Emergency: Mother Wanted

* * *

‘There’s been a pile-up on the motorway. Six cars. They’ve asked for a medical team. Zach, I’d like you to go.’ Sean Nicholson glanced at the other cas. officers. ‘And Keely.’

Keely felt a rush of excitement which died immediately when she heard Zach contradict him sharply.

‘Not Keely. I’ll take Adam.’

Adam?

Keely opened her mouth to protest and then shut it again, glancing instead towards Sean. Surely he’d object?

But he didn’t. He merely gave a brisk nod. ‘Fine. Nicky and I will get things ready here. Nicky, which of your nursing staff do you want to send?’

‘Liz,’ Nicky said promptly, and immediately everyone swung into action.

Seething with fury, Keely helped prepare Resus for a large influx of casualties and she liaised with Ambulance Control and the wards.

By the time the patients had been admitted and dealt with her shift was almost over, but she was determined to have a word with Zach. She thought she knew why he hadn’t sent her out with the medical team, but she wanted to hear it from his lips.

‘May I talk to you?’

He looked slightly surprised but he gave a nod and they walked towards his office.

‘Were there any fatalities?’ It was small talk but she didn’t want to tackle her problem in the corridor with the whole department listening.

‘Two. Trapped inside one of the vehicles. It was the usual story—everyone driving too close together, bunched up in the fog.’

He opened the door to his office and she followed him inside and closed the door firmly behind them.

His eyes drifted quizzically to her hands which were still holding the door handle. ‘So what’s the matter, Keely?’

She took a deep breath. ‘You’re the matter. Or rather, the way you treat me is the matter. Why are you doing it, Zach?’

He looked at her warily. ‘Why am I doing what?’

She gave him an impatient look. ‘You don’t ask me any questions, you don’t let me see any complicated patients, you hang over me like a nursemaid and now you just refused to let me go out as part of an emergency team even though Sean obviously thought I was capable of it.’ She ticked the reasons off one by one on her fingers. ‘I know you don’t trust me but I think you should at least give me a chance.’

There was a long silence and then he turned and walked over to his window, staring out into the darkness towards the fells. ‘I do trust you.’

‘No, you don’t!’ She walked over to him, determined to make him look at her. ‘You never let me work the way you let the other doctors work.’

‘That isn’t because I don’t trust you,’ he muttered, raking long fingers through his already ruffled hair.

Keely frowned, baffled by his response. ‘Why, then? If you trust me then why aren’t you just throwing me in the deep end along with everyone else? Why wouldn’t you let me go out as part of the emergency team? It’s obvious that you don’t trust my clinical judgement—’

‘That’s not true.’ He frowned sharply, as if the thought hadn’t occurred to him. ‘From what I’ve seen, your clinical judgement is spot on.’

‘So why…?’

He turned to look at her, his blue eyes suddenly hard. ‘Because sometimes these pile-ups are dangerous and the medical team ends up operating in lethal conditions. You could have been sitting in a squashed car giving pain relief to some poor chap who was going to be trapped for hours, you could have been dealing with someone who’d been thrown through the windscreen…’

She swallowed, taken aback by his grim expression and by the harsh tone of his voice. ‘But you sent Adam.’

He closed his eyes briefly and gave a sigh. ‘Yes. I sent Adam.’

‘Because he’s a man?’ Keely frowned. ‘Because you don’t think I can handle the stress? Why can Adam handle the stress better than me? I didn’t think you were a chauvinist, Zach.’

He muttered something under his breath. ‘I am not a chauvinist.’

‘Then why did you choose not to send a woman into that situation?’

‘I didn’t choose not to send a woman.’ His jaw was rigid with tension. ‘I chose not to send you.’

‘Me?’ Keely stared at him. ‘So you’re saying you would have sent another woman, but not me.’

He held her gaze. ‘Maybe.’

She felt bemused and frustrated. ‘Because you think I’m a child?’

‘No.’ He shook his head impatiently. ‘This is nothing to do with your age. More your personality.’

Keely’s heart was thudding and her lips felt stiff. ‘What’s wrong with my personality?’

‘Nothing’s wrong with it!’ He lifted a hand and rubbed his fingers along his forehead. ‘You’ve got a lovely personality.’

‘But?’

‘But nothing,’ he said quietly, sitting on the edge of his desk and watching her steadily. ‘I just know how sensitive you are.’

Keely gave an outraged gasp. ‘That is not fair! You don’t know me at all—you’re just remembering how I was as a teenager. I’m trying to learn and be part of a team, and you’re stopping me. Anyway, why should it bother you if I do get upset? It’s my problem, not yours.’

He held her gaze without flinching. ‘It bothers me because I feel responsible for you.’

‘Responsible for me?’ She gaped at him. ‘Why are you responsible for me?’

‘Because you’re miles away from your family—’

Her eyes widened. ‘I’m a grown woman, Zach! Believe it or not, I don’t need to keep running to Daddy!’

‘Keely, I just don’t want you hurt.’

She stared at him, touched and frustrated at the same time. ‘But you weren’t worried about Adam?’

‘Of course not!’ He gave a short laugh. ‘Adam can take care of himself.’

‘And so can I,’ Keely said softly. ‘So can I, Zach. Whatever you may think of me, whatever your memory tells you, I’m completely grown up now. I don’t need your protection, however well meaning.’

His expression was bleak. ‘We see some hideous things in Casualty.’

‘Then I’ll see them, too,’ Keely said firmly, pushing her blonde hair behind one ear. ‘Please, Zach, this is ridiculous. All week you’ve been hanging over my shoulder, asking everyone questions except me, treating me like the teenager I used to be. I am not a teenager any more. This isn’t even my first job. You’re driving me mad.’

Zach winced and had the grace to look guilty. ‘Have I been that bad?’

‘Worse!’ Keely scowled and then grinned, her natural good nature reasserting itself. ‘But I’ll forgive you if you stop policing my every movement.’

Zach walked towards her and stopped dead, his eyes scanning her face as if he was trying to see her for who she was and not for who he remembered her to be.

‘I just don’t want you hurt,’ he said gruffly. ‘I know Prof would want me to keep an eye on you.’

‘He certainly would,’ Keely agreed sweetly, ‘but you never did what Prof wanted when you worked for him, so don’t use that as an excuse. I distinctly remember him saying that you were the brightest, most frustrating doctor he’d ever worked with. You questioned everything and you took risks that made his hair stand on end. And those risks usually paid off.’

‘OK. I take your point.’ He spoke slowly, a wry smile playing around his firm mouth. ‘You have a right to spread your wings, too. I’ll stop treating you as a child. On one condition.’

‘Which is?’

His voice was soft. ‘If you have a tough day, you come and talk to me. As a friend. We all need someone to turn to in this department. I want to be sure that you won’t bottle anything up just to because you’re trying to prove yourself.’

‘I never bottle anything up—you of all people should know that.’ She coloured slightly but decided that she might as well clear the air once and for all. ‘If I was any good at hiding my emotions, Zach, I wouldn’t have yelled at you just now and I wouldn’t have proposed to you all those years ago.’

The corners of his mouth twitched and his blue eyes gleamed. ‘I thought we weren’t going to mention that again.’

She gave a groan. ‘I know. You’ve been so discreet and I can hardly bear to think about it, it’s so embarrassing. But I still feel that I haven’t really apologised properly.’

‘I’ve already told you you don’t need to apologise.’

‘Zach, I proposed to you!’

His blue eyes twinkled. ‘It was a leap year, sweetheart. You were allowed to propose to me. I was very flattered.’

Sweetheart. The way he said it made her insides melt even though she knew it hadn’t been meant in that way.

Keely pulled herself together and cleared her throat. ‘Anyway, I apologise for behaving like such an idiot and embarrassing you.’

‘You didn’t embarrass me.’ His gaze was steady on hers and for a moment she stared at him, her pulse picking up as she looked at the broad shoulders and the dark hair. He was seriously gorgeous…

She suppressed a whimper. Why did he have such a powerful effect on her. Why? She wasn’t a teenager any more, but when she was with him she certainly felt like one.

No!

She wasn’t making that mistake again.

She was not going to fall for Zach a second time.

‘So that’s agreed, then.’ She made an effort to ignore the effect he had on her. ‘You’ll treat me like an adult and forget the fact that I once had pigtails and proposed to you.’

‘It’s a deal,’ he said softly. ‘Oh, and by the way—you look considerably better without the pigtails.’

For a moment their eyes held and she immediately forgot all her resolutions and allowed herself the luxury of one brief fantasy. Zach looking deep into her eyes and telling her that he loved her…

Oh, help! She was going mad.

‘Right, then.’ She backed away, forcing herself to break the spell. ‘I’d better get back to work.’

As she closed his office door behind her she gave a low groan.

Working with the man was going to be a nightmare! She may have grown up but the reaction of her hormones was exactly the same as it had been when she was sixteen. The truth was that she couldn’t be in the same room as Zachary Jordan without wanting him. Which meant that she had a very big problem.

* * *

She couldn’t see a fracture.

Keely stared hard at the X-ray, half expecting something to suddenly appear, but it looked clear. Which didn’t fit with what she’d discovered on examination. All her instincts told her that the wrist was broken.

So why was the X-ray clear?

Bother.

She was going to have to ask Zach’s advice.

Which was a nuisance because she’d been successfully avoiding him all week. Although he was the senior doctor on her shift, she’d managed to deal with almost everything without his help.

She found him in Resus, talking to Nicky.

‘Problems?’ He lifted a dark eyebrow and she felt her heart stumble. Why did he have to be so good-looking? It was very distracting. If she was going to last six months in A and E she was going to have to develop survival strategies. Like looking over his shoulder when she talked to him rather than at his face.

‘I need your advice.’ She raked slim fingers through her jagged blonde hair and gave him a brief smile. ‘I’ve got this lady in cubicle one I’m not sure about. She fell on her wrist and all the signs are that she’s fractured her scaphoid, but I can’t see anything on the X-ray.’

‘Scaphoid fractures are notoriously easy to miss on X-ray so you’re right to ask for help,’ he said quietly. ‘What did you find on examination?’

‘Swelling, pain on wrist movements, tenderness on direct pressure two centimetres distal to Lister’s tubercle of the radius and on proximal pressure on the extended thumb or index finger.’ Keely listed everything briskly and he nodded.

‘What X-rays did you request?’

‘A?, lateral and scaphoid views—was that wrong?’ She felt a stab of anxiety. ‘Did I miss something?’

‘No, you did well.’ There was a glimmer of surprise and admiration in his eyes. ‘Better than most. Come on, I’ll check the X-rays for you.’

Keely followed him down the corridor, struggling to keep up with his long stride.

He squinted at each of the X-rays in turn. ‘Well, you’re right. They’re all negative. Let’s examine her.’

He introduced himself to the patient, examined her thoroughly and then nodded at Keely.

‘It’s a scaphoid fracture. I agree with you. Well done for trusting your instincts.’

As usual his quiet words of praise made her feel as though she could have walked on water.

‘But why are the X-rays clear?’

Whenever she was in doubt about a patient she took every opportunity to pick his brains and was rapidly finding out that Zach Jordan was a first-class teacher.

‘The fracture isn’t always visible,’ he told her. ‘Put her in a scaphoid plaster and refer her to the next fracture clinic. They’ll X-ray again and it might be visible by then.’

She remembered her father saying that Zach Jordan was one of the most talented doctors he’d ever worked with and now she was seeing it at first hand. He was fast and confident, never doubting himself and always ready to do his best for each patient. She just wished she didn’t find him so disturbing.

* * *

‘He’s married.’

Fiona, the doctor who’d sat next to her in the lecture theatre on that first morning, flopped into a chair in the staffroom, a gloomy expression on her face. ‘Why are the good ones always married?’

‘Who’s married?’ Keely stirred her coffee, her mind still on a nasty road traffic accident that had come in earlier.

‘Zach Jordan.’

‘Zach?’ Her hand suddenly shook and hot coffee sloshed over the side of the mug. ‘Oh, no!’

She stood up and fetched a cloth only to find Fiona watching her with a knowing expression.

‘You, too…’

Keely walked back to the table. ‘What do you mean—“you, too”?’

‘You’re obviously just as smitten as the rest of us.’

‘Fiona, I just spilled my coffee,’ Keely said calmly, carefully mopping up the mess she’d made. ‘Why does that make me smitten?’

Fiona gave a wry smile. ‘Because he has that effect on women. My entire body shakes when he comes into a room. Believe me, I can’t hold anything hot within a hundred yards of the man.’

Keely laughed. ‘Fiona, you’re awful.’

‘Well, all I can say is that she must be an amazing woman.’

Keely rinsed out the cloth and put it back by the sink. ‘Who must be?’

‘His wife.’ Fiona curled her legs underneath her and settled herself more comfortably in the chair. ‘Imagine marrying a man like that. Not only does he have the most luscious body I’ve ever seen but he’s strong and cool-headed and a brilliant doctor. And so-o sexy. What a man!’

Keely frowned. Was Zach really married? And why should it bother her if he was?

A man like Zach was bound to be involved with someone. And it was really none of her business. It wasn’t as if she had feelings for him. Not really. She was just struggling with the remnants of a powerful teenage crush.

‘He called her sweetheart,’ Fiona said dreamily. ‘I heard him on the phone. And then he said he loved her. Can you imagine? Isn’t that romantic? He didn’t care who was listening, he loves her so much he just wanted to tell her. If you ask me, she’s a very lucky woman.’

A lucky woman indeed. Whoever she was.

Keely had heard enough. She emptied the remains of her coffee down the sink, made a limp excuse to Fiona and left the room.

Why did hearing about Zach’s love life bother her so much?

She frowned again. Her reaction didn’t make sense. So she’d once had a crush on him. So what? That wasn’t enough to make her feel as though she’d just had major surgery to her insides. Her emotions were just confused, that was all.

She walked back to the main area of Casualty and picked up a set of notes. Work, that was the answer. Bury herself in work and forget about Zach. He wasn’t hers and he never had been. And she didn’t want him to be, she told herself firmly. OK, so she found him attractive. But so would any woman with a pulse. It didn’t mean anything.

* * *

‘So, have you found somewhere to live yet?’ Nicky flicked the switch on the kettle and turned to glance at Keely. ‘You’ve been here three weeks and you’re still living in that awful flat.’

‘Awful?’ Zach walked into the room in time to hear the last remark. ‘What’s awful about Keely’s flat?’

‘It’s fine,’ Keely lied, ‘just not in the nicest position. I wanted to live in the middle of the country with a view of the fells.’

‘Your flat is not fine,’ Nicky said firmly, ignoring the looks that Keely was giving her. ‘There’s damp on the living-room walls and your landlord is decidedly creepy. And he’s bothering you, you know he is.’

Keely glared at Nicky but it was too late. Zach was suddenly still, his eyes watchful.

‘In what way is he bothering you, Keely?’ His soft tone didn’t deceive anyone and there was a sudden silence in the common room.

‘He isn’t,’ Keely said hastily. ‘Not really. Nicky’s exaggerating.’

‘That’s not true.’ Nicky spoke up again and Keely closed her eyes.

She was going to kill Nicky when she got her alone!

‘He keeps knocking on her door at all sorts of weird hours,’ Nicky told them, oblivious to the furious glances that Keely was sending in her direction. ‘I’m really worried about her. She needs to move out of that place.’

Zach’s expression was grim. ‘Keely? Is it true?’

Keely suppressed a groan. Oh, no. Now he’d get all protective again, and he’d just started to treat her like an adult.

‘I think he’s just a bit lonely,’ she said lamely, and his mouth tightened.

‘I’ll get you a room in the medical block until you can find somewhere else.’

Without waiting for her reply he paced over to the phone and spoke to the accommodation officer. Judging from Zach’s tone, they were less than helpful and when he finally replaced the receiver his expression was black.

‘They haven’t got anything at the moment—apparently they had a burst pipe last week and it’s taking for ever to fix. We’ll have to think of something else.’

‘It’s all right,’ Keely said mildly. ‘I’ve got two flats to look at on Friday when I’m not working. Thanks for trying but I’m taking care of it.’

He hesitated, his dark jaw tense. ‘I’m not happy with you staying there—’

‘It’s fine, Zach,’ Keely repeated firmly, conscious that Nicky and two of the other doctors were watching them curiously. And no wonder. Why was he making such a fuss?

‘Well, if those flats don’t come to anything, let me know. If you’re stuck you can sleep in the doctors’ room.’

They had a room where doctors could sleep if they were on duty at night, but it was rarely used.

‘Thanks.’

Zach turned and walked out, and Nicky let out a long breath.

‘Well, who’s protective, then?’

Keely rolled her eyes. ‘To Zach, I’m still sixteen and I probably always will be.’

With that she stood up and left them to speculate.

She was checking an X-ray later in the day when she heard Nicky shout from the corridor.

‘Keely, I need a doctor—now!’

Keely was there in an instant, her heart pounding as she saw the toddler in the arms of a paramedic.

‘She’s fitting,’ Nicky said quickly. ‘It may be a febrile convulsion. Get her into Resus and I’ll bleep Paeds.’ A febrile convulsion was a fit brought on by a high temperature and was quite common in very young children.

‘Are the parents here?’ Keely took charge of the toddler’s airway and gave her some oxygen.

‘Not yet.’ Nicky turned to one of the student nurses, her expression grim. ‘Call Zach. Call Zach now!’

Keely glanced up in surprise. Why was Nicky in such a panic? It wasn’t like her at all and everything was under control.

‘It’s OK,’ she said calmly. ‘I can handle this without Zach.’

‘I know you can handle it,’ came the reply. ‘I don’t need Zach for his medical skills.’

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.