by Lucy Clark
‘You’re addictive,’ he murmured against her mouth. ‘From the first moment I kissed you until now, you’ve been like fire in my veins.’
‘Mmm...’ She kissed him once more before opening her eyes, looking at him through heavy eyelids. ‘You make me swoon.’ She drew in a slow breath. ‘I’m not sure I can stand without help at the moment.’
Virgil smiled and pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. ‘You and me both.’ He eased back to look at her. ‘Sweetheart, I know there’s something bothering you.’ His words were as soft and as tender as his kisses. ‘I know you too well not to pick up on the signals.’
‘Virgil, I—’
‘Shh. I won’t pry. I’ll just continue to show you that you can trust me. I’m here, Clara. For the long haul.’
His tenderness was dangerous, unravelling her tightly wound emotions. Hoping her legs were ready to support her weight, Clara gently eased herself from Virgil’s wonderfully strong and protective arms, looking into his hypnotic blue eyes.
‘We both need to go our separate ways,’ she whispered, unable to believe he’d said he wouldn’t pry, that he wanted her to trust him, that he was here for the long haul. A second chance at happiness was at her disposal, and if she tried to explain her swirling emotions now she might make a mess of things. ‘You need to get Rosie home.’
‘And you need to get Juzzy home.’ He kissed her briefly once more, before releasing her from his arms and bending to hand her the dog. ‘Just remember one thing for me,’ he stated as she took a step backwards. ‘This really is a new beginning for us, Clara.’
‘New beginning...’ she repeated, her heart singing with delight. And she ignored that little voice inside which told her it would never last.
CHAPTER NINE
CLARA COULDN’T BELIEVE how well she’d slept last night. ‘Kisses from Virgil will do that to you,’ she laughingly told her reflection the next day.
As it was Sunday, and neither of them were on call, Virgil phoned her just after midday to see if she was free to spend some more time with him and Rosie.
‘We’ll just be here—hanging out, playing with toys and avoiding paperwork.’
‘Oh? Does Rosie have a lot of paperwork?’ she asked, grinning widely as she spoke.
‘Stacks. What do you say? Bring Juzzy if you like.’
‘I’d really love to, Virgil—’
‘But...?’ he interrupted, drawing the word out.
‘I’m spending time with Arthur and the girls while Maybelle’s at work.’
‘They can come, too,’ Virgil stated. ‘I know Rosie would love to play with your nieces.’
‘It does sound interesting, but...uh...’ She hesitated and Virgil waited expectantly. ‘I haven’t told Arthur that we’re seeing each other again.’
‘Ah.’ There was silence on the other end of the line for a long moment. ‘I take it he isn’t my biggest fan?’
‘Not really, no.’
‘That’s understandable. I did break his sister’s heart.’
‘I was going to tell him this afternoon. Let him know how much you’ve changed...that things are different this time.’
‘At least he allowed his daughters to come and enjoy a play date with Rosie.’
‘He’s fine with you living and working here. And he’s fine with his daughters playing with your daughter.’
‘But he’s not fine when it comes to you and me together?’
‘Something like that. I will talk to him, Virgil. Today.’
‘It’s all right, Clara. Take your time.’
Although his impatience was beginning to surge, he reminded himself that he had the rest of his life to show Clara—and the rest of her family—that he was a changed man, that he adored her and that his intentions were extremely honourable.
He spoke to Clara for a few more minutes, then rang off and leaned back in his chair. He shouldn’t have been surprised that Clara’s brother wasn’t his biggest fan, and it was good that Arthur was still looking out for his sister.
Before arriving back in Loggeen, the last time he’d seen Arthur Lewis had been the night before his early flight to Montreal. Arthur had turned up at Virgil’s apartment, giving him an earful.
‘She loves you!’ Arthur had stated. ‘And this is how you treat her?’
‘It’s my career, Arthur. I thought at least you’d understand. You’re chasing your own career dreams.’
‘Not overseas. I’m not running away when the going gets tough.’
‘What? I’m not running away.’
‘Clara told me that you had plans to get married and start a family. She wants that with you.’
‘I never asked her to marry me.’
That revelation had brought Arthur up short. ‘But Clara said—’
‘We’ve discussed it on occasions, but there have been no firm plans made. I can’t make firm plans until I’ve sorted out my career. This opportunity in Montreal is a once-in-a-lifetime sort of deal and I’m not going to turn it down. Not for you. Not for Clara. Not for anyone.’
‘Your career isn’t your life, Virgil.’
‘Yes, it is.’
‘No. Your career is just your job. It’s not where you live.’ Arthur had pointed to his heart. ‘Jobs will come and go, but do you know how difficult it is to find the love of a woman who adores you the way Clara does? When you have your big successes in your career, who are you going to share them with? When you’ve have a bad day at work, who’s going to support you?’
Arthur’s words had made him stop, had made him ponder those questions for a moment or two, but then he’d shaken his head. ‘It’s too late to think like that. I’ve made my decision. My flight leaves in ten hours’ time and I still have packing to do.’
He’d indicated the front door to his apartment.
‘You’d better go.’
‘So that’s it? You’re just going to leave her?’
‘She’ll be fine. She’s a smart, intelligent woman.’
‘Yeah. She is.’ Arthur had walked to the door, wrenching it open. ‘And you’re the fool who let her go.’
And what a fool he’d been. He didn’t blame Arthur for being over-protective of Clara. He was glad she had a family who loved and supported her, and he knew that if he was to stand any chance with Clara in the future, he needed to make amends with Arthur, too. Family was important. Rosie had taught him that. For now he would follow Clara’s lead where Arthur was concerned, trusting her to guide him.
* * *
Later that evening Virgil received a phone call from the ED, calling him in.
‘There’s been a bad accident. Retrieval teams are preparing,’ the nurse told him.
Thankfully, Rosie was already in bed, and after quickly telling Gwenda he was heading to the hospital Virgil walked briskly to his car. If the retrieval teams were getting ready to go out, there was a high probability that Clara was leading the team.
When he arrived at the hospital it was to find it a hive of activity. He stood still for one long moment, scanning the room until he found her. She was standing at the nurses’ desk, talking to Arthur and Larissa, one of the ED nurses.
He headed towards them and upon greeting them, received a normal ‘Hello’, from Larissa; a growl accompanied by a frown from Arthur, and a subdued but happy, ‘Hello, thank goodness you could make it,’ from Clara. It wasn’t so much what she said, but the softening of her gaze as it came to rest on him. It was a nice sensation to have.
‘What’s the situation?’
‘Briefing in five minutes,’ she told him. ‘Why don’t you get changed into retrieval overalls?’ She indicated her bright orange jumpsuit, covered with pockets and reflective tape here and there. ‘Meet us in the briefing room?’
‘Good.’ He nodde
d and left to do as instructed.
How was it possible she could make those clothes look as though they were the latest fashion? The woman was amazing.
She ran a successful and very busy general practice, and he knew she was up to date with her paperwork as he’d received reports on Michelle and also Linda and Henry Santorino, who had been discharged and were doing well. She worked two shifts per month at the hospital’s Emergency Department and led the retrieval teams, helped out with her nieces and was well liked by everyone she met. Was it any wonder he was completely and utterly smitten with her?
He knew there was something deep that was troubling her, but he had to trust her to tell him when she was ready. He wouldn’t push. He wouldn’t pry—no matter how badly he wanted to know why she would sometimes sit and stare at nothing, tears springing to her eyes. Or why she would abruptly change the subject or distract him from discussing things further.
When he entered the briefing room, it was to find it almost full to bursting. Clara was standing at the front of the room, and as soon as she saw him enter she started to speak. Had she been waiting for him? Just as well he hadn’t dilly-dallied.
‘Right, listen up.’
She spoke to all the people who were in the small briefing room, some of them already in their bright orange retrieval overalls and others who were just arriving. Virgil stood near the back. As a general surgeon, the best place for him to be would be here at the hospital, waiting for the casualties to be brought to Theatre, but after reading the particulars of this accident, Clara knew she needed him at the crash site.
‘There are two people trapped in a car, and the car has gone over an embankment on the road heading to the coast.’ Clara spoke clearly. ‘One male, one female in the car. The Country Fire Service and police are in attendance. The car has rolled several times, so we can expect head injuries, seatbelt injuries and a plethora of internal injuries.’
She glanced towards Virgil as she spoke.
‘You all know your strengths—work to them. Let’s work as a team and attend to our patients. Go and grab your gear. Meet out at the ambulances in five minutes.’
With that, she dismissed everyone and people scattered to do their jobs.
Virgil was the only one left. ‘You sounded like a coach. What’s your strategy?’
‘Pumping everyone up. Adrenaline. We have no idea what we’re going to find and, quite frankly, Virgil, sometimes even the less gory scenes can still turn my stomach. Getting pumped up and preparing our minds mentally for what we’ll find is a big issue. It helps us cope.’ She crossed her arms and looked at him. ‘How long is it since you’ve been out with a retrieval team, rather than just judging them at competitions?’
‘Too long to remember,’ Virgil answered with a shake of his head.
‘Well, then, Dr Arterton.’ Clara grinned up at him and winked. ‘You might just learn something new.’
* * *
‘Oh—my—goodness.’ Clara said each word slowly as she straightened from looking over the side of the mountain. ‘Is the car stable?’
The policeman, who had been the first at the accident site, nodded. ‘We’ve managed to get a cable around the front axle, which will hold the front of the car quite firmly. Other cables have been attached to the driver’s side and the rear of the car is wedged firmly into the ground.’ He held out his hand to her and shook it briefly. ‘I’m Senior Sergeant Edelstein and I’ll be in charge up here.’
‘Dr Clara Lewis. I’ll be in charge of things down there.’ She inclined her head to indicate the accident site.
The road had been closed off and the area was swarming with emergency personnel. Clara looked again at the car that was lit by two huge floodlamps that the Country Fire Service had set up.
The car had rolled a number of times and had finally come to rest on its side—passenger side down. As the policeman had informed her, the rear of the car had dug itself into the ground while the front was resting on an old gum tree.
As the CFS personnel had managed to secure some cables around the car, in case the tree branches gave way, the car would be suspended horizontally out from the side of the mountain. At least that was what they’d told her would happen.
Clara could feel her heart begin to pound in her ears. She’d told Virgil it was adrenaline that got them through these situations, and she realised she was going to need a heck of a lot to get through this one.
‘What’s the plan, Clara?’ asked Geoff, her retrieval team buddy.
The rest of the team gathered around to hear what she had to say. Virgil was listening intently too. All of them were suited up with abseiling harnesses and ropes, ready to scale down the mountain to the accident site.
‘The CFS have removed what was left of the front windscreen, which will make our job a little easier. They recommend getting the female passenger out first, and then the driver. He’s being held in by his seatbelt and the steering wheel, so once we remove those obstacles gravity will naturally pull him downwards. If the passenger is out of the way we’ll have more room to manoeuvre. These CFS guys know what they’re talking about and have already been down several times so we’ll heed their advice.’
Everyone nodded and Clara continued.
‘We need to have as little contact with the car as possible. They’ve said those cables will hold, but I don’t want any unnecessary risks taken. If the danger is too great then we don’t take the risk. Understood?’
‘Yes,’ everyone answered.
‘Virgil, you go on the passenger side with the stretcher. You’ll need to get down lower than the car, so that when Geoff and I lower her out she can go straight down on to the stretcher rather than being winched upwards.
‘Geoff, you’ll be with me, assisting with what I’ll need.’ She turned to one of the retrieval nurses. ‘Amelia, get an area set up here, so when Virgil comes up with the female passenger everything he’ll need will be ready.’
‘On it,’ Amelia stated.
‘There has been no sign of consciousness yet, but when the CFS team checked, both patients were alive, their airways were clear and breathing was not compromised. We’ll stabilise the injuries as best we can and then secure the harness around her. Once she’s ready, we move her out. We’ll have had a chance to assess the other patient, but will probably need the foot pedals and steering wheel to be cut away before we can remove him.’
She took a deep breath, knowing she needed to keep a cool, clear head. She couldn’t look at Virgil too much because the last time she’d glanced his way, she’d seen a huge furrow on his brow—one of concern, not just for the patients, but for her as well. She couldn’t think about that now. It was imperative she take things step by step and keep calm.
‘Everyone knows their jobs. Let’s do this.’
She had the CFS re-check her harness before she abseiled closer to the vehicle. The entire retrieval team were wearing headphone sets so they could easily talk to each other, as well as communicate with the rest of the emergency crew up top.
‘To your right. Good. Now, slowly.’
Virgil was already in position, below and off to the side of the car. From where he hung, secured by his ropes, he could see everything.
‘Geoff, stop your descent so Clara can get into position,’ Virgil stated through his headset. ‘Clara, a little more to your right.’
Clara was just passing the rear of the car, which was wedged into the ground. Unbelievable, she thought but kept her focus firmly on her work. As the car was still balancing on the strong gum tree branches, Clara needed Virgil’s guidance to assist her through the maze.
‘Watch that branch on your right. Good. Carefully find your way through.’ Virgil’s deep voice was clear and calm and she drew strength from it. ‘Good,’ he encouraged her as she moved just below the smashed front windscreen.
Securely held, Clara was ready to work.
The driver was hanging by his seatbelt, the steering wheel effectively jamming him firmly in place. The woman was pressed against the passenger window, her own seatbelt holding her securely. Thank goodness both had been wearing seatbelts, Clara thought, otherwise their services wouldn’t have been required at all.
‘Thanks, Virgil. Talk Geoff down while I take a look around.’
The light on her helmet illuminated the area, but she reached into her top pocket for a small medical torch. After taking the woman’s pulse, which was faint, Clara quickly checked the pupils.
‘Both pupils are constricting. Pulse is faint but present. There’s a lot of blood,’ Clara reported.
The woman was beginning to moan and Clara instantly tried to calm her.
‘You’re going to be fine. Help is here. I’m Clara—a doctor.’ Clara’s voice was firm but gentle.
‘I feel...weak...’ The woman’s voice was a broken whisper.
‘What’s your name?’ Clara asked as she waited for Geoff to get into position.
‘Hmm...? G-Gale,’ the woman answered after a moment.
‘And your friend? What’s his name?’ Clara asked.
It looked as though Gale was ready to pass out again, but before she did she said softly, ‘Dan.’
‘Virgil, I’m going to need the largest compression bandage you have. I’ll also need a neck brace to keep her head stable. Our patients’ names are Gale and Dan. Gale has severe lacerations to the abdomen. Extensive bleeding. I couldn’t even begin to guess what’s been ruptured. It looks as though something has gashed her right across her stomach. Query fractured pelvis.’
Clara was hanging right beside the windscreen, almost parallel with it, and was therefore able to reach around to treat Gale’s injuries.
‘What about Dan?’ Virgil asked as he manoeuvred himself into position to help.
‘I can’t get to him until we have Gale safely out of the way. I don’t want to risk scrambling over the bonnet to check him out. The entire centre of gravity of the car would change.’ She shook her head. ‘He’s unconscious at the moment, so until the situation changes we’ll leave it at that.’