by Lucy Clark
He’d thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her today and although there had been plenty of other people around, John knew they should probably talk about whatever it was that existed between them…but not right now.
John gave her shoulder a little squeeze before dropping his arm back to his side, then, as though she could understand his unspoken communication, both of them turned and made their way out of Ruthie’s room, the glow of the night-light guiding them back to the hallway.
They headed downstairs. ‘Did you want a coffee? Or I can see if I can rustle up a decent cup of tea.’
‘Any cup of tea is decent so long as it’s not drunk out of plastic or polystyrene cups,’ he stated as he headed towards the front door. ‘Thanks, but I’d better go. I have a pile of work to catch up on before Monday morning’s meetings.’
‘How are you going with all the research proposals? Managed to get them all straight?’
‘Yes. I think I’ve managed it so I shouldn’t need any help with them. Also, thanks again for today.’
‘It was fun.’
‘It was.’
They stood at her front door, facing each other, unsure what to do next. Should they shake hands? Should he kiss her cheek? What about a friendly hug? Nothing seemed right and the longer he stood there, trying to figure out how to say goodbye to this most extraordinary woman, the deeper the tension that existed between them became.
They’d been given the opportunity to become friends and today had been a definite step in the right direction. She was a special lady and deserved to be treated with the utmost respect and care.
‘Well…’ John reached for her hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a chaste but gentlemanly kiss to the knuckles. ‘Thank you again for everything, Mackenzie.’ He worked hard to ignore the quick intake of breath as his lips made contact with her skin. ‘Sweet dreams.’
Without another word he turned and headed out of her front door, disappearing beyond the reach of her security sensor light into the darkness of night.
Mackenzie quickly closed the door and sank down onto a chair before her knees gave way completely. Did the man have any idea how he affected her? How on earth was she supposed to sleep now? And if she did, she knew exactly who those sweet dreams would be about.
CHAPTER EIGHT
MACKENZIE HARDLY SAW John at the hospital on Monday as she had an elective operating list in the morning and he had a string of back-to-back meetings. On Tuesday, they were in clinic together, both in professional mode, conferring together on one or two patients. On Wednesday, she was heading back from the hospice, having just seen a few of her more elderly patients, when she heard someone call her name. She stopped and turned, a bright smile flooding her face as she saw John jogging towards her.
‘Hi. Where are you coming from?’
‘The labs. I thought the best way to wrap my head around which project belonged to which researcher was to go over there and introduce myself.’
‘Ah. Good thinking. So you would have met Stan, Anna’s husband.’
He frowned for a moment. ‘Anna’s the theatre nurse?’
‘That’s right,’ she said as they started walking back towards the hospital, the dazzling Maroochydore sunshine warming them both.
‘So Stan’s her husband,’ he said, as though making a mental note. ‘I’m slowly starting to piece things together.’
‘Actually, you and Stan would get along quite well. He likes going hiking and doing all that outdoorsy stuff that I remember you like.’
He gave her a quizzical smile. ‘You remember that?’
‘John, you were covered in dry mud when we met. You’d been caving, right?’
‘And rock-climbing.’
‘Well, Stan likes all that stuff, too.’
‘“Stuff”, eh? Anyway, where have you been?’
‘Hospice.’
‘Everything all right?’
‘Mrs Pegg just had another set of X-rays taken because I had a hunch things just weren’t right.’
‘And?’
‘I’m taking her back to Theatre tomorrow morn—’ Mackenzie’s words were drowned out by a loud yelp. ‘What was that?’ she asked, looking around.
John was also instantly alert. ‘It came from over there.’ He pointed towards a building opposite them.
‘That’s the female wards.’ As they both looked at the building, their eyes widened in utter surprise.
‘That’s a—’
‘Patient,’ John finished for her, and he was right. A woman of about eighty years old, dressed only in her cotton nightie, had somehow found her way out onto the third-floor balcony, which was usually only used by staff, but that wasn’t what was troubling them. The elderly woman was sitting up straight, seemingly perfectly happy, her legs dangling over the wide concrete railing.
A nurse was at the window, having just spotted her patient. It was the nurse who had screamed in fear. Now that the immediate shock was over, the nurse was opening the window further, leaning out to try and get her patient’s attention, but the old lady either couldn’t hear very well or she simply wasn’t taking any notice.
‘Oh, no.’ Mackenzie rushed towards the building, looking around her, wondering what they could use on the ground to protect the patient in case she fell. The woman seemed to be balanced very precariously on the balcony railing yet at the same time seemed more than content to simply sit there.
What on earth was she doing? Perhaps she didn’t have any idea where she really was. Dementia, whether due to Alzheimer’s disease or repeated strokes, could play the most cruel and sometimes deadly tricks on the mind. The woman’s mental state might be completely volatile or quite placid. Silently, Mackenzie hoped for the latter.
‘There’s nowhere soft for her to land.’ Mackenzie spoke the words out loud as she continued to scan the concrete area below the balcony, trying to think and plan for the worst-case scenario. She needed to get mattresses brought out, but from where?
The nurse was at the door to the balcony but for some reason wasn’t able to get out. Mackenzie couldn’t see the balcony properly but she could hear the pounding as the nurse banged on the door, desperate to get to her patient. The elderly woman grinned secretly to herself, seemingly pleased with being so clever.
‘Hello up there!’ Mackenzie called, but received no answer. Either the woman couldn’t hear her or else she chose to ignore her.
‘Plan B,’ John murmured.
‘Plan B?’ Mackenzie asked, turning to glance at John, but to her surprise found she was talking to thin air. John was no longer standing beside her but was instead running towards the outside of the building at a rate of knots.
Mackenzie watched in utter astonishment as John launched himself at the building, clinging to the drainpipe that ran the height of the building. As though he were a superhero, he scaled the pipe to the third floor with ease, yet he was still quite a way over from where the woman sat, legs dangling, sometimes swinging them to and fro. What was he going to do? How was he going to get to the woman?
Mackenzie’s heart leaped into her throat and her jaw dropped in disbelief as she watched John use foot-and handholds in the building’s old stone façade to pick his way across, his taut body spread out flat like an agile insect.
People were crowding around, hospital security was bursting into action, organising mattresses to be brought out in case the woman accidentally fell or, even worse, jumped. Someone else kept stating that the fire brigade had been notified and was on its way. Mackenzie’s eyes, however, were trained on her knight in shining armour.
John continued to make his way across the building but when he accidentally slipped a little, his foothold not as secure as he’d initially thought, Mackenzie gasped out loud, clutching her hands to her chest. His near miss had made her heart pound faster but her breathing stilled as she continued to watch, feeling helpless and yet mesmerised by what was unfolding right before her eyes.
When he had almost reached the balcony, th
e woman looked across at him. Mackenzie could just make out her expression and it wasn’t one of surprise. It was one of happiness. It was as though the old lady had always known that John would be coming for her. It was an odd moment because Mackenzie had thought John’s presence might startle the woman so much she’d lose her balance.
It was clear the poor lady really had no idea of her actual surroundings and as she continued to watch John, her smile became a cheeky one.
‘So you escaped, too,’ she said to him, her words drifting down to those watching below. John didn’t stop moving but instead reached for the balcony railing and hefted himself over in one simple and easy move. His agility wasn’t in question, neither was his bravery, and Mackenzie let out the breath she’d been unconsciously holding until he was finally safe behind the balcony railing.
‘I sure have.’ He moved steadily but cautiously towards her. ‘I’m John. What’s your name?’
‘Patty.’
‘Nice to meet you, Patty.’ John placed a firm hand on either side of Patty’s waist. ‘Why don’t we go and sit down on the chairs over there? We can talk some more.’
‘I wanted to smoke,’ Patty confessed, then scowled. ‘My parents don’t let me smoke.’ She shook her head. ‘It’s silly. My parents are so old-fashioned, so out of date.’
John’s hands were still firmly on Patty’s waist. ‘Come and sit over here and tell me all about it,’ he suggested, obviously wanting to get her down by her own will rather than forcibly removing her from the balcony.
Mackenzie watched as he charmed the woman, as he smiled and spoke softly to her. She knew exactly how Patty must feel, especially with those blue eyes fixed on her as though she was the only person in the world who mattered to him.
Mackenzie closed her eyes, seeing him looking at her, telling her everything would be OK, that he was there to help her. She’d felt so lost, so afraid, especially when Ruthie had been rushed into emergency surgery, and then, as though he’d been sent from heaven above, he had been there, reassuring her, supporting her.
‘I knew a man called John once,’ Patty was saying, obviously in no hurry to move. Mackenzie opened her eyes and strained to hear exactly what they were saying. ‘Are you him?’
‘I don’t think so. I’m a different John.’ He paused and looked into her leathery, wrinkled old face. ‘Do you know, Patty, you have the most amazing brown eyes. So deep, such a vibrant colour.’
Patty’s smiled brightened at his words. ‘You are my John. You always liked my eyes, remember? You can’t fool me, Mr Smooth Talker,’ she said, and Mackenzie kept her fingers crossed that John would be able to get Patty back safely over the rail before Patty clicked back into reality and the whole scenario was jeopardised.
‘Why don’t you put your arm around my shoulders and I’ll help you to the chairs over there? We can sit and talk.’
Patty eyed him a little closer, indecision obviously warring within her. Then John leaned closer and whispered something in Patty’s ear that not only left the woman chuckling but leaning back against him, her arms going round his neck with ease.
In another moment John had Patty up in his arms and back onto the balcony, where he disappeared from view. The people watching below started to clap. Mackenzie momentarily closed her eyes and hung her head in relief, the tension easing out of her at the positive outcome to such a sticky situation.
Heading into the old stone building, she quickly made her way to the ward, where she found the nursing staff tucking dear old Patty back into her bed, John still holding the woman’s hand, talking softly, his deep voice warm and soothing.
Mackenzie sat on a chair in the corner of the private room, wanting to stay out of the way but also wanting to listen. He really did have a knack for putting other people at ease, a perfect bedside manner. Patiently she waited for him to finish and when Patty was finally asleep John let go of her hand and turned, astonished to find Mackenzie sitting there, patiently waiting for him.
‘I didn’t realise you were here.’
‘I didn’t want to intrude,’ she said, and when he pointed to the door, indicating they should leave, Mackenzie nodded and both of them headed out but not before the nursing staff had heartily thanked the handsome orthopod.
‘You were so great with Patty,’ Mackenzie said as they walked along the hospital corridors back towards the orthopaedic department.
‘Thanks.’
They continued in silence for a few minutes before Mackenzie almost exploded with curiosity. ‘Aagh. I can’t take it. I need to know.’
‘Know…what?’ he asked in a slight teasing tone. They headed into the orthopaedic department and went directly to his office, where Mackenzie shut the door behind her.
‘Stop playing it so cool. I’m sure you can see I’m going slightly insane, wanting to know more. What on earth did you whisper to Patty in order to get her off that railing? Whatever you said, it seemed to clinch the deal as far as she was concerned. How do you do that? How do you know just what to say in order to garner complete trust from someone you’ve only just met?’
John stood before her, hands shoved into his pockets, a small smile still on his lips. He raised his eyebrows. ‘I’d have thought you of all people would be able to answer that question.’
‘Well, I know what you said to me, but Patty’s a completely different kettle of fish.’ Mackenzie paused for a moment, thinking back to when they’d first met. ‘In actual fact, it wasn’t so much what you said but how you said it, the tone of your voice, the expression in your eyes. In one instant you were able to get me to trust you completely.’
‘Yes.’
‘Do you simply say what you feel needs to be said or do you really believe what you’re saying.’
‘Why can’t it be both?’ Mackenzie frowned for a moment, processing his words. ‘What was it I said to you to make you trust me so quickly?’ he asked, his gaze intent on hers, his voice filled with that deep, abiding resonance that seemed to vibrate through her when he spoke.
‘You told me everything would be OK but you said it with such conviction, as though you truly believed it, that you made me believe it.’ Her words were soft.
‘So what makes you think I said anything less to Patty,’ he stated.
‘John! Stop teasing me.’
He chuckled then shrugged. ‘It was nothing magical. I simply told her that she was an incredible woman and that I’d love to sit and talk with her.’ He shrugged as he spoke the words.
‘And that’s exactly what you did.’ Mackenzie nodded. ‘I’ll bet you listened to her talk, encouraged her to talk, to help bring her troubles out into the open so she could relax her mind and get some rest, especially after such an exciting ordeal.’
‘I also took the opportunity to remove the chair Patty had somehow wedged beneath the handle of the balcony door in order to let the nursing staff through.’
‘I was wondering why they couldn’t get out. The sly old dear. Did you find out why she was on the balcony? Why she’d gone out there in the first place?’
‘To have a cigarette. She told me she was nineteen years old and that she was sick and tired of her parents not treating her as a grown-up.’
Mackenzie smiled sadly, her heart touched by the words. ‘Poor Patty.’
‘The mind is far more powerful than we realise,’ he agreed. ‘At least she’s safe now.’
‘Thanks to you.’ Mackenzie’s smile increased and the effect caused his gut to tighten. She took a step towards him, effectively closing the distance between them. ‘You’re a remarkable man, John.’
She tenderly pushed back a lock of his hair that had fallen across his forehead, amazed at the fiery sparkles that burst to life within her body at the contact. ‘You give an incredible amount to other people. You’re considerate and generous.’ She slid her hand down to rest on his shoulder, looking up into eyes she would never forget, eyes that had radiated that same security he’d just provided for Patty.
‘Mackenzie?
’ There was a hint of warning mixed with a large dose of confusion in his voice.
‘Don’t you feel it, John? This crazy thing that exists between us?’
‘I do. I do feel it, most keenly, but is it right to pursue it?’
She shrugged one delicate shoulder and edged a little closer. ‘Is it right to ignore it?’ She slowly shook her head. ‘I’ve never felt anything like this before. It’s…intense.’
‘Powerful.’
‘Raw.’
John dragged in a breath and slowly let it out as he rested one hand at her waist, delighting in being able to touch her. ‘You are…incredible, Mackenzie. I—’
He stopped, gasping as he gazed at her beauty. He reached out and tenderly caressed her cheek. She was right. It was intense and as he looked down into her upturned face his gut tightened with repressed desire. ‘You are…exquisite.’ He rubbed his thumb gently across her lips, his body pulsing with compelling hunger as her lips parted, her expelled breath hot and moist against his thumb.
‘John.’ His name was a whispered caress on her lips and he wanted it.
He wanted her sweetness, her touch, her need. He could feel it thrumming through her and somehow it had managed to transfer itself to him. Both of them had the same powerful, burning need, which was drawing them closer together, each one momentarily fighting, each one losing the battle. Nothing mattered. Nothing except giving in to the delight he knew both of them would feel the instant he pressed his mouth to hers.
John couldn’t believe he was about to kiss Mackenzie. He felt as though he’d waited a very long time to finally end up here, with this most glorious woman in his arms. He lowered his head and delight surged through him at the way she sighed, her body leaning into his, her eyes closing.