It was late afternoon by the time Heather arrived back at St Gertrude’s. The fire had been under control when she’d left the dock and the men who’d been trapped inside the warehouse had been rescued. Amazingly, only one of them had been seriously injured. She and Abby had travelled back in the ambulance with him while the rest of the casualties had been ferried to various hospitals throughout the region. Most had suffered only minor cuts and bruises but they would all need to be checked over.
Heather climbed down from the ambulance after Frank Farnell, one of the paramedics, had opened the doors. ‘Can you take him straight to Resus, Frank? I’ll put a call through to the cardio team and ask them to send someone down to take a look at him.’
‘What do you think is wrong with him, Heather?’ Jeannie Roberts, the other member of the two-man ambulance crew, lifted one end of the stretcher while Frank took the other.
‘If I had to make a guess, I’d say he’s suffering from myocardial contusion.’ She shot an assessing look at the man on the stretcher. ‘He was hit on the chest by a lump of falling masonry so it’s very likely his heart has been bruised. He’s hypotensive and there are definite signs of arrhythmia—both classic symptoms—but we’ll need to run some tests first. Once we’ve done an electrocardiograph and checked for any cardiac enzyme changes then we’ll have a better idea what’s wrong with him.’
‘I hope that ‘‘we’’ you’re referring to doesn’t mean you and me.’ Abby groaned as she followed them into the building. ‘I’m bushed and I don’t mind admitting it. All I want at the moment is a cup of tea and a comfy chair!’
‘Then your wish shall be granted!’ Heather steered the nurse towards the staffroom. She could understand how Abby felt because she was tired, too. It had been a hectic day and the fact that she’d been dealing with a major burns case had simply added to her overall stress levels.
‘You’ve done more than your fair share, Abby, so go and take a break.’
‘You must be just as tired as me, Heather,’ Abby pointed out. ‘You need a break, too.’
‘And I’ll have one as soon as I’ve dealt with this patient,’ Heather promised. She knew Abby was right but also knew it would be easier if she kept working. She didn’t want to have time on her hands to think about how badly burned Andy had been because it would remind her of Stewart. Neither did she want to think about the fact that Ross had resented helping her. Today of all days she couldn’t handle the strain on her emotions.
‘Well, make sure you do. You know what they say about all work and no play.’ Abby winked at her. ‘Maybe I should have a word with Station Officer Tanner the next time I see him and tell him that you need saving from yourself. I’m sure he’s got some very good ideas about how you could better spend your time!’
Heather blushed at the good-natured teasing. ‘I don’t know why you imagine that Ross Tanner is the least bit interested in what I do!’
‘That’s because you haven’t noticed the way he looks at you.’ Abby shook her head. ‘Honestly, Heather, you’re one in a million. I can’t think of a single woman in this entire hospital who wouldn’t be flattered if a hunk like Ross Tanner was making sheep’s eyes at her, yet you seem to be oblivious to the effect you have on him.’
‘Maybe I’m just not interested,’ Heather said quickly. She took a deep breath but it was as though the protective layer with which she’d surrounded herself these past three years or so had suddenly disappeared and her emotions were bubbling up inside her.
How would it feel to have another man love her as Stewart had done? she found herself wondering. How would it feel to love someone again that way? She loved Grace almost more than she could say, but the love she felt for her daughter was vastly different to the love shared by a man and a woman. Would it be possible to love Ross Tanner and let herself be loved by him in return?
The questions were too much for her to deal with. Heather turned away before Abby could notice there was anything wrong. She went straight to Resus and picked up the phone, although for a second she couldn’t remember who she’d been intending to call. Her mind seemed to have locked onto the thought of how it would feel to fall in love again.
Warmth flowed through her as she recalled the simple pleasure of waking each morning to see Stewart lying beside her, of going home at the end of the day, knowing that he would be there to share all her triumphs and problems. They’d been so close that she’d felt she could tell him anything. Love like that was so rare that it seemed unlikely she would experience it again, unlikely but not impossible…
She stabbed in the numbers for the cardiac unit. She’d had her share of love and it had been wonderful while it had lasted and dreadful when it had ended. She wasn’t going to put herself through that kind of torment again.
Ross handed over to the officer in charge of Blue Watch at the end of his shift. Although the blaze had been extinguished there was always a chance with this type of fire that it might reignite. Blue Watch would leave a crew on standby at the dock in case that happened.
Plans were also being formulated to bring in a team of experts to examine the remaining tanks and see if there was any oil beneath them before they were dismantled. It should have been done as a matter of course but Ross suspected it had been another cost-cutting exercise. Bradburn had probably decided it was unnecessary to pay for a professional survey when he could get one of his own men to do it free. Ross knew there would be an investigation into the cause of the fire but that would be very little consolation to the families of the men who had been killed and injured.
As he left the fire station he found himself thinking about the young man who had been so badly burned. Would Andy survive such terrible injuries? He followed the thought to its natural conclusion and sighed as he found himself wondering how Heather would react if the young man died. He couldn’t stop himself worrying about her, especially when they had parted on less than friendly terms.
Whether it was worry for Heather or concern for the young man, Ross found himself heading toward St Gertrude’s once he left work. It was only a short drive to the hospital so he found a parking space and bought a ticket from the pre-pay machine. He checked his watch as he strode across the car park, debating whether he should go directly to A and E to see Heather or if it would be better to find out how Andy was first. If the young man hadn’t survived then he didn’t want to put his foot in it and upset her further.
The receptionist informed him that Andy was in the burns unit after Ross had explained that he was one of the firemen who had attended the blaze at the docks. He took the lift to the fifth floor and followed the signs. There was nobody about so he knocked on the office door.
‘I wonder if you could tell me how the young man who was brought in from that dockside fire is doing?’ he asked the nurse who opened the door. ‘His first name is Andy but I’m afraid I don’t know his surname.’
‘You aren’t a relative?’ She sighed when Ross shook his head. ‘I’m sorry but it’s hospital policy not to give out information about a patient to anyone except a relative.’
‘It’s all right, Mary. I…I’ll deal with this.’
Ross spun round when he recognised Heather’s voice. He felt his heart skip a beat when he realised that she’d been crying. Without stopping to think, he went over to her and took hold of her hands.
‘What’s happened, Heather?’ he demanded, although he suspected that he already knew the answer.
‘Andy didn’t make it. H-he died an hour ago.’
‘I am so sorry, Heather.’ He drew her into his arms and held her tightly, wishing there was something he could say to comfort her.
‘He was only twenty and he had his whole life ahead of him. It’s such a waste, such an awful, horrible waste!’
She drew back to look at him and Ross felt his heart leap when he saw the anguish in her eyes. In that moment, he knew that it wasn’t just the death of a patient which had caused her such pain. This had something to do with what had happened
in her past, but before he could ask her to explain, tears began to stream down her face.
‘Why do dreadful things like this have to happen, Ross? Why?’
CHAPTER SIX
‘IT’S coffee. I thought it might make a change from the usual tea.’
Heather jumped when Ross placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of her. They were in the foyer coffee-shop, although she hadn’t the faintest idea how they’d got there. She didn’t remember getting into the lift and travelling down to the ground floor. Everything was a blur apart from the fact that she remembered very clearly Ross holding her in his arms while she had cried her heart out.
The memory brought a rush of colour to her cheeks and she quickly picked up the cup. How could she have allowed herself to go to pieces like that? How could she have done so in front of Ross of all people? Granted, Andy’s death had unleashed a flood of bitter memories but she should have tried harder to pull herself together. And yet in her heart she knew that nobody could have consoled her the way Ross had done.
The feel of his strong arms cradling her while she’d cried had made her feel safer than she’d felt in ages, and when he had started stroking her hair her anger had miraculously begun to fade. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that nobody but Ross could have provided the comfort she’d needed, and the realisation scared her. She couldn’t allow herself to become dependent on him in any way.
‘So how do you feel now?’ Ross pulled out a chair and sat down. Heather could feel him watching her and her nervousness increased tenfold. What would he think if he discovered it had been the first time she’d cried in over three years?
‘Heather?’
He prompted her to answer and she drove the thought from her mind because it wouldn’t help to dwell on it. ‘I’m fine. Thank you.’
She took a gulp of the coffee to forestall any more questions and choked when she discovered how hot it was. She managed to swallow the hot liquid but it had already scalded her tongue. Tears started to her eyes again and she dashed them away. She’d managed to maintain her usual air of professional calm while the consultant in charge of the burns unit had been discussing Andy’s case with her, but the moment she’d seen Ross she’d gone to pieces. It was as though he was able to touch her in a way that nobody had done for years.
‘You’re not fine, Heather. You’re upset.’
He took the cup from her and blew gently on the hot liquid to cool it. It was such an unselfconsciously caring gesture that Heather was filled with a sense of wonder. How many men would think of doing such a thing? Yet when Ross did it, it seemed as natural as breathing.
He took a sip from the cup then put it on the table in front of her. ‘Try that. It should be OK now.’
‘Thank you.’ She drank some of the coffee and summoned a smile when she saw him anxiously watching her. ‘It’s fine.’
‘Good.’ He grinned. ‘I got plenty of practice checking the temperature of drinks when the twins were tiny. Any time Kate and Mike wanted to escape for an evening out, Uncle Ross was summoned to do his duty and babysit.’
‘I’m surprised you didn’t spatter a few drops of coffee on the inside of your wrist,’ she said dryly, striving to match his tone. ‘That is the approved method of testing the temperature of a baby’s bottle.’
‘So I believe. However, seeing as my sister breastfed the twins, I was never introduced to the delights of making bottles of formula. Kate used to feed the boys before she went out and always made sure she was back in time for the next round. So if it’s water or juice then I’m a dab hand, but anything more complicated and I’ll have to pass.’
‘Well, the coffee’s fine, you’ll be pleased to hear,’ she said lightly, trying not to dwell on the thought of Ross looking after the twins when they’d been babies. It made her feel very strange to imagine his large hands cradling their tiny bodies. Maybe it was the fact that she had no experience of seeing a man care for a baby that made it such an emotive idea, but once again she found her eyes filling with tears.
‘I know it’s difficult, Heather, but you must have known from the outset the odds were stacked against Andy.’ Ross’s voice was filled with compassion.
‘Yes, of course. I suppose I was hoping for some sort of a miracle,’ she murmured, relieved that he hadn’t guessed the real reason why she was crying.
‘Sadly, miracles are few and far between.’ Ross sighed regretfully. ‘I hoped Andy would make it, too. I knew how upset you’d be after all your efforts this morning.’
‘You helped as well,’ she pointed out, trying to stick to the topic under discussion, although it wasn’t easy. She had tried not to dwell on the things she’d missed after Stewart had died, but it was hard not to think about the role he would have played in Grace’s life. Heather could imagine his delight at being able to bath and dress Grace, how gentle he would have been with his precious daughter. Stewart would have treated Grace every bit as tenderly as Ross had treated his nephews.
She frowned because it surprised her that she should have compared the two men. Why had she felt the need to measure Stewart against someone else when she’d always considered him to stand head and shoulders above any other man?
She hurried on, uncomfortable with how disloyal it made her feel. ‘I would have had an even harder job setting up that line if you hadn’t been there to help me.’
‘I was glad to help.’ Ross reached across the table and squeezed her hand. ‘I mean that, Heather. I know you thought I was annoyed about the amount of time I’d spent assisting you this morning but you were wrong.’ A rim of colour ran along his cheekbones but he met her eyes without flinching. ‘I apologise if I gave the impression that you were a nuisance. That wasn’t the case at all.’
Heather looked down at their joined hands, wondering what it was about the way he’d said that which made her heart race. Ross had just been trying to clear up a misunderstanding and yet there’d been something about the tone of his voice that had added an extra dimension to the apology.
It was a relief when he released her and picked up his cup because Heather wasn’t sure what she might have been tempted to say. Asking him what he had really meant was out of the question, but she was so out of touch with her own feelings that it was hard to understand other people’s. And yet would it be wise to delve too deeply when she might not be able to deal with the problems it could unleash?
Her head spun as thoughts whirled inside it so that she missed what he said next. ‘I’m sorry. What was that?’
‘I was just wondering how the guy who was trapped in that warehouse had fared.’
‘He’s doing very well, I’m pleased to say. He’s been taken to the coronary care unit with a suspected myocardial contusion…a bruised heart,’ she explained when Ross raised his brows. She took a steadying breath and deliberately confined her thoughts to answering the question.
‘The cardiac team is fairly confident there hasn’t been too much damage done. A blow like that to the chest can severely damage the heart’s valves and chambers. It can even rupture the aorta, although that hasn’t happened in this instance. Obviously, the patient will need monitoring but so far, so good. The biggest problem, in fact, has been that he doesn’t speak any English.’
‘He’s probably one of the illegal immigrant workers who were employed on the site. The site manager admitted that he had a number of men working for him who weren’t listed on any official records. He said something about them being from Armenia.’
‘I’ll mention it to the cardiac team. They might be able to get someone in to translate for them.’ She sighed. ‘It probably explains why the poor fellow seemed so agitated. I had the devil of a job calming him down while I was examining him.’
‘I expect he’s worried about the authorities getting involved,’ Ross observed. ‘Still, at least it seems as though he’s going to make it. The number of fatalities could have been a lot higher, all things considered.’
‘It could.’ She finished her coffee and s
ummoned a smile. ‘I feel much better after that. Thank you.’
‘My pleasure. Any time you need plying with tea—or coffee—and sympathy, you know who to call.’
It was said in the same light vein but Heather guessed it was just a cover. Ross wanted her to know he was there if she needed him but he didn’t want to scare her. It surprised her how well he seemed to understand her. Normally, she took great care to keep some distance between herself and other people and it was alarming to know that Ross must have guessed that.
‘That’s very kind of you,’ she said, hoping that he couldn’t tell how on edge she felt. ‘However, I don’t normally go to pieces like that.’
‘I’m sure you don’t. Keeping control of your emotions is something you appear to be extremely good at, Heather. Maybe you’ve had a lot of practice at it?’
She knew he was probing for information but also knew it would be a mistake to tell him too much. Ross had been both kind and considerate and she appreciated everything he’d done for her, but she had to remember who and what he was. A searing pain lanced her heart but she couldn’t afford to let it affect her judgement.
No matter how painful it was going to be, she had to bring their budding relationship to an end.
Ross could sense Heather withdrawing and bit back a sigh. It was a case of one step forward and two back where she was concerned. Every time he thought he’d gained a little ground he found it slipping away again. Why was she so reluctant to let him into her life? She didn’t seem to have a problem in any physical sense. She certainly hadn’t pulled away when he’d kissed her that morning, neither had she made any attempt to do so that evening when he’d been comforting her. Physically she wasn’t repulsed by him but mentally she rejected him. It made him all the more determined to get to the bottom of what had happened in her past.
‘I’m not someone who goes around making a song and dance about things, if that’s what you mean.’ She fixed him with one of her cool little smiles. ‘It isn’t in my nature.’
Saving Dr. Cooper Page 8