Chapter 6

Isobel was getting more than a little irritated. Here it was Saturday morning – 10 o’clock already – and no sign of Raymond and Susie to hand over Bunny. He’d left a message with her office the afternoon before, saying he was unavoidably going to be unable to drop Bunny off on Friday night, but would get there early Saturday. She had shopping plans, and she did not appreciate yet another delay.

Another hour went by, and Isobel was starting to get up a real head of steam. The realisation that neither she nor Raymond had each other’s phone numbers only made matters worse. There was no way to check in, no way to confirm if they were just running late or if something had happened. In the end, her only option was to go round to his house, which did nothing to improve her mood.

When she arrived, Raymond’s car was parked outside, which puzzled her. If he was home, why hadn’t he come? Knocking on the door, she was startled when it was opened by a tearful Susie.

“Oh, Miss Scowan, thank goodness you’ve come. I didn’t know what to do.” The young girl burst into full sobs.

Alarm shot through Isobel. Without thinking, she bent down and hugged the girl tightly. “Susie, what’s wrong? And where’s your father?”

Between hiccupping sobs, Susie cried, “He’s in the lounge. He’s hurt himself, and there’s no one I can call for help.”

Trying to comfort her, Isobel lifted Susie and stepped inside. “Show me, sweetheart.”

Susie led her into the lounge, where Raymond lay on the couch, covered in a blanket, looking pale but not exactly at death’s door.

“Raymond, what happened? Are you hurt?” She set Susie down and moved quickly to his side.

“I don’t think it’s as bad as all that,” he said. “But I’ve sprained my ankle, and it’s too painful to walk on, let alone drive. So I’m sorry I couldn’t bring Bunny over to you.”

“For goodness’ sake, forget about Bunny. You’re more important than it—though it pains me to admit it,” she quipped, attempting to lighten the mood.

“Guess I should be grateful I somehow rank higher than a stuffed rabbit,” Raymond returned, a ghost of amusement in his voice.

Isobel rolled her eyes but pressed on. “Why haven’t you called an ambulance or a doctor?”

“I had hoped the ankle would improve,” he admitted. “But it doesn’t look like it’s going to.”

Isobell groaned in despair. “Okay, have you put an ice pack on it?” she asked.

“Would you believe, I didn’t think of that. Does it help?”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake—you city dwellers! If you’d been brought up in the country like me, that would be the first thing you’d reach for. Do you even have one in the house?”

“No, it’s not summer.”

“Lord help us! Okay, I could pop out and buy one, but if you have a pack of frozen peas, that’ll do just as well.”

“Actually, I think we do.” He turned his head. “Susie, will you take Miss Scowan to the freezer?”

“Let’s forget about formalities. Today, it’s Isobel. Susie, can you show me your freezer?”

By this time, Susie had calmed down, reassured by Isobel’s steady, matter-of-fact manner. She took Isobel’s hand and led her to the laundry, where the freezer was located.

“Perfect,” Isobel said, extracting a packet. “And can you get me a tea towel to wrap this in so it doesn’t burn your dad’s skin?”

Susie raced off and returned with a towel, beaming at the small task of helping. “Good girl,” Isobel praised, wrapping the towel around the bag before pressing it gently to Raymond’s swollen ankle.

“How exactly did you do this?” she asked. She was tempted to say, ‘Did you trip over your ego?’ but restrained herself with an inward grin.

“I have a strong suspicion you were going to say something else,” Raymond said, amusement flickering in his eyes, “but we’ll let that pass. I have to concede, though, that I was basically showing off. Susie asked me if I knew any special hopscotch steps, and I foolishly attempted to hop up the back steps. Pride, it turns out, really does go before a fall.”

Isobel snorted. “For the moment, I’ll ignore the stupidity. But I really think we need to get you to an after-hours clinic, just to make sure nothing’s broken. I’ll support you so you can hop out to my car, and we’ll get you looked at.”

Raymond knew he was in no position to protest; in fact, he was profoundly grateful that Isobel had come. He wasn’t sure what he would have done otherwise. As she moved to help him up, he watched her with a new kind of appreciation. Her country upbringing had made her quick-thinking and practical in an emergency. She was competent, reassuring—even kind.