Page 99 of Bea's Book Wagon
‘What happened to it?’ she asked again.
‘It took a bit of a battering,’ Gordon whispered. ‘Nothing that can’t be fixed,’ he added quickly, ‘but it’s going to take time.’
‘What?’ said Bea, her heart pounding. ‘But I’ve got bookings, commitments… what am I going to do?’
‘Don’t worry about that now, just concentrate on getting yourself better,’ said Carol, patting her arm gently. ‘You’re okay, and that’s the most important thing. It could have been so much worse.’
Bea knew her mum was right. Broken ribs and a few stitches was getting off lightly, she could have been seriously injured, or worse still…
‘We’ll figure everything out once you’re home. We’ll get on to the insurance and it’ll all be fine,’ said Gordon.
‘Oh no!’ Bea groaned.
‘What is it, sweetheart?’ Carol asked, her voice filled with concern.
‘The insurance,’ Bea whispered. ‘On the horsebox.’
‘Yes?’ said Carol.
‘You do have insurance, don’t you?’ Gordon asked, his voice serious.
‘Well, no. It’s not a legal requirement and I was trying to save money,’ Bea muttered, a tear rolling down her cheek. ‘But the accident wasn’t my fault, if the other driver was over the limit and on the wrong side of the road, I can claim on their insurance?’
‘Ah,’ said Gordon, screwing up his face. ‘He was driving without insurance, love. The police are going to charge him, but that doesn’t help you with the horsebox.’
‘Oh, God,’ said Bea. She felt physically sick.
‘Forget about all that for now,’ said Carol, waving a hand. ‘Just focus on getting better and coming home.’
‘But, Mum, I—’
‘I mean it, Bea. I don’t want you thinking about it right now. Just get some rest, okay?’ said Carol.
‘Okay,’ Bea repeated.
‘Now, your Dad and I need to go home to see to Wordsworth, but Archie’s on his way with Jess. They’ll be here soon,’ said Carol.
As her parents left and Bea closed her eyes, laying her head back on the pillow, rest was the furthest thing from her mind. If she didn’t have the money to get the book wagon back on the road, her fledgling business was ruined, and then what was she supposed to do?
CHAPTER 28
Nathan had lost count of the number of times he’d checked his phone, but there was still no news of Bea. He’d called Carol from the ambulance and she and Gordon were waiting for them in A&E when they pulled up. They’d insisted he go home; there was no point in all of them waiting, and they promised to update him as soon as there was any news.
Bea had drifted in and out of consciousness throughout the journey. It was awful seeing her like that, knowing there was nothing he could do. What if she had internal bleeding? What if her head injury turned out to be serious? Life-threatening, even?
He hadn’t slept a wink, his stomach churning as he kept replaying the scene in his head over and over: the flashing blue lights, Bea’s upturned car, the sight of her lying motionless.
At 8am, he couldn’t wait any longer. He pulled on his trainers, grabbed his car keys and was about to drive back to the hospital to find out how she was for himself, when a call from Carol flashed on his screen.
‘How is she?’ he answered, his grip on the phone tightening.
‘She’s going to be okay,’ said Carol, and Nathan could hear the relief in her voice. ‘She’s got a concussion, a couple of broken ribs and some minor wounds, but apart from that, she’s fine. She had a lucky escape.’
‘Thank God.’
‘She’s worried about the wagon, though. She isn’t insured,’ Carol sighed.
‘Shit! I hadn’t realized.’ Nathan knew Bea had tried to save money, but he thought she’d have taken out insurance given the cost of her stock alone.
