Holiday Affair (19 page)

I have to stay awake.

Lissy felt the wound and her fingers stayed dry. It had stopped bleeding, although her head was aching.

She felt cold mud on her legs and started to shiver as she thought of the leeches and the snakes that abounded in the rainforest. Hysteria bubbled up in her throat and she fought to swallow it down and remain calm. She had no idea where she was, which way was east or west, or which was the best way to get out of the forest and back up to the road. Listening carefully over the whoosh of the misty rain, she heard the river and knew if she made her way down to the river it would eventually bring her back to the road.

Blocking the thought of snakes and leeches, Lissy headed off in total darkness, walking toward the sound of the running water. She walked for a long time in the dark, slipping and sliding and falling many times until she finally reached the side of the Bellinger River. The water was flowing across the stony riverbed and she reached in with scooped hands and had a big drink of icy cold water. Her legs were too tired to go any farther and the thumping in her head had become unbearable. She was wet and muddy, and the shivering had taken over her arms and legs; Lissy couldn’t stop her teeth from chattering. She sat down, leaned against a tree, and tried to fight the sleepiness that was stealing over her.

I must stay awake.

She drifted in and out of sleep. Her heart beat in time with the dripping of the rain that pierced the thick foliage of the trees above the muddy slope next to the river. Fingers of cold touched her legs and she screamed as the first leech pierced the warm flesh of her thigh.

Lissy jumped up, her head spinning, and tried to get her bearings. She walked some more and saw headlights in the far distance on the road that snaked along the bottom of the mountain alongside the river.

Nick heard the running footsteps on his veranda seconds before there was a frantic knocking at the door. He opened the door to see Tom about to knock again and Tessa running up the steps behind him. His first thought was that Lissy was in trouble. He had been listening for her arrival all night and was starting to worry.

“Nick, it’s Lissy,” said Tom.

Nick’s mouth was dry and his heart thud rapidly as he looked from his brother to Tessa. He knew it was bad.

“There’s been an accident.” Tessa reached out and took Nick’s hands between hers. “How bad is it?” Nick’s voice trembled and he cleared his throat. “Tell me…where is she?”

Running to the door, he grabbed his keys and helmet.

“No, Nick. I’ll drive. You can’t take the bike.” He led Nick in and sat him down. Tessa walked over and put her arms around him.

“Sit down for a minute and calm down and we’ll tell you what happened.”

“Mate….” Tom put his hands on Nick’s shoulders. “I got a text from Lissy. She’s gone over the mountain. She must be okay, Nick. She was able to send me a text.”

“How long ago?”

“Four o’clock,” said Tom.

“Why the hell didn’t you come and get me sooner?” Nick yelled. He stood and pushed Tessa’s arms away.

“My phone was in my briefcase and the text was four hours old before I received it. Calm down. I’ve called the Bellingen police and they are out looking for her. It will take us a good hour and a half to drive down there.” After a pause, Tom said quietly, “You’re in love with her.” As the realization hit Nick, a light came on in his heart.

I love Lissy.

He was in love with her, but he also loved her. “I would feel as though my life was empty if…” He looked up at Tessa, who smiled.

“Exactly,” she said. “It is up to you to convince her that it is a love worth fighting for.”

“And now it’s probably too late,” Nick said desperately.

“It’s all my fault. She was probably upset with me and not concentrating on her driving.”

Tom’s car was parked out on the road and Tom directed Nick to the passenger seat and opened the back door for their mother. It was the longest trip of Nick’s life. Traffic was light, but the winter fog had descended on the Ebor stretch of road and they had to slow to a crawl for about ten miles. Nick sat forward with his head in his hands, not saying a word, and Tessa reached over every so often and rubbed his shoulders.

“Have faith, son. She will be all right.”

“She was able to send a text, mate, so she’s conscious,” Tom said.

“But it’s been four hours and you haven’t had another one. And the police haven’t called,” Nick said tersely before he slumped back into silence. Tom reminded him gently that there was no service on this part of the Great Dividing Range. As they approached the little village of Dorrigo, the fog cleared and they were able to pick up their pace. Tom’s phone beeped and Nick grabbed it as Tom slowed down.

“Keep driving!” Nick yelled as he read the message.

“It’s from the police. All it says—C
ar found. Please call
,” and he read out the number for the police station.

“What does that mean? Where is she or have they found her and don’t want to tell us by phone?” Nick’s voice broke. “Why did I wait so long to tell her how I feel?” Tessa undid her seat belt and reached over and put both arms around Nick.

“Mama, put your belt on. We don’t want another injury tonight,” Tom said quietly.

Tessa ignored him and spoke to Nick.

“Dominic, call the number and I will speak to them.” When they came over the edge of the escarpment and onto the road down the mountain, they saw the lights of the coastal towns twinkling in the distance.

“No good,” groaned Nick. “Service has dropped out and it doesn’t come back till we reach the valley along the river.”

“Do you want to turn around and go back to pick up service?” asked Tom.

“No, just get down there.” Nick’s voice was harsh.

It was twenty minutes before they reached the bottom of the mountain road and came across a police officer in the middle of the road swinging a flashlight to slow them down.

Their headlights reflected off his yellow vest and he flagged them down with the bright light.

Tom pulled over to the side of the road and Nick was out of the car before it had stopped. He ran across to the policeman.

“Where is she? It’s my—” he paused, “—my friend.” Tess and Tom came up behind him as the young constable answered. “We don’t know. The car is wedged in a tree and there’s nobody inside.There was no sign of any passengers. Do you know how many were in the car?”

“Just one,” said Nick. He turned and squatted in the middle of the road, his head in his hands. He heard Tom talking to the young police officer.

“What’s happening?”

“They’ve sent to Bellingen for some big lights and a couple of officers have clambered down the bank. But so far there’s no sign of anyone.”

“Mate…brace yourself…they say there was a fair bit of blood in the car as well.”

Tessa gave a small cry of distress and grabbed Nick’s hand before leading him over from the middle of the road.

It had started to rain again, but Nick was barely aware of the cold rain trickling past his collar.

“It’s too late, Mama. I’ve lost her before I could even tell her how much I love her.”

Another police car came slowly up the road toward them. Two officers got out of the car and had a short conversation with the constable who was slowing the traffic down. He pointed to Nick. They came over and explained that the search was not going to start until daylight.

“It’s too dangerous in the dark, mate. You would be better off coming down to Bellingen and resting so you can join in at daylight.” It took Tom and Tessa a long time to convince Nick that this was the best course of action.

After giving the police all of their phone numbers and extracting a promise that they would be informed of any developments, they left. They drove to the Motor Inn at the east of town and booked one room. Tessa put the kettle on and Nick sat in the lounge. He was quiet, and Tom and Tessa spoke softly in the kitchenette as they made a cup of tea.

Tom opened the mini bar fridge and pulled out a small bottle of brandy and tipped the lot into Nick’s mug of tea.

“To help you get a bit of sleep, mate.” Nick looked at him in disgust, but drank the tea anyway.

Tessa curled up on the lounge next to Nick and held his hand. His fingers played with his mother’s hand and he gradually relaxed a little.

Tom stretched out on the bed and they waited for the phone to ring.

Tom’s phone rang as the dawn light began to pierce through the curtains. Nick grabbed for it and listened for a few seconds.

“We’re on our way.” He brushed his eyes impatiently.

“They’ve found her and she’s just been taken to hospital to be checked over.”

“Thank God!” cried Tessa.

“She walked to a farmhouse. I can’t believe it. From where the car went over, she walked almost to town. She went knocking on a door as the dairy farmer was heading out to milk. She walked into the barn and the guy got a real shock.”

Tom drove them the short distance into town and pulled up outside the little cottage hospital. Tom parked the car, while Nick and Tessa entered the office. There was no one to be seen and Nick paced impatiently.

“Nick, calm down. It’s only a little country hospital.

The night nurses will be with Melissa and the doctor.” Tess pushed him into the chair. As the automatic doors opened for Tom, a nurse came out of a room at the end of the corridor.

“Mr. Richards?” she asked.

“Yes,” answered Tom and Nick together. She ushered them into the waiting room. “The doctor is with Ms.

McIntyre now. Don’t be too concerned. She’s in pretty good shape. You can see her when the doctor has finished.”

“Dr. McIntyre,” corrected Nick. The nurse looked confused. “Oh, I didn’t realize she was a doctor.”

“A history doctor,” said Nick proudly.

The doctor finished checking Lissy over and the nurse stripped her wet clothes off and gave her a quick, warm shower before dressing her in a hospital gown.

“Now hop into bed and I’ll bring you a hot cup of tea.”

“I have to call my mother first; she’ll be worried I didn’t call her last night.”

“It’s okay,” said the nurse. “Your fiancé is out in the waiting room. He can come in now that the doctor has given you the all clear. He wanted to do a precautionary head X-ray, but he’s sure there’s not a problem.” Lissy looked at her in total confusion.
She must be
mistaken. There must be someone else in here with a fiancé
waiting to see her.

The nurse had grimaced as she washed Lissy’s legs and pulled off a half dozen leeches. There were red marks down to her ankles where even more leeches had fallen off, sated with her blood. “A course of antibiotic to keep the bites from getting infected. All in all, young lady, you are very lucky.”

She bustled out of the room and Lissy rolled over, burrowing her face into the soft pillow and closing her eyes. The door opened quietly a few minutes later.

“Just put it down there. I’m going to take a little nap before I drink it,” she said in a sleepy voice. The nurse didn’t answer and Lissy drifted off into a light doze, dreaming about what she had planned for Nick. She was standing outside his door, trying to knock, but someone kept holding her hand and wouldn’t let it go so she could knock. She murmured as she drifted in and out of a light doze, frustrated, but the warm grip on her hand got firmer.

Her eyes opened wide as she realized that someone was holding her hand tightly. Looking up, she saw Nick sitting in the chair close to the bed. Her eyes went down to her hand, which was locked in his.

“Good morning, Lissy,” he said softly.

“Nick, what are you doing here?” She shook her head slowly in disbelief.

“I’m here because I love you.”

Her eyes filled with tears. She began to speak and he put his fingers against her lips.

“Ssssh. I want you to rest. The doctor says they will do an X-ray at eight a.m. when the staff arrives, and if it’s clear, which he fully expects, I can take you home.”

“Nick,” she asked before she drifted off again. “Would you please call Mum?”

“In Denmark?”

She giggled and went back to sleep.

…

Lissy was given the all clear as the doctor had expected and was discharged at lunchtime. Nick had sorted out the police reports and contacted the car rental company, and all Lissy had to do was sit in the back of Tom’s car and enjoy the attention that Nick lavished on her during two hour trip. Tessa insisted that they all go back to the farm, and once there, she put Lissy to bed in the guest room. As Lissy sank into the feather soft mattress, she looked up at Tessa.

“I’m so happy, Tessa. Pinch me, and tell me I don’t have a head injury.” Tessa leaned down and kissed her cheek gently.

“You are not dreaming or concussed, Lissy. However, you’ve made my dream come true. The first night I met you, I knew you were destined for this family. Even though it was not with my Tomas. I must go and rouse my husband from his study and tell him all is well.” Tessa turned to leave the room and stood in the doorway, her beautiful face alight. “I’m so happy you’re here, Lissy. I’m sure we will see you very often.”

Tessa left and ushered Nick in warning him not to excite Lissy. “Even though she’s fine, we need to let her rest.”

“Mama, I’m not an insensitive boor.”

“No, I think you left that at the door of the hospital, my Dominic.” She reached over and kissed her son. “She is wonderful. Don’t let her go again.” Nick came in and sat on the side of the bed, looking down at her, happiness all over his face. He took her hand in one of his and smoothed her short curls with the other.

“I’m sorry, I got it cut off, Nick. I did it to upset you.”

“I know,” he said, “but I like it.”

Lissy looked worried.

“It’s okay, Lissy.”

“No it’s not that,” she said. He leaned forward.

“Are you in pain, should I call the doctor?”

“No, but we do have a problem. I’ve done something else.”

He looked down at her, confusion on his face. “It’s all right, Lissy. After last night, when I thought I had lost you, nothing can be bad. What is it?”