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Chapter 4

Buffy woke feeling somewhat refreshed from her travel across the Atlantic. She had no idea what time it was, however, only that it was still dark outside. She flicked on the light resting on the nightstand and looked around the room, trying to locate a clock. Spying one on the far wall, she blinked a few times to bring her eyes in to focus. Two o’clock? Good Lord, it was only two in the morning? Unfortunately, she was wide awake, so she resigned herself to not getting any more sleep and got up to unpack and wander around the cottage for the next few hours.

She climbed out of bed, slipped on her matching robe, and began unpacking her huge suitcase of clothes and toiletries. She took her time, because she had several hours to kill before the village decided to wake up. Once finished, she wandered around the cottage turning on lights as she went, looking over the place in which she would be spending the next week relaxing. The décor was simple yet tasteful. From the front entryway, there were two steps that opened into a huge room. The main living area had a fireplace, vaulted ceilings and huge double doors made out of glass that would provide a stunning view of the field and distant sea. Two chairs sat catty corner to one another and faced the fireplace; a small table was set up between them. An inviting couch was tucked against the far wall, a hand-made throw draped over the back of it.

She wandered into the large eat-in kitchen and noticed the modern appliances: refrigerator, electric stove, microwave, and all the other small appliances that made cooking a little easier. A table and chairs were located in a nook just off the kitchen. The place was spotless; whoever had been here before her kept a clean kitchen. ‘Either that, or they ate out every night,’ she thought.

Buffy opened the refrigerator to take stock of what was available. It was empty except for a few condiments tucked in the door. Opening a cupboard over the stove, she saw various spices. She ran back upstairs to grab her notepad so that she could make a grocery list. She grabbed both the notepad and the book she had been reading off and on during the long flight. Buffy dropped the book in one of the chairs and went back into the kitchen to make her list. When she had finished, she curled up in one of the chairs in front of the fireplace and read for a few hours until the sun came up.

~*~*~*~*~

When the first rays of sunlight hit her book, she stopped reading. Pulling the bookmark off the table, she marked her place and set the book aside. Uncurling her legs from beneath her, she stood and stretched. The packet of information that Ms. Jenkins had mailed her stated that there was a nice path leading to the beach. With that in mind, she went upstairs to put on some sweats and her running shoes for a morning run along the beach. She dressed quickly then pulled her long, golden locks into a ponytail. She grabbed the key where she had left it on the front entry table the night before and let herself out of the cottage.

The sun was still low in the sky, so it couldn’t have been much later than six o’clock in the morning. Buffy made her way over to the picnic table that rested on top of a cobblestone area. She stretched for a bit in preparation for her run. When she was finished, she walked around the cottage to the open field and the waiting beaches beyond. She hit her stride about a hundred yards from the cottage and was soon in a ground-eating run towards the beach.

~*~*~*~*~

William never seemed to sleep more than six hours at a time, so it was no surprise to him when he woke to the sunlight streaming in through his bedroom window. Climbing out of bed, he donned some low-riding sweats over his naked frame and made his way downstairs. Crossing through the main living area, he pulled back the curtains covering the double doors to allow the sunlight to brighten the room.

A woman walked across his line of vision. Petite; long blond hair pulled back in a ponytail; gray, faded sweats adorned her body. Before he had time to recover from the fact that this was his new neighbor for the week, she’d bolted across the open field and was soon gone from sight. The erection tenting his sweats didn’t surprise him; although, it had been a long fucking time since he had been so instantly turned on. After being “discovered” by Hollywood, women began to constantly throwing themselves at him. But, they wanted the actor, the characters he brought to life on the big screen. They didn’t want the man; the quiet, introspective soul that yearned for a true mate.

With a sigh, he turned away from the window and padded barefoot into the kitchen to make some tea, consciously attempting to will away his raging hard-on.

~*~*~*~*~

Buffy ran for a good two miles once she reached the beach before turning around and starting back. The scenery was beautiful, what little she scanned as she ran along the shore. She would have to come back later today for a leisurely stroll and get a better appreciation of the beauty that was Crackington Haven. Once she reached the field separating the beach from her cottage, she slowed her pace to a walk to begin her cool down. Head tilted back, she inhaled the salty-crisp air and held her breath. Slowly, she counted to ten before releasing it once more. She repeated the process for a few minutes, allowing her heart rate to return to normal.

Returning to the picnic table, she once again stretched to avoid getting a cramp. She didn’t encounter anyone, and wondered if the other cottage was even occupied. “Just because you get up before the sun, doesn’t mean everyone else does,” she softly berated herself then retrieved the key from the pocket sewn into her sweatpants and let herself back into her cottage.

Buffy climbed the stairs to take a quick shower. She had some shopping to do, then it was time to explore.

Thirty minutes later she was back downstairs.  She got some money out of her purse along with the money conversion cheat sheet that Ms. Jenkins had so thoughtfully provided. Buffy stuffed both into the front pocket of her backpack, along with her identification. The backpack was empty so that it could hold her groceries she hoped to pick up in the village. She grabbed her list, the key, and was out the door. Slowly, she made her way down the trail to the village, gawking like a tourist at the sights along the way.

Five minutes later, Buffy was standing in the center of the village. It was practically deserted. ‘Duh, Buffy. It’s Sunday. And, it’s…’ she paused to look at her watch before continuing her silent tirade, ‘12:30 a.m.?’

“I guess I forgot to change my watch,” she said out loud.

“What’s that, ma’am?” an older man asked her. Buffy looked up, a blush creeping up her cheeks at being caught talking to herself.

“I’m sorry. I was talking to myself. I forgot to change my watch to local time when I got in yesterday evening.” He smiled politely at her as she made her way over to stand in front of him.

“My name’s Jake Westland. I’m the barkeep and owner of The Old Albion,” he said, gesturing to the sign above the door.

“Buffy. Buffy Summers. I’m staying the week at one of the cottage up the road. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Westland,” she said as she extended her hand to shake his.

“Jake. Call me Jake, ma’am. Everyone does,” he replied as he took her hand.

“Buffy, please. Ma’am makes me feel old,” Buffy told him with a rueful smile.

“Buffy it is. So, Buffy, what brings you in to town?”

“Well, I was trying to get some groceries. I just got in and the cupboards, as they say, are bare.”

“You won’t find much here. Your best bet is to go in to Newquay. They have a Safeway grocery store there. It’s about three miles away, headed that way.” He pointed towards the city.

Buffy wasn’t looking forward to a three-mile hike just to get groceries, but it didn’t look like she had any choice. “Thanks.” With a wave to Jake, she headed off in the direction he’d indicated. She didn’t get two feet before Jake’s voice stopped her in her tracks.

“You’re not going to walk, are you?” he asked, shocked at the idea.

“Yep. I had a taxi drop me off last night. The packet I got said that I could rent a bicycle once I got here and since I wasn’t planning on going on any road trips I didn’t need a rental car-”

“Come with me, Buffy,” he said as he opened the door to his pub. “I’ve got a bike you can borrow. It even has a basket you can use to hold your groceries.”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly,” she began, only to be cut off.

“Sure you can. I insist.” And with that, he walked off towards the back of the pub to get his bicycle. Buffy just smiled and waited for him to return. He really was a nice man.

He came out from the back room and wheeled his bike over to her. She didn’t see a lock with it.

“Do you have a lock?”

“Don’t need one. No one will take it. Just drop it back when you’re done. Maybe you can stop by for lunch. We make a bloody good fish and chips, if I do say so myself. And, you have to try a pint of our beer.”

“It’s a deal!” she said from the open doorway. “I’ll bring your bike back to you as soon as I finish shopping.” She waved goodbye, and pulled the door closed. Straddling the bike, she hopped up on to the seat and pedaled off towards Newquay, oblivious to the lone figure making his way down the path. It took her a moment to get her bearings on the dirt road, it having been a while since she’d been on a bicycle. She almost embarrassed herself before she got control of the thing and disappeared down the path.

William looked at the woman who almost ended up sprawled on the ground before she got her balance and rode off. Shaking his head and chuckling, he let himself into the pub. It wasn’t open for business just yet, but he occasionally stopped by to chat with Jake.

“Will! Good to see you! I just ran in to your new neighbor. Cute thing. Was talking to herself when I walked up. Did you know she was going to walk all the way to Newquay just to get some groceries? I had to loan her my bike. Just didn’t seem right,” Jake continued his one-sided conversation from behind the bar as the blond propped himself up on a barstool. William laughed, and Jake finally stopped talking to take a breath.

“What? What’s so funny?”

“You are. You’ve been talking non-stop for the last five minutes about a woman you just met.”

“She was nice. Didn’t stand on ceremony. Told me to call her Buffy. Not Ms. Summers. A real gem, that one is, even if she’s an American,” he pronounced with a nod. Will wasn’t really paying too much attention. He now had a name: Buffy Summers. Somehow, it fit.

“…come back here for lunch.” William tuned in on that remark.

“What was that?” he asked.

“I said Buffy told me she was going to come back to the pub for lunch to try some of my fish and chips. And a pint of our English beer.”

William decided right then that he’d be here for lunch as well.

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