Page 46 of The Midnight Bakery
He was giving her space. She understood. And his honesty endeared him to her even more. ‘That actually makes a great deal of sense,’ she said. ‘And it isn’t that I don’t want to talk about my life, but…’ She was grateful for the opportunity not to.
He nodded. ‘Frankie, we can’t know everything there is to know about each other in just one night. And that’s okay.’
She smiled at the slight warning note in his voice. And she nodded, it really was okay. Perhaps, for the first time in a long time, Frankie could simply get used to breathing in the company of another.
‘But on a purely practical note,’ continued William. ‘Whatdowe need to do now?’
‘Put the kettle on?’ she suggested.
24
William
‘You know, you probably should have had this X-rayed,’ said Beth. ‘It’s not massively swollen, which is good, but you might still have a fracture.’
William met her raised eyebrows with a nod. He’d only been introduced to Frankie’s friend five minutes ago, but he had liked her on sight.
Still in her nurse’s uniform, Beth had dumped her bag on the table and knelt on the dusty floor beside Frankie with a look of such kind concern, he had immediately warmed to her. Plus, she had batted away Frankie’s apology for having dragged her over on her way home from work.
‘I’d have been furious if you hadn’t,’ she said, her gentle fingers probing the tender spots on Frankie’s wrist. She sat back on her heels. ‘How long ago did this happen?’ she asked.
Frankie flicked William a glance, unsure. ‘Maybe about eleven?’ she replied. William nodded.
‘Last night?’ Beth looked around her for the first time since arriving. ‘Tell me you haven’t been working since then,’ she said. ‘How on earth did you manage?’
Frankie shook her head. ‘William stepped in. There’s no way I could have done it otherwise. I couldn’t even lift a tub of dough out of the fridge.’
Beth smiled at him. ‘The knight in shining armour,’ she said, giving him an appraising look. ‘Frankie told me how you came to her rescue once before.’
If she had saidand now here you are again, William wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised. Instead, she nodded, a generous smile aimed in his direction.
‘Good,’ she said. ‘I’m glad you had someone with you. Have you put any ice on it?’ The question was directed at William. ‘And what about painkillers?’
‘No painkillers. Sorry, I didn’t think, but a cold pack, yes, to start with.’ William ran a hand through his hair. It should have been one of the first things he thought of as soon as he knew how badly Frankie had been hurt.
‘Then let’s get your arm raised, pump you full of drugs and we’ll take it from there,’ said Beth. ‘You also need to get home and have some rest,’ she added, pointedly. ‘Now I know you have a first-aid kit here because I’ve used it myself.’
Frankie nodded. ‘It’s on the far shelf, bottom left.’
William didn’t need to be asked. Frankie looked exhausted. There were dark smudges around her eyes, and she looked pale and wan. He’d carry her up to her flat if necessary.
Beth made short work of putting Frankie’s arm in a sling, motioning to her bag as she did so. ‘There are some paracetamol in there somewhere. Can you have a rummage for me?’
William stared at the soft bundle of leather on the table. ‘In there?’ he asked. He couldn’t go rummaging through that; it was her bag, and private. Women’s handbags were sacrosanct; hismother had drummed that into him the day he tried to find the bag of sweets she’d taken from him for swearing.
Beth nodded. ‘Hmm…they’ll be at the bottom, they always are.’ She adjusted the length of the sling before deftly tying a knot on the front of Frankie’s shoulder. ‘Honestly, it’s fine.’
William slid his hand inside Beth’s bag as if it might contain a mousetrap and began to fish about. Keys…a phone…something hard and oblong, a purse, perhaps? Numerous bits of paper…Eventually he made contact with a small square box and pulled it free. ‘I’ll get some water,’ he said, keen to hand over the tablets.
He watched while Beth finished the last of her ministrations. Frankie was fading fast. She looked as if she could fall asleep in her chair, and yet they still had to get the shop ready for opening. Then serve goodness knows how many customers until Frankie’s colleague, Melanie, could come to relieve them. And William couldn’t see how Frankie would manage any of those things.
As if reading his mind, Beth stood up, sliding her bag across the table and pulling out her phone. ‘I’m going to give Tam a call,’ she said, ‘and see if he can come and help.’ She smiled at Frankie. ‘I’d stay myself, only?—’
‘No, you need to get home,’ said Frankie, her face creased with pain. ‘I’ve delayed you long enough as it is.’
‘Jack will be fine,’ replied Beth, the expression on her face making it clear she would hear no argument. ‘I do need to get home, but only because Tam is due to visit later this morning and I need to get Jack up and ready for him.’
‘Tam is?’ Frankie was clearly puzzled. ‘And since when did he have a phone?’
