by Joanna Neil
Sarah had stayed behind with the boy. She had already fixed the harness in place on the stretcher, along with a safety rope that she had been instructed to clip to her belt. Ben checked what she had done before pronouncing that everything was in order.
‘We’ll do this one together,’ he said. ‘I’ll handle this end of the stretcher and you can follow. Just make sure you take your time. You can’t come to any harm because we have you fixed to a lead rope on the surface, and I won’t be far ahead of you.’
By the time they had finished the manoeuvre, Sarah was on a high of excitement. This was something she had never done before, she was fairly sure of that, but it was one more challenge that she had mastered, and it gave her added confidence to deal with whatever lay ahead.
The ambulance moved off, taking the two boys to hospital, but the rescue team stayed behind to go and lend a hand with freeing the third boy.
It turned out that he was in fairly good shape, though his rescue had taken some two hours.
‘Has it put you off caving?’ Sarah asked the boy, when they finally had him out in the fresh air once more.
‘No way,’ he said. ‘Only,’ he added on a thoughtful note, ‘I might think about wearing shinpads next time.’
Sarah laughed. ‘Then I guess it’s true what they say, that you can’t keep a good man down.’
She checked her watch as the ambulance moved away, leaving the rescue team behind. They had been there for the whole of the morning.
‘Are you worried about getting back for Emily?’ Ben asked.
‘A little,’ she admitted. ‘I know that she’ll be all right, because she’s been to nursery this morning and Carol was going to pick her up from there for me, but I don’t like to leave her for too long. Besides, Carol has taken in another couple of foster-children this last week, and she has her work cut out for her. It sounds as though these new children have had a difficult family life, and it’s taking a while for them to settle.’
He nodded. ‘We’ll be setting off back to the base any minute now, and then I’ll take you to pick her up.’
Sarah helped load the rescue tackle into the van, and then took her seat in there beside Ben. One of the team members, Jack, a paramedic in his mid-thirties, turned round to speak to her as the driver started the engine.
‘You seemed to have picked things up fairly quickly, considering this was your first time down the caves. It was good to have you along with us, especially when it came to calming the young lads. Do you think you might be coming along with us another time? We could always do with more people to help out.’
‘I’ll give it some thought,’ Sarah said. ‘It was certainly a much more stimulating experience than I’d expected.’
Jack grinned. ‘You should come along to our charity event at the weekend,’ he said. ‘We hold it in the community hall every year, and it’s a good chance for everyone to get together. If the weather is fine, we have stalls outside in the grounds where people can come and buy stuff. Then, in the evening, there’s a dance.’
‘That sounds like a major event,’ Sarah said.
Jack nodded. ‘It is. We usually manage to collect quite a good amount for the rescue team’s funds. Do you think you might come and join us?’
Sarah was instantly guarded. ‘I’m not sure whether I can make it, but I’ll certainly keep it in mind.’
Jack seemed to be reasonably satisfied with that answer, and he turned back to face the front of the vehicle and watch the passing scenery, chatting to the man who was sitting next to him.
Ben wasn’t so easy to fob off, and she guessed he had seen through her noncommittal answer right away. ‘What do you have on this weekend that’s so special?’ he said. ‘Are you planning on attacking the Aga for the umpteenth time, or have you decided that this is the weekend for you to paint the kitchen now that the damp problem has been sorted out?’
‘The cooker is just fine,’ she said, going on the defensive, ‘but you’re right about painting the kitchen. I’ve already made a start in there. Actually, I thought about putting tiles on the walls. I found some in the shed, still in their boxes, and it looks as if there are enough for me to do the whole area that was affected by the damp. I was going to have a go at scrubbing the old wooden table as well, to see if I could do anything with it, as it’s good and solid. Then there’s Emily’s bedroom to decorate, and that’s before I even start on the living room.’
‘But the truth is, you could drop all that and go to the charity event instead, couldn’t you, if you really wanted to?’
Sarah squirmed in her seat, moving her shoulders in a negligent fashion, hoping that he would drop the subject. ‘I really think I need to get the house to rights before I do anything else.’
‘Well, here’s the thing…how would it be if I were to help you with the decorating and you take a break this weekend to come to the fete and stay on for the dance in the evening?’
Her brows lifted that. ‘I really don’t think I could let you do that. You work hard enough as it is and the truth is, I don’t feel comfortable in crowds. I’d much rather stay away, if it’s all the same to you…but thank you anyway for the offer.’
‘You’ve absolutely no idea what you’re turning down.’ His brows lifted in astonishment at her lack of foresight. ‘I’m a dab hand at decorating—I helped my mother do her place up. She didn’t want to get people in to do it, and I thought, Well, why not give it a try? As to you not liking crowds, I would be there with you to give you moral support.’
‘I don’t think so. Thanks, but I’m not ready to start socialising just yet. It’s a big enough step for me that I’ve actually moved into my own place.’
‘But it would be good for Emily, wouldn’t it?’
She frowned, sensing that he wasn’t going to give up easily, and he went on, ‘She would love some of the activities that they put on—there are kiddie rides and face painting and all sorts of things that she might want to try.’
She sent him an edgy stare. ‘You’re certainly persistent, aren’t you?’
‘If I think something’s important enough, yes.’
‘It was actually Jack’s idea.’
‘Ah, but I was planning on asking you about it. Besides, think of the article you could write for the local paper—“Riding out with the Rescue Team—My Ultimate Reward”.’
She laughed at that. ‘The reward being that I get to attend the dance in the evening?’
He inclined his head a fraction. ‘There is that, or the satisfaction of seeing the rescues take place and making sure that the injured are sent to the hospital for treatment.’ He thought it through some more. ‘You could probably get two articles out of it…one, an account of the rescue team’s mission to bring out the injured boys, and, two, a piece on the fete and how they need extra funds.’
She fixed him with her blue gaze. ‘You make a habit of this, don’t you?’
‘A habit of what? I’m not sure that I’m following you.’
‘Of trying to get me to do things that I don’t want to do. You seem to have it down to a fine art.’ She made a face. ‘I say, “No, thanks,” so you say, “Ah, but what if?” and whatever I say from then on, you come up with a way of countering all my objections.’
He nodded. ‘That sounds like a fairly reasonable explanation to me.’ He studied her. ‘So you may as well give in right away and save yourself the bother of arguing. I’ll come and pick you up at lunchtime on Saturday, shall I?’
She started to smile. ‘I’ll think about it.’
A few minutes later they were dropped off at the rescue team’s base, and from there Ben drove her to pick up Emily.
‘How has she been?’ Sarah asked. ‘Did nursery go all right?’
‘She had a great time as usual,’ Carol said. ‘I took my two latest foster-children along with me when I went to pick her up, but I’m not altogether sure that that was a good idea. Perhaps I ought to have left them with Tom.’
‘Why is that?’ Sar
ah frowned. Carol was looking a little strained, and that wasn’t like her at all. ‘Have you had some trouble?’
‘No, it was nothing like that. It’s just that my two little people have had a few problems settling in, and they’ve been a bit fractious. Emily’s so sweet-natured I think she found it all a bit confusing, to be honest.’
Ben was listening with interest. ‘Are they likely to be with you for long?’
Carol frowned. ‘I’m not sure. The mother is ill in hospital, and the father isn’t really able to cope on his own. I think he and his wife were having a few problems, and now he’s struggling to come to terms with her being sick.’
‘It sounds as though you’re having to pick up the pieces,’ Ben murmured.
Carol nodded.
‘Is there anything that I can do to help?’ Sarah asked. ‘I could have them over to play with Emily for a while, if you like?’
‘Perhaps in a week or so, when they’ve settled down a bit,’ Carol murmured. ‘That would be good. Thanks.’
Emily appeared to have put her confusion behind her as she ran out to Ben’s car. ‘I painted a picture today,’ she said. ‘I done it with my hands…look.’
Sarah and Ben both looked at the palms she held out to them. There were purple smudges mixed with a tinge of green that had obviously withstood the attempt of the teacher to wash it away.
‘Well, that must have been some picture,’ Ben said in an appreciative tone.
‘Green and purple—I can’t wait to see it when it’s dried out and they let you bring it home,’ Sarah murmured. ‘It will go so well with the colours in the kitchen.’
Emily sent them a contented smile.
Over the next couple of days, Sarah concentrated on her work for the newspaper and on writing up the first part of her report for the ambulance service. In the evenings, when Emily was tucked up in bed, she made a start on scrubbing the wooden table in the kitchen, trying to restore it to its former glory.
Ben must have decided to come and lend a hand despite her protests, because he arrived one evening armed with tile cement and tile cutters, looking as though he was ready for action.
‘I’llmakeastart inthe kitchen, shallI?’ he asked. ‘The wall seems to have dried out well enough, and from what you showed me the other day, you have enough tiles to finish the job.’
‘I didn’t take you seriously when you said that you would help with the decorating,’ Sarah said. ‘I’m sure you have far better things to do with your time.’
‘I can’t think of any at the moment,’ he said. He looked at the table that she had been working on. ‘That’s looking really good, isn’t it? Are you thinking of finishing it off with a coat of wax? I think varnish would spoil it, don’t you?’
‘I’m not sure. I only seem to be able to think one step at a time at the moment.’
‘That’s fine.’ He glanced meaningfully at the kettle. ‘A cup of tea would go down really well.’
She made the tea, and after that they worked together in harmony for a couple of hours or so. Sarah had another go at bringing the wooden table to its once pristine condition and then did a final buffing up of the Aga, before cleaning up and going to check on Emily.
When she came downstairs a few minutes later, the wall that had been such a sore point was beautifully finished with tiles, lending a whole new aspect to her vision of a farmhouse kitchen. Ben was washing his hands at the kitchen sink.
‘It looks lovely,’ she said, her mouth dropping open a fraction in wonder. She stared at his handiwork in awe. ‘You’ve made a wonderful job of it.’
‘I’m glad that you think so,’ he murmured, coming to stand beside her. He slid an arm around her waist. ‘At this rate, we should soon have the cottage looking like a proper home.’
She sent him a quizzical look. ‘You weren’t thinking of doing any more work on it, were you?’
‘I did say that I would decorate Emily’s room for you, didn’t I?’ He smiled down at her. ‘That’s something to be left for the daytime, though, and it will have to wait until I get a day off from work.’
‘You’ve done so much for me already. Just getting the landlord to agree to fix the damp was enough.’ She was discovering that she liked having his arm around her. It made her feel warm and safe, as though, while she was in his arms, nothing bad could happen to her. For the first time in months she felt as though life was something to be treasured because there were people around her who made a difference to the way she looked at things. Above all, Ben made her feel glad that she was a woman, and stirred up emotions within her that she scarcely recognised. It was as though her whole body glowed from within.
She looked at him. ‘Thank you for helping me this way.’
‘It was my pleasure,’ he murmured. His glance meshed with hers, then drifted down to take in the full, soft curve of her lips. Slowly he bent his head towards her and what happened next was as inevitable as birdsong filling the air on a new day.
His mouth brushed hers, lightly testing its sweetly yielding softness, and then that gentle exploration deepened into a kiss that turned her blood to pure flame. A thrill of sensation swept through her like wildfire, filling her whole body with elation, and when his palm flattened on her spine and urged her closer to him, she went willingly.
She loved the way the softness of her curves melded with the taut strength of his body, and she craved the touch of his hands as he slid them over the fullness of her hips.
‘I can’t imagine why I haven’t done this before,’ he said, his voice thick. ‘It feels so good, holding you this way.’
She moved against him, a breathy sigh breaking in her throat as she savoured the heady swirl of delight that came from being in his embrace. It was as though she had hungered for him, as though this enveloping warmth, this feeling that she had finally come home was what she had been waiting for all these long, difficult months since her life had been jump-started back at the hospital.
His hands moved over her, tracing the gentle curve of her back, shifting to draw her up against the strong muscles of his thighs. His cheek grazed hers, and his lips trailed over the smooth line of her temple.
‘You make me feel dizzy with excitement,’ she whispered, ‘as though the whole world is spinning round.’
He looked down at her. ‘Are you all right?’ A thread of concern ran through his words.
‘I’m fine,’ she murmured. ‘Why shouldn’t I be? I feel as though I’ve drunk too much wine.’ She looked up at him and gave a husky laugh. ‘I don’t remember ever doing that. Do you think I’m having a flashback?’
He gently eased her from him and steadied her with his hands on her shoulders. ‘I think you might have been overdoing things. Perhaps I’ve pushed you too far lately. I should remember that you’ve been ill.’
‘That was a long time ago.’ She pulled in a deep breath, the euphoria of the last few moments slowly beginning to fade, only to be replaced by a muzzy sensation that swirled through her head. For a few brief moments she had forgotten all about the fact that she had been in hospital, that she had lived an entirely different existence from the one she was living now.
What was she thinking of, kissing Ben? How could she be sure that there wasn’t someone waiting for her somewhere, someone who cared about her and needed her to be by his side?
Ben looked into her eyes, and perhaps he was coming to that very same realisation because he became still all at once, and his gaze was troubled.
‘Sarah, I should have—’
‘No, it’s all right.’ She stopped him before he could say anything more. She didn’t want to talk about that other life right now, or even to acknowledge aloud that it existed. Instead, she said quietly, ‘There can’t be anything wrong with me if I’ve been able to make a start on renovating this place, can there?’
‘That’s true.’ He must have known that she was trying to backtrack from that tender, wonderful kiss. He made no attempt to bring her back into his arms, and he seemed ready e
nough to accept her change of conversation.
His expression was serious. ‘You’re doing well, but I’ll do the bulk of the work from now on, and if there are things I can’t find time for, I’ll bring someone in to do it.’
She shook her head. ‘No, I can’t let you do that. This is something I need to do for myself, and I have to take my time with it. I can’t afford to get it done all at once.’
‘You don’t need to worry about that.’
She frowned. ‘Why not?’ It was as though those moments of closeness had never been, and she felt out of place, out of synch with everything that was going on.
‘Because I’ve signed the contract to buy this place, so it means that I’m your new landlord. It’s my job to see that it’s fit to be lived in, and I take that responsibility seriously.’
She made a soft sound of disbelief in the back of her throat. It was as though he had winded her with his statement. He was the new landlord?
‘Does that mean that you get to say what changes will be made? Will I have no say in how I want things to be done?’
‘Of course you’ll have a say. Everything’s as it was before, except that I’ll be the one overseeing the work.’
She reached for a chair and sat down, all the stuffing knocked out of her. So he hadn’t come here this evening simply to be with her and help her with the renovations? He had come to do the work because he felt obliged to carry out his duties as a landlord, and the fact that he had kissed her didn’t signify anything. It meant only that he had been carried away by the sheer exhilaration of a job well done, and she had happened to be on hand to share in that.
Disillusionment swept over her. ‘I had no idea,’ she said, bracing herself to deal with this new shock. She felt foolish. Above all, she didn’t want him to know that she had been in any way affected by that sudden rush of passion. It was over and done with, and it had to stand as a warning to her not to give way to her emotions in the future.
It was one of the things they had warned her about after the head injury. ‘You might suffer from mood swings and unexpected bouts of weepiness or emotional instability,’ the doctor had said.