Page 28 of Starry Nights over Dragonfly Lake

‘What about the rest of you? Heart? Blood pressure?’ she asked.

‘I’m not planning on running a marathon this afternoon,’ said Walter.

Noah thought it was a good thing that he was able to joke, despite his grimaces of pain and pale face. But it was an important reminder that a simple fall could do worse damage than initially feared.

‘Are you up to moving off this cold ground?’ asked Ben.

Walter nodded. ‘Let’s do it,’ he said, clenching his teeth.

Ben and Noah reached forward to wrap their arms around Walter’s torso and on the count of three, gentlyraised him up to a standing position.

Walter’s cry as they moved him made Noah feel dreadful but Ben had been right to move him from the damp ground. Especially as the wind was still gusting all around them and it had begun to rain once more.

‘Can you walk?’ asked Ben.

‘Sure,’ said Walter.

But Ben and Noah continued to hold on to him all the way back to their cottage before he sank gratefully down on the armchair with a groan.

‘We’ve got to get you to hospital,’ said Ben, looking down at his grandad.

‘I agree,’ said Dotty, looking stressed. ‘But how? We can’t even get out down the driveway.’

‘I have an idea,’ said Ben.

He rang his friend, a local taxi driver called Del, who would meet them at the other end of the driveway and hopefully find a way through the local lanes to the nearby cottage hospital.

A short time later, a thin dark-haired man arrived at the front door to the cottage.

‘Mornin’, all,’ he said.

Before arriving, Noah had been told that Del was Frankie’s godson. He had been the local coach driver until that business had begun to dry up and he had turned his hand to becoming a taxi driver instead. Del was a nice guy, always trying to be helpful around the local villages and to his many friends.

‘How’s it going, Walter?’ he asked, with a concerned look.

‘Just perfect, Del, as you can see,’ muttered Walter.

‘Let’s get you to the hospital then,’ said Del, seemingly oblivious to the elderly man’s sarcasm. ‘The traffic’s a nightmare, from what I’ve heard on the radio.’

‘Then the sooner we get going the better,’ said Dotty. ‘I’m coming with you both.’

‘So am I,’ added Ben.

But Walter shook his head. ‘Your place is here,’ he told his grandson. ‘In charge.’

Ben looked upset but nodded. Noah wondered briefly how Ben felt about having the responsibility of both the family and hotel in his hands.

In a reverse of their earlier trip, Ben and Noah once more held Walter as they carefully and slowly walked him through the woods until finally they saw an electric car at the end of the driveway by the main gate.

‘I reckon the road is clear to the hospital,’ said Del, with a nod. ‘And they’ve got that new X-ray machine too. Fancy thing, I’ve heard.’

‘Excellent,’ said Walter. ‘I was thinking about a trip out today.’

He was being remarkably stoic but as Walter sat down with a groan in the passenger seat, he looked up at Noah.

‘You’ll be here when I get back?’ he said, reaching up to take Noah’s hand.

Noah hesitated before nodding. ‘Of course,’ he said.