Rescued By Dr Rafe

Her phone beeped again. Another long text. Mimi read it carefully.

‘What does he say?’

‘The stuff in his medical bag’s ruined. The water got to it.’ Mimi had been hoping against hope that at least some of the medical equipment that Jack had been carrying would have survived the drenching. ‘He’s staying with the patient until he finds a way to get her out, and there are some people coming down to try and get a second bag across. We’re to get it packed and ready, and wait for them to call.’

‘Tell him okay.’

‘Yeah.’ She’d just done that. Mimi surveyed the torrent of rushing water in front of them and hoped that the people who were coming to meet them had some idea how they were going to get the bag across the river, because she didn’t have a clue.

Rafe turned in his seat. ‘I’ve got pretty much everything he might need.’ He surveyed the boxes and bags in the back of the SUV. ‘What’s the patient’s condition?’

Trust Rafe to come prepared. He always came prepared, never thinking that someone else might have the situation under control.

‘She’s pregnant.’

Irritation tugged at his mouth. ‘I know that.’

‘Well, that’s all. She’s not in labour yet, but we were going to transport her to the hospital anyway, due to the weather conditions. No complications that I know of, but best...’ She was about to say that they’d best send whatever they could to deal with any eventuality, but Rafe had already got out of the car and was walking around to the tailgate. Opening it, he selected a sturdy holdall and began to stack it with boxes.

Mimi puffed out a breath and pulled her boots back on. She had no doubt that Rafe would do the right thing, or that she would, but it seemed that they were both going to do the right thing in the most unpleasant way possible.

The storm had done its worst and seemed to be easing off a little now. They didn’t have to wait long before four figures appeared on the other side of the river, carrying what looked like climbing gear.

Her phone rang and she answered it.

‘Hi, is that Mimi?’ A woman’s voice on the other end of the line, shouting over the roar of the water. ‘I’m Cass... Fire and Rescue...’

At last, some good news. It was always good to have a firefighter around, even in the pouring rain.

‘Hi Cass, Mimi here. How’s Jack?’

‘He’s fine. We’ve taken him up to the village to dry off and we’re going to try to get a line over to you now.’

‘What’s your plan?’

‘Along the river to the east the land rises on this side. I’m thinking we may be able to throw a rope to you and winch the bag across.’

‘Right you are; we’ll meet you there. We have two bags.’

‘That’s great. Thanks.’ The line cut and Mimi shouldered one of the bags. Knowing that Rafe would follow with the other, she slid carefully down the slope at the side of the road and walked into the trees.

Under the canopy of the leaves, the ground was wet but undisturbed and the clingy mud by the side of the road less in evidence. Rafe’s long strides quickly caught up with her.

‘There’s some high ground on the other side of the river, about a quarter of a mile in this direction. They seem to think they can get a rope across.’

He nodded. Apparently he’d run out of things to say, or perhaps he’d decided that keeping the peace was the better option right now. In the silence, broken only by their footsteps and the drip of rain from the trees, Mimi resolved to do the same.

She thought she’d left this all behind. Taken charge, caught whatever life could throw at her and thrown it back. But right now she felt just as alone as she had five years ago, when Rafe had left, and still weighed down by the memories from her past.

Seventeen years old and clinging to her twin brother, Charlie, on the night they’d heard their parents had died in a car crash. Promising that they’d always be there for each other...

That promise had been kept. And, as the pain of their loss had diminished, Mimi had known that Mum and Dad would be proud of the way that she and Charlie had stuck together.

Twenty-one years old. She’d thought that she’d been in love with Graham, and then he’d slapped her down with that list. A comprehensive catalogue of Mimi’s faults and failings, which he had used to justify having slept with someone else behind her back.

She’d let him go, but somehow the list had been harder to shake. Stamped on her brain, a reminder that she was irretrievably flawed and a warning against ever trusting a man again.

But Rafe had made her believe that one last try might be possible. He had been the handsome doctor in attendance when Charlie was brought into A and E, so terribly injured, after falling from a window. It was thanks to his skill and quick action that Charlie still had some mobility left in his legs, and could pull himself up from his wheelchair and walk a few steps.

Twenty-three. When Rafe’s mother had been diagnosed with cancer she’d tried so hard to support him, the way he’d supported her and Charlie, but he’d shut her out over and over again. Every day she’d felt him slip away a little more, and when he’d finally left it had been just a confirmation of everything that the list had taught her. She just wasn’t good enough. And it hurt so much more to be not good enough for someone you really loved.

Mimi had picked up the pieces and set her goals. Helping Charlie regain his independence. Getting her paramedic qualification. Wiping Rafe out of her life, and never giving any man the chance to break her heart again. And she’d achieved them.

So how come she was wet through, trudging through a wood with Rafe? Feeling all the insecurities that she thought she’d put behind her. Wondering what he was thinking, and whether he might be comparing her with someone else and finding her lacking.

The straps of the bag were cutting into her shoulder and she shifted it a little. She would deal with it. She felt bad, but that had never stopped her before. It would pass. Rafe would be history again, very soon.

As they approached the place that Cass had indicated the canopy of trees thinned slightly, giving way to long grass, which had been flattened and muddied when the river broke its banks. On the other side she could see Cass’s party, climbing a rocky outcrop that rose twenty feet above the level of the fast-flowing water.

‘If they’re going to get a line across, this is the place to do it.’ Rafe had come to a halt, looking around.

‘Yep.’ Mimi looked up at the iron-grey sky. ‘At least it’s stopped raining.’

He nodded. Finally it seemed they’d found something that they could agree on.

Cass and the men on the other side were securing the end of a long rope around the trunk of a tree. She was as tall as the men with her, and seemed to be directing them. As she worked her hood fell back off her head, showing a shock of red hair, bright against the browns and dirty greens of the landscape.

Mimi’s phone rang.

‘We’re ready.’ Cass didn’t bother with any preliminaries. ‘I’m going to try and throw a line to you. Be ready to grab it.’

‘Okay. Standing by...’ Mimi looked up at Rafe. ‘There’s a rope coming over.’

He nodded, and Mimi saw Cass swing the rope and throw it. The coil at her feet played out, but the rope was too light to travel far and dropped into the middle of the river, immediately carried downstream by the current. The men behind her hauled it back and she tried again. It travelled further this time, dropping into the river just yards from their reach and Mimi heard Rafe puff out a breath almost at the same time as she did.

‘They need to find something heavy to weight the rope...’ His voice was loaded with frustration.

Mimi bit back the temptation to tell him that he was stating the obvious, and that it seemed that Cass was already doing something about it. She had to get a grip. Rafe was acting perfectly reasonably and she should at least try to be civil with him. But she was still reeling from the double shock of nearly losing Jack and then of seeing Rafe again.

She watched as Cass selected something from one of the backpacks they’d brought with them and tied it carefully on to the end of a thinner, lighter length of twine. When Cass threw again, the line came whizzing across, followed by a shout of triumph as it cleared the river, the weight dragging along the ground as the twine sank into the water and was pulled downstream.

Mimi ran for it but Rafe was faster and he was already there, catching the weight just in time. Mimi took hold of the twine and together they dragged it clear of the water, pulling it back and winding it securely around the trunk of a tree.

Her phone rang again and there were more instructions from Cass, which Mimi relayed on to Rafe. A rope was hauled across and secured, along with clips and a pulley.

‘I wonder where she got all this stuff from.’ Mimi could see that the nylon ropes were strong and of high quality.

‘It looks like mountaineering equipment. This is a carabiner...’ Rafe was securing the rope around the tree with a no-nonsense-looking clip. ‘Watch your fingers.’

‘Well, give me a chance...’ Mimi whipped her hand away as Rafe tested the strength of the anchor and the rope snapped tight around the tree trunk.

He waved to the party on the other bank and the bag began to move. Slowly at first, and then speeding through the air, over the water. A small pause while it was unclipped on the other side, and then the pulley came spinning back towards them.

Mimi looked at the water, boiling over jagged rocks twenty yards downstream. She was afraid, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her. She cupped her hands around her mouth, shouting across the river. ‘You have a harness?’

Cass didn’t seem to hear her, and Rafe shook his head.

‘Leave it.’ He clipped the second bag on to the pulley. As it began to move, he tugged at the ropes that anchored their end of the line around the tree trunk, assessing their strength.

Mimi knew exactly what he was thinking. Rafe was going to insist on being the one to make that perilous journey, with or without a harness. It had always been this way with him.

He’d been just the same when they’d lived together. Strong, dependable, always the first to get to grips with a problem and always the first to solve it. His quiet resourcefulness was one of the things that had drawn her to him but, after a while, standing back and watching Rafe deal with everything had begun to lose its charm.

And yet she’d done it. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing Rafe and she’d tried so hard to be the woman he wanted, someone he’d think was good enough to spend his life with.

Fat lot of use that had been. His family had obviously been hoping he’d find someone from the same background as him—big house, private education, an appreciation of the finer things in life and the money to buy them. They had probably heaved a joint sigh of relief when Rafe had left her.

She wasn’t about to let Rafe walk all over her again. ‘I’ll go first. I’m lighter than you are.’ She spoke casually, even though she knew that the words would be like a red rag to a bull.

‘You will not.’

‘Just watch me, Rafe.’ She threw the retort at him, watching as the group across the river retrieved the second bag. As they did so, a crack sounded across the water. One of the ropes came whipping towards them and she felt herself falling sideways as Rafe tackled her to the ground. The rope described an arc in the air above their heads and flopped down next to them.

‘Ow! Did you have to do that?’ Mimi rolled away from him, straight into a patch of mud. She’d been trying so hard to show him that he didn’t need to protect her any more. Rafe sweeping her off her feet, however dispassionately he’d done it, was the last thing she needed.

‘Nope. Could have just let it take your head off.’ He had the audacity to grin at her.

‘I’m beginning to wish you had.’ She brushed herself down, resisting the temptation to thank him. Instead she turned to the group on the other side of the river, who were standing motionless, staring across at them.

Mimi took her phone out of her pocket, dialling Cass’s number.

‘Sorry about that. You okay?’ Cass’s voice sounded down the line.

‘Yes, fine.’ Rafe was behind her, muttering something about tying her to a tree to keep her out of trouble, and she ignored him. ‘I’m going to try to get to you. I might be able to get through on the other road into the village...’

‘I doubt anyone’s going to get through safely tonight.’ There was a pause. ‘Jack said that he’s getting in contact with the HEMS team. When the rain gives over a bit they might be able to make it. If there’s anything he needs, you’ll be the first to know.’

That was sensible. And, coming from Cass, it didn’t sound like a put-down. ‘Okay, thanks. Give him my love...’

‘Will do. When this is over, there’s a bottle of red with our name on it, if you fancy a night out.’

‘I’ll be there.’ She waved across to the group on the other side of the river and ended the call. Thankfully, Rafe had decided not to make good on his threats and was already unclipping the remaining rope from around the tree, watching as it was hauled back across the water.

‘We’re going.’ It was an obvious statement, but it made Mimi feel good to be the one to say it. Turning away from him, she started to walk back towards the road as the rain started falling again.

They made the journey in silence. Perhaps Rafe was figuring out what he was going to save her from next. When they reached the stricken ambulance, he walked over to it.

‘I don’t think I’m going to be able to tow you out...’ He was peering underneath the vehicle. ‘In any case, it looks as if there’s a fair bit of damage, here.’

‘I’m going to call for a tow truck.’ Thanks, Rafe, but you’re no longer needed. You can go now. Treacherous regret tugged at Mimi’s heart at the thought.

‘Don’t forget the CD safe.’ There was a barb in his tone.

No, she hadn’t forgotten the controlled drugs that the ambulance carried, and she did know that she had to remove them.

‘I’ll let you get on.’ She turned, making for the back doors of the ambulance, and felt his grip on her arm.

‘Let me go, Rafe.’ She pulled against him, but he didn’t relent.

‘What are you expecting me to do? Leave you here with no shelter and no transport?’ He gave an incredulous shake of his head. ‘Think again.’

‘Let. Go.’ Every time he touched her, it was the same. The memories were almost like solid, living things, tearing at her heart and reminding her that once upon a time, in a land far, far away, she’d craved Rafe’s touch.

He uncurled his fingers from her wrist. Not too fast, not too slow. Rafe had always been a master of the art of good timing.

‘Stay if you must. I’m calling for the tow truck.’ She forced herself to look away from him, scrolling through the list of numbers on her phone for the vehicle recovery company.

* * *

If he had to put a name to that look, Rafe supposed that hostile arousal might just about cover it. He had no doubt that the hostility was there, but the arousal was probably just wishful thinking on his part.

He supposed he didn’t deserve anything else, but she didn’t have to ram it down his throat. It was obvious that she could cope without him, but he wasn’t entirely surplus to requirements. If she thought that leaving her hadn’t hurt him as well, then she could think again.

Rafe kicked disgruntledly at the tyre of the disabled ambulance. Mimi had taken hold of her life with both hands, gained a qualification and got a new job. His life was back on track, too. When he’d left, he’d made the right decision and now was no time to start re-examining it.

The ambulance was tipped at a slight angle in the mud, but it was wedged firmly against a tree and seemed stable enough. Rafe gave the vehicle a good shove and it stayed put, so gingerly he opened the back doors and climbed inside, looking around to assess the damage.

‘They’re sending a truck out. The tow company’s pretty busy, but they’re giving me priority, so they should be here inside an hour.’ She was standing in the rain, outside the ambulance, looking at him thoughtfully.

‘Good. Not long to wait, then.’ This couldn’t be easy for her. Medicine was all about teamwork, and he knew that the nature of the ambulance crews’ work tended to forge the tightest of teams. She must be feeling very alone right now.

She looked up at him and he thought he saw a flicker of confused warmth in her face. ‘How much of the ambulance equipment can you take in your car?’

‘Pretty much everything that’s portable.’ Rafe surveyed the inside of the wrecked vehicle. ‘Apart from the stretcher.’

‘I was reckoning on leaving that.’ Mimi was standing stock-still, her arms folded. As if she knew what she had to do but just couldn’t bring herself to start. Rafe picked up one of the bags, stowed away under the seat, and climbed out of the stricken vehicle, making his way to his car.

* * *

Rafe’s sudden appearance seemed to have peeled away everything she had built up in the last five years, like a bad skin graft sloughing off a wound, leaving it red raw. And now she was leaving Jack behind and stripping her ambulance of everything that could be moved. She could almost reach out and touch the feeling of loss.

She had to get a grip. Mimi repeated the words in her head, in the hope that they might sink in.

As usual, it was practically impossible to see what Rafe was thinking, but as they worked quietly together the atmosphere between them seemed to relax. He watched as she checked through the contents of the Controlled Drugs safe, countersigning the inventory, and then set to work helping stow as much as they could from the ambulance into his car.

Typically, the rain seemed to slacken off just as they were finishing, and the tow truck chose that moment to arrive as well. Tired and shivering, Mimi clambered into Rafe’s car and hung her dripping jacket in the back.

‘Here.’ He rummaged for a moment on the back seat, unzipped a bag and produced a sweater. ‘Put this on.’

He ducked back out of the car, closing the door, and Mimi picked up the sweater. She didn’t particularly want to follow his orders, nor did she want to wear his clothes, but refusing might give him the idea it meant something to her. And when she pulled it over her head it was warm and all-enveloping.

The key was in the ignition and she started the engine, putting the heaters on full and directing the ventilation up on to the windows. As they began to clear she could see Rafe, talking to the vehicle recovery men as the winch slowly pulled her ambulance out of the mud and on to the back of the truck.

He jogged back to the car and got in. ‘I’m ready whenever you are.’

‘Yes. Let’s go.’ She blurted out the instruction, knowing that he wouldn’t go anywhere unless she allowed it, and realising that somehow that didn’t put her in charge.

‘Hospital?’

‘Yes, thanks. We need to get the controlled drugs back there.’

He nodded, leaning forward to start the engine. Even in these conditions it wouldn’t take long before they were back at the hospital and then she could thank him and wave him goodbye.

CHAPTER THREE

RAFE WAITED WHILE Mimi argued with the ambulance control supervisor. They’d both turned around at the same time, to look at him for a moment, and then Mimi had turned away again, her eyes dead, as if he mattered rather less to her than the chair he was sitting on. The supervisor beckoned her into his office and she followed him, protest leaking from every movement she made.

He’d loved her fire. That unquenchable, unstoppable thirst for life that made the best out of everything had enchanted Rafe. It had challenged all the assumptions that his family had taught him. Boys don’t cry. A man should take care of the women in his life. He must handle his problems alone, not needing to talk about them.

And Rafe had come so close to quenching that fire. When his mother had been diagnosed with cancer, and his family had descended into a state of restrained crisis, Mimi had wanted to help, had fought him to let her in. But Rafe couldn’t. He’d already perfected the art of hiding whatever pain life threw at him and he didn’t know how to do anything else.

He didn’t blame her for giving up on him, but it had hurt all the more because Mimi never gave up on anything. Lying with her in their bed, unable to either sleep or to share his anguish, had taught Rafe the nature of true loneliness. Leaving had been his way of keeping her safe from the silence that had descended on their home.

That was all history now. He’d thought it could never change but, as the door of the supervisor’s office opened and he saw Mimi walk towards him, he began to wonder. He’d measured his failure in their relationship by the lack of emotion she’d shown when he left, but now anger was stamped all over her face and he had little doubt that most of it was directed at him.

‘Everything okay?’

She shook her head. ‘There are no spare vehicles and no one for me to partner with. They’re sending me home...’

‘Unless?’ Rafe had seen enough of the situation here to be able to guess what Mimi’s options were.

Her face was set in an expression of almost believable remorse. ‘I apologise for what I said. I should have thanked you for getting me out of the way of that rope when it broke.’

Mimi was still thinking about that? Then Rafe realised that this was the precursor to something else.

‘You’re welcome. I apologise for what I said too. I had no real intention of tying you to a tree.’ However appealing the thought had been at the time.

‘No. It didn’t really occur to me that you did. I think we were both letting off a bit of steam.’ She screwed her face into a frown. ‘My controller... He says that if you need any help I could always tag along with you.’

Deep down inside a primitive sense of triumph pulled at him. However much she disliked the idea, Mimi needed him. Rafe tried to think dispassionately. Two would be more effective than one, and he’d be able take more calls. Unless, of course, they spent the rest of the evening bickering over old grudges.

‘Do you think that’s going to work?’

Mimi took a deep breath, as if she was suppressing the urge to solve the problem by killing him and taking his car keys. ‘I’ll make it work, Rafe. I can’t sit this out; I’ll go crazy at home.’

There wasn’t even a decision to make. Turning down any assistance, let alone that of a trained paramedic, would be reckless at a time like this. ‘Happy to have you along. I’d appreciate the help.’

That was that, then. There was a lot of unresolved anger between them, but if they could put that aside this could work.

They stood for a moment staring at each other and then Mimi broke the silence.

‘Look, this is difficult, but we could make it a lot easier.’

‘Yeah, I guess we could. I’d like that...’ Rafe remembered not to call her Mimi this time. That was just the kind of thing that might shatter this unstable truce.

‘We’ll make a new start, shall we?’

Pretend that none of it had ever happened? That he hadn’t loved her and then left her, and that resentment wasn’t colouring everything they did now. It was a tough prospect, but if that was what it took... It was, in fact, an opportunity. If there was unfinished business between them, then maybe now was the time to finish it for good.

‘Yes. Okay, I’d like that. New start.’

* * *

Mimi felt better now that she’d had a chance to wash her face and comb her hair. She folded Rafe’s sweater, making a conscious effort not to bury her face into its softness, trying to catch one last trace of his scent. This was hard.

She stuffed the sweater into a bag, dragged her jacket on and marched out into the rain. He was sitting in the car, waiting for her. Her colleague. The one she’d slept with once upon a time, but that had been a mistake and it was all finished now.