‘That’s great! You don’t often get that kind of enlightened thinking, even today. Far too often schools focus on the problems of teaching a handicapped child alongside his peers.’ Mark reached over and squeezed her hand, his delight obvious in the warm smile he gave her.
‘With this kind of support, Robbie is going to have the best start possible in life, isn’t he, Laura?’
‘Except that he no longer has a father.’ The words came out before she could stop them and she saw Mark’s eyes darken with pain.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said contritely. ‘That was incredibly crass of me. I didn’t mean to hurt you, Laura.’
His hand briefly tightened around hers before he abruptly stood up. Walking to the window, he pushed back the velvet curtains and stared out into the night. It was obvious from the slump of his shoulders that he was berating himself for the remark, and Laura knew that she had to say something.
‘I know you didn’t, Mark. Please, don’t go blaming yourself when there’s no need,’ she said quietly.
He turned to look at her. ‘Are you sure about that?’ He shrugged when he saw her puzzlement. ‘It’s obvious that you aren’t over your husband’s death yet.’
It was said very flatly and without inflection, yet she felt there was more to the statement than first appeared. However, before she could decide if it was wise to question him further the phone rang.
Mark grimaced as he strode towards the hall. ‘I hope that isn’t what I think it is!’
He came back a few minutes later, shrugging on his coat. ‘It was the hospital. There’s been an accident on the outskirts of town. A minibus ferrying a dozen kids home from a trip to the theatre has skidded and overturned.’
‘How dreadful! Are any of them badly hurt?’ she asked in concern, immediately getting up.
‘Nobody seems to know for sure as the ambulances haven’t got to the scene yet.’ Mark’s tone was grim. ‘God knows what they’re going to find in conditions like these.’
Laura shivered. ‘It’s such a dreadful night. I take it you’re needed?’
‘Yes.’ Mark grimaced. ‘Second night on the run, too. I got dragged out of bed in the early hours of this morning as well. With Simon being away, we’re a bit pushed at present. Still, I managed to snatch an hour’s sleep in the doctors’ lounge, before going out for a run to get rid of the cobwebs, so I can’t complain.’
An hour’s sleep didn’t seem very much, bearing in mind that he’d been on the go all day long as well, Laura thought. She followed him out to the hall, waiting while he collected his keys and mobile phone from the table. He paused before opening the door, his grey eyes concerned all of a sudden.
‘You will be all right here by yourself? I hate to leave you like this in a strange place.…’
‘But you don’t have any choice.’ She smiled, appreciating his consideration when he must have more pressing things on his mind than her and Robbie. ‘We’ll be fine, Mark. Why shouldn’t we be? We have everything we need after all.’
‘Have you?’ There was a strange note in his voice all of a sudden, an intensity to the look he gave her which made a tremor run down her spine. Laura stared back at him, her greeny-blue eyes the colour of a stormy sea.
He gave her a gentle smile before he suddenly bent and brushed her cheek with a kiss. ‘Don’t wait up,’ he said softly, and then he was gone.
‘Take care…’ The words floated after him but she wasn’t sure if he’d heard them as he disappeared at a run down the stairs. Laura closed the door then made her way to the sitting-room window in time to watch him driving away. The snow was still falling, a thick curtain of white that veiled the countryside and made it look strangely unfamiliar. Maybe that was why she felt disorientated all of a sudden, as though she’d stepped out her own safe little world into another.
She let the curtain fall into place, shivering as she went back to the fire. The flames were blazing up the chimney and sending out a comforting heat, but she couldn’t seem to get warm. She didn’t want her world to change in any way! She had Robbie and her memories and now a job that she knew she was going to love. She should be content…No, she was content!
Laura turned away from the fire in sudden impatience and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror over the mantelpiece. For a moment she didn’t recognise herself. Was that wild-eyed stranger really her?
She closed her eyes then immediately knew that had been a mistake as an image began to form in her mind’s eye. Giving a murmur of dismay, she struggled to erase it, but it refused to go. Suddenly, she could see in perfect detail the expression on Mark’s face as he’d bent to kiss her just now.…
She opened her eyes abruptly, refusing to let her mind go any further. Switching off the lights, she made her way to the bedroom. Robbie was fast asleep, his small form no more than a bump in the huge bed. Laura stared down at him, letting all the love she felt for this very special child fill each and every corner of her heart. So long as she had that to fill the emptiness then she had more than enough. Mark had been wrong. There was nothing she needed—or wanted—to make her life complete!
THE sound of the phone ringing woke Laura the next morning. She glanced at her watch as she scrambled out of bed and was surprised to discover that it had gone seven. She hadn’t expected to sleep so well in a strange bed but she’d dropped off the moment her head had touched the pillow.
She hurried into the hall, shivering as she picked up the receiver. Although the central heating was switched on, there was a chilly draft flowing around her bare legs.
‘Hello?’ she answered, tugging the hem of the T-shirt down as far as it would go. She’d had no choice but to help herself to one of Mark’s T-shirts to sleep in, and hoped he wouldn’t mind. She made a note to take it home with her to wash before it hit her that she might not be going home that day if her house was in such a bad state. The thought of what she and Robbie would do if it turned out to be uninhabitable filled her with panic. Accepting Mark’s hospitality for one night, that was all well and good, but she really couldn’t put upon him for any longer!
‘Laura, it’s me. Are you all right?’ Mark’s voice brought her back to the present with a rush and she took a steadying breath. Once she had time to think things through she would come up with a solution, she told herself firmly.
‘Fine, thanks. How are things at the hospital?’
‘Pretty grim. It’s been a rough night, as you can imagine. We’ve got three of the children in Intensive Care and four others on the ward. The rest were able to be taken home by their parents.’
‘But no fatalities?’ she queried hopefully.
‘The teacher who was driving the minibus, I’m afraid. She didn’t make it.’ Mark’s tone was filled with regret. ‘It was Rachel Hart’s sister, too.’
‘No! Oh, poor Rachel. How awful for her. Is she there at the hospital?’ Laura exclaimed in dismay.
‘We finally persuaded her to go home about an hour ago. Tom Hartley, the surgical reg, took her.’ Mark sighed heavily. ‘Her niece, Bethany, is one of the injured children. She’s had the lower part of her right leg amputated.’
‘I don’t know what to say.’ Laura felt her eyes fill with tears at the thought of what her colleague must be going through. It put her own problems very much into perspective. ‘Poor