under control.
‘She’s pregnant.’
Irritation tugged at his mouth. ‘I know that.’
‘Well, that’s all. She’s not in labour yet, but we were going to transport her to the hospital anyway, due to the weather conditions. No complications that I know of, but best...’ She was about to say that they’d best send whatever they could to deal with any eventuality, but Rafe had already got out of the car and was walking around to the tailgate. Opening it, he selected a sturdy holdall and began to stack it with boxes.
Mimi puffed out a breath and pulled her boots back on. She had no doubt that Rafe would do the right thing, or that she would, but it seemed that they were both going to do the right thing in the most unpleasant way possible.
The storm had done its worst and seemed to be easing off a little now. They didn’t have to wait long before four figures appeared on the other side of the river, carrying what looked like climbing gear.
Her phone rang and she answered it.
‘Hi, is that Mimi?’ A woman’s voice on the other end of the line, shouting over the roar of the water. ‘I’m Cass... Fire and Rescue...’
At last, some good news. It was always good to have a firefighter around, even in the pouring rain.
‘Hi Cass, Mimi here. How’s Jack?’
‘He’s fine. We’ve taken him up to the village to dry off and we’re going to try to get a line over to you now.’
‘What’s your plan?’
‘Along the river to the east the land rises on this side. I’m thinking we may be able to throw a rope to you and winch the bag across.’
‘Right you are; we’ll meet you there. We have two bags.’
‘That’s great. Thanks.’ The line cut and Mimi shouldered one of the bags. Knowing that Rafe would follow with the other, she slid carefully down the slope at the side of the road and walked into the trees.
Under the canopy of the leaves, the ground was wet but undisturbed and the clingy mud by the side of the road less in evidence. Rafe’s long strides quickly caught up with her.
‘There’s some high ground on the other side of the river, about a quarter of a mile in this direction. They seem to think they can get a rope across.’
He nodded. Apparently he’d run out of things to say, or perhaps he’d decided that keeping the peace was the better option right now. In the silence, broken only by their footsteps and the drip of rain from the trees, Mimi resolved to do the same.
She thought she’d left this all behind. Taken charge, caught whatever life could throw at her and thrown it back. But right now she felt just as alone as she had five years ago, when Rafe had left, and still weighed down by the memories from her past.
Seventeen years old and clinging to her twin brother, Charlie, on the night they’d heard their parents had died in a car crash. Promising that they’d always be there for each other...
That promise had been kept. And, as the pain of their loss had diminished, Mimi had known that Mum and Dad would be proud of the way that she and Charlie had stuck together.
Twenty-one years old. She’d thought that she’d been in love with Graham, and then he’d slapped her down with that list. A comprehensive catalogue of Mimi’s faults and failings, which he had used to justify having slept with someone else behind her back.
She’d let him go, but somehow the list had been harder to shake. Stamped on her brain, a reminder that she was irretrievably flawed and a warning against ever trusting a man again.
But Rafe had made her believe that one last try might be possible. He had been the handsome doctor in attendance when Charlie was brought into A and E, so terribly injured, after falling from a window. It was thanks to his skill and quick action that Charlie still had some mobility left in his legs, and could pull himself up from his wheelchair and walk a few steps.
Twenty-three. When Rafe’s mother had been diagnosed with cancer she’d tried so hard to support him, the way he’d supported her and Charlie, but he’d shut her out over and over again. Every day she’d felt him slip away a little more, and when he’d finally left it had been just a confirmation of everything that the list had taught her. She just wasn’t good enough. And it hurt so much more to be not good enough for someone you really loved.
Mimi had picked up the pieces and set her goals. Helping Charlie regain his independence. Getting her paramedic qualification. Wiping Rafe out of her life, and never giving any man the chance to break her heart again. And she’d achieved them.
So how come she was wet through, trudging through a wood with Rafe? Feeling all the insecurities that she thought she’d put behind her. Wondering what he was thinking, and whether he might be comparing her with someone else and finding her lacking.
The straps of the bag were cutting into her shoulder and she shifted it a little. She would deal with it. She felt bad, but that had never stopped her before. It would pass. Rafe would be history again, very soon.
As they approached the place that Cass had indicated the canopy of trees thinned slightly, giving way to long grass, which had been flattened and muddied when the river broke its banks. On the other side she could see Cass’s party, climbing a rocky outcrop that rose twenty feet above the level of the fast-flowing water.
‘If they’re going to get a line across, this is the place to do it.’ Rafe had come to a halt, looking around.
‘Yep.’ Mimi looked up at the iron-grey sky. ‘At least it’s stopped raining.’
He nodded. Finally it seemed they’d found something that they could agree on.
Cass and the men on the other side were securing the end of a long rope around the trunk of a tree. She was as tall as the men with her, and seemed to be directing them. As she worked her hood fell back off her head, showing a shock of red hair, bright against the browns and dirty greens of the landscape.
Mimi’s phone rang.
‘We’re ready.’ Cass didn’t bother with any preliminaries. ‘I’m going to try and throw a line to you. Be ready to grab it.’
‘Okay. Standing by...’ Mimi looked up at Rafe. ‘There’s a rope coming over.’
He nodded, and Mimi saw Cass swing the rope and throw it. The coil at her feet played out, but the rope was too light to travel far and dropped into the middle of the river, immediately carried downstream by the current. The men behind her hauled it back and she tried again. It travelled further this time, dropping into the river just yards from their reach and Mimi heard Rafe puff out a breath almost at the same time as she did.
‘They need to find something heavy to weight the rope...’ His voice was loaded with frustration.
Mimi bit back the temptation to tell him that he was stating the obvious, and that it seemed that Cass was already doing something about it. She had to get a grip. Rafe was acting perfectly reasonably and she should at least try to be civil with him. But she was still reeling from the double shock of nearly losing Jack and then of seeing Rafe again.
She
