Among the Olive Groves Read online

  “Jase?”

  “Sorry Kate, I was miles away.”

  “Anywhere nice?”

  He shrugged and swiftly changed the subject. “So were you serious about not wanting a relationship with anyone?”

  “I don’t know,” she admitted. Kate liked Jase. He was funny and not as geeky as most of the guys who rode the waves at Fistral, but she knew he was not boyfriend material. It was common knowledge that he was the love them and leave them type and she did not want to get hurt. She definitely wanted a friend though. She had a big hole in her life and wished she had someone other than her parents to talk to.

  “My life’s a mess, Jase.”

  “You? I doubt that very much. You have great parents, a nice house, a job you love, and your car is almost brand new! I would say that’s pretty good. I rent a small room in a house with a bunch of people I barely know, I have no job, I spend all day in the sea and my car is on its last legs and held together with bits of wire.”

  Kate could not help but laugh. When he put it like that, her life did sound pretty good. But she could not help the feeling of uncertainty that nagged at her every day. Her life may look great from the outside, but underneath, it was all a lie.

  “If I tell you something will you promise to keep it a secret, Jase?”

  “Of course.”

  “I mean it. If I ever find out that you told anyone, I will never speak to you again.”

  He knew from the tone that she was deadly serious and he nodded with assent.

  “It’s my birthday tomorrow and I’m dreading it. A year ago I learned that the Fishers aren’t my real parents.”

  “You’re adopted?”

  “Yep. They told me on the morning of my twenty-first birthday. It was the worst day of my life, and it knocked me sideways. I told them it didn’t matter, and it didn’t until I got a card a few days later from my birth mother. She died when I was very young, but had instructed someone, I think her solicitor, to send it. The things she said sent my brain into a tailspin. I haven’t been able to deal with it since. I’m a mess, Jase. I tried to talk to Fletch about it last year. He’s the only other person I’ve ever told, and he just abandoned me.”

  She suddenly realised she was crying, and looked up at Jase. His face was filled with confusion. Embarrassed, she stood up, “I’m so sorry Jase. I shouldn’t have...” she fled from the pub, only to remember that she had nowhere to go. They had come in his car. She kicked the wall in frustration, then sat down on a wooden bench.

  Jase appeared and sat next to her. “You can’t get rid of me that easily, Kate. If you want a friend, I’ll be your friend, and I promise I won’t tell anyone what you told me.”

  “I thought I’d scared you off.” Kate managed a small laugh.

  “You’ll learn in time that it takes a lot to scare me.”

  “Thanks Jase. I really could do with a friend.”

  “I know, and I’m here for you, whenever you need me. Do you fancy going back into town and getting some fish and chips? I’m starving.”

  “Sounds like a great idea. Let’s go!”

  ~

  “Come on Kate!”

  “No. I look like a fool.”

  “I’m sure you don’t. Get a move on or we’ll miss all the good waves.”

  It was a very early morning in the height of summer, and for three months Kate and Jase had been good friends. He stayed true to his word and had not told anyone her private business. He became the shoulder to cry on that she so desperately needed. He was the friend she could hang out on the beach with, eat fish and chips while trying to avoid dive-bombing seagulls with, and now, after much persuasion, he was about to give Kate her first surf lesson. Fletch had been trying to get her to surf for years, but she had always refused. She was not sure why she changed her mind now, but maybe Fletch was the reason. Over the last few months, she had continually broken convention where Fletch was concerned, almost as if she were rebelling against him and his very ideals.

  “Why did I ever agree to do this?” Kate said, storming out of the changing room, decked out in a figure hugging wetsuit. Checking herself out in the mirror she groaned. She looked awful.

  Jase was taken aback. She was the sexiest looking surf girl he had ever seen.

  “You look fine. Grab that board and follow me.”

  They ran down the beach towards the rolling surf, boards tucked under their arms. Jase had already shown Kate the basics on land, and today she was being let loose in the water for the first time. As far as he was concerned, she was ready. Kate, on the other hand, was dreading it. Wading out to sea, they pushed their boards through and over the waves, soon finding themselves almost waist deep. It was a battle. The waves were strong and kept trying to knock them off their feet. Hauling themselves onto their boards, they paddled farther out, the breakers now behind them and on their way shoreward. Kate found the whole process unnatural and hard going. She did not realise how many muscles were used during the art of wave riding. She knew she was going to ache like mad tomorrow. Suddenly Jase stopped paddling and instructed her to do the same and turn her board so that they were facing the beach. They lay there bobbing on the ever-moving water, Jase looking back over his shoulder waiting for the right wave.

  Suddenly without warning, he shouted.

  “Paddle, Kate! Paddle, paddle, paddle!”

  Frantically, she did as instructed, feeling the board moving swiftly towards the shore caught in the continually moving tide. Suddenly, she felt a wave catch her, sweeping her forward. She thought back to her training and pulled forward trying to jump up, but she drastically misjudged it and fell head first into the tumbling waves. She felt like clothes in a washing machine, tumbling every which way. Water rushed past, deafening her. Her board, still attached to her ankle by the leash, swirled in the waters and banged into her leg. Kate was disoriented not knowing where the surface was. Overcome with mild panic, her head finally broke the surface and she gulped in air, coughing up unwanted seawater. Scanning the horizon, she looked for Jase, but could not see him. Clinging onto the board for dear life, she calmed herself down before summoning all the energy she could to climb back onto it, where she lay like a washed up seal. She watched the other surfers expertly ride the continuing waves, and felt disappointed that she had wiped out the first time. A few minutes later, Jase paddled back towards her grinning.

  “How did it go? I lost sight of you.”

  “I wiped out, really badly. I’m not sure I like this surfing business. I must have swallowed half the ocean.”

  He laughed. “Do you know how often I wipe out? You’ll get the hang of it. Come on, try again.”

  They spent a merciless hour, trying wave after wave. Eventually with muscles screaming, eyes stinging and feeling slightly nauseous from swallowing far too much seawater, Kate did it. She managed to stand and ride the waves for a few feet before losing her balance and falling into the relentless churning water. She stumbled out of the surf, threw down her board and lay on the sand groaning. She was going to be so sore tomorrow.

  “I saw that Kate, your first wave!”

  “I’m bloody knackered, Jase. How do you do it?”

  “With a lot of practice! Why did you never learn before? Most kids who live round here learn to surf or at least bodyboard.”

  “I don’t know. Fletch wanted to teach me, but I told him that it wasn’t my sort of thing.”

  Interesting, thought Jase. Fletch had not been able to persuade her. Maybe Fletch was not as perfect as everyone thought he was. Maybe Jase was the right man for her after all? Despite agreeing to be friends, Jase still secretly harboured thoughts of their relationship becoming more but he was too scared of telling her for fear of losing her. It was better to be friends than not have her in his life altogether.

  “What are you thinking?” she asked.

  “Nothing.”

  “You’re such a liar, Jase Smith!” She reached out with her arm and pushed him over.

  “Right
, that’s it!” He went to grab her but was too slow and she jumped to her feet. Scrambling up, he ran after her, chasing her along the beach. Just as he reached her, she ran into the waves and turned, sending great handfuls of water into his face. Not letting a bit of seawater deter him, he ducked under and grabbed her legs, flipping them up and pulling her down into the sea. Despite the water going up her nose, she resurfaced, laughing.

  “I’m all wet again now.”

  Jase brought his hands down into the sea, sending a big splash up into her face.

  “Even more now!”

  “You are in so much trouble!” Wading forward, she tried to grab him, but he was too quick and beat her to it, holding her hands by her side so she could no longer splash.

  “Are you going to stop now?”

  “No,” she said mischievously.

  “Please?”

  “Make me!”

  Without another word, he pulled her to him and planted his lips on hers. Rather than pulling away as he had expected, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. They stood in the swirling Atlantic Ocean, arms around each other, savouring the kiss, much to the amusement of the other surfers, who cheered. When they parted, Kate looked at him.

  “I thought we were going to stay friends?” she asked.

  “We are. But I thought maybe we could be friends with benefits. After all, I like you and you like me.” He held up his hand before she could speak. “Hear me out. I know you already said you don’t do relationships, so really this seems like the best option for everyone.”

  He thought he would make it easy on her. If she was adamant about not wanting a relationship then this was the next best thing. He would get what he wanted, to continue spending time with her, and eventually she would fall for him and he would get what he wanted most of all.

  “Do I have any say in the matter?”

  “No. None at all.”

  “Well in that case...” She pulled him to her and kissed him again. “Okay then. Friends with benefits,” she said before pushing him away and wading out of the sea and up the beach to get changed.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Cornwall, England, 1992

  The summer seemed to go on forever and Kate enjoyed every minute of it. For the first time, her life truly felt like her own. She loved spending time with Jase and she was beginning to fall for him. She resisted telling him her true feelings; she did not want to scare him off. She had seen how some of the surf boys were with their girls. If the girls got too close or too clingy, they were dropped faster than you could say paddle.

  She continued to surf and became very adept at it. She loved it and could not understand why she had not learned to do it years earlier. She enjoyed being in the water and felt at home there, and did not know what she would do if she ever stopped. It gave her a freedom that nothing else could.

  Over the months, she and Jase had also driven the length and breadth of Cornwall. They had visited Land’s End, where Kate had stood under the large signpost staring out across the sea in the direction of New York. Another time, they hired a boat at Helston and took turns to row up and down the river. They also drove to Jamaica Inn and explored Bodmin, getting lost on one of the tors as the mists descended.

  Kate had never enjoyed herself so much. Her job also kept her occupied. Tourists arrived in their droves in the height of the season and the Tourist Information Office was very busy. She enjoyed talking about the town she loved; its beaches, the harbour, the surrounding area and exciting places to visit further afield.

  Thoughts of Athena dwindled and she finally managed to start sleeping properly. Fractious nights filled with bad dreams were behind her and she felt more relaxed and able to concentrate on other things in her life. Her parents had picked up on her better mood and stopped nagging her about living her life, and it seemed that things were finally back to normal again. She, for one, was very glad and she had Jase to thank for it. She could not have been happier.

  ~

  It was late in the evening on the August bank holiday weekend, and Kate, Jase and the other surfers were sitting around a huge campfire they had illegally built on one of the smaller beaches. They were enjoying the balmy weather before the colder autumn temperatures arrived. Some of the surfers’ girlfriends had already left, dispatched back to their hometowns or universities after a long summer of fun, most likely never to be seen again.

  Kate was enjoying a can of beer, thinking about how she had been so busy with work in the last few weeks, and she felt she had been neglecting Jase a bit. She was glad they had been able to come out and relax. Looking over at him while he talked football with Shane and the others, she smiled. It had been such a great summer. She had enjoyed his company and she definitely wanted a relationship. Tonight she planned to tell him.

  The noise of another car arriving punctuated the air, and it was not long before two girls in skimpy dresses and sandals made their way along the sand towards them. Kate did not recognise them; they definitely were not part of the surfer community.

  Walking past the gaggle of boys, the girls waved with their fingertips and gave them their best smiles. It annoyed Kate. No doubt they were holidaymakers and Shane had invited them. Glancing back at the boys, she caught the look of horror that passed across Jase’s face, and Kate felt a chill go up her spine. Did he know them? If so, who were they?

  The two girls came over, sat next to Kate and introduced themselves.

  “I’m Sherrie and this is Chelsea.”

  Definitely tourists, Kate thought. She wished they had chosen to sit elsewhere, but did not want to seem rude.

  “Kate.”

  “Kate.” They nodded and then turned to each other to talk about the amazing hair salon and shops they had visited earlier in the day. Kate groaned. She was not that sort of girl and she wished they had not sat next to her. Standing, she went over to the boys and sat next to Jase.

  “You okay?” she asked, linking her arm through his.

  “Yeah. Why?” he snapped, pushing her away.

  “No reason. I just thought I’d ask. There’s no need to bite my head off.”

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to,” he smiled weakly.

  “I see the tourists have arrived. Who invited them?” Kate whispered, motioning towards Sherrie and Chelsea.

  “I don’t know.”

  Something was wrong. Kate had never seen him this irritable before. “What’s up?”

  “Nothing.”

  “You could have fooled me.”

  “Is that so,” he grumbled as he grabbed another can of beer, opened it and took a long slug.

  “If you’re pissed off, why don’t you just tell me?” Kate was confused. He had never talked to her like this before and she wondered what she had done to upset him.

  “For god’s sake! Life isn’t always about you, Kate.”

  “I didn’t say it was!”

  “Well you sure act like it most of the time. Why don’t you just piss off and leave me alone!”

  “Jase!”

  He turned to her and glared, cold flint-like eyes that told her he had nothing more to say. With tears stinging the back of her eyes, she stood, and stumbled over the log they had been sitting on. Feeling embarrassed and hurt, she walked up the beach to her car, pulled her keys from her pocket and climbed in, slamming the door hard, venting her frustration on it. Fumbling with the keys, she eventually managed to start the engine and sped away from the beach.

  She had no idea what had happened. Jase had never ever spoken to her like that before. Tonight he was nasty and downright hurtful. She was at a loss to know what had upset him so much. She would let him cool off and speak to him in a few days, but until then he could go and rot. As she pulled up to her house, she reached into the passenger well for her bag, but it was not there. Groaning, she realised she must have left it at the beach. She needed it, since her house keys and other important stuff was in it. And given the mood Jase was in, he could not be relied upon to bring it b
ack in one piece. She would have to go back for it. How humiliating.

  After pulling into the car park, she sat in the car for almost fifteen minutes trying to summon the courage to get out. To run off was one thing, but to do it and then return just over half an hour later was embarrassing. Eventually she shrugged. If Jase had a problem, that was down to him. She would get her bag and hightail it back out of there. People could think what they wanted. She no longer cared. Storming back down the beach, she climbed over the log, reached down and grabbed her bag.

  “Oh. You’re back,” Sherrie said nervously.

  “Only to get my bag,” Kate said, not that it was any of the girl’s business.

  “Well I don’t know where Jase is.”

  “Okay then,” Kate said dismissively, and turned and walked back up the beach. She stopped. What an odd thing to say. She walked back over to Sherrie, while scanning the bonfire and its environs. She could not see Jase at all, and come to think of it, Chelsea was missing, too.

  “What did you mean by that?” Kate demanded.

  “Nothing,” Sherrie smiled sweetly.

  “Where is he?” Kate whispered hoarsely.

  “Who?”

  “Do not fuck with me, Sherrie. Where is Jase?”

  Shane heard the raised voices. He knew there would be trouble the minute Sherrie and Chelsea arrived. He felt sorry for Jase. He had not known Chelsea would turn up. Jase had told her over a year ago that it was over, but instead of being honest with Kate about his relationship history, he had overreacted and Kate had stormed off. Shane felt sorry for her too. He stood and took hold of Kate’s arm. “Come on Kate, calm down. Leave her be.”

  Kate shook his hand away. “Where is he, Shane? I won’t ask again.”

  Shaking his head, Shane pointed in the direction of the tufted dunes. Kate strode purposefully towards the rising banks. Her head was telling her to run away, but she needed to find out what was going on. Climbing the dunes she looked left and right, searching for him. She had almost given up when she heard them. Slowly rounding a dune, her heart plummeted. Jase was on top of Chelsea. They were naked, writhing and sweaty, and she was screaming for him never to stop.