by Lucy Clark
Charli felt her knees weaken and butterflies take flight in her stomach. Good heavens! She was attracted to this man. She didn’t know him from Adam and yet she felt a connection…a bond…and she’d never felt anything like that in her life.
Her assistant touched her arm, telling her it was time to go. Charli nodded and turned back to Logan.
Her heart was hammering wildly with unrepressed excitement as she looked into his eyes. She wanted to see him again. Should she ask him out?
She stepped a little closer and cleared her throat. ‘Perhaps we can…’ She couldn’t believe she was saying this ‘…catch up some time. You know, to discuss your paper. There were some points you could expand on a little.’ Oh, her words sounded so lame but she quickly rushed on before she ran out of courage. ‘My schedule’s pretty tight but…perhaps drinks after the proceedings finish tonight?’ Good. That would also give her an excuse to avoid Chuck.
The look he gave her was totally encompassing and she reached out a hand to the wall to steady herself.
‘You have no idea how much I’d like that…but I have to leave directly after your lecture and won’t be here at the end of the day.’ He seemed as disappointed as she suddenly felt. ‘I’m sorry.’ He shrugged. ‘I have to work tonight but if you have a few days before you fly back to America, perhaps you’d consider coming to visit the famous Grampians. There are some great walks we could go on.’
Charli shifted backwards and nodded, her mind working furiously. ‘You know, that’s not such a bad idea.’ Her assistant touched her arm again, urging her to move. ‘I’ll give that some thought.’ She extended her hand again, eager to touch him once more. ‘It was a pleasure to meet you, Logan.’
He took her hand in his and raised it to his lips, his gaze never leaving hers. ‘Likewise…Charli.’
CHAPTER ONE
‘HELLO?’ Years of being instantly awake when a phone rang worked on Logan Hargraves once more as he struggled to clear his mind from sleep.
‘Logan. It’s Wil. I need you. I’ll be around to pick you up in ten minutes.’
‘OK.’ Logan replaced the phone, turned to look at the digital read-out of the clock and then dropped back onto the pillows when he realised it was just before six o’clock in the morning.
‘Dad?’ The little voice from the door made him raise his head once more. Two pairs of brown eyes stared back at him.
‘You’re both awake early.’ He returned his head to the pillows and motioned for them to come in.
‘We heard the phone,’ Trinity said as she climbed into bed beside him and snuggled in.
‘I was already awake,’ Owen declared as he bounded onto the bed, making Logan groan in pain. He reached up and wrestled his son down for a morning cuddle.
‘Well, I was sound asleep and snoring my head off,’ Logan said, his words making both of them giggle.
‘You’re a loud snorer, Daddy,’ Owen stated.
‘Uh-uh. You’re louder, Owen,’ Trinity said, not missing the opportunity to bait her younger brother.
‘Am not.’
‘Are, too.’
‘Am not.’
‘Not this early,’ Logan groaned, more to himself than the two children who were messing up his nice warm bed. ‘It’s time to get up.’
‘No.’ Both of them protested, their earlier disagreement instantly forgotten.
‘You need to get dressed for school and then off to Grandma’s for breakfast. That was Wil on the phone. He’s going to be here soon.’
‘Has there been an accident?’ Owen asked.
‘I think so. Wil will tell me the details when he picks me up. Right now I need to get dressed, get some medical supplies and get you two to Grandma’s house.’ Logan sat up, pulling the blankets with him.
‘Don’t, Daddy. I’m cold,’ Trinity complained.
‘Then get dressed,’ he said as he stumbled from the bed, his foot getting caught in the sheets. Logan shooed them out of his room and quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a shirt before pulling on his socks and boots. Next, he gave his mother a quick call to let her know of the emergency. ‘It’s a cold one,’ he mumbled as he headed to the coatrack to find his jacket. ‘Make sure you put your jackets on.’
‘But, Dad,’ Owen protested, ‘it’s warm at lunchtime.’
‘I know but it’s cold now. Grab your schoolbag. Come on, Trin,’ he called. ‘Time to go.’
‘I’m coming, I’m coming,’ she said with the perfect feminine impatience of a seven-year-old. ‘I don’t like being rushed in the mornings.’
‘Believe me, sweetheart, neither do I.’ Logan held the front door open for his children as a police car pulled up. He quickly ushered the kids across the street to his mother’s house. ‘Give me a sec, Wil. I still need to stop by the clinic.’
Logan returned two minutes later and headed to the surgery which was next door to his home. Wil fell into step beside him. ‘What’s the deal?’
‘Craig took a tourist party out hiking about half an hour ago. They found a woman near the Venus Baths. Looks as though she’s fallen down a small ravine.’
‘Dead or alive?’ Logan unlocked the door and headed down the corridor to the back room. He picked up a backpack and began putting supplies in while Wil talked.
‘Alive for the moment. Craig abseiled down to check her out and has covered her with a blanket as he said she was extremely cold. She’s still unconscious.’
‘You’ve spoken to Craig?’
‘No. This report is from the hikers. They returned to raise the alarm. We’ll need to hoist her out on a stretcher. I’ve already called for the ambulance.’
‘I wonder how long she’s been there.’
‘Your guess is as good as mine, mate.’
Logan finished his packing and walked back down the corridor. ‘It was pretty cold last night. Well, the sooner we get to her the sooner we’ll find out.’ Logan locked his surgery door and headed over to the waiting police car. He looked up at his mother’s house and saw Owen’s face pressed against the window. He waved to him as they pulled away.
‘He’s looking more and more like his dad every day.’ Wil shook his head in wonderment. ‘Hard to believe it’s almost five years since Trevor and Alison died.’
‘Time doesn’t stop. Life goes on and the pain takes a long time to fade.’
‘Some days I still find it hard to believe you gave up a lucrative Toorak practice to move back here to be with your brother’s kids.’
‘There was nothing else to do,’ Logan told his friend. ‘And I wouldn’t change it for the world. Those kids…they’re wonderful. Some days I wish they really were mine.’
‘They are, mate. Legally and emotionally. You’re their dad.’
‘Yeah.’ Logan knew now was not the time to dwell on things. He needed to focus on the rescue they were about to do. The woman would no doubt be suffering from hypothermia, depending on how long she’d been out there. Fractures, sprains, bruises—they might all be present.
‘Did she have any identification on her?’ he asked.
‘Craig couldn’t find any.’ Wil parked the car and then started to unload the equipment they’d need. Logan put his backpack on and took the portable stretcher while Wil loaded himself up with the satellite phone, more blankets, ropes and other things which he put into his own backpack. ‘Let’s go.’
They started walking and soon came to the Venus Baths. It was a slightly rocky and uneven area where tourists could come and relax amongst the slow-running pools of water. They kept going, heading towards the end where large rocks blocked off a path. They climbed over, carefully lifting the equipment, and continued down the path.
‘Craig?’ Logan called out.
‘Down here,’ Craig called back. ‘Took your time,’ he joked.
‘It was Logan’s fault. Had to kiss his kids,’ Wil added as he took the backpack off. Logan did the same and looked down the small embankment to where Craig was lying beside a woman, sharing his body warm
th.
‘How is she?’
‘Still very cold.’
‘What’s the best way down?’
‘You’d be best to abseil. We’re on a bit of a slope and I wouldn’t want you to fall, mate.’
‘You’re the expert.’ Logan waited for Wil to pass him a harness. Soon the rope was down and Logan was ready. ‘Once I’m down, send the backpack and then the stretcher,’ he told Wil.
‘Right.’
Abseiling and rock-climbing had never been a favourite pastime of Logan’s but since his arrival in Halls Gap five years ago, it was something he’d become proficient at. Unlike Craig, he didn’t choose to spend his leisure time clambering around on cliffs.
Once he was down, he stayed attached to the rope but locked himself in. ‘Whoa. This ravine is steeper than I thought. You make it look so calm and natural, Craig.’ Logan pulled off his thick gloves and tucked them into the back pocket of his jeans before retrieving the medical torch from his jacket.
‘That’s my job,’ Craig replied. ‘Rig up another rope,’ he called to Wil.
Logan left the technicalities to Wil and Craig and concentrated on his patient. Her blonde hair was messy and half over her face, and her clothing was intact. Her pupils were equal and reacting to light, which was a good sign. ‘Miss? Miss? Can you hear me? My name is Logan. Miss?’
No response.
Logan brushed the hair from her face and gasped as recognition dawned on him. ‘I know her.’ He ignored the stirring in his gut. He’d experienced the same feeling the first time he’d laid eyes on her at the conference. Dr Charlotte Summerfield was an amazingly good-looking woman. Although his love life had been non-existent for the past five years, there was nothing wrong with his hormones, especially when it came to admiring the natural beauty of such a stunning woman.
‘You do?’ Craig seemed surprised. ‘You know her?’
‘Yeah. She was the guest speaker at the medical conference I went to in Melbourne last weekend. Charli Summerfield.’
‘Charlie?’
‘Short for Charlotte but Charli—with no “e”—was the name on her badge at the conference, so I guess that’s what she prefers to be called.’ Logan checked her pulse while he spoke. ‘Skin’s very cool. Pulse is down but that’s to be expected and she’s still shivering. That’s a good sign, means her body temperature hasn’t dropped below 31°C.’
‘Hypothermia?’
‘Yes.’ He ran his hands over her skull and discovered a contusion at the back. ‘She’s hit her head at least twice, so between that and the hypothermia it’s no wonder she’s unconscious.’ He put the Timpani thermometer in her ear. ‘33.6°C. We need to get her out of here, stat.’ Next, he pulled a pair of heavy duty scissors from his backpack and began cutting away her clothes. ‘Keep that blanket around her as best you can,’ he instructed Craig. When he’d dealt with her clothes, he checked her for fractured bones but thankfully everything felt fine. Both men were as close to her as possible, continuing to share their body warmth. Logan took her blood pressure. ‘It’s low. Not too far but we need to move fast.’ He listened to her chest. It was a bit tight but, again, that was to be expected.
Wil was getting the stretcher set up as Logan pulled out a cervical collar and placed it carefully around her neck. ‘How’s the stretcher coming, Wil?’
‘Almost there. Just getting ready to send it down now.’
‘Good.’
Wil sent the stretcher down, tied to the rope that he and Craig had secured. Craig grabbed the stretcher and together Logan worked with him to secure Charli in place. Craig secured the straps and hooked the stretcher back up to the ropes so they could pull her up to safety.
‘I’ll go on up and you stay down here and come up with her,’ Craig said, and Logan nodded his agreement. ‘You’ll be all right climbing up, won’t you?’
‘I guess.’ He grinned at his friend. ‘Lucky I brought my gloves.’ Logan retrieved them and pulled them on as Craig started to scale the ravine with complete ease, taking Logan’s backpack with him. Once he was at the top, they were ready. Wil and Craig pulled on the ropes and the stretcher slowly rose. Logan watched Charli closely, praying she wouldn’t choose this moment to regain consciousness.
He tried to keep up with the stretcher but it was impossible. When she was almost up to the top, he began concentrating on his own climb, using the rope to pull himself up. He was nearly at the top when Craig called down that he’d give him a hand, and a moment later Logan felt himself being hauled upwards.
‘Thanks.’ He smiled at his mate before turning his attention to Charli. Ripping off his gloves, he reached for the backpack once more and checked her obs.
‘BP’s still low, pupils are fine. Temperature, respiratory rate—both low.’
‘Overnight stay?’ Wil asked.
‘At the least. It depends on what other injuries we can find, but just by running my hands over her bones, I couldn’t feel any breaks. The longer she stays unconscious, the worse the outcome might be.’ Logan zipped up his backpack, slung it onto his back and nodded to his two friends. ‘Let’s get her out of here.’
They started the journey back towards the parking area, and the ambulance was waiting for them by the time they arrived. He climbed in beside her after she’d been transferred to the stretcher. ‘Charli?’ He called again. ‘Charli? Can you hear me?’ Still no response. He looked at her face. She was quite pale although her body temperature was slowly increasing, which was a good sign.
She wore a gold chain around her neck as well as earrings, and Logan carefully removed them, checking her wrists, ankles and fingers for other jewellery before sealing them in a plastic bag. Next, Logan set up a saline drip and placed the oxygen mask over her mouth and nose.
‘Charli?’ he said again as the ambulance got under way. ‘My name is Logan Hargraves. I’m a doctor. We’re taking you to hospital.’
‘Hospital?’
Had he imagined it or had she mumbled the word?
‘Charli? Can you hear me?’
‘No need to yell,’ she grumbled, frowning. She tried to raise her hand to her face but couldn’t because she was strapped in.
‘Don’t move.’ Logan lowered his voice but kept it firm and direct. ‘You’ve hit your head and were unconscious.’
‘You’re a paramedic?’ she asked, her American twang sliding out.
‘Doctor. My name is Logan Hargraves. We met briefly the other day at the medical conference in Melbourne. Today, though, you’re not in such great shape. You’ve had an accident and hit your head. You have a medial and lateral contusion of your skull but thankfully no fractured bones. You’ll need X-rays on arrival and I’d like you to be kept overnight for observation. The usual,’ he said with a mild shrug. While he spoke, he performed her obs once more. She was silent and he wondered if she’d drifted off once more. ‘Charli? Can you open your eyes for me?’
She tried hard and eventually was able to open them, but only just.
‘Good. How many fingers am I holding up?’
‘Two.’
‘Good.’
She closed her eyes again.
‘Do you remember what happened?’ He fastened the cuff around her arm and took her blood pressure, watching her closely. He received no response. ‘Dr Summerfield? Charli? Can you hear me?’
‘Yes, and I wish you’d stop yelling.’
‘Do you have a headache?’ He knew she must but he needed her to be conscious of the pain.
‘What do you think? Of course I do.’
He smiled. ‘A grumpy patient is much better than a silent one.’ The ambulance was slowing down. ‘Looks like we’re at your stop. How’s the pain?’
‘Not good.’
‘I’ll give you something once we’re inside.’
The doors opened and they were met by an orderly who helped get the stretcher out of the ambulance and wheeled it into the hospital. ‘Dr Charli Summerfield,’ Logan reported. ‘Thirty-one years old, visiting Austra
lia from America.’ He gave the brief of where she’d been found and wrote up the tests he wanted. ‘She needs to have a chest X-ray to check for pulmonary oedema as well as aspiration pneumonia. ECG as well. For her head injury, I want X-rays of the spine and skull and, depending on what they show, possibly a CT scan as well.
‘Blood test—cross-type and match; arterial blood gas; electrolyte and glucose levels,’ he told Maree, the sister on duty. ‘Urine test for myoglobin, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen and amylase. Get a cardiac monitor in here so we can keep a watch on her heart. Obs every fifteen minutes. We have no idea how long she was unconscious, or how long she’d been lying there in the cold. Temperature is slowly rising.’
‘Yes, Logan,’ Maree replied as Charli was transferred to a hospital bed.
Now that she wasn’t constricted by the ambulance stretcher anymore, Charli slowly raised a shaky hand to her head, feeling for herself the bumps the doctor called Logan had mentioned. Sure enough, there they were and she had one of those horrible collars around her throat. She’d worn one when she’d fallen from her horse when she’d been fifteen and she hadn’t liked it then. She shivered a little and the nurse helped her get her hand beneath the blanket once more.
‘As soon as we’ve eliminated the possibility of a spinal injury, that collar can come off,’ Logan said, and she realised he’d been watching her. ‘When I checked you out before, I couldn’t feel any fractures but that’s what the X-rays will confirm.’
Charli moved her gaze to connect with his, keeping her head as still as possible. ‘So you checked me out, did you?’ Her voice echoed a little beneath the mask.
Logan smiled at her. ‘You know perfectly well what I meant, Dr Summerfield.’
‘What about the oxygen mask? When can that come off?’
‘When I’m satisfied with your oxygen levels, Doctor, as you should well know.’ His blue eyes twinkled with repressed mirth.
Charli closed her eyes and tried to relax. Who was this man and why did his smile seem to upset her heart rate so much? She could feel it pounding wildly beneath her ribs, and until a few moments ago it had been quite steady. Perhaps it was his Australian accent. Had she hired an Australian to work in her unit? She couldn’t remember. Either way, she hoped he wasn’t a troublemaker because it was the last thing she needed right now. There was too much pressure in her life already and she didn’t need any more.