‘No, do not apologise. I’m so, so pleased for you and Gio.’ And she was, despite the shock and her own personal history. ‘Don’t let what you know about me take anything away from that, do you hear me?’
‘It happened so quick; we didn’t expect it.’
‘And that’s wonderful.’ Nadia took her friend’s hands and gave them a squeeze. ‘It’s really amazing news. But Bess, how on earth are you going to cope with a baby and a puppy?’
Laughter took over from the tears which she swiped away. ‘I’ve absolutely no idea. That’s why we almost didn’t get the puppy, but we decided we’ve got a while to settle him in before the baby comes. And we’d already fallen in love with him.’
She couldn’t begrudge the happiness for her friend; that wasn’t the sort of person she was at all.
‘It’sveryearly days.’ Bess crossed her fingers on both hands. ‘And I want to work until I really, really can’t, so no going easy on me.’
‘Done,’ said Nadia. ‘I guess this is why you’re moving in together.’
‘Yes. I swear Gio engineered this – he’s been asking to live together ever since we started seeing each other.’
Nadia laughed. ‘How does Gio feel about the prospect of being a dad?’
‘He was shocked at first. I mean, happy, but a little stunned. We’re both well into our forties, only got together recently really, and we never saw it happening for us. Hence the puppy.’
‘You two are going to have your work cut out.’
Bess grinned. ‘I’m having a geriatric pregnancy.’
‘And you’ll do it in style. I know you will.’
They hugged again right before the ring of the red phone in the office alerted The Skylarks to a job, for which Bess took down the details. Noah emerged from the kitchen with Maya, and Nadia met Hudson in the corridor as the crew made their way into the hangar and she came out of the office.
‘How did you get on with contacting Mr Potter’s extended family?’ she asked him. Mr Potter was a patient the crew had attended to almost two weeks ago and they’d been trying to reach a member of his family ever since.
The familiar sound of Hilda being started up beyond the building signified the crew were almost ready to go.
‘I got hold of a sister,’ said Hudson. ‘She’s fifteen years his senior, though.’
Mr Potter was a seventy-one-year-old farmer who’d been trampled by one of his cows on his dairy farm. He was lucky to be alive after the 600kg beast broke his ribs, punctured a lung and crushed one of his arms.
‘I’ll bet she was shocked, poor lady. Not the sort of phone call you want.’
‘No, it never is.’
In the kitchen, Nadia grabbed a couple of mugs to make the coffee. ‘She won’t be able to take over while her brother recovers either.’
‘Well, yes and no.’
‘Are you telling me an eighty-six-year-old woman is going to come and run the farm for her brother?’
‘Not exactly. But once she’d processed the shock and knew that he was on the road to recovery, she was all business. She told me she once helped to run the place. She knew all about the health and safety risk assessments, she clearly has a head for the business side and she’s going to try to find someone from their network – her words – to take over while he gets better. I’m waiting for a call back from her with an update.’
‘She sounds efficient, especially for her age.’
‘She talked about moving in with him, followed that up by telling me he wouldn’t like it when he found out.’
Nadia poured on the boiling water before handing Hudson a mug. ‘Bess didn’t think he was going to make it.’
‘Shows how things can change in the blink of an eye.’
‘They sure can.’
‘You had no idea she was pregnant?’
