Chapter Seven
Gabi
‘Are you all right standing?’ Isabella asked, a frown creasing her nose.
‘I’m fine,’ Gabi said, shrugging off the concern, ignoring the fact that her back was starting to ache. Her boot put her off balance and her back paid the price.
‘Do you want a sip of this?’ Rosie suggested, pulling a small silver flask from her oversized handbag and offering it around. ‘Must have left it in here after the last night out at The Bolthole.’
‘Do you think you should?’ Isabella asked. Gabi reached for the flask and tipped it back without bothering to reply. It hit with a burn she wasn’t expecting. She coughed. She’d been thinking wine, not whisky. Rosie laughed.
‘Are you on medication? Taking any pills?’ Isabella asked, that damn frown between her eyes again.
‘Yep!’ Gabi grinned. ‘But only little ones!’ She took another hit and passed the drink back to Rosie, who smiled and said, with a glance at Wren, ‘Keep it, we’re no good at day drinking.’
Gabi held the flask up in glee. Isabella rolled her eyes and turned back to Etienne. Good. Maybe she’d stop clucking around her like a mother hen.
Truth be told, Gabi was still taking painkillers.
The pain had been excruciating before the operation, and not much better afterwards, when she’d been told the pins were in the right position and she just had to give things time to settle and heal.
It wasn’t just the pain of the break itself, it was the constant backache, the sore skin under her arms where she took her weight on the crutch pads.
It was the muscles in her shoulders that were doing all the work.
The painkillers definitely took the edge off.
She breathed out slowly. The hip flask was the first alcohol she’d had in months.
She never drank on set when she was working, and she’d gone straight from one film set at the end of last year to Australia for the Western in January.
She had to have a clear head for the stunt work.
She literally couldn’t even remember having had a toast to bring in the new year or celebrate Christmas.
She took another nice, long swallow. The heat of it seemed to go directly to the ache in her back and soothe it, like a hot water bottle. Bliss.
‘What’s new then, Gabi?’ Fox appeared beside her, in his signature silver grey quiff and checked shirt. He had that wholesome, lumberjack, outdoorsy thing going on and she’d forgotten how good-looking he was.
‘You mean, apart from the obvious . . .’ Gabi pointed to her leg with a smile which Fox returned. His eyes twinkled.
‘I thought it was rule number one for stuntwomen. Don’t fall off.’ She laughed outright.
‘No, the first rule is don’t be scared of falling.’
He grinned and reached for the flask she still held.
She swigged again before handing it over.
As if by magic, his two sons, Reggie and George, appeared beside him just as he tipped the drink to his lips, and she watched his Adam’s apple bob as he rushed his swallow. Too late. He was caught in the act.
‘Can we have some?’ Reggie’s hands were already on the flask.
‘No, it’s not mine. It’s Gabi’s,’ Fox said quickly, passing it back and swinging George up onto his shoulders.
And just like that Gabi remembered why, however gorgeous Fox might be, he was a hot dad and that was a big enough reason to stay away even if they did seem to enjoy a bit of harmless flirtation.
She glanced up at George with his sticky hands in Fox’s quiff, and then down at Reggie who was threading through the crowd to get to the front.
However cute they were, she didn’t want them, or any others like them, in her life.
Children were not a part of her future. Having been one herself, she thought children were totally overrated.
Gabi held the drink out towards Amber, who eyed it wishfully but then pushed it back. ‘I need to be able to drive you home!’
Gabi put the flask back to her own lips but was surprised to find it empty. She shook it. Fox must have had a right old mouthful. Rosie appeared at her shoulder.
‘Oops,’ Gabi said. ‘Really sorry! We finished your drink!’
‘No worries.’ Rosie smiled and Rosie pointed at the fire crew, who were warming up with bleep tests, running between two points at ever increasing speed.
Gabi spotted Walker, who made it look easy.
Head down, shoulders wide as an ox, he powered up his lane before lifting his head to check where his crew were at.
Gabi considered the strength he must have in those legs.
Now that was a thought. In fact, thinking about it, firefighters probably had all the right characteristics to be stunt workers if they ever fancied a change of career.
They were strong, brave, athletic. She wondered idly if Walker could ride a horse.
She grinned to herself. Her back had not felt this relaxed since she’d been using the crutches.
She watched Walker flick his sandy hair off his face, then turn at the end and run with his back to her.
She took in the width of his shoulders. He’d have no problem giving her a fireman’s lift, that was for certain.
Although saying that, with Gabi being only five foot three, Jayden could probably give her a fireman’s lift if he put his mind to it.
She smiled to herself. Maybe even Reggie. She snorted.
‘Having a good time?’ Isabella was beside her, arm around her shoulders.
‘Yup,’ said Gabi decisively. She really was. Her leg didn’t hurt. Her back didn’t ache. She was back in Honeybridge, and she was getting to know the gang better. Maybe a broken leg wasn’t so bad.
Alex edged his way into the circle next to his twin. Gabi noticed Amber roll her eyes and angle her shoulder away from him. A definite rebuff.
‘Hmm,’ Gabi whispered to herself, making a note to get the gossip later when she and Amber were alone.
‘Pardon?’ Isabella said.
‘Nothing,’ Gabi replied.
‘Shall I try to find you a chair?’ Isabella said, but Gabi waved her away.
‘Really, I’m fine. I’m literally feeling no pain.’ Never a truer word. In fact, she was starting to feel quite good.
The beep test finished, the spectators were shepherded into the fire station to a cordoned off area in view of the bottom of the pole. The officiates gathered: the big moment had arrived.
‘Come on, team! You can do it!’ Walker shouted to his crew as they lined up at the bottom of the ladder. ‘And you lot,’ Walker called to the crowd. ‘Dig deep! It’s for a great cause. The Honeybridge Fire Service Hardship Fund. Get your wallets out!’
The klaxon sounded and the record attempt began.
Walker was first up the ladder, disappearing up into the hatch to the platform and appearing a few seconds later on the pole.
His legs wrapped around it gently and he slid down silently, landing on and bouncing off the landing pad in one balletic movement.
Gabi made a small sound of appreciation in her throat as the rest of the gang cheered.
The next firefighter was on his heels as he ascended the ladder again.
The race was on. To beat the world record they had to cover the most metres down the pole in an hour and by the look on Walker’s face, he wasn’t going to let anything stand in his way.
Gabi was suddenly glad she had a front-row view.
‘Go on, Walker! You can do it!’ Gabi found herself shouting, a little too closely to Isabella’s ear, who nearly jumped out of her skin.
‘Are you sure you don’t want to sit down?’ Isabella asked again. ‘How much of that flask did you drink?’ Gabi hit her cousin on the ankle with her crutch.
‘Please don’t worry. I’m fine. Just happy to be here.’ Although to be fair, she did feel a bit fuzzy inside. She hadn’t drunk alcohol for so long, it certainly seemed to be having an impact.
The hour sped past. In fact, it could be said it passed in a bit of a blur.
Gabi started off counting how many times she saw Walker slide down the pole, but after twenty minutes or so, she lost count.
Instead, she tried to watch him go up the ladder, thinking it might be slightly slower .
. . plus she got a nice view of his bum.
But she lost track of that too, about the same time she wished there was another flask to be found somewhere.
Someone was hogging the booze at this party.
She glanced round the gang to see who it might be, but everyone looked remarkably sober.
‘Last big push,’ Walker said over the microphone. ‘According to my count, we need another twelve descents in the next minute . . .’
The crowd roared its encouragement. Gabi waved a crutch in the air, much to Fox’s surprise who luckily ducked at the right moment. His kids were jumping up and down on the spot. Jayden had Riley on his shoulders so that she could see better.
Walker took to the steps again with a fresh burst of energy.
She could see the set of his jaw as he dropped down the pole and took his place again in the queue.
As it turned out, he was the last drop. He was the number twelve that took their meterage over the current world record and as he hit the landing pad, he dropped forward into a deep bend and then, as the klaxon sounded again, he bowed.
The crowd went wild, and Gabi found herself cheering along.
The officiates had their heads together, comparing their notes. Both having counted separately, it was now a case of waiting to make sure that everyone agreed with the result. It had to be unanimous, or it would be disallowed. The audience quieted as one of them approached the microphone.
‘Congratulations to Honeybridge Fire and Rescue on a valiant attempt,’ the man said, before allowing a broad smile to break through. ‘You’re the new world record holders!’
Walker and his crew threw themselves at each other in massive bear hugs, clapping each other’s backs.
Gabi felt surprisingly emotional but then saw that everyone else was the same.
Isabella and Etienne were taking the opportunity to kiss.
Wren and Rosie rubbed noses with each other and grinned.
Fox and Amber hugged. Gabi watched Alex look on and then glance away.
‘Hmmm,’ she whispered again.
‘Pardon?’ Isabella said, still hanging off Etienne.
‘Pardon?’ Gabi said back.
Fox waved to Walker and shouted, ‘Coming over?’
Walker signalled he’d be there in five and turned back to debrief his team. The cordon was lifted, and kids were allowed into the performance area. They swarmed to the soft bounciness of the landing pad, squealing in delight.
The gang all turned inwards to talk, reminiscing about a night out they’d had recently. Although it sounded like it had been fun, it made Gabi feel strangely left out and she turned back to look at the crew.
Walker was shaking everyone by the hand, saying a few words to each of his team individually. His muscles filled his T-shirt out nicely under those braces. Gabi smirked to herself. There weren’t many people in the world that could make wearing braces sexy, but Walker was one of them.
The ladder gleamed in the sunlight. Twelve rungs.
She wondered how fast she personally could climb the ladder, cross the top and drop the other side down the pole.
The crew had made it look easy, but surely she’d have no problem, even with this blasted boot on?
She was a stuntwoman, after all. She was used to looking danger in the face and laughing at it.
A small giggle escaped her. She glanced at the gang, but they were all deep in conversation.
She eyed the ladder again. It did look like fun.