November
It is an area of stark contrasts and
attracted a variety of visitors.
The Quarry Hill side of the park to the
west, as the name suggests, was heavily Quarried over several hundred years,
though more extensively during the industrial revolution, the Quarries had been
un-worked for over fifty years and nature had reclaimed them and the former
pits had become lakes and were very popular with anglers and the sparse
shrubbery and woodland made it a popular spot with courting couples, whereas
the northern crags and fells were popular with climbers and the more hardy
folk.
To the south and east was an extensive
tract of magnificent mixed forestry and was rivalled only by the ancient
woodland of the Dancingdean Forest, which was where Jenny Sherman lived in the
village of Springwater where she moved to after her divorce.
She was a
trained Paramedic and worked at the Springwater Mountain Rescue Centre which
was located on the outskirts of Springwater and was they last
bit of civilization before you entered the Pepperstock Hills National Park.
It was a moderately sized complex, which
housed a café, and a shop where you could buy everything from tents, sleeping
bags, clothing, and footwear, to Sandwiches and Kendal mint cake.
In addition, there was the Springwater
Mountain Rescue HQ, where the team met or assembled and where they stored all
their equipment, and of course a manned first aid station where Jenny worked.
Jenny was an
attractive woman, but with her blond hair scraped back into a ponytail she
always looked severe.
She was a
divorcee and in her mid-thirties and had long since decided that she would put
all of herself into her work and draw a line under any hope of a romantic
future.
That was until
Kevin Watson entered the Aid Station and re-entered her life.
It was
mid-afternoon on a wet miserable day when she got a call on the radio to say
that the mountain rescue team were bringing in a casualty, injuries were not
life threatening but an ambulance would be required.
“All received
thank you” she responded
It was a busy
day for Jenny and fellow paramedic Sally Dixon, nothing major but a steady flow
of cuts and bruises, sprained and strains, and a lot of blisters, much busier
than they would have expected for a November day.
But getting a
stretcher case in, re-energized them, even though they didn’t have any further
details.
Jenny called
for an ambulance and passed on the information they had received and would
update when they had more to impart.
When the
casualty arrived with the mountain rescue team Jenny and Sally went on to
autopilot and quickly assessed him, it wasn’t until Jac was checking a cut on
his forehead that she realised it was Kevin, her old flame, the one that got
away.
All of a
sudden, he opened his eyes and looked straight at her and said
“Jenny
Sherman!” then he smiled and added
“I really love
you” and then he closed his eyes again.
“I really loved
you too” she thought to herself
While they were
waiting for the ambulance Jenny questioned mountain rescue to find out what had
happened because he wasn’t dressed as a hill walker.
As far as they
were aware he was driving a hire car when he was run off the road, down a
ravine and into a stream, but they didn’t know who the hire company was.
And as he was
found on the bank of the stream they recovered none of his personal effects and
his pockets yielded nothing, but thanks to Jenny, they did at least know his
name.
She was a
little disappointed that his pockets were empty, if he had a wallet or driving
license she might have gleaned some information about him, and his marital
status.
Before she had
a chance to muse on that too much, paramedics, Sam Liburd and Andy Mason
arrived, so she returned immediately to paramedic mode and passed on all the
relevant information and then they loaded Kevin onto the ambulance.
“Where are you
taking him?” Jenny asked
“Pepperstock
and District” Andy replied
“Ok I’m going
to make some calls and try to find his family” she said
She watched the
ambulance drive away and then she spent the next hour phoning car hire
companies, in order to try and identify the origins of the car and by extension
Kevin’s home address, and she was eventually rewarded for her efforts when she
spoke to a young woman named Janine from Clarion cars, she was further
furnished with his home address, which she was delighted to discover was in
Pepperstock Green.
The next
morning, as it was her day off, she drove over in to Pipershaven to visit Kevin
at the hospital, she had already phoned ahead and spoke to the ward sister and
was told he was being discharged at midday, but when she reached the ward her
courage deserted her, and she almost turned tail and ran.
But she steeled
herself and took a deep breath, and approached Kevin’s bed.
“Hello Kevin”
she said, and he opened his eyes
“It was you” he
said
“I thought I
had dreamed you again”
“Again?”
“Yes” he
replied
“Is that why
you moved back to Pepperstock Green?” she asked
“How did you
know I moved back?”
“I got your
address from Clarion Cars” she replied
“Oh, very
Sherlock Holmes” he said
“Elementary my
dear Watson” she retorted and laughed
“I called round
to the house but there was no one home”
“I live alone”
he replied, and her heart missed a beat
“Oh, I didn’t
realize”
He didn’t
elaborate further, and she couldn’t think of what to say to make him say more
so she changed tack.
“When I phoned
Clarion, they said they will get Richards Recovery to tow the car out of the
stream, and they will also arrange to deliver your personal possessions to your
house”
“Ah that might
be a problem”
“How so?”
“I’ve lost my
keys, and I only had the one set” he said
“Oh, that’s ok,
I anticipated that, and Dave Cooper will meet us at your house at 1.30”
“Us?”
“Yes, us, I’m
going to drive you home” she said, and he nodded
“Thank you, but
who is Dave Cooper?”
“Oh, didn’t I
say? He and his brother, Steve, own and run Cooper Locksmiths” she explained
“Really?” he
said quite astonished “how did you manage that?”
“Dave and Steve
are both part of the Mountain Rescue and are obviously in awe of my prowess as
a paramedic extraordinaire,”
“No seriously”
Kevin said, “how did you manage it?”
“Cheek” she
retorted
When they
reached Kevin’s house it was 1.25 and there was no sign of a locksmith’s van,
so Jenny parked the car and turned off the engine.
“So, what
brings you back to Pepperstock Green?” she asked
“It’s a long
story” he replied just as a top-of-the-line Range Rover pulled up and as the
driver got out Kevin could see it was a very well-turned-out man in his
mid-forties.
“Who on earth
is this?” he asked
“That is Dave
Cooper” Jenny answered
“He doesn’t
look much like a locksmith,” Kevin pointed out
“No but he does
look like the Managing Director of Cooper Security” she said
“Really?” Kevin
said impressed
“Yes, but he
started as a locksmith, and he likes to keep his hand in” Jenny answered and
got out of the car.
“Dave!!” she
said warmly
“My dear Jenny”
he responded and embraced her
“Thank you for
doing this Dave” She said “This is Kevin Watson”
“Ah” he said
shaking her hand “So you are the lucky man, I saw the aftermath, and you could
easily have died”
“Yes, I was
very fortunate,” he agreed and then they went up the path to the front door.
Kevin was
impressed with Mr. Cooper, he was a very likeable man, and very presentable,
but impressed or not, he wasn’t sure he would gain access to the house with his
good graces alone and his tool bag was conspicuous by its absence.
But once they
reached the door, he slipped his hand in to his pocket and pulled out a bunch
of keys and after a momentary perusal of the lock he said
“Ahhh, we’re in
luck” He announced “it’s one of ours”
And after a few
seconds he selected a key and opened the lock
“Easy as that”
he said
“Wow” Kevin
exclaimed, truly impressed
“Wow indeed”
echoed Jen
“I can’t thank
you enough” Kevin said and shook his hand
“What do I owe
you?”
“Nothing” he
said “I did it as a favour for my favourite paramedic”
“Thanks Dave”
she said and kissed his cheek
“My pleasure my
dear” he said looking at his watch “Well I must be off”
Dave Cooper
took his leave and walked back to his car and Kevin whispered to Jenny
“I think he
fancies you”
“No more than
my other male acquaintances” she responded grandly as he stepped into the house
“What would his
wife think?” he asked
“He doesn’t
have one” She replied, “He’s a widower”
“What would
your partner say?”
“I don’t have
one” she replied “I’m single”
“Oh”
“I’ll leave you
to rest now” she said, deciding to leave him to digest the information and then
took her leave of him, and digest it he did as he made himself a coffee and sat
in his armchair but while he drank it the phone rang and when he answered it, it
was Clarion Cars and they had phoned to report that Richards Recovery had
already picked up the car and they also notified him that everything was being
dealt with on the insurance and he had nothing to worry about and they hoped he
wasn’t injured in the crash and that his personal possessions would be returned
to him forthwith.
After the phone
call ended he sat back in the armchair and within minutes the long blinks set
in, and he fell asleep until he was rudely awoken sometime later by the
persistent knocking on the front door and when he opened it he found a small
man standing there holding a small cardboard box.
The little man
worked for Richards, Kevin invited him in, but he declined, so he just handed
the box over and left and then he returned to his armchair and once again went
to sleep.
It was 5.30pm
when he woke up and cursed himself for sleeping the afternoon away, so he took
himself upstairs and had a shower to wake himself up and he had just finished
drying off when the doorbell rang.
Kevin slipped
his robe on and made his way down the stairs, and the doorbell rang again
“Ok I’m coming”
he called and got to the front door as quickly as possible, and on opening it
he discovered Jenny standing the other side.
Jenny hadn’t
spent the afternoon sleeping, she had spent every minute since she left him
making the most of herself, hair, nails, eyebrows, outfit, shoes, and
makeup.
So, the version
of her standing on the doorstep was stunning.
“Wow” he
exclaimed
“Well, that’s
precisely the reaction I was hoping for” she said and stepped inside and closed
the door.
