Best Friend to Perfect Bride (Contemporary Medical Romance) (8 page)

* * *

Bella trudged on. Although the rain had eased off, it hadn’t stopped and cold little flurries of raindrops stung her face as she made her way back along the track. She had decided to walk back to the main road and try to flag down a car in the hope that she could beg a lift into town. However, she hadn’t realised just how far she must have driven. At this rate it would be midnight before she reached the road!

Spurred on by the thought, she quickened her pace then had to slow down again when she came to a section where the hillside had caved in. Mud and boulders had been washed down by the rain and covered the track. Bella carefully made her way around the obstruction, pausing when she heard a cry coming from somewhere to her left. She looked around, trying to determine where it had come from, and gasped when she spotted a woman huddled against some bushes. She hurried towards her, her feet slipping this way and that on the muddy ground. It was only as she got closer that she realised it was Freya Watson.

‘Freya! What are you doing out here?’ she demanded, crouching down beside her.

‘I’ve hurt my ankle,’ the girl told her. She ran a grimy hand over her face and Bella’s heart went out to her when she realised that she was crying.

‘It’s OK,’ she said, putting her arm around the girl’s shoulders. ‘We’ll get it sorted out so don’t worry. Here, let me take a look.’

She eased up the leg of Freya’s jeans, hiding her grimace when she saw her ankle. It was very badly bruised and swollen, the flesh black and purple in places. ‘Can you wiggle your toes?’ she asked, trying to assess if it was broken or badly sprained, not that it made much difference. It must be extremely painful whichever it was.

‘No. I can’t move them. Is it broken, do you think?’ Freya asked miserably.

‘It looks like it.’ Bella unwound her scarf from around her neck. ‘I’m going to use this as a temporary support. I’ll be as gentle as I can but it might hurt a bit.’

Leaving the girl’s shoe and sock on, she carefully wound the scarf in a figure of eight fashion around Freya’s foot and ankle. ‘That should help,’ she said after she had finished. ‘How did it happen, though? And what were you doing out here in the first place?’

‘I was hiding from a man who gave me a lift,’ Freya told her. She bit her lip, looking for all the world like a child who knew she had done something wrong.

Bella sighed. ‘I think you’d better start from the beginning. But, before you do, have you a mobile phone I can use to call the mountain rescue services? My battery’s flat.’

‘No. My dad used to pay for my phone but he stopped it after I had Ava and I can’t afford to pay for it myself.’

‘Don’t worry. We’ll work something out,’ Bella told her, wondering what sort of parents could treat their child the way the Watsons were doing. She would never do that to
her
child, she thought angrily, then sighed when it struck her that it was highly unlikely that she would ever be in the position of having a child of her own.

‘So what happened, sweetheart?’ she asked, trying not to think about how bleak the future seemed. ‘I know you walked out of your flat because the police brought Ava into the hospital to be checked over. She’s fine,’ she said hastily when she saw the fear in Freya’s eyes. ‘She’s with a foster carer at the moment so she’s being well looked after. But what made you leave her in the first place?’

‘She wouldn’t stop crying,’ Freya explained. Tears began to stream down her face once more. ‘I tried everything I could think of, too. I fed her and changed her, rocked her and sang to her, but she wouldn’t stop. I know I shouldn’t have left her on her own but I just couldn’t stand it any longer.’

‘It must be hard when you don’t have anyone to help you,’ Bella said gently. ‘I take it from what you just told me that your parents haven’t had a change of heart?’

‘No. They won’t even speak to me when I try phoning them.’ Freya dried her eyes with the back of her hand. ‘I know I was stupid, but it’s not as though I’ve
murdered
someone or anything like that!’

Bella wholeheartedly agreed although she didn’t say so. To her mind, the Watsons had behaved deplorably. ‘So what happened after you left your flat?’

‘I got on a bus. I’ve no idea where it was going ’cos it really didn’t matter. I just needed to get away, you see. The trouble was that when I tried to catch a bus back home, it was after midnight and they’d stopped running.’ Freya sighed. ‘I started walking when this car drew up and the driver offered me a lift.’

‘And you accepted?’ Bella asked, her heart sinking at the thought of Freya getting into a stranger’s car.

‘Yes. He said he’d drive me home but he brought me here instead.’ Freya’s eyes welled with tears again. ‘I was so scared! I managed to jump out of the car when he stopped and hid until he had left. It was pitch-dark and I had no idea where I was so I just stayed here until the morning. I was making my way back to the road when I slipped and hurt my ankle. If you hadn’t come along then, I don’t know what I’d have done,’ she added tearfully.

‘Well, I did come so let’s not think about that,’ Bella said rousingly. She stood up. ‘Now, we need to get you back to the main road. Do you think you can hop if I support you? It’s either that or leave you here while I go for help.’

‘Oh, don’t leave me!’ Freya exclaimed, obviously terrified by the thought of being left on her own once again.

Bella looped the girl’s arm across her shoulders as she helped her to stand up. It wasn’t going to be easy to get Freya back to the road, but what choice did she have? Nobody knew they were here and nobody would come looking for them either. Just for a second the thought that Mac might notice her absence crossed her mind before she dismissed it. Mac wouldn’t miss her, as he had made it abundantly clear.

CHAPTER EIGHT

M
AC
WAS
GROWING
increasingly concerned. He had tried phoning Bella several times but she hadn’t responded. He would have put it down to the fact that she didn’t want to speak to him, only it appeared that her mobile phone had been switched off. It seemed odd to him, bearing in mind how conscientious she was. How would work contact her in case of an emergency if her phone was switched off?

In the end he went back to her apartment. Although there was still no sign of her car, he rang the bell anyway. There was always a chance that her car had broken down and she had made her way home by some other means. However, after half a dozen rings on the bell, he gave up. She obviously wasn’t here, so where was she?

He stood there, trying to think where she might have gone. He knew for a fact that she had made very few friends since she had moved to Dalverston. Although she was well regarded by their colleagues, the fact that she kept herself to herself didn’t encourage close friendships—he definitely couldn’t picture her dropping in to someone’s house for coffee and a chat! No, what friends she did have were all in London, so was it possible that she had driven down there?

It seemed unlikely but it was the only lead he had. He phoned half a dozen mutual friends but drew a blank. Nobody had seen or heard from Bella in months, it seemed. That left him with just one other option, the least appealing one too. He dialled Tim’s number, filled with such a mixture of emotions that it was difficult to speak when Tim answered. He had come to Dalverston, sure in his own mind that Bella had been responsible for the demise of her marriage. However, he no longer believed that and it was hard to behave with equanimity as he asked Tim if he had heard from her. He had been wrong to blame her—so very, very wrong. If he lived to be a hundred he would always regret it.

Once again Mac drew a blank. Tim hadn’t heard from Bella either, apparently. Mac cut him off, knowing that he would lose it completely if he had to listen to Tim blackening her name again. Although she hadn’t gone into any detail about Tim’s affair—she’d not had time!—he believed her. And the thought filled him with all sorts of uncharitable feelings towards his former friend. Tim had deliberately lied to him and he wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to forgive him for that.

He went back to his motorbike, his face set as he revved up the engine. He was going to find Bella even if it took him all day!

* * *

Progress was excruciatingly
slow. They had to stop every few minutes while Freya rested. Bella glanced at her watch, sighing as she realised how much time had passed. They’d barely travelled half a mile and it was already gone midday. She helped Freya sit down in the lee of a large rock and sat down beside her while she tried to decide what to do. It had started to rain again, which would only exacerbate the problem. With the ground becoming increasingly slippery there was a very real danger that Freya might fall again. Bella came to a swift decision, prompted by necessity.

‘Look, Freya, this isn’t working. I know you don’t like the idea of being left on your own but I need to fetch help.’ She patted Freya’s hand when she started to cry, feeling terrible about abandoning her. However, she would be much faster on her own. ‘I’m going to leave you here while I go back to the main road. There’s bound to be a car coming along it and I’ll flag it down and get them to phone the mountain rescue people. Once they receive the call, it won’t be long before we’re out of here.’

‘You will come back for me?’ Freya asked anxiously. She looked round and shuddered. ‘What if you can’t remember where I am? I mean, it all looks the same to me!’

‘I’ll use my blouse as a marker.’ Bella hurriedly undid her jacket and stripped off her blouse. Rooting around on the ground, she found a sturdy branch and knotted the blouse’s sleeves around it. ‘Look, I’ll push the end of the branch into this crevice in the rock—it will act as a marker so that we’ll be able to find you.’

‘I suppose so,’ Freya agreed reluctantly, obviously unsure about what she was proposing.

‘It will be fine, Freya. I promise you.’

Bella gave her a hug then hurried away before
she
started doubting the feasibility of her plan. She had to leave Freya here, otherwise they could be stuck out in the open all day long. The thought spurred her on and she made rapid progress, although it still took her over an hour to reach the main road. She stood at the side of the carriageway, praying that a car would come along soon. She was cold and wet and unutterably weary and all she wanted was to go home and have a long hot bath then climb into bed. Just for a second the image of Mac lying beside her popped into her head before she drove it away. Mac wouldn’t be sharing her bed today or in the foreseeable future!

* * *

Mac drove all around the town but he still couldn’t find any sign of Bella. He tried to imagine where she might have gone but his mind was blank. He sighed as he pulled up outside a coffee shop. Maybe a shot of caffeine would help restore some life to his flagging brain cells. He went in and ordered a triple espresso to go. He added a couple of sachets of sugar to the brew to give it an extra kick then left, stopping when he came face to face with Helen Robertson, their F1 student. She grimaced as she studied the concoction he was nursing.

‘You’re obviously in need of some serious stimulation if you’re thinking of drinking that. It looks lethal to me.’

‘Hmm, it probably is. But needs must, and my brain definitely needs a major pick-me-up,’ Mac replied with a grimace as he gulped down the coffee.

‘It must have been a rough night,’ Helen observed, laughing. ‘I saw Bella at the supermarket earlier and she looked really washed out.’

‘You saw her!’ Mac exclaimed. He grabbed hold of Helen’s arm. ‘When was this?’

‘First thing this morning,’ Helen told him, looking startled. She glanced over at a young man who was obviously waiting for her and shrugged. ‘David and I had been out at a club all night and we popped into the supermarket for some breakfast on our way home. We saw Bella at the checkout, although I don’t think she saw us.’

‘Thank you so much!’ Mac impulsively hugged her. He let her go and grinned. ‘I’ve been worried sick because she wasn’t at her apartment or answering her phone. At least I have some idea where she went now.’

‘Probably needed to stock up, from the amount of shopping she had,’ Helen said lightly.

‘Probably,’ he agreed.

He said his goodbyes and hurried over to his motorbike. Climbing astride it, he headed out of town to the supermarket, mentally crossing his fingers that he would find Bella there. He sighed. And if he didn’t find her, then what? He could hardly report her missing and call out a search party on such flimsy evidence, could he? After all, there was no proof that anything had happened to her—nothing, apart from this gut feeling he had.

He snorted in disgust. Try explaining that to the authorities. They would think he was deranged!

* * *

It must have
been half an hour before a car finally appeared. Bella stepped into the middle of the road and flagged it down. There was an elderly couple inside and she could see how nervous they looked as she approached the driver’s window. Bending down, she smiled reassuringly at them.

‘Thank you for stopping. Do you have a mobile phone I can use to call the mountain rescue service? There’s been an accident, you see—a young girl has been injured and she needs help.’

The man quickly gave her his phone. Bella made the call, checking with the driver as to their location. Fortunately, he was a local man and he was able to explain exactly where they were. Bella thanked him as she handed back the phone. When the couple asked her if she would like to sit in the car while they waited for the mountain rescue team to arrive, she gratefully accepted. It would be wonderful to get out of the rain even for a short time.

The first of the rescue vehicles arrived just fifteen minutes later and was quickly followed by several others. In a very short time, Bella was leading the team back to where she had left Freya. Thankfully, her makeshift marker had survived the wind and the rain and proved a big help in locating her. Once Freya was loaded onto the stretcher, they headed back. Bella was exhausted by then and finding it difficult to keep up. Relief overwhelmed her when she saw the road up ahead. Just a few more minutes and that would be it, she thought. It was only when she spotted the motorbike parked behind the other vehicles and the man standing beside it that her heart began to pound.

What on earth was Mac doing here?

* * *

It had been
pure chance that Mac had happened upon the scene. After failing to find Bella at the supermarket, he had driven around, trying to decide what to do next. Although reporting her missing might have seemed premature, that gut feeling he had that something was wrong was growing stronger by the minute. When he came across the mountain rescue vehicles parked beside the road, he could hardly contain his fear. He just
knew
that Bella was involved!

He climbed off the bike, his legs trembling as he went over to speak to one of the team. He was just about to ask the man if he knew the name of the casualty when a shout went up and he turned to see the rest of the group walking towards them. His heart started to pound when he saw the figure lying on the stretcher. Was it Bella? Was she badly injured? All of a sudden the strength came flooding back to his limbs and he raced towards them. It was only as he drew closer that he realised it wasn’t Bella on the stretcher but Freya Watson and he didn’t know whether to feel relieved or terrified. Where on earth was she?

‘Mac? What are you doing here?’

The sound of her voice had him spinning round. Mac just had a second to take in the fact that she was right there in front of him before instinct took over. Dragging her into his arms, he held her to him, held her as though he would never let her go again. Maybe he wouldn’t, he thought giddily. Maybe he would follow his heart and not allow his fear of being rejected, of being left, to ruin things. If he could find the courage to believe in her, to believe in
them
, he could have everything he wanted: Bella in his arms and in his life for ever more.

* * *

The next hour passed in a blur. Although Bella did everything that was expected of her, her mind was far removed from what was happening. She kept thinking about the expression on Mac’s face, about the way he had held her so tightly, so desperately, and it didn’t make any sense. He had behaved as though he truly cared about her but that couldn’t be true...

Could it?

The question nagged away at her as she and Freya were ferried to hospital in one of the rescue vehicles. They were taken straight to A&E, where they were met by the senior registrar. Bella quickly explained what had happened, nodding when he immediately decided to send Freya down to X-ray. Once they knew for certain if Freya’s ankle was fractured, he could decide on the appropriate course of treatment.

After Freya left, Bella reluctantly agreed to be checked over as well. Although she was sure she was fine, there were procedures to follow and it would be wrong to create a fuss. As expected, she was given a clean bill of health and told that she could leave whenever she wanted. And that was when the tricky bit started. As she exited the cubicle and saw Mac sitting in the waiting room, she had no idea what to do. Had she correctly interpreted his reaction as rather more than relief for the safe deliverance of a friend?

Bella’s heart began to race as that thought unlocked the door to several others. Did she want him to feel more than friendship for her, maybe even love? But if he did then how could
she
be sure that she wouldn’t ruin things and that her inability to show her true feelings wouldn’t destroy whatever he felt? Pain shot through her. Quite frankly, she didn’t think she could bear knowing that yet again she had failed as a woman.

* * *

Mac could feel the tension building inside him as he waited for Bella to return. He knew that his behaviour must have aroused her suspicions and he was honest enough to admit that the thought scared him too. However, if he intended to win her then he couldn’t back down. He had to fight for her. Tooth and claw!

‘They said I could go home whenever I liked.’

He started when he realised that she was standing in front of him. He shot to his feet, almost overturning the chair in his haste. ‘No damage done, then?’ he said and winced at the sheer inanity of the comment.

‘No, I’m fine.’

She gave him a quick smile and headed for the door. Mac followed her, pausing when he realised that it was still raining outside. Bearing in mind the soaking she’d had already that day, it seemed decidedly off to drive her home on the back of his motorbike.

‘I’ll phone for a cab,’ he said, hunting his mobile phone out of his jacket pocket.

‘What’s wrong with your bike?’ she asked, one brow arching in a way that made all sorts of complicated things start to happen inside him.

‘Oh, ahem, nothing,’ he murmured, trying to wrestle his libido back into its box. ‘I just thought you’d prefer not to get drenched again.’

‘I don’t think it matters. I’m soaked as it is, so a drop more rain isn’t going to make much difference.’

She gave a little shrug, her breasts rising and falling beneath the clinging folds of her wet jacket, and Mac’s libido won the battle, hands down.

‘Oh, well, if you’re sure, then.’

Mac didn’t give her chance to reply as he led the way to where he had left his motorbike. Quite frankly, he couldn’t believe how crassly he was behaving. Usually, it took more than the lift of a brow or the wiggle of a woman’s breast to arouse him. He groaned as he took the spare helmet out of the box beneath the seat. Who was he kidding? Bella only had to look at him and he was putty in her hands!

He helped her on with the helmet then swung his leg over the bike, tensing when she settled herself behind him on the seat. He could feel her body pressing against the length of his back and sent up a silent prayer that he would manage to hold out. There must be no stopping along the way, he told himself sternly. And absolutely no thoughts of pulling into a secluded lay-by. He wasn’t a teenager but a mature adult who had given up such behaviour years ago. No, he would drive Bella home, make sure she was safely inside her apartment and leave...