Chapter Eight
Walker
Walker was pumped. His chest heaved as he debriefed the team, shook hands and clapped backs.
The hour had sped by, and he’d loved every minute of it.
Not just the activity itself, but taking time to encourage the team, urge them onwards, rally the crowds and encourage them to drop an extra donation in the bucket.
Every penny would help a family in need after a fire. It felt good to do good.
Fox beckoned to him, but he just needed to make sure everything was safe and sorted before he joined them.
He spotted kids jumping around on the landing pad and he made his way over to check, but they were being supervised by parents or grandparents, and all seemed fine.
He moved over to the fire truck to find some of the crew already there, managing the flow of children that wanted to see the inside of the vehicle.
Reggie was currently sitting in the driving seat, wildly sweeping his hands around the steering wheel as if driving at high speed.
It looked like everything was exactly as it should be, everything in order.
Until, that was, he saw a small boy put his foot on the first rung of the ladder.
The hair prickled on the back of Walker’s neck.
Nobody should be going up the ladder. They might miss their footing, slip and hurt themselves.
He crossed the landing pad in four strides, before the boy had time to place his foot on the second rung. Putting his hands on the boy’s middle, he detached him from the ladder and lifted him high into the air, trying to make a game of the change of direction.
‘Not up there, I’m afraid, little guy,’ he said to the boy who kicked his legs wildly as Walker lowered him back on the ground.
‘But . . .’ He stamped his tiny foot, outraged. ‘That’s not fair.’
‘It’s out of bounds up there, fella,’ Walker said, trying to ruffle the boy’s hair to soften the blow, but the boy yanked his head out of reach.
‘Not fair!’ he said again, louder this time, his face red with rage. Walker backed up a step. This kid looked like he was likely to kick him in the balls at any given moment.
A woman approached and the boy immediately burst into tears and threw himself, face first, into her thighs. She cradled the back of his head before looking accusingly at Walker.
‘Is there a problem?’ she asked, looking like there better not be one.
‘Not at all,’ Walker said calmly. ‘I just had to tell him the ladder is out of bounds.’ The boy’s crying heightened a notch, and the mother smoothed his hair.
‘He couldn’t even have a tiny go?’ the woman said, with a strange, coy smile.
She lifted her hand towards Walker, with her finger and thumb held just an inch apart.
‘I’d be really grateful . . .’ The boy lifted his head from her skirt and gave him a similar, creepy smile which he thought would seal the deal.
Walker took another step back. Normally he liked kids.
Scratch that, normally he loved kids. He was godparent to Fox’s Reg and Rosie’s Riley, and hoped to have his own one day.
As long as they didn’t act like this one.
‘Sorry, not even a tiny go. Because he might still get a tiny bit broken if he falls off.’
The boy shook his fists in frustration and groaned and Walker fought the urge to laugh.
‘Well, you shouldn’t have set the expectation the kids could go on the ladder . . .’ the woman said and Walker decided enough was enough.
‘Exactly,’ he nodded in agreement. ‘You’re exactly right. Which is why I’m just going to put the chain across it and a notice on it to make it absolutely clear that it’s not safe.’
He turned to do exactly that when the boy pointed to the top of the launch pad, shouting, ‘Why didn’t you tell her to come down then?’
Walker and the mum both looked up. There was nobody to be seen.
But Walker was suddenly very conscious of the fact he’d had his eye off the ladder for a good minute while trying to sort out the devil child and his mother.
Had someone managed to sneak past and climb up through the hatch to the platform?
‘Who was it?’ he asked, stepping closer to the kid. ‘Did a little girl go up there?’ The kid clamped his mouth shut and Walker crouched down to his level.
‘A woman,’ the kid said suddenly, taking his chance and landing a kick at Walker’s shins, which caught him painfully on the bone. Walker swallowed a swear word and limped to the bottom of the ladder, looking up through the hole. Nothing.
A commotion sounded behind him. Lots of gasping, a few ‘ooh’s and ‘ah’s. His stomach dropped with the immediate knowledge that something was wrong. He was looking in the wrong place. He swivelled.
A group of kids and parents were all gathered round the base of the pole, looking upwards. He was there in a second.
He put a hand on the pole to act as a safety net before he even saw what was coming towards him. A woman, tiny as she might be, but definitely a fully grown adult, threw herself at the top of the pole with a ‘woohoo’.
She did it with such abandon that she was leaning back, facing skywards.
It was only when he saw the black boot sticking straight out in front of her that he recognised Gabi.
But he didn’t have a second to admire the view as she slid down the gleaming pole towards him – and the pile of onlookers who were just about to have a boot hit them on the head.
He reached his hands out, only thinking of landing her safely, and protecting those people whose heads she could crack. He caught her with a grunt in his arms and stepped away from the pole. There was a collective sigh and then a spontaneous round of applause.
Walker breathed out. Crisis averted. Everyone clear of danger. Thank goodness. He realised he was still holding Gabi, legs in one arm, shoulders in the other. She lay against his chest, laughing.
‘Walker!’ Gabi grinned up into his face.
‘Gabi,’ he acknowledged her in return, gobsmacked.
‘That was amazing,’ Gabi said.
‘That was dangerous,’ Walker corrected.
‘Ah, come on,’ Gabi said, and he caught the slight slur in her voice. ‘I laugh in the face of danger. I’m a stuntwoman.’
‘Not a very good one at the moment by the look of it.’ Walker nodded at her leg.
‘Why did you stop me?’
‘I didn’t want you to fall.’
‘I wasn’t going to fall,’ she said incredulously.
‘I wasn’t even afraid of falling. That’s the first rule of being a stunt person.
’ She wriggled against him, and he realised again he was still holding her.
He lowered her legs to the ground gently and she straightened herself against his arm and wiggled a finger in his face to make her point. ‘Don’t be afraid of falling.’
‘I just wanted to keep everyone safe,’ Walker said.
‘Don’t worry about me, Walker. I can look after myself.’ Gabi glanced about her and grinned as Isabella dashed through the crowd carrying the crutches she’d left at the edge of the landing pad.
‘What the hell?’ Isabella asked but Gabi just laughed.
‘He’s already read me the riot act, you don’t need to say anything.
’ Gabi indicated Walker with her head as she positioned a crutch under each arm.
Isabella glanced at Walker and rolled her eyes in solidarity.
Gabi started her three-legged walk with crutches towards the gang and they both watched her go.
‘What was she thinking?’ Isabella asked quietly.
‘What was she drinking?’ Walker replied. Isabella sighed and squeezed his arm before following her cousin.
‘Thanks for saving me, Walker!’ Gabi called over her shoulder, smiling without a care in the world, making it abundantly clear he shouldn’t have bothered.
‘That’s okay,’ he called after her. Then quietly to himself he said, ‘That’s just what I do.’
Brothers from Another Mother WhatsApp group
Fox: Brilliant day, Walker. Boys both knackered and straight to sleep. I owe you a beer.
Etienne: Bet Gabi’s asleep already too. Remind me never to drink on painkillers.
Alex: She was quite a handful, wasn’t she?
Walker: More of an armful, actually.