The Midwife's Marriage Proposal (10 page)

For a few, frantic beats her heart suddenly lost its natural rhythm. ‘You can't be serious.'

‘I'm perfectly serious. And if you're about to pretend that there's nothing between us, I ought to warn you that you're wasting your time. It's been there from the moment we met and it will always be there.'

She stood up so abruptly that the chair scraped on the floor. ‘Just in case you need reminding, we've been here before, Tom, and it didn't work. And now I need to get back to work.'

‘I know I hurt you badly,' he said softly, ‘but it was a long time ago and we've both changed, Sally.'

‘That's right,' she said hoarsely. ‘Fortunately we have both changed. I'm no longer stupid enough to fall in love with a man who doesn't want that love. I'm not making that mistake again.'

He flinched and rose to his feet, walking round the table towards her. ‘The only mistake was mine. But at the time I thought I was making the right decision. You were so young, Sally—'

‘No!' She raised a hand to keep him at a distance. ‘I don't want to hear your excuses when the truth is that I just didn't fit into your agenda at the time.'

He looked at her, a tiny muscle flickering in his jaw. ‘So you're truly pretending that there's nothing between us?'

‘I don't need to pretend. I know.'

He took a step closer to her, his voice low and husky. ‘You don't feel anything when I walk into a room?'

Her heart was thumping so hard she was surprised he couldn't see it. ‘Nothing at all.'

‘Right.'

She had a brief glimpse of burning blue eyes and a devil's smile and then his hand slid round the back of her neck and his mouth came down on hers.

Her soft gasp of shock turned to a moan as he took what he wanted. His kiss was all fire and heat and he held her head still with one strong hand as his mouth stole and plundered. With the erotic probe of his tongue he robbed her of breath and willpower, and with the brush of his lips he took her power of speech.

White heat exploded through her body and she placed a hand on his chest, feeling the hardness of muscle and the throb of his heart. Her body was screaming for more
and she gave a tiny sob of protest as he dragged his mouth from hers, his breathing unsteady.

For a long, sexually charged moment neither of them spoke.

Neither of them was able to speak.

And then his hand dropped from her head, thick dark lashes shielding the expression in his blue eyes as he looked down at her. ‘Seven years ago I made a mistake, Sally. But I'm not making that same mistake a second time. I'm coming after you.' His voice was very male and very sexy. ‘And no matter how fast you run, I'm going to catch you. And once I've caught you, I'm never letting you go.'

T
HE
call out came in the middle of the night but Sally hadn't slept.

She'd lain awake, staring into the darkness, thinking of that kiss.

It wasn't fair.

Nature had it all wrong. It shouldn't be possible to respond to someone who had caused such emotional trauma.

The body should have some inbuilt self-preservation mechanism that prevented it from feeling passion for the wrong person.

And Tom Hunter was definitely the wrong person.

She lifted the receiver on the second ring, her voice gruff with tiredness. ‘Hello?'

It was Sean, the mountain rescue team leader, telling her about a call out.

Sally sat up in bed and stifled a yawn. ‘I'll meet you at the base as soon as I can. I'll have to cycle.'

Sean's voice was clear and crisp down the phone. ‘Tom will pick you up. He's already on his way.'

Remembering his promise that he was coming after her, Sally's heart skipped a beat.

He obviously hadn't lost any time in looking for opportunities for being alone with her.

She ended her conversation with Sean, dressed quickly and made herself a piece of toast while she waited for the sound of Tom's car.

Then she told herself firmly that the pleasure of the
kiss wasn't worth the pain of a relationship. There was no way she'd put herself in that position again.

He'd ended it once before, he could end it again.

By the time he arrived she had herself firmly in hand. She reached for her coat, locked the door to the cottage and met him before he'd even stopped the car.

‘Thanks for the lift. It saved me some time.' She gave him a cool smile and then gasped as he reached for her and pulled her against him.

His mouth found hers in a kiss that was as brief as it was devastating.

Her head spun and heat flared low in her pelvis.

‘Something on account for later,' he said roughly, releasing her before she had the satisfaction of pulling away.

She sat in frozen silence, dealing with the sudden race of her heart and the spread of warmth through her body.

He glanced at her, amusement in his blue eyes. ‘You'd better put your seat belt on. The roads might be icy.'

Hating herself for responding to him and hating him even more for noticing, she did as he'd instructed, her hands shaking slightly as she fastened the seat belt.

She was going to ignore it.

She was going to pretend that both kisses had never happened.

‘Do we know what this call out is all about?' She tugged her blonde hair into a ponytail and then wedged it neatly under a fleece hat.

‘Two kids were seen walking up on the ridge just before sunset. They haven't returned and there have been several reports of flashing lights.'

‘Right.' Sally was twisting this way and that, pulling on different pieces of clothing and generally getting
herself ready for freezing weather. ‘Are we using a dog team?'

He nodded. ‘Ellie is bringing Max.'

Sally frowned. ‘Isn't it a bit soon? Bryony tells me that Ellie only had her baby a couple of months ago.'

‘The baby is fine. Ben is staying with him.'

Sally glanced at him. ‘I gather you were a bit of a hero. You sectioned Ellie.'

His hands tightened on the wheel. ‘She had a car accident in the last month of her pregnancy. Her placenta came away—it was an emergency. Stop changing the subject. I'm not going to let you ignore it, Sally.'

Her heart skipped a beat at his swift change of subject. ‘Ignore what?'

‘The fact that the temperature rises when we're within touching distance, the fact that when I kiss you, you still want me as much as I want you.' He glanced across at her, his blue gaze glittering in the semi-darkness. ‘Whether you like it or not, that kiss proved something.'

‘It proved that you still know how to kiss a woman.' She kept her tone light. ‘That's all it proved. Glad to know you haven't lost your touch, Tom.'

He swore under his breath and turned into the car park of the mountain rescue base. ‘We can't talk about this now.'

‘I don't want to talk about it at all,' she muttered, undoing her seat belt and opening the car door before he'd even put the handbrake on. ‘And if you're coming after me, Tom Hunter, you'd better be fit.'

She'd slammed the door and was across the car park before he had time to answer.

* * *

‘We know who they are now,' Sean told everyone as they gathered in the briefing room. ‘James Knight and
his friend Lester Roberts. James's mother called us five minutes ago and said that they'd been missing since teatime. Apparently there was a huge family row—she wouldn't say what about and she didn't contact the police before now because she thought James would come home.'

‘So how do we know they're the same kids who were seen on the ridge?' Tom zipped up his jacket and reached for his rucksack.

‘Because, when James didn't come home, his mother searched his room and found all his walking gear missing. Then she called Lester's mother and discovered that he was gone, too. They're assuming that they've gone into the hills.'

‘And she didn't say what the row was about?' Sally looked at Sean and he shook his head.

‘She's obviously hideously embarrassed about all the fuss. And I don't suppose any family likes washing their dirty laundry in public. She didn't want to go into detail and I didn't see the point of asking. A row is a row. The kid's gone. We need to find him. And the friend he dragged along with him.'

‘But it might be important,' Sally began, and Sean nodded.

‘I'm sure it is. But what matters for now is finding them before they freeze to death out there or lose their footing. We've had reports of lights in two different places so we're going to split up. If they're up on the ridge in this weather, they'll be in trouble.'

He gave the whole team their instructions and they set off, lights shining from their helmets as they walked.

Ellie immediately slid in beside Sally and Tom, a happy smile on her face. ‘Can't believe you're back,
Sal.' She gave her a quick hug and then turned to Tom and put a hand on her chest. ‘And hello to my hero.'

Tom gave a wry smile. ‘Don't start, Ellie.'

Undaunted, Ellie looked at Sally. ‘Has he told you that he saved my life?'

‘I heard it from other sources. He didn't tell me himself.'

Ellie's gaze softened. ‘He's too modest.'

‘Really?' Sally's tone was tart and she looked at Tom with challenge in her green eyes. ‘From where I'm standing, he seems to think he's God's gift.'

Ellie laughed. ‘Like that, is it?' She stooped to give her dog a quick pat as they moved quickly up the path. ‘Well, he saved my life, and Ethan's life, so you won't be hearing me doing anything but sing his praises. I was driving along, minding my own business, and this tree leapt out in front of me.'

‘Women drivers,' Tom drawled, but there was a genuine affection in his eyes as he looked at Ellie.

‘You can't provoke me, Tom Hunter. You saved my life so now you own me.' Ellie frowned thoughtfully. ‘Or do I own you? I can't remember how that proverb goes, but I think one of us owns the other.'

Sally laughed. ‘I think Ben might object to either version.'

‘I don't want to own you, Ellie,' Tom said dryly, ‘you talk too much. I'd strangle you after five minutes. Even when we were trying to gas you before your section, your mouth was still moving.'

‘I was nervous,' Ellie admitted happily, ‘but you made me feel better about the whole thing. You were very macho and in charge, Tom. You do the whole “lean on me” thing really well. If I'd met you before Ben, I would have had a serious crush on you.'

Sally choked back a laugh. She loved the fact that Ellie was so frank and honest about everything.

‘Ellie.' Tom's voice was weary. ‘Just shut up, will you? There's a drop here, and if you don't concentrate you'll go over the edge.'

‘I can walk and talk,' Ellie said firmly, and Sally smiled.

For all her lovable chatter, Ellie obviously hero-worshipped Tom.

And once so had she.

When she'd been eighteen she'd thought he was some sort of god.

She frowned slightly, walking steadily in the darkness, following Ellie and Tom. She couldn't stop thinking of the things he'd said to her on top of their rock. Had she put too much pressure on him? He'd always been so confident and in control, it had never occurred to her that he might have doubts of any sort.

Had she been unrealistic about their relationship?

She walked in silence for a while, aware of Ellie chattering away in the background.

And then suddenly a brief flash of light caught her eye.

She stopped dead, her eyes fixed on a spot ahead of them. ‘I saw something.'

Tom turned to her. ‘Where?'

‘Higher up.'

He frowned. ‘The path is very narrow there.'

‘I saw something,' Sally said firmly, her eyes searching the darkness for another flash of light.

Ellie spoke to Max and the dog shot off. He was wearing a high-visibility coat with bells attached and a green chemical light that glowed in the darkness.

‘He looks like an alien,' Tom muttered, but Ellie's attention was fixed on the dog.

He moved further away from them and for a moment all they could see was the green glow of the light.

Then he bounded back and barked at Ellie.

‘He's found them,' she said immediately, bending to praise the dog. ‘Better let the others know.'

The wind gusted violently and Sally staggered slightly. Instantly Tom's hand shot out and he steadied her.

‘We should rope up here,' he said gruffly, swinging the rucksack off his back and delving for the necessary equipment. ‘The path narrows here and it's badly eroded. I'm not taking any chances in the dark.'

They sorted out their own safety and then Ellie led the way, following Max until they reached a figure huddled down on the path.

‘One of them. Only one of them.' Sally dropped to her knees beside the boy. ‘Are you Lester or James?'

He was shivering too badly to speak to her and Tom immediately handed her some extra layers which she wrapped carefully round the child.

‘You're going to be fine,' she said soothingly, ‘and we're going to get you down. Where's your friend?'

The boy turned his eyes to hers and in the light from her helmet she could see that he was white and shaking. His eyes turned to the path. ‘He went over the edge …'

Sally felt a chill run through her that was nothing to do with the icy wind. ‘Over the edge? All right—well, we'll sort him out, too. But are you Lester or James?'

‘I'm James.' The words were little more than a whisper and they were all but swallowed by the howl of the wind. ‘And this is my fault. It's all my fault. He came with me. And he fell.'

The boy was clearly shocked and on the edges of hypothermia himself. Sally slipped an arm around him. ‘Don't worry, James. We're going to find your friend. In the meantime, we need to get you down to safer ground. It's a bit risky up here with this wind.'

She straightened and let Ellie take over while she, Sean and Tom moved to one side to plan.

‘If he's gone over the edge here, he's gone all the way to the bottom,' Sean said grimly, and Sally shook her head.

‘Not necessarily. There's a rocky outcrop halfway down. I know because I ate a sandwich there once.'

Tom raised an eyebrow. ‘Only you would picnic on a sheer face.'

‘There was a good view.' Sally was still staring into the darkness, hoping to see something. ‘On the other hand, he might have gone straight to the bottom.'

Sean shouted over the edge and flashed his torch, but there was no response.

‘I've got a more powerful torch.' Tom reached into his rucksack and retrieved another torch, which he shone down the side of the cliff. Immediately there was an answering flash. ‘You're right. He's there.'

Ellie had joined them.

‘We'll need to go down to him,' she said immediately, but Tom shook his head.

‘As your surgeon, I'm telling you that you're not going anywhere. I don't mind you walking a couple of months after your Caesarean but I draw the line at lowering you down a cliff on the end of a rope.'

Ellie grinned cheekily. ‘Are you doubting your sewing skills?'

‘Call me fussy but I just don't fancy restitching your uterus halfway up a cliff face,' Tom said dryly. ‘I'll go.'

Sean nodded. ‘Sounds good to me. Get roped up. Ellie, you look after James. Get some fluids into him and if he's up to it, you and Toby rope him up and bring him down lower.'

They swung into action, operating with smooth efficiency, and within minutes Tom was stepping boldly over the edge of the sheer drop.

Sally felt her heart lurch and Ellie put a hand on her arm.

‘He'll be fine.'

Sally lifted her chin and shrugged slightly. ‘I'm not worried about him.'

‘You're a hopeless liar, Sally Jenner,' Ellie said softly. ‘You two are crazy about each other and always have been.'

‘I'm not crazy about him,' Sally said hoarsely, watching as Sean skilfully masterminded the whole operation, getting people ready to act on Tom's instructions. ‘And he ended our relationship, if you remember, so he's hardly crazy about me either.'

‘Oh, men often get confused about what they really want,' Ellie said airily. ‘It's up to us women to show them as tactfully as possible. And if tact doesn't work, just tell them straight out. It always amazes me how some men can be so clever and yet be so stupid when it comes to emotional stuff. Bless. It's amazing the human race continues.'

Sally laughed. ‘You are priceless, Ellie MacAllister.'