It was a relief when the door suddenly opened and a small, familiar figure came hurtling out of the house because once again she knew who she was—Laura Grady, widow and mother!
‘Mummy! I’s had tea with Ben.’
‘Have you? Why, you lucky little boy!’
Laura swept her son up into her arms and hugged him. He planted a kiss on her cheek then promptly turned his attention to the stranger.
‘Who’s you?’ he demanded.
‘My name is Mark, Robbie. I’m a friend of your mummy’s.’
It was all the cue the child needed. Reaching over, he grabbed hold of the man’s neck and transferred his affections to his new friend.
Mark laughed as the little boy kissed him soundly on the cheek. He swung him up into the air, grinning at Laura as Robbie squealed his delight. ‘A real little heartbreaker indeed.’
Laura nodded, not sure how to handle the way things were moving so fast. It was a relief when Claire suddenly appeared and started chivvying them indoors. ‘Come in before you freeze to death, you idiots!’
Laura stepped inside, realising belatedly that she should explain Mark’s presence. ‘Mark…Dr Dawson, I mean, very kindly offered me a lift because it was snowing.’
Claire grinned wickedly as she glanced at the tall man with the child clinging around his neck. ‘Dr Dawson, is it? Making sure your new staff show you due respect, eh, Mark?’
He grinned back. ‘Something like that.’
Laura stared from one to the other, feeling a little like Alice must have felt in Wonderland. ‘You two know one another?’
‘Of course. Claire and I often ran into one another when she was in A and E. That was before she decided to do her bit for the world population, of course.’ He shot a teasing glance at the other woman’s very pregnant tummy as Claire laughed.
‘One tries one’s best! Anyway, it’s great to see you again, Mark. Sean will be sorry he missed you. He’s working late tonight,’ she explained, then turned to Laura. ‘You and Mark will have to come round one evening for a meal.’
‘Oh, well, I—’ Laura began but Mark cut her off.
‘Sounds a great idea to me. You sort it out with Laura and I’ll bring the wine. Fair enough?’ He turned to Laura, ignoring her stunned gasp. ‘Do you want to get Robbie ready to go? This snow seems to be sticking so we’d better not leave it too long otherwise Claire might end up with three unexpected guests for the night.’
‘I…I’ll get his coat.’
Laura hurried to the cupboard to fetch Robbie’s blue quilted jacket and matching bobble hat. Mark was talking to Claire and Laura heard her laugh at something he said. She closed her eyes, willing herself to act calmly and rationally, but it wasn’t easy to do that. Mark had made it sound as though they were an item, and that there could be nothing more natural than them accepting a joint dinner invitation!
A ripple of anger ran through her at his audacity and she squared her shoulders before going back to join them. She swiftly scooped Robbie out of Mark’s arms and bundled the child into his jacket. Her goodbyes to Claire were no less swift and earned her a startled look, but that couldn’t be helped. Claire, more than anyone, should have known how she would feel about going out on…on a date!
The thought was just what she needed to firm her resolve. As soon as Claire had shut the front door, she swung round. ‘Look, Mark, I don’t know what you—’
‘I’m sorry. I sort of got carried away just now, didn’t I?’ He shrugged but there was no doubting that his apology was sincere. ‘I should never have accepted that invitation on behalf of us both. I mean, why should you want to spend an evening in my company?’
Why indeed? Apart from the fact that he was the best-looking, nicest, most fascinating man she had met since…well, since she’d met Ian!
The realisation made her mind go blank so that it was impossible to answer the question, and she saw him grimace. ‘Sorry! You don’t have to answer that. I’ve already put you on the spot once tonight and that’s one time too many.’
He swung Robbie up into his arms. ‘Right, young man, let’s get you home!’
He bent to open the car door but Laura hung back. ‘We can walk home from here. It isn’t far. It was very kind of you to drive me here but I don’t want to take up any more of your time.’
He straightened slowly and there was a wariness about him all of a sudden. ‘You aren’t, but I won’t force you to accept my offer if it isn’t what you want, Laura.’
‘I…I’m not sure if it’s a good idea,’ she admitted, then wished she hadn’t said that because it was too revealing. Surely it wasn’t wise to let Mark know how confused she felt?
‘Neither am I,’ he stated quietly, making her gasp. He suddenly grinned, making an obvious effort to lighten the mood. ‘I think that makes us even, don’t you? So, come on, let’s be brave and take a chance. I’ll drive you and Robbie home, you can thank me sweetly, then I’ll leave. Sounds safe enough to me—how about you?’
Put like that, it seemed silly to refuse, especially as the snow was falling harder than ever. Laura nodded, waiting while Mark strapped Robbie into the back of the car. He seemed to think it was a huge adventure, going in a strange car, and made excited vroom-vroom noises as Mark started the engine.
It took about fifteen minutes to reach her house, thanks to the snow, and as soon as they drew up Laura knew something was wrong. She always left a light to come on in the sitting room, but the house was in darkness when they pulled up.
‘Something’s wrong,’ she explained when Mark shot her a questioning look as she hurriedly undid her seat belt. ‘I always leave a lamp on a time switch.…’
‘Give me the keys and I’ll take a look,’ he ordered in a tone that brooked no arguments. Taking the keys from her, he opened the car door then paused. ‘You and Robbie stay here while I check things out.’
Laura shivered as a blast of icy air flowed into the car before the door was slammed shut. She watched Mark go inside the house, wondering fearfully what he would find. He reappeared a few minutes later, looking very grim.
She got out of the car and her legs felt like jelly as she went to meet him. The wind was whistling along the road, blasting icy flakes of snow into her face, and he exclaimed in concern as he turned her round so that he could shelter her from the onslaught of the storm.
‘What’s happened?’ she demanded, her stomach churning with nerves.
‘I’m afraid you’ve had a burst pipe. There’s water pouring down the stairs from the loft,’ he explained gently. He put his arms around her when she gave a small cry of dismay. ‘I hate to add to the scene of woe but obviously water has got into the wiring, which is why the lights aren’t working.’
‘How…how bad is it?’ she asked in a wobbly voice, and felt him shrug.
‘Bad enough that you won’t be able to stay there tonight. If you tell me where the stopcock is I can turn off the water, but you’re going to need a plumber and an electrician to check things out.’
‘That will cost a fortune! And then there’s all the carpets…I expect they’re ruined.’ Laura shook her head but there was no escaping the pictures that were rapidly filling it. It had been hard enough just making ends meet in the eighteen months since Ian had died, so where she would find the money for expensive repairs she had no idea.
Numbly she explained how to turn off the water then went back to the car. Obviously, there was little she could do about the house that night. Instead, she had to concentrate on finding somewhere for her and Robbie to stay. She didn’t