Winter at Pretty Beach by Polly Babbington (best affordable ebook reader TXT) 📗

opened the messages, seeing a notification from Pete.

I’ve just had a message from the hospital. They’ve been trying to call you today - I said you were at the Orangery and would have been busy this evening and that sometimes the reception isn’t great down there by the water.

Just as she was about to phone the hospital an unknown number flashed up. She pressed the button and said hello.

‘Hello - Sallie Broadchurch?’

‘Yes, that’s me.’

‘Hi Sallie, it’s Amelia from the ICU at Newport,’ the bright voice at the end of the phone said.

‘Hi Amelia, is everything okay?’ Sallie replied quickly.

‘Sallie, I just thought I’d give you a quick ring before my shift finished, I know you’ve had a lot on the last few days - Nina seems to have turned a corner today, she’s off the ventilator. I’ve tried to call you a few times but it didn't seem to work.’

‘Oh! Oh, thank you so much, that’s great news!’

Ben walked in with a black bin liner, collecting up the last bits of rubbish as Sallie was on the phone, and realising who she was talking to he carried on clearing up as Sallie stood beside the Christmas tree, looking out over the snow-covered driveway, pacing back and forth and talking into her phone.

‘Okay, yep, yes I’ll phone in the morning when I get up and we’ll be in.’

Ben had walked over to the table while Sallie was on the phone pacing, had seen the pregnancy test on the table next to her bag, pulled it out of the foil wrapper and looked down at the stick.

Sallie Broadchurch-Chalmers was very much pregnant.

***

Sallie looked up at Ben as he held up the stick.

‘What does it say?’

‘Sals - there’s a line in the window.’

Sallie walked closer to Ben where he was holding the pregnancy test stick and staring down at it.

‘You’re probably looking at the wrong one. I’ve done that before.’ Sallie said peering down and looking into the tiny little plastic window. As she focused her hands flew to her face and she blinked her eyelashes

‘Oh my! Hang on, let me get my glasses.’ Sallie said, turning as if to get her bag from the table.

‘You don’t need to, duh! I can see it perfectly well.’ Ben replied, and took both of her hands in his.

‘I can’t believe it!’ Sallie said looking into his eyes, and as she did the fluttery thing that happened in her stomach, the thing that had happened when she had first seen him in the Boat House, happened again.

‘I knew it would happen.’ Ben said, simply.

‘I don’t know what to do. I’ve not let myself think about it too much and now it’s happened I don’t know whether to laugh or cry!’ Sallie said a hint of a hysterical giggle escaping, ‘I cannot believe it!’

‘Well, I for one am ecstatic, whatever happens.’ Ben said, gazing back at her.

Sallie clasped her hands together, ‘Me too!’ she replied and the tiny, little bit of her heart which had softened ever so slightly when she’d stood on the top of the hill outside the church at Pretty Beach opened up just that little bit further.

Chapter 61

Sallie walked out of the hospital, pulled her blazer on over her white shirt, hurried over to the car park and made her way to Ben’s car. He was standing outside with Tillie in his arms pointing out to the sea way in the distance. Tillie’s little white hat flopped over her head and as Sallie got nearer she could hear her responding to Ben with little baby noises.

He saw Sallie approaching and walked over to meet her. Tillie held out her arms to Sallie and Sallie took her from Ben.

‘All okay?’ She asked, kissing him on the cheek.

‘Yep, she woke up about fifteen minutes after you went in - sat there in the seat for a bit looking grumpy and then we’ve just had a little stroll around the carpark. How did it go in there?’

‘She looks like a different person; she’s still bloated, but the doctor said that is the fluids. I don’t know - they still don’t know when she’s going to fully recover but she’s off the ventilator and opened her eyes. We can take Tillie in tomorrow, she's well enough for that.’ Sallie sighed as Ben opened the back door and Sallie strapped Tillie into her car seat.

‘There’s nothing more we can do, is there? Like nothing except wait. I don’t want to say too much, but it sounds like she’s on the mend.’

‘Yes, the turnaround is amazing. Oh dear, then there’s the whole thing with her mum...’ Sallie trailed off.

Ben patted her on the hand, started the car and headed along the coast road back to Pretty Beach. Just as they came into Pretty Beach, he indicated right, heading for the wharf and Pretty Beach Old Town. Sallie was checking her emails on her phone and not looking where they were going. He pulled into Strawberry Hill Lane, reversed onto the grass verge outside Strawberry Hill House and turned off the engine of the car. Sallie looked up from her phone and slipped it into her bag.

‘Why are we here? Did Shane get back to you while I was in the hospital? Have we got another viewing?’ She looked over at him, confused.

‘Errrm, I’ve got something else to tell you, Sallie. Not that we need much more news at the moment. In fact, I think we’ve had enough news to last us a good few years.’

‘Oh, no! What else Ben? I can’t take any more news. I had the best news on that little stick, that’s enough for me and Nina turning a corner,’ Sallie replied as she pulled her bag up from the footwell and placed it on her lap.

‘Well it’s not bad news - well at least I thought it wasn’t,’ he said looking out the window at Strawberry Hill House.

‘Ben! Just spit it out!’ Sallie said, insistently.

‘This is for you.’ He leant into the centre console