Weekend with the Best Man

by Leah Martyn

  ‘Yep.’ Lindsey gathered her paperwork and tapped it into a neat pile. ‘Oh, by the way, Greta left a flyer. Harry and the Rotary need some helpers for a community project. Working bee at the kindergarten. Could you bung it up in the staffroom, please?’

  ‘Sure.’ Vanessa scanned the bright yellow notice. ‘Oh, it’s at the kindergarten that caters for differently abled little ones. I’ll be off that weekend, so I’ll go along. Perhaps Andrew as well...’

  ‘Did you meet up at the gym?’ Lindsey asked casually.

  Vanessa made a face. ‘He didn’t show. I hung around until I’d made myself dizzy on that stupid walking thing. And then I left.’

  ‘Do you think—?’ Lindsey stopped. How to be diplomatic here? ‘Tell me to mind my own, but do you think it’s really working with you and Andrew?’

  Vanessa blinked a bit and shrugged. ‘Obviously, you don’t.’

  ‘What do I know about men and their ways?’ Lindsey snorted.

  ‘Are you and Dan...you know?’ Vanessa rocked her hand suggestively.

  Lindsey sat back in her chair. Why keep up the secrecy? ‘We’ve been seeing each other a bit.’ And wasn’t that the understatement of the year?

  ‘You were into something pretty heavy yesterday when I walked in on you.’

  ‘That was entirely work-related.’

  Vanessa rolled her eyes. ‘And if I believed that, I’d believe someone’s just given us the rest of the day off!’

  ‘Oh, hush up, Van,’ Lindsey responded mildly. ‘It’s sorted, OK?’

  ‘You know,’ Vanessa said thoughtfully and with a seemingly new-found maturity, ‘I’m starting to believe that trying to have a personal relationship with someone you work with is doomed from the outset.’

  ‘Well, perhaps it depends on the someone,’ Lindsey countered. ‘But whatever, it’s certainly a minefield,’ she added darkly, picking up the phone as it rang. ‘MVA coming in. Grab whoever you can and I’ll meet you at the ambulance bay.’

  * * *

  He should be certified.

  Dan gave vent to a groan of frustration as he drove home. And placed in lockdown, he gritted silently.

  What the hell was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he just have accepted the key to Lindsey’s home with grace? Because deep down he knew it had been a loving gesture from her. And, however much she’d denied it, loaded with expectation. And that fact was what had almost brought him out in a cold sweat.

  He made a sound of disgust at his pathetic handling of his relationship with Lindsey. She was lovely, her femininity enthralled him. And she was sweet and clever. And she made him laugh. Put simply so that even an idiot could understand, everything about her called to him. So why couldn’t he have sorted things when she’d come to his office? Told her he wanted to take things slowly—for both their sakes. God, after his stuff-up with Caroline—

  He shook his head. But surely to God he could have just taken a step forward and wrapped his arms around Lindsey. Reassured her.

  His jaw tightened, the regret almost numbing him. And he didn’t wonder any longer why all day his arms had almost ached with the thought of the lost opportunity.

  His introspection was cut short when he responded to an incoming call on his hands-free mobile. ‘Rossi.’

  ‘Hey, mate.’

  ‘Nate.’ Immediately, Dan’s mood lifted. ‘How’re things?’

  ‘Yeah, great. Are you by any chance on your way home?’ Nathan asked.

  ‘Almost there.’

  ‘Any plans for tonight?’

  Dan grimaced. He could have had plans but he’d well and truly scuttled those. ‘No, I don’t have any plans. What do you need?’

  Nathan chuckled. ‘You know me too well. Actually, I need a hand to shift the last of my stuff out of the flat. Some other dude wants to move in over the weekend.’

  ‘What kind of stuff are we talking about?’ Dan asked cautiously. ‘I don’t need extra health cover for a broken back, do I?’

  Nathan snorted. ‘It’s only a few books and things.’

  ‘What books? Those massive medical tomes you’ve been carting around for years?’

  ‘It won’t be that difficult,’ Nathan justified. ‘I’ve hired a trolley thing. I just need you and your car boot. It’ll be sweet.’

  ‘What’s in it for me, then?’ Dan shot back.

  ‘Hang on, I’m thinking.’

  ‘Yeah, I can hear the cogs.’

  ‘Fish and chips for dinner,’ Nathan offered gallantly. ‘Plus a very smooth bourbon.’

  Dan cracked a laugh. ‘Fair enough. I’m two minutes away.’

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Friday...

  CASUALTY WAS BUSY. Lindsey thanked her lucky stars it was. It gave her less time to begin thinking. Analysing. Had she come across to Dan as too organised about their relationship? Too calculating? Pushing too hard? She shook her head. She hadn’t meant to give that impression at all.

  She wondered how he’d spent last night. Had he stayed home and thought about her? About them? Maybe he’d gone out on the town. Not that Hopeton had much of a night-life during the week but still...

  ‘The police just brought in two old chaps, drunk as.’ Vanessa came round the corner of the station and slapped her notes on the desk. ‘They politely or impolitely vomited all over the floor and now the waiting room smells like—well, you know.’

  ‘Get the cleaners in,’ Lindsey said patiently.

  ‘I tried.’ Vanessa’s mouth twisted comically. ‘They’re on a tea break.’

  ‘What’s wrong with your patients, besides needing something for their hangovers?’ Lindsey asked.

  ‘Cuts and bruises mostly. When the pub shut they spent the rest of the night in the park. A couple of low-lives rolled them this morning. Stole their wallets.’

  ‘What’s the place coming to?’ Lindsey frowned. ‘Are the police looking into it?’

  ‘Dunno. Dan spoke to them.’

  ‘I imagine their ID and social security details were in the wallets.’

  ‘Declan’s on it,’ Vanessa dismissed. ‘For the present, the old boys are resting in the side ward. I guess we’ll do what we always do. Patch them up, give them something to eat a bit later and send them off.’ She flopped into a chair. ‘You can’t help wondering how people’s lives disintegrate so drastically. I mean, they must have been young and hopeful once. I wonder where they’ll sleep tonight.’

  Lindsey looked at her friend sharply. It was not like Van to be introspective. ‘Perhaps Declan will be able to arrange some sheltered accommodation for them. Are you OK? You still have some leave due. Maybe you should take it? Get away from the place for a bit.’

  ‘Maybe.’ Vanessa managed a jaded smile.

  ‘By the way, Annie finished last night. Her ob wants her to rest up. Our new man is starting on Monday on an early.’

  ‘Oh, joy.’ Vanessa brightened. ‘On our team, then?’

  ‘For the moment. Uh-oh.’ Lindsey sighed as she picked up a call from the ambulance base. She listened to the report and then shot off a few questions of her own. Putting the phone down, she turned to Vanessa. ‘Ten girls from St Faith’s College coming in from a school camp, suspected food poisoning. ETA twenty minutes.’

  Quickly, Lindsey found Dan and relayed the details of the emergency.

  ‘Right, this is where the rubber hits the road, people. We’ll need everyone on deck,’ Dan said when the team had assembled at the station. ‘We’ll wait to ascertain the extent of the illness and go from there.’

  ‘And be ready with basins, please,’ Lindsey said. ‘Some of the students could still be vomiting.’

  Within minutes two ambulances had arrived, followed by one of the teachers who had helpfully offered his Land Rover to transport several
of the young patients to the hospital.

  ‘Let’s get some triage happening, shall we?’ Dan came in authoritatively. He half turned his head. ‘Lindsey?’

  Lindsey ran her eyes over the assembled group. ‘This is going to need everyone’s co-operation. Some of the students appear quite ill so, Gail, where you can, would you begin taking names, please? And liaise with the accompanying teachers about letting the parents know.’

  ‘How do we work this patient-wise?’ Andrew cut in, throwing the question at Dan.

  ‘We’ll see the kids on stretchers first. You team with Jess. Michelle, you team with Vanessa. Anything you’re uncertain about, don’t dither. Give me a yell. Now let’s go.’

  Accompanied by Dan, Lindsey went into the first cubicle. Their patient, a sixteen-year-old student, looked pale and clammy. Lindsey placed her hand on the youngster’s shoulder. ‘What’s your name, honey?’

  ‘Katherine Enders.’

  ‘And when did you start feeling ill?’ Lindsey smoothed the girl’s long fair hair away from her cheek.

  ‘Soon after breakfast.’ She bit her lips together and went on. ‘The other kids were sick too.’

  ‘Katherine,’ Dan said gently, ‘I just need to feel your tummy.’ His mouth compressed as he palpated. ‘Right.’ He stepped back and drew the sheet up. ‘That’s fine. Have you had any diarrhoea?’

  ‘Some. Oh...’

  Lindsey noticed the girl’s sudden pallor. ‘Do you want to vomit, Katherine?’

  The girl blocked a tear with the tips of her fingers and sniffed. ‘I feel so awful.’ She swallowed convulsively and tried to sit up. ‘My little sister, Alix, is really sick...’

  ‘Shh... It’s OK,’ Lindsey hushed gently. ‘She’ll be looked after. Let’s just try to get you settled.’

  That wasn’t going to happen.

  ‘Oh, help!’ Katherine gulped and gave a little moan. ‘I want to be sick...’

  Lindsey grabbed a basin. They were in for a morning and a half with this lot.

  ‘Someone’s head should roll over this.’ Dan was grim-faced. ‘Let’s run ten milligrams of Maxolon stat, please, Lindsey. That should settle her nausea.’

  Quickly Lindsey secured the drip and taped it down. ‘Lomotil for the diarrhoea?’

  Dan nodded. ‘Start with two orally and cut back to one after each bowel movement. She’s dehydrating. I’d like her on four per cent glucose and one-fifth normal saline IV. Sips of water only. Could you take her blood sugar levels as well, please? Anything below three, I need to know.’

  And so it went on for the next couple of hours.

  * * *

  ‘I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.’ Dan followed Lindsey into the staffroom. They’d just done a round, rechecking all their young patients. And releasing most of them into the care of their parents.

  ‘I have sandwiches, if you’d like to share?’ Lindsey offered.

  ‘Hmm...’ Dan considered his options. ‘I think I’d like something hot. Let’s go to Leo’s.’

  ‘Oh.’ Lindsey hesitated. ‘OK. I’ll just make sure Vanessa’s around to mind the station.’

  * * *

  ‘What about Alix Enders?’ Lindsey asked as they crossed the street to Leo’s. ‘How long will you keep her?’

  ‘I’d like to leave her drip in a bit longer. She was seriously dehydrated.’

  ‘Did you get any clue as to what may have caused the food poisoning?’

  ‘Probably something dodgy they ate for breakfast, seeing they were ill so soon after. The guys from Health and Safety will suss it out, send whatever they come up with for analysis.’ Dan pushed open the door to the café and they went inside.

  ‘I’m not usually out for lunch.’ Lindsey took the chair Dan held for her. ‘I shouldn’t be away from the hospital too long.’

  ‘You’re entitled to your break.’ Dan had no such qualms. ‘And we’re only five minutes away if we’re needed.’

  ‘I suppose.’ She ran her gaze over the short menu. ‘I think I’ll have the fish.’

  ‘I’ll have the beef stroganoff.’ Dan placed the menu beside his plate. ‘I had fish last night. An impromptu dinner with Nathan and Sami.’

  So that’s where he’d been. Lindsey looked up as Leo arrived to leave water and take their orders. How pathetic, she berated herself, waiting for any crumb that would let her a little further into Dan’s world. While they waited for their food, Lindsey poured them each a glass of water. Suddenly she was aware the silence had extended for too long. ‘So... Nathan and Sami settling into their new place all right?’

  ‘New old place,’ Dan countered drily. ‘It’s Georgian in design, huge garden, built in the eighteen thirties, according to Sami. She’s already on a roll, talking in terms of topiary, stone walling and hedge laying.’

  ‘How’s Nathan feel about that?’

  ‘Terrified.’ Dan’s eyes glinted with soft amusement. ‘Sami’s been to the historical society to get details of the house as it used to be. She found the front hedge was originally clipped into a whimsical line of marching elephants.’

  ‘Are you serious?’ Lindsey spluttered a laugh. ‘That girl is totally priceless. But I don’t know why I should be surprised. Sami has always known what she wanted and gone after it. I guess that’s what Nathan loves about her.’

  ‘I’m sure...’ Dan paused. ‘Oh, while I think of it, I’ve been given time off on Monday to attend a refresher training day in search and rescue. If you’re pushed, Nathan’s back on Monday. He’ll come down. And Martin’s in at noon.’

  Lindsey nodded. ‘Thanks for letting me know. Where do you have to go for your training?’

  Dan lifted a shoulder. ‘Locally.’

  And that seemed to be that. Within seconds they were facing another wall of uneasy silence.

  It was Dan who broke it.

  ‘Would you like to go out for dinner tomorrow? Perhaps somewhere we could dance as well?’ He’d made himself aware of Lindsey’s roster, knew she was on an early tomorrow and then off on Sunday, and had decided he could work around that as well.

  Slowly Lindsey raised her gaze. Her throat constricted. ‘That would have been...good. But I’m heading straight out to Lark Hill after my shift. Mum and Dad are due home next week. I want to make sure everything’s looking nice for them.’

  It was on the tip of Dan’s tongue to ask if she’d like a hand—his for preference—but it was clear she wasn’t about to issue an invitation. It was also clear she was making a statement. She didn’t want him there. He took a mouthful of water and placed his glass back on its coaster. ‘Something’s obviously bugging you, Lindsey. Why don’t you just hit me with it?’

  She didn’t pretend to misunderstand him. ‘I like clarity in my life. That’s how I am. I don’t seem to be getting it from you, Dan.’

  They stared at each other.

  ‘Let’s be frank, then.’ Dan’s blue eyes glittered. ‘You’re still ticked off with me because I didn’t accept the key you left for me.’

  Lindsey hated confrontation but there was no backing down. ‘I was hurt at your reaction,’ she admitted.

  ‘I acted like a jerk.’ His mouth straightened into a grim line. ‘Your leaving the key was spontaneous and sweet. I could have called you and sorted it, instead of leaving that pathetic note.’ He gave a mirthless laugh. ‘God, I can’t believe I did that!’

  Lindsey raised an eyebrow. ‘But you did. And I was left wondering whether every move I make in the future is going to be the right one. If you want out of this relationship, then tell me. Let’s end it cleanly.’

  End it? Dan felt a cramp in his chest. Was that what she wanted? He let his breath go in a stream. He’d been the luckiest man alive, finding Lindsey. Lindsey with the generous spirit, the forgiving heart. But everything had its
limits and her patience with him must be running low. ‘Are you saying there’s no hope for us?’

  Lindsey drew back sharply. ‘I’m not saying that at all.’ She spread her hands in appeal. ‘But I can’t be myself around you any more.’

  Dan felt his heart beating hard against his ribs. ‘OK. I hear what you’re saying. I don’t want to lose you, Lindsey. Lose us.’

  Lindsey could see the sudden tight set of his shoulders. She didn’t want to put pressure on him. Push him to do things he wasn’t ready to do. But they couldn’t have gone on the way they had been, neither knowing what the other was thinking half the time. ‘I don’t want to give up on us either, Dan.’

  ‘OK, we won’t, then.’ His blue eyes held an appeal. ‘So this is the new, improved me, communicating. If I wouldn’t be intruding, I’d like to come out to Lark Hill on Sunday. We could spend the day together.’

  ‘That would be good,’ Lindsey said guardedly. ‘And definitely a step in the right direction.’

  ‘More like thirty Ks in the right direction.’ There was the slightest waver in his eyes. ‘So we’re back on track, then.’

  ‘Come early on Sunday.’ Lindsey tilted her head and reached out a hand across the table. ‘I’ll put you to work.’

  Dan took her hand, shackling her wrist. ‘I want to kiss you,’ he said softly.

  ‘No chance.’ She ran her tongue along her lips. ‘Here’s Leo with our food.’

  ‘Sunday, then?’ Dan leaned back in his chair.

  She nodded.

  And so it was settled.

  They ate quickly and went back to the hospital. As they approached the station Vanessa called out, ‘There you are! We’ve an MVA coming in. Collision between a car and one of those double-cab utilities. Woman reversing out of her gateway into the main road. Guy in the ute didn’t have time to swerve.’

  ‘What kind of injuries do we have?’ Dan asked calmly.

  ‘Terry Ryan said the woman’s pregnant, ten weeks or so. She’s a bit shaken but nothing broken. Ute driver’s an older man, shocky, possible ribs and seat-belt injury. It happened just out of town a bit so they’ll be here directly.’