Eva let out a howl that made them both jump, but it made Maya smile a little bit. It seemed she could be frosty with him but not an innocent little girl, and he kind of liked that about her already.
‘I forgot to move,’ he explained. ‘She gets a bit antsy if we’re still for too long.’
‘She’s cute,’ said Maya.
‘She can be. Listen, I’d?—’
But she cut in. ‘I need to get on, I’ve still got to hunt down peaches and cat food.’
‘I think you’re going to need a basket.’
She looked at what she was carrying. ‘I always do this: come in here thinking I don’t need one and end up with armfuls of groceries.’ But the slight thawing didn’t last long. ‘Bye then.’
‘I’ll see you when you’re back at work,’ he said before she could walk away.
She stopped, seeming confused. ‘Work? You weren’t temporary for the shift?’
‘I jumped in at the last minute with the blue team but I’m also here in town to start my new role as the critical care paramedic on the red team. To replace Carl.’
She frowned. ‘Someone probably told me. I’d forgotten.’
Eva began shuffling about more in her buggy, a sure sign he’d stayed still far too long. ‘No worries at all. I’d better get going with this one. I’ll see you at the airbase when you’re back.’
She said nothing, just went on her way.
‘Women,’ he muttered beneath his breath. Although perhaps she was thinking ‘men’ after his unwelcome comments at the wedding reception. He couldn’t blame her, really.
‘Do you think I’ve totally messed up my working life, Eva?’ he asked, to no response.
He headed for the beer section. He wasn’t a heavy drinker but when he got off shift and the house was quiet, Eva’s bedtime routine depending, there was nothing nicer than a cold beer. Previously, he would’ve drunk it on the sofa with a view of the lights of London’s surrounds but nowadays, he’d take it and sit on the back porch at the old signal box cottage looking out at Whistlestop River. Quiet, unassuming towns weren’t his bag, but the ritual would be a respite and a way of keeping himself together when everything he knew so well had been blown apart.
Once he’d been through the checkout, he stashed all the shopping in the basket beneath the pram save the box of beers, which he cradled under one arm. But steering was nigh on impossible as he left the supermarket and he was halfway along the row of cars heading for his own when it began to slip.
‘Here, let me help,’ said the man coming towards him. He wasted no time taking the box so Noah could put both hands back on Eva’s stroller.
Noah smiled. ‘Frank. Good to see you again.’ Frank was the engineer at the airbase and according to Nadia, he went above and beyond the call of duty and was at the airbase more hours than he really had to be, ensuring the helicopter was fit for purpose. ‘And thank you.’
‘No problem.’ He crouched down and Eva warmed to him instantly, reaching out for his moustache, which sat like a big, fluffy caterpillar across his top lip.
‘Careful or she’ll pull it really hard,’ Noah advised as Eva tried to get a grip.
‘Oh, she’s fine, aren’t you, little one?’
Noah chuckled. ‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you.’
And because Frank was one of those guys you felt comfortable blabbing to and who seemed to have all the time in the world for people he liked, when he asked about Eva as they walked back to the car, with Frank still holding the box of beers, Noah found himself summarising his life story right there and then outside the town’s supermarket.
7
‘Good morning,’ Bess trilled when Noah arrived at the airbase for his fifth shift with the red team. He hadn’t had to face Maya yet (unless you counted the time at the supermarket) because she was still off work helping her ex-husband.
‘You’re very chirpy in the mornings,’ he said. Bess’s personality was a riot, much like her curls but from what he’d seen so far, Bess also had a heart of gold and a good rapport with everyone around her.
She pulled a face. ‘Not a morning person?’
‘I am usually.’ He rubbed his face a few times with both hands. He was settling into a routine already. Geraldine and Eva were too, but it was still a big adjustment coming here. ‘Eva kept me up all night.’
Bess tutted. ‘At least you got some action.’
