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‘One of the guys on weather watch last night... Andy, I think...he woke me up early. Apparently the wate
r levels have gone down overnight, and you’ve got a couple of escape routes already planned. He said the one down by the motorway...’
So that was the reason for his early start, and the fact he was wearing his ambulance uniform. He couldn’t wait to get home. The only thing that was unexpected about that was the feeling of disappointment which tore at Cass.
‘Yeah. We reckoned that was most likely going to be the easiest. We’ve got a boat down there, and my car’s parked on the other side, so I’ll give you a lift. I need to go and get some supplies.’
‘Actually, I was wondering if you’d do me a favour.’
‘Of course.’ Anything.
‘Martin and I made a few visits last night. There are a couple of people running low on repeat prescriptions, and there’s a man who is overdue for a pacemaker check. And there’s the INR test for Miss Palmer. I’ll speak to the hospital; they should be able to make the testing equipment available to me for the day, so I can do it here.’
‘You’re...’ The only piece of information that her mind seemed to comprehend was that Jack was coming back.
‘It’ll take me most of the day to get across to the hospital and collect what I need, do the tests and then take everything back again. I was wondering if you might help with that, so I get a chance to see Ellie.’ His eyes were clouded. Jack obviously didn’t much like asking for favours. But he needed this one.
‘Of course I will. You go straight home and I’ll go to the hospital, collect what you need and get the prescriptions. I can pick you up again when I’m done.’ She held out her hand. ‘You have a list?’
He hesitated, his hand wandering to his pocket. ‘That’s really good of you. Are you sure it’s okay?’
‘Stop arguing and give me the list. Go see your daughter.’
* * *
They’d been piloted across the stretch of water which blocked the A389 by one of the men from the village, drowsy and complaining in the early morning light. Then the dinghy turned around, leaving them standing alone.
‘What now?’ Jack looked around for any clues as to what he was supposed to do next.
‘We walk.’ Cass shouldered her backpack and set off, not waiting for his reply. ‘It’s only a little way. I have my SUV parked in the driveway of that house up ahead.’
Jack followed her pointing finger. ‘That’s yours? The one camouflaged by mud?’
‘Hey! I’ll have you know that my car has the engine of a...’ she flung her hands up, searching for a suitable description ‘...a cheetah.’
‘A cheetah? What’s that—likely to eat you if you get too close?’ Jack teased her.
‘No! The bodywork’s a bit splashed, from when I drove it out of the village when the motorway started to flood.’ She grinned up at him. ‘You want to walk?’
‘I’ll take my chances.’ Jack upped the pace a little and she matched his stride. The day ahead of them seemed suddenly full of promise.
* * *
She’d delivered Jack to a large, neatly groomed house on the edge of one of the villages, close to town. He’d left her with one of his delicious smiles to think about before jogging up the front path and ringing the doorbell. Cass thought about waiting to see whether Ellie would come to the door, and decided not to. She had other things to do and her own list, along with Jack’s, would take a good few hours.
It took less than that, but she’d promised Jack that she’d pick him up at twelve and being early would only deprive him of precious time with his daughter. Cass stopped outside a coffee shop and found a seat at one of the smaller tables to drink her coffee alone.
At five past twelve she drew up outside the house again. Grabbing the bag on the front seat, she wondered for the fiftieth time whether this wasn’t going to make her look an idiot.
‘Sarah...?’ A dark-haired young woman answered the front door. ‘I’m Cass.’
‘Come in.’ Sarah shot her a broad smile that reminded her of Jack’s. ‘They’re through here.’
She followed Sarah through to a large lounge. One end of it was strewn with toys and Jack was sitting at the other end in an armchair, a little girl on his lap, a child’s picture book laid aside on the arm of the chair.
Two pairs of brown eyes. One shy and assessing, the other smiling.
‘You got everything?’
