The Shy Nurse's Christmas Wish

by Abigail Gordon

  He was laughing. ‘I’m not sure I would agree with that, so what about tonight? I’ll take you for a meal, but do you want to change out of your uniform first?’

  ‘Yes, it won’t take long, about half an hour?’ she said hesitantly.

  ‘That’s fine and, in the meantime, while you’re getting ready I’ll call briefly on Bridget and Ely as my being in America for the last two weeks meant them having to cope with the club members, who can be a handful at times.’

  Turning towards the stairs that would take him to the floor above where adult patients were being treated, he said, ‘I’ll call for you half an hour after you finish, Darcey, and no need to dress up for such an occasion if the answer to my suggestion is going to be no.’ And on that cheerful comment he left her to a brief lunch in the staff restaurant with the feeling that she was out of her depth, in love totally for the first time...and not coping.

  * * *

  Daniel had booked a table at a different restaurant from the one he’d taken her to the last time to avoid casting any more shadows than there were already in their relationship, and he could tell that Darcey read his mind.

  ‘I suggest that we eat first and talk afterwards,’ he said gently, and she nodded mutely.

  The food was excellent but she ate it mechanically with no enjoyment and when the meal was over he looked around him and said, ‘It’s too crowded in here, Darcey, to be having a serious discussion amongst all these folks. There is no privacy and too many of them know who we are. We’ll go to my place, if that’s all right with you.’ When she nodded once again he called the waiter over and settled the bill.

  There was no conversation between them as Daniel drove the short distance to his apartment, or when they were inside for the first few moments, but when she took off the winter coat she was wearing and went to stand by the fire it came like a rushing wind, the chemistry between them, and when he held out his arms she went into them like a homing bird, with his every kiss a magical moment, but when at last they drew apart and he said softly, ‘So can we start arranging a wedding?’ he felt her withdrawal like a knife wound.

  ‘I thought you’d brought me here to discuss both of our points of view,’ she told him flatly, ‘but it would seem that it is only yours that matters.’ Before he could reply she had flung her coat on and was whizzing through the front door like a rocket, and by the time he had gathered his wits she was out of sight. He thought, so much for that, he’d made a mess of the whole thing.

  He had meant what he’d said to be gentle teasing before telling her that since their discussion that morning he had been in touch with the authorities who were in charge of appointing the coxswains on the lifeboats and would have to await their decision with regard to his request.

  Obviously he should have told Darcey that first, instead of mentioning marriage and teasing her about a wedding, as if that was all he was bothered about. But her reaction to what he’d said had been so abrupt that he’d been taken aback, otherwise he would have gone on to tell her that he had wasted no time since that morning in considering her needs, and now there was no sign of her on the road outside.

  Yet there was no way he was going to leave it at that so he drove onto the promenade, his concern increasing until he saw a taxi that she must have flagged down pulling away from the front of her apartment and went weak with relief. Not wanting to cause any further upsets, he drove back home the way he had come in sombre mood and it didn’t lighten at all when only seconds after his return a frantic Cordelia phoned to say that his younger niece had suffered a spinal injury in an accident and was being transferred by ambulance straight to Oceans House so could he meet them there? He was on his way almost before she’d finished speaking.

  * * *

  When he got there the ambulance was just pulling up in the space provided for such vehicles and as Bethany was carried out on a stretcher, with the rest of her family close behind, Daniel thought grimly that this was the punishment he deserved for his thoughtless treatment of Darcey. As if she’d read his mind, she appeared beside him, having seen the ambulance arrive and witnessed his grave concern from the window of her apartment.

  ‘What’s wrong, Daniel?’ she asked anxiously.

  ‘I don’t know until we get her inside,’ he said bleakly. ‘From what Cordelia said when she phoned, it sounds as if Bethany has had some sort of accident and it has affected her spine.’

  ‘Oh, no!’ she exclaimed. ‘Poor little one! Can I do anything to help? I’m sorry for my outburst earlier. It was just that—’

  ‘It’s all right,’ he said levelly as his young niece was lifted carefully out of the confines of the ambulance. ‘Save it for another time, Darcey, if there ever is one.’

  As Cordelia and her family followed the stretcher he stepped forward to greet them and, feeling unwanted and in the way, Darcey moved to one side and waited to see if he would take her up on her offer of help as there would be night staff to assist if he needed them.

  ‘So put me in the picture,’ Daniel said to Lawrence as the two men strode beside the hospital trolley with Bethany’s sister Katie holding the sedated young patient’s hand. With her arm supporting her friend in the rear, Darcey listened patiently as Cordelia explained tearfully what had caused the accident that had injured their daughter.

  ‘We were going skiing at half-term,’ she said, ‘and had gone late night shopping for suitable clothes in one of the big stores when Bethany lost her footing at the bottom of an escalator and fell backwards onto the metal steps. She was screaming with pain as we lifted her off and unable to stand, so the store sent for an ambulance, which brought us straight here to Daniel.

  ‘When I rang to tell him what had happened he’d just got in from somewhere and didn’t sound very happy, but when I told him about the accident he was back in the car and wasted no time in meeting the ambulance on its arrival, as you saw.’

  ‘He will be sending Bethany for X-rays first,’ Darcey reminded her, ‘so that he can assess the damage to her back, and your family will need you near, Cordelia. So if you go ahead with the two men, I’ll wait here as I don’t feel Daniel will want me around unless he has a use for me, which is not likely.’

  If her friend had been less traumatised she would have wanted to know what was meant by that cryptic comment, but with all that she had on her mind taking first place she hurried off and Darcey was left to wait until there was a result from the X-rays before any further communication with the man who she thought achingly loved the lifeboat more than he loved her.

  Why hadn’t Darcey stayed with Cordelia? Daniel wondered as he waited for the X-rays. If she didn’t want anything to do with him any more, so be it, but why take it out on his sister, especially in her hour of need? They were his family and he would move heaven and earth to save them pain if he could. His venture into romance had been a step too far, it seemed, if Darcey didn’t want to be in the same room as him.

  But the X-rays were ready for his scrutiny, and as he studied them relief washed over him in a thankful tide.

  There was severe bruising and bleeding of his little niece’s back but no spinal damage or broken bones. With gentle nursing while in Darcey’s care, and his expertise available at a moment’s notice, she should make a full recovery.

  When he looked up to where the little one’s loving parents were waiting to hear what could have been so much worse, Daniel was smiling as he said, ‘No broken bones, just a lot of soreness that will disappear with tender care. But no skiing at half-term, I’m afraid, and I would recommend a few days in the children’s ward with Darcey in charge, just to make sure that our small patient is progressing satisfactorily.’ As he gazed at those he loved, there was just one person missing, but what was new about that?

  ‘I must go and tell her,’ Cordelia said as if she’d read his mind. ‘I wanted her to be with us when you gave us the verdict, whether it was good or bad, but sh
e seemed to feel that she would be intruding and said she’d wait in the corridor.’

  ‘Go and tell her by all means,’ he agreed, ‘and when Darcey joins us I will confirm what I said about having Bethany stay here for the next few days, where Darcey will be in charge. There is no one better.

  ‘Lawrence and you will be able to visit for as long as you like as there aren’t any restrictions, and I will be around to keep my professional eye on things, so please feel free to explain that to Darcey when you see her.’ As she listened to his instructions, Cordelia wondered what had gone wrong between them.

  When she found Darcey still waiting in the corridor, her friend asked worriedly, ‘Have the X-rays come through?’

  ‘Yes, thank goodness,’ was the reply. ‘There is bruising but no broken bones and Daniel wants Bethany to stay in the children’s ward for a few days, or as long as it takes for her to recover. He is not pleased that you weren’t there when he announced the results.’

  ‘Yes, it would seem that he and I are not as compatible as we thought,’ Darcey said flatly as they went to join the others.

  Daniel was on the phone to the night sister when they appeared, explaining that they would be bringing another small patient to the children’s ward in a few moments and that he was going to stay there for the time being to watch over her during the night.

  ‘I’ve persuaded Lawrence to take you and Katie home once Bethany is settled in there,’ he told Cordelia when he’d finished the call, ‘and I will be in touch immediately if there are any further problems.’ And with his glance on Darcey, who so far hadn’t spoken, he continued, ‘I shall stay until you arrive in the morning, and when I’ve left will expect to be informed at the slightest sign of anything you are concerned about.’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ she said levelly, and wished he wouldn’t speak to her as if she was a stranger.

  Even worse, she was being dismissed as he said, ‘And now I suggest you get some sleep, knowing that I shall be with Bethany until you take over at eight o’clock tomorrow.’ After that pronouncement he turned and held Cordelia close and at the same time put his arm around Lawrence’s shoulders while a tearful Katie snuggled close, telling them gently to go home and rest and he would be in touch in the morning.

  When he turned to say goodnight to Darcey she’d gone, hurt that Daniel could change so quickly when she loved him so, but a sweet little girl who had slipped on hard metal and hurt her back was going to be her first concern in days to come, not whether anything was left of their brief relationship.

  * * *

  Seated beside Bethany’s bed in the children’s ward, Daniel watched over his little niece with ragged calm, alert to every sound or movement that she made in spite of the medication she’d been given at the time of the accident, and when he wasn’t reliving the moment of Cordelia’s horrifying phone call he was remembering Darcey’s hurt and anger at his suggestion regarding a wedding when he hadn’t told her about him having already asked for someone to take his place on the lifeboat.

  The magic of those moments before she’d flung herself out into the night in hurt and anger had gone, and if he were to tell her now about his request for someone to take his place on the lifeboat it would seem as if it was a quick afterthought and he was no lover of that sort of thing. So he needed to let it lie for a while. Maybe until Darcey had seen the manor house near where his father’s memorial was going to be.

  Yet knowing her, she would be happy in one of the cottages that had previously housed the lighthouse keepers if she knew that he really loved her, let alone the manor house, and that was the problem. How was he going to convince her of that?

  If he told Ely what he was proposing to do, he knew the man would be grieved to see him go and so would Bridget, but hopefully they would understand, and there was no doubt about what Cordelia would say as all she had ever wanted was for him to be happy. It was when it came to his own feelings that he faltered.

  In Darcey he had found the love of his life, but she was hurt and bruised by what life had done to her so far, and he didn’t want her to be hurt even more because of him.

  There was a little cry of pain from Bethany and when she opened her eyes and saw him sitting there, a big tear rolled down her cheek as she said, ‘I fell and hurt my back, didn’t I, Uncle Daniel?’

  ‘Yes, you did, my little love,’ he said softly, ‘and I’m here to watch over you and make sure you get better very soon.’ He smiled as he gazed at her. ‘Would you like a drink and something to eat?’

  ‘Can I have an ice-cream cone?’ she asked weakly. ‘My mouth is very dry.’

  ‘Yes. I’ll ask one of the nurses to bring one from the café upstairs, which is the only place open at this time where they have that sort of thing. But you will have to let me hold it while you lick it because of your sore back. OK?’

  ‘Yes, please,’ she said, and he wondered if he had botched his chances of being a father to children of his own by upsetting Darcey like he had. Would she want to be left alone after the evening’s earlier catastrophic mix-up? But the ice cream was on its way for his niece and he had a job to do.

  Once the treat had been enjoyed to the full, Daniel checked her temperature and was relieved to find it normal, and when two of the nurses on his instructions had gently turned his little niece onto her side he was able to inspect the damage to her back, which, although sore in parts, he knew could have been much worse, and by the time a fresh application of a soothing ointment had been applied again, Bethany had gone back to sleep.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  IT WAS TWO O’CLOCK in the morning and Darcey was sleepless because the happenings of the evening were too fragile and hurtful to be put out of her mind.

  First there had been Daniel’s marriage proposal that had sent her back home like a rocket because there had been no mention of her fear of the sea claiming him as it had his father, and when later they’d met up at the hospital and she’d apologised for leaving so abruptly earlier in the evening, he had been the one who had indicated that the subject was closed.

  With Cordelia and Lawrence totally distraught, Daniel had persuaded them to go home for a few hours while he watched over their daughter, and hadn’t even noticed when she had gone home to rest, to be ready for the coming morning in the children’s ward, where she and her staff would take over when Daniel took a break from his loving vigil.

  It was all logical thinking but not sleep-producing, she thought. Even as it registered, she was dressing quickly and hurrying out into the night to the hospital.

  ‘Darcey!’ he exclaimed tonelessly as she appeared in the dimly lit ward. ‘What are you doing here? Go back to bed.’

  ‘I came to see how Bethany is,’ she told him, ‘and to ask if you would like me to bring you something from the restaurant.’

  ‘No, thanks, I’m fine,’ was the reply. ‘The nurses are keeping me fed and watered.’

  Looking down at the sleeping child, she asked softly, ‘And what about your small patient? How is she?’

  ‘At this moment content,’ he said levelly, ‘having just had an ice cream and the dressing on the soreness of her back dealt with, but once all that wears off she will still be in a lot of pain, which is why you should be bedded down for the night instead of here.’

  ‘Yes, maybe I should,’ she agreed, aware that it was the day she was due to go on leave and was now not intending to do any such thing until Bethany’s condition had improved.

  Cordelia and Lawrence had been kindness itself to her over the lonely days of Christmas. The least she could do in return was to be there for them at such a time, and as for her replacement, the staff nurse who was to have covered her role for the coming week would be happy to be relieved of the responsibility as she was heavily pregnant. Without further comment, Darcey went, with the hurtful thought in mind that Daniel’s passion had been short-lived.

  Danie
l groaned softly when she’d gone, having wanted to hold her close and tell her how much she meant to him, but the day’s happenings had taken their toll. His concern for his small niece had to come first, and as if the thought had transferred itself to her, she awoke, began to cry, and it was a case of another gentle application of the soothing ointment and a cool drink before she went back to sleep.

  Back at the apartment Darcey was doing what she’d been told to do, settling down for what was left of the night, but it wasn’t to sleep, she thought bleakly. Daniel was very much mistaken if he thought she could switch off the nightmare happenings of a day that would soon be drawing to a close unresolved.

  For one thing, she was most concerned on Cordelia and Lawrence’s behalf that a shopping trip should end in their small daughter being hospitalised, but Daniel being who he was had been there for them, so at least one of the day’s catastrophes had not gone unattended, and as for the other, the rapture it had also brought with it had disappeared.

  He had said that he wanted her to be the mother of his children, and as she’d watched him with his small niece she’d thought there were two sides to that. Children needed a father too and he would have been all that she could wish for them when the time came, but the give and take would have had to be equal, not all on her side, although now it didn’t matter. The divide that had appeared between them was too big to be treated as a lovers’ tiff.

  * * *

  It was only after Darcey had returned to her apartment to obey his instructions that Daniel had remembered that she was due for time off during the week to come, after being on duty all through the Christmas period, and he had just messed it up again, as if his needs came first. But why hadn’t she reminded him, for heaven’s sake?

  The problem of Bethany’s care would have to be resolved like that of the other young patients after he had apologised and transferred his instructions to whoever would be taking her place, and then maybe the two of them could allow themselves a fresh start to their relationship.