Shadow on the Fells (12 page)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“H
EY
, M
AX
,”
CALLED
W
ILL
as he untied Max and let him into the backseat before climbing into his vehicle. The big cream-colored dog tried to jump into the passenger seat, whining and attempting to lick his face. “Not so tough now, are you, Mr. Insecurity?”

Will laughed, pushing him back. “I haven't been gone long, and the nice lady did stop to talk to you when I left you in the car earlier, didn't she? Now settle down and I'll take you for a walk when we get home.”

The fact that Chrissie had shown some affection for the dog was promising. It was him she was mad at, not Max, so perhaps she could be persuaded if he went about it the right way.

As he followed the narrow lane that led up the fell, he couldn't help thinking about how different she had looked today in that rust-colored jacket with her glorious hair cascading over her shoulders. Of course, he didn't usually go for independent shepherdesses who spent most of their time helping sheep give birth, tending to newborn lambs and training dogs. Then again, he'd never actually met a shepherdess before. Six months ago he would have laughed at the idea of falling for a woman like Chrissie, but now... Now he wasn't so sure.

The women he tended to date were more high-heeled, smartly suited and career-minded women who would stop at nothing to get what they wanted... Then again, aside from the high heels and suits, perhaps those women had a lot more in common with Chrissie than he'd previously realized. She was tough and strong-minded, too. Ruthless, in a way, like him.

“Is that true, Max?” he asked out loud, reaching back to scratch the dog's ears. “Do you think I'm ruthless?”

Max just wagged his tail happily and Will felt an unfamiliar rush of emotion, suddenly getting the whole dog-owner thing. Dogs didn't ask questions, didn't judge you, no matter what you did, and were always there for you with smiles on their faces. “I'm going to convince her to train you somehow, boy,” he promised. “After all, you are my best friend.”

That thought made him chuckle as he imagined what Roy Wallis and all his high-powered colleagues would think if they could see him now. Well, he'd spent the past ten years trying to make the right impression—confident, powerful lawyer with no scruples and the world at his feet—but from now on, he was just going to be himself...whoever
himself
was.

Spring sunshine flooded into the car and he opened the driver's window, inhaling the sweet, clear air. This place was so real, so honest, and he knew it would help him figure out what he really wanted from life. Pulling over into a lay-by, he sat for a moment, looking back down the fell. Way, way, below him ordinary people were living ordinary lives, getting through their highs and lows in the best ways they could...and above him loomed the awesome sky, stretching toward eternity.

“Come on, boy,” he said as Max bounced up and down excitedly on the backseat. “Let's take a walk.”

Will walked for almost half an hour with Max straining on his long leash. And then he stopped and sat on a rock to ease his aching muscles. The fells still loomed above him, more colorful now that spring was bringing new life to the world, and beautiful in a stark, magnificent, almost scary way. He was aware that up here the weather could change in an instant, bringing dangerous conditions, mist and rain and storms that could make you lose your way in minutes. Surely not today, though. Today was full of the promise of spring with fresh new life all around.

“Come on, Max,” he said. “We'll go as far as that huge rock and then we'll head back down to the car.” The dog gazed up at him, clearly pleased to be spoken to in the affectionate tone Will had adopted of late.

The rock was farther away than it seemed, and the way was steeper. He was exhausted by the time they reached it. Even Max was ready for a break, and he collapsed, panting, onto the tufty grass, his pink tongue lolling from his mouth. Will lay back, staring into the glory of the vast open sky, surprised to see how much it had darkened and how many menacing gray clouds were gathering above him. Alarm rippled down his spine and he sat up.

Max pricked his ears in Will's direction.

“I think it's about time we got back, boy,” Will said.

It was harder than he expected to walk down the rough slope. Harder, almost, than going up, since his legs were working overtime to keep him balanced. Beside him Max trotted easily, stopping occasionally to sniff at an enticing scent...until, suddenly, he leaped against his leash, almost yanking Will off his feet.

Will looked around to see what could have excited him. It had become eerily quiet, and dark gray clouds had rolled in, threatening rain. “Do you know, boy,” Will said uneasily, “I think you're right that we need to go a bit faster. I can't see any sheep so I think I'll let you off.” He crouched down to undo the dog's leash. “Promise me you won't run off, though.” When Max planted his wet tongue on Will's cheek, he laughed. “Okay, so I guess that's a yes. Now, come on, we need to hurry.”

Will shuddered, pulling his light jacket more closely around him. It had seemed quite warm for the time of year when he had set out to walk Max, and he'd grown even warmer with the exertion. But now the sun had disappeared and a wind had whipped up from nowhere. He tried to pick up his pace but the loose gray scree moved beneath his feet, making him step carefully.

He took a deep breath, trying not to let the mist rolling down the fell worry him too much. How hard could it be to just walk straight back down to his car? At least Max was staying close, spooked by the conditions. All he had to do was get to the road. If he kept going down, then he had to hit it eventually.

When the mist caught up to them, turning Max into a ghostly form and curling around Will in a wet, white cloak that soaked into his bones, he stopped and searched for a landmark. There was nothing...nothing but the opaque, swirling mist. The beginnings of panic cut through his composure, and he tried to stay calm. He'd lost his bearings, but he could still keep walking downhill.

Ten minutes passed by, ten minutes of struggling over rocks and undergrowth that hadn't been there when he walked up the fell in the early afternoon sunshine. How could he have gotten so off track? The cold was getting to him now, making him shiver, and he trod uncertainly as the terrain got even worse.

They came to what appeared to be the edge of a rocky outcrop and Will came to an abrupt halt, peering over the edge. He couldn't see the ground below because of the mist, and his heart beat hard at the base of his throat. Panic was an unfamiliar feeling to Will, as were loneliness and fear, and now he had a full measure of all three. If the mist had been the slightest bit thicker, he could have stepped right off...

He gulped, reaching out to Max for comfort. If he took a fall or stepped into a crevice, he could lie there all night—assuming he survived. There was no one to come looking for him, and by tomorrow it could be too late. Fumbling for his cell phone, he tapped the screen with numb fingers. An automated female voice intoned, “You have no signal.”

Will crouched beside Max, clinging to his warmth and solidity. “Which way then, boy? Which way?”

The big dog wagged his tail, and as if he understood, he set off along the top of the ridge with Will close behind. Eventually, when the rocks gave way to scree and grass, Will was able to start descending again, totally disorientated but determined to stay calm.

Max, on the other hand, seemed to have lost his previous unease. His nose was low to the ground and he trotted along happily, seemingly unaware of Will's distress. Suddenly, he let out an excited whine and ran ahead, disappearing into the mist. Will called for him to come back, yelling his name into the opaque silence.

What had he been thinking, coming out here? Not just today, but at all. The city seemed so friendly and safe by comparison as he headed on alone. He checked his watch and saw that the afternoon was gone. He had to find his way back to the car, or at least the road, before darkness fell... He just had to.

“Max!” he yelled again, his voice hoarse with the effort. All he heard was a distant, excited bark.

* * *

A
FTER
SPENDING
SOME
time with Floss and checking the sheep, all Chrissie wanted was to sit down in front of the fire with a nice cup of tea.

A ewe had given birth to twin lambs, one big and strong and the other tiny and weak. Drained from getting them into the barn and making sure that the little one had suckled, but satisfied with her efforts, Chrissie headed for the house. She was almost at the kitchen door when she heard a bark. She stopped in her tracks. Why would a dog be barking up on the fell on an evening like this? She couldn't ignore it.

Walking over to the field gate with Tess and Fly at her heels, she tried calling the dog. “Hey, boy...here, boy!”

Her cries were met by a heavy silence broken only by the moaning of the wind. Chrissie pulled her thick down jacket around her and turned back toward the house. Had she imagined it? Maybe she was mistaken and it was just a fox calling for its mate.

The barking came again as she opened the door. It was nearer now and definitely a dog. She grabbed her flashlight and went back out into the darkness with a rush of apprehension. She couldn't just leave it there.

Chrissie strode across the low meadow where the lambing sheep grazed and went through the gate, leaving its smooth, green safety for the open fell's wild untended slopes. But getting lost wasn't an option. She knew the fell's every nook and cranny. Even in the mist, she could find her way home.

The fog was so thick that she could barely see in front of her, but she kept on calling for the dog, following the sound of its yelps. It sounded desperate, she thought, and she hoped it wasn't stuck somewhere or injured.

Finally the animal emerged from the gloom, leaping up at her in delight. She grabbed hold of its collar.

“Max!” she cried, recognizing him at once even though he was covered in mud. Max whined in delight, spinning in crazy circles, while Tess and Fly cowered behind her, wary of his exuberance. Was there no way she could get away from her annoying neighbor? she wondered. Now she'd have to contact him when she would rather keep well away.

“All right, boy,” she said with a sigh, pulling a piece of baler twin from her pocket and tying it onto Max's collar. “You're coming with me.”

Tired, afraid and happy to be rescued, Max followed obediently.

She was almost back at the meadow when it occurred to her that Will could be out there, too. Despite his faults, he really did love the daft, silly dog. What if he was out searching? What if he'd gotten lost? And if he was, she'd bet he wasn't prepared at all for the conditions. She brought up his name on her phone and called him, relieved when she heard a ring. It was hard to get a signal on the fell, but fortunately she appeared to be in one of the patches that had reception. Standing still for fear of losing the signal, she mentally begged him to pick up.

* * *

W
ILL
WAS
TRYING
desperately to keep it together and wondering how a lovely spring walk could have turned into such a nightmare. He was cold, bitterly cold, and shivering from head to toe. He'd lost Max, he'd lost his bearings and night was closing in through the thick wall of fog that surrounded him.

When the mist had first rolled down, engulfing him, he'd thought it would be easy to keep on going downward. Eventually, he'd reach the road. Or so he'd thought. But fear had made him make mistakes and he'd been blundering around the rough terrain for hours with no idea if he was making any progress. He was still trying to go down, yes, but sections of steep slope and sharp drop-offs kept sending him back up.

Maybe this was it. Maybe he was going to die here...all alone. He pushed the thought aside, but deep down he knew it was a possibility. Even if the fog cleared, the night was still very much steeped in winter. Exposure was a terrifying thought, and his light jacket was already doing a poor job keeping the cold and damp at bay.

“Max!” he called half-heartedly, knowing the dog was gone. What if he never saw him again?

And then his phone rang. He struggled to answer it with fingers that refused to do his bidding, managing to pick up just as it stopped its stupid melody. He cursed at it. He'd given up on the thing after trying it again and again when Max ran off. There wasn't even one bar of a signal anywhere. Even now, seconds after a call had gotten through, the signal was gone.

Desolation settled over him like a cold, wet blanket as he stumbled down the slope. He tripped over a rock and went sprawling into damp brown bracken...and then his phone rang again.

This time he was able to answer it. “Hello? Hello?” he cried. “I need help!”

“Where are you, and are you okay?” a calm female voice replied.
Chrissie?

“Chrissie!” he yelled. “I'm lost.”

“It's going to be okay,” she said. “Just stand still and tell me where you are.”

“I don't know. I took Max for a walk on the fell and—”

“I'm going to try and find you,” she told him. “I have Max here, so you can't be too far off. Your signal will probably go again, but don't panic. Stay where you are and keep on shouting.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“I
THINK
MAYBE
it's your master who needs training, not you,” Chrissie said to Max.

The labradoodle whined, and she placed her hand on his head, ruffling his sodden coat. “Well, we'd better try and find him, I guess.”

She called the two collies over and they bounded to her side. “Seek,” she said. “Where is it?”

They ran on ahead, familiar with the command when looking for sheep but somehow aware that this was something different. “Will!” she yelled into the cold, murky night. “Will!”

The mist was slowly lifting but darkness had swept in, replacing the thick whiteness with something just as intense. Chrissie swung her flashlight around, seeking landmarks. Her familiarity with and knowledge of the fell meant next to nothing if she couldn't see where she was.

“No point two of us being lost,” she said to Max, who was pulling on his piece of string. Her beam lit up a pile of rocks and a small crooked tree, telling her exactly where she was, and she started to climb, retrieving her whistle from her pocket.

* * *

W
ILL
HEARD
THE
SHORT
,
piercing blasts from somewhere below him. Forgetting Chrissie's instructions to stay put, he followed the sound, hurrying over the hostile ground that seemed determined to trip him up.

How could somewhere so beautiful turn so swiftly into a place to fear? Yet even as he stumbled toward the sound of Chrissie's whistle, he knew that it was his lack of respect for his surroundings that had gotten him into this position. It felt as if the fell itself was laughing at him. She would be laughing at him, too, he realized with embarrassment. If she ever found him, of course.

“Chrissie!” he shouted into the wind. “Chrissie!” His voice blew away as if he'd never even spoken at all.

It was Fly who finally found him. She burst out of the darkness like an avenging angel, barking like a banshee. Will dropped to the ground, shivering all over, his own voice just a whisper in his ears as he called Chrissie's name over and over...and then she was there.

“Don't you know any better than to wander around here without the right gear?” she yelled, but her eyes in the glow of the flashlight were kind. “Come on,” she said more softly. “Let's get you down to the farm. You'll feel a lot better with a warm drink inside you.”

Half an hour later, sitting in front of the stove with a blanket around him and a mug of hot chocolate between his hands, Will's shivers finally subsided.

“Right,” said Chrissie. “Now, I want you to tell me whatever it was you thought you were doing, wandering around on the fell in adverse conditions totally inadequately dressed.”

“I feel like an idiot,” Will admitted.

“You are,” she told him, but there was a smile behind her eyes. “You do realize that if Max hadn't come and found me, you could have been up there all night?”

“
Would
have been there all night,” Will corrected her. “I was completely lost.”

“You have to respect these fells, Will.”

He liked the new softness in her voice, and for a moment he held her eyes with his. “I know. And for what it's worth...thanks.”

“It's the exposure that gets you.” Reaching out, she covered his cold hand with hers. The warmth of her slender suntanned fingers seemed to seep right into his soul. “See? Your hands are like ice.”

“My whole body still feels like ice,” he told her. “I just can't understand how it happened. I was driving home from a meeting...” He paused, not wanting to bring up the unpleasantness between them about the holiday cottages. “The view was out of this world. I'll never forget it—it just drew me in, made me want to walk in the clear air and drink in its vastness and beauty...”

“Why, Will Devlin,” she said, sitting back and smiling. “You are waxing almost lyrical. Where has the hard-nosed lawyer gone?”

“Sorry.” He smiled back. “The exposure must have addled my brain. Anyway, we walked for a while and then it got cloudy and a mist kind of rolled down from nowhere. It wasn't just the fact that I couldn't see—that didn't bother me at first because I thought that if I kept walking down, I'd get back eventually. It was the cold that worried me...”

“As it should have, since you're underdressed, as usual,” she chimed in. “The fog disorients you, you see. And before you know it, you're walking around in circles. Once darkness falls, it gets colder, you're tired... You do realize you could have died?”

“I'm beginning to,” he said, taking a sip of the sweet, warm chocolate.

Chrissie leaned forward, her strong features animated. “That's what I love most about the fell, I think—its ferocity. It's beautiful and yet dangerous, a compelling mix.”

Will reached out take her hand in his and she left it there. “Thank you,” he said. “For saving my life.”

She pulled her hand back sharply. “It's not me you should thank...it's Max.”

Hearing his name, the muddy dog jumped up and placed both front paws on Will's knee, giving his master's cheek a lick with his long pink tongue.

“So now that you know he does have some sense after all...will you train him for me?”

* * *

C
HRISSIE
WANTED
TO
say yes, but hesitated, and it was that impulse to hesitate that swayed her. Will Devlin was just like the fell, she realized. He, too, had different faces, sometimes calm and serene, sometimes fierce. That night with the sheep he had been so helpful and no one would question that he was handsome, but simmering just beneath the surface was the fierce and often ruthless lawyer.

She sensed that he would do anything to get what he wanted, and he could turn on the charm like a tap. He was gazing at her now with soft gray eyes, but she knew they were capable of turning instantly into steel.

“I'm sorry,” she said, standing up. “I really don't have the time to take him on right now. I'll run you home if you like. I can help you get your car in the morning, or maybe you can collect it on the way if you feel up to it.” Noting the way his jaw clenched, she knew she'd made the right decision. How could she agree to train Max when she was intending to fight against Will's plans? That would be dishonest.

“I won't give up,” he told her.

“And I won't stop saying no,” she replied. “Come on, then. I have the sheep to check when I get back.”

“Do you want me to stay and give you a hand?”

Her response was immediate. “No. What you need is to stay warm and have an early night.”

They drove back to Craig Side in an almost companionable silence, deep in their own thoughts. What was it about Will Devlin that had this effect on her? He was charismatic, of course, and handsome, but it was more than that.

She sneaked a glance in his direction, and when he caught her eye and smiled, her heart seemed to roll over. It didn't matter what
it
was; it was just there. She wanted to be close to Will Devlin...
needed
that closeness. But she had to be strong enough to resist those feelings. She couldn't let attraction cloud her judgment, her determination to stop his plans. There was too much at stake.

Suddenly, he laughed, and she saw once again the endearing side he'd shown the first time she met him, when Max had chased her sheep and he'd made a total idiot of himself. A smile penetrated her reserve.

“You are a strange man,” she told him. “Did you know that?”

He nodded. “I suppose. I guess I just haven't figured out where I fit in life yet. Whereas you...”

“I what?”

“You know exactly where your place is.”

Chrissie reflected on his remark. Did she know where her place was? Of course she did—her place was here. There was no doubt in her mind about that. But did she want to be alone in this place forever, or did she believe deep down that one day she would share it with her family? She had never taken Aunt Hilda's pointed comments seriously, but was there actually some truth in her advice? Well, if she did eventually have a family, it wouldn't be with someone like Will. It would be with a likeminded farmer who had the same goals as she did; someone who truly loved this life of hers.

They didn't speak much for the rest of their drive, and Chrissie dropped Will off with strict instructions to get a good night's rest.

As she headed up the hill toward home, she passed Will's Range Rover again, tucked up tight against the fence. What a fool he was, she thought. A change in the weather had been forecast since yesterday, so what had he been thinking, walking off up the fell like that wearing only a thin jacket? He needed training as much as his dog, and that wasn't a task she intended to take on, either.

Chrissie pulled into the yard at High Bracken and parked outside the house, running to get her coat and calling for the dogs. Taking Will home had delayed her late-night check on the sheep, and knowing her luck, there would problems. It always seemed to work like that, problems happening at the worst times.

Outside it was bitterly cold and raining, the kind of heavy drizzle that soaked you through in an instant. As she approached the little red tractor that had served her well for years, she found herself smiling at the memory of Will Devlin, hotshot criminal lawyer, appearing through the darkness following Tess. Would the man never learn? The fells weren't for the fainthearted, and that's why tourists shouldn't be encouraged here.

And there, she realized, was a good point for her objections to the planning council. Health and safety was all-important nowadays—even up here all alone on her hill farm she knew that—so encouraging inexperienced, unsuspecting people to put their lives at risk in this place might be the kind of thing to get a planning application denied. Add that to the list she'd already made, including damage to property, not to mention the environment, and she was pretty sure she had a solid case against Will's holiday rental scheme.

The dogs hopped into the trailer and she started the tractor, which shuddered into life. She followed the headlights' beam to the gate to the meadow. When she jumped out to open it, the rain hit her full in the face and she pulled up her hood, realizing that in her haste she'd forgotten the broad-brimmed hat she usually wore. Will's fault again.

Driving slowly round the field, she peered into the gloom, searching for sheep that might need her assistance. To her relief, all the ewes seemed happily settled for the night, some tucked under the drystone walls to shelter from the rain and some grazing in the darkness while their lambs suckled or slept. Two big single lambs had been born since she was last in the field, but they looked healthy and had obviously suckled so she decided to leave them in the field with their mothers and check them again first thing in the morning.

Everything seemed so normal and calm, she almost missed the last sheep. Her headlights swept over it as she headed for home. She was right in the corner, all alone, lying down close to the wall. The light disturbed her, and she raised her head so that her eyes shone like two yellow torches in the darkness.

As the ewe tried to get up, Chrissie ran to her side, holding her firm, crooning softly under her breath as she did a hurried examination. Two tiny black hooves were protruding, but the small sheep appeared to have given up trying. With an expertise born of twenty years' experience, Chrissie felt for the lamb's head, desperately hoping it wasn't back. When, to her relief, she could feel the nose resting on its forelegs, she started to pull.

“Come on, girl,” she murmured. “Help me, here.”

The ewe lay there quietly, accepting her fate, but Chrissie refused to give in. She had to get the lamb out soon or it might be too late. It came suddenly, with a swishing noise, and lay limp and helpless, close to death, its heartbeat so faint that Chrissie could hardly feel it.

“Come on, little one,” she pleaded, roughly rubbing its chest with both hands around the rib cage. The ewe struggled to her feet, bleating deep and urgently as she called for her baby, her tone becoming gentler as her black nose made contact with the damp, tightly curled coat of her lamb.

Working together in the darkness with a half-wild sheep to save a newborn's life was a familiar task for Chrissie, yet still, after all this time, when the lamb let out a tiny bleat, tears welled in her eyes.

With a flood of relief, she reached for the thick wool around the ewe's neck. Using her knee in expert fashion, Chrissie flipped the sheep onto its back and held it against her legs with one arm while picking up the lamb in the other. Thick yellow milk, rich with vital colostrum, oozed from the sheep's udder and Chrissie opened the lamb's tiny mouth with her finger, slipping in the warm, fat teat.

“This is life or death, little one,” she murmured, willing it to swallow. The syrupy liquid trickled across her hand as the lamb lay still and silent, and she tried again, rubbing its neck to try and stimulate its swallowing again and again and again. She was about to give up when she felt the faintest movement. If she could just get enough milk into its little stomach then the newborn might have a chance.

The drizzling rain had become heavier, soaking Chrissie's hair and running down her face. Ignoring it, she concentrated on the lamb, and when it finally started to suckle a wide smile spread across her face. “That's it, little one,” she said, releasing the sheep but keeping the lamb under its mother's nose. “Let's go get you warmed up.”

Not needing a command, Tess and Fly positioned themselves close to the ground, alert to the ewe's every move as Chrissie gently persuaded her to follow her baby into the trailer. She closed the ramp and gave a low whistle. “Come on, girls,” she called. “Let's get them home.”

Knowing the routine, the collies jumped up into the tractor and settled themselves beside the seat, waving their plumed tails in excitement.