Chapter 29
Alex opened the front door looking awkward. ‘I’m sorry we had to call you.’
‘Don’t be sorry – I told Billie to phone any time.’
‘But it’s late and you’re off duty,’ he continued as she followed him inside. I would have driven her to the hospital myself, but some joker has let down all my tyres.’
‘What?’
He didn’t look only nodded, his gaze on his feet. ‘Yes. Every one of them is flat, so it’s no accident.’
‘Who would do that?’
‘Not a clue. Maybe it’s someone in the village who isn’t very happy about my plans for Hilltop.’
‘Even so, it’s a bit childish. What did they think letting your tyres down was going to achieve? It’s a minor inconvenience, sure, but it’s hardly going to drive you away.’
‘It’s literally not going to drive me away,’ he said, and she thought she might have detected the merest whisper of a smile at a joke that was obviously too good to resist, even for him in the current circumstances.
‘Perhaps it’s the start of a whole campaign of terror.
This week flat tyres, next week horses’ heads. ’
‘Ugh. Perhaps it’s the ghost of your Bronze Age chieftain telling you he doesn’t want you here.’
‘Again, you’d hope even a Bronze Age ghost had seen enough of the world by now to know that letting my tyres down is literally going to prevent me from going anywhere.’
Was this an attempt at some sort of reset?
Zoe wondered. He seemed tense and slightly embarrassed by the situation they were now in, but she couldn’t help feeling he was trying to reconcile a little.
Did he feel ashamed of his outburst at the quincentenary?
Had it been a fit of anger that he’d since had time to reflect on and regret?
Whatever the reason for his change of attitude, he needed her now – or rather, Billie did – and he knew he had to behave.
Billie was propped up on some pillows, her feet up on the sofa with a blanket. She looked as sheepish as Alex had done.
‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I feel stupid.’
‘Don’t. You wouldn’t believe how often I get phone calls about my mums falling over.
Pregnancy makes you a bit wobblier in all sorts of ways, and you do tend to be a bit less stable than normal.
But…you also have an amazing built-in defence system.
It takes more than you’d think to do harm.
Did you fall forward onto your belly or backwards? ’
‘Down the stairs. I sort of slid down the last few steps and scraped my spine. I was carrying my laptop though, and it flew in the air and then that hit my belly.’
‘Hmm. When did it happen?’
‘About two hours ago.’
‘And how have you been since then?’ Zoe took off her coat and perched on the sofa next to Billie. She removed the blanket and looked up for permission to lift her top. Billie nodded, and Zoe began to gently feel around her bump.
‘My back hurts. I felt a bit sick at first.’
‘That might well have been the shock. How about now? Better or still sick?’
‘You were sick,’ Alex reminded her from the doorway, where he leaned against the frame, hands in his pockets, watching them. He looked at Zoe. ‘She threw up.’
‘Shook you a bit, eh?’ Zoe turned back to Billie. ‘No bleeding, no other kind of discharge.’
‘From down there?’ She pointed.
‘Yes,’ Zoe said. ‘You haven’t been to the toilet since and noticed anything untoward?’
‘I don’t think so. I might have peed myself a bit.’
‘Hardly surprising.’ Zoe smiled. ‘Sounds like quite a knock.’
Then, to her shock, Billie burst into tears.
Zoe stroked her hair and murmured soothing phrases, but there was little else she could do.
She glanced up to see Alex looking desperate, but he kept his distance, perhaps deciding that Zoe was dealing with the situation and his interference might only hinder her progress.
But Billie’s state told Zoe something more important.
Whatever she might say, she cared about this baby.
She dug into her bag and pulled out a pack of paper handkerchiefs, offering one to Billie, who took it and did her best to regain control.
‘It’s a normal reaction,’ Zoe said. ‘Do baby’s movements feel normal to you? About what you usually get?’
‘I don’t know,’ Billie sniffed. ‘I don’t always notice how much he moves. I mean, I don’t think I’ve felt anything, but I’m not sure.’
Zoe sat back and eyed her thoughtfully. ‘I can’t see anything to worry about…’
Alex spoke again. ‘Should I phone for an ambulance to take her to the hospital anyway? Wouldn’t it be better to have scans and heart monitors and whatever else?’
‘You might be up there a long time,’ Zoe said. ‘Most falls don’t do any real damage – a pregnant woman’s body grows its own safeguards, and you’d be surprised how much it can withstand.’
‘But there are times when they fail, right? It’s not always OK?’
‘True.’ Zoe got up. ‘If it helps to ease your mind, then I’ll drive Billie over. I’ll have a word with the on-call team there and see if they’ll take a look.’
‘Can you get my coat and shoes, Dad?’ Billie asked.
Alex left them to do as she’d asked while Zoe helped Billie off the sofa. But as she stood, Zoe’s eye caught a tiny patch of scarlet on the throw that had been beneath her.
Shit.
She turned to Billie and forced a bright smile. ‘Don’t panic, but you might notice there’s a bit of spotting on the sofa where you’ve been sitting.’
Billie looked down, her eyes widening. ‘Dad!’ she cried. ‘Hurry up! We’ve got to go!’
‘It’ll be fine,’ Zoe said, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt. She couldn’t lose another baby in her care, not this soon after Tegan.
Zoe had never been gladder to have her car with her.
They were in luck with the roads too, which were empty and dry, and meant they reached the emergency team in a short-enough time to keep Billie calm.
Alex sat with her on the back seat. Whenever Zoe caught a glimpse in the rear-view mirror, she could see Billie leaning into him, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.
Every so often, he’d give her head a tiny kiss.
They didn’t often show it in front of Zoe – in front of anyone, really – but they were devoted to one another.
It was hardly surprising, Zoe reflected as the beams of her headlights swept the silent road ahead; they were all each other had in the world.
And when she thought about it that way, she understood more than ever Alex’s reaction to the news that Billie planned to give up her baby.
Zoe had given Alex the number of the team at the hospital, told him who he needed to speak to and to mention her name and why they were bringing Billie over, so that when they arrived, someone was standing by to examine Billie.
‘Hi, Grace,’ Zoe said as one of the on-call midwives came to speak to her. ‘Do you need an extra pair of hands? I’m here; feel free to use me.’
‘We’ve got it, Zoe. I’ve pulled her notes up from the system. So what exactly happened here?’
Zoe briefly went over the events since her arrival at Hilltop, and then the hospital midwife went to question Billie, who was now in a wheelchair, ready to go to a treatment room.
Alex stood at Zoe’s side and watched. ‘Be honest with me,’ he said quietly. ‘Is it bad?’
‘I don’t think so. There might be some placental abruption, but if it’s small enough at this stage, they can fix it.’
‘I have no clue what that means, but if you say it’s going to be all right, then that’s enough. And that’s the truth?’
‘That’s all I can tell you, but I’m not glossing anything over, if that’s what you mean. I’m not going to say nothing can go wrong, but I do think she and the baby are going to be fine.’
Grace came back to them. ‘We’re going to take Billie down,’ she said. ‘We might be a while. Are you going to wait?’
‘Yes,’ Alex said. He turned to Zoe. ‘But we can find a way to get home when we’re done, if you want to go.’
‘I drove here,’ Zoe clarified to Grace. ‘But I’m going to stay for a while too. You might need me.’
‘I don’t think we will—’ Grace began, but Zoe cut in.
‘I’m going to stay anyway. I’d be happier here keeping an eye on things…’ She gave her head the tiniest nod to indicate that she meant she intended to keep an eye on Alex specifically, and Grace’s expression indicated that she understood.
‘You might as well go to the canteen and get a drink then. I’ve got both your phone numbers, so I’ll call when we have news. But don’t worry,’ she said to Alex. ‘She’s in the best place. If there’s a problem, we’ll sort it.’
‘Thank you. I appreciate that.’
Grace left them and followed as a porter wheeled Billie away. She cast one last look at her dad that said so much more than words could. She trusted him, she loved him, he was the most important person in her life – that much was obvious. And she was scared too.
‘I’ll show you where the canteen is,’ Zoe said. ‘At least it’ll be nice and quiet at this hour, but I think it might have to be vending-machine coffee.’
‘You didn’t have to do all this,’ Alex said as he brought two plastic cups to the table where Zoe was waiting for him.
‘I’d do the same for any of my mums.’
‘Even when their dad has been unforgivably rude and unreasonable to you?’ he asked.
Zoe gave him a half-smile. ‘None of that is important now. Besides, it wasn’t Billie’s fault. Why would I take it out on her? Or the baby, for that matter.’
‘For what it’s worth,’ he said, ‘and I don’t suppose it’s much, I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you at the quincentenary.
I had no right to blame you. You were right – you had Billie’s interests at heart, and, in the end, she’s the only person who matters.
I’m not going to try and excuse it, but I wanted you to know it was never about you.
I reacted badly, it was a shock and I couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d already lost. The thought of losing my grandchild as well when we didn’t even have to…
It got to me, that’s all. I can’t explain, and I don’t expect you to understand. ’
‘I think I do.’ Zoe sipped at her coffee, wincing as it burned her lip. She put it down again. ‘Have there been any more discussions about it since she told you?’
‘The adoption, you mean?’
Zoe nodded.
‘She won’t talk about it. She says her mind’s made up.’
Zoe wanted to say there was time for Billie to change her mind, but she didn’t want to sow that hope into his heart.
There was every chance she wouldn’t change her mind, and she couldn’t bear to be the person responsible for destroying him all over again.
At least this way, if he thought it was always coming and Billie did change her mind later on, it would make him happy.
‘You’re a good person,’ he said into the gap. ‘I don’t know if I could have been as big as you over all this, not after the way I treated you.’
‘I told you – it’s my job.’
‘No, it’s more than that. You could have told Billie to call these guys and they’d have sent an ambulance for her. But you came with us because you knew Billie needed a familiar face.’
‘I think you might have done too,’ Zoe said with a half-smile, one that he returned.
‘OK, I think I did too. Probably more than Billie did. I won’t forget this.’ He paused, staring into his cup. ‘The day before the quincentenary, when I asked you if you wanted to go for a drink…I suppose I’ve blown that now.’
‘I wouldn’t exactly put it like that, but in the circumstances, do you really think we can date?’
‘No, I realise that. I didn’t mean it that way. I know it’s not the time to talk about it, but I hope it doesn’t mean we can’t still be friendly. We live next door, after all.’
‘Next door and a few fields?’
‘Exactly.’
‘I was never planning on holding a grudge anyway.’ Zoe’s phone began to ring.
She took the call and listened for a minute, nodding and agreeing every so often.
And then she put her phone down and looked at an expectant Alex.
‘They’re going to keep Billie in for a couple of days.
She’s fine; they want to keep her under observation.
There was a minor abruption – really minor – and if she rests, it should seal back up.
You can go down to see her now if you want to. ’
He heaved a deep sigh. ‘Thank God! Yes, I’ll go. Are you coming?’
‘I’ll only get in the way. I can wait here and give you a lift back to Hilltop if you like.’
‘You don’t want to see her?’
‘Of course I do. But I don’t think me being there is going to help right now. And I think you two might have a lot to talk about. If you want to be close at hand, you can stay for the night. They’d be able to sort that out for you.’
‘I think I will,’ he said, grasping both her hands in his and squeezing them. ‘Thank you for everything. I don’t know what we would have done without you.’
Zoe showed him the way to the ward where Billie was being kept. She watched him hurry in, wondering whether to go with him after all, but she decided that her initial reaction was the right one: this was a moment for just the two of them.
Deep in thought, she turned away and left them to it.