Dangerous Love

by Ashby, Teresa

  Regan sighed. She knew how it must have appeared to other people, even to Josie who probably knew her better than anyone. She didn’t choose not to let Bram know, not as cold-bloodedly as that. In the first place she hadn’t known she was pregnant when she told him to go and by the time she did, it was too late, he’d gone and she didn’t know how to find him.

  True, she could have tracked him down if she’d tried hard enough, but how would that have looked? To have sent him away and then suddenly gone chasing after him when she found she was pregnant? Which led on to her second reason, the fact that she didn’t want to be standing with her little girl at some cold graveside someday watching Bram being lowered into the ground in a box.

  “Down there!” Len shouted, his torch beam shivering on the sand below. “There’s a dog. It must be her.”

  Bram looked over the edge. The cliff had dropped away to grassy banks here, but they were pretty sheer. The dog had probably seen Georgie go over and had found herself an easier way down. Right now she was ignoring the men standing a few feet above her and was trying to pick her way over gigantic boulders on the beach.

  The tide had turned and was on the way out now so was no longer crashing murderously against the rocks, but still Bonnie was in a dangerous situation. One slip and she could trap her legs between the rocks.

  Springers could be crazy, loopy, wilful dogs, but they were usually pretty obedient. And smart despite their reputation. The body language of this one said she was scared out of her wits, but determined to carry on.

  “Bonnie!” Bram shouted. “Wait!”

  She stopped pawing at the rocks and looked round and up.

  “Wait!” Bram repeated the command, hoping it was one she knew and understood. “Good girl.”

  Ha, she knew that all right. Her tail began to wag and she redoubled her efforts to get across the rocks. She was almost frantic now. It was as if she saw them as reinforcements and wanted them to join in the search.

  “Where are you going?” Len said, grasping Bram’s sleeve as he slid towards the slope.

  “Where do you think, Len?” He grinned.

  “No way. You slide down there and you could do yourself no end of damage. We’ll get one of the other guys to go after her. Bram! Bram, do you ever listen to anything anyone says to you?”

  “Sorry, Len,” Bram called over his shoulder. “Can’t hear you.”

  He was at the edge of the grass preparing to drop himself down onto the beach. He landed, one foot hitting a jutting rock and wrenching over to the side. Biting back a yelp of pain, he turned to look at Bonnie. She was watching him, cautious and curious, her eyes flashing in the beam of Len’s torch.

  “Hey, girl,” he said softly. “Come here. Come on.”

  She lowered her head, wagged her tail some more, but didn’t move.

  “Come on, baby girl,” he said, squatting down, making himself as small and unthreatening as possible. She was soaking wet. God knows how long she’d been down here trying to make her way round the base of the cliff. She may even have tried to swim in the treacherous sea.

  “I won’t hurt you, Bonnie,” he said, holding out his hand to her. “Come on. Come here. Come on, good girl.”

  Squatting in this position wasn’t doing a lot for his sore back or his wrenched ankle, but if he suddenly stood up, he might scare her and then she might make a bolt for it and really hurt herself.

  Persistence and patience. Knowing her name helped. It was a word she recognised. A word used by those she loved and trusted. Bram repeated it over and over, calling her softly, his arm going stiff from holding it out to her.

  At last she took a step towards him, paws slipping and sliding on the rocks, tail still moving from side to side although it was more of an uncertain wag rather than an, “Oh, boy am I pleased to see you!” full on wag.

  She had a rope round her neck, trailing along behind her. It was practically a noose and if it had got caught, it could have killed her.

  “Good girl,” Bram said, his enthusiasm causing a real swing in her tail and a lifting of her ears. “Good girl, Bonnie.”

  She edged towards him, low and slow. Poor dog must have been through hell tonight. First she’d lost her little mistress, then probably been scared out of her wits by all the rescue vehicles, lights and noise. Now here she was with this hard, slippery surface under her paws, freezing cold, soaked to the skin and not sure what was happening.

  Bram knew if he made a grab for her, she’d probably turn tail and run – and run herself straight into danger and injury. He had to sit this out for as long as it took. Then he’d get her back to the surgery, check her out and report back to the hospital, to Regan, who could pass on the news that Bonnie was safe.

  Or he could let Len go back to the hospital with the news. That would be the sensible thing to do. But since when had he been sensible when it came to Regan? He wanted an excuse to see her again, though why he didn’t know because she made it pretty clear six years ago that she didn’t really love him.

  But then again, he hadn’t put up much of a fight for her had he? And he’d had his own reasons for wanting to get away. She’d played right into his hands and made breaking up easy.

  Second thoughts, he’d leave the reporting back to Len. Safer that way. If Regan had made a new life for herself, he had no right to disrupt it.

  Bonnie braced herself and shook, spraying him with cold gritty water.

  “Come on, girl,” he urged and she took those last couple of steps closer and as he reached to grab her collar, she launched herself into his arms, knocking him backwards.

  He held on to her and ran his fingers through the thick curls on her chest which were sodden and sticky with sand and salt water. Now she’d decided to trust him, Bonnie went crazy and her pink tongue shot out again and again, slapping Bram round the face and making him laugh.

  At last he managed to stand up, scoop the dog into his arms and carry her over to the bank.

  “Let the hospital know we’ve found her,” he called up to Len.

  “Already done,” Len said. “Is she okay? She looks okay.”

  “She seems fine as far as I can tell, but I’ll take her back to the surgery, wash the sand and salt out of her fur and check her over to be sure.”

  Len watched Bram hurry away with the dog in his arms. Regan’s dog! The guy should be told that he’d rescued his own daughter tonight, but it wasn’t his place to tell him. Regan was terrified he’d find out.

  She’d asked him again not to say anything when he called her just now – once she’d finished crying with relief and he’d managed to convince her that Bonnie was okay.

  “He won’t hear it from me,” Len promised. “But he will hear it from someone, Regan and it’ll be sooner rather than later. You owe it…”

  “I don’t owe him anything.”

  “Don’t you? He saved Georgie’s life. No one else would have had the guts to do what he did and if we’d waited for the proper support, it may have been too late.”

  “I didn’t mean…” She sounded as if she was crying and he felt terrible, but he loved both these people, Bram and Regan and he wanted what was best for them both. And for that little girl too. Bram’s little girl.

  Regan hadn’t so much as looked at another guy since Bram left and she’d been so determined to block out the past, she’d even distanced herself from old friends. He’d done his best to stay in touch and help when he could, but she was fiercely independent. The only person that seemed to get anywhere near was Lally. Nice woman. Kept herself to herself for the most part. She wasn’t local. Maybe that was why Regan had let her in.

  At first when Bram showed up back in town, Len thought he’d come back to be with Regan and that he knew about Georgie, but it had soon become clear that wasn’t the case.

  When it was time to go home, Regan saw Lally waiting for her.

  “What are you doing still here?” she said. “You should have gone home ages ago.”

  “I’m going
to drive you home, that’s what,” Lally said. “You can leave your car in the car park here. You didn’t get much sleep yesterday and you’ve had a lousy night, so I don’t think you should drive. That’s all.”

  “Lally, you don’t have to…”

  “I know I don’t,” Lally interrupted. “But if it was one of my kids and someone had let me down the way I let you down, I’d want to kill them. So if you want to hit me, go right ahead.”

  She jutted her chin out. It made Regan laugh. She’d no more think of hitting Lally than she would turn Stanley Bishop away on a cold and stormy night.

  She linked her arm through Lally’s instead.

  “You didn’t let me down.”

  “Well, I feel responsible.”

  Lally had no children of her own and it was a pity because she was the most motherly person Regan had ever met and that included her own mother.

  “I’m not going home, Lally,” she said. “I’m going to pick Bonnie up from the vet then I’m coming back here to be with Georgie.”

  “Now you’re being silly,” Lally said. “You need to catch up on some sleep so you’re wide awake later on. Georgie’s going to need you. Bonnie will be fine at the surgery. They’ll take good care of her and she’ll probably just want to sleep anyway.”

  Regan sighed and bit her lip, fighting back tears again when she thought of her lovely Bonnie. “They said she was trying to find Georgie. That doesn’t surprise me one little bit. She’s such a lovely, loyal little dog. I should bring her home. I don’t think I can sleep anyway after all that’s happened.”

  There was another reason she wanted to go to the surgery. She had to see Bram and get this all out in the open before it was too late. Strike while the iron was hot, wasn’t that how the saying went? Well this iron was scalding!

  “You have to try and sleep, Regan. You’re going to be no use to Georgie if you drop dead of exhaustion. I’ll go and pick Bonnie up for you, later.”

  They were outside the hospital now. The rain had stopped and daylight glowed weakly through multi-coloured clouds.

  Still she hesitated. Would it be too cowardly of her to agree, to let Lally fetch Bonnie? She was too tired to be brave.

  “Thank you. Make sure he gives you a bill. Tell him I’ll settle up with him later.” It wasn’t just the bill she needed to settle. She turned back to the hospital. “I should stay…”

  “All right, how about this,” Lally said. “You get a taxi home and I’ll stay here with Georgie. At least you won’t have to worry about having to hurry back to the hospital. They’re not expecting you to work tonight are they?”

  “No,” Regan said. “I’ve taken some leave.” She knew it made sense to at least try and catch up. She needed to be able to think straight if she was going to sort things out with Bram.

  “That’s settled then,” Lally said firmly.

  “All right,” Regan agreed. “But promise you’ll let me know if Georgie needs me?”

  “Of course I will,” Lally said. “When can she come home?”

  “Tomorrow,” Regan said. “They’re keeping her in for another twenty four hours and all being well, she’ll be discharged.”

  “Has she said what she was doing on the cliff?” Lally asked.

  “Not yet,” Regan said. “But I’m going to find out and I’ll make sure she never does anything like it again.”

  Right now, Regan would like to wrap her daughter up in cotton wool and keep her at home and never let her out of her sight again.

  “I don’t think you need worry too much about that,” Lally said. “After the fright she’s had, she’ll want to stay close to home for a while.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  Regan hugged Lally, then called a taxi firm. Despite her protestations, she felt really tired and it would be foolish to drive. But she was determined to be up again soon.

  A tear slid down her cheek and she rubbed it away.

  “There’s something else you should know, Lally,” Regan said while they waited for the taxi. “About Bram.”

  “The guy who rescued Georgie? He found Bonnie too, didn’t he?”

  Regan nodded. There was no easy way to say it, so she just came right out with it.

  “He’s Georgie’s dad.”

  “What?” Lally cried. “But I thought her dad had moved away? You’re a dark horse, Regan Tyler! When did he come back? Are you and he…”

  Poor Lally. She looked so hopeful. Bless her, she was all about the happy endings.

  “He doesn’t know,” Regan said. “He knows nothing about Georgie.”

  Lally’s jaw dropped. Her look of shock was almost funny, but the last thing Regan felt like was laughing.

  “I never told you about him before because it was in the past and all happened before you moved here. I think that’s why we’ve always got along so well. I knew you were never going to ask awkward questions.”

  Lally shook her head. “Daft lass,” she said. “We get on well because we just do! I don’t care about your past, but I am concerned about you now. He doesn’t know, you say? Well he’s going to find out for sure isn’t he? But you know me. I won’t tell you what I think you should do, but I’ll be there to support you whatever you decide. Okay? And don’t ever keep anything from me because of what I might think or say or do. That’s not what friendship is about, Regan.”

  Regan hugged her and struggled to fight back more tears. What would she do without Lally?

  “Bless you, my lovely friend,” she said. She really must get some sleep before she ended up a tear-sodden mess.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  There were no overnight guests at the surgery, so the place was quiet. Bram let himself in and Bonnie followed through the door somewhat reluctantly. She must know exactly where she was as she seemed quite familiar with her surroundings.

  He rinsed her fur with warm water, then dried her with towels and she shook again, still finding a fair bit of water in her fur to shower him with.

  “That’s no way to thank me for saving your life, Bonnie,” he laughed.

  She gazed up at him. How quickly they came to put their trust in you. It amazed him how even the most nervous of dogs would soon attach themselves to you if you showed them kindness.

  He gave her a thorough check up and found her to be perfectly healthy and unhurt apart from a cut on her paw which he dressed and bandaged. She sat as still as a statue while he wrapped her paw with bright pink cohesive bandage. There was an address and phone number on her tag. He knew the street. It was a quiet place with small family houses as far as he remembered.

  He hoped the owners took as good care of their daughter as they did their dog. She was in great shape.

  The hospital would have let them know their dog was safe. Perhaps it would be Regan who gave them the good news. He still couldn’t believe how amazing it had been to see her again or how much she’d changed. He supposed he’d changed too. Six years was a long time.

  “I’m kidding myself, Bonnie,” he said. “I came back here knowing full well I’d probably bump into Regan at some point. In fact I pretty much banked on it. How dumb is that? As if Regan would want to see me! Anyway, she’ll have a life of her own now. She won’t want me hanging around.”

  Bonnie’s ears lifted.

  “Oh, I said something you liked? How about Georgie?”

  Bonnie tried to jump down from the table. There was a name she recognised. He lifted her to the floor and she waved her bandaged foot wildly for a moment before heading straight for the door and scrabbling impatiently at it. People who said dogs didn’t understand what you were talking about were out of their minds. This one understood every word.

  “You know your way out, huh?” he grinned. “Been here before have you, girl?”

  He couldn’t check for her records on the computer because he didn’t know the surname of her owners, but she was clearly one of Dennis’s patients. “You can’t go yet. I doubt there’ll be anyone at home. They should be at the ho
spital with Georgie right now.”

  And he wasn’t about to leave her alone after all she’d been through.

  “You’d better come upstairs with me and have something to eat. I hope you get on with other dogs.”

  Even if she didn’t, his own dogs were a friendly bunch and the cats would just roll their eyes and groan at the sight of another animal before taking themselves off to hide somewhere. And of course, if he took her to his home, he’d have to go to the hospital to let Regan know where she was. Just so she could let the family know if they wanted to pick her up before morning surgery which was in about… he glanced at his watch. Two hours!

  “Sorry, Regan,” he said. “Much as I want to see you again, it’ll have to be a phone call.”

  Bonnie barked, turned round in a circle then sat down and looked up at him expectantly. She looked as if she was laughing.

  “Funny dog,” he laughed, shaking his head.

  He rang the hospital, but Regan had gone home. Disappointed, he left a message for Georgie’s mother confirming that Bonnie was fine and ready to be collected anytime.

  Regan slid beneath the cool duvet and closed her eyes. It was no use. She would never sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she saw either Georgie with her little bloody face looking terrified as she peeked from a head brace or Bram looking… well, looking so damn gorgeous, just like he always did, just like he always had.

  She tossed and turned, punched her pillow into shape, then threw it on the floor. Her legs wouldn’t be still and her thoughts were so loud and confused like an incessant babble inside her head.

  She swung between feeling sick with fear at what could have happened and feeling sick with anticipation at what might yet happen. She was going to have to tell Bram about Georgie. She should have done it straight away and she knew the longer she left it, the harder it would be.

  The other thing keeping her awake was thoughts of Bonnie. She should have picked her up. She should have told Bram then that Bonnie was her dog and Georgie their daughter. It was another missed opportunity.