Neve texted a short acknowledgement back to Maisie and put her phone back into her pocket. ‘Anyone walking in this weather is going to be freezing.’
Joe nodded, his brow creased. ‘Hopefully they’ve been able to find some shelter. Shame they didn’t stay with the car.’
‘I hope they find them soon.’
‘Yeah. When we get to Holcombe Crag I’ll take a look around. Might get lucky.’
He turned off and took the track that climbed towards Holcombe Crag. At the best of times it was a steep hill to climb, but now the ice and snow seemed an impossible barrier. But Joe took it calmly and steadily, confident of what the vehicle could do and not asking the impossible from it. He drew up outside the single-storey, stone-built house, which clung to the slope three-quarters of the way up the crag.
‘If I walk up to the top, I’ll get a much better view.’ He’d extracted a pair of field glasses from the boot of his car, which seemed increasingly to Neve like an Aladdin’s cave of useful items. ‘How long will you be?’
‘I think Nancy would appreciate some a little extra time.’ Neve looked at her watch. ‘Shall we meet back here in half an hour?’
He nodded, dropping his car keys into her hand. Joe always carried her bags from the car, and this sudden break with what had become a small, comfortable ritual between them unsettled her. He must be worried.
She watched as he strode away from her. Strong, steadfast. However much she tried not to depend on him, however misguided it felt to allow any man to shape her fate, he was still becoming an indispensable support to her in this hostile landscape. She dismissed the thought and turned towards the house.
When Nancy opened the door, beckoning her inside, the smell of baking bread assailed her, and Neve’s mouth began to water. ‘Thanks for coming, Doctor. I’m so sorry to bring you all this way, but I’m worried about Daniel…’
Neve laid a reassuring hand on her arm. ‘I’d rather you called if you have any concerns at all. Let’s take a look at him.’
Neve was taking her time with each patient, aware that asking someone to pop back to the surgery if things got any worse wasn’t a viable option for most people at the moment. But after a careful examination, she found baby Daniel was suffering from no more than a slight cold. Neve reassured Nancy and allowed herself to be tempted into the kitchen for fresh-baked bread and strawberry jam.
‘Will you hold him while I put the kettle on?’ Nancy smiled down at her son, and he stretched his arms up towards her face, mimicking her expression.
‘I’ll make the tea.’ The bond between them was so precious, too beautiful to break, even for a moment. Neve couldn’t help feeling a little stab of envy.
‘That’s okay.’ Daniel gurgled with joy as Nancy planted a kiss on his forehead, before delivering him into Neve’s arms. ‘See you later, my sunshine…’
Daniel’s tiny fingers curled around hers when she tickled his palm and he looked up at her solemnly. Neve no longer had to steel herself to be around babies. The pain of her own loss had slowly given way to gnawing regret for what might have been, and when she smiled at Daniel and he rewarded her with one of his own, everything was suddenly right with the world.
‘Can you see Joe?’
Nancy leaned across the sink to get a better view out of the window. ‘No. He was at the top a few minutes ago, but he must be on his way back here now.’ Nancy turned, seeming to need the reassurance of checking once again that her own child was safe. ‘I can’t stop thinking about them out there. I hope someone finds them soon.’
‘Have you heard any search helicopters?’
‘Yes, I heard one go over about half an hour before you got here. I called Daryl when I heard about it on the radio and asked him to keep his eyes open.’
Word of mouth. Passed from wife to husband, friend to friend. Everyone in the area would be on the alert. ‘They’ll find them.’
Nancy grimaced. ‘I hope so. It’s snowing again and it’ll be dark soon.’
Neve’s phone rang, and she fished it out of her pocket one handed. ‘Yes?’
‘I see them. The man’s on his feet, and walking. I’m on my way to them now.’ Joe was breathing heavily, as if he was running.
‘Where are you? I’ll come out and meet you…’
‘No… Neve, listen. I need you to stay there…’
It wasn’t a matter of what Joe needed. ‘I’m a doctor. I can help these people…’
‘Which is why you need to organise things there. You can’t get to them before I do, and our first priority is to get them into the warmth. I’ll bring them to you…’
He was right. Neve didn’t like it very much, but this wasn’t the time to be squabbling over who did what. ‘Okay. We’ll get things ready to receive them here. Call me when you reach them and let me know what condition they’re in.’
A grunt of assent came down the line and then it cut off. Joe must be putting all his energy into getting to the man and his son.
‘What can I do?’ Nancy took little Daniel from Neve’s arms and put him into his baby bouncer.
‘We need somewhere warm to bring them.’
‘Okay, the sitting room’s best. I’ve got a fire going in there.’
‘That’s great. Have you got some spare blankets or a duvet we can use?’
‘Yes, of course. What about a hot bath?’
‘No, not until we see what condition they’re in.’ If the man and his son had been out for any length of time in these conditions, the boy could well be hypothermic, his smaller body less able to resist the freezing conditions than an adult’s. Warming him too quickly could cause shock or heart problems.
The smile on Nancy’s face told Neve that she knew nothing about that, just that the man and his son had been found. Neve hoped that her bright optimism turned out to be justified, and set about helping to warm blankets and fill hot-water bottles.
Just as the wait for Joe’s call was becoming intolerable, her phone rang again.
‘Joe…’
‘I’m with them. The boy’s shivering and drowsy but conscious. The man’s able to walk.’
Joe wasn’t wasting any words, but that was all she needed to know. If the boy was still shivering, then his small body hadn’t given up its fight to stay warm yet. ‘Okay, that’s good. Can you get back here with them?’
‘That’s the plan…’
‘Right. I want you to carry the boy. Be sure to do it carefully, Joe. You must avoid bumping him around any more than absolutely necessary. That’s important.’ Hopefully the boy wasn’t cold enough yet to make him susceptible to internal injuries, but without seeing him Neve couldn’t be sure.
‘Gotcha. I understand that precaution. I want you to do something for me.’
‘Yes…’ Anything.
‘We’re about a mile from you, in a westerly direction. I want you to turn my car and put the headlights on, full beam. Stay on the line, I can hear you through the earpiece. Do it now.’
‘Okay, on my way.’ Why did he want her to do that? It didn’t matter. Neve slung on her coat, grabbed the car keys and signalled to Nancy that she’d be five minutes.
She heaved a sigh of relief when the car started first time. Carefully she manoeuvred it until it was at