‘We’ve got two patients on the way in. A thirty-year-old male involved in a quad bike accident. Required resuscitation at the scene. He has head, chest and leg injuries.’ Her voice was level and calm. No sign of the turmoil so close to the surface.
‘Right. And the other patient?’
Her fingers tightened and the paper she held crackled a protest. She swallowed.
‘The other patient is a febrile eight-month-old. Some vomiting and diarrhoea with a temperature of a hundred and two for several hours. There’s no indication that his case is anything more serious than a childhood fever but I’ve suggested bringing him in for examination. Mum’s extra-anxious because her niece had meningicoccal disease last year. The family live out of town and Dad’s away on business so…’ She clamped her lips to stop the flow of words. Her reasoning was feeble, the product of personal anxiety rather than professional concern. She needed to marshal a better argument.
‘So you didn’t want to leave Mum isolated in case things deteriorate during the night?’ Luke shrugged. ‘That’s part of the reason we’re here, isn’t it? Better to have a patient come in and prove to be a minor case than to have us miss something major.’
Terri opened her mouth to defend her case for having the child brought in and then his words sank in. He wasn’t questioning her decision, as she’d expected…as she deserved.
‘Um, yes.’ Grateful as she was for his attitude, the quick acceptance of her position made her feel like an inexperienced rookie. She suppressed a sigh and acknowledged the truth-the mood she was in tonight meant that whatever response Luke made, she would be hard to please.
She set the paper aside and glanced at her watch. ‘The ETA on the quad bike victim is any minute now. The febrile infant will be at least twenty minutes.’
As soon as she’d finished speaking an ambulance glided up to the entrance, red and blue lights revolving.
‘Let’s get to work,’ he said grimly, heading for the door.
With Luke’s attention directed towards the unconscious patient being unloaded by the paramedics, Terri felt a subtle release of tension in her muscles. The quiet air of strength and competence that he radiated should have made him a pleasure to work with…it did make him a pleasure to work with, but it was also subtly threatening.
He saw too much and she had secret agonies she couldn’t bear to have exposed. He’d already encroached where no one else had by asking her about the explosion that had killed Peter. Other people tiptoed around the issue, relieved when she moved the conversation away to safer topics. But not Luke. Had he sensed there was a problem?
She had to find the resolve to keep him out, not let his compassion weaken her. The guilt and responsibility, the burden for the terrible loss was hers and hers alone.
Luke watched the diminishing lights of the helicopter ambulance for a moment longer before turning wearily to walk back into the hospital. The future of the quad-bike victim was in the neurosurgeon’s hands now.
The man’s wife had wanted absolute reassurances that he’d recover but Luke couldn’t give them to her. Even if her husband survived, he’d probably have months of rehabilitation ahead of him.
He and Terri had done everything they could. The skull X-ray had shown an intracranial haematoma, as he’d suspected from the blown right pupil. With the help of a telephone consult to a Melbourne neurosurgeon, they’d evacuated an epidural clot through a burr-hole. They weren’t ideally set up for the procedure but they’d had to do it as soon as possible for the man to have any chance of a full recovery. Now stabilised, with the pressure on his brain released, the accident victim was on his way to facilities where he could be monitored by regular CT scans.
The only good thing about the situation was that the couple’s five-year-old daughter had hopped off the bike moments before the performance of the tragic stunt.
Luke stripped off his blood-stained gown, lobbing it into the laundry bin beside the sink before scrubbing his hands.
He wondered how Terri was getting on with the dehydrated infant.
Odd how she’d behaved earlier when he’d first come on shift. She’d been so obviously upset that all his protective instincts had gone on high alert, demanding that he do something, anything, to help. After avoiding him for the best part of a week, she’d seemed positively delighted to see him. A disproportionate leap of pleasure had rushed through him in that split second when she’d turned to look at him, her eyes shining. Until she’d put her hand out on the bench to steady herself and he’d seen the desperation underlying her veneer of composure. For a moment, he’d been afraid she was going to collapse at his feet.
But there’d been no sign of hesitation or diffidence when she’d helped him with the quad-bike trauma case. He’d watched for it, been ready to take over if she’d faltered. But she’d been great. Better than great.
She’d been fantastic since day one, taking direction from him with no hostility at all. After his father had explained to him the hospital board’s poor handling of the filling of the position he’d wondered how their working relationship would function. But it was a pleasure…in every way. And if there were any undertones of resentment, he couldn’t detect them. If anything, he was the one giving out the mixed signals.
He enjoyed working with her. And on a personal level, he enjoyed being close to her. Perhaps just a little too much. Since that first night when he’d had his hands on her, he’d wanted nothing more than to touch her again.
Professionally, it was a potential time bomb.
She impressed the hell out of him.
As a doctor, she was strong and competent.
As a woman, she was an enigma. One he wanted to solve. The more he knew about her the less he understood her.
Those occasional flashes of uncertainty and fragility he saw in her cut straight to his heart. They were so out of keeping with the rest of her.
What had upset her tonight? Obviously not the trauma patient. Could it have been the infant?
It didn’t make sense. That case appeared to be so straight-forward. Perhaps Terri had been a little on the cautious side but he preferred that in the staff he worked with than someone who was negligent about cases.
He knew Terri had taken the infant and her mother through to one of the double rooms. The woman had a toddler to look after as well and Terri’s suggestion of a family room for them had made sense. His runners made no noise as he padded through to the quiet corridor
At the door of the room, he stopped dead.
Terri held the happy chortling baby on her knee. He could see her profile, see the loving smile on her lips. The boy’s trusting eyes looked up into Terri’s face as a stream of unintelligible words tumbled out of the rosebud mouth. The fingers of one chubby hand wrapped around Terri’s thumb and he tried to stuff it between his lips.
‘Aren’t you a gorgeous wee man?’ cooed Terri, her voice a warm, maternal caress. Luke’s breath choked up in his throat.
‘Ga!’ said the child, responding enthusiastically to her tone.
‘Yes, you are.’
The sight rocked Luke to the core, raising age-old masculine instincts to protect, to possess. He swallowed hard, waiting for the world to settle.
He adored being a father. From the moment he’d laid eyes on his daughter, his soul had been filled by her sweet invasion of his life.
A sharp, uncomfortable hunger stirred in his heart as he watched Terri with the child.
He must have made a small noise because Terri looked up suddenly. Her smile was filled with a warm uncomplicated love that slammed into him. The charged moment was packed with intimacy. His heart made a slow painful revolution in his chest and a shudder of recognition fizzed through his brain.
He wanted…He refused to let his mind finish the thought.
Terri’s smile faltered and he wondered what she read on his face. Then she blinked, and a quick puzzled look filled her lovely dark eyes before she looked away. She was still seated in front of him but he had the oddest feelin
g she’d withdrawn from him, mentally fled.
He moved closer, compelled by a wholly male desire to pursue.
‘Someone’s looking a lot happier.’ He sat beside her, putting one hand on the back of her chair as he leaned towards the child. He suppressed a grin when Terri flicked him a wary look. Her senses were spot on. Though he tried to present an unthreatening appearance, she had stirred a primitive corner within him.
He smiled as he stroked the baby’s soft cheek with the back of one finger. The small mouth drooled saliva as it made chewing motions on Terri’s knuckle. ‘Teething as well, is he?’
‘Yes. Which is possibly why he wasn’t settling for his mum.’ Her voice was soft and tender. ‘Poor little fellow.’
Luke’s eyes were drawn to Terri’s profile. She wore her hair up twisted in a loose bun on the crown of her head, making it easy for him to study her profile, the curve of her cheek, the neat straight nose, stubborn chin.
Another wave of need spiralled through his gut. He hadn’t felt such compelling sexual awareness for a long time. Experiencing it now so powerfully was exciting and unnerving.
He had some thinking to do. His situation with Terri was a sensitive one. He was her boss, they worked in a small hospital. They were both here for a limited time.
But there was something between them. Would Terri allow him to pursue it?
Or perhaps the more important question was, was pursuing it wise?
‘Come on, kiddo. You can’t sit there all day.’
Luke’s head lifted at the sound of his sister’s voice coming from just outside his line of sight. He knew Allie was reading a book on the patio. His fingers paused on the pawn he’d been about to move as he strained to hear his daughter’s mumbled response. He picked up his father’s black knight and left his piece on the square.
Not deterred, Megan chirped, ‘It’s time for some girl stuff. Let’s go and see if Terri’s home.’
Terri. A hot thrill streaked through him before he could suppress it. Sharp angles on the chess-piece dug into his palm as his fingers clenched around it. God, he had it bad if just her name being spoken unexpectedly could affect him like this.
‘I don’t know if Dad will let me.’ Allie sounded bored and sulky.
‘You won’t know unless you ask him, will you, bunny? Come on. He’s just inside playing chess with Dad.’ Megan stuck her head around the corner of the French door. ‘Hey, Luke, I’m going down to see Terri. Okay if Allie comes with me?’
His daughter’s head appeared beside Megan’s, her face anxious. Was she worried about going? Or worried he wouldn’t let her? Everyday life required the skills of a wiser man than he.
‘Do you want to, Allie?’ he asked, keeping his tone neutral.
‘I guess, sure. It’s not like there’s anything else to do.’ She shrugged, trying to look nonchalant, but he’d seen the gleam of interest in her eyes. More than he’d seen in a long while.
‘Okay, then,’ he said, letting her comment slide. ‘Don’t stay too long.’
‘Thanks, Luke.’ Megan grinned as she turned to Allie. ‘See. What did I tell you?’
Luke watched them go, his silent daughter walking beside his ebullient sister. It should have been the other way around-the teen with the world-weary attitude and the ten-year-old with the naïve enthusiasm.
He was failing her in some way that he couldn’t understand. The things he’d tried to reach her fell dismally short of success. He was beginning to wonder if they needed a counsellor to help them through this patch. But if Allie stead-fastly continued to refuse to talk, then the sessions might just cause more of a problem than they solved.
What would Terri make of his unhappy child? This week, he’d found out that she was great with children of all ages. Maybe she could see what was troubling his daughter’s spirit. He would ask.
Perhaps when the girls came back he could wander down to the beach cottage.
Yeah, right. And perhaps Terri would see through him.
‘She’s not settling, is she?’ said his father.
Allie?’ Luke said, earning himself a quizzical look. ‘No, she’s not.’
‘Maybe you should have planned a day out with her today.’
He met his parent’s faintly critical gaze. ‘I did. She didn’t want to go.’
‘Ah.’ His father nodded sagely and turned his attention back to the board.
Luke contemplated the elegantly carved black and white chess pieces. White was in a hopeless position. The defence was shot and he had no offensive pieces in good positions. In short, no matter what he tried now, he was going down.
His thoughts drifted back to Allie. Every approach he’d tried had been grimly rebuffed. He’d hoped the move to Australia might have ultimately sparked some interest in her. He’d know it wouldn’t be easy but he hadn’t expected it to get so much worse. He had to do something soon. He couldn’t stand by while his daughter sank into depression.
His father made a move, taking the white queen with his remaining knight. ‘Well, maybe she needs some female company. Meggie and Terri might sort her out.’
‘Maybe.’ He hoped so. ‘Megan’s been great since we’ve been here.’
His father grunted. ‘Wants to be a nanny. Did she tell you?’
‘No, but she’d be good at it.’ He castled, without much hope of salvaging his position. ‘She got Allie moving, which is more than I can do these days.’
‘Your mother and I have christened her the relentless angel.’ There was a small pause.
Luke looked up to catch the thoughtful narrow-eyed look his father gave him over the top of his glasses.
‘So, how are you finding Terri to work with? I hope you’re cutting her some slack after the way the board treated her.’
‘Terri doesn’t need any slack to be cut from anyone, least of all me. As you well know.’
‘Well, just so long as you’re doing the right thing by her,’ his father said gruffly. ‘I don’t want the hospital to lose her.’
‘Neither do I.’ And his concern wasn’t just for the hospital.
‘She’s been through a lot, that girl.’
‘Yes.’ Luke looked back at the table. ‘Has she told you what happened to her husband?’
‘Just the basics. She’s not much of a talker.’
‘No.’ So it wasn’t just him that she was shutting out, thought Luke grimly.
‘Hell of a tragedy, losing someone that way.’
‘Yes.’
His father grunted then leaned forward to move his queen. ‘Checkmate.’
‘Hey. Got time for a couple of pests?’
‘Always.’ Terri looked up to see Megan walking around the side of the cottage. A moment later, to her surprise, Allie followed. ‘Out for a walk?’
‘As far as your place,’ Megan said with a cheeky smile.
‘I see.’ Terri grinned back. ‘In that case, let me finish planting the last of this punnet then I’ll get us something to drink.’
‘Cool,’ Megan said.
Terri was aware of Allie’s solemn eyes following her every move as she and Luke’s sister chatted. The child was much too quiet, even allowing for natural shyness. Megan’s irrepressible bubbliness wasn’t succeeding in drawing her into the conversation.
‘Do you like gardening, Allie?’ Terri asked when there was a small silence.
Allie shrugged.
‘These are herbs. When they grow bigger, I’ll be able to use them for cooking.’
‘Mummy has some.’ Allie’s toe dug into the dirt as she muttered, ‘Had some.’
‘Did she?’ Terri patted the earth into place around the last seedling as she thought about Allie’s slip and then correction. ‘What did she have?’
Another shrug.
‘You don’t remember?’
Allie shook her head.
‘When these little guys grow up, they might look more familiar.’
‘I won’t be here then.’
‘Well, if you are. They
don’t take long to grow. Now, about that drink I promised.’
Terri led the way into the kitchen and went to the sink to wash her hands. When she turned, Allie was standing by the hutch. One tentative finger was stroking her old china soup tureen.
‘Do you like that, Allie?’
The girl snatched her hand back, her cheeks tinting. ‘Mummy’s have the same pattern. I can’t remember what it’s called.’ Her expression was infinitely sad and Terri’s heart ached for her.
‘It’s the willow pattern. My great-great-grandmother brought a whole dinner set over to Australia with her on the ship when she came from England.’
‘Same with Mummy. Not the ship. But it was from her great-, um, grandmother,’ Allie said. ‘I think they’re pretty.’
‘I think you’re right.’ Terri smiled and was rewarded with a tentative smile in return. She was about to ask if Allie’s mother had the full set when an urgent beeping broke the moment.
Megan dug in her pocket for her phone. ‘Uh-oh, it’s my study partner. She wants to go over our English Lit. assignment-we’re presenting it next week.’
The teen’s vivid blue eyes pinned Terri with a speaking look. ‘Is it okay if I leave Allie here with you?’
‘Sure.’
‘Thanks.’ Obviously feeling that she’d delivered whatever message she’d been silently sending, Megan bounced to her feet. ‘See you later, Allie cat.’
In the silence that Megan left behind, Terri and Allie eyed each other.
‘I suppose you want me to go,’ Allie said colourlessly.
‘Stay for a bit longer if you want to.’
‘Can…can I?’
‘Sure. You can help me in the garden for a while. I hate seeing a willing pair of hands go unused…even an unwilling pair,’ Terri teased gently.
She kept up a steady patter of information about different plants and answered Allie’s occasional question. As Terri had hoped, working in the garden helped the girl to relax a little.
‘There.’ She sat back on her heels and looked at the garden bed they’d finished preparing. ‘Haven’t we done a great job?’
Allie looked at it doubtfully. ‘It’s just dirt.’
‘Ah, yes, but it’s happy dirt that’s going to nourish and pamper my next crop of tomatoes which will taste extra-good. Better than anything you’ll buy in a supermarket.’ She smiled then glanced at her watch. ‘Let me clean up and then I’ll walk you home.’
City Surgeon, Small Town Miracle Page 22