From Single Mum to Lady (13 page)

At least he was warning her—something Terry never had. And if she told him to get lost, he would probably do as she said. She felt her resolve weakening by the second and sighed, tossing back the wine in her glass. Then a feeling of bravado swept over her. Hadn’t she been longing for some excitement in her life, to escape from the mundane everyday existence she led? He’d admitted that he was only ready for a fling, not a ring, but Patrick Sinclair was the first person since Terry to inject some passion and feeling into her soul.

She looked at the broad band of gold on his finger—a constant reminder of the wife he’d lost, she thought wistfully. Perhaps he’d never replace it, never be able to erase Rachel’s memory. But if he was up for a fling, then so was she—going into it with her eyes wide open, and to hell with memories and broken hearts!

‘I don’t mind being friends.’ She tilted her chin almost defiantly. ‘I may regret this, but honestly I’m sick of thinking back to what might have been, and what Abigail has missed not having Terry on hand. I want to look forward.’

He smiled down at her with those wonderful clear blue eyes and hugged her to him. ‘You’re a feisty girl, Jandy. Let’s get to know each other a little better, then.’

He bent his head to hers and very gently brushed her lips lightly with his. And she knew this was the prelude to something much more momentous. She knew what was going to happen, and she did nothing to stop him. He drew back slightly, looking down at her.

‘So can we be
very
good friends, do you think?’ There was laughter dancing in his eyes as he asked her.

She didn’t answer, but lifted her face to his, feeling again the tingle of his mouth against hers, and every nerve end in her body told her she needed more than that brief kiss. How could she ignore the great waves of longing flickering like butterflies inside her, her heart thumping with excitement against her ribs? Surely she was due a little affection, some fun, some excitement? But in a feeble effort to seem less eager she put her finger against his mouth for a second.

‘Do you think this is wise?’ she whispered.

He looked down at her. ‘Let’s not be wise all the time,’ he said. ‘Good friends are allowed to express their affection, aren’t they?’

He kissed her again, this time harder, teasing her lips open slightly, running his hand gently over her soft body, and she trembled because it was unbearably wonderful.

She wound her arms around his neck and pulled him towards her, opening her mouth to his and savouring the salty taste of him, feeling his body heavy and hard against hers as she fell back on the grass and he lay on top of her. The smell of the warm earth underneath them would always remind her of this moment. His mouth moved down her jaw with little butterfly kisses, and her body responded like a switch being flicked, pulling him close to her. He stopped for a second and looked down at her, his eyes twinkling.

‘Is that a “yes” to my question, then?’ he teased.

‘I think so,’ she whispered.

Perhaps she was jeopardising her future with a man who’d admitted he wasn’t ready for a committed relationship, but at this particular moment she couldn’t give a damn, she told herself as Patrick’s hands moved over her body, gently touching her breasts, starting to undo her shirt. She wasn’t even thinking how far they were going to go, she was revelling in his touch now, in the words he was murmuring in her ear. It was the present that mattered—the unbelievable sweetness of his firm, demanding frame on hers and the way her body reacted. It had been so long since she’d been held like this, or even wanted to be in anyone’s arms, and the long-forgotten sensation of being made love to by someone she desired very much flooded over her. She was hungry for his kisses and more. And she knew that he was as eager as she was!

When the jarring sound of her mobile went off, Jandy couldn’t think for a second what it was, except that it was intrusive and annoying. Then the stupid pop-song ringtone repeated itself again and again until reluctantly she pushed herself away from Patrick.

‘Sorry,’ she groaned. ‘I’ll have to get that—it could be about Abigail.’

Patrick rolled away and sighed. ‘And we were just getting to know each other…’ he murmured, looking across at Jandy and drawing one finger down her cheek.

She grabbed the phone and flipped it open, then Patrick watched her eyes widen in shock and her face pale slightly. He raised himself up on his elbow, concern crossing his face as she sat bolt upright, holding her mobile so tightly her knuckles were white.

‘Lydia? Oh, my God…’ she whispered. ‘What’s happened to her? Where is she?’ She listened to the reply then seemed to gather herself together and said firmly, ‘It’s all right, darling—I’ll go up. I’ve got a few days off anyway. You can’t possibly get there as soon as I can. I’ll organise things from this end.’

She snapped the mobile shut and turned to look bleakly at Patrick’s questioning face. ‘Is it your daughter?’ he asked.

Jandy shook her head in a dazed way. ‘No, not Abigail, thank God. It’s my mother. She and her boyfriend, Bertie, have been involved in an accident. It was Lydia, my sister, on the phone, and she says it’s serious.’ She bit her lip, trying to keep her composure. ‘Oh, Patrick, my mother’s been through so much, and just when it seems she’s at last found happiness, it could all be taken away from her. Bertie’s in a bad way. As I told you, they live in Scotland—right up in the north—and I need to go to her as soon as I can.’

CHAPTER SEVEN

P
ATRICK
took her hand and squeezed it, looking at her in concern. ‘Do you know what kind of accident it was—a car crash, something at home?’

‘My sister said that they were caught in a landslide on a mountainous road near where they live. Apparently they were lying trapped for over twelve hours. Both of them have multiple injuries.’ She looked in a stunned sort of way at Patrick, large tears welling up in her eyes. ‘I’ve got to get up there. My sister’s on a long-haul flight to Australia and can’t make it quickly.’ She brushed the tears impatiently from her eyes. ‘Dammit, I feel so helpless here.’

‘Who will look after Abigail?’ he asked.

‘I’m sure Pippa, my childminder, will do that, and Abigail loves staying with her.’ Jandy punched some numbers into her phone. ‘I’ll ring her now—and then I suppose I’ve got to get a flight to Inverness, it’ll be far too slow to drive up there. Oh, Lord, there’s so much to do…’

Patrick put his hand over hers and said firmly, ‘You speak to Pippa. Meanwhile I’ll get you a flight.’

She hadn’t time to say how grateful she was to him. She just nodded numbly and then spoke to Pippa, while Patrick walked away and contacted an airline on his mobile.

‘That’s it—all done,’ he said briskly after a few minutes, putting his mobile back in his pocket. ‘Our flight goes at five o’clock from Manchester.’

Jandy looked at him, slightly puzzled. ‘
Our
flight? Surely you’ve just booked one seat?’

He smiled, his eyes dancing rather wickedly. ‘I’m coming with you,’ he explained. ‘And don’t try and stop me!’

Jandy looked at him, completely dumbfounded, then she stammered, ‘B-but why? You’ve got your own child to think about.’

‘We’ve both got a few days off and, like you, I have someone perfectly competent to look after Livy. I can drive you round, act as a general dogsbody, while you see to your mother. Any objections?’

‘I…I don’t know…It’s a lot to ask.’ She shook her head tiredly. ‘I don’t like to put you to all this trouble.’

‘It’s no trouble,’ he said firmly. ‘You go home and organise your clothes and whatever you have to do for Abigail. I’ll pick you up at about two o’clock.’

‘But you can’t drop everything for me. After all, we hardly—’

He held her arms and forced her to look at him. ‘Know each other?’ he finished with amusement. ‘I guess we demonstrated a few minutes ago that we’re reasonably good friends. And wasn’t that what we said we were going to be? And as a good friend I’d like to help you—so relax and accept the offer!’

She felt too dazed to argue. ‘Well…thank you,’ she said weakly.

‘Now, go on,’ he urged. ‘Pack what you need, and sort out Abigail. I’ll see you soon.’

And all afternoon Jandy could hardly think of anything else except her mother, wondering just how badly she was hurt, what injuries she’d sustained. She felt like she was on autopilot, packing things for herself and Abigail without hardly taking in what she was doing. The flight to Inverness was a blur as Patrick found their seats, retrieved her luggage when they arrived and picked up the hire car to take them to the hospital. What would she have done without him?

Jandy and Patrick were shown immediately to the room in the hospital where her mother was. Jandy stood for a moment in the corridor, gathering the courage to go in. She was used to hospitals, wasn’t she? It was no big deal being in one. Why, then, were her legs like jelly, her mouth so dry? Because she was at the receiving end of the bad news, she thought wryly. Seeing a hospital from a completely different point of view, knowing everything that could go wrong. She clutched Patrick’s arm for a second.

‘Patrick, I’m frightened—frightened of what I’m going to see. And I’m a nurse, for God’s sake…’

‘There’s no shame in that, Jandy,’ he said gently.

The nurse who’d taken her to the room smiled encouragingly at her. ‘Mr Landers, the consultant, will see you after you’ve seen your mother. He’ll explain everything to you—he’s very able,’ she assured Jandy.

‘You go in,’ urged Patrick. ‘I’ll go and get some basics like milk and bread while you’re with her. She doesn’t want someone she’s never met barging in to see her.’

Leony Marshall was sitting propped up in the bed with her eyes closed and a collar round her neck. Her whole face was bruised and swollen, her eyes puffy slits, and there was a gash across her forehead with a line of staples holding it together. Her right leg was slightly elevated and in a cast.

Jandy gave a sharp intake of breath at her mother’s appearance, and swallowed hard. Her beautiful mother was almost unrecognisable, but bursting into tears wasn’t going to help.

‘Hello, Mum,’ she whispered, laying a hand on her mother’s arm and bending forward to kiss her gently on her cheek.

Her mother opened her eyes and an expression of amazement crossed her face as she saw her daughter. ‘Jandy, darling!’ she whispered through her stiff, swollen lips, ‘I can’t believe it—how wonderful it is to see you! How did you know I was here?’

‘Lydia phoned me on a flight to Australia! The guy who helps Bertie at the garage managed to get in touch with her.’

Jandy took her mother’s hand and Mrs Marshall squeezed it, mumbling, ‘I’m afraid your old mum’s a bit of a wreck at the moment…not looking my best!’

‘Poor Mum. You must feel dreadful.’

‘I’d feel better if you could find a cigarette for me—they’ve taken all mine away, the mean things!’

Jandy patted her mother’s hand, feeling relief that her mother hadn’t lost her spark or that mischievous sense of humour.

‘You know there’s no chance of that, Mum.’ She smiled. ‘The main thing is that these wounds will heal, and you’ll be back to your beautiful self again. How did it happen?’

Leony looked woefully at her daughter. ‘Bertie and I…we were driving into the hills to have a drink at a lovely little inn up there. It was so beautiful on the way that we stopped to take a photograph of the view at a lookout point halfway up.’ She faltered, reliving the scene for a moment, then continued in a whisper, ‘Suddenly there was the most tremendous roar and before we could turn round all these rocks and mud rained down on top of us—we had no time to get out of the way. It was terrible, darling. We were pinned underneath for hours.’

Jandy shook her head in disbelief. ‘You could have been killed. Thank God you’re still with us. What about Bertie?’

‘They tell me he’s got a skull fracture—he’s been in Intensive Care.’ Leony brushed aside a tear that slid down her swollen cheek. ‘If anything happened to him, I don’t know what I’d do, Jandy…he’s been so good to me.’

‘Now, don’t get upset,’ said Jandy soothingly. ‘I’m going to speak to your consultant and find out exactly what they’re doing for you and Bertie.’ She eyed her mother’s leg. ‘You’ve obviously got a fracture—do you know where it’s broken?’

‘I think it’s two breaks,’ said her mother vaguely. ‘The doctor called it something, but it meant nothing to me—you’d know what he meant, I’m sure.’ She smiled weakly through stiff, painful lips. ‘Oh, I can’t tell you how glad I am you’re here. I feel better already! But who’s looking after little Abigail?’

‘Oh. she’s fine—Pippa’s looking after her for as long as need be.’

‘And what about your work? It must have been so difficult having to arrange everything, and get yourself to the airport.’

Jandy smiled. ‘It wasn’t as difficult as all that, Mum. I’m off for a few days anyway, and er…a colleague did all the organisation of getting the tickets, coming over with me and driving me to the hospital.’

‘How very kind—and how nice that you aren’t alone…You must stay at the house, of course. There are clean sheets and towels in the cupboard, but it’s a bit small for two of you. Pity there’s only one usable room upstairs—you can use the sofa bed in the sitting room as the spare.’

‘Don’t worry, Mum, we’ll manage!’ Jandy’s heart flipped slightly. She’d forgotten about the sleeping arrangements in the house. Just what would Patrick be expecting?

‘And where is your colleague now?’

‘Just getting some shopping,’ said Jandy briefly. She wasn’t quite ready to spring on her mother that her colleague was male and drop-dead gorgeous!

‘Ah!’ said a brisk voice from the door. ‘I believe you’re Mrs Marshall’s daughter?’

Jandy turned round to see a tall bespectacled man standing in the doorway. The man held out his hand and shook hers vigorously.

‘Yes,’ she said with a smile. ‘I’m Jandy Marshall.’

He nodded. ‘You’re very like your mother, I have to say. My name’s Mr Landers and my team and I have been looking after Mrs Marshall since she was brought in.’ He motioned to a chair by the bed. ‘Please sit down and I’ll explain the nature of your mother’s injuries. You are a nurse, I believe? Then you’ll understand when I explain that your mother has a Pott’s fracture of her leg. Not very nice.’