Melting the Argentine Doctor's Heart / Small Town Marriage Miracle (27 page)

Emma found it hard to settle after she’d spoken to her aunt. Aunt Margaret had told her that two of her uncle’s friends were planning on visiting him that afternoon. As the number of visitors to the IC unit was strictly limited, Emma had immediately offered to wait until the following day. Now she had a free day ahead of her and suddenly found herself wondering what to do. Although there were jobs that needed doing in the house, she felt too restless to spend the day indoors. Maybe a walk would help to work off some of her excess energy.

She fetched her jacket and found an old pair of walking boots in the hall cupboard. Although she wasn’t planning on going too far, she found herself taking all the usual precautions that her aunt and uncle had drummed into her over the years. The weather in the Dales could be very changeable and it was better to be prepared rather than come unstuck.

She made some sandwiches and a flask of coffee and packed them into a small haversack. After adding a map and a compass, she checked that her mobile phone was charged. Although reception was patchy in the Dales, it could come in useful. As she let herself out of the back door, she could feel her spirits lifting. It had been ages since she’d been for a good long tramp across the hills and she was suddenly looking forward to it.

The air was cool as she set off across the stile that led to the lower slopes of the hills. There were dozens of footpaths criss-crossing the area, but Emma didn’t hesitate. She’d done this walk many times before and remembered the route even though it had been at least five years since she’d last been along it. She and Daniel
had come this way one Sunday morning and had had a picnic at the top of the hill. And after they had finished eating they had made love, right there in the open with only the blue sky above them.

Emma blinked when she realised that she couldn’t see properly. Running her hand over her eyes, she wiped away tears. She wasn’t going to cry, certainly wasn’t going to waste the day by thinking about the past. It was the present that mattered, nothing else. As she’d told Daniel, she liked her life the way it was and was glad that she hadn’t given up her dreams for him.

She walked for almost two hours then decided to stop for a break when she reached Pilgrim’s Point, a local beauty spot. Finding a sheltered area in the lea of the huge rock that marked the spot, she unzipped her jacket and laid it on the ground then sat down. Uncapping the flask, she poured herself a cup of coffee, sighing appreciatively as she inhaled the fragrant aroma. Without the usual traffic fumes to clog up her nose, everything seemed to smell so much better.

She had almost finished the coffee when she heard someone coming along the path close to where she was sitting. It was a popular route with walkers and she wasn’t surprised that someone else had decided to take advantage of the weather. Glancing round, she caught a glimpse of a figure heading towards her before he disappeared into a dip in the land, but it was enough for her to recognise him. What on earth was Daniel doing here? Surely he hadn’t followed her, had he? Emma’s temper was already creeping up the scale when Daniel
reappeared. He stopped dead and she saw the surprise on his face when he spotted her.

‘Emma! What on earth are you doing here? I thought you were going to visit your uncle this afternoon?’

‘Some friends of Uncle Jim’s are visiting him so I decided to go for a walk instead,’ she replied curtly. Although it was obvious from his reaction that he hadn’t followed her, she still felt annoyed. She had been hoping for a few Daniel-free hours and it was irritating to have him turn up like this. She glowered at him. ‘I was hoping to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet on my own.’

‘Don’t let me stop you,’ he said calmly, but she saw the hurt in his eyes and immediately felt awful about being so rude. Maybe there wasn’t any love lost between them nowadays but that was no excuse for the way she was behaving.

‘You’re not.’ She gave a little shrug, unable to bring herself to actually apologise. ‘I just stopped for a drink.’

Daniel sniffed the air. ‘Ah, so that explains it. I thought I could smell coffee as I was coming along the path but decided I was hallucinating.’ He smiled at her and her heart lifted when she saw the warmth in his eyes. ‘I don’t think any of the coffee-house chains has set up an outlet in the hills yet, have they?’

‘Not so far as I know. It must be an oversight on their behalf,’ Emma said, chuckling.

‘Oh, I’m sure they’ll realise that they’re missing a trick,’ he assured her. ‘Give it a few more months and I expect you’ll be able to buy your double cappuccino with hazelnut syrup on the slopes of Mount Everest!’

Emma laughed out loud. ‘It wouldn’t surprise me. It never fails to amaze me just how many coffee shops there are. Every town and city seems to be awash with them.’

‘I have a theory about that,’ Daniel said gravely. He bent towards her and lowered his voice. ‘I think they’re a front for alien invaders. I mean, think about it. All those hissing and gurgling machines can’t just be making cups of coffee, can they? They’re probably powering up the spaceships that are hidden in the basements.’

It was so ridiculous that Emma couldn’t stop laughing. She clutched her aching sides. ‘Don’t! I feel sick from laughing so much.’

‘Sorry.’ Daniel didn’t sound the least bit repentant. He grinned down at her. ‘I won’t tell you my theory about burger bars, then.’

‘Oh, please, don’t! I don’t think I can take any more.’ Emma wiped her streaming eyes and smiled up at him, feeling her breath catch when her gaze met his. Why was Daniel looking at her that way? she wondered dizzily. He didn’t love her; he never had loved her. And yet there was something in his eyes that made her heart start to race.

‘Looks like the weather is about to change.’

He turned to stare across the hills and the moment passed. Emma shuddered as she looked at the black clouds that were amassing on the horizon. Had she imagined it or had Daniel really been looking at her as though she meant the whole world to him?

She took a shaky breath when she realised how ridiculous that idea was. Daniel might care about her but
only in the sort of impersonal way he would care about any woman he’d had a relationship with. She would be a fool to imagine it was anything more than that.

Emma stood up abruptly and shrugged on her jacket. Although the sun was still shining, she felt chilled to the bone and knew that it had little to do with the impending storm. Picking up the flask, she offered it to him. ‘There’s some coffee left if you want it.’

‘Thanks.’ He took the flask from her with a smile that held nothing more than gratitude. Unscrewing the lid, he filled the cup and offered it to her first. ‘Do you want some more?’

‘No, thank you. I’ve had more than enough.’

Emma could hear the edge in her voice and hated it because of what it represented. She wanted to remain indifferent to Daniel, to not allow him to affect her in any way, but it was proving impossible to achieve that. It worried her that she was so responsive to his every mood. If she was over him then she shouldn’t care how he felt about anything. Including her. The thought was too much to deal with on top of everything else.

‘I think I’ll head back,’ she informed him coolly. Bending down, she picked up the haversack and went to swing it over her shoulder, stopping abruptly when he put out his hand.

‘I know this is really cheeky but those aren’t sandwiches, are they?’ He pointed to the package sticking out of her bag and Emma nodded.

‘Yes, I thought I might have my lunch while I was out.’

‘But you’ve changed your mind?’ he suggested.

Emma could tell that he suspected he was the reason for her change of plans and shrugged. The last thing she wanted was for Daniel to think that he could exert any sort of influence over her. ‘I’d prefer to get home before the rain starts.’

‘Of course. But if those sandwiches are going spare, I wouldn’t mind them. I’m afraid I’m not as well prepared as you are.’

He gave her a tight little smile and Emma knew immediately that he hadn’t believed her excuse. She handed him the sandwiches, refusing to dwell on the thought. Let him think what he liked—she didn’t care!

‘Thanks. I’ll see you later, I expect.’ He sat down in the spot she’d recently vacated and opened the package. Emma watched as he selected a thick ham and cheese sandwich and bit into it with relish. If he was at all disturbed about ruining her plans for the day, it certainly didn’t show, she thought bitterly.

‘Actually, I’m going out this evening,’ she said abruptly. Although she hadn’t planned on going out, the thought of spending the evening with him was suddenly more than she could bear, and she hurried on. ‘I don’t know when I’ll be back, so I’ll see you tomorrow.’

‘Right. Have fun.’

Whether or not he believed her was open to question and Emma didn’t waste any time worrying about it. She made her way back along the paths until she reached the stile. It had started to rain now, a fine drizzle that obscured the view of the hills. As she stepped down from the stile, she couldn’t help wondering if Daniel would be all right. Although he had enjoyed walking in
the area when he’d done his training here, it was easy to get lost. Maybe she should have made sure that he got back safely?

She took a deep breath. Daniel had made it clear five years ago that she had no rights where he was concerned. He wouldn’t thank her for worrying about him now!

D
ANIEL
finished the sandwiches and wadded the cling film into a ball. Tucking it into his pocket, he drained the last dregs of coffee from the cup. The clouds were fairly scurrying across the sky now and he guessed it wouldn’t be long before the rain started. Maybe he should follow Emma’s example and head back?

He sighed as he set off along the path. Once again he’d thought he was making headway with her and once again he’d been mistaken. It was a case of one step forward and two back, and it was difficult to explain how frustrated he felt. Maybe it was foolish to hope that she would accept him as a friend after what had happened in the past, but he couldn’t bear to think that she would continue to think so badly of him.

Daniel’s heart was heavy as he climbed out of the dip. The path skirted an area of loose shale and he picked his way around it, wary of slipping. The first drops of rain started to fall as he cleared the area and he picked up speed, hoping to avoid getting soaked. Although it would have been quicker if he’d taken the path Emma had used, he wasn’t sure if he could remember the way.

The last thing he needed to round off the day was to get himself lost!

He must have gone about a mile or so when all of a sudden he heard someone shouting. He stopped and looked around but it was difficult to see now that the rain was falling in earnest. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted as loudly as he could, ‘Hello! Where are you?’

‘Over here,’ the reply came back immediately.

Daniel turned towards the direction from where the sound seemed to be coming and frowned when he caught a glimpse of a figure frantically waving to him. What on earth was going on?

He hurriedly changed course, his heart sinking as he got closer and discovered there were actually two people, both teenage boys, and one of them was injured. ‘What happened?’ he demanded, crouching down beside the injured boy.

‘We were just messing about, having a sword fight with a couple of sticks, when Jack slipped. I thought he was kidding at first when he didn’t get up, but then I saw all the blood.’ The boy gulped, obviously too shaken by what had happened to continue.

‘I see.’ Daniel didn’t press him for any more details as he carefully eased the boy’s blood-soaked T-shirt aside so he could examine the puncture wound in his chest. Although it wasn’t very large, it was obviously deep and had bled copiously. He could hear the boy struggling to breathe and placed his hand over the wound. Even if the lung itself wasn’t damaged, this type of
injury—where air was being drawn directly into the chest cavity—could cause it to deflate ‘How long ago did it happen?’ he asked, glancing up.

‘I’m not sure. Half an hour, maybe longer—I seem to have been shouting for ages.’ The boy wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. ‘I didn’t know what to do. I tried to get Jack to stand up but he couldn’t, so I thought about going for help. But even if I’d managed to find someone, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to find my way back here.’

‘You don’t have a mobile with you?’ Daniel queried, dragging over a haversack and using it to support the boy’s head and shoulders. He inclined the teenager’s body towards the injured side so that the sound lung was uppermost then dug in his pocket and took out a clean handkerchief plus the piece of crumpled cling film. Sealing the wound to stop any more air entering the chest cavity would help the boy to breathe more easily.

‘Yes, but there’s no signal out here. I’ve tried it dozens of times but my phone just won’t work!’

‘Typical.’ Daniel sighed as he placed the handkerchief over the hole in the boy’s chest. ‘Can you hold that there while I unravel this piece of cling film?’ he instructed. Once he had smoothed out the plastic wrapping, he placed it over the handkerchief, pressing it tightly against the boy’s damp skin. He was pleased to hear that the teenager’s breathing sounded a little less laboured after he’d finished.

Standing up, he stripped off his jacket and laid it over
the boy. Hypothermia was a very real concern in a situation like this and he needed to do whatever he could to avoid it. Once he was sure the boy was protected from the rain, he turned to his friend again. ‘What’s your name, son?’

‘Ryan.’

‘OK, Ryan. I’m Dr Kennedy. I work at the surgery in Avondale—do you know it?’

Ryan shook his head. ‘No.’

‘So can I take it that you don’t live round here?’

‘No. We’re on a school trip. We’re staying at the outward bound centre near Malham.’

‘I see. So is there anyone who’s likely to be looking for you right now? Your teachers, for instance?

‘No. They don’t know we’re out here,’ Ryan mumbled, looking sheepish.

‘What do you mean, they don’t know you’re out here?’