Page 60 of A Highland Family Affair

‘Are you going to the hospital?’

‘We are, yes. Dougie is just taking us.’

‘And Wilf? Did they find the wee dug?’

Olivia smiled. ‘They did. He looked after Brodie until the rescue team got to him. Wouldn’t leave his side apparently.’

‘Oh, oh, bless him.’ Mirren’s voice broke. ‘I’m so relieved. Keep me posted and give Dougie a hug from me.’

‘I will. Bye, Mirren.’

Once Olivia’s call ended, Kerr said, ‘Look, why don’t I take the Land Rover home with Wilf and come back for you two later? You can call me when you’re ready to be picked up.’

‘Aye, lad, that’d be great, thank you. I doubt we’ll get to see him, but I’d rather be there in case we can.’ Dougie fell silent for a few moments before rubbing his hands wearily over his face. ‘I cannae believe I’m visiting my son in hospital again. He’d better no’ be making a habit of this. Twice is plenty.’

Dougie was referring to Brodie’s stint in hospital after his abusive ex-wife attacked him. Olivia remembered the horrific time all too clearly. She too was hoping this was the last time she would need to visit her man under such circumstances.

Once they arrived at the hospital, they waited outside for ten minutes until the ambulance had loaded its patient inside. Then Kerr took the keys from Dougie and hugged Olivia.

‘Message me if you need anything, okay? And as soon as you need picking up, I’ll come right back.’ He shook Dougie’s hand. ‘Same goes, Dougie.’

Dougie cleared his throat and nodded. ‘Aye, aye, thanks. Just get that dug home and warmed up. I’ll bet he’s famished, poor wee thing.’

‘I will, don’t worry.’

Once Kerr had gone, Olivia and Dougie went into the hospital and were shown to a waiting room by a nurse.

‘The surgeon is already in so they’re going to prep him right away. He should be under for around one or two hours depending how severe the break is. If you really are insistent on staying then grab yourselves a coffee from the machine and I’ll come back and let you know when he’s in recovery,’ he told them before leaving them in the room and closing the door.

‘Better make ourselves comfy, lass,’ Dougie said as he sat in one of the very upright high-seat chairs.

Comfy wasn’t a word that came to mind when Olivia looked at that particular seating option. She plumped for a two-seat sofa and rested her head back, closing her eyes for what she told herself would be five minutes, seeing as the lights were bright and the sofa wasn’t that comfortable either.

22

‘Ahem, excuse me, Lady Olivia?’ A voice startled her awake and she sat bolt upright.

She squinted her eyes and rubbed her stiff neck as she tried to remember where on earth she was, and why a man in scrubs was talking to her. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep, what time is it?’

The nurse glanced at the clock on the wall behind her. ‘Don’t worry, I think you must have needed it. It’s just after 5 a.m. Brodie’s awake now if you’d like to come and see him.’

Olivia stood too quickly in her eagerness, and a rush of blood caught her off guard. She gripped the sofa arm to steady herself as her head began to swim. ‘Oof.’ She touched her head until it wore off. ‘That’s great, thank you so much,’ she replied as her empty stomach churned.

‘Is he okay? Was the operation successful?’ Dougie asked. It was clear that he had been awake a lot longer than Olivia as he was gripping a cardboard coffee cup and guilt niggled at her. She was drained after the ordeal of the night before, however, and Dougie had been kind enough to let her sleep.

The nurse nodded and smiled. ‘He’s groggy but that’s only to be expected after a general anaesthetic. But the surgery went well from what the surgeon said. Fairly straightforward. That said, I don’t want you to stay too long, okay? He needs to rest. If all goes well, he will probably be released tomorrow, but that’s the surgeon’s decision, not mine, so we will see how he goes. He’ll need to be careful obviously. No hiking for a very long time.’

‘No hiking ever again if I’ve anything to say about it,’ Olivia chuntered, knowing she didn’t really mean it.

‘Come on, I’ll take you both to see him.’ The nurse gestured that they follow him.

Olivia caught sight of her reflection in a glass panel and grimaced when she realised her hair resembled a bird’s nest and her mascara had run. She could only imagine what a sight Dougie had had to put up with; her snoring, open-mouthed and drooling probably. She quickly made vain attempts to smooth down her locks and wiped at her dark-rimmed eyes in the hope to be more presentable for her fiancé. But knowing all the while, gratefully, that he wouldn’t care a jot about her appearance.

The nurse opened a door off the corridor to a private room. ‘Brodie, you have a couple of worried visitors.’

Dougie stepped aside to allow Olivia into the room first and she went straight to Brodie’s bedside, fighting off tears at seeing him attached to medical equipment once again. The gash to the side of his forehead was clean and had been taped and there was a kind of frame holding up a blanket over his injured leg.

‘Brodie!’ She peppered his face with kisses. ‘I thought I’d lost you when you didn’t come home. We were all so worried,’ she told him with a wavering voice.