THINK WE’RE LOST.’
Kate Saunders slowed the SUV she was driving to take another hairpin bend on this alpine road that seemed to be going on for ever and getting narrower as the tall forest pressed in on both sides. She glanced sideways at her companion—her best friend and flatmate, Georgia.
‘Whose bright idea was it to enter this international medical rescue competition? Oh, yeah...yours...’
‘It’s an adventure.’ Georgia was grinning. ‘Admit it—you’re loving it already.’
Kate snorted, tipping her head a little to ease the crick in her neck. ‘Road trips always sound more fun than they actually are. It’s a hell of a long way from Scotland to the back of beyond in the Czech Republic. I’ve never even heard of the town we’re trying to find.’
‘Rakovi. It’s a ski resort. And this is the biggest competition of its kind in the world. I’ve been hearing about it for years—ever since I became a paramedic.’
‘Well, I’ve never heard of it.’
‘That’s because you’re a doctor and your lot aren’t as adventurous.’
‘Hmm...’ There was some truth in that. Kate had been focused on her career from the moment she’d been accepted for medical school at the age of twenty two. Georgia had helped her celebrate her thirty-fifth birthday a few months ago and her idea of a gift had been to enter her in this competition as a doctor/paramedic team. She had already booked accommodation in London and Germany to break up the travel and, probably thanks to the bottle of excellent champagne they were sharing, it had seemed like a brilliant idea at the time.
Now she wasn’t so sure.
‘Have we even got out of Poland yet?’
‘Ages ago. It’s not far now.’
‘We don’t want to be late for registration.’
‘Don’t stress. They’ve got a couple of hundred teams from about twenty different countries to process. If we’re a bit late it’ll just mean we don’t have to queue for so long.’
Kate slowed again to cross a narrow bridge over a tumbling mountain stream. ‘I can’t believe we’re competing in such a huge field.’
‘It’s broken up into categories, remember. There’ll be paramedic teams with their ambulances from all over Europe. I can’t wait till the end where everybody drives in convoy around all the local villages with their lights and sirens on. I’ve heard it’s a memorable experience. Then there are the doctors and medical student teams and other combinations. I just hope there’s enough like us to give us our own category, otherwise we’ll be competing against teams that have up to four members.’
‘I just hope I don’t make an idiot of myself. I’m a paediatrician, Georgie. I work in a nice, safe hospital with any amount of resources and backup. You would have been better to pick an emergency specialist.’
‘You do plenty of emergency work. And you’ve lived with me long enough to qualify as an honorary paramedic. You’ve even been out on the road with me a few times. You’ll be brilliant and who cares if we don’t win? We’re here to have fun, remember? To have an adventure and meet lots of new people and...’ Georgia’s grin was decidedly mischievous now. ‘We’re both single and gorgeous. Have you thought about how many men there are going to be at this thing?’
‘Georgie...’ Kate shook her head. ‘You never give up, do you? You’ve only just got over the last disaster and you’re ready to do it again?’
‘Oh, I have no intention of falling for someone. What’s that saying? The best way to get over a man is to get under another one?’
Kate had to laugh. And she had to admire Georgia’s resilience. At least she kept trying and Kate hadn’t even done that for quite some time. It was so disheartening when a relationship failed to live up to expectations and the goalposts of true love and that dream family and children of her own got shifted a little further away yet again.
‘Casual sex has never appealed to me.’
‘Yeah...you’re so old school, Kate. An ultimate romantic. You really believe that you’re going to see ‘the one’ across a crowded room and it’ll be love at first sight and a happy-ever-after with a few bluebirds fluttering over the carpet of rose petals and...’
‘Oh, stop it,’ Kate growled. Her friend’s tone was teasing but, disturbingly, there was an element of truth in the scene. Not the bluebirds, of course. Or the rose petals.
But, yeah...she did believe that ‘the one’ was out there somewhere and that happy-ever-afters were quite possible for the lucky few. And who knew? It wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility that he might be amongst this huge, random gathering of people with a common interest.
A flicker of excitement that had nothing to do with the adventure of competing lifted her spirits noticeably. And with that flicker came a rush of affection for her friend. Poor Georgia had been through the mill when it came to men so it was no wonder she was a little on the bitter side at the moment.
‘Just be careful, hon. Okay?’
‘Of course.’
Kate had seen that innocent look before. It meant that she was hiding something.
‘You have given up on that hare-brained scheme you came up with after that bastard, Rick, walked out, haven’t you?’
‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’
‘Oh, yes, you do. The one where you gave up on men completely and were going to have a baby all by yourself?’ As much as Kate adored children, she couldn’t imagine choosing to have a family on her own. The whole package was the goal and there was a proper order to do it in. You fell in love, got married and then had a baby. Georgia was only a year older than she was. They still had time...didn’t they?
‘Well, obviously I haven’t given up on men completely. And I’m over Rick. He’s ancient history—like all the others. Ooh, look...a signpost. We’re only fifteen kilometres away.’
That flicker of excitement ignited into a small but steady flame. Kate hadn’t given up on men completely either and maybe fate, in the form of Georgia’s determination, had pushed her in the direction of this competition for a reason.
‘Halleluiah.’ Kate grinned at her friend. ‘The end is in sight.’
‘Nah...the beginning is in sight.’ Georgia stretched her arms above her head and gave a whoop. ‘Bring it on.’
NO WAY...
It couldn’t be...
‘Come on, Kate. You can get your T-shirt later. We need to register and then find our room.’
A firm nudge made Kate turn her head and start moving again. ‘Sorry... I thought I saw someone I knew.’
‘Who?’
