In Her Boss's Special Care

by MELANIE MILBURNE

  ‘So that’s why you are so against coma recovery. You don’t want to risk the same situation happening.’

  ‘Can you blame me?’

  She saw no point in defending her position. ‘No, I can see how you’ve come to the decisions you have. I would have probably done the same. But I had a friend in medical school—I mentioned her to you previously. She had a break-up with a boyfriend and took an overdose. It was an impulsive knee-jerk reaction. On another day she would never have done it, I know it. She was on a ventilator for ten days and her parents were advised to withdraw life support. I had a feeling it had more to do with the organ donor waiting list at the time than Julie’s needs.’

  ‘If she was declared brain dead, there was no point stretching out the agony.’

  ‘There’s a part of me that realises that—the scientifically trained part of me. However, another part of me believes in second chances. Julie deserved a second chance, as does Tommy.’

  ‘Even if he ends up like my brother?’

  That was one question she was unable to answer. ‘It’s a risk. Some parents are prepared to take it, others not.’

  ‘Well, I for one can tell you I wish my parents had never taken it, and if you asked them they would answer the same. Don’t get me wrong—my parents love my brother, they always have. I am constantly amazed by their continued devotion, but the reality is he should never have been resuscitated. Some lives are just not worth living.’

  ‘I know this is the worst possible time to ask you this, but will you, please, let me work with Tommy a little longer?’

  ‘You can work with him if you are prepared to accept the responsibility of him turning out like Jared. Can you deal with that?’

  ‘I’m hoping it won’t come to that. Now that his mother has regained consciousness, I think there’s a chance we can touch Tommy’s subconscious in a way his father couldn’t.’

  ‘Even though Kate did her best to take her life and that of her son?’

  ‘She didn’t attempt suicide,’ Allegra said. ‘I’m absolutely certain of it. Even the police agree with me.’

  ‘Has there been some new development in the investigation?’

  ‘Yes. You know the drug test you ordered on the guy with the head injury? He had a cocktail of drugs in his system—exactly the same cocktail that was found in Kate’s blood.’

  Joel frowned as he took Allegra’s words in. He had been mulling over the possible connections between the Lowe case and Terry Fowler, but so far hadn’t come up with anything. But if the same cocktail of drugs had been in Fowler’s blood as Kate’s then there had to be someone who was connected in some way to both of them.

  ‘Do you happen to know where Serena Fairbright lives?’ he asked.

  Allegra shook her head. ‘No, but we can always get the police to find out.’

  Joel unclipped his mobile from his belt and switched it on.

  ‘No wonder you didn’t return my calls,’ she said, glancing at his phone as it booted up.

  ‘I wanted to forget about the hospital for a while,’ he explained. ‘I had other pressing matters on my mind.’

  Allegra listened as he called a friend in the police force, who gave him the information he was after within a few minutes. He hung up and met her gaze. ‘Guess whose pool Terry Fowler services regularly?’ he asked.

  It was, after all, surprisingly easy to come up with the answer. ‘Serena Fairbright’s?’

  He gave her a grim nod. ‘The police are on their way to interview her now. She is, as we suspected, not Keith Lowe’s sister but his mistress.’

  ‘If only Tommy would wake up,’ she said. ‘Kate remembers nothing of that day, but if Tommy regained consciousness we might get all the puzzles pieces on the table.’

  Joel met her eyes, his expression offering no promise. ‘He might never wake up, Allegra. You need to prepare yourself and his parents for that possibility.’

  ‘Kate will never agree to turn off his ventilator, no matter what her husband says.’

  ‘Ultimately the court would have to make the final decision on that.’

  ‘I hope it won’t come to that.’

  ‘It might,’ he warned. ‘This could go on for months.’

  ‘I know, but I’m still hoping for a miracle.’

  He shook his head at her but for once there was no trace of mockery in his expression. ‘I think that’s why I’ve fallen in love with you,’ he said. ‘That in itself is a miracle. I’ve never been in love with anyone before.’

  She smiled up at him, her eyes shining with hope and joy. ‘Neither have I,’ she said, and lifted her mouth to kiss his.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  ‘ALLEGRA.’ Kellie rushed towards her as soon as she arrived at the unit the next morning. ‘You have to come and see this!’

  ‘What?’

  ‘It’s amazing,’ Kellie said. ‘Tommy’s score’s gone up to the maximum.’

  ‘Fifteen?’ Allegra gasped.

  Kellie nodded excitedly. ‘The SES guy you called me about dropped in the teddy bear. He was a little the worse for wear but he seems to have done the job.’

  ‘The teddy bear or the SES guy?’ Allegra asked as she matched strides with her friend as they made their way to Tommy’s cubicle.

  Kellie gave her a sheepish look. ‘The SES guy was totally gorgeous. We’re meeting up this evening and, yes, he was a little worn, but the teddy bear came in a close second.’

  Allegra smiled. ‘Has Tommy woken up yet?’

  ‘No, but I reckon if you bring in his mum, he won’t take long to do so. Shall I get the orderlies onto it?’

  ‘Yes, you do that. Has Keith been in?’

  Kellie shook her head. ‘He hasn’t been in since Kate woke up. I still can’t help feeling he has something to do with all this. The police were looking for him, too.’

  Allegra entered Tommy’s cubicle and was deeply moved by the actions of the attending nurse who was rewinding the teddy bear as if she had done it many times before. She set it by Tommy’s head and stepped back, only then noticing Allegra watching her.

  She gave Allegra a little smile of embarrassment. ‘I have a daughter the same age.’

  ‘Don’t apologise,’ Allegra said. ‘Kids are kids, no matter who they belong to.’

  ‘He’s a darling little thing,’ Lucy Piermont said. ‘So small, but fighting all the way.’

  Allegra felt a rush of warmth towards the nurse and wanted to hug her for her show of support for the little boy that just about everyone had given up on. She had to control her urge to cry. Ever since she had spent the evening with Joel and his twin, she had been feeling incredibly emotional. She couldn’t stop thinking about Joel and how he had suffered the guilt of being the healthy twin.

  ‘Hi, Tommy,’ she said, to force her thoughts away from such painful territory. ‘I’ve arranged for your mum to come in. She’s on her way.’

  Tommy suddenly opened his eyes and began to fight against the ventilator. His eyes were wide with panic until he twisted his head and saw his teddy bear next to his head. His struggle lessened and his eyes lost their terrified glaze as the music of his infancy calmed him, as it had no doubt done countless times in the past. His eyelids fluttered closed, his chest rising and falling in time with the ventilator, but Allegra knew the major fight had been won.

  She vainly tried to swallow back the rising lump of emotion in her throat but it was beyond controlling. She sat, her tears rolling down unheeded as Tommy’s mother was wheeled in.

  ‘Oh, my God!’ Kate cried as she saw Allegra’s face. ‘Is he…dead?’

  Allegra stumbled to her feet and wrapped her arms around Kate’s frail shoulders. ‘No,’ she sobbed. ‘He’s alive. He’s alive.’

  ‘You mean he’s not brain dead?’

  ‘No.’ Allegra lifted herself away, scrubbing at her face, still choking back sobs. ‘No one who opens their eyes like that can possibly be declared brain dead. We did it, Kate. You did it. You brought your son back from th
e brink.’

  ‘No.’ Kate was openly crying now. ‘You did it by not giving up. My son might have been lying on a cold slab in a morgue by now if it hadn’t been for you. I owe you so much.’

  ‘Neither of us did it,’ Allegra said, looking at the teddy bear propped beside Tommy’s head, still playing its song. ‘That’s the little guy we have to thank.’

  A few hours later Tommy was able to breathe without the ventilator and he gradually filled in the memory blanks his mother hadn’t been able to fill.

  Serena had arrived at the chalet and introduced herself as a neighbour. His mother, out of politeness, had offered her a drink and he recalled Serena had asked for vodka and orange juice, which she helped his mother prepare. Tommy had sipped at a glass of orange juice Serena had poured for him, but he’d felt uncomfortable with her presence. He left the room for a short time, only to come back when he heard a vicious argument erupting between his mother and Serena. His mother had grasped at Tommy and hurriedly bundled him in the car, and she’d seemed very agitated. He could remember that a few minutes into the journey his mother had seemed unable to control the vehicle. Thankfully he couldn’t recall the exact moment they had gone over the edge, but he was in no doubt that his mother had been frightened of the other woman and had wanted to put as much distance between them as possible.

  The police interviewed Tommy and a short time later sought out Joel and Allegra to fill them in on the rest of what they had discovered in their investigation.

  ‘Terry Fowler was the pool maintenance guy Mrs Fairbright used occasionally,’ the detective in charge of the investigation informed them. ‘She offered him a contract on Mrs Lowe’s life after she herself was unable to successfully bring about Kate’s death via the accident. She had slipped a cocktail of drugs into Kate’s drink as well as a triple shot of vodka. Her intention was to get rid of the wife and child. She paid him to sabotage the ventilator that was keeping Mrs Lowe alive.’

  ‘Was Keith Lowe involved in any of this?’ Joel asked.

  The detective shook his head. ‘We’ve taken a statement from him and his alibi stands up. He appears totally devastated by the news of his mistress’s actions. We’ve charged Mrs Fairbright with murder in the first degree for the death of Mr Fowler. She confessed she drugged him, using the same drugs she’d used in Kate and Tommy Lowe’s drinks when she’d gone to the chalet. She also confessed to hitting him from behind with a crowbar and pushing him into the pool. She also faces further charges of attempted murder for her actions in regard to Kate and Tommy.’

  ‘Why did she make an attempt on Mr Fowler’s life in her own back yard?’ Allegra asked. ‘Surely she knew it would point the finger of blame at her.’

  ‘When news got out Kate Lowe was beginning to regain consciousness, Mrs Fairbright panicked. Terry Fowler began to put the pressure on her for more money to keep quiet, and she became desperate.’

  ‘It all seems so unbelievable…’ Allegra said, rubbing her arms as if warding off a chill.

  Joel stepped closer and, placing an arm around her shoulders, pulled her into his warmth. ‘Thank you, Detective Lacey, for filling us in.’

  ‘No problem,’ he said with a smile. He shifted his gaze to Allegra and added, ‘You did an amazing job with the little boy. It was a stroke of genius, getting his teddy bear to him. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn’t woken up?’

  Allegra was too choked up to answer but Joel spoke for her, his words making her heart swell until it felt as if it was taking up all the space in her chest. ‘She’s a wonderful doctor who cares very deeply for patients, no matter what potential they are left with. I have learned a lot by working alongside her and this hospital will go down in the history books as one of the most innovative in the country, not because of me, as I had hoped and planned, but because of a young woman who believes in miracles.’

  The detective smiled. ‘Someone has to believe in miracles,’ he said. ‘How else would doctors or cops survive the stress and strain of what we have to face every day?’ He shook both their hands and, wishing them well, left a short time later.

  Joel turned Allegra in his arms, his eyes warm and melting as he looked down at her. ‘You know, I’m really getting into this miracle thing myself.’

  She smiled up at him. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘My mother has never quite given up hope that I would one day find someone so perfect for me that it would make me rethink my decision to stay single and unattached all my life. She’s been praying for a miracle and now she’s finally got it.’

  Allegra felt as if her chest was going to burst as she waited for him to continue. His smile lit his eyes and his body, where it was pressed against hers, told her more than words ever could, but she needed to hear them all the same.

  ‘Allegra Tallis,’ he said in a gruff, unashamedly emotional voice, ‘will you do me the honour of being my wife? I love you and want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you to have my children, two at least, and maybe we could have a dog, one of those with big muddy paws. What do you say?’

  She smiled up at him, her green eyes dancing and shining with joy. ‘I’m surprised you even felt the need to ask me that. I would have thought my aura had well and truly given me away.’

  He grinned as he brought his mouth down close to hers. ‘No,’ he said. ‘It was this.’ And his lips covered hers in a kiss that sealed their love for ever.

  ISBN: 978-1-4603-5894-8

  IN HER BOSS’S SPECIAL CARE

  First North American Publication 2007

  Copyright © 2006 by Melanie Milburne

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