Rescued by Dr. Rafe (16 page)

Grant made a point of bringing his wife and children over and introducing them, and then Joe Harding made a speech, which was received with general approval, in particular because it was short and to the point. A little girl dressed as a fairy appeared from somewhere and everyone clapped as she presented Mimi with a posy of flowers. Rafe seemed so happy that he was almost shining. And then Charlie turned up.

‘Who's that?' She turned to Rafe, tugging urgently at his sleeve.

‘Um...one of the nurses from the ICU, I think.'

‘Really? You mean I was lying unconscious and Charlie was busy chatting up the ICU nurses?'

Rafe nodded, grinning. ‘Looks like it.'

‘Good for him. She's pretty, isn't she?'

‘Not as pretty as you...' He leaned down to whisper the words and then grunted in protest as Mimi jabbed him in the ribs.

‘It's not a competition, you know. Aren't you glad that Charlie's found someone nice?'

‘Of course. Think he'll introduce us any time soon?'

‘He'd better...' Charlie seemed to finally realise that Mimi was staring at him and she gave him a wave. ‘Go and ask them if they're free for lunch tomorrow.'

‘Ask them yourself. They're coming over.' Rafe turned his smile on to the petite brunette who was with Charlie.

* * *

It had been a lovely afternoon. Fireworks were promised for the evening, and Mimi and Rafe had escaped the heat of the visitor centre for a while.

‘Ah! It's better out here.' She had left her elbow crutches behind, in favour of leaning on his arm. ‘Fewer people around.' She turned and kissed him.

‘What's that for?'

‘To thank you for today. And to remind you that I might want to thank you a bit more comprehensively when we get home.'

Rafe chuckled. ‘You know what, I'm sending you back to work full-time. Four half-days a week isn't enough to keep your mind occupied.'

‘You love it. Anyway, if you want me to stop thinking about sex, then you'd better stop with the
How many ways can we do this without my leg swelling?
thing.'

‘That's Continuous Professional Development. Not every doctor has his very own adder bite patient to experiment on, you know.'

‘So that's what you call it, is it? What happens when I get better?'

‘I experiment a bit more. Long-term effects.'

They walked a few steps in the darkness and Rafe found a bench. It was obviously designed for visitors to watch the comings and goings at the working brewery because it looked out over the river and across to the floodlit loading bay.

‘Do you want to go down there?' His voice was very tender. ‘Joe Harding lent me the key.'

‘You know...' Mimi thought for a moment, wondering if she really did or she really didn't, and decided that she did. ‘Yes. Yes, I would.'

He fetched her coat, wrapping it around her, and carried her across the rough ground between the visitor centre and the loading bay. It wasn't strictly necessary, she probably would have managed it on her own, but she needed him close.

‘I'd like to go inside.' She could feel herself trembling, but she wanted to do this. She'd shared everything else with Rafe over the last weeks, and both of them had known that she'd share this sooner or later.

He bent down, unlocking the padlock and pulling the shutter up from the door beside the main bay. Reaching inside, he found the light switch.

‘Sure about this?'

‘Yeah.'

He wound his arm around her waist, helping her inside. Everything was clean and orderly, and the smell of the brewing beer was stronger here now than it had been the last time. She looked around. The stairs where Rafe had been standing. The metal door which had flown off the wall. The shuttered entrance that she'd made a dash for before the door had hit her and the water had swept her off her feet.

She'd dreamed of this place, waking up in the night to find him holding her, comforting her. And, now she was here, it had somehow lost its power. Something bad had happened here, but that was all in the past.

He helped her across to a bench, which stood against the wall, and she sat down on his lap. When she looked up into his face, she saw tears in his eyes.

‘Hey... We made it, Rafe.'

‘Yeah. We did. Are you okay?'

Funnily enough, yes. Mimi hadn't expected to be, but then she imagined that Rafe hadn't expected not to be.

‘Yes. You're not, though, are you?'

He smiled. ‘Just being here...I thought I'd lost you. When you were under the water and I was searching for you...'

She kissed his cheek. ‘And you found me. That's what matters, Rafe.'

‘Yeah. I know.'

She hadn't expected that this would be the time or the place, but it was. Mimi reached into her handbag.

‘I have something for you.'

He brushed his hand across his face. ‘Yeah? What?'

‘Your watch. I know you said you wanted me to keep it...'

She pulled the jeweller's box out of her bag and gave it to him. Rafe shot her a questioning look and opened it.

‘Mimi...' His face broke into a wide grin. ‘That's... It's great.'

‘You don't mind?'

‘Mind? It's wonderful.' There were two watches in the box—Rafe's along with a smaller one for her, each with half the lucky sixpence mounted behind the hands.

‘Put it on...' She could hardly sit still, hardly wait to see it on his wrist.

‘Yours first.' He slid the bracelet of the smaller watch over her hand, fixing the clip to secure it tight. Then he took off the watch he'd been wearing for the last couple of months and let her put his grandfather's watch back on to his wrist.

‘I had to have the dial redone.' She traced her finger over the glass. After some debate, she'd opted for a dark blue semi-circle, studded with stars, to replace the other half of the sixpence. ‘It's a reminder of the nights you sat with me. How much that meant to me.'

‘It's perfect, honey. I love it, thank you.' He stared at the watch for long moments and Mimi hugged herself with glee. She hadn't dared hope that he'd like it as much as he obviously did.

‘I've got something for you too.' He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket. ‘I was going to save it for later, but you're right. This is the place.'

He was hiding something in his hand and, when curiosity got the better of her and she leaned over to see what it was, he smiled.

‘Are you ready?'

‘I might be, if I knew...' Mimi caught her breath. Suddenly she
did
know.

She gazed up into his eyes and he nodded, as if the question was already asked and answered.

‘Will you marry me, Mimi?'

‘Yes, Rafe. I will.' She didn't need to think about it. Something had clicked into place as soon as he'd spoken the words, a final, all-engulfing happiness which knew no half measures and allowed no hesitation.

‘You sound pretty sure of it.'

‘I am. I love you, Rafe, and I want to marry you.'

‘Then the sooner I can get this on to your finger...' He opened his hand, showing her a box with a ring inside. A pretty, twisting trail of sapphires with a large diamond in the middle. Suddenly it all became real, and tears sprang into her eyes.

‘How long...?'

‘I chose it last week, but the jeweller had to resize it. I picked it up when I went to town this morning, reckoning I'd give it to you tonight... Do you like it?'

‘It's gorgeous, Rafe. Beautiful... Too much...'

He shot her a reproving look. ‘Nothing's too much for you, Mimi. I just want to see you wearing it.'

‘I...I really want to wear it too.' She held out her hand.

He kissed her finger and then slid the ring on to it. Mimi stared at it. ‘Am I dreaming?'

‘If you are, then so am I. For the rest of my life.'

* * *

You find a girl you like and...you lead her up the hill to the church...

Toby Jugg's advice. In a moment, Rafe would tell her that this was Rule Number Four, the one he'd set for himself that day when Mimi had appeared on his doorstep. But, for now, he was complete in a way that he'd never thought possible. He'd carry her out of here one more time and give her a moment to show Charlie her ring. And then he'd take her home.

EPILOGUE

I
T
WAS
THE
first wedding of the New Year. Charlie had decided to wait at the church, to accompany Mimi down the aisle and give her away, and she snuggled into the horse-drawn carriage with Jack and his daughter, Ellie.

‘Are you warm enough, sweetie?' Mimi's wedding dress had a matching brocade coat, with white fur at the collar and cuffs, and Ellie had a similar coat over her dress.

‘Yes.' The little girl was trying very hard to be grown up, and to act like a princess, after her father had told her that this was really a fairytale carriage.

‘That's good.' Mimi twitched a rug over Ellie's lap, covering her satin slippers. ‘Look at the people, coming to watch. You can wave if you like.'

A small knot of people had tumbled out of the village Post Office and were waving to the carriage as it went by. Ellie scrambled up onto her knees on the seat, waving back, almost dropping her posy of flowers out of the window, before Jack retrieved it and stowed it carefully under the seat.

She felt for the heavy pearls around her neck, making sure that they were still there. Rafe's mother had given them to her, saying that her own mother had worn them on her wedding day. Rafe had stopped Mimi from protesting that she couldn't possibly take such a precious gift, and his mother had beamed with pleasure when she saw that they complemented her dress perfectly.

‘Are you all right?' Jack must have asked the question at least twenty times, but it still seemed to require an answer.

‘I'm fine. Just thinking about...everything. A lot's happened in the last few months, for both of us.'

‘Yes.' Jack looked out of the window. ‘Might be more to come. You and Rafe can think about me battling through three feet of snow, while you're off on your honeymoon.'

‘I'll do no such thing. I'll be...' Mimi laughed as Jack's hands moved for Ellie's ears.

‘Okay. We all know what you'll be doing.'

‘What will she be doing?' Ellie climbed onto her father's knee, and Jack rolled his eyes.

‘Exercises, sweetheart. Mimi has to exercise her leg for a while longer, so that she can walk properly.'

It had been a long, hard journey to get here. The snake bites had weakened Mimi's leg to such an extent that at one point it was doubtful whether she'd be able to make it up the aisle unaided. Rafe had been quite prepared to carry her, saying that he didn't care how she got there, just as long as she did, but Mimi had been determined not to compromise either the date of her wedding, or the manner in which she arrived.

As they pulled up at the church it started snowing again. Large umbrellas shielded her as Jack helped her down from the carriage, and then he stepped back so she could join Charlie in the vestibule of the country church.

There was a moment's pause while Ellie was coaxed to stand a few feet in front of her, ready to scatter petals. Charlie suddenly caught her hand.

‘Can you do it on your own?'

‘Yes. I can do it.' She wasn't going to stumble, now. She knew exactly where she was going, and falling flat on her face was no longer an option.

Charlie nodded. ‘Off you go, then.'

‘But Charlie...? You're supposed to be walking me down the aisle?'

‘Yeah. Since when did we care what we were supposed to do?
I
want to see you do this by yourself.' Charlie pressed her hand to his lips in a gesture of old-fashioned charm. ‘Go to him, Mimi. I'll be right behind you.'

‘I love you, Charlie.'

‘Love you too. Just get on with it, will you.'

Mimi turned to face the congregation. Everyone's face was tipped round, towards her. All their friends and family. There would be time for all of them later, but right now all she could see was Rafe.

He looked so handsome in his dark suit and brocade waistcoat, the subtle pattern of which matched the theme of her dress. The organist struck up the Wedding March, and the sudden wall of sound made Ellie jump and run back towards Mimi, instead of walking up the aisle, scattering petals as she was supposed to.

Charlie caught Ellie, lifting her up onto his lap, and she decided that now was a good time to start throwing petals. Rafe was chuckling, holding out his hand towards her. Mimi couldn't wait any longer. Leaving Charlie to follow with Ellie, she almost ran up the aisle towards him.

* * * * *

Look out for the next great story in the
STRANDED IN HIS ARMS
duet

SAVED BY THE SINGLE DAD

And if you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Annie Claydon

DISCOVERING DR RILEY
THE DOCTOR SHE'D NEVER FORGET
DARING TO DATE HER EX
SNOWBOUND WITH THE SURGEON

All available now!

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