Coco du Ciel

Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

AH, s**t. RHYS shifted to get a better angle and gaped up through the foliage. The nut had been a huge thing, at least three feet wide. Where had it gone?

Apart from a small circle of bare earth around the trunk of each tree, the ground was a tangle of foliage, but he had to find the thing. Then if he could get hold of a ladder, maybe he could…hmm, stick it back up there?

“Ow, you bastard.”

He cursed as a thorn poked into his thigh, then stubbed his toe tripping over a rock. This “job” should come with hazardous-duty pay. And probably a flak jacket too, because there was his uncle’s precious nut-fruit, smashed to smithereens on a carpet of blue flowers, which meant Rhys had roughly one week left to live. f**k. For a second, he considered superglue, then smacked his own head. The damn thing had exploded. Jagged shards of seed case and creamy flesh lay scattered among the undergrowth. There was no fixing that mess.

Uncle Albert was going to do his nut, which was a terrible pun under the circumstances, but “furious” didn’t even begin to cover it. Would he believe the truth? That Rhys had played no part in the damage? That it was all just an accident?

A flash of something pale darting through the foliage caught his peripheral vision. Another bird? No, it was too big for a bird. The fox, perhaps? If that mangy creature was responsible for this disaster…

Rhys turned off the tap and listened. A rustle came from the far end of the greenhouse as whatever it was moved again. Should he run? Hide? What if it was a burglar? Or a plant rustler? Did such a thing exist? When he didn’t hear anything else, curiosity got the better of him and he tiptoed in that direction, brandishing a handy shovel as his heart thumped against his ribcage.

There…a glimpse of white among the green.

What was that?

He found her crouching behind a Fatsia japonica. Or was it a Gunnera manicata? Which one had the bigger leaves? Why the hell was he even thinking about leaves? There was a naked freaking woman in front of him.

Who was she?

Why was she in the greenhouse?

And why did she look so scared?

So many questions, and absolutely no answers.

As Rhys looked her up and down, she shrank back farther, cowering against the base of whatever damn plant it was as she attempted to cover herself with her hands. He reached out and bent one of the leaves in front of her, and her knuckles turned white as she snatched it and gripped the edge.

“Uh…” he started. What on earth was he supposed to say? “Are you…all right?”

Time ticked by, and the bird swooped past, squawking. That startled her too.

Finally, she gave her head a quick shake. No, she wasn’t all right. Hardly surprising, given the situation.

“So, this may be a silly question, but what are you doing here?”

She hugged the leaf against herself and gazed at him with eyes the colour of molten chocolate.

“I don’t know,” she whispered, so softly he could barely hear.

“How did you get here?”

She shook her head again, damp brown curls cascading over her shoulders. “I don’t know.”

“Did you walk? Come by car?”

“I think I fell.”

“You fell? From where?”

Was naked skydiving a thing?

“I woke up in the dirt under that tree.” She started to point at the closest coco du ciel tree, but the fatsia-s***h-gunnera leaf pinged away and she had to grab it back to save her dignity.

Wait a second… A broken nut, priceless according to his uncle. A mysterious trespasser. Had she climbed up to steal Albert’s pride and joy and then slipped? It seemed like a definite possibility. Should he call the police? How else was he meant to deal with a naked burglar?

A naked freaking burglar.

“Did you touch that thing?” Rhys pointed at the foliage.

The girl followed his gaze. “What thing?”

“Well, obviously it’s not there anymore. But it was a giant nut, and it’s broken right where you claim to have landed.”

“I… I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

“You’d better tell me the truth, otherwise I’m the one that’s gonna get it in the neck when my uncle gets home.”

“I swear, I don’t remember touching it.” She glanced around, brow creased. “Do you know me?”

“Lady, do I look as if I know you?”

“Where am I?”

She didn’t know? Maybe she needed an ambulance as well as the cops? And possibly a straitjacket too. Where had she come from? Her accent was bland, difficult to pin down, and Rhys was ninety-nine percent sure he hadn’t seen her on his trek to the village shop. A pretty girl like that? He’d definitely remember.

“You’re in Llanefion.”

Her blank expression said that didn’t help.

“It’s a village in Gwynedd.” Nothing. “Wales?”

“Wales?”

“The country? You know, sheep. Mount Snowdon. Daffodils, dragons, rugby.”

“In Europe?”

“Yes.” Finally, they were getting somewhere. “Are you here on holiday? Vacation?”

“I don’t know.”

They’d hit an impasse. Rhys’s phone was in the house, and now the girl was shivering despite the fancy heating system. Probably he should act chivalrous and at least get her a blanket before he asked any more questions.

“Don’t go anywhere, okay? I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Okay.”

Rhys backed away. At least if she bolted, someone would notice. Even in deepest, darkest Wales, a naked woman skipping through the countryside would raise eyebrows.

As he jogged into the house, Rhys paused to pinch himself. Was he still asleep? Was this his subconscious getting Wales and Stacey and that brunette from last night’s TV game show all mixed up? Ouch. Apparently not. He ran through a mental checklist—no, he hadn’t been drinking, or smoking anything funny, or getting adventurous with any pharmaceuticals. But he’d eaten mushrooms on his pizza last night. Could some joker at the supermarket have swapped them for the magic variety?

When Rhys got back to the greenhouse with an old grey woollen blanket—the best he could find—he half expected the girl to have vanished. Or perhaps that was just wishful thinking? It would undoubtedly have made his life easier if she’d taken off. But no, there she was, exactly where he’d left her.

“Here.” He held out the blanket. “Sorry it smells a bit fusty.”

She didn’t make eye contact until she’d wrapped it around her shoulders like a cloak. When she straightened, she only came up to his chin in bare feet, and at five feet ten, Rhys had never considered himself particularly tall. She licked her lips the way Stacey sometimes did, but it was a nervous gesture as opposed to Stacey’s usual confident teasing.

“What now?” she whispered, glancing towards the door.

Words stuck in Rhys’s throat. What was the proper etiquette for dealing with an admittedly pretty, very naked stranger who didn’t know who she was or where she’d come from?

“You’d better come inside, I guess. I mean, you can’t stay out here in the greenhouse.”

He offered a hand, but when the girl just stared, he slowly retracted it. Gee, this wasn’t awkward in the slightest.

“Uh, follow me.”

She stopped a foot inside the kitchen door, hesitant to go any farther. Rhys couldn’t blame her—he was a stranger too, after all. And truth be told, he didn’t particularly want her in the house.

“So, er, do you want a cup of tea?” A good cuppa was the British answer to everything.

She gave the tiniest of nods.

Uncle Albert still had an old gas kettle rather than an electric one, and Rhys set it to boil on the stove. Mugs lived in the cupboard beside the fridge, and he picked out the two with the fewest chips. Every item of crockery was decorated with flowers, and worryingly, Rhys could actually identify some of the blooms now.

“Do you take sugar?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything.”

Her eyes began to glisten, and Rhys took a step back. Bloody hell. He could cope with nudity and amnesia and even the prospect of his uncle’s anger, but tears were beyond him.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Rhys patted her stiffly on the shoulder, then plucked a leaf from her hair. “We’ll get this sorted out. Somehow,” he added under his breath.

“I’m s-s-so sorry. For being in your greenhouse, for interrupting your morning, for whatever I might have done to that plant.”

Was it possible that she’d escaped from somewhere? A hospital?

“Here, have a tissue.”

Okay, it was a paper towel, but it would have to do. Rhys helped her onto a stool at the breakfast bar just as the kettle started to whistle.

“Thanks.” Her hand trembled as she wiped her eyes. “I can’t imagine I’ve ever been this scared before.”

She wasn’t the only one shaking. He slopped boiling water across the counter as he tried to pour it into the mugs. Plenty of milk, two sugars for the strange stranger.

“You really don’t remember? Nothing’s coming back?”

Tick, tick, tick… The old-fashioned grandfather clock in the hallway was the loudest thing in the house, and its steady countdown only served to remind Rhys how fast his heart was beating.

“I know your accent is English and this is a kitchen and the sky is blue. But specifics? Anything about me?” She shrugged. “There’s nothing.”

“Sounds like amnesia,” Rhys said. “We should try the hospital.”

And with any luck, they’d take her off his hands.

“But I’m not injured. I feel fine.”

Rhys’s ringing phone interrupted the conversation. In an ideal world, he’d have ignored it, but he recognised his uncle’s ringtone, and when he’d accidentally missed a call from Albert last week, a flurry of panicked text messages had quickly followed.

“Uh, excuse me, I have to take this.” He stepped into the hallway. “How are the Himalayas?”

“Bloody freezing, lad. You’ve got the better end of the deal, that’s for sure.”

When he thought of the waif sitting in the kitchen and the mess in the greenhouse, Rhys knew that was a lie.

“We’ll have to agree to differ on that.”

Uncle Albert laughed heartily. “Just so long as you’re not slacking. Those plants won’t look after themselves.”

“I’ve been following your instructions to the letter.”

“Everything going okay?”

Rhys should have fessed up about the incident with the coco du ciel tree, he knew he should have, but he didn’t want to ruin Albert’s holiday. At least, that’s what he convinced himself. There was also the small issue of facing his uncle’s inevitable fury, and why do today what you could put off until tomorrow?

“Absolutely fine. Couldn’t be better.”

“I should get going, then. Saussurea gossypiphora is calling me.”

“Sassy-what?”

“It’s a herb. A rare herb. Tell my babies I said hello.”

The line went dead, and Rhys let out a long, shaky breath. Okay, he’d bought himself a few days. If he timed it to perfection, perhaps he could leave a “Sorry I screwed up” note and be halfway back to London before Albert started yelling? A definite possibility.

But he’d worry about that tomorrow. Today, he had the mysterious girl to deal with…