‘On your own…’ His voice was hoarse.
She shook her head. ‘No. Not on my own. I’ve got my parents and my brothers and Charlie.’ She met his gaze head on. ‘This baby will be surrounded by people who will love and protect him. You can be sure of that. He’ll have everything he needs.’
‘Except a father.’
She swallowed hard. ‘Yes.’
There was a long silence and she could hear his ragged breathing. ‘And if I did ask you to marry me?’
‘The answer would still be no, Sean.’ The strain of the encounter had stripped away the last of her energy, and she sagged slightly. ‘No, I wouldn’t marry you. You’d always accuse me of having blackmailed you, and I couldn’t live with that.’
And before she made a total fool of herself she turned on her heel and walked out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
CHAPTER TEN
ALLY lay in her bed and stared up at the ceiling. She couldn’t sleep. All she could think about was Sean and what he’d said about the baby. Did he really think she’d consider having it adopted? Her blood boiled when she thought of Sean’s mother. What sort of a woman was she to have let her own flesh and blood go into foster-care? No wonder he was so afraid to love anyone. From the sound of it, he’d never had any constancy in his life. Apart from Will and Molly, of course, but maybe they’d come on the scene too late to influence his ability to trust anyone.
With an impatient sound she sat up in bed, scraping her blonde hair away from her face with slim fingers. She was never going to be able to sleep. Never. Reaching for her dressing-gown, she pulled it on and fastened it around her waist. If she wasn’t going to be able to sleep she may as well go and have a drink.
Padding into the kitchen, she flicked on the light and took a bottle of milk out of the fridge.
Just as she reached for a mug the phone rang.
One glance at the clock on the oven told her it was two in the morning. Who on earth was ringing at this time? She wasn’t on call.
‘Hello?’
It was Jack, his voice grim and serious as he got straight to the point. ‘Geoff Thompson is your patient, isn’t he?’
‘Geoff?’ Ally frowned and put the empty mug down on the table. ‘Well, yes, he is. Why?’
‘Because he was spotted walking into the Langdales this morning and hasn’t been seen since. His wife’s called the police and someone thinks they might have spotted him up by Stickle Tarn.’
‘Oh, no!’ Ally’s face paled and she bit her lip. ‘Well, don’t go anywhere without me, Jack.’
‘I was hoping you’d say that. Can you get your mum to stay with Charlie?’
Ally was already wriggling out of her dressing-gown. ‘No problem. She can be here in ten minutes.’
‘I’ve called out the team and the police have already called Howard, the SARDA co-ordinator.’
Ally knew that in this weather the skill of the dogs in tracking a missing person was crucial.
‘I’ll meet you at Dungeon Ghyll in twenty minutes.’
‘Fine. Sean can give you a lift.’
Ally swallowed. ‘Is he coming, too?’
‘Too right.’ Jack gave a short laugh. ‘He’s got skills we might need.’
She bowed to the inevitable and was ready and dressed in all her gear when a knock came fifteen minutes later.
Quickly she let her mother in and gave Sean, who was with her, a brief nod before making for his car.
He drove as quickly as was safe on the gritted roads, but already the snow was falling heavily, swirling into the headlights and reducing visibility.
‘I should have guessed.’ Ally stared into the darkness, her face strained. ‘I should have guessed he might do something like this.’
Sean cursed as the car slewed across the road, turning into the skid and regaining control with admirable skill.
‘Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not clairvoyant.’ His eyes were fixed on the road, his face a mask of concentration as he battled with the awful driving conditions.
‘But I suspected he was depressed.’ Ally sighed and fastened her blonde hair securely, before tugging a woolly hat over her head.
Sean frowned and slowed down as they approached a junction, even though there was no traffic on the roads.
‘Forget it, Ally. You’re not responsible.’
Ally stared at his hard profile. ‘He’ll die of hypothermia if we don’t get to him soon.’
Sean’s mouth tightened and he eased the car up a gear. ‘Well, then, let’s hope we do.’
He pulled in to the car park and yanked on the handbrake, his breathing unsteady as he stared straight ahead. ‘Ally, I want you to wait here.’