Annie Claydon – Once Upon A Christmas Night... (страница 8)

‘Since when did you need permission for that?’

‘How did you feel when your mother remarried? I mean… did you mind?’

‘Mind? Well, Ted was practically living with us anyway. And we all went to Italy and had an enormous party, and I got to stay with my aunt, while they went off on honeymoon. I kissed a girl, broke my arm coming off my cousin’s motorbike and generally had a whale of a time. My mother was horrified when she got back.’

‘I bet she was. How old did you say you were?’

‘Fifteen.’

‘Hmm. My mother married when I was twenty.’

‘And?’

‘And her husband’s a really nice man. He gives her the life she’s always deserved and she’s happy with him.’

‘That’s nice. And?’

He waited. Laid his gloved hand over hers, tucking it more firmly into the crook of his arm.

‘I don’t know if I should even say it. It sounds so stupid… ’

‘Oh, go on.’ He chuckled. ‘You can’t leave me hanging now.’

Why not? He’d done the same to her. But if Jess gave a little, maybe he would. ‘It was just a bit confusing. All my life she’d been telling me that we could manage on our own, that I didn’t need a father and she didn’t need a husband. Then all of a sudden she upped and got married.’

He chuckled. ‘Must have been love.’

‘Yeah. Suppose it must have been.’ Jess wrinkled her nose.

‘Did you look that disapproving when she broke the news?’

‘No! Of course I didn’t. I’m happy for her, of course I am. I just… When I was little I used to think that it would be me who would get a great job, find somewhere nice for us to live. That I’d be the one to make sure she was comfortable.’ Jess forced a smile. ‘I’m just being silly.’

He shrugged. ‘Sounds reasonable enough to me. You know the trouble with people—families in particular, I’ve noticed—is that you have these great plans for them, how you’re going to make everything right and so on, and then they just go out and do it all on their own. It’s frustrating.’

Jess couldn’t help laughing now. ‘Is that a touch of megalomania I hear?’

‘More than a touch, I imagine. Aren’t all kids megalomaniacs? That’s what growing up does to you, makes you realise that you can’t control the world.’

‘Oh, so you’re saying that I need to grow up, are you?’ Jess suspected that she probably did.

‘Don’t you dare. Stay as you are.’ He grinned at her and quickened his pace. ‘Only perhaps you could walk just a bit faster. We’ll be late if we don’t hurry.’

Being late didn’t seem to figure much in Rosa’s household. Dinner was cooking on the range, and Greg and Jess were both kissed and seated in the warm, bright kitchen. Ted arrived, kicking the mud from his boots at the back door, and Greg rose to meet him, their handshake giving way to a hug.

‘I hear you’re a doctor.’ He accepted a glass of wine from his wife and sat down, next to Jess.

‘Yes. I’ve been specialising in cardiology for the last year.’

Ted nodded. ‘Interesting. I expect you’re at the sharp end of things, working down in London.’

‘The department’s done some groundbreaking work in the last couple of years. I’m very junior, though.’ Jess grinned. ‘But I get to watch sometimes.’

Ted laughed. ‘Best way to learn.’

‘She’s being modest,’ Greg broke in. ‘She’s a rising star in the department.’

‘A young woman with a bright future, then.’ Ted was watching her thoughtfully and Jess felt herself flush.

The meal was served and eaten and Jess was forbidden from moving when it came to clearing the plates away. Rosa and Greg busied themselves with the washing up, leaving Jess to talk to Ted. ‘Your practice must serve quite a big area. In comparison to London.’

‘Yes. There are three of us, and we cover about sixty square miles. We keep busy.’

‘It must be demanding. Not many of you to go around.’

‘It has its moments.’ Ted reached for the pot to pour himself a second cup of coffee, and the sharp note of a phone sounded.

‘Oh!’ Rosa made a splash in the washing-up water with her hand. ‘Really?’

Ted smiled. ‘Looks like it.’ He reached for the phone.

‘What?’ Everyone but Jess seemed to know what the call was about before Ted had even answered the phone.

‘Ted’s an immediate care doctor. Means he’s on call for any emergencies where ambulance personnel need support at the scene. That’s his alert phone.’ Greg had put the dishcloth down and was waiting, watching Ted.

‘Okay. Yes, tell them I’ve accepted the call.’ Ted snapped the phone shut and looked at Greg. ‘There’s a pile-up on the motorway. Want to take a ride with me?’

Greg was already reaching for his jacket and grinned towards Jess. ‘Are you coming?’

‘If that’s all right?’ She shot a querying look at Ted.

‘I never turn down a helping hand.’ Ted turned to Rosa. ‘Sorry, darling.’

‘Go.’ Rosa was clearly used to this kind of thing. ‘Just come back again.’

Ted chuckled. If Rosa’s return smile was anything to go by, they’d worked this one out a long time ago.

It was beginning to get dark, shadows reaching across the lanes in front of them, as if to smother what was left of the day. Ted joined the motorway and hit the siren, speeding towards the site of the accident.

‘There, look.’ Greg indicated a slew of stationary headlights up ahead.

‘I see it.’ Ted guided the SUV into a space and got out. Jess could see flashing blue lights approaching from the other direction, and hoped that it was an ambulance.

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