Once Upon a Winter: All Four Parts in One - Plus an Exclusive Extra Short Story...

by Tilly Tennant

  ‘They don’t know we’re strangers.’

  ‘Yes they do. If we weren’t we’d know his name and be taking him home.’

  Hannah bit her lip. That actually sounded like a mad but appealing prospect.

  ‘For that matter…’ Gina continued, ‘he may well have already been claimed. He could be on his way home as we speak.’

  Hannah opened her mouth to argue, but then closed it again. She didn’t have an answer, because Gina was right, as she always was. But she still had the irrational urge to drive to the hospital, and she knew that it wouldn’t go away until she’d seen for herself that Tom was safe.

  ‘You’re still thinking about going, aren’t you?’ Gina frowned at her over the rim of her cup. Hannah gave a slightly apologetic nod; but because she also felt utterly vindicated she wouldn’t apologise, even though she felt the nuisance she was making of herself. Gina sighed. ‘Give me time to pull myself together and I’ll get dressed.’

  ‘You don’t need to come.’

  ‘What? Let you go and make a total tool of yourself with no back up? Not likely. Someone’s got to talk some sense into you when you don’t get anywhere and it’s time to admit defeat. Besides, the roads are still dangerous and I’d rather be with you in case you run into trouble on the way there.’

  ‘What about Jess?’

  Gina took a sip of her coffee. ‘We’ll leave her to rot in bed. We’ll be there and back before she’s up and I doubt she’ll even know we’ve been anywhere at all.’

  *

  An hour later, Hannah had checked visiting times at Millrise General (as everyone still called it, though it now had some fancy and longwinded name that defied anyone who wasn’t a world memory champion to remember it) on their very useful website. She might not get to visit, and he may not even still be on a ward, but it was worth being prepared just in case. She and Gina were huddled in coats and boots at the front door. Hannah fingered her car keys anxiously. She hated driving in snow, but although she wasn’t looking forward to it, there was no way she was backing out now, not while she had Gina onside.

  ‘I still think you’re both mad,’ Jess said. She stood before them, still in her pyjamas, twirling a tendril of bed-knotted hair around her index finger.

  ‘You could come if you don’t want to stay on your own. It would be an adventure,’ Gina said with an impish grin that took twenty years off her.

  ‘Not bloody likely,’ Jess returned. ‘I’ll sit by the fire and eat all your chocolates while you’re gone.’

  ‘Don’t you bloody dare!’ Gina shot back. Jess laughed.

  ‘How long will you be?’

  ‘A couple of hours.’ Gina glanced at Hannah for confirmation.

  ‘I hope it won’t be too much longer than that,’ Hannah said. ‘As long as we can get through the snow ok.’

  ‘I reckon as soon as we get off the tracks and onto the main roads it will be fine,’ Gina said.

  ‘Probably,’ Hannah agreed, ‘it usually is. We’ve got to get to them first, though.’

  Gina gave Jess a brief kiss on the cheek. ‘Be good. And if you must eat chocolate please don’t eat them all.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ll leave you the strawberry creams.’

  ‘Oh, you little witch!’ Gina squeaked as Jess giggled. And with that, Hannah and Gina stepped out into the still late morning.

  The snow had hardened, and it crunched under their boots as they made their way down the drive.

  Hannah’s little yellow Citroen looked as if it had been iced like a Christmas cake. ‘The car will take some clearing,’ she said.

  ‘I don’t think that’s going anywhere,’ Gina said, angling her head at the marooned vehicle.

  ‘It’s certainly more frozen in than I thought it would be.’

  ‘We could get the kettle; melt the snow?’ Gina suggested.

  ‘I don’t want to risk it freezing up again even more solid. The damn thing is temperamental enough as it is and I’m half expecting it not to start. . . I think we’ll have to dig it out.’

  ‘God, I wish I’d brought my car now instead of getting the train.’

  Hannah gave a rueful smile. ‘I don’t suppose you were expecting to have to go on a crazy mission.’

  ‘True.’

  Hannah planted her hands on her hips and appraised the mound of snow that contained her car. Finally, she let out a sigh. ‘I don’t suppose it’s going to dig itself out; I’d better go and find some kind of implement in the shed.’ She was about to make her way around the back when there was a shout from the lane. She turned to see George. ‘Good morning!’ she called. ‘How was Trixie when you got back to her yesterday?’

  ‘Oh, she was just about holding on,’ George smiled. ‘But she’s a good little girl and she’d do her best not to make a mess in the house no matter how long I was gone.’

  ‘Come to get your car?’ Hannah asked.

  George nodded. ‘I’m waiting for Paul Hunter’s lad to come down with his tractor from Holly Farm. He said he’d help me dig it out so I could get it back home.’

  Hannah and Gina exchanged a grin as they both had the same thought. ‘Do you think he’d do one extra?’ Hannah asked. ‘We’re just trying to get mine out.’

  ‘I doubt he’d mind,’ George replied cheerfully. ‘In fact, I think he’s planning to clear the road a bit too. Are you going far? It still won’t be the best driving conditions.’

  ‘We’re just going into Millrise.’

  George was thoughtful for a moment. ‘Happen I could take you if you like.’

  ‘That’s very kind of you.’ Hannah gave him a patient smile, but she was still thinking about how he had panicked at the wheel the previous day and nearly hit her. She didn’t fancy being responsible for him having another accident. ‘I think I’d rather take my car, though. I really don’t know how long we’ll be and I would hate you to have to wait around in the cold.’

  George’s breath curled into the air. ‘Righto,’ he said. ‘But let me know if you change your mind.’

  ‘We will.’ Hannah could see a faint smile on Gina’s lips and guessed that her sister had similar misgivings about George’s offer, however kindly meant it was.

  The deep throb of a very large diesel engine reached them, and they turned to see a mighty looking tractor charging down the lane as if there were no snow on the ground at all. It came to a halt next to Hannah’s gate, and a young man leapt down from the cab. He looked so much like the archetypal blond surfer that he was completely at odds with his cloth cap, thick fleece, green wellies and rural surroundings. He gave George a nod before turning to greet Hannah. ‘Afternoon.’

  Hannah smiled. ‘Hello, Ross. How are you?’ Hannah had seen him around, had even exchanged the odd passing pleasantry with him, but this was the first time she had really been this close. He was a lot handsomer than she had realised before.

  ‘I’m good, thank you,’ Ross said. ‘I’ve spent the morning searching for my damn sheep but they’re accounted for now so I think I’ll call that a good day.’

  ‘I suppose they’re hard to find in the snow… being soft and white and everything,’ Gina said. Hannah looked askance and cocked an eyebrow at her. Gina’s voice had developed a coquettish lilt that Hannah knew well. A rebound relationship was a very bad idea and Hannah hoped that her sister wasn’t that stupid. A bit of rebound fun, on the other hand, might be just what Gina needed. Ross was young, realistically too young for Gina, but he was gorgeous, and it looked like there’d be a lot of rebound fun in him. A bit of flirting would cheer Gina up if nothing else.

  Ross yanked off his hat and ruffled his hair into an adorably dishevelled quiff. ‘Yeah, soft and white can be a problem in this weather.’ He grinned. ‘Perhaps I ought to paint them pink.’

  ‘They’d certainly be the most chic sheep in the valley,’ Gina replied with a breathy laugh.

  ‘So…’ Hannah cut in, hoping to put the flirting on hold for one second so they could turn their attention to the t
ask in hand, ‘George tells us you’re hoping to get him mobile.’

  Ross nodded. ‘Shouldn’t take me long. I’ll run Bess up and down the lane as well to clear a track.’

  ‘Who’s Bess?’ Gina asked.

  Ross patted the tractor with a slightly worrying show of affection.

  ‘Right…’ Hannah smiled. ‘I know it’s cheeky but I don’t suppose you could give us a hand afterwards? I’m trying to get my car out too and, as you can see, it’s snowed in pretty solid.’

  ‘I expect so…’ Ross stuck his hands in his pockets and ran his gaze over Hannah’s car. ‘Shouldn’t be too much trouble.’

  ‘Brilliant!’ Hannah beamed. Ross climbed back into his tractor, clearly excited about the prospect of driving it. Hannah could just imagine him as a small boy, playing with his toy tractors and dreaming of the day when he would be old enough to drive a real one. There was something rather endearing about the expression of joy on Ross’s face as he turned the key and the engine roared into life.

  In less than half an hour, he had made an impressive job of clearing a path along the lane for as far as Hannah could see. He did an even more impressive job of shifting the snow from around Hannah’s car, and as Gina watched with obvious appreciation, even Hannah had to admit that he was a pretty hot specimen of manhood.

  But Ross looked doubtful when Hannah’s pride and joy was finally revealed.

  ‘Not exactly the wheels for this sort of weather, even with the path clear.’

  Hannah held her hands up. ‘I knew the full extent of its crappiness would be discovered once you moved all that snow,’ she laughed.

  ‘No…’ Ross blushed, and Hannah thought she caught an audible sigh of longing from Gina. ‘I didn’t mean that. . . just that…’

  ‘I know,’ Hannah smiled. ‘Sadly it’s the best I can do and I have to get into Millrise today.’

  Ross lifted his cap and rubbed a hand through his hair again. ‘How about I take you? It might be a slow way to travel but you’d be guaranteed to get through.’

  ‘What about getting back?’

  ‘No problem; I’ll bring you back as well.’

  ‘But you don’t want to be hanging around for us. I’ve no idea how long we’ll be.’

  ‘Have my phone number then. Call me when you need to come back and I’ll drive out for you.’

  ‘Oooh, phone number!’ Gina squeaked with such eagerness that everyone turned to stare at her, even George, who had been so quiet they had almost forgotten he was there. ‘Sorry…’ she added, ‘I just meant that your phone number would be a good idea.’

  Ross pulled out a battered old mobile phone. He glanced up with a sheepish grin. ‘I know it looks like something Indiana Jones might be hunting for, but there’s no point in me losing a good one in the silage pit. Trust me, it wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened.’

  ‘And you had the cheek to poke fun at my car!’ Hannah laughed.

  Ross grinned. ‘Busted!’

  Hannah and Ross exchanged numbers and then Gina and Ross exchanged numbers (in case Hannah’s phone ran out of battery, as Gina had wisely pointed out), and after seeing George off down the lane in his car, Ross helped Hannah and Gina up into his cab.

  ‘It might be a bit of a squash,’ he said, ‘but if you don’t mind then I don’t.’

  ‘I don’t mind at all,’ Gina said, and Hannah had to try very hard not to slap her around the face and tell her to pull herself together. If Gina dared to tell Hannah again that she was acting like a lovestruck teenager over Tom, then she would take great pleasure in reminding her sister of this episode as evidence that she was just as bad. But, as Ross started the engine and it roared into life, Hannah felt it vibrate right through her body, and she couldn’t help but reflect that there were less fun ways of getting around. She was on a mission of mercy (or so she kept telling herself) but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy herself at the same time. Right now, she could see why Ross’s face lit up every time he climbed into his big shiny tractor; she almost felt like a kid herself sitting up there with him as he pulled away from the roadside.

  *

  There were more people than Hannah expected to see around and about when they finally arrived in Millrise, and their unconventional mode of transport drew puzzled looks as they made their way through the town. The roads here were almost clear, and observers probably thought it was a severe case of overkill. Ross dropped Hannah and Gina off as close to the hospital entrance as he could get without causing a problem.

  ‘I hope you find him,’ he said.

  Hannah threw Gina a sideways glance; she had filled Ross in on the whole story and Hannah wished she hadn’t.

  ‘Me too,’ Gina said. ‘Thanks so much for the lift; it was brilliant.’

  Ross gave them a wide grin and tipped his cap in an archaic but endearing gesture. ‘I’ve got my phone at the ready. It’s no bother at all for me to come back so let me know when you’re ready.’

  ‘We will,’ Gina said. She looked at Hannah. ‘Are you ready?’

  ‘Not really,’ Hannah said with a half-smile. Once again, the inexplicable nerves had kicked in and she wondered what the hell she was doing here. As much as she wanted to find the mysterious man who may or may not be called Tom, she also wanted to run back home and pretend none of this had ever happened.

  They watched as Ross swung his tractor around in a giant U-turn and then Gina linked arms with Hannah.

  ‘Come on, let’s get this madness over with; let’s find your Prince Charming.’

  ‘He’s not my Prince Charming.’

  ‘Yup… Whatever you say.’

  ‘You can wipe that smile off your face,’ Hannah replied tartly as they began to walk. ‘Don’t make me say anything about you and Ross.’

  ‘Me and Ross?’ Gina laughed.

  ‘You’re telling me you don’t fancy him?’

  ‘Who wouldn’t? I’d totally go there.’

  ‘He’s half your age!’

  ‘That’s rude. Maybe about two thirds.’

  ‘Definitely more than that.’

  ‘Either way, a bit of flirting is good for the soul, as long as both parties are enjoying it. I’m not asking him to marry me, am I?’

  ‘So there’s going to be no more than flirting, even if he was willing to go further?’

  ‘If the definition of flirting can be stretched to being horizontal and naked in bed together, then no, there’s going to be no more than flirting.’

  Hannah rolled her eyes.

  ‘What?’ Gina asked. ‘He’s single, isn’t he? He certainly acts as though he is.’

  ‘I think so.’

  ‘There’s no harm in it, then.’

  ‘Hmmm…’ Was all that Hannah could think to say in return.

  *

  The main reception of the accident and emergency unit was a welcome and cosy temperature after the brisk chill of the road outside; perhaps a little too cosy as Hannah was desperate to peel off her coat as soon as she stepped in. She yanked off her gloves and hat and painted on her brightest smile as she approached the reception desk.

  ‘I was wondering if you could help me.’

  The receptionist’s expression remained stony and blank. Hannah’s spirit sank; she had a feeling this was going to be hard work.

  ‘A friend of ours was brought in by ambulance yesterday,’ Hannah continued, ‘and we’re trying to find out what happened to him.’

  The woman raised her eyebrows slightly. ‘Are you a relative?’

  ‘Not exactly…’ Hannah began, but the woman cut her off.

  ‘I can’t give you any information if you’re not a relative.’

  ‘What about friends? Friends must be able to visit friends,’ Gina said.

  The woman looked from Hannah to Gina and back again, as if it was incredibly rude that more than one person should be talking to her at the same time. ‘Are you friends?’

  ‘We did just say that,’ Hannah replied, biting back a ruder retor
t which would get her nowhere.

  The receptionist let out a bored sigh. ‘What’s his name?’

  Hannah glanced at Gina. ‘We… we don’t actually know.’

  ‘I can’t find him without a name,’ the woman snapped.

  ‘Could you try? Were you on duty yesterday?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘He had memory loss. Someone might have mentioned him to you? Are there any records of him arriving yesterday?’

  The woman narrowed her eyes. ‘You don’t even know his name. I can’t give you any information.’

  ‘We’re the people who called the ambulance for him,’ Gina said. ‘He’d have been dead without us.’

  Hannah wondered if that was a bit of a melodramatic statement but she was willing to let it go if it helped their cause.

  ‘I can’t tell you anything,’ the woman repeated. ‘There are over two thousand patients in this hospital at any one time and I can’t be expected to know the particulars of every one… that’s what computers and NHS numbers are for.’

  ‘So you won’t help?’ Gina asked, her voice hardening.

  ‘I can’t help,’ the woman replied. She began to flick through a pile of papers on her desk to signal that the conversation was at an end.

  ‘That’s it?’ Gina insisted.

  The woman glanced up. ‘There’s nothing I can do. I’m sorry.’

  She didn’t sound very sorry, and Hannah wished she could tell her, but there was no point. It had been a silly idea and now she couldn’t imagine why she had thought coming here would enable her to see Tom again. And even if she had, what then? She’d have asked him how he was, then the conversation would have petered into awkward silence before she finally left, safe in the knowledge that this would definitely be the last time she saw him. Perhaps it was for the best; this was probably less disappointing, less painful.

  Gina pulled a face at the woman, who wasn’t looking anyway, before motioning to Hannah that it was time to go.

  ‘We tried,’ she said as they walked back out into the snowy grounds, ‘and at least we had a bit of fun in the process.’

  ‘I suppose so,’ Hannah replied. ‘I don’t really know what I was expecting, but I should have known it would turn out like this.’