Page 34 of Best Friend to Perfect Bride

It seemed unlikely but it was the only lead he had. He phoned half a dozen mutual friends but drew a blank. Nobody had seen or heard from Bella in months, it seemed. That left him with just one other option, the least appealing one too. He dialled Tim’s number, filled with such a mixture of emotions that it was difficult to speak when Tim answered. He had come to Dalverston, sure in his own mind that Bella had been responsible for the demise of her marriage. However, he no longer believed that and it was hard to behave with equanimity as he asked Tim if he had heard from her. He had been wrong to blame her—so very, very wrong. If he lived to be a hundred he would always regret it.

Once again Mac drew a blank. Tim hadn’t heard from Bella either, apparently. Mac cut him off, knowing that he would lose it completely if he had to listen to Tim blackening her name again. Although she hadn’t gone into any detail about Tim’s affair—she’d not had time!—he believed her. And the thought filled him with all sorts of uncharitable feelings towards his former friend. Tim had deliberately lied to him and he wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to forgive him for that.

He went back to his motorbike, his face set as he revved up the engine. He was going to find Bella even if it took him all day!

* * *

Progress was excruciatingly slow. They had to stop every few minutes while Freya rested. Bella glanced at her watch, sighing as she realised how much time had passed. They’d barely travelled half a mile and it was already gone midday. She helped Freya sit down in the lee of a large rock and sat down beside her while she tried to decide what to do. It had started to rain again, which would only exacerbate the problem. With the ground becoming increasingly slippery there was a very real danger that Freya might fall again. Bella came to a swift decision, prompted by necessity.

‘Look, Freya, this isn’t working. I know you don’t like the idea of being left on your own but I need to fetch help.’ She patted Freya’s hand when she started to cry, feeling terrible about abandoning her. However, she would be much faster on her own. ‘I’m going to leave you here while I go back to the main road. There’s bound to be a car coming along it and I’ll flag it down and get them to phone the mountain rescue people. Once they receive the call, it won’t be long before we’re out of here.’

‘You will come back for me?’ Freya asked anxiously. She looked round and shuddered. ‘What if you can’t remember where I am? I mean, it all looks the same to me!’

‘I’ll use my blouse as a marker.’ Bella hurriedly undid her jacket and stripped off her blouse. Rooting around on the ground, she found a sturdy branch and knotted the blouse’s sleeves around it. ‘Look, I’ll push the end of the branch into this crevice in the rock—it will act as a marker so that we’ll be able to find you.’

‘I suppose so,’ Freya agreed reluctantly, obviously unsure about what she was proposing.

‘It will be fine, Freya. I promise you.’

Bella gave her a hug then hurried away before she started doubting the feasibility of her plan. She had to leave Freya here, otherwise they could be stuck out in the open all day long. The thought spurred her on and she made rapid progress, although it still took her over an hour to reach the main road. She stood at the side of the carriageway, praying that a car would come along soon. She was cold and wet and unutterably weary and all she wanted was to go home and have a long hot bath then climb into bed. Just for a second the image of Mac lying beside her popped into her head before she drove it away. Mac wouldn’t be sharing her bed today or in the foreseeable future!

* * *

Mac drove all around the town but he still couldn’t find any sign of Bella. He tried to imagine where she might have gone but his mind was blank. He sighed as he pulled up outside a coffee shop. Maybe a shot of caffeine would help restore some life to his flagging brain cells. He went in and ordered a triple espresso to go. He added a couple of sachets of sugar to the brew to give it an extra kick then left, stopping when he came face to face with Helen Robertson, their F1 student. She grimaced as she studied the concoction he was nursing.

‘You’re obviously in need of some serious stimulation if you’re thinking of drinking that. It looks lethal to me.’

‘Hmm, it probably is. But needs must, and my brain definitely needs a major pick-me-up,’ Mac replied with a grimace as he gulped down the coffee.

‘It must have been a rough night,’ Helen observed, laughing. ‘I saw Bella at the supermarket earlier and she looked really washed out.’

‘You saw her!’ Mac exclaimed. He grabbed hold of Helen’s arm. ‘When was this?’

---