There was nothing else she could say. She turned and picked up her bike. At the same time his phone rang.
He gave another low curse and muttered, 'This number has been calling me non-stop all morning.'
As she pushed away she heard him answer it.
She pedalled furiously.
Seeing him again had brought home just how much she missed him. Would she ever meet another man to whom she was so physically attracted? Just from standing close to him her body was on fire. And her heart felt as though it was in pieces. Because emotionally she missed him twice as much. She wanted him in her life. It was against all logic and reason. But there it was. She wanted his intelligence, his kindness, his strength.
The sound of his voice calling her and the thundering of hooves had her looking around, startled. Patrick was racing towards her. He yanked his horse to a stop, but didn't dismount. He looked aghast.
'That was a hospital in Dublin calling. Orla has gone into early labour.'
For a moment she wondered why he was telling her, but then she saw the fear in his eyes. He didn't know what to do.
She dropped her bike down on the grass verge. 'Are you going to go to Dublin to be with her?'
He looked pale and drawn. For a moment she thought he hadn't heard her question. But then he looked down at her beseechingly. 'I don't know what to do. I don't want to cause her any upset.'
'Did she tell the hospital to call you and ask you to come?'
'Yes.'
'Well, then, she needs you.' For a moment she looked at the horse warily, and then she held out her hand to Patrick. 'Pull me up. We need to get back to the house quickly. While you get changed I'll organise for your helicopter to come and collect you.'
He looked at her, taken aback, but then nodded his agreement. 'Put your leg in the stirrup and I'll pull you up.'
He drew her up and sat her in front of him. It was her first time on a horse, and it looked like a long, long way down, but she couldn't think of that. Instead she tried to think of the practical arrangements that needed to be sorted out in order to get Patrick to Dublin immediately. She tried to ignore how good it felt to be so physically close to him again.
At the stables, a groom helped her dismount. When Patrick jumped off he hesitated, so she held his hand in hers and tugged him forward. 'Come on-there's no time to waste.'
They entered the kitchen via the cloakroom. 'Is the number for your pilot stored on your phone?'
'Yes, but I'm not-'
'No, Patrick. You have to go. Orla has never needed you more than now. I know you feel you have failed her in the past. That there is a lot of hurt and misunderstanding. But right now none of that matters. Orla and her baby are the only things that matter. She needs her brother. She needs your strength and support.'
For a moment he blinked, but then, as her words finally registered, determination came back into his eyes. 'You're right. Call the helicopter. I'll be ready in ten minutes.'
Aideen immediately made the call, and the helicopter crew promised to be at Ashbrooke within twenty minutes. True to his word, Patrick was back in the kitchen within ten. Wearing a dark red polo shirt and faded denim jeans, his hair still wet from the shower, he looked gorgeous-if a little distracted. She could feel the pumped-up energy radiating from him. She needed to keep him calm, reassure him.
'The helicopter will be here in ten minutes. Do you want to call the hospital again for an update?'
Instantly he took the phone from the counter and dialled the number. He spoke looking out through the glass extension, down towards the sea, his polo shirt pulled tight across his wide shoulders, his jeans hugging his hips, and Aideen remembered her first night here. How in awe of him she'd been. How bowled over she'd been by his good looks.
Her heart dropped with a thud and she felt physical pain in her chest. Would she ever stop missing him every single second of every single minute of every single hour?
'She's seven centimetres dilated...whatever that means. She's doing okay, but they're worried as she's a month early.' His jaw working, he added, 'She has nobody with her. Damn it, she shouldn't be alone at a time like this.'
She walked towards him and placed a hand on his arm. 'She's going to be okay. She's in good hands, but she'll be relieved to see you. I bet it's pretty lonely, going through something so big all on your own.'
* * *
He inhaled a deep breath at her words and felt some of the tension leave his body.
'You're right.'
And then it hit him just how much he wanted Aideen by his side today. He felt as though he had been struck by lightning, the realisation was so startling.
'Come to Dublin with me.'
'No, I can't...'
'I want you to come-please.' His throat worked. Could he actually say the words he needed to say? After so many years of going it alone, to ask for help felt alien. 'I need your support.'
Aideen looked totally taken aback. Out of the window he could see the helicopter approaching. He looked from it to her, beseechingly.
'Okay, I'll come.'
He was about to lead her out to the garden when he remembered something. 'Hold on for a minute. There's something I need to bring.'
He sprinted down to his office and then straight back to the kitchen.
Aideen looked at the memory chest and then up at him. She said nothing, but there were tears in her eyes before she looked away from him.
As the helicopter took off his pilot gave them their estimated flight time. He inhaled a frustrated breath and shook his head.
Beside him, Aideen asked, 'Are you okay?'
'No. If Orla had told me she was back in Dublin I could have been there much earlier. I wouldn't have been ignoring my phone all morning.'
'I can understand your frustration, but Orla wasn't to know that she was going to go into early labour. And, anyway, that was her decision. She's a grown woman, Patrick, about to have her own child. You can't control everything in your life. Today you just need to be there for Orla. Be the brother she loves, and trust that that's enough.'
Thrown, he was about to argue. But then he realised she was right. He had to stop thinking that the only way he could show his love for Orla was by taking charge and forcing her to lead the life he thought she should.
With a small smile he lifted his hands in admission and said, 'You're right.'
She gave him a smile in return and then looked away, her gaze on the endless patchwork of green fields that appeared through the window as the pilot banked the helicopter.
He longed to reach out and touch her, to hold her hand in his. His heart felt as though it would pound right out of his chest at any moment. Being so near to her but not being able to touch her was torture. But the hurt in her eyes was even worse. You could cut the tension in the helicopter with a knife.
Though his teeth were clenched tight, he forced them apart in order to speak. 'How is your cottage?'
She glanced at him warily, as though questioning why he was asking. 'Dusty and noisy...' She paused and held his gaze. 'But that doesn't matter. It's just really good to be home.' Then her gaze flicked away.
Why was the silence between them making him feel so uncomfortable? Before, he'd never had an issue with silence, but now it felt as if his heart was being ripped out to fill the void that sat like a physical entity between them.
He had to speak. Anything but this mocking silence which drove home much too eloquently everything he had lost: her humour, her warmth, her spark and her love of life.
'William will bring down all your files and office equipment once the cottage is finished.'
She nodded to this, her face impassive. But then she looked towards him with a frown. 'What's going to happen to William and Maureen and the rest of the staff?'
'It's part of my sale conditions that all the existing staff are retained by the new owner.'
'They're going to miss you-they're really fond of you.'
Were they? He had never stopped to think about it. But now he realised just how much he would miss them, too.
What was he doing? Was anything making sense in his life any more?
He looked back at her when he heard her clear her throat. 'I really hope your time with Orla goes well today. Please be patient. I bet Orla misses you desperately, but can't say it. Maybe for the same reasons that you can't say it to her.'
His mind raced at her words. Did Orla fear losing him, too? Was that why she always pushed him away? No wonder the harder he tried, the harder she pushed back.
He looked at Aideen in amazement. 'You might be right. So I just need to be there for her?'
'Yes!' With a small laugh she added, 'And for goodness' sake don't go ordering the midwives and doctors about. I'm sure they know what they are doing.'
'I won't.' He gave her a rueful look and added, 'My managing directors have a lot to thank you for, by the way. I thought about what you said about delegating more control to them and I've started doing so.'