Red Skye at Night by Ashe Barker Page A

Harry. It would seem he’s a magnet for females of any age. It looks to me as though the first Harry knows of it is when a sticky hand clutches his knee. He turns and leans down. I see his lips move but of course I can’t hear what he says to her. Whatever it is, she approves. The tiny pink face splits in a beaming grin as she holds her dummy up for his inspection. I suspect Harry will have declined her offer, but he still catches the lump of plastic as the toddler drops it, preventing it from ending up on the floor.
    The harassed mother rushes over, her face flushed as she grabs for her stray offspring. Harry’s easy smile causes my stomach to flip. He smiles at me too, all the time, but there’s more to it when he’s with me. A warmth, a flicker of interest, of something not quite definable but definitely there. I recall the semi-permanent erection he mentioned. I’ve not noticed it, but his jeans are not especially tight and he’s been sitting in my passenger seat all morning, the map open across his lap.
    As I watch, the older brother comes trotting over, now with a bouncy rubber ball to add to the chaotic family mix. Harry is briefly surrounded but seems quite unfazed by the interruption. He’s soon alone again, in glorious, grinning isolation as the little family is herded away toward the pay desk. Time to rejoin him.
    I may have been a tad hasty in my refusal to sleep with my enigmatic passenger. Is it too late to reconsider, I wonder? My limp is forgotten as I head back across the tiled floor.
    Harry puts his iPad down as I approach, his smile pleasant. “We’ll stop again at Berwick, then go on toward Edinburgh. Sound okay to you?”
    I slip into the plastic seat across from him. I’ve picked up a latte in a tall polystyrene cup on my way over so I place that on the table. I hope he doesn’t say anything calculated to choke me again. I nod in response to his question.
    “Yes, fine. What’s in Berwick?”
    “Not a lot, from what I can tell. There’s an arts center, though, with a decent restaurant, specializes in Italian food. We could eat there later.”
    “Sounds good. Just a salad and a sandwich for now then?”
    “Sure. You go choose something.” He reaches into his jeans pocket and pulls out his wallet. He takes out a couple of twenty pound notes and tosses them onto the table in front of me. “That should be enough.”
    Even at motorway service area prices that’s a lot more than enough. I pick up one of the notes. “Any requests?”
    He glances at me, his expression wry. “For a woman who doesn’t want to fuck me, you do insist on living dangerously.”
    I pointedly ignore his remark. “Meat or veggie? Cheese?”
    He grins and seems to be enjoying the joke at my expense. “I’m easy, honey. Whatever you fancy.”
    “Now who’s living dangerously?” I mutter the words under my breath but can’t miss the raised eyebrow as he watches me scuttle off.
    I return with a selection of sandwiches and a tray of mixed salad. We polish it all off, and I realize I was hungrier than I thought. I’m looking forward to Berwick, and for the first time today, beginning to properly enjoy this trip.
    The next couple of hours up toward Berwick seem to drag. Harry has managed to pick up a couple of classical CDs from the shops in the services—pleasant enough but not my taste really. My mind’s occupied negotiating the road and Harry seems content to watch the Northumberland countryside roll by. He has his iPad on his lap.
    “It says here that the castle at Alnwick was the setting for Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies. Did you know that?” Harry sounds like a small boy suddenly, excited at tales of wizards and magic, elves and goblins.
    “Says where? What are you looking at?”
    “Northumberland Tourist Board website. Very helpful. Did you know that when you pronounce it right Alnwick rhymes with ‘panic’?”
    “I’m English so yes, I did know that. Not about Hogwarts, though.” I shake my