Page 15 of The Island in Bramble Bay
‘You’ve got quite a few stitches so it’ll be sore. Can you remember what happened?’ She kept hold of his hand as if that was completely normal.
He remembered deciding not to fell the oak tree. And he remembered deciding to rope it up ready to fell, even though it was raining and he should have known better. He had climbed up a little way so he could throw a strap around one of the main branches to give them a head start when the weather cleared.
‘I guess I slipped and fell out of the tree. I think there was a broken branch that caught me on the way down. Did I pass out?’
‘Not until we got to the boat. We managed to walk to the quay but the ferry wasn’t there so we had to take your boat, I hope that’s okay.’
‘Of course. How did you find me?’
She shrugged. ‘I just had a feeling so I came to look for you. I knew you wanted to fell the tree and I was worried you’d have tried doing it on your own. Sorry, I should have known you wouldn’t.’
‘Don’t be sorry, Maggie. If you hadn’t come to find me I might still be there.’ He squeezed her hand. ‘Thanks.’
She moved her other hand on top of his and stroked it, blinking as her eyes filled with tears.
‘Charlie, I…’ She drew her hand away and wiped it across her eyes quickly.
‘It’s okay, honey,’ he said tenderly, ‘we’re okay now.’ He thought Maggie had never looked more beautiful than she did now. He knew just what she was trying to say because he wanted to say it too. And actually, neither of them needed to worry about finding the right words, they just knew.
A nurse came in and suggested that as it was the middle of the night, Maggie may want to go home and get some sleep. They were going to keep Charlie in for observation because he’d lost consciousness and was still on a drip.
‘I can’t really go home,’ Maggie said after the nurse had taken Charlie’s blood pressure and left. ‘I told Megan she could take the boat back to Bramble Island and the ferry won’t be running now.’
‘Do you have any money?’
‘No, I don’t have anything. I left in a hurry.’
He smiled. ‘Well, I appreciate that. Are my clothes here somewhere? My wallet’s in my pants.’
Maggie rummaged under the bed and pulled out a plastic bag that contained all of Charlie’s things, most of which were only fit for the bin now. She found his wallet, opened it and handed it to him. He pulled out a black Amex credit card and handed it to Maggie. She raised her eyebrows as if it needed an explanation.
‘They’re all like that in the States.’ It was a metal rather than a plastic card, a hangover from his corporate life.
‘Oh, really?’
‘Really. Come here.’ He whispered his PIN into her ear. With his hand gently resting on her hair he said, ‘Go and find a hotel close by, don’t worry about how much it costs, I mean it. Sleep and come back tomorrow.’ He pulled her towards him and gave her the lightest kiss on the lips. He tried not to think about the fact that it was their first kiss because he wanted it to be so much more, but not now. Maggie stroked her fingers across his forehead and he suddenly felt that that had happened before but couldn’t remember it properly. He closed his eyes and was almost instantly asleep.
Maggie came back the next morning looking refreshed and wearing clean clothes. She put an M&S bag on the bed before kissing Charlie on the cheek and perching next to him on the bed.
‘I thought we ought to have some clean clothes, I used your credit card, I hope that was okay.’
‘It’s great, thank you. As long as you haven’t got me slacks or anything too preppy.’
‘I took a risk with a checked shirt, t-shirt and jeans,’ she said.
He laughed and peeked in the bag.
‘How are you feeling?’
‘Better, sore but better. Did you find somewhere good to stay?’
‘Yes, a very nice Premier Inn around the corner from here.’
She could have stayed anywhere. He had wanted her to sleep in the lap of luxury after what she did for him yesterday and yet she picked somewhere completely normal. Yet again she surprised him at how different she was from the girls he’d been out with before.
‘A Premier Inn? You should have treated yourself.’
‘That was a treat. As much as I love my cottage, a night in a huge bed with a hot, powerful shower was amazing. I slept like a log.’
