Page 29 of Sunny Sundays at Primrose Hall

‘And Lizzie has sent some of your favourite lemon bars.’ Pia peeled off the lid of the box and offered one to Jackson, who took one resignedly, biting into it.

‘I shall be twice the size when I leave this place, the amount of cakes and biscuits I’m eating. That’s all there is to do here.’

‘Oh, stop it, Jackson,’ Pia scolded him. She suspected he reserved all his complaints for her especially. ‘You’re lucky. Lucky to be alive. Do you realise that?’

‘You don’t understand, Pia. I really need to be at the show. There are some bikes being displayed that I wanted to have a closer look at. This would have been the perfect opportunity tocompare a couple of them that I’ve had my eye on. I know you can look at sales listings online, but there’s nothing like seeing them for yourself, in the flesh, to check out the tyres, to listen to the thrum of the engine, to know…’

‘Hang on a minute.’ She paused to glare at him, putting down her half-eaten cake on her lap. ‘You’re not telling me you’re actually considering buying another bike? Not after what just happened? You have to be kidding me.’

‘What?’ He scrunched up his nose, as though he couldn’t make sense of what she was saying, and ordinarily she might have found it endearing. Only now she found it infuriating. ‘You know I’ve been on the lookout for another bike to add to the collection for some time now.’

‘Yes, but that was before the accident. You can’t really be considering ever getting back on a bike again?’

‘Err, yeah, of course I will. Why wouldn’t I?’

‘Oh, Jackson, don’t you realise how close we came to losing you forever?’ Jackson’s expression was impassive. ‘Look what happened to Ryan. The same thing could so easily have happened to you.’

She didn’t like to bring up the subject of his friend who died in a motorbike accident when he was still a teenager. Jackson carried a lot of guilt over that, he’d been with Ryan on the night when he died. The two young guys, close friends, had been racing around the village and over the fields on their mopeds before making their separate ways home. Only Ryan had never made it home and Jackson only discovered the next day that his friend had lost control of his bike and careered off the road. It had been the catalyst for Jackson leaving the village, and his teenage love at the time, Pia, and not returning for several years.

‘That was entirely different.’

Was it?It was the first thing Pia had thought of when she heard about Jackson’s accident. It must have surely brought back some terrible memories for him too.

‘Look, Pia, I appreciate your concern, but you cannot expect me to give up my bikes. They’re my passion, what I love to do. You know that.’ He looked at her imploringly. ‘I could just as easily have an accident falling off a kerb or going out in the car. There are no guarantees in life, none of us know what’s around the corner, but I’m not going to give up on something that I love just because I might have an accident one day.’

She looked into his dark brown eyes, tears gathering in her own. Did he have no idea how it was for her? How she felt every time he left the grounds of the hall on that bike, worrying the entire time about his safety and whether or not he would come home in one piece. Now the worst had happened and it took all her self-control not to tell him, ‘I told you so.’

‘Besides, I think it’s much better to go out in a blaze of glory, rather than die sitting in my armchair with a mug of cocoa by my side looking back wistfully with regrets over the things I didn’t do.’

‘Don’t say that! I don’t want you going out in a blaze of glory.’ She lowered her voice, only just remembering that she was in a busy hospital ward. ‘Have you given any thought to how that would make me feel? Or your parents?’

Jackson blew his cheeks out, his dark eyes snagging on hers.

‘Well, I didn’t say that was my plan. All I’m saying is that I’m not going to stop doing the things I love on the off chance that something might go wrong one day. I’m an experienced rider, Pia. I’m not reckless, I don’t take chances. This accident wasn’t my fault. I always try to be vigilant and in light of what’s happened, I’ll probably be even more vigilant, but sorry, I’m not going to stop riding. If I had to do that, then you might as well shoot me now.’

She took a deep breath. She knew he was only trying to lighten his words with humour but she was finding none of this funny in the slightest.

‘Hey, don’t look like that.’ He pulled on her hand and she moved closer so that he could embrace her in a one-armed hug. Even that gentle manoeuvre had him grimacing in pain. ‘You know I love you and I would do anything for you. Just not this.’ He left a kiss on her cheek and she felt a tidal wave of emotion swell inside her body. ‘Don’t cry,’ he said, spotting the tears which she could do nothing to contain. She hadn’t cried once since she heard about Jackson’s accident. Her body had been held tight with pent-up emotion, as she ran on adrenaline these last few days, and it was only now in the safety of Jackson’s arms that she could let go, hugging him as tightly to her chest as his injuries would allow. She reached for the box of tissues on the side cabinet and blew her nose noisily. There would no point in protesting, in trying to change Jackson’s mind, because she knew on some matters he was entirely non-negotiable and this was clearly one of them.Would she want him any other way?

He cradled her head and she drank in the scent of him. Entirely Jackson, but with overtones of disinfectant and antiseptic cream. Not that it mattered, she was just happy to be held in his arms. They stayed like that for a good few minutes and if Pia closed her eyes, she could almost imagine that they were at home, curled up on the sofa, with the dogs around them, instead of on a sterile hospital ward. That was until their moment of peace was interrupted by a blonde-eyed, blue-eyed nurse who Pia hadn’t seen before, although it was clear that Jackson had, as she seemed very cheery with him and very familiar too.

‘I’ve just come on shift and you are my first port of call. How are you today?’ She beamed at Jackson. ‘You’re looking a lot brighter than yesterday. I expect that’s due to your visitor.’

The nurse went on chatting gaily and Pia reluctantly extracted herself from Jackson’s hold. She supposed she was only doing her job, but she wished she would go and do it somewhere else. Was it unreasonable to be resentful of the nurse, who was probably getting to see much more of Jackson than she was right now? She’d been enjoying that moment snuggled up with him, it had helped to dry her tears, but the nurse clearly had other ideas. She busied herself around his bed, looking at charts, refilling his water jug, asking if he’d like a sandwich, and generally making a fuss over him, which seemed to amuse Jackson no end.

‘I can’t complain about the care I’m receiving here, they’re all so lovely and attentive,’ Jackson said, once the nurse had left with a promise that she would be back later with his medications. ‘Everyone, without exception, has been really kind and helpful, especially when I’m not sure I’m the most accommodating patient.’

‘Isn’t that the truth?’ said Pia with an indulgent smile. It had been hugely reassuring for Pia to know that Jackson was receiving the best treatment from the most dedicated surgeons with the aftercare from the nurses and healthcare assistants second to none, but she would be so much happier when he was at home so that she could look after him for herself, even if she appreciated that might be no easy task.

‘Your mum wants to do a Zoom call on Sunday over breakfast so they can hear all about the show. She joked that Rex was considering hopping on a plane to come over for the day. I think he’s so disappointed to be missing it.’

‘That makes two of us,’ said Jackson glumly.

‘They’re going to notice that you’re not there, Jackson! I really think you need to speak to your mum and tell her so that it doesn’t come as a huge shock to them when they do find out about the accident. They’re bound to at some point. The troubleis it only takes one of the villagers to drop a text to your mum or your dad for them to find out the news from someone else. Can you imagine how that would make them feel?’

‘I guess,’ he sighed as he rolled back his shoulders, closing his eyes briefly. ‘Look, let’s get the show out of the way and then I’ll give them a call. Everything will be fine, well, just as soon as I get out of this place it will be. You worry too much, do you know that?’

Maybe she did, but then someone had to. This was her family and Pia hated keeping secrets from them. And that wasn’t the only thing she had to worry about. As well as the car show, they had a whole calendar of events lined up at the hall, Jackson had a diary packed full of speaking engagements and charity events that would need rearranging and then there was the small matter of a wedding to be organised. Something would have to give and Pia suspected she knew exactly what that might be.

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