Ally glanced at him in surprise. ‘What do you mean?’
‘The weather’s filthy.’ Sean turned to look at her and she saw the lines of strain around his dark eyes. ‘I don’t want you out there on a night like this.’
Her heart stumbled. He must care about her—surely, he must—then her shoulders sagged slightly and she pulled herself together. Of course he didn’t. He’d made that clear enough already. He was just too much of an original male chauvinist to recognise that she was capable of being part of the rescue team.
‘He’s my patient, Sean,’ she said quietly. ‘I have to go.’
She reached for the doorhandle but his hand closed over hers, his fingers biting into her flesh.
‘Dammit, no, Ally!’ His voice was urgent and there was a flash of something that looked like panic in his eyes. ‘I’m asking you not to. It isn’t safe.’
Ally gave him a wry smile. ‘Wasn’t this where we came in?’
He stared at her for a moment and his mouth twisted. ‘I suppose it was.’
‘You admitted you were wrong last time.’
‘Only under duress—because you called me a chauvinist.’ He shook his head and sat back in his seat, his eyes bleak and strained. ‘I’ll never be comfortable with you roaming the mountains on your own.’
‘Because I’m a woman?’
His eyes held hers for a long moment and he shook his head. ‘No. Not just because of that.’
Her heart thumped. ‘Why, then?’
He opened his mouth and closed it again, rubbing his temples with long fingers. ‘Oh, hell! I don’t know. I don’t know what I think any more. I just know I can’t let you do it.’
‘Why not, Sean?’ Her voice was urgent and her eyes begged him to say it. To say that he didn’t want her to go because he cared about her. Loved her.
‘Dammit, Ally!’ He swallowed, emotions chasing each other across his hard, male features. Then he took a deep breath and his eyes searched hers. ‘You know how hard this is for me—’
The door of the car was wrenched open and Jack stood there.
‘Are you two going to sit in here gossiping all night or are you coming?’
Brilliant! Full marks for timing. Ally gritted her teeth and managed to smile at Jack—just.
‘We’re coming. What’s the plan?’ Tearing her eyes away from Sean, Ally swung her legs out of the car and shivered as the freezing air folded itself around her.
Jack gathered the whole team together for a final briefing and Ally tried to concentrate on what was being said and not on the fact that Sean was standing conspicuously close to her.
As they set off up the mountain she glanced at him questioningly. ‘Are you going to hold my hand all the way up in case I trip?’
He didn’t laugh, his features strained and taut. ‘If I could stop you going I would.’
‘I’ll be fine, Sean.’
‘Too right you will—’ his voice was a low growl ‘—because you’ll have me breathing down your neck.’
The thought warmed her insides and for a brief moment she allowed herself the luxury of pretending it was because he really cared. Gazing at those powerful shoulders, she felt her heart flip and a lump form in her throat. She loved him so much. For a brief moment her hand covered their baby. He saw the gesture, his eyes lifting to hers.
Then the moment passed and they were tramping up the mountain at a steady pace behind the rest of the mountain rescue team in search of Geoff Thompson, their torches cutting through the darkness and the swirling snow.
* * *
It was Red, Lucy’s search dog, that found Geoff nearly three hours later when they’d almost given up hope. Barking to indicate what she’d found, the dog stood stock still, waiting for the rest of the team to join her and her handler.
‘He’s down on that ledge.’ Lucy shone her torch down the side of a gully onto a lump perched on a narrow ledge above a sheer drop.
‘Oh, great!’ Jack brushed snow out of his eyes and breathed out heavily. ‘Well, now we’ve got a problem. That ledge is too bloody narrow to take a chicken, let alone one of us. OK, let’s think this one through.’
They argued the options for a few minutes and then one of the team hurried over, his face anxious.
‘We’ve managed to talk to him, but he’s threatening to jump if we try and rescue him. He says he just wants to be left to die.’
Jack closed his eyes and muttered something unprintable. ‘Oh, great. This I really need. Right, then, we need the doc.’
‘I’m here.’ Ally slipped off her rucksack and huddled deeper inside her coat. It was freezing. The darkness and bitter cold seemed to seep inside even the most sophisticated outdoor clothing. They had to get Geoff down the mountain fast or he’d die of hypothermia.