A Twist in the Tale (2011) Read Online Free Page A

he asked, his eyes roaming every inch of my body.
    “Good
genes, I suppose,” I reply modestly before saying, “Anyway, you’re one to talk,
your wife’s a very lucky lady, I hope she realises that?”
    He
chuckles. “I make sure I tell her that every morning without fail.”
     I
laugh at his blatant egotism. “Now that, I can believe.”
     
I feel flirtatious in his company, willing to drop the inhibitions that had
been prominent throughout our teens.
    I
find myself hanging on his every word as we compare our lives since our school
days. We laugh together at the individual mistakes we’ve made along life’s
interesting and challenging roads.
    Envious
eyes watch our reunion with interest. But it doesn’t matter, we only have eyes
for each other.
    Trevor
Stevens is a true gentleman, attentive and humourous to a fault.
    “Fancy
a dance, Jill?”
    I
jump at the chance to feel his strong arms around me.
    On
the dance floor the slow music thrusts us into a secret world where only the
two of us exists.
    As
the sound of the Commodores’ Three times a lady signifies the
last dance of the evening, I swallow the lump of disappointment that has formed
in my throat.
    “Can
I walk you home?” Trevor whispers in my ear before he pecks me lightly on the
cheek.
    It’s
the first time during the course of the evening he’s really shown how much he
still cares for me. “Why that would be wonderful, Mr Stevens,” I reply in my
best Scarlet O’Hara voice.
    We
say a hurried farewell to the others and make a joke about meeting up again in
another twenty years from now. Then we leave and begin the long walk home, my
arm tucked through his, the romantic full moon guiding our way.
    As
the garden gate looms closer my breathing becomes restrictive. I turn and gaze
nervously into his eyes. “I’ve had a fantastic evening, Trevor, it’s a shame it
has to end.” Emotional tears threaten to spill down my cheeks.
    He
takes my chin in his hand and his eyes search deep into mine. “It needn’t end
this way, Jill.” He has a devilish glint in his eyes.
    His
effrontery knows no bounds.
    “Why,
Mr Stevens, what on earth do you mean?”
    “Well,
Mrs Stevens, I’m suggesting we try and recapture our youth inside, in the
warm.” 
       
    Lonely Christmas without
you .
     
     
    It
suddenly dawned on her that she would be spending the next five days by
herself, snowed in, in a log cabin, high up in the mountains. Tara Murphy had
been looking forward to this holiday with her husband, Gerry, all year. But at
the last minute, Gerry's boss had begged him to forego his holiday in order to
save the vital account that would keep their management company from going
under.
    Gerry
had insisted that Tara should go on holiday without him. She had complained
countless times but it had proved pointless. Gerry had urged her to telephone
all her friends to see if anyone could accompany her on the trip, but at this
late stage all her friends had made other arrangements. It was Christmas after
all.
    When
she arrived yesterday the sun had been shining and the views had been
spectacular. The cabin, which stood isolated on the highest peak around, was on
the edge of a pine tree forest. But when she woke up this morning and looked
out the window, everywhere was covered in snow and it was still falling, hard.
This was not her idea of a wonderful Christmas.
    "Come
on, girl, we've got to make the best of things."
    Luckily,
Tara had stopped off at the supermarket on her way up to the cabin. The rental
car's boot had been full of carrier bags laden with groceries that would see
her through the next four days. Searching through the cupboards she pulled out
a frying pan, took the eggs out of the fridge, broke them into a bowl and beat
them with a fork.
    After
eating her omelette, she put on her coat and ventured outside. To the side of
the cabin, under a wooden porch, was a good supply of timber that the owner had
chopped up ready to use as firewood. She breathed