‘I SO wanted to be there for you…at home.’ Heather said slowly. She was struggling to get the words out, slurring her speech a little, and it was difficult at times for Rebecca to understand what her aunt was saying. It saddened her to see her looking so pale and tired in the hospital bed, her faded brown hair splayed out in wisps over the pillow.
‘You don’t need to be worrying about that,’ Rebecca said. ‘I just want you to get well, Auntie. I only wish I’d been here for you when you needed me.’
It was distressing to see her usually energetic aunt struggling to lift her arm and unable to walk. The only positive aspect was that she was still able to speak at all, albeit in a slower, more laboured fashion than usual, and she seemed to be able to understand what Rebecca was saying to her, which was a bonus.
Rebecca glanced over her aunt’s hospital chart to satisfy herself that everything possible was being done to make her well again. ‘They’re giving you medicine to dissolve the clot that’s causing the trouble,’ she told Heather, ‘and along with that they’re trying to bring down your blood pressure.’ She gave her a smile. ‘That means no excitement for the next few weeks.’
‘Chance would be a fine thing,’ her aunt managed haltingly. She lay back wearily. ‘You must take the key to the house.’ She tried to signal, indicating her leather handbag, which rested on the bedside locker. ‘Make it your own while I’m stuck in here.’
Rebecca shook her head. ‘I’m not going over to the island, not while you’re in here. I’ll make some other arrangements so that I can stay close to you.’ She frowned. ‘Mind you, I’ll have to go back to pick up my belongings at some point. Margaret says she’s looking after them for me.’ She smiled gently as she patted her aunt’s hand. ‘It was really good of her to take care of you the way she did. I’ll always be grateful to her for that.’
‘Aye. She’s a fine friend.’ Her aunt’s brow furrowed. ‘You were looking forward to going back to your old home, weren’t you?’ She managed to indicate that by a series of half-formed words and by using her good arm to make hand gestures and arm movements.
‘This is like playing charades,’ Rebecca said with a smile. ‘Is it a book…is it film? Do you remember how we used to play that game at Christmas and at birthday parties? You were always good at that.’
Rebecca desperately wanted to cheer her aunt up. Heather had always had a good sense of humour and she hoped that she would pick up on the fact that things might not be as bad as they seemed right now.
‘Yes, I was looking forward to being back on the island,’ Rebecca went on, ‘but none of that really matters now. It was you I wanted to see most of all, and at least I’m here with you now. The important thing is that we help you to get back on your feet. I expect they’ll start doing physiotherapy and speech therapy with you as soon as you’re up to it.’
A nurse came into the room just then with a tray of food for her aunt, and Rebecca stayed to help Heather manage the cutlery.
It occurred to her that if they were serving the patients’ evening meals then time was running on, and she still had the task of finding herself somewhere to stay for the night.
‘I’ll have to go,’ she said some time later in a resigned tone, ‘but I’ll be back here tomorrow to see you. You take care, and try to get some rest, Auntie. At least I know the doctors and nurses will look after you very well, so that makes me feel a little better about leaving you.’
A few minutes later Rebecca dropped a kiss on her aunt’s cheek and then she went quietly out of the room, leaving her aunt to doze in the hospital bed.
Her mind was busy with all kinds of thoughts as she hurried along the hospital corridor. Perhaps the first thing she ought to do was to look through the telephone book and pick out a hotel where she could stay for the night. It was too late now to find rented accommodation. All the agencies would be closing up.
‘Hey, slow down. I’ll walk with you.’
Rebecca’s eyes widened as she saw Craig coming towards her. Whereas she was beginning to wilt after the strain of the day, he looked tall and strong and as energetic as ever, and the sight of him gave her senses a lift.
‘You’re still here,’ she said unnecessarily. ‘I thought you would have gone home ages ago.’
‘I might have done that, but it occurred to me that you might be feeling a bit disorientated and out of synch, having to stay on in a strange place, so I hung about for a bit. I went and checked up on Tom while you were with your aunt.’
He was saying that he had been thinking about her…Why did that come as a surprise after the way he had looked out for her today? He had not for one second let any of them down. She said quietly, ‘Is Tom OK?’
‘He’s doing all right.’ He slanted her a sideways glance. ‘How did it go with your aunt?’
‘I suppose it wasn’t too bad…at least, it wasn’t as wretched as it might have been. She still has some speech, but she’s lost the use of her arm and leg to a large extent. It’s a question of giving her the right medication and allowing time for her to heal. Of course, she’ll need a lot of physiotherapy in order to regain the function of her limbs.’
It was a sad situation, but even so she gave a faint smile. ‘I’m just glad that I was able to be with her at last. I love her to bits and I can’t bear to think of her being ill in hospital and separated from her family, so it means that all my plans are out of the window. I need to stay close to her, so I guess that’s my next job—finding somewhere to stay.’
He considered that for a moment or two. ‘I thought you might have difficulty sorting things out, and it occurred to me that you might be in need of some help. That’s partly why I stayed on here.’
A small glow started up inside her. ‘That was thoughtful of you—it’s too late for me to look at rental properties, so I was going to ring around and see if I could find a hotel, somewhere close to the hospital, preferably. I suppose, if you work here, you must have some idea of where I might find something suitable in the area.’
He nodded. ‘As a matter of fact, I know just the place, and it isn’t too far away from here—just a ten-minute drive or a short bus ride. I have my car here at the hospital, so I could show you, if you like.’
‘That would be good.’ She made a wry face. ‘I wonder if they would mind me turning up with no luggage, just the clothes I’m wearing and the credit card that the bank organised for me?’ She remembered how she had looked askance at Craig when he had turned up with just a holdall at the flat, back in Northumberland. It just went to show that you couldn’t judge by appearances alone.
‘Actually,’ he said in a low tone, ‘that wouldn’t really matter at all. I wasn’t going to show you to a hotel. It just so happens that I have a small house not far from here, and there’s a guest room that you’re welcome to use.’
Her eyes widened. ‘Your place?’
He nodded. ‘It’s been a really long day for you—for both of us, in fact. It would probably be a lot easier for you to just stay over at my house for a while. The fridge is stocked up and there are plenty of ready meals in the freezer, so at least you won’t starve, and it won’t cost you anything.’
The suggestion had come out of the blue, and Rebecca wasn’t quite certain how to react. She wanted above all to be independent and manage for herself any problems that came along, but this had been a particularly awful day and she wasn’t sure she could take any more hassle. Craig’s suggestion was more than tempting. ‘Are you quite sure about this?’
‘Of course.’ He sent her a quick grin. ‘You weren’t planning on throwing any wild parties or anything like that, were you? Not that I mind people enjoying themselves, you understand…it’s just that my place isn’t all that big and I’d need a bit of notice to get things organised.’
‘You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?’ Rebecca murmured.
‘Probably not.’
‘All the same, I think I would like to take you up on that offer,’ she said softly. ‘It’s getting late, and I wasn’t looking forward to searching around for a place. It’ll just be a temporary arrangement, of course. I’ll look for somewhere as soon as I’m back on my feet—tomorrow.’
‘There’s no rush. You can take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere, and I just rattle around in the place on my own.’ He sent her a searching glance. ‘Are you ready to go? I’ll take you there now.’
He had been right when he’d said it was just a few minutes’ drive away, she discovered, but none of what he had said prepared her for the sight that met her eyes.
He had said that the place was small, but there was nothing small about it. The house was set in its own grounds, backed by low hills and woodland so that it was immediately pleasing on the eye. There was a low single-storey block to one side with a beautiful wide entrance porch enhanced by a profusion of clematis that scrambled over the trellis-covered walls. Tacked onto this building was a two-storey element with large double windows, and in front of all of this was a generous paved area, which led onto immaculate lawns with shrubbery to either side.
‘I thought you said your house wasn’t very big,’ she murmured, her eyes growing large as she took it all in. ‘This is fantastic. It’s lovely.’
‘I’m glad you like it,’ he said with a twist to his mouth. ‘I suppose size is relative, depending how many people who want to cram in. Compared with my parents’ home, this is a bit like a holiday chalet.’
‘You were obviously born with the proverbial silver spoon in your mouth if you think this is just a holiday home,’ she told him. ‘A lot of people would give their eye teeth for somewhere like this.’
‘I suppose I’m fortunate,’ he agreed. ‘I was looking for a place of my own when I came to work at the emergency department and for a while it looked as though I wasn’t going to find anything that suited me. I wanted somewhere that was close to the hospital, but at the same time in a kind of rural setting. Then this place came on the market and I snatched it up. I like the woodland setting, and at the back of the house, from one of the bedrooms, you can look out over the river in the distance. It can be quite beautiful in the summer, or even in the late autumn.’
‘I can imagine.’
‘Let’s go inside, anyway. I should think you want to wind down. I’ll make us some supper and show you the guest room.’ He was opening the front door as he spoke and then he ushered her inside.
The interior of the building was every bit as wonderful as the outside. The floor was pale oak, and all the woodwork reflected the same warm colouring. Everywhere was light and open, allowing the last rays of the evening sunlight to filter into every crevice.
‘I’ll put the kettle on, and then I’ll give you a quick tour, if you like. Come through to the kitchen with me.’
She followed him and halted in the doorway of the large room. It was a dream kitchen, with cream-coloured cupboard units and smooth marble worktops. In the centre of the room was a glass dining table, with dancing light shimmering on its surface.
He flicked the switch on the kettle, and said, ‘Let me show you the living room. It’s just through here.’
He led the way, opening the door to a spacious, rectangular room, furnished with comfy sofas upholstered in a soft cream fabric and decorated with scatter cushions. At the far end of the room was a dining unit with a circular, light oak table and chairs facing patio doors that looked out over a landscaped garden and fields beyond.
‘This is all so lovely,’ she told him. ‘The view out there reminds me of my aunt’s cottage on the island. I spent most of the last years of my childhood playing in the fields, gathering wild flowers and feeding the horses that grazed around there. There was a brook where my sister and I used to dangle our nets and try to catch tiddlers.’
‘It sounds as though you had fun.’
She nodded and smiled, reminiscing. ‘They were happy times when my aunt and uncle took us in. It gave my mother a breathing space to get her head right after everything that had happened, with the divorce and so on, and as far as my aunt was concerned, I think she was glad that we were there with her after my uncle died. We were a comfort to her.’
‘Did your mother stay there with you for a long time? You said that she was ill, and I had the impression that she might not have been with you the whole time. You’ve spoken more about your aunt than you have about your mother.’
He was obviously far more astute then she had counted on. ‘I suppose the truth of the matter is that my mother was there with us in body if not in soul,’ she said. ‘Of course, it’s true that she was ill for a while. I think she was run down after everything that had happened with my father, and stress took its toll on her for a while. Once she had recovered, though, I think she became restless. We, Alison and I, tended to turn to Aunt Heather for comfort and companionship. She was always ready to listen to us, and nothing was too much trouble for her.’
She smiled, remembering those days. ‘She would walk with us along the country lanes, and she would point out all the things that we might have missed—the wild flowers, the fungi around the roots of the trees, and she was always the one who would spot the squirrel trying to hide from us, or the pheasant that would appear from under a hedgerow.’
‘I think I’d quite like to meet your aunt,’ he said softly. ‘She sounds like a woman after my own heart.’
‘I’m sure you would take to her,’ Rebecca murmured.
Craig nodded and started towards the kitchen once more. ‘I’ll make a pot of tea, and then, while it’s brewing, I’ll show you the rest of the house. There are three bedrooms upstairs, two of them looking out over the fields and the woodland, so if you think you might like to look out over the river, you could have the room next to mine. The other bedroom is smaller, but there’s still a good aspect over the front of the house. I’ll leave it to you to decide which one you want.’
Rebecca wasn’t at all sure about sleeping in the room next to his. Somehow that seemed altogether too close. He wasn’t pushing the issue, though, and perhaps she was too much on edge and not thinking clearly. The truth was, she was far too aware of him. He was the first man in a long time who had made her feel that it would be good to have him around.
She followed him up the stairs a short time later and peeped into the master bedroom when he pushed open the door. Somehow, the thought of him sleeping in there made her feel warm all over. She was glad when he pulled the door closed and showed her into the bedroom next door.
‘Oh, this is so pretty.’ She turned to look at him. ‘There’s such a contrast between this and…and your room. Does this room belong to someone?’
He shook his head. ‘My brother and his wife stay here from time to time. I think Jenny is glad of a break from the farm sometimes so she kind of revels in the chance to chill out around the place. She helped to choose some of the interior decoration. I have my own tastes, but she was good at adding those touches that make a place a home, so I gave her free rein in here. My brother’s like me—he doesn’t really have any particular preferences, so he lets her get on with it.’
Rebecca laughed. ‘Now, he sounds like a man that I would get along with very well.’
He made a smile. ‘Actually, you might be better off in this room because, now I come to think of it, my mother bought some packs of underwear and a few items of clothing, just in case anyone was to stay over and didn’t have everything that they might need.’
He made a face. ‘I think, to be honest, she wasn’t just thinking of Jenny—she was thinking that she might forget to pack something or other whenever she came over here. She does that, my mother…She decides to drop by for a weekend and then realises she’s forgotten half of the stuff that she needs. My father went away with her on holiday once and found that she’d failed to pack any trousers for him, so now he always does his own packing.’
Rebecca chuckled. ‘I can imagine.’
‘Anyway,’ he added, ‘this way, there’s no problem. So what I’m trying to say is you could help yourself to any of the things in the wardrobe or the drawers. At least that would tide you over until you get your luggage back.’
She nodded. ‘That sounds like a good idea—if you’re sure that no one will mind me using any of the clothes?’
‘There’s absolutely no problem. Just help yourself.’ He moved further into the room and pushed open another door. ‘You have your own en suite in here, so hopefully you’ll have everything you need.’
‘Thanks.’ She looked up at him, taking in his strong-boned features, the straight nose and the way his mouth was perfectly moulded. ‘You’re being very good to me. I do appreciate it.’
‘Any time,’ he said. ‘Why don’t I leave you here to rummage around for a bit, while I go and rustle up some supper for us?’
‘That would be good, thank you.’
It was only when he had left her alone and gone downstairs that she realised she had agreed to sleep in the room right next to his. She glanced towards the large bed with its exquisite soft duvet. The headboard was set against the adjoining wall, and if she remembered right, his bed was just on the other side of that wall.
She gave a soft sigh. How was it that she managed to get herself into these situations? It looked as though she was in for a sleepless night.