Page 15 of Wild About You

Snow. Yes, this was definitely snow. I slowed the Land Rover, then finally stopped. I snatched the map up from the passenger seat and inspected it. I’d memorised the route but was beginning to think I’d made a mistake at some point. Callum had mentioned a fence line with red markers on the posts that I definitely should have reached by now. I looked at the fence ahead of me.

No red markers.

‘Right,’ I muttered, under my breath.

When I looked back at the map and directions, I struggled to focus. I tried to think logically about the route I’d taken so far, to work out where I’d gone wrong. But somehow I couldn’t slow my mind down. Had I taken a left or a right? Had I seen that five-barred gate he’d mentioned, or hadn’t I? My Land Rover felt tiny, insignificant against the vastness of the dark slopes around me, as visibility dissolved. When I tried to focus on the map properly, its symbols started to blur.

Oh God, this was actually happening. What an excellent time to develop a talent for panicking.

I tried the breathing exercise, but it wasn’t cutting it. I gotout of the car and looked at the landscape. It had stopped snowing (good news!), but there was no sign of the house and castle (bad news!). Although the weather wasn’t worsening, visibility was limited by the swirling grey vapour in the air, the landscape reduced to bare outlines. No waymarkers. And I’d forgotten the walkie talkie. In the midst of winding myself up about Jamie, and feeling a little flutter about Callum’s compliment, I had forgotten the bloody walkie talkie. I dug my phone out of my pocket. No reception. No data.

Swearing under my breath, I climbed back in and started the Land Rover again, to begin the laborious process of turning the vehicle round. I mean, I had to get used to this off-road driving, didn’t I? Slowly and carefully, I edged it round in a ten-point turn. I had just completed the manoeuvre and was starting to accelerate gently away alongside a line of trees when, out of nowhere, a pheasant flew across the windscreen in an explosion of wings and copper-coloured feathers.

It was sheer instinct: I jerked the steering wheel to the right to avoid it. As I did so, one side of the vehicle dropped dramatically, and its wheels started spinning. Heart racing, I turned the engine off and climbed out of the car. I had steered it half into a shallow ditch. It wasn’t sinking, but it was at a crazy tilt and there was no way I was getting out of there without help. The pheasant, meanwhile, was totally fine, and abandoned me to my fate. ‘No,’ I moaned, and leaned against the car, shivering in the cold.

Taking deep breaths, I opened the back of the LandRover and dragged the emergency kit out, then got back in the front to inspect the contents. Blanket, bottle of water, chocolate, rope, torch. I didn’t look much harder. Chocolate and water was the go-to for me. I just needed to stay calm.

You arenotgoing to panic, Anna.

A moment later there was a rushing sound in my ears.

No, no, no, I said in my head, and put my head to my knees.

Thankfully, after a moment or two, I started to feel more normal. Eventually I edged my way up until I was sitting in a normal position in the driver’s seat. I looked at my watch. Beyond the Land Rover’s window, the light was fading. I closed my eyes against the vastness of the landscape, the fierceness of the wind.

Things were getting better though – I wasn’t shaking, and my breathing was slowing down. I just had to inure myself to the idea of staying the night in the car and finding my way back in daylight. It was perfectly fine, and I’d laugh about it one day, tell the story at dinner parties, that kind of thing. I wrapped the blanket around me and settled back in the seat. Took a square of chocolate. Then another one. Had a swig from the bottle of water. Let time pass as I watched the snow continue to fall.

It was almost six o’clock when I saw the headlights, coming from the vague direction of Stonemore. When I realised it was a Land Rover, I turned my own lights on and flashed them repeatedly. The vehicle approached at crawling pace,parked alongside me, and Callum jumped out, smiling as though he was on a Sunday afternoon drive.

‘Hey!’ I said, getting out to meet him, and trying to keep my voice light. I still had the tartan blanket wrapped around me, but I pushed my hair behind my ears and tried to look nonchalant. Callum sought my gaze and put his hands on my arms, then gave a me quick squeeze. ‘Good to see you,’ he said.

‘Hey,’ said another voice. ‘I see you managed to get yourself lost after all.’

It was Jamie. He was climbing out of the other side of Callum’s Land Rover.

Humiliation complete. I looked at the ground but, sadly, it did not open up and swallow me. ‘Thanks,’ I muttered. ‘How did you find me?’

‘We just looked for the enormous vehicle at walking distance from the house,’ said Jamie, and I wanted to slap him so badly I gritted my teeth.

‘I’m joking,’ he said stiffly. ‘You’d been gone a while. We checked the tracker and saw the car wasn’t moving, so we came to see if you needed some help.’

‘Right,’ I mumbled. ‘Thanks.’

‘You doing okay, Anna?’ said Callum softly. He was inspecting the front of the Land Rover.

‘Yep, all good,’ I said. ‘I hope I haven’t damaged it. There was a pheasant. I guess I’m used to London roads. Less wildlife. I’m glad to see you both. I was getting ready to bed down for the night.’

‘Don’t tell me you’ve already broken into the chocolate?’ Jamie said, raising an eyebrow. I noticed he had another blanket in his hand which he now offered me from a distance, with an air of distaste. I snatched it from him grumpily and doubled it round me.

‘Sure, it’s fine,’ Callum said. ‘Why don’t you get in the back of ours. Warm yourself up – I’ve had the heater on full blast.’

Feeling a bit feeble, but also grateful, I climbed in and watched Callum and Jamie inspect the Land Rover I’d deserted in a ditch. Eventually they came back and climbed back in. ‘We’ll get it in the morning,’ said Callum.

‘I’m sorry for your trouble,’ I said lamely.

‘Ach, don’t even think about it, I did the same thing last winter,’ he said.

I glared at the back of Jamie’s head, he who was staying stonily silent with blame emanating from him. But I couldn’t stay annoyed for long. I felt a rush of relief, followed swiftly by exhaustion. Lulled by the rocking of the Land Rover as we descended towards Stonemore, I fell asleep.

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