by Sarah Morgan
'That was fun.' Zach followed her into the kitchen and dropped their wet things on the floor. 'I haven't seen Phoebe laugh that much for ages. Thanks, Keely.'
'You're very welcome,' she said quietly, rummaging in the cupboard for some cans of soup. 'I had fun, too.'
It was true. She'd really enjoyed herself. She'd even managed to stop thinking about how much she loved Zach for five minutes.
She straightened and met his eyes, and for a moment they stared at each other, tension shimmering between them.
'Keely...' When Zach finally managed to find his voice it sounded gruff, as if his emotions were lodged in his throat.
'Daddy, Daddy—boots stuck.'
Phoebe's shout from the hall interrupted whatever he'd been about to say and he gave a sigh and closed his eyes briefly.
'OK. I'm coming, sweetheart.' He dragged his eyes away from Keely's with a visible effort and walked out of the room to see to his daughter.
Keely dropped onto a chair, feeling as though she'd been caught in the path of a tornado. She felt sure now that he did feel something for her, even if it was just a physical thing. But he clearly didn't intend to do anything about it. He was still in love with his wife and he wasn't ready to move on.
It continued to snow and the weather played havoc with the workload of the casualty department.
'Why don't people just stay indoors?' Nicky muttered as she looked at the ever-growing number of people in the waiting room. 'I've lost count of the number of people who have slipped on the ice today. Why don't they just stay in bed?'
The mere mention of bed made Keely think of Zach and brought a hot colour to her cheeks.
Nicky gave her an odd look. 'Are you all right? You're very red all of a sudden—maybe you're catching something.'
'I'm fine,' Keely said quickly, knowing that she'd already caught something. The trouble was, it was called Zach and, as far as she could tell, it was totally incurable. The only answer was work. 'I'd better get going. Do you want me to see the lady that the ambulance crew brought in last?'
Before Nicky could question her further she picked up a set of notes and made her way to one of the cubicles.
A white-haired lady was lying on the trolley covered in a blanket and a younger woman was hovering anxiously by her side.
'Hello, Mrs Weston. I'm Dr Thompson.' Keely introduced herself and then questioned them both about the injury.
'I was only going to the corner shop for a loaf,' the old lady fretted, and her daughter gave a long-suffering sigh.
'And I would have got that for you, Mum,' she said briskly, rolling her eyes at Keely. 'There was absolutely no need for you to go out at all today.'
'But I wanted to get out, dear,' her mother said placidly. 'If I don't get out, how will I keep these old joints of mine moving?'
The daughter opened her mouth to state the obvious, but caught Keely's look and decided to bite her tongue.
'You're right to try and get some exercise,' Keely said tactfully, examining her carefully, 'but I suppose in future it might be wiser to wait until the pavements aren't so slippery.'
The old lady gave a slight smile. 'Shall I tell you something, dear? It isn't always much fun being wise. Sometimes it's a better idea to just be reckless.'
'Mum!' Her daughter looked horrified but Keely returned the smile that Mrs Weston was giving her.
'You may be right,' she said softly, thinking about Zach. 'You never know what life is going to throw at you, so it's best to live life to the full while you can.'
Her examination revealed that the injured leg was shortened and externally rotated.
'You've fractured your hip, Mrs Weston,' she said quietly, and the daughter tutted.
'Oh, Mum!'
The old lady looked at Keely. 'So what happens now?'
'Well, I'll arrange for you to have a series of X-rays, take some bloods and do a trace of your heart, and then I'm going to refer you to the orthopaedic team because they're the experts. Would you like something for the pain, Mrs Weston?'
'Yes, please. If it's not too much trouble.'
'It's no trouble,' Keely assured her quickly, popping her head around the door of the cubicle to look for Nicky. 'I just need to find Sister and then we'll give you something.'
She found Nicky, arranged for her to give Mrs Weston something for the pain and then completed the X-ray request form.
No sooner had the old lady been transferred to the ward than another victim Of the icy roads was rushed in by ambulance.
This time Zach took charge and there was no doubt in anyone's mind that the young motorcyclist was badly injured. His leathers were badly torn and he was obviously in severe pain.
'OK, let's get his leathers off and see what we've got.' Zach was his usual cool, professional self and Keely found it hard to believe that this was the same man who could kiss a woman senseless. It was as if there were two completely different sides to him. The trouble was, she loved them both. 'Let's give him oxygen and get a line in, please—we need U and Es, FBC and blood sugar, and cross-match four units of blood.'
With the severity of injury it was highly probable that the man was going to need a blood transfusion.
Keely inserted a large-bore intravenous cannula and attached it to an infusion of saline.
Zach glanced up from his examination. 'I'm going to do a femoral nerve block to relieve the pain.' .
Anticipating his request, the A and E sister passed him a 21-gauge needle with syringe and Keely watched while Zach palpated the femoral artery and then inserted the femoral nerve block.
'Right, let's sort put this traction—it'll help his pain and his blood loss and make it easier to move him to X-Ray.'
The A and E team splinted the man's leg, checked the pulses in his foot and then transferred him to the orthopaedic team.
'I'm jolly glad I'm not in the orthopaedic team today,' Keely muttered as she helped clear up the mess in Resus. 'They haven't had a moment to breathe since we started work.'
'You should see the fracture clinic,' Nicky agreed, attaching a giving set to a bag of saline in preparation for the next emergency to be brought through the doors. 'I've lost count of the number of Colles' fractures they've seen today. Why do people always put their hands out when they slip?'
'Well, it's either that or they bang their heads,' Zach pointed out dryly, tossing his gloves in the bin. 'They've got to fall on something. At least the wrist is neat and relatively quick to deal with.'
There followed a light-hearted conversation about which bits of the body each of them would like to break most or least and then they were all called away again to deal with a head injury.
By the time Keely arrived home she was totally exhausted and she flopped onto Phoebe's bedroom floor to read her a story.
'Keekee poorly.' Phoebe stroked her head gently and Keely grinned up at her.
'I'm not poorly, minx. I'm just totally exhausted. Partly because thinking about your gorgeous daddy keeps me awake at night and partly because of my job, which wears me out during the day.'
She gave a groan, kicked off her shoes and stretched out on the cushions. 'Right. Which book are we having?'
Phoebe plodded over to her bookcase, stared at the contents and then tugged out a book, sending a shower of other books tumbling over the cheerful blue carpet.
Keely gave a groan but was too exhausted to get up and put all the books back. There was always tomorrow. Instead, she held out her hand and took the book from the mischievous toddler, snuggling the little girl into her lap.
'Mmm, you smell good,' she murmured, burying her face in the blonde hair and breathing in deeply. 'You smell of baths and babies and nice things like that.'
Phoebe frowned and pushed the book into her chest. 'Read,' she said firmly, and Keely saluted quickly.
'Yes, boss.'
She opened the book and started to read, totally absorbed in the wonderful pictures and the clever rhymes.
By the time she'd finished t
he book Phoebe was yawning, and Keely lifted her up and put her in the cot.
'There we are. Night-night.'
'Tuck me in,' Phoebe pleaded, her eyes huge, and Keely smiled.
'You want me to tuck you in? Of course. Lie down.'
But instead of lying down Phoebe slid her chubby arms round Keely's neck and squeezed.
'Want cuggle.'
'Cuddle. Of course you can have a cuddle.' She lifted the child out of her cot again, loving the way the little legs wound round her waist like bindweed. After a few minutes she gave Phoebe a final squeeze and tried to put her back in her cot, but she was having nothing of it.
'More cuggle.'
'Time for sleep now,' Keely said gently, trying to peel her away from her body, but Phoebe's grip tightened.
'No sleep. Cuggle Keekee. Sleep with Keekee.'
Oh, dear.
Keely was just pondering how to handle the situation when Zach appeared in the doorway, his top button undone and his jacket slung casually over one shoulder.
'Problems?'
He looked so wickedly handsome that she nearly dropped Phoebe and fell to the floor at his feet.
'She—she just wanted an extra cuddle.'
That sexy mouth, the same mouth that was capable of doing such amazing things to her, curved into a smile.
'And who can blame her?' His eyes met hers briefly and then he turned his attention to his daughter.
'Phoebe come to Daddy.'
'No.' Phoebe's arms tightened around Keely's neck until she felt as though she were trapped in a vice. 'Stay with Keekee.'
Help! Now what? Inspiration struck and she tossed a book that she'd seen earlier into the cot. 'Phoebe, look!' She injected an enormous amount of excitement into her voice. 'Look what's waiting for you in the cot.'
As she'd hoped, the toddler turned, her attention caught by Keely's tone of voice, and she allowed herself to be lifted into the cot.
'Phew.' Keely grinned at Zach. 'For a moment there I thought I'd be sleeping in a cot tonight.'
Zach didn't laugh. Instead, his eyes were fixed on his daughter.
Keely's heart sank as she looked at his tense features. She could read his mind. He was worried that Phoebe was getting too attached to her.
'Go and get changed,' she said quickly, hoping to distract him. 'I'll pour us both a drink.'
He stood frozen to the spot, his eyes still fixed on his daughter, but then he gave a brief nod and turned on his heel, leaving her with a sinking heart.
In the kitchen she tugged open the fridge, poured them both a glass of wine and walked through to the sitting room. Zach had already lit a lire and it crackled and whispered in the hearth, sending a warm glow across the cosy room.
'Is that for me?' He walked up to her and took the wine with a nod of thanks and then strolled over to the fire.
'Zach?' She said his name tentatively, not sure how to broach the subject. 'Look, I know what you're thinking...'
'Do you?' He stared down into his wine glass, unsmiling. 'And what am I thinking?'
She swallowed hard. 'That Phoebe is getting too attached to me.'
There was a long silence and then he gave a short laugh. 'How come you're so good at reading my mind?'
Because I love you, she wanted to say, but managed to stop herself in time.
'I suppose it's a fairly obvious concern,' she said quietly, 'but I'm not going to hurt her, Zach.'
'No? As you rightly said, you're getting close to her. I've never seen her respond to anyone the way she responds to you. What happens when you leave?' His gaze was direct. 'What happens when you take up this cardiology job you keep talking about?'
The cardiology job she wasn't even sure she wanted...
'Well, I'll stay in touch,' she said lamely, and he gave a long sigh and picked up his wine again.
'Try explaining that to a three-year-old.'
This was ridiculous. She didn't want to go anywhere. She wanted to stay with both of them. But there was no way she was telling him that. There was no way she was throwing herself at him again.
'Look, Zach—'
'Forget it, Keely.' His voice was rough. 'It isn't your problem. It's mine. I need to work out what to do for the best. Maybe you moving in wasn't such a good idea after all.'
Her heart thudded heavily in her chest. 'Are you saying you want me to move out?'
She held her breath as she waited for his answer, her fingers coiling into her palms. She couldn't bear to move out.
He stared into the fire, his expression remote. 'No. I'm not saying that. At least, not yet. I'm hoping I can think of another solution.'
She could think of another solution.
Instead of asking her to leave, he could ask her to stay.
But Zach would never do that. He'd loved his wife too much to make a commitment to another woman.
CHAPTER SEVEN
As Keely walked towards the staffroom the following Monday, Zach waylaid her.
'We've had a dinner invitation,' he said briefly. 'Sean and his wife have invited us over tonight.'
She swallowed. She had to spend a whole evening in Zach's company in front of other people? She'd never be able to do it without giving herself away.
She searched her brain for an excuse.
'Why don't I look after Phoebe for you?'
'She'll come, too.' Zach gave a tired smile and jammed his hands in his pockets. 'I probably ought to warn you that Sean's wife, Ally, is not particularly subtle when it comes to matchmaking attempts. And that's probably what this is. She's heard that you've moved in with me and she's hearing wedding bells.'
The woman obviously had a hearing problem, Keely thought wryly. There were certainly no bells ringing anywhere near Zach. Except maybe alarm bells.
'Right.' Keely gave him an awkward smile, not sure what to say. 'In that case, perhaps it would be best if I didn't come.'
'You've got to come,' Zach said dryly, 'or she'll smell a rat. Our only hope of escaping her well-meaning tendency to pair me up is to prove to her that we find each other totally resistible.'
And how on earth was she going to do that?
'OK.' She smiled with more conviction than she was feeling. 'Well, I'll just talk about going to London. That should convince them.'
'Yes. It certainly should.' Zach's smile faded and he glanced at his watch. 'I'll tell them we'll see them at seven, then.'
Keely watched him move down the corridor away from her and wondered how on earth she was going to spend a whole evening pretending to be indifferent to Zach.
It was a long and difficult day in A and E and by the time she got home she was totally drained. Goodness only knew how Zach would be feeling—he'd born the brunt of the trauma and tragedy they'd had to deal with in just one shift.
The last thing she really felt like doing was going out to dinner, but she didn't see how she could refuse.
She had a quick shower, applied some make-up to hide just how tired she was and on impulse ran Zach a bath.
He arrived home an hour after her with only twenty minutes to spare before they had to leave.
'What a day.' He shrugged his coat off and tossed it over the bannister before taking the stairs two at a time to the bathroom. 'You ran me a bath?'
He frowned and then glanced at her, and she blushed.
Hmm. Maybe she shouldn't have done that. On reflection it had been rather a wifely gesture, but at the time she'd thought it might help relax him after a hard day.
'You don't have to have it,' she said quickly, stroking her hair behind her ear as she always did when she was nervous. 'I just thought you'd had an awful day and I—'
'Hush. Stop apologising.' He put a finger over her lips and gave her a lopsided smile. 'It was a really sweet thought. I just keep forgetting what a truly nice person you are. Give me ten minutes to shave and change and I'll meet you downstairs.'
He was as good as his word and by the time she'd packed a small bag for Phoebe he was ready.
'OK. I'll just get the wine from the fridge...' He went through to the kitchen and came back holding two bottles. 'You take these and I can carry Phoebe.'
Keely risked a glance at him and then wished she hadn't. He was wearing a black poloneck jumper that emphasised the breadth of his shoulders and a pair of trousers that clung lovingly to his hard thighs. As usual he looked so handsome he took her breath away and she turned away quickly, sure that what she felt must show in her eyes.
They arrived at Sean's just after seven and Keely was immediately absorbed into the noise and warmth of the Nicholson household.
'Come on in and make yourselves comfortable.' Ally had a baby cuddled against her shoulder and a toddler tugging at her leg. 'For goodness' sake, Katy, Mummy's going to trip over you—Sean, I need a hand!'
Sean quickly swept the toddler into his arms, casting a rueful smile at Zach.
'Sorry. It's utter chaos here as usual. They're all meant to be in bed but they wanted to stay up and see you.'
'Don't apologise—we've brought one of our own,' Zach reminded them dryly, shifting Phoebe more comfortably in his arms.
'Why don't you men settle the children while Keely and I make some drinks?' Ally suggested, handing the baby over to Sean. 'Come on, Keely. I'll show you around.'
After Zach's warning, Keely was nervous about what Ally was going to say to her but she dutifully followed her into the kitchen.
'So, Sean tells me you're living with Zach at the moment.' Ally tugged open a cupboard and removed a bottle of gin. 'What can I get you to drink? Gin and tonic? Wine?'
'Just the tonic, please,' Keely said with a smile. 'I'm driving us home.'
'Home.' Ally gave a sigh and her expression was dreamy. 'That's so romantic. I never thought I'd ever see Zach involved with anyone.'
Oh, help!
'We're not involved,' Keely said hastily, glancing nervously. towards the door and hoping that Zach wasn't within earshot. 'I've just moved in to help him out with his child-care crisis. Nothing more than that.'
'Oh.' For a brief moment Ally's face fell but then she smiled. 'All the same, living with each other—well, one thing is bound to lead to another eventually, isn't it?'