Do Opposites Attract? (18 page)

All through the following day Brianna could think of nothing but her pending visit to Catherine that evening. She guessed it made a welcome change from daydreaming about Mitch. Following the directions Catherine had given her, she pulled up outside an imposing town house in a very upmarket area of the city. No wonder Simon’s father had been keen to make sure the property didn’t go to a stranger. It was clearly worth several million.

The lady who greeted Brianna was far from the doddering old woman she’d been expecting. Yes, she was probably in her eighties, but she wore it really well. She was elegantly dressed, her white hair fashionably layered, and her face, though wrinkled, still had the fine bone structure of a beautiful woman.

‘You must be Brianna. Please, come in. Would you like a drink?’

Brianna accepted a coffee, and was shown into a grand living room. The furniture was antique, but homely. ‘This is my posh room, where I bring all my visitors. When it’s just me, I sit in a cosy little snug round the corner,’ Catherine confessed as she sat herself down on a high-backed chair by the fireplace. She smiled at Brianna. ‘My dear, since you called last night I’ve not stopped thinking about what you said. I’m anxious to hear everything you know.’

Brianna settled back against the sofa and wondered where she should start. ‘Last week I was at a party with Mitch and your nephew, Simon. At the party Mitch was accused of being a gold-digger, of preying on a rich woman. Your name was mentioned.’

Shock spread across the old lady’s face. ‘Mitch? A gold-digger? What a load of old nonsense. He never took a single thing off me I didn’t freely give.’

‘Catherine, I spoke to Simon last night and it appears that his father, your brother I believe, was concerned when he heard you’d wanted to amend your will. Leaving your house to a stranger, rather than your family, was a big step.’

‘That was nobody’s business but mine,’ Catherine retorted sharply. ‘Mitch wasn’t a stranger. He was like a son to me. And that so-called family of mine would have known that if they’d ever bothered to visit. Why wouldn’t I want to leave him my house? He’d lived with me here for four happy years. I wanted to give him a family home, something he’d never had before.’

Brianna’s shoulders slumped in relief. It was only then that she realised she’d been harbouring a fear that maybe, just maybe, her instincts about Mitch had been wrong. But now she knew she was right, was what
had
happened really any of her business? Her desire to hear more about Mitch clashed fiercely with the knowledge she was prying into private matters.

She shifted in her seat. ‘Catherine, I feel a little awkward talking about your family like this. It has nothing to do with me. I probably shouldn’t have interfered at all, but when Mitch was accused of conning you out of money, I knew it couldn’t be true.’

‘It certainly wasn’t. What was it you said on the phone about a letter?’

‘Simon said his father instructed the solicitor to write to Mitch telling him never to contact you again, or they would call the police.’

Catherine rattled her cup down into the saucer. ‘Oh, my,’ she whispered, totally taken aback. ‘Poor Mitch, whatever must he have thought of me? No wonder he suddenly stopped writing.’ The old lady had gone as white as a sheet and slumped back against the chair. ‘I should have guessed there was more to it than him simply not being bothered. He was always so good to me, so caring. And now I think of it, around the same time Mitch’s letters stopped arriving, my brother started asking about him. He told me Mitch was all manner of horrid things I knew were lies so I simply ignored them. What I should have done was realise the connection. How stupid.’ Her voice began to break and tears slipped down her cheeks.

‘Oh, Catherine, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to upset you.’ Brianna was mortified. ‘I shouldn’t have come. I shouldn’t be meddling in things that don’t concern me.’ Wondering how she could comfort somebody she barely knew, Brianna walked over to the older lady and offered her a tissue. She was surprised when Catherine put a hand around her fingers, and clasped them tight.

‘Don’t you dare go apologising, my dear. You’ve just given me back the son I thought I’d lost. When I’ve got over the shock, I’ll feel so much better, so much happier.’ She paused to blow her nose. ‘I just wish I’d believed in him more. I wrote a few more times, asking him why his letters had stopped, but when I didn’t get a reply, I didn’t push it.’

Brianna put her arm around Catherine’s bony shoulders. ‘You loved him, Catherine. You chose to let him go, thinking that was what he wanted. You can’t blame yourself for that.’

Catherine wiped her eyes and gave Brianna a shaky smile. ‘Sorry, dear, I just needed to get that out of my system. Now tell me, how is he? Did he become a doctor in the end, like he’d always wanted to?’

Reassured that Catherine was over her tears, Brianna went to sit back down again. ‘You would be so proud of him. Yes, he’s a doctor. He spent some time in the army and now works for a charity that helps victims of natural disasters anywhere in the world that might need their expertise. He’s smart and very brave.’

‘And is he happy? Has he found love?’

Brianna looked down at her coffee cup for a moment, unable to hold the steady gaze of the other lady. ‘I think these are questions you’ll need to ask him.’

‘Brianna, you said you were his friend. Are you his girlfriend?’

‘No, not anymore.’ A ball of emotion lodged in her throat and she coughed to loosen it. ‘I was for a short while. But now, well, we work together at the same charity.’

‘But you love him, don’t you?’

This time Brianna couldn’t avoid the old lady’s astute look. ‘Yes, I do. Is it that obvious?’

‘Well, I don’t think anybody would stick their neck out like you have, or come to visit a stranger from his past, if they didn’t care.’

Sighing, Brianna put down her cup. ‘Mitch is strong, compassionate and clever, with a sharp wit that makes me laugh. But he’s also a man who doesn’t want anyone to get too close to him. I did, and I think it terrified him. He said our backgrounds were too different, but when it comes down to it, I think he just prefers to be alone.’ Tears began to prickle under her eyelids. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to pour out my feelings quite like that.’

‘Don’t be silly, dear. It’s lovely to hear how much he means to you. He must have turned out well if he’s inspired such passion in you.’ As if choosing her words, Catherine paused and took another sip of coffee. ‘Did Mitch ever tell you about his upbringing? About his mother? About how we met?’

Brianna shook her head. ‘No. I know bits and pieces. How he didn’t have a father, so when his mother died, you took him under your wing.’

‘Well, his childhood is Mitch’s tale to tell, not mine. But I can tell you about when I became involved. I had just come back from a month long holiday. I let myself into this house, and there he was, large as life, sitting on my sofa, watching television. He’d been squatting in my home for nearly two weeks.’

‘Squatting?’ Brianna repeated, shocked.

‘Yes, my dear, and I have no doubt I looked as horrified as you when I first saw him. He was fourteen. Confident, cocky, tough as you like, but underneath the bravado I could see he was a lonely, sad, young boy.’ Brianna watched as Catherine’s face softened at the memory. ‘I remember doing a quick check of the house, but nothing was taken. Everything was perfectly tidy. I threatened to call the police but he simply gathered his things together and told me I could if I wanted. He gave me some money for the food he’d eaten and proudly walked towards the door.’

Brianna saw tears hovering in Catherine’s eyes and knew her own tears were spilling down her cheeks and onto her hands. ‘I take it you didn’t call them.’

‘Of course not. I told him he could stay for a while, but then he needed to go home. Gradually it became clear he had no home to go to. No parents, nobody. He’d been squatting in houses because he didn’t want to go into care.’

Her tears were now flowing so freely Brianna had to drag out a tissue for herself. ‘What happened then?’

‘Well, of course I wanted to adopt him properly, as my son, but there was no chance an old lady like me would be allowed. The authorities kept threatening to put him in foster care, or a home, but he refused to budge and I refused to let them take him in. Eventually, after a lot of legal to-ing and fro-ing and a large donation to the council funds, I became his legal guardian. I’d never been lucky enough to be blessed with children. Looking after Mitch for the next four years was as close as I came.’ She dabbed at her eyes and let out a watery smile. ‘Not that I did much looking after. He was fiercely independent. Too much so. Having not had the luxury of a proper childhood he’d had to grow up too early and far too fast.’

‘Do you mind me asking, was it you who helped him go to university? I only mention it because he once told me a kind lady had paid for him to go.’

‘Why yes, of course it was me. It was his dream. Why should a boy who’d had such a horrid start in life not be allowed to follow his dream? The day he turned eighteen I put a lump sum in a bank account for him and told him he had to use it to become a doctor. He was acutely embarrassed, kept telling me he didn’t want it, but I told him there was a time for pride, and a time for gratitude.’ She smiled at the memory. ‘He said he’d shut up and choose gratitude.’

As Catherine finished recounting her tale, the grandfather clock chimed ten o’clock. Brianna looked at it aghast. She was torn between wanting to hear more about Mitch and consideration towards the older lady who was surely feeling tired. Consideration won. ‘Catherine, you’ve been really kind, but I’ve taken up far too much of your evening.’

‘No, dear, you’ve been the kind one. Will you tell Mitch you’ve seen me? That I didn’t have anything to do with that letter?’

‘Of course I will. I’m sure he’ll be in contact as soon as he can. You both have so many years to catch up on.’ She saw Catherine move to get up. ‘No, stay where you are, I’ll see myself out.’ She bent to kiss her on the cheek.

She was walking out of the room, when Catherine’s voice stopped her. ‘Brianna. Mitch hasn’t seen much love in his life. If you care for him as much as I think you do, you might need to be very patient.’

Brianna nodded slowly, and let herself out of the house. She could be patient, she thought. It wasn’t her natural forte, but she could do it. However there was being patient and there was pining away after a lost cause. She had a feeling this would turn out to be the latter.

While Brianna was talking to Catherine about his past, Mitch was focused very much on the present. For him that meant being knee deep in rubble in a remote part of Indonesia.

He’d been almost ridiculously relieved when the phone call had finally come. An earthquake on one of the islands, Medic SOS were needed straight away. At last he’d been able to focus his mind on doing good, rather than allowing it to brood on a chestnut-haired beauty. For the most part, it had worked. Since he’d been out here, he’d barely had a chance to take breath, never mind think about Brianna. Of course he’d have to face up to his feelings sooner or later, but for now he had work to do. He surveyed the grim scene in front of him. They weren’t going to be leaving Indonesia for a while.

‘Mitch, they’ve found a survivor in one of the buildings.’ It was Tessa, her voice urgent. ‘He’s trapped his legs. The rescue workers want you to come and take a look.’

Grabbing his bag of medical supplies he followed Tessa towards the crumbling ruin that had once been a shop. The rescue team were huddled outside, eyeing up what was left of the structure. He started to walk towards the entrance, but was held back by one of the group.

‘I don’t think you should go in there. It’s not safe.’ The man wiped a weary hand across his brow. ‘We went in a few minutes ago when we heard his voice, but the whole place began to creak. It’s got to be made secure before we can go back.’

‘What about the patient? What are his injuries?’

The man shook his head. ‘He’s trapped by a steel girder. It fell right across his feet. No way can he be moved quickly.’

Mitch looked at the ruins in front of him. ‘You and I both know this building can’t be made more secure. We’ve got to get him out now, fast, or he’ll die when the rest of it collapses.’

‘We can’t get him out. I’ve already said …’

Looking down at the bag in his hands, Mitch made an instant decision. ‘I’ll amputate his feet, that way we can move him. When I give the signal, come in and help me drag him out.’

He strode purposefully into the ruins, ignoring the plea from Tessa not to go in. This is what they were here for. To rescue the injured.

Inside it was eerily dark but using his torch he found a path through the broken masonry and towards a faint voice. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll have you out in no time,’ he reassured as he moved closer, though the words were said with a lot more confidence than he actually felt. Amputating one foot was bad enough. Doing two, with the groans of the crumbling walls echoing around him, was going to require nerves of steel and a great dollop of good fortune. He knew from past experience he could muster up the former. As for the luck. Well, he wasn’t so sure.

Resolutely he opened up his medical bag.

Suddenly his world went black.

Following her visit to Catherine, Brianna had a troubled night’s sleep. She kept picturing a fourteen-year-old Mitch, lost and alone. A child who’d had to resort to squatting in strangers’ houses and fending for himself. Her heart ached at the thought. At least it helped explain his fierce independence, his reluctance to share his life with anybody else.

The next morning, when she’d finally given up on getting any more sleep, she tried to phone Mitch. Frustratingly his mobile was turned off, and his home phone just rang and rang with no reply. Where was the man when she needed to talk to him? It was so early in the morning she had to conclude he was either a very heavy sleeper, which she knew he wasn’t, or he wasn’t at home. Jealousy ripped through her, sharp and painful. Of course there could be any number of explanations for him not being at home. Being with another woman was only one of them, but it was the one that kept her mind occupied throughout her journey to work.

‘Sally, do you know where Mitch might be?’ Brianna asked the office manager as soon as she arrived in the office. She wondered if the other woman knew about their relationship, or lack of it, and felt slightly foolish. ‘I’ve tried his mobile and his home phone but not had a response from either.’

‘Didn’t we tell you yesterday? The team were called out again. There’s been an earthquake in Indonesia. I expect he’s knee deep in casualties at the moment.’

‘Damn.’ The words were out before she could stop them.

‘Is there a problem?’

Brianna smiled, recovering her poise. ‘No, no problem. I just wanted to follow up with him on this proposal with the army.’

With apparent casualness, Brianna walked slowly back to her desk. So Mitch was away again. Her first selfish thought was at least he wasn’t with another woman. Then she remembered Catherine, who would at this moment be waiting for a call from her surrogate son. Sadly she’d have to let her know it would be a while before that happened.

Turning her mind to work, she mused that she’d never realised how therapeutic it could be. She’d always considered work a chore, something she didn’t have to do but thought she should. Since joining Medic SOS, all that had changed. She still didn’t have to work, but now she wanted to. It was a huge difference.

The next few hours flew by as she immersed herself in proposals for the next fund-raising ball. So great was her concentration she almost jumped out of her skin when her phone sprang into life.

‘Hi, Brie. It’s Melanie. I wondered if you fancied meeting me for lunch? I know what you working girls are like. I promise I won’t take up more than an hour, and you can stick to sparkling water.’

Wondering where the time had gone, Brianna rubbed at the back of her neck, tight from staring at a computer screen. ‘That sounds like exactly what I need. I’ll meet you at the Italian place in half an hour.’

Three quarters of an hour later, for she knew Melanie always ran late, Brianna sauntered into their usual haunt and found herself a table by the window.

‘Brie, darling. Sorry I got held up.’ Melanie finally arrived, a further five minutes later, gushing with all the usual apologies.

‘You always do,’ Brianna replied dryly, but gave her friend a warm hug.

‘How have you been? Did you go and see Catherine?’

‘Yes.’

Her friend’s eyes widened in delight. ‘So, what did you find out? Is Mitch a nasty scheming gold-digger after all?’

Melanie was smiling so wickedly, Brianna had to chuckle. ‘You know he’s not.’

‘Well?’

‘Let’s order first, then I’ll tell you everything.’

For the next half an hour, they talked and ate. And talked some more.

‘Well, how dramatic. Fancy being left orphaned, running away from the authorities and then being looked after by the person in whose house you’d been squatting. No wonder there’s such an air of mystery about the man. He’s had one heck of a life.’

‘And that’s just what we know from the age of fourteen. I dread to think what happened before that. Catherine wouldn’t say. I’m not sure if she knows the full story.’

Melanie finished off her salad and placed her knife and fork carefully back on her plate. ‘No wonder he found it so hard to mix in our world. It must be hard for him, coming from nothing. When I think of how Henry treated him, it makes me sick.’

Brianna sighed and pushed away the rest of her sandwich. ‘Well, I just hope he won’t be too cross with me when he finds out I went to see her.’

‘I had my reservations, as you know, but hearing what you’ve just said, you’ve done him a huge favour. He clearly cared for Catherine. When he knows she didn’t send the letter, they can find each other again. It’s a gooey, soppy, happy ending.’

Brianna wondered if the dour, intensely private Mitch would see it that way.

The afternoon sailed past. Brianna followed up on the leads she had with potential sponsors, and felt a real sense of achievement when one of them promised to donate regular amounts of money in return for a mention on their website. Work-wise, her life was going well. Donations were already up and the team were in the happy position of deciding how to manage the new level of investment. Even Margaret was smiling at her. If only her love life was going down a similar smooth road, life would be perfect.

‘Oh my God.’ Looking up sharply, she saw Sally’s tortured expression. ‘How badly is he injured?’

Brianna’s heart flew into her mouth. It had to be one of the team.
He
narrowed it down to a male. There were only three males she was aware of out there. A one in three chance it was Mitch. The odds were in the right direction.

‘Keep us posted, won’t you? Yes, I’ll tell the office. Look after him, Tessa. I don’t need to tell you, he’s rather special.’

When Sally came off the phone, they all surrounded her. ‘Mitch was trying to rescue a man when the building collapsed on him. They managed to get him out, but he’s been badly injured.’

Brianna felt the blood rushing from her head. The room started to spin and she staggered back towards her chair, just managing to grab hold of it before everything went black.

‘Brianna, wake up.’ Coming to, her eyes focused on Margaret’s face. ‘Are you back with us?’

Brianna nodded her head, trying to get up from the floor where she was currently lying.

‘Hey, careful, we don’t want you blacking out on us again.’ Margaret helped to ease Brianna to her feet and onto her chair.

‘Sorry,’ Brianna mumbled, trying to clear the muzzy feeling from her brain. ‘I don’t know what happened. One minute I was fine. The next—’

‘You were rather gracefully collapsing onto the floor,’ Sally interjected.

The fog cleared. ‘Oh God, it was Mitch. You were telling us he’d been injured.’

Margaret took Brianna’s hand and rubbed it, clearly trying to get some warmth into her clammy circulation. ‘Yes, it sounds like he has. Why don’t you come into my office for a bit and get yourself together?’

With a sensitivity Brianna didn’t realise Margaret was capable of, she was helped into the office, sat down with a coat to warm her up and given a hot tea. ‘How bad is he, Margaret?’

Margaret moved to the chair opposite her. ‘From what I can gather, he’s got the usual broken bones and bruises, but it’s his head they’re worried about. He’s unconscious and has fractured his skull. They think he’ll need an operation to remove bits of the skull from his brain.’

Brianna threw a hand to her mouth. ‘Oh God.’

‘Sorry, that sounded more gruesome than I’d intended.’ Margaret glanced at her sharply. ‘You’re not going to black out on me again, are you?’

Brianna tried to shake her head, but she felt so dizzy she had to stop. ‘What can I do? How can I increase his chances? Can he be airlifted home?’ The words tumbled out of her.

‘Honestly? If he can be moved, then yes, he’d have a much better chance of pulling through if he’s treated in a specialist centre.’

‘Then that’s what we’ll do.’ Brianna leapt to her feet, grabbing at the back of the chair when the floor seemed to move slightly. ‘I’ll arrange for him to be flown back here to a centre specialising in brain injuries.’

Margaret held up her hand. ‘Hold on a minute. There are a couple of issues here. Firstly, we need to check with the team whether he’s okay to fly. And secondly, arranging for the flight, if you want it done quickly, would have to be done privately, which means enormous cost. We are insured, but that could take time—’

‘Time he doesn’t have. The money is no problem. I’ll sort it.’ Brianna’s hands tightened on the chair. ‘He can’t die, Margaret,’ she said quietly. ‘He’s too important.’

Margaret gave her an understanding smile. ‘And I think you don’t just mean in terms of his work here.’

Brianna flushed. ‘No, I don’t. He’s important to me.’

‘I can see that. I’ll give the guys a call; see if he can be moved. You sort out the transport and receiving hospital.’ Brianna was almost out of the door when Margaret spoke again. ‘He’s tough, Brianna. I can’t see Mitch letting a brain injury stop him, can you?’

It was wobbly, but Brianna managed a smile. ‘I hope not.’

Brianna didn’t know how she got home. When she opened her front door, she glanced back over her shoulder to see her car parked outside. She must have driven, but she had no recollection of the journey. She was functioning on automatic pilot, going through the motions of everyday life, but her mind was with her heart. In Indonesia.

Mitch had been given the okay to be moved. Now the ball was in her court.

‘Mum, Dad,’ she shouted, knowing they were in the house somewhere, as they’d promised to meet her here.

‘Brianna, darling, what is it? Your message on the phone sounded so urgent.’ They were waiting for her in their sitting room.

She rushed over to them and for a few seconds allowed herself to take comfort from their tight, loving embrace. Then she pulled away. ‘It’s Mitch. He’s been hurt and it’s serious. He’s got a brain injury. We need to get him back to England quickly, so he can be treated by specialists.’

Her father took one look at her face and simply drew his arms around her tighter. ‘Do whatever it takes Brianna. I’ll find the money.’

The floodgates opened and tears streamed down her face. ‘Oh, Dad, thank you, thank you.’ She took a moment to absorb the strength and love from her parents. How good it felt to know she was loved, to know they would do anything for her, without hesitation, without question. She thought of Mitch, alone in a makeshift hospital bed somewhere. Had he ever experienced that sort of love? She didn’t think so.

‘I’ve got to go and sort it all out …’ She broke away, desperate to get things moving, to get Mitch back where he belonged.

‘Darling, calm down,’ her father took her hand. ‘I’ll call my personal assistant and get him to make the arrangements. You need to rest a while. You’ll be no use to anyone in this frazzled state. I take it you want to fly out with the plane, to fetch him?’ Brianna nodded. ‘Right then, wait here with your mother while I make a call.’

With amazing speed, a few hours later Brianna was climbing up the steps into a private medical plane.

‘Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?’ her father asked for the hundredth time. Bless his heart, he’d not only made sure of the arrangements, he’d also insisted on seeing her off.

‘You’ve got a business to run and besides, I’m a big girl now.’

‘I know, but to me you’ll always be my darling child.’

She brushed at her eyes. ‘Crikey, Dad, don’t go getting mushy on me. My emotions are all over the place as it is.’

Gently he kissed her forehead. ‘You love him, don’t you?’

She felt so choked she could barely speak. ‘Yes.’

‘Then he’s going to be fine. With you looking out for him, how could he be anything else?’

Biting her lip, she tried to smile. ‘You mean I’m a stubborn cow who won’t let him die.’

‘Well, I would have put it more delicately. You have a determined streak in you. If something is important enough to you, you’ve always found a way to achieve it.’

‘Let’s hope Mitch’s survival isn’t going to be any different.’

He lifted her chin and made her look at him. ‘You’ll phone as soon as you get the chance, won’t you? Don’t worry about the time differences. Just let us know how things are going.’

‘I promise.’

A few moments later the pilot signalled they were ready. Her dad climbed back down the stairs and the door closed.

She waved at him from the tiny window. How her life had changed. Until a few months ago the only plane trips she’d ever taken were for holidays. Now she was off to her second disaster zone in as many months.

And this time she was dreading what she’d find even more than the last time.