‘We’ll see.’ Matt took a deep breath as they were all gestured up onto the podium.
There was the inevitable wait as microphones were tested and the judges got ready to announce their decision. Hannah saw Sam in the crowd and waved to him. Mia was amongst the home supporters, with her mother, talking excitedly.
Then a judge stepped forward. She congratulated all of the teams, going through what had caught the judges’ eyes about each of them. The truck had been put there by the TV company to see if any of the contestants would spot it and ask for help. Hannah waited, trying to keep her face from betraying her thoughts.
‘And now for the winners. For the second time—it’s Matt and Hannah...’
A roar went up from the crowd, drowning out the rest of what she was saying. And suddenly, without thinking, all the pent-up emotion burst through and she was in Matt’s arms.
There was nothing else. Just his arms around her, and the feeling that she wanted to get closer, to touch his skin. Hannah couldn’t help letting out a sigh, as she felt herself melt against him.
‘Way to go, Robin.’ She felt his lips brush her cheek, a thrilling second that should have lasted longer.
‘You too, Flash.’
Then he let her go. They shook hands with the other contestants, and Matt took her hand, leading her up to the judge to receive her medal. Hannah waved to the cheering crowd, unable to look at him but powerless to stop thinking about the feel of his strong body.
* * *
Hannah was still limping slightly as she hurried across the grass towards Sophie and Sam, but her knee was clearly less painful than it had been. Matt watched as she hugged Sam, and they did their victory dance. He wanted her so much he could hardly breathe.
Hannah was in conversation with Sam, and it seemed to be about something important. Sam was nodding, and Hannah hugged him, and then stood up as Sophie took his hand to walk towards the ice-cream van that was parked in the car park behind them. Then Hannah began to walk along the line of spectators, looking for someone.
He knew what she was about to do, just as surely as if she’d shouted her intentions over her shoulder at him. Hannah walked along the line of kids who had been brought down from the wards to watch, and Matt jogged across the grass towards her. He wanted to see this.
She knelt down opposite Mia, who was talking excitedly. Then Hannah took off her medal, hanging it carefully around Mia’s neck.
‘Hannah, are you sure...?’ Mia’s mother spoke up.
‘Of course. Mia deserves this.’ She grinned down at Mia, who was clutching the medal to her chest, just in case her mother decided to try and take it away from her. ‘What you’re doing now is hard, Mia. But if you can do all that Dr Matt and the physiotherapist tell you, then you can do anything.’
Matt wanted to hug her again. He wanted to feel her body against his, and this time it wasn’t just a heat of the moment thing. He’d thought about it and he needed to hug her. Instead he smiled at Mia’s mother.
‘What about a photograph?’
‘Oh, yes, of course.’ Mia’s mother began to rummage in her handbag, and Mia produced her own phone from her pocket. ‘Give it to me, darling, and we can take one with Hannah and Dr Matt.’
The photos were taken, and then Matt saw one of the nurses beckoning him over. ‘Will Sam mind if we stay a minute for some more photos?’
‘No, Sophie’s promised him an ice cream and from the looks of the queue they’ll be a little while.’ She smiled. ‘I asked him if he’d mind me giving my medal to a girl who was sick and had been very brave, and he told me that was the right thing to do.’
Matt chuckled. ‘That was kind of him.’
‘He has his moments. He surprises me all the time, though, he’s starting to think about things. I found him tipping the contents of the bin out on the kitchen floor the other day. They’d given them all a talk about recycling at school, and he told me that Grandma wasn’t doing it properly.’
‘Good for him. It’s his future.’ Matt felt a lump form in his throat. Sam didn’t just know what was right, Hannah had taught him. He knew only love, and he understood that other kids weren’t as lucky as he was.
‘Let’s take some photos, then...’ She smiled up at him, striding across to a little boy who was waving to them, telling the child next to him to be patient and he’d get a photo too. Matt joined her, kneeling down next to the boy’s wheelchair and smiling for the camera.
The other teams had seen what they were doing and had joined in, posing for photographs with the children. Hannah was chatting to the last little girl when Matt saw Sophie walking towards them, balancing two ice-cream cones in one hand. Sam was dawdling along next to her, intent on demolishing his own ice cream as quickly as possible before it melted.
‘Hi, Matt. You and Hannah did a great job today. Four points ahead on the leader board.’
‘Thanks. It was mainly Hannah...’ He might have helped things along, but it was Hannah who had inspired him. Who’d made him want to win more than anything.
‘Well, you deserve an ice cream at least.’ Sophie proffered one of the cones she was carrying and when he hesitated she gave an impatient nod. ‘Take it. I’ll share with Hannah.’
The ice cream was cool in his mouth and welcome on a hot summer’s day like today. Matt bent down, squatting on his heels in front of Sam.