Touched By Angels

They seemed to have accepted her without hesitation, including her in the conversation when they’d stopped for a meal at Johannesburg airport. It was only Jack Trent who seemed intent on treating her as an outsider…

‘Why this bit in particular?’ She deliberately closed her mind to that thought, focusing instead on what Lesley had said. Right at that moment Jack Trent was busily supervising the loading of some of the more fragile equipment onto one of the lorries, and she doubted whether he was giving her any thought! She could see him out of the corner of her eye if she turned her head a fraction, his rangy figure clad in khaki chinos and shirt which blended with the landscape. He should have been virtually invisible in that outfit yet she had no difficulty picking him out. It was as though some sort of inner radar had immediately homed in on him.

‘Because this last stage always seems to take ages!’ Lesley declared. ‘I mean, here we are just thirty miles away from our destination and we’re all itching to get started, but if I know anything at all about these trips it’s that there will be one delay after another, getting the equipment there. You take it from me, Meg, the flight from England is a doddle compared to hauling our stuff over these back roads!’

‘Don’t say that! Here I was thinking that it wouldn’t be long before I’d be able to have a lovely long soak in the bath and wash off some of this grime!’ Meg retorted ruefully, brushing the gritty sand off her dusty jeans. She looked up as a shadow fell over them and her heart skipped a beat as she found Jack Trent staring down at her. It was obvious that he must have overheard what she’d said because there was a mocking tilt to his lips as he treated her to a thin smile.

‘I’m afraid long soaks in the bath are a luxury you’ll have to learn to live without for the next few months, Ms Andrews. I did warn you, if you remember?’

‘How could I forget, Dr Trent?’ She returned his smile with an even thinner one but that didn’t mean the comment hadn’t stung. It wasn’t pleasant to realise that he was only waiting his chance to take pot-shots at her. It was a relief when Lesley interrupted at that point because Meg wasn’t sure what else he might have said.

‘Ms Andrews? Dr Trent?’ the older woman scoffed. ‘Rather formal, isn’t it, for a trip like this?’ She sighed as she looked from one to the other. ‘Don’t tell me you two are going to stand on ceremony for the next three months. How about making that ‘‘Meg’’ and ‘‘Jack’’ and starting as you mean to go on?’

Meg shrugged although she was careful to avoid Lesley’s eyes. Jack Trent had started as he meant to go on, that was the trouble! However, in the interests of team harmony it seemed wrong to make their differences common knowledge. ‘Fine by me. I’d prefer it if you’d call me Meg, anyway.’

‘Of course. And it goes without saying that you must call me Jack,’ he concurred. He turned away before Meg could answer, raising his voice as he called to the rest of the party who were sprawled along the edges of the landing strip.

‘We’re just about ready now, folks. If you want to climb on board then we can make a start. The head driver assures me that it shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours to reach the border, which means we should make it by five p.m. by my reckoning,’ he announced.

‘And if you believe that you’ll believe anything!’ declared Rory O’Donnell, the anaesthetist on the trip, and everyone laughed. Jack joined in as well and Meg felt her pulse miss a beat as she saw the austere lines of his face soften.

He looked so different when he laughed, she realised, even more handsome and attractive, just as she’d imagined he would look, in fact. Was it just that he had trouble unbending in front of her and found it easier to relax with people he liked and respected? She sensed that was so and her heart ached even though she didn’t want it to.

She hurriedly got up when she realised that everyone was making their way to the trucks. Rory was giving Kate Gregory, another of the nurses, a boost up into the high cab amid a lot of teasing, his hands placed firmly on the woman’s ample derrière. It was obvious that Kate was taking it all in good part as she shot a few pithy comments at her colleagues.

Meg smiled as she heard them laugh in response to whatever Kate had said. Obviously a good rapport was already building within the team and she felt her spirits lift. To heck with how Jack treated her—she intended to make the most of this trip and wouldn’t let him spoil it for her!

‘There’s a few points I need to run through with you, Meg, so you may as well travel with me in the first truck.’

Jack didn’t wait for her to reply as he strode towards the first of the three trucks which were lined up on the grass. Meg hesitated but there was no excuse she could think of to refuse his request, apart from one which was as unacceptable to her as it would be to him. To actually come out and tell Jack that she didn’t want to travel with him because he seemed intent on making her feel miserable sounded too pathetic for words.

She followed him to the truck, colouring when he stepped back to let her climb into the cab first. The memory of how Rory had helped Kate was all the incentive she needed to make the ascent in double-quick time! She scrambled on board then quickly slid along the bench seat as Jack climbed up behind her and slammed the door.

He leant forward, his arm brushing the side of her breast as he pointed towards the driver. ‘This is Moses. He’s the head driver,’ he explained, before settling back in his seat.

Meg smiled at the man beside her, trying her best to quell the sensations that were rippling through her. Although the touch of Jack’s arm against her breast had been purely accidental, that didn’t mean she wasn’t very much aware of it. It was a relief to focus on the introductions rather than let her mind go spinning off at tangents, wondering why it should have had such an effect.

‘Hello, Moses. It’s nice to meet you. My name is Meg.’

The man gave her a wide smile, his white teeth flashing against his black skin. ‘Pleased to meet you, Dr Meg.’

He started the engine, giving Meg no chance to correct him about her true status as the engine roared to life. The noise inside the truck was deafening for a few seconds before the gears engaged, and they set off with a shuddering lurch which pitched her sideways into Jack Trent.

Meg flushed as she quickly righted herself. ‘Sorry.’

‘Don’t worry about it.’ Jack placed a booted foot against the dashboard and braced himself as they jolted over another rut. His hand shot out and he grasped Meg’s arm as she bounced on the seat. ‘I know it isn’t very ladylike, but try bracing your feet against the dashboard. It’s the only way to keep yourself steady, I’m afraid.’

Meg did as he’d suggested and after a few moments found that he was right. It was easier to maintain her balance once she had something to brace herself against.

‘Thanks,’ she said with a grateful smile. ‘It’s a lot better like this.’

He shrugged dismissively, turning to stare out of the window as though, now that his duty was done, he intended to leave her to her own devices. Meg took a small breath, refusing to let slip the words she could feel welling up inside her. If he wanted to make it clear that he didn’t care about her comfort then that was up to him. She certainly didn’t intend to make a fuss if that was what he expected!

They travelled in silence for a couple of miles before Jack spoke again. Meg stiffened but, oddly, there was no hint of the expected hostility in his voice.

‘Working out here will be quite a revelation for you, I imagine. I remember the first time I went overseas to work, not long after I qualified. I felt as though I should go straight back to med school because I was constantly being assailed with things I’d never dreamed I would have to deal with.’

He turned to look at her and his grey eyes were warm with the memory as he smiled. ‘I used to lie in bed at night and pinch myself because I couldn’t believe the things I’d seen and done throughout the day!’

‘Then you’ve never regretted getting involved in aid work?’ she queried, emboldened to ask by the fact that he seemed to have dropped the air of aloofness for once.

‘Never.’ He shook his head, pushing back a lock of hair which had blown over his forehead. Both of the truck’s windows had been rolled down, although the breeze that flowed into the cab was almost as hot as the air inside it. Meg could see damp patches forming on the front of Jack’s shirt where the cotton was sticking to his chest and knew that her own clothes were sticking to her as well.

When they lurched over another pothole and her arm brushed his, she could feel the heat of his skin burning into her and knew that the warmth of her skin had flowed into him. It was a strangely disturbing thought that their bodies’ heat was mingling that way.

She cleared her throat, not wanting to think about it. Why should just the touch of this man’s arm seem so very intimate? It didn’t make sense. ‘So you don’t regret not devoting more time to your career, then?’

‘You mean that if I didn’t go on these aid trips then I could be at home, earning more money?’ He gave a dry laugh. ‘No, I don’t regret it. Money isn’t all that important to me, if you really want to know. I believe there are more important things in life than buying a bigger car or a more luxurious house, oddly enough!’

Meg frowned as she heard the acerbic note in his voice. Maybe he was just making sure that she understood he had higher ideals than that, yet there had seemed to be something more to that statement than had first appeared.

‘I don’t find it at all odd,’ she replied quietly. ‘I agree with you, in fact. Money isn’t everything. It certainly doesn’t buy true happiness. That comes from within yourself, from knowing that you are doing the things you want to do and that you are happy with the choices you’ve made.’

His brows rose steeply. ‘A very altruistic attitude, Meg. I didn’t realise that you felt that way.’

She shrugged, not sure that she liked the mocking note in his voice which seemed at odds with the searching look he gave her. ‘You don’t know anything about me, not about the sort of person I am, anyway. References and CVs aren’t very much to go on when judging someone’s character, are they?’

‘Maybe not. But then I doubt if anyone relies solely on what’s written on a piece of paper, even in a work situation. I think most people rely on their instincts when they meet someone new.’

And his instincts had told him that she wasn’t the sort of person he wanted to work with? It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him but she managed to contain the words. What was the point in asking him a question like that when she knew what the answer would be? It certainly wouldn’t make her feel better to hear him state bluntly that he’d taken an immediate dislike to her.

She turned away before he saw the hurt in her eyes. She’d never been faced with this sort of situation before because she’d always got on well with the people she’d worked with. However, it was different with Jack Trent. Maybe it was foolish to be so sensitive but she couldn’t help it.

‘Is something wrong, Meg?’

She shook her head, hating the fact that he seemed to have sensed that she was upset. ‘Of course not. I’m just hot, that’s all.’

She took a tissue out of her pocket and mopped her forehead. Jack sighed as he settled back in the seat.

‘It will get even hotter than this.’

‘Then I shall just have to get used to it, won’t I? I’m sure I’ll survive, Dr Trent.’

‘I’m sure you will.’

There was an odd note in his voice, which made her look at him. However, he wasn’t looking at her but staring straight ahead, his gaze locked on the road as it wended its way through the bush. How, then, did she know instinctively that what had happened had upset him?

She had no idea yet she sensed it was true. Jack was upset because she’d been upset, and the knot of pain which had settled in the pit of her stomach eased a little. Maybe his attitude towards her wasn’t set in stone after all, and she would be able to convince him that he’d been wrong to have doubts about her. The thought was enough to make her spirits lift.