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‘No. You might be human, though. And if it turns out that you are, and you need a friend...’ He shrugged. Why should she turn to him? She was surrounded by friends here and she never seemed to want to take any help from anyone.
Suddenly she seemed to soften. ‘Jack, I...’ She shook her head and the moment was lost. ‘Will you do something for me? As a friend.’
‘Of course.’
‘Will you just shut up?’
* * *
He’d obviously gone too far and Cass was withdrawn and quiet as they circled the low-lying areas of the village, dropping off prescriptions and visiting anyone who might need medical support. But, whatever sadness she concealed, and Jack was sure by now that she was hiding something, she never hung on to it for long. Cass was nothing if not resilient, and by the time they’d walked back up the hill to Miss Palmer’s cottage, she was smiling again.
‘I can’t wait to see what Bathsheba’s going to get up to next.’ Cass grinned at Miss Palmer. While Jack had been checking her over and doing the INR test, Cass had produced an MP3 player from her pocket and plugged it into a laptop which lay on a side table.
‘Oh, I think you’ll be surprised.’ Miss Palmer smiled enigmatically.
‘Miss Palmer’s reading Thomas Hardy. I can read it myself, but it’s easier when she does it for me.’
‘You can concentrate on what’s happening, you mean?’ Jack liked the idea, and it obviously gave both Cass and Miss Palmer a lot of pleasure.
‘Yes. I get to enjoy the story.’
‘It’s our little secret.’ Miss Palmer was looking at him speculatively, and Jack was learning never to ignore any of Miss Palmer’s looks. ‘Just between the two of us. Or the three of us, I suppose.’
Cass’s cheeks flushed a little, but she didn’t seem to mind. And Jack had the sudden feeling that the brick wall that Cass had built around herself had just crumbled a little. Not so much as to allow him to see over the top, but if he put his shoulder to it a few more times who knew what might happen?
* * *
They’d retraced their route back along the flooded motorway and to Cass’s car. She’d waited in the hospital car park for him, plugging the MP3 player into the car’s sound system while Jack returned the borrowed equipment and made sure that the results of the tests he’d taken would reach the right people.
‘What time does Ellie go to bed?’ When he climbed back into the SUV, she looked at her watch.
‘In about half an hour. But if we go now, we’ll get back across the water while it’s still light.’ Jack knew what she was thinking. He’d been thinking the same himself, but it was too late now.
She started the engine. ‘Won’t take long to kiss her goodnight, will it? And I’ve got a flashlight in the back of the car.’
‘Anything you don’t have in the back of your car?’
She chuckled. ‘I like to come prepared.’
They were in time for Jack to put Ellie to bed. He walked back downstairs to find Cass alone in the sitting room, still listening to her MP3 player.
‘Ready?’
‘Yeah. Thanks.’ He said a quick goodbye to Sarah, resisting the temptation to go and wake Ellie up, just to say goodnight to her again, and followed Cass to her car.
When they arrived at the motorway, she pulled a large flashlight from the car boot, switching it on. It illuminated the water in front of them as she swung it slowly.
‘They must not be here yet.’ There was no answering flash of light from the gloom on the other side. ‘They won’t be long.’
Suddenly, the men coming to fetch them could be as long as they liked. It could rain as much as it liked. Jack reached for her, wondering whether she would back away.
She didn’t. Cass took a step towards him, the beam of the flashlight swaying suddenly upwards. They were touching now. Sweaters and coats between them, but still nothing to protect him from the intoxicating magic that she exuded.
‘Switch it off.’ His own voice sounded hoarse, almost abrupt.
An answering snap, and they were standing in semi-darkness. She pulled down her hood, rain splashing on to her face as
she tipped it up towards him.
