But this…this wasn’t on his terms. This was on no one’s terms because, as their lips met, it was like two pieces of a shattered whole being joined. More, it was like tinder to fuel. Apart they were nothing-cold and useless. Together they were fire.
Mike’s body stilled in shock, but Tessa’s arms came around him again, soft and yet urgent, pulling him against her, and suddenly nothing in his life had ever felt so right, so complete. There were forces working here that were beyond his control, he thought wildly. This was beyond anything he’d ever known before. The desire to respond to this lovely thing…this woman who was so unknown…was almost overwhelming.
Her lips were soft and warm and urgent. She smelt of flowers, of sunshine and of warmth, and he could no more resist her loveliness than he could stop himself breathing.
He wasn’t breathing. He wasn’t sure what he was doing.
He couldn’t help himself. He must respond. His hands fell to hold Tessa against him, glorying in the way her breasts pressed against his chest. His mouth responded to her kiss, tasting her…wanting her.
And wanting more…
Dear God, what could he do with this? He’d never known he could feel this way. His vow had been made without knowing this wonder, and if he’d known… If he’d known he had this need-that somewhere in the world was a woman like this-could he have made his vow? But he’d made the vow, and the vow still stood.
Somehow he managed to pull back. Somehow he managed to put her away from him and hold her at arm’s length, and he stared down at her with eyes that were confused and desperate.
‘Tess, no…’
‘Well, now I know,’ Tess managed, in a voice that was barely above a whisper and held an obvious tremor.
‘Know what?’
‘You’re certainly not gay.’ She tried to smile but it didn’t quite come off. ‘Wow!’
‘Wow’ was right. And where to go from here?
The phone. Glory be, the phone. Its shrill ring sounded from the living room and Mike headed there like a drowning man headed for a life-raft.
‘Hello?’
‘Dr Llewellyn?’ It was Mavis, at Reception. ‘Is that you?’ It obviously didn’t sound like him.
‘Yes.’ Mike cleared his throat, and with a superhuman effort managed not to look back to where Tess was standing, watching from the doorway. ‘Of course. Mavis, what is it?’
‘I’ve just had a call from Kylie Wisen,’ Mavis told him and her voice was apologetic. It was as though she knew she was interrupting something, and she’d just love to know what. ‘You know Kylie?’
Mike’s head clicked into medical mode with a visible effort and he gave his mental case file a quick search. ‘Kylie. That’s Bill and Claire Wisen’s kid. Seventeen years old. Peroxided hair and half a dozen earrings.’
‘That’s the one.’ Mavis sighed. ‘She’s looking after her sister’s two-year-old while her sister and her husband go out to dinner and then go on to the shire ball. But…’
‘But?’
‘But the little one-Sally McPherson-has stuck her big toe in the bath outlet.’ Mavis sighed again. ‘I’m really sorry, Doctor, but they’ve tried everything to get it out and I think you’ll have to go.’
Go? Of course he had to go. Thanks be…
‘I’ll be there in five minutes,’ Mike said strongly, still not looking at Tess. ‘Mavis, ring Kylie back and tell her I’m coming. Tell her the most important thing is not to let Sally pull. If the toe gets swollen from tugging then we’ll be in all sorts of trouble.’
He replaced the receiver and finally turned to face Tess again.
‘I need to go,’ he said.
‘I know.’ Her eyes didn’t leave his face. ‘I heard. Can I come?’
‘Tess…’
‘The sooner I get to know the people of this town, the better it’ll be for both of us.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘I have an hour before I promised Louise I’d mom-sit, and you have an hour before you need to go your ball. Strop’s not much company-so let’s go unstick toes.’
‘I-’
‘Don’t you want me?’ She let her face fall, like a child deprived of a lolly.
Hell, he couldn’t work with her, he thought desperately, watching her face and trying to figure out whether to laugh or to groan. He couldn’t!
But he sure as hell couldn’t tell her he didn’t want her.
‘Fine, then,’ he said in a voice that indicated he’d been goaded beyond belief. ‘Fine. Let’s go do some medicine. It might get your mind off sex.’
‘Hey, my mind’s not on sex,’ she teased gently, her eyes laughing up at him. And then the smile died a little. ‘My mind doesn’t get past your face.’ Then she gave an honest little shrug and her smile came back in full. ‘Well…for the moment.’
Sally was still attached to her bath. They arrived to find neighbours, two members of the fire brigade, a mechanic and a hefty plumber complete with dangerous-looking tool set, all trying to wedge into one small farmhouse bathroom. Mike had obviously been the last of a long line of people appealed to.
Sally McPherson was two years old and in deep distress. She was huddled naked and sobbing in the empty bath, and her sobs were those of a child who’d gone past expecting help. The noise in the little room was overwhelming.
‘Let’s clear this room,’ Tess suggested firmly, as Mike went straight to the little girl. He saw her need. The child was sitting alone in the empty bathtub, and why the hell wasn’t anyone in there holding her?
‘Right.’ Mike reached in and held the little girl’s shoulders, gripping her tight. ‘OK, Sally. We’ll get you out of here soon, but first let’s get you warm.’
‘We need Sally’s parents and the plumber,’ Tessa said brusquely, and Mike gave her a wondering glance. She’d snapped straight back into medical mode. What had taken place between them belonged somewhere else. She was now crisp, decisive and every inch a doctor trained to cope with trauma. ‘The rest of you, I’d like you to stay outside until you’re needed. Now, who’s Sally’s mom?’
‘She’s not here,’ a girl with peroxided blonde hair and too much make-up told her. ‘I’m Kylie, the kid’s aunty. My sister and her husband have gone out to dinner and I don’t know where they’ve gone. It was supposed to be the pub but it’s burned down so they went somewhere else.’ She glared aggressively, as though expecting Tess to turn on her and say it was all her fault.
‘One of the neighbours is doing a ring-round of their friends to try and find them,’ the plumber volunteered. He turned to Mike who was lifting the child forward to take the strain from the toe.
‘Doc, I’ve been thinking,’ he said. ‘The hassle with the outlet on old baths is that the outlets don’t screw. Usually it’s a cinch if a kid gets stuck because you just turn the whole outlet around while someone turns the kid at the same time-so they both come out together and at least you can work on getting the thing off when they’re out of the bath. This is an old type, though. It’s a permanent fixture-glued fast.’
‘Then we’ll have to chip it out,’ Mike said. He was practically in the bath now, gathering the child to him. ‘She’s freezing. I want blankets and hot-water bottles. Fast.’
‘I figured you’d say chip it,’ the plumber said in satisfaction. ‘I’ve got the tools here ready. I would have done it before but I didn’t like to when the kiddy was so distressed and thrashing about, like. I reckon, though, what’s best’d be if I get underneath the house and cut through the pipe. Then if I chip it from underneath I won’t upset the kid as much. With luck the whole thing will lift up. It’ll just be a matter of supporting the kid while we do it.’
‘Do it,’ Mike said, his eyes on the little girl’s face. They needed to get her out of there fast. She was showing signs of going into shock.
‘Could you hop in the bath and cuddle her?’ Tess asked Kylie. She cast a quick glance at Mike, and Mike nodded his agreement. Warmth and reassurance were what this child needed more than anything.
&nbs
p; ‘What…hop in?’ The teenage babysitter was clearly horrified.
‘Do as she says, Kylie,’ Mike ordered, and Tess almost grinned as the teenager gazed at Mike in dismay but then did what she was told. Mike had some authority in this town. There weren’t many people who could tell a teenager to sit in a bath in front of witnesses and be obeyed.
In two minutes they had the sulky teenager sitting right in the bath, with the child lying back on her lap. Without her mum to comfort the child, it was the best they could hope for. While Mike examined the toe, Tess sent a couple of the women to find hot-water bottles, and she replaced the single towel around the child’s body with a big fluffy blanket.
‘She’s been pulling,’ Mike said softly, looking from the swollen toe to the white, drained face of the little girl. The fact that the child was now silent was ominous. The old medical adage was, ‘Never worry too much about a child who’s screaming. If a child’s quiet, then worry.’
‘I think we might administer some pethidine, Dr Westcott,’ Mike said, and Tess nodded. She retrieved what he needed from his bag and prepared it.
‘There’s no way we’ll get the toe out by pulling.’ Mike’s fingers were carefully probing the little foot. ‘The whole foot’s swollen now. Our best chance is to manoeuvre it free once we have both sides exposed.’
There was a thumping under the house and the sound of men’s voices. The plumber obviously had back-up. The child started whimpering again, and Kylie put her face in the child’s hair.
‘Hey, hush, Sally, Sally,’ Kylie said softly. ‘We’ve got two doctors on top and a big plumber underneath, cutting your toe out. We’ll be able to take the pipe to playschool for show and tell, and if we’re lucky the fireman might give you a ride in the fire engine.’
‘Good girl,’ Tess said warmly. Underneath the make-up and the earrings and the bravado, there was a good kid. Kylie must have been almost as scared as Sally, facing this on her own.
The change in Kylie seemed to affect Sally-or maybe it was the pethidine kicking in. The little girl lay slumped on Kylie’s lap and let them do as they willed, and five minutes later the whole bath outlet and three inches of outlet pipe lifted upwards and the little foot was free.
Free from the bath, but not from the pipe.
‘Now what?’ Kylie said uneasily, gathering the little girl closer, pipe and all.
‘We get her to the hospital,’ Mike said. He could see the tip of the toe now and he wasn’t happy. It had no colour at all. There wasn’t time to immobilise it and wait for the swelling to settle before they tried to free it.
‘I want my mummy,’ the child whimpered and buried her head in Kylie’s breast.
‘Yeah, well, I ought to have found out where they were going,’ Kylie muttered, close to tears herself, and Mike put his hand on her shoulder.
‘They should have told you. Let’s not blame yourself here, Kylie. You’re doing a great job.’ Then he looked at Tess, his mind working over options. ‘How do you feel about giving an anaesthetic, Dr Westcott? Under supervision, of course.’
Tess met his look, and bit her lip.
She knew what he was asking here. Mike Llewellyn was asking an unregistered doctor to give a general anaesthetic to a child without her parents’ consent.
If she didn’t, the child would lose her big toe. And if she did…the legal ramifications were vast.
‘Tess, there’s no choice,’ Mike said heavily. ‘I know it’s a lot to ask but I’ll take all legal responsibility. I’ll put it in writing if you like.’
‘You trust me?’
‘Yes,’ he said, and he did. He met her look and he nodded. Yes, he was sure. Tess might be flirtatious and frivolous, but he had the gut feeling that, whatever else she was, she was a damned fine doctor.
‘OK, let’s do it,’ Tess said softly. She smiled at Kylie, a big, cheery smile that was meant to totally reassure her. ‘Isn’t it lucky that I came all the way from the States?’ she said. ‘I must have just known that Dr Llewellyn couldn’t manage even a stuck toe without me.’
Much to Mike’s relief, they got the toe out without sawing the bath pipe right back to the skin.
Tessa’s anaesthetic procedure was extremely competent, as Mike had guessed it would be, and once he’d reassured himself that she knew exactly what she was doing he was free to deal with the toe.
Their friendly plumber, looking like a big green bear with his overalls covered by a theatre gown, cut the pipe again, this time half an inch from the toe. That meant Mike could work on the toe from both sides.
He applied cold compresses to the toe. The nurse-the horrible Hannah who was so nice in Mike’s presence-applied warm cloths to the metal to get maximum expansion, while Mike carefully applied lubricant to the toe. Then, with gentle pressure from the front of the toe, he was able to finally push from one side and pull from the other.
The toe came free with a pop, and Tess looked up from her dials to see colour seeping back into it almost instantaneously.
‘Oh, well done,’ she said, and she started reversal straight away. There was no point keeping Sally asleep a moment longer than needed, and there was now no drama.
‘Well done to you, Tess,’ Mike said softly, looking along the table to where she was carefully monitoring Sally’s breathing. He hadn’t been in the least concerned about the anaesthetic, he realised as he gently massaged the little toe. One look at Tessa’s confident preparation had put his mind at ease. The lady knew her job.
So now what? he thought. Now what?
It was almost unbelievable. Out of the blue he’d been granted one fine doctor-a doctor with skills in anaesthetics and trauma medicine. If he’d hunted Australia for a new partner, he couldn’t have found anyone better.
Once she was registered there was nothing they couldn’t do, he thought suddenly-jubilantly. All the minor surgery that he currently sent away…the road accidents that he couldn’t cope with on his own…the urgent stuff. He’d lost patients in the past because there’d been only one of him when he’d needed two.
If she really was willing to stay…
She was, he knew she was, but there were strings. Or rather, there was a string. One string-and that string was emotional involvement. Hell, he could have this girl as a partner and keep his distance. He must! He couldn’t think clearly when she was near. His mind felt weird now-fuzzed at the edges. It was the way he’d always known he’d feel if ever he let go.
‘There’s no need for you to stay now,’ he told Tess brusquely, and even Hannah threw him a curious glance. He sounded strained and angry-not as if he’d just performed a successful operation. ‘If you’re supposed to be looking after Louise’s mum…’
‘Mmm.’ Tess glanced at her watch and then back to Mike, her face expressionless. ‘The ball starts at nine. That’s twenty minutes ago. Aren’t you due to be there?’
‘I’m meeting Liz inside.’
‘Liz?’
‘My date.’
‘Oh, right. Of course. Your date.’ Tessa’s eyes twinkled a little. ‘Not your lover?’
‘Tess…’
‘OK, OK.’ She held up her hands in mock defeat and looked down at the pathetic little bundle coming into life on the table. ‘I’m off. You take care good of Sally.’ There had been no need to say that-she knew he would. ‘I’ll tell Kylie that she can come in now, shall I? And her parents? Are they here yet?’
‘If they’re not, I’ll stay here until they come,’ he said heavily. ‘And until Sally’s fully out of the anaesthetic. Liz won’t mind if I’m late.’
‘I’ll bet she will,’ Tess said softly, thoughtfully. ‘I’ll just bet she will mind, Mike Llewellyn, but she won’t say so. It seems to me that you have the ladies in the valley too well trained for their own good.’
‘I’d drink to that,’ Hannah retorted before she could stop herself, and Tess grinned.
So did Hannah, which left Mike feeling…
Stupid?
CHAPTER EIGHT
AS BALLS went, it was a fizzer.
Maybe it was the tragedy of the fire the night before that was casting a pall over the night, or maybe it was just that Mike wasn’t in the mood for dancing.
It wasn’t his partner’s fault. Liz was at her vivacious best, svelte and lovely in shimmering black and silver. Usually he enjoyed her company. Liz was a hard-headed career woman with no aspirations for emotional entanglements, and with her he could dance, knowing there was no hidden agenda.
Or could he?
Tessa’s words still stung.
‘Liz, do you think I’m a bastard?’ he asked, as the evening drew to a close. The music was slowing and couples were dancing cheek to cheek.
Liz was dancing easily in his arms, matching his steps superbly, but there was no desire on either part for them to dance any closer.
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’ve had it implied that I’m a heartless bastard for not taking out any girl more than twice.’
‘You’ve taken me out more than twice.’
‘That’s different.’
Liz grinned. ‘Yeah. But that’s because I’m also a heartless bastard. “Love ’em and leave ’em”-that’s my motto. My dad was like that, and I am, too. There’s no way any man’s going to tie me down. You and I suit very well, Dr Llewellyn.’ Her grin deepened. ‘But don’t get any ideas about us suiting too well or I’ll run a mile.’
He smiled back. Right. It was fine.
It was fine with Liz, but what about the other women? Women like Hannah, whom he’d dated twice and when she’d clung he’d put away fast. Maybe Tess was right. It wasn’t fair.
So where did that leave him, then? Should he only be dating women like Liz?
Yes. A vow was a vow!
Just on midnight he got another call. Mavis rang from the hospital to say Myrtle Jefferson had suffered a fall and needed an urgent house call. It seemed Myrtle had taken an hour to crawl to the phone to call for help, but when Mavis had offered to send the ambulance the old lady had become almost hysterical. She’d told Mavis she only needed the doctor. She needed Mike, she’d wept, but she needed no one else.
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