‘I’m so sorry,’ she whispered.
‘It’s okay,’ he said, turning to her. He leant over and kissed her on the cheek. ‘Let’s not talk about it any more. Let’s just have a good time, right?’
They set off on the trail, bypassing Middle Tip Toe Mountain, and scrambling over rock ledges to reach the top of Big Tip Toe. She found herself slipping in her old boots, and Henry took her hand, helped her up to the top. It was worth the climb. He was right, the view was panoramic. She could see the whole of Penobscot Bay, the islands and the ocean from the northwest all the way to the east. Henry walked right over to the edge of the summit, and she followed him tentatively. It was a vertical drop all the way down. She stepped back, feeling a little dizzy.
Henry took off his rucksack and started taking things out. Much to her consternation he’d brought a picnic – sandwiches, cake and chips – and now he spread them out on a gingham cloth, with two bottles of beer. He really had gone to a lot of trouble. Which made the task of telling him there was no hope for them even harder.
‘Oh shoot,’ he said, looking embarrassed. ‘I don’t know how I forgot you’re vegan; I made egg sandwiches.’
‘That’s okay,’ she said, picking up the beer and taking a swig to fill the emptiness in her stomach.
‘Will you not have one anyway?’ he asked. ‘The eggs are free range.’
‘No, I’m fine,’ she said, although she was starving. She took one of the packs of chips and ripped it open.
‘I won’t tell anyone,’ he said, winking at her. ‘Maybe you should? I mean, you’re very thin.’
‘I don’t want one,’ she said tersely, offended by his comment.
‘Suit yourself,’ he said, biting into his egg sandwich and munching away happily.
She drank the whole bottle of beer quickly, which she knew was stupid on an empty stomach, but she needed some Dutch courage. Henry finished his sandwich, and put his arm around her shoulder. She could smell his eggy breath as he leant in and tried to kiss her. She pulled away, wriggled free from his embrace and stood up.
‘Hey, sorry,’ he said, looking up at her. ‘What’s up?’
‘I’m not in the mood for kissing,’ she said.
‘Is it the sandwiches, honey? We’ll go. I’ll get you some fries at the diner in town.’
She shook her head.
‘It’s not that,’ she said, taking a breath. ‘I’m sorry, but this whole thing is going too fast.’
He stood up and walked over to her. Took her hand. ‘I know, it’s scary, but what we have is so powerful – why wait?’
‘But what is it we have?’
He looked genuinely surprised. Picked up her hand and kissed it, looking into her eyes.
‘I’m in love with you, Emer,’ he said, to her horror. ‘It’s the real thing.’
‘Henry,’ she said, pulling her hand away. ‘I’m so sorry, but I don’t feel the same way.’
He stared at her, the smile slowly fading from his face.
‘But we made love all night,’ he said. ‘What was that?’
Emer tried to speak as kindly as she could, although all she wanted to do was get away from him.
‘I know, I was drunk and stoned, and so sad about my sister…’
‘You used me?’ he asked her, coldness creeping into his voice. ‘You still in love with your ex?’
‘No,’ she lied, shaking her head. ‘It’s nothing to do with him. You’re just—’
‘What am I?’ he interrupted, an edge to his voice she’d never detected before.
‘Too much,’ she said, emphatically. It was time to be clear. ‘Too soon. I feel suffocated.’
Henry’s face coloured. He looked angry.
‘She got at you, didn’t she, that old lezzy bitch?’
‘What are you talking about?’ Emer asked, confused by the dramatic change in tone of his voice.
‘You know what I mean. Susannah Olsen. Lying, conniving old cow.’
Emer felt as if she’d been smacked in the face, she was so shocked. ‘This has nothing to do with Susannah.’
‘Of course it does! She broke me and Lynsey up, and now she’s getting in the way of us.’
‘No, Henry, Susannah doesn’t even know I’m out with you.’
The charming, chilled-out man of the woods had been replaced by a jilted lover, angry and mean. ‘Everyone on the island knows what she really did,’ he said. ‘They all kept quiet because you never tell on another islander, but we all know.’
For the first time all afternoon, Emer didn’t feel safe. She must have been crazy to put herself in this position.
‘I want to go back now,’ Emer said, in a quiet voice. But Henry ignored her. He kicked her rejected sandwich off the side of the hill and she watched as it fell through the branches of the trees.
‘I’m going, then,’ she said, trying to stay calm and making for the trail. As she began to clamber down, her heart was pounding in her chest.
‘Ask her about what really happened to her sister’s husband!’ Henry called out to Emer.
She stopped walking, turned around, feeling her breath tight in her chest. She knew she should move on, ignore his taunt, but her curiosity got the better of her.
‘How do you know about all of that?’
‘Matthew was my uncle. My father was his brother, Silas Young,’ he said, taking a step towards her. ‘That’s why she put an end to Lynsey and I. Sent her off to stay with old friends of hers in Florida, just to stop us being together.’
Emer had frozen in her tracks. A part of her was screaming – was it Orla? – Don’t listen to him! Go now!
‘Susannah always claimed Uncle Matthew ran into the sea after Kate died. Killed himself,’ Henry continued, ranting. ‘But my dad told me he didn’t mean to hurt Kate. He loved her. It was an accident. That’s what my daddy said.’
Henry had almost reached her now. Emer began to back away. There was a look in his eyes completely unfamiliar to her.
‘My Uncle
