Rapid Response. Jennifer Taylor
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with me and Josh?’
‘Not at all.’ His smile made a mockery of what she’d been thinking earlier. She didn’t need to hear the indifference in his voice to know that she’d been mad to imagine Ben still cared about her. He never really had cared, if the truth be told, and the proof of that was the way he had dumped her so callously. It was an effort to hide her hurt when he continued.
‘As you pointed out, Holly, it’s not my place to comment on what you do.’
‘No, it isn’t. I’m glad you realise that.’
She didn’t say anything else because there wasn’t time. Charity had moved up another rung and Holly quickly followed. They had to stop when another contraction began but it wasn’t long before they were able to carry on. However, it was a relief when they reached the top of the ladder where there were people waiting to help the young mother the rest of the way.
Josh grabbed hold of Holly’s arm when she scrambled out onto the side of the coach and stood there, blinking. It seemed so bright outside after the gloom inside the coach that she couldn’t focus for a moment.
‘Are you OK, Holly?’
The concern in the handsome young paramedic’s voice was wonderfully soothing after her recent spat with Ben and she smiled warmly. ‘I’m fine now, thank you very much.’
‘Good!’ Josh gave her a quick hug then went to supervise as Charity was helped down to the ground. A plastic chute had been set up against the coach and Charity was able to slide down it without too much difficulty.
Holly sighed as she watched Josh helping the girl to a waiting ambulance. Had her response had been a bit too warm just now? She didn’t want to give Josh the wrong idea, especially not when it might upset Ben…
‘Damn, damn, damn!’
The curses sprang from her lips when she realised what she was doing again. Even after everything that had happened, she was still considering Ben’s feelings! She swung round when she heard someone laugh and saw Nicky climbing out of the coach.
‘Tut, tut, is that really the kind of language a well brought-up young lady should use?’ Nicky grinned at her. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d say you had man trouble, Holly Daniels.’
‘Not a chance,’ Holly retorted. ‘I’ve too much sense to let any man cause me grief.’
Nicky whistled in admiration. ‘I wish I had your attitude. I keep telling myself that I need to toughen up but I’m such a marshmallow when it comes to affairs of the heart. I envy you, Hol, really I do, although I hope poor Josh realises what he’s letting himself in for.’
‘I wouldn’t dream of deliberately hurting Josh, or anyone else for that matter,’ Holly denied in dismay.
‘Oh, I know that! And I didn’t mean to imply that you would. It’s just that you have your life all worked out and refuse to be messed about.’ Nicky smiled placatingly. ‘I’m hoping to learn a lot from you while we’re flat-sharing. If I can get my act together like you’ve done, Holly, then I’ll be a happy bunny!’
Holly sighed as Nicky disappeared down the chute. Nicky seemed to think that her life was perfect but it was a long way away from being that. She may have achieved a certain stability recently but that could change now Ben was back on the scene. She might claim to be over him but if that was true, why did she feel so on edge? Was it possible that she still felt something for him?
She glanced round as another paramedic appeared with a stretcher that would be used to move the driver, suddenly glad that she didn’t have the time to answer that question right then. She quickly made her way back inside the coach and discovered that the fire crew had finally freed the driver. Between them they managed to shift him onto the stretcher. However, getting him out of the coach proved to be a major task. The stretcher had to be hauled out through the window with the aid of ropes and it was a worrying time for everyone concerned.
Ben heaved a sigh of relief as they watched the ambulance roar away with its sirens wailing. He looked almost as exhausted as she felt but there was a gleam in his eyes that she’d seen many times before, a light that sprang from satisfaction at a job well done. Her heart knocked against her ribs because she didn’t want to think about the past right then.
‘That seems to be it, then. Everyone accounted for so it’s back to base now, I think.’
‘Sounds like a good idea to me.’ She treated him to a brief smile then quickly made her way back to where she’d left the motorbike. She wasn’t going to fall into the trap again. The past was the past and she refused to keep harping on about it all the time. She had got over Ben—ages ago! The only way he could gain any power over her now was if she let him back into her life and that simply wasn’t going to happen. To put it bluntly, Ben Carlisle was history!
‘EVER had the feeling that someone must have spread the word that we were open for business today?’
‘It has been pretty hectic,’ Ben agreed ruefully as he followed Sean into the office.
It was the end of his shift and he’d been going off duty when Sean had asked to speak to him. The day had been one of the busiest Ben could remember. The coach crash had been followed by another RTA, this time in the town centre. Once again the resulting tailback of traffic had caused problems for the ambulance crews so he’d been asked to attend on the motorbike. Fortunately, nobody had sustained any really serious injuries that time but he’d only just got back to the hospital when another call had come in to go to a nursing home on the outskirts of Dalverston. One of the kitchen staff had been badly burnt when a fat fryer had caught fire and it had soon become apparent that the woman would need transferring to the specialist burns unit at Manchester.
He and Holly had travelled in the helicopter together because of the seriousness of the patient’s condition. They’d been far too busy stabilising the woman on the outward journey to make conversation and Holly had opted to sit next to the pilot on the way back. Nothing had been said but Ben suspected that she’d been keeping her distance from him and really couldn’t blame her. He’d had no right to use that tone when he’d spoken about Josh Hammond that morning.
The thought made him sigh and he saw Sean glance at him. ‘Problems?’
‘Just the usual ones, like the fact that I’m absolutely bushed and can’t face the thought of cooking myself a meal when I get in. Looks like it will be a take-away again tonight,’ he replied, making a note to be on his guard in future. He had to keep this problem with Holly under wraps so it wouldn’t cause any disruptions within the team. It was up to them to sort things out, although the thought of having to confront her wasn’t a pleasant one. He was more than happy to put it aside when Sean laughed.
‘Been there, done that and had the indigestion to prove it!’ Sean replied, sitting down behind the desk. ‘What you need is a good woman to take you in hand, my friend.’
‘Pass!’ Ben grimaced as he pulled up a chair. ‘I’d rather put up with the indigestion and save myself a whole load of problems, thank you very much.’
Sean shook his head. ‘You don’t know what you’re missing. Life has been fantastic since Claire and I got married. I don’t know how I ever managed without her and the kids, in fact.’
‘Then you’re one of the lucky ones,’ Ben said lightly.
‘Oh, I know that.’ Sean chuckled. ‘And I also know that sounds horribly smug but I’m not going to apologise for it. Anyway, enough of my eulogising about my good fortune. What I wanted to know was if there were any areas you felt I might be able help you with. And before you ask, no, I don’t have any concerns about your ability to do the job. You missed the extra training the rest of the team received and I just want to make sure that you’re happy with everything that’s happened so far.’
‘Everything