Chapter 10
Teddy, the family’s white cockerpoo, had been pawing at the kitchen door for the past ten minutes and winding his way through the girls’ legs every time one of them stood up.
It was Hope’s second to last day in Tenby and the idea of taking Teddy for a walk on the beach was suddenly very appealing.
It wasn’t like she couldn’t go to the beach in Port Agnes or Port Kara as often as she liked; living in one gorgeous place so close to the sea, and working in another, afforded Hope that opportunity whenever she had some free time.
It wasn’t the same as walking Teddy, though, or watching him splash in and out of the waves.
‘Come on then, Ted. Let’s go for a walk.’
‘I’ll come with you.’ Annie got to her feet as she spoke.
‘I might come too, depending on where you’re going.’ Bea swung her legs off the sofa, where they’d been tucked up beneath her while she sat reading a magazine.
‘I was thinking the Penally end of South Beach?’ Hope suggested. It was the best place to take Teddy down onto the sand, because dogs were banned from lots of the other beaches in Tenby during the summer months.
‘Okay, sounds good, but I might go for a run from there into Penally village and back home again. I’ve got to get as fit as possible, if I’m going to pass the physical to get into the army.’
‘Ooh, can we pretend to be the Sergeant Majors and shout at you to get your knees up higher and move your legs faster?’ Annie looked quite excited at the prospect.
‘No, you can’t.’ Bea stuck out her tongue.
‘If you want to moonlight as a fitness instructor, you should have gone with Mum and Tabby. Instead, they’ve got Dad pedalling after them, and if that’s not enough for them to beat their previous personal bests, I don’t know what is.
After all, if he manages to overtake, they’ll have a view of him from the back, in his cycling shorts.
’ Bea emphasised the final four words and gave a theatrical shudder, making her sisters laugh.
‘We’d better get down to South Beach before they head back then.’ Annie was already pulling her trainers on. ‘We don’t accidentally want to catch a glimpse of Dad in Lycra either, do we?’
‘Definitely not.’ Hope clipped the lead onto Teddy’s collar and the three of them set out towards the beach, revelling in the pleasure of one another’s company and the ease of conversation that flowed between them.
Hope couldn’t imagine ever wanting to live anywhere but by the sea, whether that was settling down in Cornwall for the long haul, coming home to Tenby, or living somewhere else by the coast. It was easy to explain why she felt that way, on a day like today, when the sun was kissing her skin and it might even have been too hot if it wasn’t for the gentle breeze blowing off the sea.
Despite the fact that at almost fifteen he was a very old boy, Teddy picked up pace as they got closer to the point where they’d be able to go down on the sand.
He seemed to know the summertime rules as well as the humans in his life, and Hope knew he’d make a dash for the sea as soon as she let him off the lead.
She could hardly blame him; the water was aquamarine and sparkling like the semi-precious stone it resembled.
‘Are you still enjoying city life?’ Hope hooked an arm through Annie’s as they walked along the beach, Bea running along in front of them to keep pace with the dog. Even with age against Teddy, she was already getting a fitness workout.
‘Yes, I love it in lots of ways, especially the variety it gives me in terms of hospital rotations. Being in London means I can move between trusts whenever I want to, without having to move house too.’
Hope narrowed her eyes for a moment, uttering just one word in response. ‘But?’
‘How did you know there was a “but”?’
‘Because I know you and I’d have been able to see it in your face, even if I couldn’t hear it in your voice.’
‘You were always the most intuitive of us.’ Annie hugged Hope to her for a moment before letting her go. ‘I miss this, being by the sea and just… home, you know?’
‘I do. Although living in Port Agnes and working in Port Kara means I can get my fill of beautiful beaches whenever I want them, which helps, but I still miss home and all of you guys. There’d be something wrong if I didn’t.’
‘There would and it goes right down to your core, doesn’t it, being one of the Masterson girls?
’ There wasn’t even a hint in Annie’s voice that she saw Hope as being any different from her other sisters, just because they didn’t share DNA.
Family went so much deeper than that; right down to the core, just as Annie had put it.
‘It really does.’
‘I don’t suppose I can tempt you then, can I? To come down and work in London?’ Annie lifted her chin in a hopeful gesture, but Hope shook her head.
‘There’s a reason I need to be in Cornwall.’
‘To get to know Joe Carter.’ It was a statement rather than a question and it didn’t take Hope by surprise.
Dave and Alison had always been open with all four of the girls about Hope’s arrival into the family, but her sisters never referred to Joe or Laura as her biological parents.
They were known only by their names, with no greater title than that bestowed upon them.
Tabby’s words had summed it up, when Hope had first told them that she was going to seek Laura out. ‘Just don’t forget that you’re our sister and nothing is ever going to change that.’
Her sisters had been unfailing in their support and there’d been no sense of guilt assigned to what she was doing, because they all knew the impetus to do so had come from their mother.
The conversations that Hope had with her sisters during that time had somehow cemented the sense of belonging, which she wouldn’t have believed could become even stronger.
‘I’m not sure getting to know Joe is going to be possible. At least not in any meaningful sense, because I’ve decided I can’t ever—’
‘Hope! Annie! Over here, quick!’ Bea’s voice cut through the warm air, the urgency in her tone making goosepimples break out all over Hope’s skin.
Bea sounded terrified, and seeing her youngest sister crouched on the sand in front of her did nothing to ease Hope’s concern.
Especially when she saw the female figure lying in front of Bea, curled around herself on the ground.
A wail that couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than pain suddenly filled the space between Bea and her sisters, as both Hope and Annie broke into a run.
‘I think she might be in labour.’ Bea’s face had drained of all colour by the time Hope and Annie reached her.
The woman lying on the sand was still curled into a ball, clutching her arms over a sizeable baby bump.
She was wearing just a black bikini and as the woman suddenly turned onto her back, her bump seemed to shift, becoming almost lopsided as the muscles visibly contracted.
Bea was right, the woman was definitely in labour.
Teddy had backed away at the sound of the stranger’s distress and he was lying on the sand too, about twenty feet beyond them, with his head resting on his front paws, keeping a watchful eye on what was going on.
Hope dropped down onto the sand, on the opposite side of the woman to Bea. ‘It’s okay, my name’s Hope and I’m a midwife. Can you tell me your name?’
‘Freya.’ The word was barely more than a whisper.
‘Okay, Freya. How many weeks pregnant are you?’
For a moment the woman didn’t say anything, her face twisting into a grimace, but then it relaxed as the contraction seemed to pass and her bump returned to a more even shape. ‘Thirty-five, but it’s started. I know it has. It’s just like the last time, and I can’t have the baby here, I can’t.’
‘That’s not going to happen.’ Hope wasn’t sure she sounded any more convinced than she felt, babies came when they wanted to and they were no respecters of location, but she had to try and reassure Freya all the same.
There was every chance this was just the start of labour, and that they had plenty of time to get Freya to a place far more suitable for giving birth.
Labours usually lasted at least six to eight hours, even for second deliveries.
But as another contraction took hold of Freya’s body, it was clear they were already in the active phase.
The contractions were too close together for it to be anything else, which made Hope less certain that they would definitely be able to get Freya to a place of safety in time.
One thing Hope knew for certain was that it was pointless asking Freya any more questions until the latest contraction had passed.
‘What can I do to help?’ Bea looked up at her, eyes wide with concern.
Hope didn’t want her sister to see anything she might not be ready to see, if this baby really was on its way.
It was different for Annie, she and Hope had chosen occupations where they needed to be equipped to deal with this kind of situation. Bea hadn’t.
‘Take Teddy home and ring for an ambulance.’ Hope could see her younger sister was about to protest, so she cut her off before she had the chance.
‘It’ll be the quickest way. You know what the phone signal is like around here and Freya really needs your help.
Tell the operator she’s thirty-five weeks pregnant and in active labour. ’
‘I—’
‘Please, Bea. Freya really needs your help.’
‘Okay, but I’m coming back afterwards, in case you need me too.
’ Bea’s tone was resolute and Hope nodded.
She should have known better than to doubt her little sister, despite the fact she was only eighteen.
If she was needed, she’d do whatever it took.
It was something else that went right down to the core of the Masterson clan.
‘Can I do anything?’ Annie asked, as Bea sprinted off in the direction of the house. ‘I’ve never done this, assisted with a delivery, I mean. I haven’t done my obs and gynae rotation yet.’