Alison Fraser - Bride Required

He put an arm to her waist and helped her limp to the car. She leaned on the bonnet and observed a car-hire sticker on the windscreen. So maybe he wasn’t a liar.

He opened the passenger door, saying, ‘I’ll drive you to the nearest Casualty to check the damage.’

Dee already knew what was wrong; she had damaged the tendon again. ‘I’ll go tomorrow.’

He made a noise, impatient rather than sympathetic. ‘Don’t be silly. You won’t get there under your own steam.’

‘I have to go back to the maisonette,’ she insisted.

He followed her worried glance to the block of flats. ‘If it’s a boyfriend, then he can’t be up to much,’ he dismissed. ‘Not if he lets you go on midnight rambles in this neighbourhood.’

‘It’s a dog!’ she retorted abruptly. ‘You’ve met him, remember?’

‘Yes, of course, Henry.’ He surprised her by recalling her dog’s name.

‘I can’t leave him,’ she explained in more even tones. ‘He’ll be frightened on his own.’

‘Get in.’ He nodded towards the passenger seat. ‘I’ll go fetch the mutt.’

He was so offhand, it was impossible to imagine him as a threat. He started to walk away.

She called after him, ‘Be careful. Henry might be a bit nervy.’

‘Nervy—right.’ He cast her a look over his shoulder. ‘As in likely to bite first and ask questions later?’

‘Possibly,’ Dee admitted.

‘Well, thanks for the warning, at least.’ He carried on walking.

Dee watched him go, a tall, lean figure with a fluid stride. Nothing seemed to throw him.

It was Dee who felt reaction set in, shivering in the cool night air at her lack of jacket, and she climbed into the passenger seat to wait for him.

She soon heard barking, and rolled down the window a fraction. She worried about the dog initially, but as the barking became louder and fiercer her concern switched to Baxter Ross. She might not like him much, but he was trying to help her when he could easily have walked away.

The barking continued, interspersed with the sound of wood being smashed, then there was silence. Dee sat in the car, holding her breath interminably, before they suddenly appeared.

The dog padded alongside the man. It seemed that Henry had decided Baxter Ross was more friend than foe. He wagged his tail, glad to see Dee but not unduly worried.

Dee watched in the mirror as Baxter Ross removed the parcel shelf at the back of the car and folded down the rear seats to create a large boot, pushing his own luggage nearer the front. He helped a stiff Henry into it and also stowed away her flute case and rucksack. Why had he brought those?

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