Once Upon a Christmas (3 page)

And with that he grabbed his jacket and strode out of the pub after her.

Oliver looked at Tom. ‘I always thought he was a bright guy. How did he ever come top in all those exams?’

Tom gave a faint smile. ‘He’ll get there in the end.’

‘Unless Bry meets someone else.’

‘Bryony has been in love with Jack for twenty-two years,’ Tom said calmly, glancing at the barman and waggling his glass. ‘She’s never going to fall in love with anyone else.’

‘So what happens now?’

Tom reached for his wallet. ‘I think we’re in for a very interesting few weeks. Happy birthday, bro. This one’s on me.’

Damn.

Jack strode out to the car park, cursing himself for being so tactless. He couldn’t believe he’d argued with Bryony. He
never
argued with Bryony. Or, at least, not seriously. Bryony was the nearest he had to family and their relationship was all banter and teasing and a great deal of confiding. Well, on his part at least. He told her everything about his relationships and she was always giving him little suggestions. And that was one of the things he loved about their friendship. Unlike the women he dated, Bryony never tried to change him or lecture him. She just accepted him as he was. He was more comfortable in her kitchen than any other place in the world. And now he’d upset her.

What the hell had come over him?

He looked round the car park, part of him hoping that she was still there, but of course she was long gone. He just hoped she wasn’t driving too quickly. The air was freezing and the roads would be icy.

He gritted his teeth and swore under his breath. She’d been really upset by his comments and there was a very strong chance that he’d made her cry. Despite the fact that she rarely let him see it, he knew she was soft-hearted. He’d
known her since she was five, for goodness’ sake, and he knew her better than anyone.

Realising that he had a big apology to make, he ran a hand over his face and strolled to his car, pressing the remote control on his keyring.

He could drive over to her cottage now, of course, but she’d still be mad with him and anyway her mother would be there so they wouldn’t be able to talk properly.

No. The apology was best left until they could be alone.

If he’d been dating her he would have sent her flowers, but he’d never sent Bryony flowers in his life, and if he did she’d think he’d gone mad.

He slid into his sports car and dropped his head back against the seat.

No doubt, now that word was out that she was going to start dating, flowers would be arriving for her thick and fast.

He growled low in his throat, tension rising in him as he contemplated the impact that her announcement had made.

Why had she chosen to tell the whole pub? Didn’t she know that all the guys lusted after her? That with her long silken blonde hair and her fabulous curvy body, she couldn’t walk across a room without stopping conversations? And he felt every bit as protective towards her as he knew her brothers did.

And now some sleazy guy would come along and take advantage of her, and she was so trusting and inexperienced with men she wouldn’t even notice until it was too late.

Jack reversed the car out of its space, crunching the
gears viciously. Well,
not
while he was available to prevent it happening.

She’d become pregnant in her second year at medical school and neither he nor her brothers had been around to sort the guy out. Damn it, she hadn’t even told them who he was. Just mumbled something about the whole thing being a mistake and refused to even discuss it even though Tom and Oliver had pumped her for hours.

Well, there wasn’t going to be another mistake, Jack thought grimly, his strong hands tightening on the wheel. Because now there was Lizzie’s happiness to think of, too. No one was going to hurt either one of his girls.

From now on, if any guy so much as
looked
at Bryony the wrong way, if there was even a
scent
of someone messing her around, he’d step in and floor them.

Satisfied that he was back in control of the situation, he stopped trying to pulverise his precious car and slowed his pace.

All he needed to do now was plan. He needed to know exactly whom she was dating so that he could issue a warning.

Bryony let herself into the house and found her mother in the kitchen. ‘Is she asleep?’

‘Fast asleep.’ Her mother dried her hands on a towel. ‘You’re back early, darling. Is something wrong?’

‘No.’ Bryony unwrapped the scarf from around her neck and tossed it onto the chair. Her coat followed.

‘Bryony, I’m your mother. I can tell when something is wrong.’

Bryony glared at her, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. ‘Jack Rothwell, that’s what’s wrong!’

‘Ah.’ Her mother gave a smile and turned to put the kettle on. ‘Tea?’

‘I suppose so.’ Bryony slumped into the nearest chair and sighed. ‘He is the most infuriating man.’

‘Is he?’

‘You know he is.’

Her mother reached for the tea bags. ‘I know that you two have been very close for almost the whole of your lives,’ she said mildly. ‘I’m sure that whatever it is you’ve quarrelled about will go away.’

‘The man dates every woman on the planet,’ Bryony said, still outraged by his attitude, ‘but when I announce that I’m going to start going out with men, he’s suddenly disapproving. And he had the nerve to lecture me on my responsibilities to Lizzie!’

‘Did he?’ Her mother looked thoughtful. ‘That’s very interesting.’

‘Interesting?’ Bryony shot her mother an incredulous look. ‘Irritating, you mean. And hypocritical. How many girlfriends has Jack Rothwell had since I first met him?’

Her mother poured the tea. ‘Quite a few, I should think.’

‘Half the planet,’ Bryony said flatly. ‘He certainly isn’t in a position to lecture me about morals.’

‘I imagine he thought he was protecting Lizzie.’

Bryony stared at her. ‘From what?’

Her mother put two mugs on the table and sat down opposite her. ‘Jack hasn’t had a very positive experience of marriage, sweetheart.’

‘You mean because of his parents?’

Her mother’s mouth tightened with disapproval. ‘Well, you know my opinion on that. They were grown-ups. He was a child. They should have sorted out their differences amicably. After his father walked out, Jack spent most of his childhood at our house and I don’t think his mother even noticed he wasn’t at home. She was too busy enjoying herself to remember that she had a child.’

Bryony bit her lip, suddenly realising why Jack might have been so sensitive about her dating. ‘But I wouldn’t do that. That isn’t what this is about.’

‘I know. But you understand Jack better than anyone,’ her mother said calmly. ‘He wasn’t thinking about you, darling. He was thinking about his own experiences.’

Bryony bit her lip. ‘Do you think I should start dating, Mum?’

‘Certainly I think you should date,’ her mother replied calmly. ‘I’ve always thought you should date, but you’ve always been too crazy about Jack to notice anyone else.’

Bryony stared at her, opened her mouth to deny it and then caught the look in her mother’s eye and closed it again. ‘You know that?’

‘I’m your mother. Of course I know that.’

‘He doesn’t notice me.’

‘You’re a huge part of Jack’s life,’ her mother said mildly. ‘He virtually lives here. But that’s going to have to change if you really are going to date other men.’

Bryony curled her hands round her mug. ‘But I don’t want it to change my friendship with Jack.’

‘One day you’ll get married again,’ her mother said quietly, ‘and I can’t see any man wanting to see Jack lounging
in your kitchen every time he comes home from work. Of course your friendship is going to change.’

Bryony stared into her mug, a hollow feeling inside her. She didn’t want things to change. Despite their row, she couldn’t imagine not having Jack in her life.

But she couldn’t carry on the way she was now, for Lizzie’s sake.

‘Then I suppose I’ll just have to get used to that,’ she said, raising her mug in the air. ‘Cheers. To my future.’

Her mother lifted her mug in response. ‘May it turn out the way you want it to,’ she said cryptically, and Bryony let out a long breath.

She wasn’t really sure what
she
wanted.

But she knew Lizzie needed a daddy.

The next morning she was woken by her pager.

‘Is that a callout?’ Lizzie was by her bed in a flash, her eyes huge. ‘Is someone in trouble on the mountain?’

Bryony picked up her pager and was reading the message when the phone rang. Lizzie grabbed it immediately.

‘Hunter household, Elizabeth Hunter speaking,’ she said formally, the angle of her chin suggesting that she was very proud of herself. She listened for a moment and then a smile spread across her face. ‘Hello, Jack! Yes, Mummy’s right here … I’ll tell her. Will I see you later?’

Bryony pulled on her clothes and sprinted to the bathroom to clean her teeth. By the time she’d finished, Lizzie was off the phone.

‘There’s a party of Duke of Edinburgh Award boys overdue,’ she said importantly. ‘They’re sending out the whole
team but Sean wants you and Jack to be an advance party. Jack is picking you up in five minutes.’

‘Five minutes.’ Bryony hurried through to the kitchen, grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and dropped some bread in the toaster. ‘Get your school things, sweetheart. Jack and I will drop you at Grandma’s on the way past and she can take you to school.’

Lizzie sprinted off and Bryony sent up a silent prayer of thanks that she had her mother close by. How did single parents manage without mothers?

By the time Jack hammered on the door, Lizzie was dressed and was standing by the door with her schoolbag, munching toast.

She stood on tiptoe and opened the door.

‘Hi, there.’ Jack stooped and swung her into his arms, squeezing her tightly. ‘Are we dropping you with Grandma?’

‘We certainly are.’ Bryony walked into the hall and picked up her rucksack and the other bits and pieces that she’d piled by the door, avoiding Jack’s gaze. She was grateful that Lizzie was there. At least it prevented her from having to continue the conversation from the night before.

She was still hurt and angry by Jack’s response to her announcement that she was going to start dating.

They piled into the mountain rescue vehicle and Jack drove down the lane that led to Bryony’s cottage and turned onto the main road.

‘So what’s the story?’ Bryony twisted her blonde hair into a ponytail and pushed it under a woolly hat. Then she rummaged in her bag for her gloves.

Jack kept his eyes on the road. ‘Two boys have been reported overdue. They should have been back down last night but they didn’t appear.’

Bryony frowned. ‘So why did no one call the team last night?’

‘They were camping and didn’t leave their plans with anyone so no one noticed until their friends stumbled into camp this morning and raised the alarm. The weather was foul last night, which is doubtless why Sean is worried.’

Lizzie stared at him, her eyes huge. ‘Have they called the helicopter?’

‘Yes, sweetheart.’ Jack glanced at her with a smile. ‘But the weather is pretty awful so Sean, the MRT leader, wants your mum and me to get going up that mountain in case we can help.’

‘Why do you and Mummy always go together?’

Jack turned his attention back to the road and pulled the vehicle up outside Bryony’s mother’s house. ‘Because your mum and I have always worked together in the mountain rescue team,’ he said lightly. ‘When your mum trained, I was her buddy. I looked after her.’

‘And you still look after her,’ Lizzie said happily, jumping down from the vehicle and grabbing her school-bag.

‘I don’t need looking after,’ Bryony said crossly, glaring at Jack and calling after Lizzie, ‘Sweetheart, ask Grandma to give you some more breakfast. I’ll see you later.’

They waited until Bryony’s mother opened the door and then Jack gave a wave and hit the accelerator.

Suddenly Bryony was very aware that it was just the two of them and she stared out of the window, for the first time in her life not knowing what to say.

‘We think we know where they are,’ Jack told her, flicking the indicator and turning down a narrow road. ‘It’s just a question of what state they’ll be in when we get there.’

Which was why Sean had sent them as the advance party, Bryony thought. He wanted doctors. Which meant that he was anticipating trouble.

She picked up the map. ‘What’s the grid reference?’

He told her and she traced it with her finger. ‘They’re in the ghyll?’

‘Sounds like it.’

Bryony looked at him in concern. ‘But the water level is terribly high after all that rain we’ve had …’

‘That’s right.’ Jack’s voice was even and he brought the vehicle to a halt. ‘Which is why we need to get a move on. Personally I doubt they’ll be able to fly a helicopter in this. Sean has called the whole team out, but we’re going on ahead.’

He sprang out of the vehicle and reached for the equipment that they’d need. They worked quickly and quietly, each knowing what the other was doing.

‘You ready?’ Jack lifted an eyebrow in her direction and she nodded.

‘Let’s go.’

Jack set off at a fast pace and Bryony followed, knowing that speed was important. After a night out in the open in the wet and temperatures below freezing, the boys would be in serious trouble.

They had to reach them fast.

The path grew steeper, the mist came down and Jack shook his head. ‘It’s November, it’s freezing cold and the visibility is zero.’ He hitched his rucksack more comfortably
on his broad shoulders and squinted into the mist. ‘Who the hell chooses to climb mountains at this time of year?’

‘You do it all the time,’ Bryony pointed out, checking her compass again. ‘One of these days we’re going to be out here rescuing you.’

‘Never.’ He winked and gave her a sexy grin. ‘I am invincible.’

Bryony rolled her eyes. ‘And arrogant.’ She stopped dead and he looked at her questioningly.

‘Why have you stopped?’

‘Because your ego is blocking my path.’