Mara's Choice

by Anna Jacobs

  The paramedic sighed. ‘Will you at least let me put a supportive bandage on it, then, sir.’

  ‘Thanks. That’ll help.’

  The female paramedic joined in. ‘Do you live here on your own?’

  ‘Yes.’ Hal winced as he moved his foot incautiously.

  ‘Could you get a friend to come and stay with you? You’ve probably got mild concussion and someone should keep an eye on you.’

  ‘You could stay here with us and leave your security system switched on next door,’ Emma suggested.

  She too was looking pale, Mara thought.

  Hal shook his head again. ‘Thank you but I’d rather stay in my own home.’

  ‘Mara could stay with you. I can lock myself in the master suite, which has an extra layer of security. Besides, unlike Hal, I’m not incapacitated. And actually, I’d prefer to deal with my nausea in private, to be frank.’

  Mara opened her mouth, shut it again, then took a chance. ‘If it’s all right to leave you on your own, Emma, I will stay with Hal.’

  ‘Mmm.’ She was looking chalk white again and pressing one hand against her mouth.

  ‘There’s really no need for anyone to stay with me,’ Hal insisted. ‘I have a good security system too.’

  ‘And how quickly could you move about to check whether someone has come back and broken into your house this time, sir?’ one of the police officers asked.

  Hal sighed and scowled at his ankle. ‘Not quickly enough, I suppose.’

  ‘Go and keep an eye on him,’ Emma told Mara.

  ‘You’re sure? All right. No more arguing, Hal. I can rest on the sofa downstairs.’

  Emma frowned. ‘They must have known we were out to come in here so openly. With all due respect, we hardly know you, Hal. Why should we be able to influence what you do with your mother’s house?’

  ‘They, um, may have seen me kissing Mara if they were watching from the canal.’

  ‘That’s still not enough to justify breaking into our house.’

  Hal grimaced. ‘Perhaps they were thinking I’d feel guilty and give in.’

  She shook her head, still not buying it as a valid reason. ‘And perhaps the moon really is made of cheese.’

  The two paramedics had been murmuring to one another and one said, ‘Let us take you next door in our wheelchair, at least, Mr Kendrell. And how about you take these painkillers? No allergies or anything like that?’

  ‘No, none. What are they?’ He looked at them, nodded and took the glass of water Mara had quickly got for him to help swallow the pills.

  ‘It will help to ice that ankle regularly, sir.’

  ‘I’ve got plenty of ice cubes,’ Emma said. ‘I’ll give you a bag of them.’ She went to do this and handed an insulated bag to Mara.

  One police officer moved away from them to answer a phone call, then came back and nudged his colleague. ‘There’s another emergency.’ He turned to Hal. ‘We’ll come back later this evening, sir, because we need to ask you a few more questions. Or we’ll send someone else if this call-out takes too much time.’

  ‘All right.’

  ‘There is a wheelchair in the downstairs storeroom in my house which I can use for a few hours,’ Hal said. ‘I think my mother might have needed it towards the end.’ He fumbled in his pocket and produced a front door key. ‘It’s on the left as you go in.’

  While the paramedics were getting his wheelchair, Emma made a shooing motion to Mara with one hand. ‘Nip upstairs and get a change of clothes and anything else you may need tonight, dear.’

  ‘You’ll be careful if I go with Hal, won’t you? I still don’t like leaving you on your own.’

  ‘Actually, I’d rather throw up in peace and privacy, if you don’t mind. Just hurry up and leave me to it.’ She pressed one hand to her mouth.

  Emma was looking chalk white again, so Mara ran upstairs and grabbed what she needed then left poor Emma to recover in peace. She didn’t think the intruders would be stupid enough to risk coming back again or she’d never have left the other woman alone.

  ‘You’ll leave the outside lights on, won’t you?’ she asked, hesitating near the door. ‘And you’ll phone me if you get worse or anything else happens?’

  ‘Yes to both. Now go on.’ Emma clapped her hand to her mouth again, slammed the front door on them and dived into the downstairs cloakroom.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Hal let the paramedics wheel him next door. He was about to stand up to get inside but Mara backed up their insistence that he stay in the wheelchair and let them deal with the step.

  He pulled a face. ‘Oh, very well. It is throbbing a bit.’

  The paramedics bumped him backwards over the doorstep and followed his directions into the living area.

  They stared first at their patient then at Mara doubtfully.

  ‘Look, I’ve done a first aid course, so I’m not clueless about when to seek further help. It’ll be all right to leave him with me.’

  ‘Well, if you’re sure you can cope.’

  ‘Yes, I am.’ She fixed Hal with a stern look. ‘I shan’t hesitate to stop him doing anything stupid.’

  ‘All right, then.’

  ‘Thank you for your help, guys,’ Hal called, sighing in relief as the two of them exchanged long-suffering glances and left.

  When he and Mara were alone, Hal scowled down at his bandaged foot. ‘The upside of this is that you and I are going to have the rest of the night together. The downside is that I can’t do much about my feelings for you because my damned ankle is throbbing and I have to be careful how I move.’

  She’d been putting most of the ice into his freezer and now came across with what was left, safely zipped in the plastic bag. ‘The main thing is to look after your ankle. Here, let me arrange the ice around your foot. That’ll help reduce the swelling and the painkillers should kick in soon.’

  ‘Thank you.’ He grasped her hand. ‘This is another case of To be continued.’

  Mara hoped so. She couldn’t help smiling sympathetically at the way he kept moving incautiously then wincing and glaring at his ankle so she tried to distract him. ‘Do you have any hot chocolate?’

  ‘Yes. It was my mother’s so it might be a bit stale, but come to think of it, I wouldn’t mind a mug if you don’t mind making some. It’s a comforting sort of drink.’

  ‘I agree. OK if I get myself a sandwich while I’m at it? I missed my tea because of Emma feeling ill.’

  ‘Get whatever you like, but I don’t recommend the frozen ready meals left in Mum’s freezer. Tasteless sludge.’ He grimaced at the memory.

  She investigated the fridge. ‘I’ll make a cheese and chutney sandwich. It’s one of my favourite fillings. I used to make my own chutney till I moved back into my parents’ house. Mum wouldn’t let me mess her kitchen up or serve her anything but very plain food, either.’

  ‘Difficult to live with.’

  ‘Very. Her disability might not have been visible to the naked eye, but it spoilt her life.’

  ‘It didn’t do much good for yours and your father’s, either.’

  She shrugged. ‘These things happen. You just have to accept them and carry on.’ She made the sandwich while she was waiting for the milk to boil, then carried his drink over to him before she started eating.

  He took a couple of sips, sighing with pleasure. ‘It tastes fine to me.’ A couple more mouthfuls, then he said thoughtfully, ‘I wonder who thought bullying tactics would force me sell the house? It upsets me that the note threatened you as well as me. I don’t want you putting at risk.’

  ‘Just let them try.’ She took another big bite of her cheese sandwich, sighing with pleasure.

  ‘Does anything faze you?’

  ‘You.’

  ‘Good.’ Hal enjoyed watching her demolish the sandwich. So many women pecked at their food. Why was weight such a problem these days? He knew quite a few overweight guys too. Was there something in modern food that hadn’t been present a few d
ecades ago? It made you wonder. ‘Get yourself another sandwich.’

  ‘I will, if you don’t mind.’ She made a second one. ‘Mmm. You can’t beat a nice, sharp Cheddar cheese.’

  He smiled at her. ‘I can’t wait for whoever it is to see me kissing you out on the patio again. We’re not going to stop kissing one another, are we?’

  ‘Definitely not.’

  ‘Right answer.’

  He leant forward to remove the impromptu ice pack off his ankle, wincing. ‘I can only stand so much icing. I’d much rather kiss you again but it hurts to move.’

  She finished off her second sandwich and went to put her plate in the dishwasher. As she came back she looked round appreciatively. ‘No wonder you want to live in this house permanently. It’s lovely.’

  ‘I definitely want to try living here. But not on my own. I really like it – when I’m not getting bashed – and I’m ready to put down roots. Could you live here permanently?’

  ‘Let’s not go there. We’re not nearly at that stage in our relationship.’

  ‘Indulge me. Just hypothetically, could you live here?’

  ‘If there were only us two involved, yes, I probably could. This is a beautiful location. But I have Dad to think about. The father in the UK, I mean, not Aaron. I love Phil to pieces and I’m not leaving him there to spend his final years on his own. I worry that I should have gone back when I spoke to him.’

  His voice was soft. ‘I’m so sorry about your mother.’

  ‘Yes. I am too. But the mother I had as a small child hasn’t been there for a while. I’ve been feeling guilty about how detached from her I was getting. In one way it’s a relief to know these latest changes could mostly have been caused by the tumour.’

  ‘We think we’re medically advanced these days, but there’s still a lot of guesswork involved, isn’t there?’

  ‘Tell me about it. Dad’s going to be lost without some focus to his life, though. He’s such a caring, loving man. I doubt anyone else could have put up with her for so long. You’d like him, I’m sure.’

  ‘Let’s put my question another way, then. If it weren’t for your dad, what would you do?’

  She shook her head, looking at him sadly. ‘In that case, I might hang around and give us a try at being together. But as soon as the doctors say Mum is close to the end, I’m going back to be with him.’

  ‘Then I might have to move to the UK so that we can continue getting to know one another.’

  For a moment she couldn’t speak, then her voice came out as a whisper. ‘You’d do that? Already?’

  ‘Yes. Would you give me a chance if I did it? Continue to see me?’

  ‘Definitely.’

  ‘Good. I’m a great believer in carpe diem, and I reckon this relationship with you is worth seizing.’ He moved incautiously and winced. ‘You might come across and hold my hand when I’m trying to chat you up romantically, since I can’t come to you.’

  She did just that, sitting on the floor next to his couch holding his nearest hand.

  After a while, he said, ‘If I have to move to England for a while to continue our romance, I’ll make sure the house is protected. I’d still not sell it to these people, because I can’t bear giving in to bullies. Besides, I really would like to try living here.’

  She stared. ‘Romance? You sound sure we’re going to have one.’

  ‘We’ve agreed to give our relationship a chance, so let’s aim high.’ He scowled down at his ankle. ‘It’s exactly the wrong time to be incapacitated, dammit. I’m aching to kiss you properly. Do you think you could squeeze onto the couch beside me?’

  So she did that, smiling at him, feeling … hopeful.

  ‘Much better!’ he murmured as the first kiss ended.

  They sat quietly for a few moments, with his arm round her shoulders and her nestled against him, then his phone rang. ‘Sorry. Only close friends have this number. I’d better answer it.’

  She got up to fetch the phone and handed it to him.

  ‘Charles! Great to hear from you.’ He listened to his friend, nodding and smiling. ‘Perfect timing. I’ve got a problem here and unfortunately, I’ve sprained my ankle and am having trouble sorting it. It’ll be a week or more before I’m fully mobile again.’

  He explained what was going on, then listened, nodding. ‘I’ll email you the names and details. Get back to me if you can find a flight.’

  When he put the phone down, he beamed at Mara. ‘If anyone can find out who is targeting us, it’s Charles. He works in security and he’s good at it.’

  ‘What if he can’t find out who is behind the attacks on you?’

  ‘If anyone can, it’s him. He has a magic touch, seems to sense cheating and chicanery where others can’t find any leads. Charles says he’ll stay in a hotel and only contact me by phone or digitally. I’ve to email him all the information I have about this Diana Vincenzo. Once we’ve sorted this mess out, he can come and stay with me. Heaven knows, there’s plenty of room.’

  He sat thinking, head on one side. ‘How about you get us both a piece of fruit cake out of the fridge and I’ll email him the details now? Oh, and we’ll open a bottle of wine to go with them.’

  ‘You’re like a steam roller when you want to do something, even when you have trouble moving about.’

  He looked mischievous suddenly. ‘I’ve been told that before, but where you’re concerned, I promise you I’ll be a very friendly steam roller.’

  Unfortunately, the doorbell rang just as he was finishing his email. Mara wished it hadn’t but stood up and moved towards the hall.

  ‘Use the peephole first to see who it is!’ Hal called after her.

  ‘Duh! I’m not stupid. I’ve already done that and it’s the police.’ She opened the door and the same two officers came inside.

  They were taking the attempted break-in and injury to Hal seriously, though they still doubted that someone would go to such lengths simply to persuade Hal to sell the house.

  ‘That sort of stuff usually only happens in films or TV dramas,’ one added gloomily. ‘They put anything and everything in those. Real life for a police officer is a lot less interesting. There’s too much paperwork, for a start. Anyway, we’ll file this information and tell our patrols to keep an eye on things here.’

  When they’d left she looked at Hal. ‘You didn’t tell them about your friend Charles.’

  ‘He likes to work alone, off the police radar so to speak.’ Hal yawned suddenly.

  ‘How about you go to bed now?’

  ‘How about you bring some bedding down here for us both, Mara, and I’ll stay nearby? I’m not leaving you to face trouble on your own and I can hardly run downstairs to your aid.’

  ‘I doubt there will be any need for that.’

  ‘I doubt it too, but I’m still staying with you. The external peripheral security is armed so we can both try to grab some sleep. It’ll warn us if anyone approaches the house.’

  ‘No way will I be sleeping. I intend to stay awake and keep an eye on the situation. And on you.’ She poked him in the chest for emphasis before running up to fetch pillows and blankets.

  After sorting out his bedding, she sat down on one of the recliner armchairs.

  ‘At least put your footrest up. You’ll be much more comfortable like that.’

  She did as he suggested and ten minutes later he watched her as she fell asleep, thinking how adorable she looked with her hair all tousled and wild. She was proving she could be a good friend and he was quite sure, somehow, that she’d be a good lover and even life partner.

  Happily married friends had told him that you just ‘knew’ when you met ‘the one’. He hadn’t been optimistic that he would meet anyone – till she’d come into his life. How amazing was that, to consider such things so early in a relationship, and with all the other troubles going on?

  He yawned and blinked a few times, trying to sit in a more upright position to help keep himself awake.

  In
the morning he woke first and chuckled as he realised it was nearly eight o’clock and they’d both slept soundly right through the night. Well, no alarms had sounded, so there couldn’t have been any intruders.

  She was still sleeping peacefully, so he was able to enjoy watching her all over again.

  Next thing he knew, it was after nine o’clock and she was waking him up with a cup of tea because he’d fallen asleep again.

  He stretched and beamed at seeing her still there. ‘Fat lot of use we are as guard dogs.’

  ‘I know. And by the way, I love the way your hair sticks up at one side when you’ve slept on it but others may find it rather comical.’ She came across and smoothed it down. ‘There you are. All handsome again.’

  He grabbed her hand for a moment and kissed it lingeringly, amused at how she reacted, gasping and breathing deeply. He wished they’d been sleeping together in a bed. Oh boy, he definitely did.

  If they had, he’d not be drinking tea now and she’d not be fiddling about with that stupid bag of ice.

  The morning after the attempt to frighten Hal, Enrico summoned Diana to join him for breakfast in that imperious way he had developed recently of ordering folk around with no concern for what they wanted or needed to do.

  She listened to his tirade of abuse about the incompetence of the men he’d hired, trying not to show how nervous it made her that he should even think of hiring men to do such things. Using a financial advantage she could understand, but trying to hurt people physically made her feel very nervous.

  He’d changed a lot since his wife died and she didn’t like the new Enrico. Whoever the men he’d hired were, they hadn’t had much success in dislodging Hal Kendrell and she didn’t think they would. That Kendrell guy had a very stubborn expression. She found him rather attractive but unfortunately that wasn’t reciprocated. You could always tell. Pity.

  ‘Are you listening, woman?’ Enrico demanded.

  ‘What? Oh, yes, of course I am.’ Only she was a real estate agent not a gangster, and though she owed Enrico a lot, she was terrified of getting dragged into something illegal and losing her licence.

  Diana looked across the canal to the poet’s house, shaking her head in bafflement. It might have excellent views and be away from the main water traffic, but she could see nothing special about it. She’d tried several times to persuade Enrico to look at other canal properties, houses which were, in her professional opinion, far superior. She’d found him one to try out as a rental, and he’d complained about anything and everything, so she’d found him this house to rent in the same street, because she was sure the owner would have sold it to him.