Page 40 of Rescuing Rosie
She giggled. ‘I’m good. That feels so much better already.’ Though she suspected that had more to do with his steadyingpresence, the hug, and the touch of his hands, than his medical skills.
‘Are you a trained paramedic?’
‘Just the basics.’
He gave her a couple of painkillers, which she downed with a slurp of water. Then he took out a bar of chocolate and passed over a chunk.
‘Is the provision of chocolate part of the basics?’ she asked, closing her eyes with pleasure as she bit into it.
‘Painkillers are useful, but I find chocolate goes the extra mile when it comes to comforting stressed walkers,’ he said.
‘I’m feeling very comforted, thank you.’
As he went to put away the first-aid kit, she noticed the label on the green plastic box.Property of Ambleside Mountain Rescue. Contact: Ben Hill… And there was a phone number and email address.
‘BenHill?’ she said. ‘Do you have a brother?’
‘No, that’s me,’ he said, putting her boot in his backpack. ‘Dale calls me Ant and it stuck, and I don’t mind because Ben’s the Scottish word for a hill, so I’ve always thought it sounded silly. Hill Hill.’
Rosie laughed. ‘I see. And Ant Hilldoesn’tsound silly?’
‘Fair point. But it’s hard to shake off a childhood nickname.’ He sat back down beside her, nibbling on a square of something white that glittered in the gloom.
‘What’s that?’
‘Kendal mint cake,’ he said. ‘Great for energy, but me and Dale are the only people I know who like it.’
Rosie wondered why this kind, serious man was so chummy with the unspeakable Dale. ‘Have you and Dale known each other a long time?’
‘Best mates since we were kids,’ he said. He glanced sideways at her. ‘He was pretty frantic when he discovered you weremissing, even though we knew you couldn’t have gone far. I haven’t seen him that worried in a while. He’s out looking too.’
Rosie scowled. ‘Probably scared he’ll be held responsible, seeing as he was the only local on the team.’
‘What? No – he was genuinely worried about you.’
‘To be honest, Dale doesn’t strike me as the worrying type.’
Ant gave her a long look. ‘Dale’s … not everything he seems. There’s more to him than you might think.’
What was this all about? Why was he speaking up for his mate?
She pulled a face. ‘That’s as maybe. But I’m not a fan of his attitude to women. There’s more to Madison than you might think too, but he was quite horrible to her, and he said some extremely mean things behind her back. That’s not a great way to treat a girl.’ She looked him in the eye. ‘Especially one you’ve just had sex with.’
Ant looked surprised, then embarrassed. ‘I didn’t know that.’
‘Pretty damn sure.’
‘I thought it was you–’
‘No.’
The half-frown she was becoming familiar with made a return. She had no idea what he was thinking. ‘Right,’ he said. ‘Well, moving on … let’s see if you can support your weight at all. A slow hobble down the hill might be possible.’
He held out a hand. She managed to stand up, but when she put her weight on her left foot, the pain made a swift return. ‘Ow. I don’t think so. I’m so sorry, Ant. Ben.’ She sat down again.
‘Pleasestop apologising,’ he said. ‘You’re a trooper. Okay, plan B. I’ll carry you to the entrance, then we’ll see how you get on with my telescopic crutches. We’re only half a mile from the road.’
‘I wasthatclose?’
