The People Next Door

Ash pointed out, going to the front door. ‘She probably belongs to them.’

‘But what if she doesn’t? You can’t just turf her out.’

‘She’s a cat. She was obviously outside exploring and decided to be nosy when she saw the open window.’

‘She could be a stray!’

‘Does she look like a stray?’ She’s not skinny, her coat is shiny, and look, she’s wearing a collar. She’ll be fine.’ Ignoring Roxanne’s glare, Ash opened the door and put the cat down on the front step.

‘Ellie!’

‘She’s not ours, Roxanne. We can’t just keep her.’

When Roxanne mumbled out a protest under her breath, Pete covered her hand with his and shot her a warning look. Roxanne wasn’t an animal lover and her protests were likely more an excuse to have a dig at Ash.

Ellie had really hoped they were past this.

Luckily the cat didn’t seem keen to hang around, darting off across the front garden and into the bushes to the side of the property.

‘See.’ Ash closed the door, a goading smile on his face as he stepped back into the room. ‘Not ours and she didn’t want to be ours,’ he told Roxanne.

‘Who wants more wine?’ Ellie asked, jumping in quickly before Roxanne could respond.

‘That sounds like an excellent idea,’ Pete answered for his wife before draining his glass. His cheeks were already rosy from the couple of bottles the four of them had polished off over dinner.

Like Roxanne he was generally a mellow drunk and easily distracted by the promise of more alcohol. Ellie planned to fill Roxanne’s glass and move her on to a different subject. As she gathered the empty dessert dishes, she shot a look at Ash. ‘Can you go grab another bottle?’

She followed him through into the kitchen, dumped the dishes on the counter.

‘Don’t wind her up, okay?’

‘I’m not winding her up. Roxanne reacts too easily.’

He was right, but that wasn’t the point.

‘She does and you know that, so don’t bait her.’ When Ash’s mouth curved into a sly smile, she snuck her arms around his waist, pulled him close so her hips pressed against his, and kissed him lightly on the lips.

This was her new home. She refused to be afraid of it.

But what if someone has broken in?

Although she tried to dismiss the question, the nagging voice had her moving faster.

If anything happened to Ash…

No, she was over-reacting. Roxanne and Pete’s concern was getting to her.

Ash was right. Old houses made noises. He should know. After all, he did design buildings for a living.

Still she climbed the stairs quietly, fearful of making too much noise, freezing to the spot with her heart jumping, when she stepped on a creaking floorboard.

‘Ash? Where are you?’ Her tone was hushed as she peered both ways down the long landing. The noise had come from above them, so she headed left towards their bedroom, wondering if she should have brought a weapon.

For what? This wasn’t a movie.

But if someone had broken in…

Which was ridiculous. They were in the middle of nowhere.

She thought of Crimewatch and the remote properties that were often ransacked. The location of their new home, which had been a selling point for both of them, was suddenly now less appealing.

Ghost or no ghost, there had definitely been footsteps and the idea there could be a stranger in the house was actually a hell of a lot more frightening than anything supernatural.

‘Ash?’

Her heart was thumping now. Where was he?

Ellie took the last tentative step towards the bedroom, annoyed she was scared to enter a room that should be her sanctuary. The shape that suddenly blocked the doorway, barrelling into her, broke that train of thought and she screamed.

‘Jesus, Ellie. Don’t sneak up on me like that,’ Ash hissed, seeming as startled as she was.

‘I didn’t know you were in here.’

Something between them growled and Ellie stepped back, spotted yellow eyes glaring up at her.

A cat?

‘What the hell? Where did she come from?’ She assumed it was a girl, given the pink glittery collar.

The feline hissed and Ash scratched behind her ears in an attempt to calm her. ‘The window I guess.’ His eyes glinted, teasing. ‘That’s what happens when you leave them all open. Things get in.’

Annoyingly, he was right. It had been a stifling hot day and Ellie had earlier opened all of the upstairs windows in an attempt to cool the house down, despite Ash telling her the pond in the garden below their bedroom balcony was a breeding ground for mosquitoes. She glanced at the long curtains billowing at the French doors and hoped the cat was the only thing that had come in. At least a blessed breeze had finally picked up, which should offer some relief through the night.

‘See, nothing sinister.’ Ash hooked his free hand around Ellie’s waist, pulling her close and pressing a kiss against her nose. ‘Just a cute little cat.’

‘She probably belongs to them.’

‘But what if she doesn’t? You can’t just turf her out.’

‘She’s a cat. She was obviously outside exploring and decided to be nosy when she saw the open window.’

‘She could be a stray!’

‘Does she look like a stray?’