Cassie had eventually dropped a very emotionally overwrought Lynn off at home and was just pulling up to the cottage when the headlights highlighted the outline of a shadowy figure, near to her front door. Her heart thumped in her chest as she pulled up, instinctively flicking the interior locks closed on her car. It can’t be Darcy, he doesn’t know where I live. He’s never been here. The thought of Darcy was in fact preferable to who else might be there, lurking. Through her job, she often encountered some disgruntled husbands who didn’t take kindly to paying their ex-wives what they deserved, or to having their own fancy legal teams defeated by a young single woman. Things were out there on the net; people had a way of tracking people down. Would Darcy have the balls to come here? She revved the engine once, as a warning. Come close, shadow in the darkness, and I shall run you over with my car.
A figure shifted in the night, coming out from behind the large bush in the garden. Cassie reached into the side-door pocket for her car tool, an all-in-one thing she had bought once after reading about being trapped underwater in a car. She pulled it out and grasped it in her hand, feeling for the weight of it. It had a metal spike at the end, a small, stubby one, meant to smash a window, but she felt sure it could do some damage if she needed it to. She killed the engine, leaving the lights on, and drew a shaky breath.
TAP TAP TAP.
‘Arrghhh!’ she screamed as she saw a figure outside her car window. She grabbed the door handle and shoved the door open with all her might. ‘You’re not taking me down! Arggghh!’
She dived out from the car, grabbing her keys and bag and running for the front door, jumping over the writhing lump she had laid out with her door.
She had almost got to the door, keys shaking in her hands, when she heard a muffled voice from behind her.
‘Cassie, it’s me, Tucker.’ He sounded winded, far away. She dumped her bag near the front door and turned.
‘Tucker?’ He stood up from the grass, looking like he was struggling to remain upright.
‘Yep… it’s me. Obviously that was my fault for surprising you. Lesson learned. We had a date, and when you didn’t show at the restaurant… I guess I thought something might be wrong. Are you okay?’
She ran over to him, helping him to the front door.
‘I’m so sorry, I totally forgot about our date. I thought you were some kind of crazy stalker. What were you doing in the bushes?’
‘I wasn’t in the bushes, I was standing near them. It’s bladdy cold out here. I feel stupid now, obviously.’
She let him in and ran back to sort her car out and grab her things. Luckily, she had a good bit of peace and quiet here, so there weren’t any concerned neighbours ringing the police or twitching the curtains. When she went back into the cottage, she looked at Tucker, who was slumped on one of her sofas, and gasped. His T-shirt was torn, and he had a deep cut on his forehead that was dripping blood onto his shirt and smart trousers, and her couch.
‘Jesus, Tucker, we need to get you to the hospital.’ Tucker turned to look at her, wincing at the movement.
‘Okay,’ he said, shallow breaths making his words come out short, stunted. ‘I think that would be for the best. I feel like I just wet myself.’
***
Sitting in A&E, Tucker looked white. Deathly pale, if she were to allocate a shade to it. He hadn’t said much in the car, and she had been too mortified and guilty to try to attempt conversation herself. So they had driven in silence, aside from the odd grunt of pain from him. She had wrapped some ice in a tea towel, and Tucker was now holding it to his head wound to try and stem the staunch of blood.
Cassie gave him a reassuring pat and headed to the reception desk.
‘Er, hi,’ she said through the glass to an eager-looking receptionist.
‘Hi,’ she said, smiling. She looked like Rosie O’Donnell, but on happy pills. ‘Booking someone in?’
‘Yes,’ she said, pointing to a very white-looking Tucker. ‘My er… friend… Tucker, he needs help. He has a nasty cut on his forehead, and I think he might have a cracked rib or two.’
The woman nodded, tapping away on the keyboard in front of her. ‘Okay, address? Age? Date of birth?’
‘Erm, have you not got a form we can fill in?’
The woman looked up at her. ‘First date?’
Cassie’s mouth dropped. ‘Sort of. I actually stood him up.’
The receptionist looked over Cassie’s shoulder. ‘Point him out to me again?’
Cassie pointed at Tucker, who raised his hand weakly and gave them both a little finger wave.
‘And what happened?’ she asked. Cassie looked at a small fingermark on the glass screen in front of her.
‘He got hit with a car door.’
‘A car door?’ Another tapping of the keys. ‘Did he get run over?’
‘No, the car was stationary at the time.’
‘Did you notify the police?’ Tapping.
‘Er, no, not yet. We’ll see how the night goes first. Listen, he might have internal bleeding, so if we can hurry this along…’
‘No problem, you can give his details once you get seen. It shan’t be long now. Are you staying with him, to take him home, or do we need to call someone?’
Cassie shook her head. ‘No, I’ll stay.’
The receptionist nodded. ‘No problem.’
Cassie started to walk back to Tucker.
‘For the record, next time a man like that wants to take you out on a date, it’s probably better just to show up, not hit him with an automobile, you get me?’
Cassie turned to look at her and the receptionist winked. ‘We see all sorts here, my dear. Let’s hope it’s something funny to tell the grandkids, not a parole officer.’
Cassie could hear her chuckling as she walked back to Tucker.
He still looked pale, green even, but he flashed her a gorgeous smile as he gingerly turned his bottom towards her on the seat. He moved one of his hands away from holding his torso to wrap his fingers around hers as they rested on her lap. She flinched but didn’t move her hand.
‘I am so sorry, I really didn’t mean to.’
‘It’s fine,’ he said, or rather whispered through gritted teeth due to the pain. ‘I was just worried about you. Is someone after you? Are you in trouble?’
Cassie shook her head. ‘No, sorry to have worried you. First of all I thought you were Maria’s ex.’
‘The lowlife jilter?’ he checked. She nodded, loving him for not only remembering but taking her friend’s side.
‘Yep, and then I thought you might be a client’s ex.’
His eyes widened slightly. ‘I’m a divorce solicitor,’ she explained. ‘Some men are not happy with what I get for their ex-wives.’
Tucker was rubbing her hand supportively, and she had never felt so awkward. What were they doing here, like this? Were they a couple? A drunken fumble and a couple of dates didn’t amount to much, but he seemed so relaxed in her company.
‘So, did you mean to stand me up then? Should I take a hint?’ He tried to laugh, but abruptly stopped and winced at the obvious pain he was in.
‘Oh God, I’ll go and chase them up.’ She dashed off to reception, but the receptionist looked at her apologetically as she spoke on the phone. She opened up a low partition in the screen and passed out a clipboard with a form on it, and a pen. Reluctantly, Cassie took it and returned to her seat.
Tucker was sitting back in his chair, watching her walk over to him. Even with a tea towel wrapped around his head, he was pretty hot.
‘Mr Tucker?’ a nurse called from down the corridor.
‘We’re on,’ he said and went to stand – went to, but didn’t succeed. What he did instead was groan and moan in pain. And squat, halfway between standing and sitting. He looked sheepishly at Cassie.
‘I might need a little help, then you can go if you like.’
Cassie looked at the doors to A&E, where her car sat waiting in the car park. If she left now, after seeing him in of course, that would be that. He probably wouldn’t press charges against her for the whole car episode, and he certainly wouldn’t bother her again. She looked at him, and then at the doors once more, before deciding. She strode straight past him, into the foyer. Right to the main doors, where a line of wheelchairs she remembered seeing were stationed. Grabbing one, she headed back into reception, where Tucker was trying to commando roll his way out of the chair, and the nurse was still shouting his name.
‘Here, we’re coming!’ she shouted across to her, and stopping the chair in front of Tucker, she helped him into it. He looked surprised to see her but said nothing. She put her hand on his shoulder before wheeling him across the room, and he kissed it between his.
‘I’ll stay,’ she said softly.
‘Ya will?’ he said, smiling through a split lip.
‘You’re peeing blood. It’s the least I can do.’
He chuckled all the way down the corridor, wincing every time.
Maria woke up to the sound of humming. It sounded like a low hum, deep and full of bass. Can’t be Lynn, she thought, in her half-asleep state. Darcy?
She opened her eyes and was relieved to see James. He was reading a book, some political thriller she had seen advertised, and humming away to himself.
‘How did you get in here?’ she croaked, making him jump. He closed the book and leaned closer.
‘Sorry, do you want me to go? I just wanted to check on you.’
‘No,’ she croaked again, her mouth dry. She looked at her watch. 7.30 a.m. ‘How come security let you in?’
He stood up and filled a beaker with water from a jug on the bedside table. She pulled a straw out of a small box nearby (Lynn thought of everything) and put it to her lips. She drank greedily and nodded when she had had enough. She was slumped on her side and tried to sit up.
‘Oh, hey, hey, hey, let me help.’ He put the cup down quickly on the overbed table and went to her side. She caught a whiff of his aftershave as he leaned in close, putting his strong arm under her and helping her to sit up.
‘Better?’ he asked, plumping up her pillows.
‘Yes, much,’ she nodded, suddenly feeling both grateful he was there and mortified that she was feeling a bit crusty, lying in bed with a nightie Lynn had brought in (frilly), scratchy big pants (think M&S kidney warmers) and a hairdo that looked a lot like something could nest in it quite happily.
‘I’m a mess,’ she said, trying to brush some stray tendrils back. They were starting to feel like dreadlocks.
‘You look lovely,’ he said, brushing her off. ‘Do you want me to go?’
‘No,’ she said a little too quickly. ‘I’m glad you’re here.’
‘Security have been told by the nurses to let me in; they apparently think I’m your new partner.’
Maria sank down into the pillows. ‘Oh God, so not only did I pass out and have to be taken to hospital in front of the cameras, but now I’m apparently a slut as well.’
James shook his head, a deep frown furrowing his brow. ‘No one thinks that, and if they said anything remotely like that, they would answer to me.’ His jaw clenched. ‘They know that Darcy bloke is your ex. Cassie filled them in and told them in no uncertain terms to keep him away, unless they wanted a lawsuit that would make their grandchildren’s eyes water.’
Maria took his hand in hers, trying not to cry. Damn hormones. ‘Thanks so much, James, for helping me.’
He opened his mouth to speak and was staring deep into her eyes when a nurse breezed in, holding a bedpan.
‘Aw, you two are so cute together. You feeling better, honey?’
The pair looked sheepishly at each other, but then James winked, making Maria laugh.
‘I’m much better, thanks.’
‘Good,’ she said, coming to the bed and thrusting the disposable bedpan at her.
‘Sorry, love, but we need a urine sample. Check you and the baby are tip-top before we discharge you, okay? Does Daddy want to wait outside?’
Maria saw James’s face change from happy-go-lucky to absolute shock in about two and a half seconds. She wanted to open her mouth, to explain, to the nurse, to him, but she was in shock herself. What could she say? Actually, this isn’t the father, and the man stalking the wards isn’t either? She was still digesting it when she felt James’s lips on her cheek.
‘I’ll wait outside, darling. Just give me a shout when you’re done.’ She went to look at him, to suss out what he was thinking, but he was already out the door. The nurse continued with her business, pulling the covers back and making Maria feel even more undignified as she flashed her big pants during the walk to the toilet. She put the cardboard bedpan into the toilet seat and sat down to fill it.
At this point, another form of slight humiliation was just par for the course. She wondered when it was that her life had turned into a soap opera. When did life in the village get so complicated? Most of all, she wondered whether or not she should actually call the real father, or just raise the baby to think he/she had been magically conceived, by angel dust, or even sperm to your door. They did that now. That was modern life for you. If you had the money, you could order the sperm to be delivered to your door, to make the baby yourself. Like pizza delivery, but you didn’t get it free if the sperm courier didn’t deliver in thirty minutes or less. Or maybe you did, since temperature was as important to sperm as it was to pizza.
As she walked out of the toilet, bedpan of pee in hand, she wondered when her life had become so messed up. The nurse smiled and took it.
‘I’ll let you get back to your man now,’ she beamed. ‘Leave him out on that corridor for too long and you might just lose him to one of the staff.’
Maria laughed along with her. Little do you know, she thought to herself. When you get out onto that corridor, you’ll see the scorch marks where yet another man ran for his life to avoid me. And I’m not even with him!
The nurse covered the pan with a disposable towel and walked out. Maria was just settling into her bed when she felt a presence behind her.
‘Are you okay?’ James asked, watching her cautiously. She looked at him, startled. ‘Sorry, do you want me to go? You look tired?’
Maria shook her head. ‘Er, no, no, I’m fine. They said I should be able to go home later. They said they need the bed, but I think they just want shot of my visitors.’ She laughed at her own attempt at a joke.
James nodded slowly, wringing his hands together.
‘Sit down, James, it’s fine.’ She pointed to the chair next to her bed and he sat down in it.
‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ he asked again, leaning in.
‘I’m fine, I’m sorry she thought…’
‘Oh, it’s fine.’ James waved her concerns away. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t tell them any different. It gets me in here. I’m just sorry the dickhead is still harassing you. I can’t believe you’re going through all this on your own. I want to hurt him.’
How much does he know?
‘I’m sorry, I’m not one for gossip, but after the journalists and everything, I Googled you in the waiting room.’
Just what every girl wanted to hear. Sexy, eh? More modern life for you. A bit like Cluedo. Death by Google, with the smartphone in the hospital. She shuddered to think what would come up now by typing her name into the search engine. Before the failed wedding attempt, it was all about the shop, the happy clients, the love stories she had helped turn into that special day. Now, the best she could hope for was an alleged affair with Colonel Mustard.
James took her introverted, stunned silence as embarrassment.
‘Hey, you have nothing to be ashamed about, it’s all him. I get it now, why you were so upset. I’ve been talking to my sister and—’
‘Your sister?’ Maria blanched. ‘Why?’ Did the world need another person knowing her business? ‘The baby?’
James clamped his hand onto hers. ‘No, no, I didn’t say anything about any of this. I would never do that. No, the thing is she’s getting married, and they had a bit of a false start, a wobble, and they broke up, so they cancelled all their wedding plans. They want to start afresh, and I recommended you for the job.’
Maria’s eyes filled with tears. ‘Really?’
James grinned. ‘Yeah, of course! I saw your photo album in the shop. You’ve done so many amazing weddings, I thought you would be great. You’ll really like my sister too. She’s brilliant.’
Maria’s face fell. ‘Yeah, but once she sees the press…’
‘She already has.’ James stroked the back of her hand between his two meaty ones, soothing her. She was going to object, say she wasn’t a child, that she didn’t need to be mollycoddled, but actually, it was quite nice. Plus, she felt like she could burst into tears and fill the room with enough salty water to drown herself in, and the comfort kept them at bay. Closed the dam. Which was good, because she felt sure that if she started crying, she would never stop. Cassie would be here soon too, to pick her up, and she had already threatened to tit punch her if she saw any weeping or other sign of emotion. She was in full-on client PR mode, and she didn’t want to give the ‘blasted local paps any more fodder for the Burgess empire to twist around to their own twisted crapola version of the story’. She had a point, and her boobs were so swollen and tender that the thought of having a tit punch was less than pleasant.
James stopped his stroking and looked at her, puzzled.
‘Where do you go when you do that?’ he asked, and she rolled her eyes at being spaced out again.
‘Sorry, I do that a lot, especially lately. My mother used to call them my dream talks.’
‘When did she pass?’ he asked gently. Maria felt the pang she always got when someone asked that question, and she was catapulted back to that bedside, but she pushed it away.
‘A few years ago now. I still really miss her.’
James nodded. ‘Our dad passed last year. Heart attack, mowing the front lawn. We’re still all getting used to it I think.’
Maria turned her hand over and squeezed his. ‘I’m sorry. It does get easier, with time. Less painful. Or less sharp, anyway. You feel able to look back more, once that eases. Remember the good times.’
‘There were plenty of them.’ He nodded, smiling. ‘I’m giving my sister away, and I want her to have a really special day. Mum really needs it too. It might be the only wedding she has.’
Maria opened her mouth to ask why not him, but she closed it again. It wasn’t her business. Time was, she would think anyone who didn’t want to get married was crazy; that they just needed to find ‘the one’ to change their minds and get them high kicking up that church aisle, or on that plane to Vegas. But now it all seemed so futile. Someone once said life was what happened when you were busy making plans. No shit. Well, it seemed she needed this as much as James and his family did. She needed the money too.
‘I’ll do it,’ she said. ‘If your sister really doesn’t mind me doing it, let’s arrange something when I’m feeling better.’
James beamed, pulling out his phone and sending a text.
‘There, I’ve let her know. No backing out now.’
The door opened then, and they both flinched. Cassie, looking pale, wrinkled and slightly shocked, popped her head around the door.
‘Hey. Sorry, can I come in?’ She looked from James to Maria, and they both nodded. Maria discreetly pulled her hand away, feeling a bit like a scarlet woman.
Cassie came in and gave her a hug, patting James on the shoulder as she passed.
‘Hey, James. Maria, how are you feeling?’
‘I’m fine. I think I can go home soon, but I haven’t been discharged yet. More to the point, what are you doing here this early? It’s not visiting hours. Did you flatter your way in, like James?’
‘Nope,’ she said, wincing. ‘I brought Tucker in last night and they kept him in.’
‘Oh no! Did something happen? Oh Cass, your date was last night. I’m sorry.’
Cassie huffed and flicked her hand backwards. ‘No, it’s fine. I forgot about our date, and I ended up smashing my car door into him.’
James stood up. ‘Did he attack you? Where is he?’
Cassie gave him a gentle shove in his chest, pushing him back into his seat.
‘At ease, Macho Man. No, he was coming to check on me, and he surprised me. A little too much, and I overreacted ever so slightly.’
Maria giggled. ‘Oh God, I’m sorry. Is he okay?’
Cassie looked suitably ashamed. ‘He has four broken ribs, a nasty cut on his forehead, a split lip, three broken toes and a broken left arm.’
‘Toes?’ Maria asked, confused.
‘I may have stamped on his foot as I got out of the car too.’
‘Jesus, how hard did you hit him?’ James said, holding his fingers up to her in the shape of a cross. ‘Remind me to never annoy you!’
‘I know. Listen, he lives on his own really – his flatmate works away a lot – and he’s pretty beat up, so the nurses won’t release him till he has a carer. The man can’t tie his own shoes at the moment, so I kinda said he could stay with us. That okay? I feel so bad. He’s a chef at that fancy place, On the Square? He can’t work or anything!’
Maria thought of poor Tucker, in pain and unable to look after himself.
‘No problem – it’s your house Cass. If you’re sure he’s not a serial killer, I’m fine with it.’
Cassie looked relieved. ‘Good. I’m only doing it so he doesn’t sue me, no other reason. I’ll sleep on the couch.’
‘No, you can’t do that, I’ll sleep on the couch.’
‘Er, I don’t think so. You’re not well yourself.’ She eyed James over Maria’s head, being discreet for once.
‘I agree, Maria, not in your condition.’ Maria looked at him, and James just winked. ‘You’re not going to fit on it soon, anyway.’
Cassie slapped him across the back of the head, as Maria burst out laughing.
She was suddenly very grateful her crappy old wiring had given up the ghost. Having James in her life seemed so easy, and she was glad to have his friendship.