by Sarah Morgan
‘Yes, you did. It’s what you do best.’ There was a gleam in his dark eyes. ‘And you did the right thing, giving the number to Alice. I’m glad she called. I wouldn’t have wanted Vera to be lying there waiting for the paramedics to show up. At least we were able to make her more comfortable.’
Her face brightened. ‘You’re not angry?’
‘For dragging me away from my dinner to administer first aid?’ He shook his head and changed gear. ‘No. But I’m not so sure about the dog. You might still live to regret that bit.’
Was he teasing her? ‘We couldn’t just leave him, Mac.’
‘Correction,’ he drawled softly, ‘you couldn’t just leave him. But you couldn’t leave anything, could you, Louisa? Not if it was in trouble. Josh said you were a fixer and now I see what he means.’
She frowned. ‘If you’re trying to convince me that you would have dumped that dog in some rotten home, I don’t believe you. You put on this tough, macho, independent act, but underneath you’re a big softie.’
‘Louisa—’
‘I saw you with Vera,’ she said breathlessly. ‘You cared about her.’
‘I never said I didn’t care about the patients,’ he said evenly, ‘just that I wasn’t prepared to take on all of their problems outside the hospital. And I stand by that. We can only do so much, Louisa.’
‘I know, and I do find that hard. I hated leaving Alice in the house on her own tonight,’ Louisa muttered, and Mac sighed.
‘At least you didn’t ask her to move in with us. Thank you for that.’
Louisa peeped at him guiltily. ‘I almost did.’
‘I know.’ His hands tightened on the wheel. ‘And I’m relieved you managed to contain yourself for once or Hopeful might have been jealous. Vera will be all right. People are tougher than they look.’
Louisa glanced at him, taking in his strong profile, the hard lines of his cheeks and jaw. He was all man. ‘They’ve never been separated, you know. They do everything together.’
Mac gritted his teeth. ‘You cannot take on everyone’s problems! You can’t rescue everyone, Louisa. You’re interfering again.’
‘Interfering is the one thing I do really well,’ she said simply. ‘It’s my talent.’
‘People sing or play the piano,’ Mac said dryly. ‘That’s talent. Meddling in people’s lives is something else, although in this instance I admit your interfering nature paid off. If you hadn’t made a friend of Alice and given her the number, she wouldn’t have called the house and then goodness knows what state poor Vera would have been in by the time the ambulance arrived.’
‘You see?’ Louisa’s tone was triumphant. ‘You pretend you don’t care about your patients as people, but you do.’
She knew he cared. She’d seen it in his eyes and in the way he’d been so gentle with Vera.
‘I care, Louisa. Just don’t invite Alice to live with us,’ Mac warned, drawing up outside the house and switching off the engine. ‘That dog is enough.’
They walked into the house to discover that ‘that dog’ had emptied the remains of the casserole onto the kitchen floor and eaten it.
‘Oh, my goodness...’ Louisa gasped as she surveyed the upturned casserole on the kitchen floor. ‘He must have knocked it off the table.’
‘Now we know why he was abandoned,’ Mac muttered, and Louisa threw him a reproachful look.
‘He’ll be fine when he’s trained.’
Hopeful chose that particular moment to charge into the kitchen, stumbling over his giant paws as he rushed to greet Louisa. He launched himself into space, tail wagging, and knocked her flat on her back.
‘Ow.’
‘Louisa.’ Mac’s tone was patient as he jabbed long fingers through his dark hair and watched with something between amusement and exasperation. ‘That dog has a brain the size of a pea. You will never be able to train him. Personally I would have named him Clueless.’
Laughing helplessly, Louisa gave Hopeful a push and struggled upright, her dark hair tumbling over her eyes. She brushed it away and reached out to retrieve the empty casserole dish from the floor. ‘At least he enjoyed it. He’s eaten the lot.’ She couldn’t stop laughing and Mac rolled his eyes.
‘I’m so pleased.’
She struggled to her feet, dumped the dish in the sink and turned on the taps. ‘Isn’t he funny?’
‘Hilarious.’ Mac dropped onto the nearest chair and closed his eyes. ‘I’m knackered. My life used to be calm and ordered. Then you arrived.’
Louisa glanced towards him, her expression suddenly contrite. ‘You poor thing. I’d forgot what a long day you’ve had. I’ll make you some hot chocolate and tuck you into bed.’
‘Tuck me into bed?’ His eyes opened and clashed with hers and she felt her colour build.
His gaze was intent, male...
‘I didn’t exactly mean...’ Thoroughly unsettled, she turned around sharply and knocked a saucepan off the side. ‘Oops—clumsy me.’
‘You’re as bad as Hopeful,’ he murmured, standing up and walking towards her. ‘Hot chocolate sounds good, although I don’t know why. It’s nursery food and not something I usually drink.’ He was so close that she couldn’t breathe properly. ‘But, then, you’re making me do a lot of things I don’t usually do. Why’s that, I wonder?’
The soft wool of his black jumper clung gently to the hard muscle of his shoulders and she stared in fascination at the dark shadow on his jaw.
‘It’s just my naturally interfering nature,’ she muttered, her legs suddenly threatening to give way. This close she was aware of every tantalising inch of him.
He stared at her for a moment and then gave her a slow, sexy smile. ‘I’ll take you up on the offer of hot chocolate but I’ll tuck myself in,’ he drawled softly. ‘I think it would be safer for both of us that way.’
She swallowed, trapped by the look in his eyes. ‘Absolutely.’
She was desperate for him to kiss her.
‘Louisa.’ His voice was rough. ‘Stop looking at me like that. You did it the other day in Resus.’
She swallowed hard. ‘Sorry.’
His eyes drifted to her mouth. ‘I’m not your type, remember?’
Her heart was pounding against her chest. ‘What would you say if I told you I might have been wrong about that?’
There was a long, aching silence and then finally his eyes lifted to hers. ‘I’d say that we’d both be in trouble.’
‘Why?’
He gave a crooked smile and brushed her cheek with his fingers. ‘Because you want happy ever after and that’s the one thing I don’t do. Go to bed, Louisa. And lock your door.’
CHAPTER SIX
LOUISA woke late.
She padded over to the window and discovered that more snow had fallen in the night. The garden was white, the wind was whipping the sea into a frenzy and the sky was grey and threatening.
And she could see a lone windsurfer out on the waves.
Mac?
Remembering the tension that had flared between them the night before, she gave a little shiver. Then she reached for her clothes and pulled them on quickly. She was on a late shift so she still had time for a walk.
Scooping her hair under a hat, she whistled for Hopeful, pulled on a coat and boots and made for the beach.
It had nothing to do with the fact that Mac was windsurfing, she told herself firmly as she put Hopeful’s lead in her pocket. It was just that she needed some fresh air before she started her shift.
She opened the back door and gasped as the cold air hit her. Hopeful barked happily and bounded down the garden and onto the beach.
Louisa followed more slowly, cuddling her coat around her, feeling the cold biting into her cheeks as she watched the windsurfer scoot across the waves, driven by the winter wind.
It felt good to be outside. She wandered along the shore, Hopeful dancing around her feet, her eyes on the sea.
As she reached the water’s edge, Mac was dragging his
board onto the sand. ‘I don’t know how you can do that in this weather.’ She stared at the sea and shivered.
His eyes gleamed and droplets of water clung to his dark jaw. ‘This is the best kind of weather.’
‘You could get blown over to France.’
He lifted the board with a smile. ‘Onshore wind, Louisa.’ His muscles flexed hard under the wetsuit. ‘I’d be blown back onto the beach.’
She laughed and walked with him along the sand. ‘I don’t know much about the sea. Have you lived here all your life?’
‘My parents had a house further down the coast. Dad sailed. My uncle built boats. Josh and I were brought up on the water.’
It sounded good.
‘You’re lucky to have a brother. I always wanted a sibling. Someone to share things with.’
They were back at the house now and she watched while Mac stowed the windsurfer. ‘We weren’t that great at sharing.’ He unzipped the neck of his wetsuit and she felt her breath catch. ‘Whatever I had, Josh wanted. Just typical brothers, I suppose.’
It sounded good to her. Sibling rivalry. The security of family.
‘He loves you.’ She dragged the hat off her head and her dark hair tumbled down her back. ‘He’s worried about you. That’s why he asked me to come.’
His gaze lingered on her hair and then his eyes clashed with hers. ‘I don’t think you’re the answer to my problems, Louisa.’ His voice was deep and very male. ‘And I know for sure I’m not the answer to yours.’
* * *
‘Louisa? Louisa, are you listening to me?’
Louisa blinked and looked at Hannah. ‘Sorry? Did you say something?’
‘Only about five times.’ Hannah rolled her eyes and slammed her locker shut. ‘You were on another planet.’
Louisa felt hot colour seep into her cheeks. ‘I was thinking about something.’
‘Something or someone?’ Hannah gave a sympathetic smile. ‘He’s gorgeous, I’ll give you that, but don’t hold your breath. I’d hate to see you hurt, and Mac Sullivan is married to his job.’
But why? Apart from work and windsurfing, which appeared to be a solitary sport, he did nothing. It was almost as if he didn’t allow himself a social life, Louisa mused as she locked her bag away and followed Hannah out of the staffroom. And he refused to talk about his wife. Or even look at another woman.
She sighed. He must have loved her very much.
He obviously thought he couldn’t enjoy himself any more. It was up to her to show him differently.
‘Hannah...’ She looked at her friend thoughtfully. ‘You know the Christmas party...’
‘The hospital one?’ Hannah pocketed her scissors. ‘It’s great. They hold it in the post-grad centre two days before Christmas. Lots of free food and drink, the chief executive wearing antlers and everyone getting drunk and regretting it madly the day afterwards. You know the sort of thing.’
Louisa grinned. ‘I certainly do.’ Her smile faded. ‘I was thinking I might invite Mac.’
Hannah’s eyes widened. ‘He never goes. He’s always working.’
‘Well, this year Josh is the one working,’ Louisa said breathlessly, ‘because I already checked. So theoretically he could go.’
Hannah stared at her. ‘How are you going to persuade him?’
‘I don’t know yet,’ Louisa confessed, ‘but I’m working on it.’
Hannah shrugged. ‘Well, it’s a good excuse to dress up and sparkle. Maybe you could seduce him.’
Louisa thought of her wardrobe and pulled a face. ‘That might be a problem. Everything in my wardrobe is thermal at the moment.’
And she’d never seduced anyone in her life before.
‘There’s a great dress shop right on the quay,’ Hannah said helpfully as they walked through the department. ‘You should be able to find something to wow him.’
A slow smile spread across Louisa’s face. ‘I might just do that.’
‘At least you’ve got someone to lust after,’ Hannah said gloomily. ‘I’ve given up finding anyone that makes my pulse race. The way I’m going, I’ll be stuck working on my own in A and E until I’m ninety.’
At that moment the doors to the ambulance bay crashed open behind them and a young man ran in, carrying a child in his arms. ‘Help me! She’s choking!’ He looked round, worry etched on his features, and then he spotted Louisa. ‘She can’t breathe—do something!
Louisa took one look at the child. ‘Quick—bring her into Resus. Hannah—call Mac.’ She took the child from the father and quickly knelt on the floor, laying the child over her knees with her head lower than her back. ‘What’s her name?’
‘Poppy.’ The father jammed his fingers through his hair, his eyes wild with panic as he looked at his child. ‘Is she going to die?’
‘Try and calm down,’ Louisa urged gently, delivering five sharp blows to the child’s back while her thighs supported the child. ‘Poppy? Poppy, I want you to cough—that’s it. Good girl. Do you have any idea what she swallowed?’
‘No.’ The father shook his head, sucking in air in an effort to gain control. ‘One minute she was playing with her toys on the carpet and the next she made a weird sound and started choking.’
The doors to Resus swung open and Mac strode in with Hannah. ‘What’s happening?’
‘Choking on a foreign body,’ Louisa said quickly, ‘she’s still breathing and she’s coughing but so far she hasn’t managed to clear it. I’ve tried back blows.’
‘Try chest thrusts,’ Mac said immediately, stepping forward and taking over. ‘Do we know what she’s swallowed?’
‘It could be anything,’ the father said as he paced backwards and forwards across the room, frantic with worry. ‘She had a whole pile of toys. She was really happy...’ His voice cracked and Mac shot Hannah a meaningful glance.
She stepped up to the father and touched his arm gently. ‘This is very distressing for you. Why don’t you wait outside?’
‘No!’ He shook off her arm in a violent movement. ‘I’m not leaving her. I want to stay. She needs me.’ His face contorted with guilt and panic. ‘This is all my fault.’
‘Children swallow things,’ Louisa said soothingly, helping Mac shift the child’s position so that he could administer chest thrusts. ‘It happens. You mustn’t blame yourself.’
He was so obviously traumatised by the whole episode that she felt her heart twist with sympathy. Where was the child’s mother? she wondered.
‘I should have been watching...’
Despite Mac’s efforts, the child continued to choke and Mac lifted her into his arms and laid her gently on the trolley.
‘Bleep the anaesthetist,’ he instructed calmly, and Hannah left the room swiftly. ‘Louisa, I want to check her mouth. Get me a laryngoscope and a pair of McGill’s forceps.’
Louisa lifted the choking child, noticing that her colour was worse. She lifted her gaze to Mac and he gave a brief nod of understanding.
‘I’m going to try abdominal thrusts. Let’s have her supine.’ He placed the heel of one hand on the upper abdomen and gave five sharp thrusts up towards the diaphragm but the little girl continued to choke.
Hannah hurried back into the room. ‘Anaesthetist on his way.’
‘Can’t wait,’ Mac muttered, his eyes still on the child. ‘Laryngoscope.’
Louisa placed it in his hand and held her breath while Mac tilted the child’s head back and tried to visualise the obstruction. ‘There’s nothing—Oh, wait a minute...’ He squinted and then held out his other hand. ‘I see something... Give me those forceps, Louisa.’
She did as he asked and watched while he carefully inserted them into the child’s throat. ‘That’s it!’ He withdrew the forceps, dropped the foreign body into the dish that Louisa was holding out for him and then exhaled slowly. ‘Let’s give her some oxygen.’
Thank goodness.
Louisa felt her knees weaken with relief.
It had been a close thing. A few
minutes more and they would have had to perform a tracheostomy.
The father stepped forward, his face chalk white as he stared into the dish. ‘A toy?’ He sagged slightly. ‘She swallowed a toy. Oh, no...’
Louisa registered his pallor, saw him sway and frowned in consternation. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Come and sit down,’ Hannah said quickly, interpreting Louisa’s glance. ‘You’ve had a fright. We don’t want you fainting.’ She pushed him into a chair and kept her hand on his shoulder. ‘It’s Rick, isn’t it? Rick Matthews? I recognise you now. You own the garage on the high street.’
The man inhaled deeply, his elbows on his thighs, his face still pale and drawn. ‘That’s right.’ He looked up at Hannah, no recognition in his eyes.
‘I’m Hannah.’ She crouched down beside him, her hand still on his shoulder. ‘You fixed my car for me last winter. Saved my life.’
He looked at her blankly. ‘Did I?’
‘You certainly did.’ Hannah gave him a warm smile. ‘Calm down, Rick. Poppy is going to be fine.’
Rick closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. ‘I’m a terrible father.’
‘You’re a great father.’ Hannah took his hand in hers. ‘When I brought my car in I remember you telling me that you had a little girl. That you were on your own with her. That must be very hard for you.’
This was one of the advantages of living and working in a small community, Louisa thought as she listened. Hannah knew about this man. He’d helped her and now she was helping him. The knowledge gave her a warm feeling. Wasn’t that what Christmas was all about?
‘My wife left a year ago.’ His expression was bleak. ‘I thought we were doing OK. I thought I could do everything a woman could do...’ His expression was anguished and Mac looked up and frowned.
‘Children have accidents, Rick. It’s a fact of life. We can try and prevent them but they still happen.’
Rick shook his head. ‘I failed her...’
‘You brought her here straight away,’ Hannah said calmly, her hand still on his arm. ‘You didn’t fail her. You did the right thing.’
Rick stared at his daughter, now breathing easily on the trolley under Mac’s eagle eye. ‘I always think a mother could do it better. Especially at this time of year. I tried to cook turkey last year and it was a disaster. I didn’t cook it for long enough and the oven was too high. It was burned on the outside and raw in the middle. We ended up eating baked beans.’ He gave a helpless shrug and looked at them. ‘How do people do it? I mean, are you born knowing how to cook a turkey?’