family by now. Do you know I’m the only person in my bridge club who doesn’t have any grandchildren?’
‘You have mentioned it once or twice.’
‘Some of them have ten!’
‘I’m working on it, Mum.’
‘I’m seventy, Hugo. And last time I checked I wasn’t getting any younger.’
The reference to a biological clock struck a disturbing note that distracted Hugo momentarily. Where had he heard something like that recently? ‘You don’t look anything like seventy,’ he said. Maybe some flattery would help him change the subject. ‘Are you keeping up with your yoga classes?’
‘Of course. Don’t try and change the subject, Hugo.’
‘As if I would.’ Could, Hugo amended silently with a wry grin.
‘How long is it that you and that girl have been seeing each other? You know who I mean. Jenny. No, Jane.’
‘Joan,’ Hugo supplied. He took a long swallow of his wine. That was it. It had been Joan’s biological clock he’d heard ticking today. ‘And we’ve been friends for about a year now.’
‘Are you going to marry her?’
‘Marriage isn’t something to rush into, Mum.’
‘I rushed into it with your father. We had sixteen very happy years together. Your dad had two beautiful children by the time he was your age.’
The short silence was weighted by the memory of his father’s premature death when Hugo had been only fourteen. At least Gary Patterson hadn’t had to live through the tragic loss of his teenage daughter. A daughter who would probably have obliged by producing at least a few grandchildren by now.
‘I’ll see what I can do,’ Hugo said placatingly.
‘You would have married her by now if she was the right woman,’ Gwen suggested brightly. ‘Maybe you should keep looking for a bit.’
‘I don’t have time to go out hunting for women.’ Hugo was annoyed by his mother’s inadvertently perceptive observation. Striking up a friendship with Joan had been almost inevitable due to her availability as a nurse in his hospital. The relationship had become a reasonably comfortable habit until very recently. Possibly today, in fact. Joan’s comment about her age and babies had probably made him uneasy because it reminded him of his mother. And now his mother was making him uneasy by sowing a seed of doubt about the liaison that suddenly seemed familiar enough to have been around, unrecognised, for some time.
‘I don’t think Maggie’s married.’
Hugo’s huff of laughter was incredulous. ‘Mum! Maggie’s a—’ He stopped short. OK, he hadn’t seen Maggie for more than ten years and she hadn’t really stepped out of ‘kid’ category then, but she was a grown woman now. He’d said as much himself and far too assertively to go back on. And he didn’t want to go back on that statement. Kids needed looking after. They needed a place to stay. ‘Maggie’s family,’ he amended hurriedly. ‘Or close enough, anyway. Like you said yourself.’
‘Exactly!’ Gwen sounded triumphant. ‘That’s why I knew you wouldn’t object when I told Nelly Maggie could stay with you.’
Hugo’s groan was silent. If he changed his tune and objected that Maggie wasn’t really in their extended family, his mother would have her pegged as a potential mother for her grandchildren. Either way, he was in for some feminine emotional blackmail that he really didn’t have the energy to contend with. He drained his glass of wine.
‘Fine,’ he growled reluctantly. ‘She can stay.’
‘For as long as she likes,’ his mother finished helpfully.
‘For as long as it takes her to find a suitable permanent arrangement,’ Hugo corrected firmly.
‘I knew you’d be happy about it.’
‘I didn’t say I was happy.’
‘Nelly will be so pleased.’ Gwen appeared to be ignoring his comments. ‘I think she worries about Maggie more than she lets on.’
‘Somehow—’ Hugo was unaware of the wry expression on his features ‘—that really doesn’t surprise me.’
BLACK ice.
The small car lost traction and went into a skid, turning a full three hundred and sixty degrees before careening sideways into the solid rock wall of the gorge. Maggie Johnston braked her own vehicle gently, negotiating the curve around the crashed car until she had gone far enough to be easily seen by oncoming traffic. She hit the hazard light button on her dashboard and then pulled the release catch for the hatch at the back of her car. Thank goodness she had unearthed her first-aid kit before stuffing in any more of her worldly possessions now filling all the available space.
And thank goodness the car had skidded towards the solid side of this tortuous road. Had it gone the other way it would have tumbled about fifty metres into the impressive flow of the Cromwell River that sliced through the base of this picturesque gorge. Maggie wasn’t thinking about the setting’s scenic qualities right now, however. Having alerted the emergency services of the incident, she was now assessing the hazards the scene presented. Her own car would warn traffic of the obstruction on that side of the road around the bend. The narrow section in the direction she was now walking was relatively straight and…yes, there was another vehicle approaching with due caution. Maggie waved her arms and the driver stopped and rolled down his window.
‘Is anybody hurt?’
‘I’m about to find out.’ Maggie’s air of control was unconscious. ‘Could you park your car back at the next bend and put your hazard lights on? Wave down any approaching traffic and warn them to stop.’
‘Have you called an ambulance?’
‘It’s on its way. I just need to find out exactly what we’re dealing with.’ Maggie was already moving away swiftly. ‘Don’t worry, I do know what I’m doing. I’m a paramedic.’
It was only a minute or so after the accident that Maggie reached the passenger’s door of the crashed car, which was accessible. The occupant on that side was sitting there, clearly stunned by what had happened. Maggie tried the doorhandle but the front of the car was crumpled enough for it to have jammed. She noted that no airbags had been deployed as she tapped on the window.
‘Hello, can you hear me?’
The woman’s head turned and she blinked at Maggie in bewilderment.
‘Can you roll your window down?’ Maggie called. ‘I can’t open the door.’
The woman moved quickly now and the window lowered. Maggie leaned in so that she could see the driver as well.
‘Hello, there. Are either of you injured?’
‘I…I’m
