Worth the Risk(49)

‘Right…’ Sean stared at her for a moment and then carried on. ‘He and Molly had fostered once before but they didn’t do it regularly. Then one day I got into trouble and Will bailed me out.’

Ally gave him a curious look. ‘What did he do?’

Sean stared at the mountains and gave a short laugh. ‘I’d broken into a warehouse, only I misjudged the drop between the window and the floor and I hurt myself. My friends took me to the surgery and Will was the duty doctor.’

‘And he sorted you out?’

‘He stitched my leg, jabbed me and then gave me the sternest talking to I’d ever had. We talked for hours.’ Sean kicked some loose stones on the path and gave a wry smile. ‘I kept waiting for him to call the police but he never did. He called Social Services and read them the Riot Act.’

‘For not keeping a proper eye on you, and placing you with the wrong families?’

‘Something like that. Anyway, the long and the short of it was that he and Molly took me in. And that was that.’

‘Only you’d spent too long running wild, with no one bothering about you, to be able to trust them.’

Sean turned to look at her. ‘What makes you so astute?’

She swallowed. ‘I don’t know. It’s just the obvious reaction, I suppose.’ And he was still running, she knew that much.

‘Well, I did learn to trust them eventually but it was Will who steered me towards the army. I always loved fitness and the outdoor life and I suppose he thought the discipline and training would do me good. He was right.’

‘But he must have been thrilled when you decided to be a doctor.’

Sean’s eyes softened. ‘He was.’

‘He loves you.’

‘I know that.’ Sean’s voice was gruff and he straightened and shifted his rucksack more comfortably on his shoulders. ‘And what about you? Your childhood was idyllic by comparison, wasn’t it?’

They stomped up the path, continuing to talk, and Ally gasped with shock when Sean suddenly stopped and she cannoned into him.

‘Sorry—you need brake lights! What’s the matter?’

‘The weather. Damn. I should have trusted my instincts.’ Sean stared at the blackening sky and braced himself against the wind.

Ally blinked with shock. She hadn’t even noticed the weather. All she’d been thinking of had been Sean, Sean, and Sean. But as she stopped walking the wind suddenly buffeted her, making her stumble into him. ‘We’d better get down fast.’

Sean hesitated and then gave a brief nod. ‘Yes, OK. We’ll give it a try.’

Give it a try? What did he mean by that?

Walking as close to him as she could, she dipped her head to give herself some protection from the wind, her eyes narrowing against the sharp raindrops which started to pelt against her face.

‘Don’t you just love Lake District weather?’ Sean’s voice was barely audible above the wind as they exchanged a wry look of understanding.

They struggled on for another half-hour, Ally forcing her tired limbs forward despite the force of the wind which pushed her back again.

When Sean finally stopped walking she fought to stay upright against the pressure of the howling wind, and only Sean’s firm grip on her hand stopped her from dropping to the ground with exhaustion. Why on earth hadn’t they noticed the change in the weather and how late it was? She bit her lip. Because they’d been too busy enjoying each other’s company, that was why. Neither of them had paid too much attention to the weather.

The wind threw all its force at her again and she stumbled against Sean who clamped her against him with a strong arm. For once she was glad of his protection.

He steadied them both and frowned down into her white face. ‘Are you OK?’

She nodded, not wanting to show how scared she was. She knew better than anyone how totally unforgiving these mountains were when you made a mistake. And they’d made a mistake. A big one. And it was winter.

Sean’s eyes swept her strained features and then he glanced at his watch. ‘It’s getting late. We’d better set up camp.’

‘Camp?’

Her gloved hand fastened itself to the front of his jacket. He represented the only solid security around here and she wasn’t letting go, principles or no principles!

Sean grimaced and his fingers closed reassuringly over hers. ‘We’re not going to make it down before dark. I’m sorry. I misjudged it really badly.’

‘It wasn’t your fault.’ She was almost shouting to be heard above the noise of the wind. ‘You weren’t responsible for me.’

He gave a wry smile and flicked the end of her chilled nose with his gloved finger. ‘Miss Independent.’