The police were still talking to Regan and David when Gray and Caro passed, on the other side of the road. And when they reached the café, he held the door open for Caro, and he looked back at the low sand wall. The police was still talking to David and Regan, while most of the crowd had left. What was left of his good mood when he picked up Caro, vanished. He was fed up. He was tempted to go back and have a talk to David!
Unaware of their audience, David left his arm on Regan's shoulder and together they made a statement for the police.
Ten minutes later, the police left them sitting on the wall. There were a few people still watching the fire brigand from a distance, but the fire was out and no other explosions, so nothing else resulting in entertainment. The brigand was securing the surf club building.
"You ok?" David asked Regan again. He knew her, barely, but what he had learned recently about her, given the recent event, he knew she was brave and determined.
Utter relief wash through her system as adrenalin vanished. Regan nodded then smiled, "I should be asking you!"
"I am fine."
She put her imaginary-doctor-hat on, and looked at him. "Ok, good, but can I check?"
He snorted and chuckled. "You know, I think this town has too many stubborn women!"
"I am not stubborn!" She laughed. "It's my job!"
David's eyebrows quirked, and shook his head, "It isn't your job to go into a burning building, with explosions going off!" He remembered the last few minutes and knew he was lucky. He looked at Regan, and shook his head, he could believe this woman put her life in danger. "You do know that is the job of the fire fighters!"
"True. And it isn't your job either! What were you doing there? Meeting someone at the surf club?"
"Not exactly." He murmured.
Seeing that he was not keen on telling her anything, she said, " Anyway, it is my job to see if people are ok." She reached forward and just took his wrist.
He was surprised to find that she was not easily diverted. "You really are a pushy doctor!" He chuckled again.
"Just part of the skill-set for all doctors!" She began to take his pulse. She was expecting to see his pulse racing, but his pulse was nearly normal. Obviously a man who can handle adversities, she thought. She knew her own pulse was still racing, given her recent misadventure and the utter calamity. Reviewing the episode with the police was a bit like being back there, inside in a burning building: that smell, the sound of the explosions, the fright. The accelerated, staccato, beat of her heart as fear raced through her system re-emerged. She also knew that her voice was a bit hoarse given she inhaled smoke, so she asked him. "Ok, be honest. Breathing ok?"
He nodded. But the paramedics approached them. The paramedics asked the same questions, and a few minutes later, David said, "So, doc?"
She shook her head and sigh, "You are ok, given everything." She coughed.
"What about you?" David studied her face.
"Me?" Regan frowned and coughed again.
"Yes, you and you have guts! Fearless. Courageous. Noble. But are you ok?"
"Thanks for the compliments!" She smiled. "I am ok, honestly. Just coughing for attention!" But her pulse was still racing. He quirked a brow. "I was barely inside that building." She shrugged, which was not actually true.
"Which brings me back to my original questions, why?"
"I guess the same reasons that you had."
He chuckled. "You know, for some reason, I always assumed you were quiet!"
She tipped her head to the side and studied his expression. "Is that good or bad?"
He chuckled again. He looked at her, "You have guts, Doc!"
"Sometimes." She shrugged. "If I thought about it, I would be outside, watching from here!"
David was surprised earlier. "Well, I don't think I thanked you back there. Inside the club."
"Wasn't expecting thanks." She smiled at him, and reminded him, "In any case, we were kind of busy, don't you think?"
"Do you think Gaby is ok?"
"Gaby? Gabriella Jones?" She knew the woman, and she was often jealous of Gaby's self-confidence: Dignity, grace and utter composure, that is what Regan wanted.
David nodded. "You don't know her?"
"No, no, I know her. Just an acquaintance, not a friend or anything, just..." Regan she petered out and looked at him, "You told the police that when you found her she was unconscious."
That image was firmly embed in his conscious. "Yes." He mumbled.
"It must have come as shock." She said gently.
"Yeah." David rubbed his forehead. It was more than a shock. Seeing Gaby unconscious, robbed him of his normal disposition. Stunned. Took him a few seconds to remember he was there to help, not to faint.
"Scared too." Regan added softly.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah of course."
Quietly, Regan said, "I think you are one of those people who handle risky situations and would be calm under stress!" Which was true. He was handling the situation despite the fact that his world had been rocked seeing Gabriella unconscious.
"Well, thank you Doc!" He pressed a kiss to her cheek.
Regan smiled at him. "I could see it in your eyes. You were scared for her."
"Scared for her?"
"Yes, you were worried about her, being unconscious and with the cylinders going off."
"Yeah, of course. I would be worried about anyone if I found them in the same conditions. And in any case, you arrived!"
Regan was tempted to pushed him, because she was pretty sure that he was worried about Gabriella. When she saw him and Gabriella, she could see that he was handling the situation, doing what was expected, but his eyes showed more than anxious. As if he had just found treasure and the treasure was vanishing in front his eyes. A mixture of shock and worries.
"In any case what were doing at the beach?" David asked her, and watched her face. This woman gave the impression of a mouse, but actually she was a lioness.
"One of our patients phoned in, she was at the beach with her grandchildren when she realised that she had left her wallet at the centre and I heard our receptionist talking to her on the phone. I was just about to leave on a home visit, and I was going to go pass the beach, and well, she is over eighty, so I offered to meet her at the beach."
"And of course used the surf club as the meeting point."
"Well, not exactly, I wasn't going to walk over sand with these heels! So I said we would meet at the car park." She said on a long sigh, and replayed the scene, "I was in my car, because she and her grandchildren were waiting for me at the car park. We had a brief conversation. Apparently she only realised she didn't have her wallet until her grandchildren asked if they could have an ice-cream!"
"When did you notice the building was on fire?"
"Well, actually, it was one of her grandchildren." She remembered thinking that she was wasting time here, talking about ice-cream, as she had a home visit. In her mind she was juggling statements, how to leave without being rude, had half of her brain was listening to the grandchildren, and was trying to decided whether to reschedule the home visits as she also has another appointment at the town centre. Then the youngest grandchild yelled that the club was burning. "She pointed at the surf club, saying it was on fire, and when I looked over, she was right. I am sure that many contacted the fire brigade."
"Yes."
"Anyway, the kids wanted to get closer to see, as they said, 'the action' but their grandmother made sure they remained at the car park." She looked over at David, "Actually, I was wondering if anyone was hurt and whether I should go there. Then I saw Mike at the exit. So I just ran."
"In your heels?"
"Yes, amazing what you can do with adrenalin!"
He chuckled quietly, "And he told you? What exactly?"
"I asked if there were any others inside, and he said you were in there looking for Gabriella!"
"And you decided to go in! Honestly, Regan, why not just wait? Mike was outside, he probably needed help, you could have stayed with him. He..."
"I know. But he said he was ok. Coughing as expected, probably inhaled smoke."
"And?"
"And I thought you might need help!" She got to her feet, dusted her bottom, and smiled, "Which reminds me, I have appointments! I am already late!"
David stood up. "You have got to be kidding! You are going back to work." But she toppled as she lost her feet on the sand and she sat back on the wall.
"Ommph! Hey! Oops" She attempted to get back to her feet again. She mumbled to herself, "I will have to explain why I haven't made that home visit."
He reached forward to steady her. "I am pretty sure they have already heard why!" He said and watched her face.
She chuckled, "True. But I have other patients."
"But you can barely stand!"
"That's the sand." She used the sand as an excuse.
"Maybe, but you are exhausted." He looked at her, and he was pretty sure that it wasn't just this recent event. He could see that she was tired.
"Just need a top-up of adrenalin."
"It is more than that." David watched her face, "You are tired, Regan." He said quietly, "I understand you are managing your farm, on your own."
She blinked in surprise "How, er, how do you know that?" She caught her lower lip between her teeth.
"I heard it in town."
"Oh." She looked away.
"What happened to your manager?" He asked, although he already knew but wanted to hear it from the source.
She inhaled, rubbed the back of her hand beneath her nose. "He got a better offer." She mumbled and looked away. She wondered if David already knew that.
"A better offer?" David knew her manager left because there was a discrepancy in his wages. That his wage package included a rent-free house, and was paid as the head manager.
She giggled in hysteria, then squared her shoulder and said frankly, "Yes. I paid him as a labourer and in his new job, well, he is paid as a manager. With perks." She looked at him and saw that her statement was not new to him. "I am pretty sure you already knew that."
David studied her face. He nodded as if to acknowledge her statement, but it was also because his intuition suggested there was more to her statement. Someone who ran into a burning building would not ripped off her employee. So the fact she only paid him a labourer wage and not a manager wage, there would be a good reason.
"Yeah, heard." David smiled gently, "And that you had not found a replacement."
She nodded. "Yes. Guess the gossip mill is working overtime."
"Well, you know this town! Any gossip spreads fast." He shrugged, "And I am pretty sure that running the farm on your own, would be hard. Physically and mentally." He looked back at the surfclub, "It took a lot of guts, and not just the fact that you rescued me and Gaby..."
She snorted. "David!"
"What?"
"I didn't rescue you and Gaby, you..."
"Ok a joint rescue. But you moved some pretty heavy stuff to reach us, you checked on Gaby and me, and you have just relived that event because the police wanted a statement. You are still coughing, so obviously inhaled smoke, and no offence, you kind of look tired!" He patted at the seat on the wall, "So sit, Regan."
She chuckled. "I have to..."
"You need to stop. Or I will phone for an ambulance for you." David stated bluntly and reached for her arm and tugged her towards the wall.
She sighed. And Regan stayed. They remained seating on the wall and watched the crowd disperse and rehashed the town's gossip.