Touched by Angels

by Jennifer Taylor

  ‘Well, everything appears to be fine despite the rough ride this little fellow had, coming into the world!’ Jack finished checking the baby, smiling when he found nothing seriously wrong with him. Meg knew that difficult births often meant that an infant could suffer fractures to the clavicle, humerus or femur, but obviously Jack was confident nothing was amiss. It was a relief to know that.

  Once the baby was snugly wrapped in his shawl again, Jack turned his attention to Leah. He quickly examined the incision in her abdomen, frowning when he saw her wince. ‘I know it’s painful but I’ll give you some medicine that will help you.’

  He glanced at Meg. ‘The wound is my main concern, or at least making sure that it heals well. Infection soon sets in under these conditions and the last thing we want is for that to happen.’

  ‘It will need dressing daily. But it isn’t going to be easy to ensure that’s done under sterile conditions,’ Meg observed worriedly.

  ‘I know. And that’s where you come in, Meg.’ Jack drew the covers over Leah, before moving away from the bed.

  Meg got up and went to join him but her heart was suddenly thumping. She had a horrible feeling that she wasn’t going to like what he had to say, although she didn’t know why.

  Jack glanced towards the bed where a crowd of Leah’s relatives was now gathered around her. His face was set when he turned to Meg but that didn’t mean she missed the sudden uncertainty in his eyes. Her heart seemed to beat all the harder when she saw it.

  ‘It’s obvious that Leah will need careful nursing until we’re sure that wound is healing. We simply can’t take the risk of it becoming infected by leaving it up to one of her relatives to dress it either.’

  He took a deep breath and Meg’s hands clenched as she prepared herself for what was to come.

  ‘That’s why I’ve decided that you should stay here with her for the next few days.’

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ‘STAY here…?’

  Meg’s voice tailed off, but Jack must have heard the shock it had held. Taking hold of her arm, he led her outside. He didn’t let her go until they were well away from the huts. Did he think she was going to create a scene? Meg wondered giddily. Well, he needn’t worry because she was too stunned to do that!

  ‘Let’s get this straight before we go any further. I didn’t make this decision lightly or for any reason other than the fact that I believe it’s the best option available in the circumstances.’

  Jack’s voice grated, although whether from anger because he thought that she was going to disagree with him or what, she had no idea, and didn’t waste time trying to work it out. She homed in on what he’d said instead, her head lifting as she stared him straight in the eye.

  ‘In other words, this isn’t an attempt to get rid of me—is that what you are trying to say, Jack?’ she challenged.

  ‘Yes, that’s exactly what I am saying!’ he bit out before he suddenly sighed. His shoulders rose and fell as he took a deep breath, and this time his tone was far less abrasive.

  ‘I am not trying to get rid of you, Meg. Far from it, in fact. I would have preferred to keep you with us but I really and truly believe that you are by far the best person to take responsibility for Leah’s post-operative care. Oh, Lesley and Kate are both excellent nurses but they simply don’t have your experience of dealing with post-op patients. That, and that alone, is why I decided that you should be the one to stay on here.’

  ‘I see.’

  Funnily enough, she did see, and her spirits rose a little. Not that she wasn’t still rather stunned by the thought of being left to her own devices in the middle of the bush, of course. However, deep down she knew that she would cope. Jack must have some confidence in her if he was prepared to entrust the responsibility for Leah’s care to her, and she found herself responding to it.

  ‘So how long do you think I’ll need to stay here?’ she asked, determined not to give him cause to start having second thoughts. It was a big step for him to have come this far and she certainly didn’t want him to start wondering if he’d made the wrong decision.

  ‘Three…maybe four days at the most. As long as there’s no sign of infection and you’re quite happy with how Leah has responded, the decision will be yours. I’ve had a word with Moses and he’s promised that he’ll come back and drive you out to meet us.’ Jack suddenly grinned. ‘He won’t have any problem finding us, of course. It would be impossible to miss a huge steam train so don’t worry on that score!’

  Meg laughed as well, feeling a little easier now that she was getting used to the idea. ‘I won’t!’ She sobered abruptly. ‘But surely this will mean that you’ll be under extra pressure by being one member of the team down?’

  ‘It will, but we’ll just have to work round it some way or other.’ He shrugged. ‘One thing you soon discover on these trips is how to adapt as things rarely go as planned.’

  ‘Mmm, I remember you saying something along those lines to Rory last night. I should have taken heed of it!’

  She’d meant it as a joke but she saw Jack frown. There was a troubled light in his eyes when he looked at her. ‘Look, Meg, if you’re at all worried about staying here then say so. It must be quite a daunting prospect when you have absolutely no experience of working in conditions like these so, please, don’t think it will go against you.’

  ‘You mean it won’t be marked down in the minus column?’ she teased, then wondered where she’d found the nerve to ask such a question.

  ‘The minus column?’ He looked blank for a second before he grinned. He looked so much younger and so boyishly handsome all of a sudden that her heart gave a small lurch before she brought it sternly under control once more. However, it was hard to control her racing pulse when he treated her to a disturbingly intent look which seemed at odds with the lightness of his tone.

  ‘It’s a good idea, actually. I should have thought of it myself. If I made a note of all your good points then a note of any bad ones, it would make it easier, wouldn’t it?’

  ‘Easier for what?’ she asked, her voice sounding unnaturally husky because it was impossible to remain indifferent when Jack looked at her like that.

  ‘To weigh you up, of course. Work out what makes you tick and decide whether or not you’re going to be a useful addition to the team.’

  Meg’s heart sank as she heard what he said. Maybe he’d tried to pass it off as a joke but it was too close to the truth to pretend he hadn’t meant it. She turned away before he saw the hurt which darkened her eyes. So much for thinking that he was starting to see her in a better light!

  ‘I rather think you’ve already made up your mind about that.’

  He caught hold of her arm and stopped her when she went to walk away. ‘Look, Meg, I—’

  ‘Hey, Jack, have you got a minute?’

  He broke off as Rory called him. Meg saw fleeting indecision cross his face before he let go of her. ‘I’d better see what the problem is,’ he said shortly. ‘I’ll check that you have everything you need before we leave.’

  ‘Fine,’ Meg said tightly. ‘I’d better go and get my bag off the truck, seeing as I’ll be staying.’

  She headed over to the trucks without a backward glance. Not that she thought Jack would be watching her, of course. He wasn’t interested in her except in a purely professional capacity. It wouldn’t concern him if she felt hurt or worried or even scared by the thought of staying in the village by herself. So long as he was sure that she would do what was expected of her then that would be enough. Funnily, it didn’t seem enough to her. She found herself wishing that Jack would see her not only as a colleague but as a woman. Now, where on earth had that thought sprung from?

  ‘Take care of yourself, kiddo.’ Rory gave her a friendly hug. ‘If it’s any consolation, at least you’ll be spared the trauma of having to unpack all the equipment. By the time you arrive everything will be all set up and running perfectly!’

  He waggled his bushy eyebrows at her and Meg duti
fully laughed. However, she had to admit that now the time had come for the others to depart, she was beginning to feel a little overawed by the prospect of being left on her own.

  She forced a smile as Lesley also hugged her warmly. The older woman’s face held a trace of concern as she looked at Meg. ‘Sure you’re OK about this, love? I could have a word with Jack if you’re at all worried.’

  ‘No, it’s fine. Honestly!’ Meg upped her smile a few watts, feigning a nonchalance she wished she felt. ‘I’ll be perfectly fine here, as you very well know.’

  Lesley looked relieved. ‘Of course you will. It’s just me doing my mother-hen act and clucking over nothing. It drives my kids wild when I fuss over them!’ She stepped onto the running-board, ready to haul herself up into the truck. ‘See you soon, then!’

  With a last wave of her hand, she disappeared inside the cab. Kate waved as well before she climbed up after her. Meg’s mouth felt stiff from smiling as she waved them off. Rory must have told the driver to sound his horn because there was the most awful racket before the truck he was in set off as well.

  Meg stepped back out of the way as a cloud of dust churned up by the lorries’ wheels threatened to engulf her, and gasped when she cannoned into someone standing behind her.

  ‘Sorry…’ she began, then found the rest of the apology drying up as she realised it was Jack she’d backed into.

  ‘That’s OK.’ He treated her to an easy smile before he turned to watch the two trucks disappearing into the trees. ‘I just need a couple of minutes to run through everything with you. I’ve decided to drive myself so I’ll soon catch the others up. I thought it would be better in the circumstances if Moses stayed here.’

  ‘I’m sure he won’t want to leave Leah at the moment,’ she concurred, turning to lead the way back to the village.

  ‘Probably not. However, my main concern was you.’ Jack must have seen the start she gave because he smiled. ‘I’m not so unfeeling that I don’t realise how daunting it must be to stay here on your own, Meg. Apart from Moses and Leah, few of the villagers speak any English.’

  He shrugged, looking suddenly uncomfortable, if that wasn’t too strange a word to use. ‘I wanted to be certain that you had someone to turn to if you needed help at any point.’

  She was touched by his concern, all the more so because she hadn’t expected it. She smiled at him, not trying to disguise the surprise and pleasure she felt. ‘Thank you, Jack. I appreciate it.’

  He returned her smile, his eyes lingering on the gentle lines of her face as though he couldn’t bear to drag them away. Meg felt her pulse leap because there was no doubting the admiration in his eyes. She wasn’t vain but she knew that men found her attractive and that many would have called her beautiful. The combination of silky blonde hair, delicate features and a wonderful smile were, to her mind, just a happy combination of genes. Yet suddenly she was glad that Jack found her attractive and it bothered her why it seemed to matter so much.

  They were just colleagues…reluctant colleagues from Jack’s point of view…so why should it matter one way or the other? She had no idea why, she simply knew that it did, and the realisation left her feeling more than a little unsettled. It was a relief when he returned his attention to their patient, quickly and concisely outlining the nursing regime he wanted Meg to follow.

  Meg nodded. ‘Yes, that’s fine. You put Leah on antibiotics immediately as a preventative measure, didn’t you?’

  ‘That’s right. Obviously, having to operate under non-sterile conditions was a huge risk but there wasn’t any choice. I want her kept on the drugs for the next three days at least and then you can review the situation. She’ll also need some degree of pain relief as well, so I’ll leave you to administer pethidine whenever you feel it necessary. The decision will be yours.’

  Meg smiled. ‘You were telling the truth when you said that nurses on these trips are nurse practitioners.’

  ‘I usually say what I mean, Meg. It saves a lot of trouble at the end of the day, not to mention a great deal of unnecessary confusion.’

  Had that been meant as a warning? Was Jack reminding her of all the points he’d made about her lack of suitability for this sort of work? Meg wasn’t sure but she took it to heart anyway.

  Her shoulders straightened and she looked steadily back at him. ‘I’m sure it does. I can’t see any point in prevaricating either, although I do believe that often we’re forced to reevaluate a situation because we don’t always have all the necessary facts to hand to make a proper assessment in the beginning.’

  Jack inclined his head gravely. However, there was a slight curl to his mouth which told her that her words had hit their mark. ‘Obviously, we’re in agreement, then. So, if you don’t have any more questions, I’d better be off. So long as everything is going to plan here, I shall see you in three to four days’ time. Someone will come and pick you up.’

  He gave her a last brief smile then strode over to the truck and lithely jumped into the cab. Starting the engine with the minimum of fuss, he set off up the track and quickly disappeared into the trees.

  Meg’s pretty mouth clamped shut with an audible snap. ‘Goodbye’ would have been nice. ‘Take care’ even better. And how about a wave? Surely it wouldn’t have cost him anything to poke his hand out of the window and wave to her?

  She swung round, whipping up her anger at Jack’s abrupt departure because she felt so…so bereft now that he’d gone! She took a deep breath then, both mentally and physically, squared her shoulders.

  To hell with him! She had a job to do and she wasn’t going to waste another second missing Jack Trent!

  ‘That’s great, Leah. It’s healing really well.’

  Meg smiled as she carefully laid a fresh dressing over the incision in Leah’s abdomen. It was the morning of the fourth day of her stay in the village and she was delighted with the progress her patient had made. The wound showed no sign of infection and she’d been able to reduce Leah’s pain relief to zero the previous night. It was obvious that everything was going beautifully and she felt a deep sense of personal satisfaction at the thought of a job being well done. It would be something for Jack to put in the plus column…even though it might grieve him to have to do it!

  Meg sighed as she picked up a strip of tape to fix the dressing into place, deftly using sterile forceps for the task. Far too often thoughts of Jack had intruded during the past few days. He seemed to have got well and truly under her skin so that the last thing she saw each night before she went to sleep was an image of his face.

  That was bad enough, but he also kept cropping up at the most inopportune moments throughout the day, like now, for instance, when she simply wanted to get on with her job. What on earth was wrong with her?

  There was no answer to that question so Meg put it out of her mind as she picked up a second strip of tape. She had instigated the most rigorously sterile routine she could think of to dress Leah’s wound, and it had paid off, although she knew that the villagers thought she was mad!

  All the washing and scrubbing, the boiling and gloving-up was a daily ritual which now attracted a large audience. Meg was aware that it had fast become the highlight of everyone’s day but she didn’t mind because it had helped enormously to break the ice.

  In the past few days she’d treated three children with cuts to their arms or feet and an old woman with a weeping ulcer on her leg. Give her a bit longer and she could set up her own general practice! she thought ruefully, peeling off her gloves and depositing them in the waste container. However, if nothing else, it had boosted her confidence. Despite what Jack thought, she could handle this type of work.

  She groaned under her breath when she realised that she’d arrived back where she’d started and was thinking about Jack once more. If only she could press a button and delete all thoughts of him, life would be so much easier! she decided as she picked up Leah’s son for their daily cuddle. He stared at her unblinkingly, his dark eyes as big as saucers
as he tried to focus on her face.

  ‘You’re a real little sweetheart, aren’t you?’ Meg crooned, buzzing his fuzz of black hair with a kiss as she snuggled him close to her breast. His mouth opened and he immediately started searching for a nipple to latch onto as she laughed.

  ‘No joy there, I’m afraid, young man! You need your mum for that.’

  She looked up with the smile still lingering on her lips as someone came into the hut, and felt her heart come to an abrupt halt when she saw Jack. His unexpected arrival stole her ability to speak so that she could only stand and stare at him until the baby began to grizzle when he realised that the promised meal hadn’t materialised.

  Meg passed him back to Leah, using the few seconds it took to try and get herself in hand. What a waste of time that was! Her heart was thumping, her pulse playing tick with itself, her whole body a shivery mass of nerves. Damn the wretched man for making her act like a mindless moron and thereby reinforcing everything he thought about her!

  The thought was just enough to unlock her voice, and she rounded on him, unaware that annoyance had added an extra sparkle to her bright blue eyes. ‘What are you doing here? Did you decide to check up on me and make sure I wasn’t making a hash of things?’

  Colour swept up his face, yet Meg could tell in an instant that it wasn’t anger that had caused it. Her mouth dropped open as she realised that there was embarrassment written all over his handsome face. Why? Because she’d sussed him out? Or…or for some other reason? It was that last itsy-bitsy thought that made her heart surge back to life.

  ‘I…er…ahem!’ He coughed, trying to pretend that it was dust in his throat which had made him stop. However, Meg—with a new-found insight she couldn’t have explained even if she’d written a whole thesis on it—knew it was a ruse. Jack didn’t know what to say and the thought of this superbly confident man being at a loss for words struck her dumb as well so that they both stood and stared at each other.