Someone Else's Son Read Online Free PDF Page B

speculation, but she refused to be drawn into the gossip that her ex’s blindness was a factor in their break-up. Carrie’s lack of comment fuelled further stories about a dysfunctional private life – how she’d shipped her young son off to boarding school because she couldn’t cope.
    ‘That’s what happens,’ she was told by an older presenter at the station, ‘when you get so famous. There comes a time when simple, honest celebrity is no longer enough. They have to know about that line of coke or that you once paid for sex. They want to bring you down, Carrie. Always remember that.’
    Those words stuck with her, became her mantra, and not a day went by when Carrie didn’t have cause to believe it. They want to bring me down .
    Four years into the show and with enough cash in the bank to buy her own television station – there had been spin-offs, too, plus her ever growing fee – Carrie decided, no, needed , to get away.
    ‘It’s only for a few days. Just me. Alone.’ She didn’t give Leah the chance to argue. She hung up and switched off her mobile from Friday evening until Wednesday lunchtime. She had no idea what the following week’s show would hold and neither, at that time, did she care. She could hazard a guess: pregnant teen, battered wife, unfaithful husband, missing person, drug addict, alcoholic spouse, shoplifter or car thief. There was no end to human depravity. Rehearsal not needed. She’d deal with the brief on her return.
    Carrie spent an hour trawling the internet for somewhere to go. This time she didn’t want five-star luxury and she didn’t want to stay anywhere she’d be recognised. Airports were out of the question. She just wanted to be normal, to get excited about being alone, to take long, deep breaths of fresh air that weren’t filled with stress, crime or rumour.
    That rules out most of the United Kingdom, she thought, flitting from one website to another, but she persevered. She liked the look of a log cabin on the far side of Loch Lomond. It was vacant. She emailed the owner and booked under a false name, promising cash on arrival.
    The drive was exhilarating. She’d requested that a hire car be delivered – her personal plate was too recognisable – and the Jeep was perfect. She sped non-stop up the motorway, having stocked up on water and food before she left. After Glasgow, she stopped in a lay-by, ate and folded back the soft top of the vehicle. It was a starry night, warm even for Scotland, and she liked the moonlight on her shoulders, the moths swimming through the high beam as she wound round the edge of the loch to her cabin.
    When she pulled through the gates of the park, everything was silent. Eight cabins sat nestled in private wooded areas at the loch side of a large estate. She had booked cabin number six. Driving along the track, the headlights barely picking out the worn-down earth that denoted the way between the trees, Carrie inhaled deeply. The air was brimming with oxygen, the scent of nature and peace. She was conscious of the rattling diesel engine disturbing the quiet, although there didn’t seem to be any signs of life from the other cabins she’d spotted.
    ‘Three . . .’ she said to herself, catching sight of a plaque nailed to a tree, but then the next number she saw was five at the edge of a clearing. Beyond, she saw a simple rectangle of logs and shingle silhouetted against the moonlit water. The thrill of being totally alone for a few days was comforting yet dangerous. Something had taken her beyond a point she never usually reached. If she hadn’t escaped, she believed that her mind and body might have imploded. Leah hadn’t liked it, and her agent had kicked up at the cancellations he’d have to make, but they’d manage without her, they finally said, knowing arguing was futile.
    ‘At last,’ Carrie said to herself. She steered round behind a tree, heading towards cabin number six. ‘It’s cute.’ She switched off the engine.