Second Chance At the Ranch

by Maxine Morrey

  ‘If you remember, I kind of had to. You wouldn’t stop going on about it until I did.’

  Anya shrugged. ‘I can’t drive so you getting it was the next best thing. Obviously.’

  Hero laughed. ‘Obviously.’

  ‘Besides, you know it was a sound investment. Classic car prices have been going through the roof the last few years. Those financial guys at that party were telling us that, when they were banging on about investment opportunities.’

  ‘Were they?’

  ‘Yes! Weren’t you listening?’

  ‘Sort of.’

  From her peripheral vision, Hero saw Anya turn a little in her seat. ‘You’ve been very quiet since you got back from your sister’s. Are you sure nothing happened?’

  ‘No, nothing.’

  ‘You miss them.’ There was no question, just an understanding of fact.

  ‘I do,’ Hero replied, her concentration still on the road ahead. They’d left the city now, headed in the direction of the exclusive spa where they’d booked a week of rest and relaxation. First on the list for Hero was a really good, deep tissue massage. She’d had tension knots in her neck and shoulder ever since she’d left Australia. Perhaps taking this time away from everyone, save her best friend, was just what she needed.

  ‘Would you ever go out there?’

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘To live, I mean,’ Anya elaborated.

  Hero paused for a moment before answering, her thoughts engaged in just how well that would go down with one particular resident. The words ‘lead’ and ‘balloon’ came to mind.

  ‘No. I don’t think so.’

  ‘Why not? You said it was a large property. Surely there would be space?’

  ‘Yes … it’s not that.’

  ‘What is it then?’ Anya’s enquiry was soft and considered.

  Hero rolled to a stop at a set of traffic lights, letting her head fall back against the rest.

  ‘There is something, isn’t there?’ Anya persisted.

  Hero let out a small sigh. ‘Yes. But it’s … complicated.’ She put the car in gear as the lights began to change. ‘Can we talk when we get to the hotel?’

  Anya covered her friend’s hand briefly as it rested on the gearstick. ‘Of course.’ Turning her attention to the window, she squinted, trying to see past the rain into the darkness. ‘Where are we anyway?’

  ‘Not far now. Maybe ten, fifteen minutes.’

  ‘Ooh goody! First bottle of champagne is on me!’

  Hero laughed. ‘Aren’t we supposed to be all healthy, just drinking wheatgrass smoothies and eating vegetables all week?’

  Anya screwed up her perfect nose and gave a derisive snort. ‘I hope not! That sounds terrible, but you go ahead if you want to.’

  ‘No thanks, your version sounds much better! I’m going to need a drink to unwind from this journey for a start.’

  A mobile phone gave out a ping and the two women drove on, the silence companionable as Anya replied to the message. By the smile on her face, Hero guessed it was probably her fiancé. Anya was naturally light-hearted and ready to smile, but the smile she reserved for her husband-to-be was different. There was so much love behind it that it spilled out and you couldn’t help but notice.

  Hero concentrated on the road ahead. She hadn’t told Anya, or anybody, about Nick – about how she’d opened up to him at the wedding and how incredible, how right, it had felt. Not a word about how comfortable she’d been in his arms and how just a look, a smile, made her body react in a way she’d never known. She felt the familiar stab as his last words to her echoed again around her mind. They had wounded her deeply, for the simple reason that they’d come from him of all people. She knew that meant something. And deep down, she knew they hurt because they were true. He was right about the protection she’d built around herself, but she’d been in this place such a long time, she wasn’t sure how to get out of it, and keep her heart intact.

  Those harsh words had pushed her towards the clarity she should have found years ago. She knew now that she should have spoken to someone, confided, long before tonight. But she knew Anya would understand. She wouldn’t be offended that Hero had kept these things to herself. They’d both been dealing with the whole crazy fame thing for years but Anya, somehow, had still managed to begin a new career, and fall in love. Maybe that meant there was hope for Hero too? Maybe one day she would find someone else who looked at her the way Nick had done that evening as they’d sat under the star-studded twilight. She’d never forgotten that look. She never would. But she’d pushed him away. Kept him away. Forever running away – just like he’d said. And she’d kept on running. But where had it got her? She couldn’t run from that memory of his eyes, dark and caring, or the last time she’d seen him when his look had sent a splinter of ice deep into her heart.

  That ice would never melt, she knew that. But his words about confusing Joe and the children, as well as her sister, were burned into her brain. Hurting them was the last thing she had ever wanted to do but now that Nick had held a mirror up to her behaviour, she realised that was exactly what she’d done. Replaying her sister’s words that day, the crack in her voice, the tears pouring down her face, Hero felt an almost physical pain knowing that she was responsible. But it was going to change. Starting tonight.

  Now that she’d made the decision to tell Anya everything, she felt lighter, instinctively knowing it was the right decision. She would need her friend’s help to get out of this path she had furrowed. It was long and deep, and she would need Anya’s guidance to navigate an escape, but her faith in her friend was strong. They’d been there for each other throughout their careers and would continue to be, whichever way their lives moved. It was a promise they’d made years ago and one they renewed annually, usually with a bottle of champagne or two. Hero had kept things from Anya, just as she had kept things from everyone. That was going to change. This spa break was the first step in a new direction. It was scary, but Anya would be there, and Hero knew she wouldn’t let her fall.

  Her friend stretched, as much as someone her height could in the small car. ‘I do see what you meant about it perhaps being not so great for longer journeys. Perhaps you need another car for these?’

  Hero raised her brows. ‘It’s hard enough finding space to park one vehicle anywhere remotely near the apartment in London, let alone two.’

  ‘Yes. I suppose that would be true. I know. Next time we do this, we’ll call a limo. Have someone else take us there. Not only will we have a little more room, but we will also be able to start on the champagne earlier!’

  ‘Now that,’ Hero replied, ‘sounds like a very good idea.’

  ‘It’s a deal then.’

  ‘Absolutely. Not long now though, the turning for the hotel is just another mile or so.’

  ‘Yay!’ Anya cheered. ‘Hot tub here we come!’

  They never saw what hit them. Lights blinded. Anya screamed. Tyres squealed. Metal collided, twisted and groaned. The car spun again and again, Anya’s cry piercing through once more. They hit something. Hard. The spinning stopped immediately. Abruptly. And so did Anya’s scream.

  Hero sat in the dark, eerie hush and felt something wet running down her face. Pouring in through the shattered glass, the rain was making her legs and face wet. She tried blinking the liquid from her eyes but still it kept coming. Her head pounding, she called Anya’s name, trying to twist around in the buckled seat. There was no reply. Hero cried out again, fear cracking her voice. Nothing. She strained to try and see her passenger. Her best friend. It was impossible. Her own body was pinned close to the dashboard, her legs immoveable among the mangled wreck of metal that had once been a pristine little sports car. Struggling, she finally managed to free one hand and reached out, feeling beside her in the cold, dark silence until she found Anya’s hand and held it tight.

  ‘It’s all right, Anya. I can hear somebody coming. We’ll be out soon.’

  Anya didn’t answer. Pain and fear built w
ithin Hero’s own body and she felt herself sinking down into the horror, afraid that she might drown in it if she allowed her eyes to close as they so desperately wanted to. Forcing them to stay open and holding tightly to Anya’s hand, she couldn’t understand why the voices were taking so long to come nearer. She knew she was losing the fight and her chest heaved as thoughts of those few people she loved filled her mind. Hero closed her eyes, letting the darkness envelop her, the voices drifting away until there was nothing.

  Chapter 10

  The paramedics hurried through the doors of the Accident and Emergency Department, running alongside the trolley they had just brought in.

  ‘What have we got?’ Dr Jacobs asked, looking down at the silent figure they wheeled in. A drip was already in place, and a collar had been fitted around her neck. The features were almost totally obscured by blood.

  ‘RTA. Head on with a lorry and another car. Looks like the truck had a blow-out and crossed the reservation straight into their path. We’d have had to get the air ambulance out if the hospital hadn’t been so close.’

  Jacobs nodded. ‘Take her straight up.’

  The medic continued his hand-over. ‘She was unconscious when we got there. Took a while for the fire crews to cut her out. Injuries to the head and face, possible internal bleeding, broken left humerus, possible damage to the ulna.’ The medic paused for breath as they manoeuvred the patient into the lift that would take them up three floors to the trauma suite, x-ray, and operating rooms.

  ‘She also has an open fracture of her right tibia, fibula and femur.’ He glanced back across at the doctor. ‘Whole leg’s a bit of a mess really.’

  ‘Have we got a name?’

  ‘She’s wearing a bracelet with the name “Hero” engraved on it. I’m guessing it’s that.’

  The doctor paused at the unusual name. ‘As in “Much Ado About Nothing”?’

  The paramedic shrugged. ‘If you say so.’

  The lift pinged, announcing its arrival. The doors opened and a medical trauma team, already prepped for surgery, met them. The paramedics relinquished their duty as the team swarmed around the trolley, disappearing into the emergency suite. A triage nurse waved the paramedic crew over to her desk.

  ‘Do you have any more details?’ she asked.

  ‘Only these. One of the firemen picked them up as they were cutting her free.’

  He handed over two portfolio cases. The nurse unzipped the first leather folder. The medics leaned in to see what it contained. Inside were photographs and tear sheets from magazines featuring a tall, long-legged brunette with a sultry smile and hypnotic green eyes. The nurse flipped through the pages silently before unzipping the second portfolio case. It contained similar pages, but this time a Nordic-looking blonde gazed out at them, complete with perfect cheekbones and stunning figure.

  ‘They’re models?’ The medic stated, trying to reconcile the photographs in front of him with the broken body they had just rushed into surgery.

  The nurse frowned as she registered his words. ‘They? They were both in the car?’

  The medic nodded.

  ‘Where’s the other one?’ she asked, already fearing the answer.

  A second nurse joined them, dishing out mugs of instant coffee to her colleagues. As she did so, she caught a glance at the portfolio open on the desk. ‘Oh wow. Hero Scott. She’s stunning. God, I wish I looked like that!’

  All three turned their heads at her comment. ‘What?’ she asked, frowning.

  ‘Do you recognise this one too?’ The older nurse asked, holding up a page of the blonde’s collection.

  ‘Of course. That’s Anya Svenson. She and Hero just signed a huge cosmetics deal together.’ She glanced again at the portfolios and frowned. ‘How did you get these?’

  ***

  On the other side of the world a telephone’s shrill call broke the silence of the night. Pete shoved a hand out from under the duvet to silence it. Missing the handset, he caught the lamp instead, knocking it to the floor.

  ‘Bugger.’

  The noise continued.

  ‘Are you going to answer that?’ Juliet’s muffled voice grumbled from the pillow.

  ‘I’m trying!’ he whispered loudly, despite the fact he was fairly sure the kids would be awake by now anyway.

  ‘Put the light on, for God’s sake.’

  ‘I can’t. It’s on the floor.’ Pete snatched again blindly in the dark and made another unsuccessful grasp for the receiver. As he waved his hand for another swipe, the noise stopped. A second later a knock on the door was swiftly followed by Nick entering his brother’s bedroom without waiting for an answer. Beneath his tan, Nick’s expression was as pale as the moonlight that illuminated him.

  ‘There’s a Dr Penland from London on the phone. It’s Hero. She’s been in an accident.’

  Half an hour later Juliet sat at the kitchen table in shock. As Pete suspected, the children had indeed woken, and after a while, two sets of little feet padded downstairs.

  ‘What’s going on?’ they asked, rubbing their eyes sleepily.

  Nick glanced at Juliet. She opened her mouth, but shock had robbed her of words. Instead she just tightened the white knuckle grip she had on her husband’s hand. Pete exchanged a look with his brother. Nick nodded and left the room, chivvying the children up the stairs in front of him.

  ‘Why is Mummy crying?’ Bridie asked as her uncle tucked her back in to bed.

  ‘She’s fine, sweetheart. Nothing to worry about,’ Nick replied, in what he hoped was a reassuring tone before going on to tuck Marcus in too. He could only wish and hope it was the truth. Juliet hadn’t been making a lot of sense, but they’d seen the look on her face as she’d listened to the doctor. Whatever he’d been saying, it wasn’t good.

  Nick closed the door to the children’s bedroom and waited outside for a few beats, listening for any movement but the kids were both asleep almost before he’d left the room. Slowly he descended the stairs, making his way to where Jules now sat, white-faced and red-eyed at the kitchen table.

  ‘Is Hero OK?’

  Juliet opened her mouth to speak but the words refused to come.

  ‘Come on, love, it’ll help,’ Pete said, encouraging her to take a little more of the brandy he’d poured.

  With a shaking hand, Juliet took the glass and forced some of the warming liquid down. Nick waited as Pete sat, his hand still in his wife’s vice-like grip.

  ‘We’re not sure, mate.’

  Nick stared at his brother, then glanced across at Juliet. She took another sip of the brandy, as the blood in his own veins turned icy. Pete, although down to earth, was also the family optimist. The fact that he hadn’t answered a simple ‘yes’ spoke volumes.

  ‘It’s pretty bad,’ he continued, his voice low. ‘They’ve operated but the next forty-eight hours are crucial.’

  Nick took the brandy his brother held out, leaning on the table for support as he did so. Finishing the shot, he moved and placed a kiss on the top of his sister-in-law’s head.

  ‘I have to go,’ Juliet announced, stirring Pete and Nick from their own silent thoughts. ‘I have to be there. I have to be with her.’

  ‘If that’s what you want.’ Pete squeezed his wife’s hand.

  ‘But the children—’

  ‘We’ll sort it. Mum and Dad will come out and help for as long as they need to.’

  Juliet ran a hand over her temple. ‘I can’t just sit here, waiting for the phone to ring. Waiting for them to tell me she’s …’ She didn’t voice the final word, as though afraid that by saying, she might make it true. Pete moved his chair closer to his wife’s and gently pulled her out of it onto his lap and into the protective shelter of his embrace. Juliet buried her head in his shoulder, sobbing once more with such feeling it ripped at Pete’s very core. Rocking her gently, he made soothing noises as his own mind whirled.

  How could this be happening?

  He stroked his wife’s hair as he gently rocked her.
Juliet and Hero, through their parents’ disinterest, had forged a bond that tied them to each other irrevocably. If Hero didn’t pull through this, Pete worried what that could do to his wife. Resting his chin gently on Juliet’s head, he let out a long breath as he thought about the young woman lying broken in a hospital bed. She might act aloof, but Pete knew there was a lot more below that surface than she made out. He’d seen the look on her face when she thought no one could see. There was a lot more loneliness and fragility to his sister-in-law than she’d ever confess to, and that worried him. Hero was in a bad way. Would she have the strength, the willpower, the wish to fight for her life? Within his arms he felt Juliet shuddering as the tears flowed again. Holding her a little tighter, he raised his gaze and saw his brother sat at the table, his expression dazed and numb. Silently, he willed Hero to fight like he knew she could. She had to. Her life literally depended on it – and although she may not know it, so did others.

  ***

  Nick sat staring at the screen, his face lit by the eerie blue-white light of the computer, the only illumination in the dark panelled study.

  ‘Anything?’ Pete asked.

  Nick jumped. He’d been so absorbed in his own thoughts he hadn’t heard his brother enter the room. Pete walked up and stood at Nick’s shoulder.

  ‘Um. Yeah. Some. Where’s Jules?’ Nick asked.

  ‘Lying down in the living room, clutching the phone like her life depends on it. Or Hero’s.’

  Nick’s stomach churned and roiled. Pete ruffled his brother’s hair, a gesture he hadn’t made for years. The tenderness of the moment set free a tear that rolled slowly down Nick’s face. He was staring at the screen, but his mind was elsewhere. Pete squeezed his little brother’s shoulder. He guessed the one thing running through Nick’s mind was that the last words he’d spoken to Hero had been hurtful and cold.

  She’d been due to fly over next week for a month’s break, before she began shooting on a new contract and Pete knew his brother had been rehearsing how to apologise almost since the moment she’d left. But instead she was lying in a hospital intensive care unit, on the other side of the world, closer to death than to life. What scared Nick the most was that he might never get the opportunity to tell her how sorry he was and how much she really meant to him.