Lara spun around at the sound of her name. ‘Tom!’ He was being wheeled across the room on a hospital gurney but he was semi-recumbent, his upper body elevated by plump pillows, and he was smiling. Although he did have a large lump on his head almost the size of an egg, and by the look of it, a black eye. Lara rushed to his side.
‘This young lady is with me,’ he told the male nurse, with a huge smile.
‘Lucky you,’ the man joked. And then to Lara, he said, ‘Tom’s been telling us he wants to go home, but we’ll be keeping him in for a day or two. I’m taking him to that cubicle, so follow us.’ He nodded to the cubicle at the end of a row of four and continued to push the gurney.
‘He’s okay though, right?’
‘He’s had a fall, and as you can see, a bump to his head. The doctor has had some X-rays and a few tests done, and he’ll come and have a word with you soon. Tom’s on a drip due to mild dehydration.’
‘I am here, you know,’ Tom said.
‘Thankfully,’ said Lara.
The nurse positioned the gurney in the cubicle and flicked on the brake with his foot. ‘I’ll leave you for now but press this if you need anything.’
‘Thank you,’ Lara said.
‘Any chance of a cup of tea?’ Tom asked the nurse.
‘I’ll check with the doctor and if he says yes, I’ll bring one in a minute.’ He smiled at Lara as he left.
‘You gave me quite a fright,’ Lara said, as she sat on the plastic chair on the other side of the gurney.
‘So I hear. I’m sorry about that. Thank you for doing what you did.’
‘You’re welcome. I’ve called your grandson and he’s on his way.’
Tom tutted and shook his head just a fraction, as if it hurt to move it more. ‘I was hoping he didn’t know. He’s a busy lad and I don’t need him coming all this way just because I had a little dizzy spell this morning.’
‘So it was this morning that you had your fall? You were okay last night?’
He narrowed his eyes with a look of confusion. ‘Yes. Why?’
Lara shook her head. ‘Because your lights were off before eight last night.’
His brows shot up as much as his eye and the bump would allow. ‘How do you know that? Been spying on me, have you?’
‘Why does everyone accuse me of spying? All I did was glance at your cottage from my back door. I noticed your lights were off. That’s all. And then, this morning, I noticed they were still off, despite the dark day. I’d hardly call that spying.’
‘Okay. Keep your shirt on. And whatever you call it, it’s lucky for me that you did. So thank you again. I wish you hadn’t called my grandson though.’
‘So do I.’
‘Oh?’
Lara hadn’t meant to say that aloud. ‘He had no idea who I was, so we … had a bit of a misunderstanding. He … is very much like you, isn’t he?’
Tom chuckled. ‘Gave you short shrift, did he?’
‘Let’s just say, he could’ve been nicer. But he was great once he knew I was only trying to help. He thought I was trying to sell you something at first.’
‘The lad doesn’t suffer fools gladly.’
‘So now I’m a fool.’
Tom grinned. ‘I think we established that yesterday, didn’t we? How was your first night in the cottage? When you weren’t spying on your neighbour.’
Lara laughed. ‘It was good, thanks. Oh, and mentioning your name worked miracles. You saved me a fortune. I owe you a pie and a pint.’
