Between Heaven and Rock (The Swallow Barn Cottage Series, Book 3)

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Another ten hours later...

Ulla was hurriedly rubbing her hair with a towel in the bathroom in Rhys Holyoake's cottage - or was that Sam Holyoake's cottage she was in? She was so focused on getting back to the hospital as quickly as possible that she hadn't paid much attention to her surroundings. It was Rhys' cottage, she remembered, because he was the one who'd driven her here - and had sat in the parked car for two hours because she'd fallen asleep in her passenger seat as soon as they'd left the hospital. She wouldn't have agreed to lie down, and the clever bugger had guessed. And now she'd been away from the hospital for three hours, and she needed to go back!

A loud knock came to her door.

"Out of there, Svensson," Rhys barked behind the door. "They're waking him up."

Ulla dropped the towel and jerked the door open.

"What?"

"They're waking Oliver up," Rhys repeated and looked away from her. "Too little clothes, Ulla."

"Oh shit," Ulla hissed, and slammed the door closed. "I'll be out in a mo!"

She quickly pulled on her jeans and a jumper over the knickers and the bra she'd just flashed Rhys with.

"Why are they waking him up now?" she asked, dashing out of the bathroom.

Rhys was already by the door, putting on his boots.

"There are some positive changes to his heart rate, and they say they want to pull him out as soon as possible." He waved his phone in the air, probably meaning one of his relatives had messaged him. "Put a hat on. Your hair's wet."

"I don't have a hat," Ulla grumbled, jumping on one foot, pulling on her sock.

Rhys stepped to her and pushed a jolly mauve coloured hat with a fluffy pom-pom on her head.

"It's Vi's," he said.

"I'll wear anything you want if you promise to drive us above the speed limit," she said and zipped up her parka.

He smirked and pushed the entrance door open.

***

The waiting room of the unit was full of Holyoakes and their spouses, so Ulla fit right in, with her dishevelled ginger mop.

"Ulla," a low calm voice came from behind her.

Will Holyoake shook her hand. Ulla would properly prefer meeting her literary hero in different circumstances.

"Hi," said a small woman with an astonishing thick braid of red hair - down below her buttocks - standing next to him. It took Ulla a second to recognise her without the pregnant stomach. "I'm Fiona. And this is Teddy."

Ulla saw a chubby baby asleep in a car seat carrier at Fiona Holyoake's feet.

"Hi. Nice to meet you," Ulla said. She didn't feel like correcting Fiona.

"How are you holding up?" Will asked and gave her a studying look over.

"I'm OK, thank you."

"Are they all asking you that?" Fiona Holyoake said with a small chuckle. "It's their way of saying you're one of them. It's Holyoake for 'welcome to the family.'"

Will looked at her askance, and she made a small grimace at him. Ulla saw one corner of his lips twitch. She knew that look, that– 'splashing of light' in his eyes, as she called it in her head when Oli did it. It's Holyoake for 'I properly fancy you at the moment.'

"What? Am I wrong?" Fiona murmured to her husband and patted his upper arm. "We've just arrived," Fiona turned to Ulla again. "John said they might be waking him up now. Dr. Kaur just went back to the unit."