life on a constant state of alert, watching and waiting for Laura to leave him, to trade him in for someone more worthy. Now that she was pregnant with his child, the stakes had got even higher. Angry at himself for needing her so desperately, and determined not to show his weakness, he ended up drinking too much and lashing out, pushing away the very person that he was most terrified of losing.
It was a crappy pattern, one he knew he had to knock on the head before the baby was born. All the flirting with other women – it was all a front, but it hurt Laura sometimes and he knew it. If he were honest with himself, Gabe even enjoyed Logan Cranley’s obvious adulation. He still thought of her as a kid in most ways, but there was no doubt that physically Logan was all woman. And a seriously sexy woman at that. Her desire for him made Gabe feel comforted on some level. Relaxed. It made him feel as if he had options.
Options for what? he asked himself angrily, as they crested the top of the Downs and the Swell Valley spread out below them beneath a blanket of stars. You’re a sad bastard, Gabe Baxter, and you need to get a fucking grip. He was in danger of turning into Dylan Pritchard Jones at this rate, and that was a fate worse than death.
‘Something’s going on down there,’ observed the taxi driver. ‘Look at all those lights. And the smoke. Must be a big fire.’
The hairs on the back of Gabe’s neck pricked up. He knew he was being irrational, but he needed to get to Laura, now. To hold her in his arms and tell her he was sorry. To make sure she was safe.
‘Can you go a bit faster?’ he asked.
Laura found Logan just a few feet back from the barn door. She could barely make out her features through the thick smoke, but she felt the panic as Logan gripped her forearm, her nails digging in so deeply they drew blood.
‘It’s all right,’ said Laura. ‘Let’s get you out of here.’
‘I can’t move!’ Logan sobbed. ‘My leg. Something fell on my leg.’
Reaching down, Laura felt around in the darkness. Some sort of timber, perhaps a beam from the collapsing roof, covered Logan’s left leg near the ankle. One pull told her instantly it was too heavy to lift. But perhaps they could roll it off?
‘Lean towards me. I’m going to try to push it forwards. You try too, on the count of three.’
‘I can’t!’ Logan was hysterical. ‘I tried! It won’t budge!’
‘Yes it will,’ said Laura, with a confidence she was far from feeling. Where the fuck were those firemen? The heat was so intense it was hard to speak. Above them, the roof seemed alive with flames. If they didn’t get out of here soon, it would collapse.
‘All your strength now.’ She squeezed Logan’s hand. ‘One. Two. THREE!’
Without thinking she closed her eyes and focused every shred of energy and strength on the beam. At first nothing happened. But then very suddenly, like a well of oil erupting from the ground, the heavy wood rolled forwards, releasing Logan and coming to rest a few feet away, between the women and the door.
‘Come on!’ Laura pulled Logan, who let out a hideous cry of pain. Her lower left leg was clearly badly injured. There was no way she could stand.
‘Crawl!’ commanded Laura, who was too weak to pull her out alone. ‘I can pull you under the shoulders but you have to help me.’
‘I can’t,’ Logan wailed. She obviously meant it. She was trying to move, her face contorted with pain, but nothing happened.
For the first time, Laura felt a creeping panic. The barn could collapse at any moment. They may only have seconds. Glancing behind her, the flames that she thought she had put out around the doorway seemed to have fought back somehow. She could still see the way out, but only barely. She knew she had to get out now, but she couldn’t leave Logan.