RIDE THE TIDE

Chapter 25: The Tour Begins

Peter climbed the hill behind his house with Molly, the dog, and sat on a rock scratching her behind the ears. Molly was nearing the end and followed Peter wherever he went. He penned her up when he worked the sheep or she would still try and herd. He picked up a handful of rocks and soil. It was his now. Pulling his outback hat down over his forehead he surveyed his holdings.  Janey was overjoyed but Peter knew she would never know just what it meant for him.  He had been a wanderer all his life until he met Janey and if it hadn’t been for John, he would still be shifting around. He and John were a team. Peter knew his end, having worked sheep farms since he was a teenager. John knew how to pull it all together and he knew cattle. It had been just a little over ten years since he first arrived here with a band of shearers, now he was a landowner.  Whatever he produced on his land would be his.  He looked down in the valley at his tree plantings. John thought it crazy to waste grazing land for trees. Peter smiled, he already had a market for them.

Working with Tom turned out to be a surprise. He had a good business head and paid attention to detail. Tom knew how the farm worked, even though it had been a long time since he'd lived there. He gave Peter the responsibility and a check book. Peter aimed to keep up his end. Word had come it would be after the first of the year before his help arrived. That was okay. They would be here for the lambing. Meanwhile he would make do with Donnie and Johnny and Johnny, thankfully, was coming along.

 “Come on, old girl, let’s go see if Janey’s going to feed you t’day.” Peter and Molly carefully made their way down the hillside.

Tom spent a week tying up his loose ends. He met with Peter several times. Peter wanted him to know what he would be doing while Tom was gone. His rewrite was finished and shipped off to New York. There were bills to pay; one marked urgent had been forwarded from Mt. Pleasant, SC. The Jag was still at the airport in Charlotte. He was on the phone with the leasing company and arranged for it to be picked up. His first thought was for Penny to drive it to Charleston, but then he decided she might not want to go back to there so he paid a hefty fee for the pick-up.

Tom and Penny spent three days driving around the coast. Penny thought it was charming and very different from the east coast she was familiar with. Scarborough had a pebble beach and the coast line there looked like pictures she had seen of northern California, high cliffs and an angry sea.

 Now it was time to get ready for the tour.  Penny went to Pateley Bridge with Anna to visit the hairdresser. Her hacked-off hair needed some finesse. She told Anna about turning her head upside down one day on the old stone porch at the cabin and grabbing a handful of hair and cutting it off. Her curling hair had hidden all the uneven cuts. It now hung just above her shoulders from a side part and looked very smart according to Anna. They picked up Tom’s dry cleaning and had lunch at the tea room. Tomorrow Penny and Tom would leave for London.

Of course it rained the day they left. Tom was driving and Penny tried to see out the side window. It was still too nerve-wracking for her to watch the oncoming traffic traveling at such high speeds. She had packed and repacked her bag several times, Tom reminding her to leave room for whatever she would buy in London. It took him about five minutes to back his large blue bag.

 Johnny was riding in the back seat so he could take the car back to the farm. His hair had grown out long enough to comb straight back and now was its natural black.  He wore his jeans and a pullover. He was saving his money for a bike and talked about it most of the way down the M1.  A blue BMW; Penny thought she might be able to draw it by the time they reached London. Tom pulled up in front of the Hotel and handed Johnny some money for petrol and a meal on the way back home.

They were to have dinner with the publicist tonight. Penny wore her blue-green silk dress. The publicist, though, was in black and looked very professional which made Penny think she might find something black for New York. She was surprised to find out the publicist was a woman and would be traveling with Tom on his tour. Not that it mattered, of course. Mary Anderson was telling him about the television program on which he would have a guest spot on in the morning. He was to get his beard trimmed and his hair styled before 11:00. She had made the appointment for him already. She told him how he should dress and Tom, cocking his eyebrow, reminded her this wasn’t his first tour. He told Penny later that night for the next thirty days he was a package.

Penny didn’t want to go to the TV station and watched the program from their hotel room. Tom was so handsome in his black pullover sweater, black slacks. His beard had been trimmed close and his hair fell softly from a center part and flipped out around his eyes. It was much shorter in the back than she had ever seen it. He was well spoken and bantered with the interviewer, flashing his smile. Penny hugged herself; and he’s mine, she thought.

That afternoon as they walked about London, Tom was stopped many times and congratulated on his new book with autographs also often collected.  Penny always backed away and stood apart. They found an Italian restaurant for dinner and went through a bottle of red wine. Tom was relaxed and Penny was beginning to feel a little apprehensive about the trip but she kept those thoughts to herself. She was laughing and teasing with Tom throughout the evening.

It was still a little misty when they left the hotel to catch a cab to Harrods. Penny had never seen such a store where you could buy anything. She had a list she'd made at the farm: a raincoat, two pants suits, a couple of dresses for dinner out in New York, shoes, and handbags. Tom bought her a gold bracelet, earrings and a carryon bag, knowing she wouldn’t have room in the suitcase for her things.

 She put on her new raincoat but the rest of the bags would be delivered to the hotel.  They found a pub for lunch and walked London for the rest of the afternoon.  Tom was recognized again and once when they stopped by the Thames for a kiss, their picture was taken by someone.  Tom said it would probably appear in a tabloid somewhere tomorrow. He didn’t care. Tomorrow they would be on their way to New York. Penny wasn’t sure she wanted her picture in a tabloid.

Once on the plane, Tom slept while Penny read his book. She could see some of Tom in Jack Brandon but Jack Brandon was a force to be dealt with. He worked for Interpol and when he couldn’t capture, he killed.

On arrival in New York they were met with a limousine. Mary Anderson never put her cell phone down once they reached the ground. They were driven to the hotel and as they were emerging from the vehicle their picture was taken several times. Mary had a look around at who was taking the pictures, winked at a photographer, then they were ushered inside. That night a dinner was planned with his publisher.

Penny was out of the shower and drying her hair. The time difference made her want to crawl into the big king-sized bed but instead she crawled into a delightful black dress and new shoes.  Pictures were again taken at the dinner table. The company at the table remarked on her accent and moved on to Tom’s current book and the next one to come. Penny felt out of her element,  only smiling when someone looked her way. Mary wanted pictures of Tom by himself at the bar and Penny was left with his publisher. He was very nice to her and asked about where she was from and how she was adapting to life in England. He smiled the whole time, enjoying the way she talked.

The next morning Penny accompanied Tom to the TV station and waited in the green room while he was on the air. Today he was in a black suit and white shirt and tie. The session lasted about thirty minutes. Penny watched him on the screen, the familiar gestures, running his hand through his hair, tugging at his tie, the opaque gaze at the interviewer. She could tell he was impatient. The audience loved him and asked him about his travels during a question and answer session. A woman wanted to know if he was married. Tom hesitated a minute. "No, not yet," he said quietly.

There was a literary club press luncheon scheduled for the afternoon and Penny went along. Tom had to speak and she was impressed with what he said and that he spoke with out notes. Questions followed and he was at ease, laughing with the give and take. More pictures were taken. Penny had been noticed but no one had asked Tom about her. Mary had them out of there in a flash, back into the limousine and off to the hotel.

Penny was becoming exhausted and wanted a nap.  Tom was on the phone with Mary about a press release. This was to be Tom’s life for the next month. She wondered how he could keep the pace. One more night here and they were to go to Boston. Two nights there and she would be on her way to Charlotte while Tom would be on his way to Toronto.

The next morning they were met at the airport in Boston and taken to a hotel downtown. Tom tossed the bags in the room and told Penny he didn’t have anything to do until tomorrow. “Let’s go do the town today.”

“Take me anywhere, Mr. Cox, I am yours today,” Penny smiled,  glad to have him to herself for awhile. It was going to be a long three weeks until Atlanta. They walked around town holding hands, window shopping and stopping for a lobster lunch. Tom found a pub and they sat at the bar for awhile. The bartender came over and handed Tom a newspaper.

"Your picture's in it,"  he said, tapping on the paper with his forefinger.

 Tom opened it up, finding the picture of himself and Penny with his publisher. Tom was talking to him and Penny had her head down. Good, he thought.  He didn’t want Penny splashed all over the press. She shouldn’t have to deal with it. He was trusting Mary to keep Penny out of it.

They went back to the hotel and Tom ordered dinner in. He had plans for Penny tonight. While she was trying on earrings in Harrods, he'd bought her a diamond.

Dinner arrived with a bottle of champagne and a white rose. "Are we celebrating something?" she asked, lightly fingering a rose petal.

Tom got down on one knee and took her hands in his. "If you will marry me, then yes, my darling."

“Tom," she replied, tears on her cheeks, "you know I'm going to marry you at Christmas.”

He presented the ring to her in a glass of champagne. Penny couldn’t drink enough to get to the ring so he poured it through his fingers, slid the ring on her finger and kissed her thoroughly.

Penny pulled him down on top of her across the big king-sized bed.

“Oh, Tom, I'm so happy I could just burst," she smiled.

“Don’t you dare! I want all of you right now.” He silenced her mouth with his.

ON TO PART 26

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