A Christmas Knight
A Christmas Knight
Kate Hardy
A Christmas Knight
Kate Hardy
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Table of Contents
Cover Page (#uc3a505c1-e3f5-544f-acc4-f77d6e728bb5)
Title Page (#u503c58a8-edd2-57d2-922e-88546cde0a4b)
About the Author (#uc7af87fa-0a11-52ec-8e24-f497cfd8dfad)
Chapter One (#u4916e5af-714c-5494-a660-27aeb16f724a)
Chapter Two (#u381e81d7-4944-5495-81c2-cb56fdc81111)
Chapter Three (#u4a9cf23b-f992-55dd-8fdc-4fb63c9a49c8)
Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Author
KATE HARDY lives in Norwich, in the east of England, with her husband, two young children, one bouncy spaniel, and too many books to count! When she’s not busy writing romance or researching local history, she helps out at her children’s schools. She also loves cooking—spot the recipes sneaked into her books! (They’re also on her website, along with extracts and stories behind the books.) Writing for Mills & Boon has been a dream come true for Kate—something she wanted to do ever since she was twelve. She’s been writing Medical™ Romances for nearly five years now, and also writes for Modern Heat™. She says it’s the best of both worlds, because she gets to learn lots of new things when she’s researching the background to a book: add a touch of passion, drama and danger, a new gorgeous hero every time, and it’s the perfect job!
Kate’s always delighted to hear from readers, so do drop in to her website at www.katehardy.com
Chapter One
‘LET me get you a coffee, and then I’ll take you round and introduce you to the team,’ Essie, the charge nurse, said with a smile.
‘Thanks. I, um, brought some biscuits for the staff-room,’ Louisa said, handing her a large tin.
‘Thanks very much.’ Essie beamed as she peered at the lid. ‘Chocolate ones, too. Excellent. You’ll fit right in.’ She gave Louisa a sympathetic look. ‘The first day’s always the worst, isn’t it? Like being back at school.’
Louisa smiled back. ‘I’ve been doing agency work for the last three months, so you’d think I’d be used to change. But, yes, you’re right. It feels like the first day at school, when you don’t know anyone and you don’t know the routine—well, as much of a routine as you get in the emergency department,’ she finished. No two days were ever quite the same.
‘You’ll be fine,’ Essie told her warmly. ‘I’ve rostered you onto Minors—but if anything big comes in, I might need to borrow you for Resus.’
‘That’s fine,’ Louisa said. As a nurse practitioner, she was able to see patients through from start to finish for the less serious problems—from taking the medical history through to doing the clinical examination, ordering and interpreting tests, diagnosing the ailment and organising a treatment plan for the patient. She loved the responsibility and the feeling that she was in charge of her own day, but she also enjoyed the busy, hands-on role in Resus, working as part of a team.
‘Dominic’s the senior registrar in Resus today. He’s our resident heart-throb,’ Essie said with a grin. ‘He looks like Prince Charming.’
Heart-throb. Jack had been a heart-throb, too. But he’d been very far from being Prince Charming. He’d walked out on Louisa just when she’d needed him most. So much for promising to love, honour and cherish her. Jack had left her—and Tyler—because he couldn’t handle the idea of having a son with Asperger’s. As soon as Jack had heard the paediatrician say the words ‘autistic spectrum disorder’, he’d closed off, and Louisa had seen it in his eyes. She’d known that her marriage was cracking beyond repair, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Less than two months later, he’d moved out and asked her for a divorce.
She could cope with Jack’s rejection of her; but she’d never, ever forgive him for rejecting their bright, quirky, gorgeous son. And she’d taken notice of the old saying, ever since: Handsome is as handsome does.
Essie didn’t seem to notice Louisa’s silence. ‘He’s been here for eight years now. He joined us as a wet-behind-the-ears house officer, and worked his way up.’ She sighed. ‘Though he’s not one for settling down, our Dominic. Women used to fall at his feet in droves, but nowadays he doesn’t even date—he’s completely wrapped up in his work. Pity, because he’d make a fantastic husband and father.’
Louisa had already spotted the photograph on Essie’s desk; the charge nurse was smiling for the camera, looking blissfully happy with her husband and two children. It seemed that Essie was the type who wanted everyone to be as happy and settled as she was. Well, she was happy and settled. She just wasn’t in a two-parent family. ‘Marriage isn’t for everyone,’ she said quietly.
‘You’re not married, then?’
‘Not any more.’ Not that she wanted to talk about it. Though, given the photograph on Essie’s desk, she could offer the perfect distraction. ‘But I do have a gorgeous son. Tyler.’ She took a photograph from her purse to show the charge nurse.
‘Oh, he looks a sweetie. And he’s so like you.’
‘He is,’ she agreed with a smile. ‘I’m really lucky.’ And she meant it. Tyler was the light of her life, and she loved him with a fierceness that she knew probably made her protect him too much.
‘So how old is he?’ Essie asked.
‘Eight. He started middle school last week—so this summer was the least disruptive time to move here from London.’ Louisa took a deep breath. ‘Actually, that’s why I started today, not last week—I wanted to give him a few days to settle in to his new school first.’
‘It’s always hard, changing schools, whether you’re from the local first school or not,’ Essie agreed. ‘Though I’m sure he’ll soon make friends.’
Louisa would be very, very surprised if he did. Tyler was self-contained in the extreme. Having Asperger’s meant he saw the world in terms of black and white, with no shades of grey. Other children quickly noticed that—especially as Ty was a walking encyclopaedia on his favourite subjects, and wouldn’t hesitate to correct anyone instead of just letting it go for the sake of social harmony. She’d tried to help him, inviting children home for tea after school—but Tyler had never been invited back. Probably because most of the time, when someone came over, he’d lose interest in whatever game they were playing, disappear up to his room and start drawing. ‘Maybe,’ she said.
‘Give it a week and he’ll be playing football with the rest of them,’ Essie said cheerfully.
Louisa wrinkled her nose. ‘He’s not really into football.’
‘Computer games, then?’ Essie asked. ‘Tell me about it. My eldest is glued to his console.’
‘What Ty really likes is horses. I’m going to ring round the local riding stables to see if there are any places for lessons.’ Louisa had read an article about how good riding could be for children with Asperger’s; it was just a matter of finding the right stables, one that could accommodate Tyler without making a big deal out of things. And maybe he’d find it easier to make friends with children who shared his passion.
‘Horses?’ Essie looked thoughtful. ‘Then you definitely need to talk to Dominic. He’s got a horse. He’s bound to know a good riding school locally.’
Louisa smiled politely, but she had no intention of asking a heart-throb for help. She’d already learned the hard way that heart-throbs weren’t reliable—and she’d never, ever take any risks with her son.
Essie had introduced Louisa to everyone except the resus team when her bleep went off.
‘Resus—and I’m needed,’ she said ruefully, glancing at the display. ‘Sorry. Can I leave you with Jess to open up Minors?’
‘Sure. No worries,’ Louisa said.
Her first case was a seven-year-old girl who’d fallen and bent her fingers back the previous day; now her hand was stiff and swollen.
‘I know I should’ve brought her here earlier. I thought she’d just banged herself and was making a fuss, and it’d settle down,’ Mrs Aldiss said, chewing her bottom lip.
‘That’s often the case, after a fall,’ Louisa reassured her. ‘It’s a tough one to call. Have you given her anything for the pain?’
‘I’ve been giving her paracetamol, and I put an ice pack on her hand yesterday.’
‘That’s good.’ She crouched down so she was on a level with the little girl. ‘Hello, I’m Louisa—and you’re being ever so brave, Pippa,’ she said with a smile. ‘Can I have a look at your hand, so I can see what’s wrong and make it better?’
The little girl was white-faced, but she nodded.
Gently, Louisa examined her fingers. ‘Can you make a fist for me?’ she asked, showing Pippa exactly what she wanted her to do.
The little girl tried, but her sharp intake of breath told Louisa that it was just too painful.
‘OK, sweetheart, you can stop trying now. You’ve done really well,’ Louisa reassured her. ‘I don’t want to do anything that’ll make it hurt more. But what I do want to do is see what’s making it hurt so much, so I’m going to send you to X-Ray. It’s not going to hurt, but they have special cameras there to take a picture of your bones so I can see if you’ve broken your finger or whether you’ve hurt one of the ligaments—that’s the bit that helps you bend your finger.’ She ruffled the little girl’s hair. ‘And once I know that, I’ll know how to treat you. If it’s just a little break, I’ll do what we call buddy taping—that means I’ll strap your poorly finger to the one next door, to help it mend.’
‘If it’s a big break, will she need a plaster on her hand?’ Mrs Aldiss asked.
‘It depends on the break. But I’d definitely recommend resting her hand in a sling. If you can just wait here for a second, I’ll make sure Pippa’s booked in with X-Ray and they know exactly what I want to see,’ Louisa said.
Mrs Aldiss cuddled the little girl. ‘And we’ll have a story while we’re waiting, OK, honey?’
Louisa swiftly booked a slot in X-Ray, explained what she was looking for, and then went back to her patient. Pippa’s mother was clearly near the end of the story, so Louisa waited for her to finish. ‘You’re very good at that.’
‘It’s Pip’s favourite. I’ve read it that many times, I know it off by heart,’ Mrs Aldiss said.
Louisa smiled at them and took a sticker out of her pocket. ‘I’ll see you again after you’ve gone to X-Ray, Pippa, but in the meantime I think you deserve one of my special stickers for being really brave.’
‘Thank you,’ Pippa said shyly, brightening slightly at the sight of the glittery badge.
Louisa directed Mrs Aldiss to the X-ray department, then went to collect the notes for her next patient.
The morning was busy, with a steady stream of patients; when Pippa came back after her X-ray and Louisa pulled the file up on the computer screen, she was relieved to see it was a stable fracture.
‘See this little tiny mark on here?’ she asked. ‘That’s where you’ve broken your finger. So what I’m going to do is strap it to the finger next to it, to be a buddy to keep the poorly one straight.’ Gently, she strapped up the little girl’s finger. ‘You need to rest your hand, sweetheart, so I’m going to give you a sling—that will help you keep your hand up and make the swelling go down, so it doesn’t hurt so much. And I’d like you to come back in a week’s time for another X-ray so we can see how well it’s healing.’
‘How long will she need her fingers like that?’ Mrs Aldiss asked.
‘Usually it’s three or four weeks, and then another couple of weeks where you keep the hand rested—not too much exercise, and I’m afraid that includes using games consoles.’
‘Just as well it’s you and not your brother, then,’ Mrs Aldiss said ruefully, ‘or we’d really be in trouble!’
‘It is your writing hand, Pippa?’ Louisa asked.
Pippa shook her head. ‘So I can still draw?’
‘You can definitely still draw.’ Louisa smiled at her.
‘I’ll bring you a picture when I come back,’ Pippa said.
‘I’d love that. I’ve only just moved to this department,’ Louisa said, ‘so I have a whole wall that’s just waiting for pictures. I’ll see you in a week, sweetheart. Remember to rest your hand as much as you can.’
Things had quietened down slightly, just after lunch-time, when Essie came into the office where Louisa was catching up with paperwork. ‘The lull before the storm, hmm?’ she asked.
‘Probably. So I’m making the most of it and sorting out this lot,’ Louisa said, gesturing to the notes and the pile of letters she was working through.
‘Can I borrow you for a minute to meet the resus team? They’re on a break—and very grateful for your biscuits, I might add.’
Essie continued chatting until they reached the rest room, and then introduced her to the resus team. ‘This is Sally, our student nurse.’
Sally greeted her warmly, and then Essie motioned to the man who was sitting apart from the others, reading a medical journal.
‘Louisa, this is Dominic Hurst, our senior reg. Dominic—Louisa Austin, our new nurse practitioner.’
Essie had described him as looking like Prince Charming. And that wasn’t the half of it, Louisa thought. Dominic Hurst looked like a Pre-Raphaelite painting of a medieval prince, all dark flowing locks and fair skin and chiselled cheekbones and dark, dark eyes. Even dressed simply in a plain white shirt, sober tie and dark trousers, he was incredibly striking. No wonder women fell at his feet in droves. He was tall—just over six feet, she’d guess—and, at close range, those navy-blue eyes were devastating. Not to mention that beautiful mouth, which sent all kinds of crazy thoughts spinning through her head.
‘Pleased to meet you, Dr Hurst,’ she said politely.
He looked up from the journal and blinked. ‘Sorry?’
‘Dominic, I can’t believe you’re still working when you’re on a break.’ Essie rolled her eyes. ‘You didn’t hear a word I just said, did you?’
‘’Fraid not. I was reading.’ He gave her a wry smile. ‘Sorry.’
‘This is Louisa Austin, our new nurse practitioner,’ Essie repeated.
‘Pleased to meet you, Nurse Practitioner Austin.’
Dominic’s handshake was firm, precise and brief—and it felt as if an electric current was running through her veins. Which was crazy, because she never reacted like that to anyone. It hadn’t even been like that with Jack, in the good days. So why now? And why this man?
‘Louisa’s looking for riding lessons, because her son likes horses,’ Essie continued, and Dominic’s expression turned wary.
Oh, for pity’s sake, did he think she was going to use her child as an excuse to come on to him? Still, she wasn’t going to be rude to him. ‘He does indeed. He wants to be a knight when he grows up,’ Louisa said, keeping her tone light.
If anything, Dominic’s expression grew even warier. She didn’t have the faintest idea why, but despite Essie’s suggestion she wasn’t going to bother asking him if he could recommend any riding stables locally. Clearly he’d take it the wrong way, so she’d be better off doing what she always did and sorting it out for herself.
Dominic Hurst might look like Prince Charming, but he definitely didn’t have a charming manner. She sincerely hoped he was better in a work situation, for the sake of his patients and his colleagues. She made a polite murmur, and to her relief Essie stepped in again. ‘Let me introduce you to Sasha and Ronnie,’ Essie said, and swept Louisa over to where two women were making coffee.
Dominic took a gulp of coffee. Whatever was the matter with him? It was the poor woman’s first day in the department and he’d been rude to her.
Well, not rude, exactly—he had at least acknowledged her and shaken her hand.
But the zing of attraction when her skin had touched his had thrown him, made him tongue-tied. Which was crazy, because he was never that boorish. Essie had even given him an opening, saying that Louisa was looking for riding lessons for her child. He could’ve given her Ric and Bea’s number, because he knew they had a couple of spaces on their list. They’d talked about it last night, how people were cutting back on extras in the recession and riding lessons were expensive, and Bea had suggested that they should hold an open day to get people interested in the stables.
But then Louisa had said something that slammed right through him. He wants to be a knight when he grows up. Yeah. Been there, done that, and the absolute worst had happened.
Though that wasn’t her fault and he shouldn’t have taken it out on her.
He’d apologise later, and hopefully she wouldn’t hold it against him if she was needed to work with his team in Resus.
Riding lessons. For her son.
Though she wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. And there wasn’t a tell-tale band of pale skin on her finger to say she’d removed it for work. He’d looked. And he was cross with himself for looking.
Dominic took another gulp of coffee, needing the bitter liquid to jolt some sense back into him. Louisa Austin was gorgeous, with beautiful grey eyes and long dark hair; she’d tied it back hygienically for work, but he could imagine what it looked like loose. Like waves of shiny silk. Her mouth was a perfect rosebud, and it sent a shiver of pure desire running through him, along with an insane urge to find out how it would feel against his own mouth. It had been a long, long time since he’d felt an attraction that strong and that immediate—and that was what had thrown him most.
He knew that it would be pretty stupid to act on that attraction. He wasn’t in the market for a relationship; and, even if he was, Louisa had a son. Which meant that either she was already spoken for, despite the lack of a wedding ring, or she was a single parent who’d be wary of taking any risks in a relationship, for her child’s sake, and would want someone responsible in her life.
Responsible.
Right.
Which was about as far from him as you could get: hadn’t he ruined his brother’s life, two years ago?
He needed to get out of here. Now.
‘No rest for the wicked,’ he said, striding over to the sink and rinsing out his mug. ‘If we’re to have any chance of meeting our targets today, I’d better get back out there and hope Resus stays quiet for the rest of the afternoon. Welcome to the team, Nurse Practitioner Austin.’ And he left the rest room before he could do anything ridiculous. Like asking her to have lunch with him tomorrow so they could get to know each other a little better.
The rest of Louisa’s shift turned out to be as busy as the morning, but she managed to get to the after-school club on time to meet Tyler.
‘Hi, Mum.’ He gave her the shy smile that always made her melt.
‘How was your day, honey?’ She gave him a hug.
‘OK.’
‘Best bit?’
‘Lunch. We had pasta. It wasn’t as good as yours, though.’
She really hoped that he hadn’t actually said that to the dinner ladies. She could still remember the time they’d had Sunday lunch at her best friend’s house and then, when asked if he’d enjoyed it, he’d very politely thanked Mel and gone on to tell her that her gravy was slimy and her potatoes weren’t nice and crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle like his mother’s were. Luckily Mel hadn’t taken it to heart, but Louisa had had to explain to Tyler that sometimes it was OK to tell a little fib so you didn’t hurt people’s feelings. And even after she’d finished explaining, he still didn’t get it. ‘Let’s go home and make dinner. Do you have any spellings or times tables I need to test you on?’
‘No. Do you want to see the horse I drew at lunch-time?’ He had his sketchbook out of his schoolbag as soon as he’d put his seat belt on.
She stared at the drawing in awe. ‘It’s beautiful, darling.’ The horse was drawn in painstaking detail, and was incredibly realistic. Tyler really did have a talent for art—something she could only assume came from Jack’s side, because nobody in her side of the family was arty. But there was nobody to ask, because Jack’s family had severed all connection with them as soon as Jack had left—and for the same reason.
Though it didn’t bother her any more. She knew that she and Ty were better off without them. Her parents accepted Tyler as he was and gave him enough love for two sets of grandparents. They didn’t need the Listons.
Tyler disappeared to his room as soon as they got home, and Louisa knew exactly what he was doing. Putting his drawing in a plastic wallet, labelling it and adding it to his database. One good thing about having a son who was obsessed with order was that she never had to tell him to tidy his bedroom. It was always immaculate. Smiling, she busied herself preparing dinner, and when everything was ready she called him down, careful not to let the new potatoes, chicken or vegetables touch each other on Tyler’s plate.
He chattered happily about horses all the way through dinner; and then it was the usual routine of washing up while he had a bath, nagging him to clean his teeth, and giving him a kiss goodnight.
Carefully, he turned the kitchen timer next to his bed to twenty minutes. ‘I’ll put my light out as soon as the alarm goes off, Mum,’ he promised.
And she knew he would, even if he was in mid-sentence. Tyler was one for sticking to the rules. ‘See you in the morning, darling. Sleep well,’ she said, giving him another kiss.
Then she curled up on the sofa with her laptop and looked up all the local riding stables, listing them with their phone numbers in her diary. She’d start calling them tomorrow. It was a pity that Dominic Hurst had turned out to be so formal and unapproachable—she would’ve appreciated some tips on choosing the right riding school. But she was used to doing things on her own, so she wasn’t going to let it throw her.
And as for stray thoughts of a tall, dark, gorgeous and reserved medic with a mouth that promised sin…she’d banish them all from her head, because there just wasn’t room in her life for someone like that.
Handsome is as handsome does.
Chapter Two
TUESDAY went without incident in Minors, but on Wednesday Louisa was called in to help in Resus.
‘Essie tells me you’re very experienced, so I’d like you to work with me, please, Nurse Practitioner Austin,’ Dominic said.
She noticed again that he’d addressed her by her title rather than by her name. Was he just being like that with her because she was new, or was he like that with everyone? Then she remembered that Essie had called him by his first name. Better get things straight now, then. ‘OK, but can we spend thirty seconds now to save us a lot of time when our patients arrive?’ she asked.
He frowned. ‘How do you mean?’
‘It goes without saying that I respect your seniority, but I’m used to working on first-name terms. It’s quicker, easier, and less of a mouthful. Would you mind?’
He blinked. ‘OK, Nu—Louisa.’
‘Thank you, Dominic.’ She used his name deliberately. ‘So what’s happened?’
‘Car crash. Three casualties,’ Dominic explained. ‘Both drivers are coming in with suspected whiplash, and the passenger has suspected multiple fractures. Ronnie and Sasha are going to treat the drivers, and I need you with me as lead nurse to treat the passenger—Sally will assist us.’
She nodded. ‘How long have we got to prepare?’
‘Five minutes. I’m going down to the ambulance bay now.’
She busied herself getting the trolley ready; when Dominic came back with the paramedic and their patient, the team swung into action.
‘Rhiannon, this is my team, Louisa and Sally,’ Dominic said calmly. ‘They’re going to help me look after you.’
‘Hurts,’ Rhiannon mumbled. ‘Where’s Gary?’
‘Your husband’s right here,’ he reassured her. ‘Ronnie’s looking after him, and as soon as she’s checked him over and made him comfortable, he’ll be able to come and see you. And we’re going to give something to help with the pain,’ he said. ‘I’m going to put an oxygen mask on you to help you breathe better, and then we’re going to have a proper look at you, OK?’
On Dominic’s direction, Sally gently cut through Rhiannon’s clothes so he could do a full body assessment, top to toe. Meanwhile, Louisa hooked Rhiannon up to a cardiac monitor, put in a second line and started taking obs.
‘Heart rate 135, respirations twenty-six, blood pressure 82/54,’ she said. Tachycardia and low blood pressure pointed to major loss of blood—probably caused by internal injuries, Louisa thought.
‘We need to get some fluids in. Start with a litre of Hartmann’s, and get six units cross-matched for me,’ Dominic said—and looked approving when he saw that she already had the saline solution in her hand.
Dominic had given Rhiannon painkillers to make her more comfortable; but when her blood pressure didn’t respond to the fluids and her sats started dropping, he glanced at Louisa. ‘Can you do ABGs for me, please, Louisa? And, Sally, I need X-rays.’ He listened to Rhiannon’s chest.
From the bruising on Rhiannon’s skin, it looked as if she had several broken ribs. No doubt Dominic wanted to check for pulmonary contusions. There were a lot of problems that could be caused by blunt trauma at high velocity, Louisa knew; with damage in Rhiannon’s chest area, there could be trauma to the heart as well as the lungs.
‘I think we need to intubate.’ He held Rhiannon’s hand as he explained to her what they were doing. ‘You’re struggling to breathe, sweetheart, so we need to help you with that and make sure you get enough oxygen. I’m going to put a tube down your throat so you won’t be able to speak, but I’m going to give you some medication first so you won’t feel it and it won’t hurt—it’ll make you more comfortable. I know you’re feeling tired and it’s hard to talk, so just squeeze my hand if you’re OK with that—once for yes and twice for no.’ He paused. ‘That’s a yes—that’s my girl. We’ll get you comfortable as soon as we can.’
Louisa was just drawing up the ampoules of anaesthetic when one of the drivers who’d been brought in came over to them, his face ashen. ‘Oh, my God, Rhi! I’m so sorry. I couldn’t avoid him—he just pulled out on me and there was nothing I could do.’ He looked distraught as he stared wildly at Dominic and Louisa. ‘I can’t believe I’ve come out with just bruises, and Rhi’s so…so…’ His voice caught.
‘Gary, isn’t it?’ Dominic said, somehow managing to divide his attention and eye contact between his patient and her husband.
‘Yes.’
‘She was asking for you.’
‘Can I hold her hand?’ At Dominic’s brief nod, Gary curled his fingers round his wife. ‘Honey, I’m here, and I love you, and I’m so sorry.’ He dragged in a breath and looked pleadingly at Dominic. ‘Is she going to die?’
‘Not on my shift,’ Dominic said, ‘though it might be easier on you if you wait outside. There’s a vending machine just round the corner. I promise we’ll come and find you as soon as we’ve got her stable and let you know what’s going on, but for now we need to concentrate on Rhiannon here and treat her.’
Gary shook his head. ‘No. I need to stay with her.’
‘Unless you’re a trained medic, it can look very worrying in here,’ Dominic said gently. ‘Especially as we’re just about to intubate her to help her breathe. Trust me, we’re going to do everything we can for your wife, but it will be much better on your nerves if you go and get yourself a hot drink and leave us to it for the next few minutes.’
‘I’ll come and get you as soon as there’s any news,’ Louisa promised. But she noticed that Gary was staring at his wife, looking stunned. In shock, she thought—not the medical kind, but the emotional kind. They needed to get him out of here. ‘Do I have two minutes, Dominic, to show Gary where everything is?’
‘Two minutes,’ Dominic confirmed; the expression in his eyes told Louisa that he knew exactly what she was doing and approved. Which was a huge relief: he was much easier to work with than she’d expected. And he was sensitive with patients and relatives. Maybe she’d just caught him on a bad day on Monday.
‘Come on, I’ll show you where the drinks machine is,’ Louisa said, slipping her arm through Gary’s and guiding him out of Resus.
‘I was coming down the hill. I wasn’t speeding. I could see the other car approaching the junction, but he wasn’t even indicating! And then he just pulled out in front of me. It was as if it all happened in slow motion. I could see we were going to crash, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. I slammed on the brakes, but it wasn’t enough.’ Gary shivered. ‘We hit him and the car spun round. Rhi’s side of the car was squashed against another one. And…’ He covered his face with his hands. ‘She can’t die. We celebrated our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary last week. I can’t…Not without her…’
Louisa got him a cup of hot, sweet tea from the vending machine—even if he didn’t normally take sugar or drink tea, she knew it would help—and settled him in a chair. ‘Gary, it wasn’t your fault, and the staff here are really good,’ she told him gently. ‘We’re going to do our very, very best. Now I have to go back and help Dominic treat Rhiannon, but I’ll be back as soon as I can with any news.’ She squeezed his shoulder. ‘I know waiting’s hard but hang on in there, love.’
‘You’re so kind. Thank you. And please—’ Gary’s face was stricken ‘—please, don’t let my wife die.’
By the time Louisa got back into Resus, the medication had taken effect, and Dominic started to intubate their patient. She’d seen it done before, but never with this calm, confident efficiency—and he was amazingly quick.
Dominic Hurst was a superb doctor, she thought. And she liked the way he’d made time to talk to his patient and her husband, clearly aware of how important communication was as a way of bringing down stress levels.
He blew up the cuff on the tube and turned to the other nurse. ‘Sally, are they ready for us in Radiology?’
‘Yes.’
‘Great. Thanks for that. Can you bleep the orthopods, please, and let them know we have a patient with suspected flail chest? I want to have a look at the X-rays, so I’m going down to Radiology with Rhiannon.’
‘Do you want me to give ITU a call, to put them on standby?’ Louisa asked quietly, so Rhiannon couldn’t hear her and start to worry. In her experience, it was best to involve the intensive care unit as early as possible, because cases of pulmonary contusions often led to ARDS—adult respiratory distress syndrome. And if there were multiple broken ribs, she’d need careful monitoring.
‘Yes, please. And could you tell Gary I’m taking her to X-Ray? Not because he should worry himself sick, but because it means I can see the X-rays straight off and it’ll save us some time. Tell him I’ll come and talk to him as soon as we know more.’ He smiled at her. ‘Thank you, Sally. You’ve done a really good job. You, too, Louisa. Even though this is the first time we’ve worked together, it’s felt as if we’ve been on the same team for years. Your old department must really be missing you.’
The compliment made her feel warm all over—especially as she hadn’t expected it from him. And it was good to work with a doctor who appreciated the nursing staff rather than taking them for granted, especially one who bothered to give a student praise where it was due. She smiled back at him. ‘Thanks.’
While Dominic went off to X-Ray with Rhiannon, Louisa contacted the intensive care unit to put them in the picture, then went in search of Gary to let him know what was happening.
‘Is she going to be all right?’ he asked. ‘I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to her. And that stupid guy who tried to get into a gap that wasn’t there, just to save a few seconds…’ He was shaking, clearly near tears.
Louisa put her arm round him. ‘I know, love. You said yourself there was nothing you could do, so don’t blame yourself. The police will deal with the other driver.’ Who’d also walked away without a scratch, according to Ronnie, but that wasn’t something Louisa intended to share. ‘We’ll know a lot more when the X-rays are back, and Dominic will talk you through what Rhiannon’s injuries are and how we’re going to treat her. But for now we’re keeping her comfortable. Try not to worry—and, yes, I know that’s a lot easier said than done.’ She gave him a sympathetic smile. ‘Is there anyone we can call for you?’
‘I…No.’ He shook his head. ‘I’d better call our daughter myself. She’ll be devastated.’ He dragged in a breath. ‘I can’t use a mobile phone here, can I?’
‘In the corridors, you can,’ she reassured him. ‘The phone won’t interfere with equipment there.’ It wasn’t the only reason the hospital preferred not to have people chatting on mobile phones—loud conversations disturbed other patients, and some ringtones sounded eerily like alarms on equipment. The blanket ban on mobile phones throughout the hospital had been relaxed, except for critical-care areas such as the emergency department, the coronary care unit and the special care baby unit, where equipment could be affected by electromagnetic interference.
‘Thank you.’
When Dominic came back from Resus, he looked serious but calm. ‘Gary, I’ve seen the scans and I’m sending Rhiannon up to Theatre where the surgeons can help her. She’s got four ribs broken in two places, pulmonary contusions—that’s a bruise on the lung and you often get that with broken ribs—and what looks to me like a cut to her liver.’
‘So the surgeons can fix her ribs?’
‘They might decide to let them heal without fixing them,’ Dominic said. ‘But the contusions are going to make it a bit hard for Rhiannon to breathe, so she’ll be in Intensive Care afterwards until they heal—they can keep a close eye on her and make sure she’s comfortable.’
‘You mean she’s going to be ventilated?’ Gary’s eyes widened. ‘Oh, my God.’
‘It looks and sounds a lot scarier than it is. It’s going to be the best treatment for her,’ Dominic reassured him. ‘We’re taking her up to Theatre now, and if you’d like to you can come with us, as far as the doors. There’s a waiting area there, and one of the surgeons will come out and talk you through what’s happening. The staff at the ICU—the intensive care unit—are lovely, and they’ll be happy to answer any questions you have.’
They headed up to Theatre, Gary holding his wife’s hand all the way.
‘I’m so sorry, Rhi. I love you,’ he said, clearly trying to hold back tears.
‘They’ll take care of her,’ Louisa said gently, putting her arm round his shoulders as Rhiannon was wheeled through the doors to Theatre. ‘Is your daughter coming?’
‘She’s on her way.’ He bit his lip. ‘And I’m keeping you from your work.’
‘That’s OK.’ If necessary, she’d work through her lunch hour to make sure that the targets were hit. People came before admin, in her book, and always would; and if she had to explain herself to the bean-counters, so be it. Nursing was about people, not numbers. ‘I’ll wait until she gets here.’
When Gary and Rhiannon’s daughter arrived, Louisa explained what had happened and what would happen next, made sure they both had a hot drink, then headed back down to the emergency department. She was back in Minors as nurse practitioner for the rest of her shift, and her lunch break consisted of two minutes to bolt a sandwich so that she could catch up with the delay in treating her patients. When it was clear that she was still running late, she made a quick call to her mother to ask if she could pick up Ty from after-school club, and continued working steadily through her list. After she’d seen her last patient, she headed for Resus, hoping that Dominic would be there and that he knew how Rhiannon was.
‘Shouldn’t you have been off duty half an hour ago?’ he asked.
She shrugged. ‘It happens. I just wondered if you’d heard anything from the ICU about Rhiannon?’
‘Yes, I have.’ He smiled at her.
Without that reserve, he was truly stunning; her heart felt as if it had just done a somersault. Which was crazy, because she wasn’t looking to feel this way about anyone. She didn’t need a relationship to complicate her life.
‘Do you have time for a quick coffee while I fill you in?’ he asked. ‘I could do with a Danish pastry.’
That sounded dangerously close to a date. Even though Essie had said he was wrapped up in his work rather than relationships, she didn’t want Dominic to get the wrong idea. Especially as she was aware of how attractive she found him. ‘Sorry, I can’t. I need to pick up my son. Mum met him for me, but he hates it when I’m late.’
‘Can I give you a lift home and tell you on the way?’ he asked.
‘Thanks for the offer, but my car’s in the staff car park.’
‘Then how about I walk you to your car while I tell you about Rhiannon?’
She nodded. ‘That’d be good. Thanks. I’ll just get my bag from my locker.’ She hurried off to collect her things. ‘So what did they say?’ she asked when she returned and Dominic walked with her to the car park.
‘Rhiannon’s pulled through—the surgeons fixed the liver damage and stopped the bleeding. She’s got an epidural in for pain relief, and she’s going to be observed in ICU for a while to make sure she doesn’t develop pneumonia.’
‘Did they wire her ribs?’
‘They decided against surgical correction of her flail chest, because the ventilator will make sure her lungs are working properly and aren’t compromised by her ribs,’ he said. ‘As soon as the contusions are resolved, provided there aren’t any secondary complications, she can come off ventilation. I popped in to see how she was doing and have a chat with Gary. They’ve warned him that her breathing is going to get slightly worse before it gets better—on the same principle that a bruise always hurts more the day after—but now he knows she’s got a good chance, he’s relaxed a bit.’
‘His daughter’s nice,’ Louisa said. ‘She’ll support them both through it.’
He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. ‘You didn’t have a lunch break either, did you?’
‘Yes, I did,’ she protested.
He gave her a wry smile. ‘Long enough to scoff a chocolate bar, hmm?’
‘A chicken wrap, actually. I don’t like chocolate.’
He looked surprised. ‘You must be the first medic I’ve ever met who doesn’t think it’s a food group. And didn’t you bring in a tin of chocolate biscuits the other day?’
‘Yes—because most people like them.’
‘So you’re more of a savoury person?’ he asked.
‘I love cheese scones,’ she said. ‘And hot buttered toast with Marmite.’
‘That’s utterly revolting,’ he said, pulling a face. ‘So where did you work before here?’
‘The London Victoria. It’s where I did my training.’
‘It’s got a good reputation. What made you come to the George IV?’ he asked.
‘The nurse practitioner post was vacant—plus my parents wanted to retire to the coast. I know London’s only an hour and a half from Brighton, but Ty adores his grandparents and I wanted to be able to stay close to them.’
‘So your husband was able to move his job, too, or is he commuting to London?’
‘Ex.’ She took a deep breath. ‘And Ty’s father isn’t part of our lives. At all.’
He grimaced. ‘Sorry. That was nosey of me, and I didn’t mean to stomp on a sore spot.’
She shrugged. ‘It’s OK. I guess the only way you get to know a new colleague is to ask questions.’
‘True.’ Dominic looked wary. ‘And I owe you an apology from the other day. I’m not normally that rude.’
‘I didn’t think anything of it.’
‘Yes, you did—otherwise you wouldn’t have been so sharp with me in Resus this morning.’
She bit her lip. She had been a bit sharp with him. ‘I’m sorry I was—well, snotty with you.’
‘I understand why. Anyway, there isn’t room for egos in our business. The patients should always come first.’
Her sentiments exactly. ‘I think we started off on the wrong foot.’
‘Agreed, and I’m sorry, too. For the sake of a decent working relationship, can we start again?’
She was all in favour of decent working relationships. ‘Louisa Austin, nurse practitioner. Pleased to meet you.’ She stretched out her hand.
He shook it; again, it felt as if electricity bubbled through her veins, but she ignored the sensation. This was work.
‘Dominic Hurst, senior ED reg. Pleased to meet you, too, Louisa.’ He paused. ‘You said you were looking for riding lessons for your son. I assume Essie told you I have a horse? My best friend owns the stables where I keep him. I could have a word with him and his wife.’
‘Thanks, but there’s no point. He won’t have a space.’
He frowned. ‘How do you mean?’
‘I’ve already tried ringing round some of the local riding schools and…well, their lists are all full.’
He looked surprised. ‘We’re in a recession and riding lessons are one of the first things that tend to get cut, because they’re not cheap—instead of going twice a week, people go riding maybe once a fortnight instead.’
Just as she’d thought. Especially when the waiting lists had suddenly become two years long. Might as well get it over with now. ‘The thing is, my son has Asperger’s.’
He shrugged. ‘And?’
‘The riding schools I rang changed their minds about having places when I explained.’
‘More fool them. Riding’s really good for Asperger’s kids. Being with horses helps them learn to understand non-verbal body language.’
Now that she really hadn’t expected. She was more used to people being uncomfortable around Ty. Understanding like this was rare. ‘Did you used to work in paediatrics, or do you know someone with Asperger’s?’
‘I know someone,’ he said, ‘and horses have made a huge difference to him. But I can remember his parents used to worry themselves sick about him, because he never seemed to make friends at school. I guess you probably do the same with your son.’
‘All the time,’ she admitted, caught off guard.
‘Don’t,’ he said softly. ‘He’ll be fine. He might only have one or two really close friends, but they’ll be good ones—and that’s better than having hundreds of acquaintances you can’t really rely on when life gets tough. And if he finds a job that matches the things he’s interested in and doesn’t involve having to deal with people whose minds aren’t quite as quick as his, he’ll shine.’
She blinked back the sudden rush of tears. How ridiculous. Just because someone understood, instead of making unfair judgements.
‘Look, I’m going straight to the stables from here. I’ll talk to Ric and Bea tonight, and then maybe you can come and have a look round at the weekend, meet the team, and see if Tyler likes the place.’
‘That’s very kind of you. Are you sure?’
‘They do a lot of work with the RDA—Riding for the Disabled Association,’ Dominic said.
Louisa’s chin came up. ‘Tyler isn’t disabled. He just happens to have a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome.’
Dominic sucked in a breath. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean it to sound like that. What I mean is, Ric and Bea believe in inclusion and it doesn’t matter who you are or what your particular challenges are—if you love horses and want to ride, then you should have the chance to do it. Ric’s parents owned the riding school before they retired and Ric took over, and they were the ones who started the RDA work at the stables. So Tyler won’t be made to feel that he’s a special case or anything—he’ll be treated just like everyone else.’
Again, the tears threatened. How long had it been since people outside her own family and her best friend had treated her precious son just like anybody else? ‘Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome.’
‘He’s eight,’ she warned, ‘and he’s only ever ridden a horse at one of the farm park type places. He’s a complete novice.’
‘Bea’s a brilliant teacher. She’s great with kids and she’s really patient with novices. I’ll talk it over with her tonight. See you tomorrow,’ he said as they reached her car.
‘See you tomorrow. And, Dominic?’ She gave him a heartfelt smile. ‘Thank you.’
Chapter Three
‘WHAT happened?’ Louisa asked.
Mrs Livesey was ashen with worry, cradling her two-year-old son. ‘It’s all my fault. The children were playing nicely and I was chatting to my friend over coffee—I should’ve been watching them more closely. Julian slipped and cut his head open on the piano. I put a cold wet cloth on it to try and stop the bleeding, but it wouldn’t stop, so I brought him here.’
‘That was the best thing to do,’ Louisa reassured her. ‘Scalp wounds always bleed a lot, so they often look worse than they are. Has Julian been sick at all, or had any kind of fit?’
‘No.’
‘Did he black out, or has he been drowsy since?’
Mrs Livesey shook her head.
‘That’s good,’ Louisa said. She assessed the little boy’s limb movements, then shone a light into his eyes; she was relieved to see that his pupils were equal and reactive. She took his pulse and temperature—both of which were in the normal range—and gently examined the cut on his head. ‘It’s clean—you did brilliantly there,’ she told Mrs Livesey, ‘but it’s a little bit too deep just to glue it.’
‘Glue it?’
‘You’d be amazed at what we can do nowadays,’ Louisa said with a smile. ‘I’m going to put a couple of stitches in there, because it will heal better with less scarring.’ She stroked Julian’s hair. ‘I’m going to put some magic cream on your head now to stop it hurting. But to make the magic work even better, we’re going to have to sing a song. Do you know “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”?’
‘Yes,’ the little boy said. ‘Tinkle tinkle.’
‘And can you waggle your fingers like starlight?’ She demonstrated, and he copied her.
‘Brilliant,’ she said. ‘And we’ll get Mummy to sing, too, shall we?’ From experience, Louisa knew that often parents needed as much distraction as toddlers. And Julian was giving a normal two-year-old’s verbal response, which made Louisa fairly sure that the worst of his injuries was the cut.
Once the cream had numbed his skin, she got Mrs Livesey and Julian to sing with her, and gently but swiftly made sure the wound was perfectly clean, then sutured the cut.
‘That was brilliant singing, sweetheart,’ she told the little boy. She glanced up at Mrs Livesey. ‘They’re dissolvable stitches, so you don’t have to worry about bringing him back to have them taken out. You need to keep an eye on him over the next couple of days; if he starts being sick, has a fit or is drowsy or just a bit unwell and you feel something’s not right, come straight back. A mother’s instinct is usually pretty sound and you know your child best.’ She smiled. ‘It’s a lot to take in, so I’ll give you a leaflet about head injuries.’
‘And I have to keep him awake, right?’
‘No, it’s perfectly safe to let Julian go to sleep—he’s going to be tired from crying and the stress of hurting himself. If you’re worried, try waking him after about an hour. I can tell you now, he’ll be pretty grumpy about it, but that’s normal. If you can’t wake him easily, that’s when you need to bring him back.’
She answered a few more questions and, once Mrs Livesey was reassured, Louisa gave Julian a shiny ‘bravery’ sticker and called in her next patient.
When she walked into the staff kitchen for a swift coffee break, Dominic was there.
‘Good timing. The kettle’s hot.’ He smiled at her. ‘Want a coffee?’
That smile was lethal, Louisa thought. Those dimples…no wonder her heart felt as if it had just done another of those odd little flips. But Dominic was her colleague. There wasn’t room in her life for him to be anything more than that. And, even if there was, she’d got it so badly wrong last time that she was wary of repeating her mistake. Handsome is as handsome does.
She strove to sound normal. ‘Thanks, that’d be wonderful. Milk, no sugar, please.’
‘Same as me.’ He paused. ‘How’s the little one you were giving stitches to?’
‘He’s fine.’ She looked at him in surprise. ‘How do you know about that?’
‘I was passing through Minors earlier, and I heard you singing a magic song.’
She felt herself colour. ‘Um.’
‘Hey, don’t be embarrassed. I’m all in favour of whatever it takes to make a child feel less frightened, and singing’s great. I learned three magic tricks when I was a student, precisely so I could make a child concentrate on something other than the reason they came in to see me.’
‘Magic tricks?’
He handed her a mug of coffee. ‘What’s this behind your ear?’ He touched her ear briefly; it was the lightest possible contact but it made Louisa very, very aware of him. When he brought his hand away again, he was flourishing a coin between his thumb and index finger—which he then proceeded to flip between his fingers, one by one.
‘That’s very impressive.’
‘It’s called a Vegas coin roll,’ he told her.
‘That’s going to beat the offer of a sticker every single time—especially for the boys,’ she said with a smile.
‘It doesn’t take long to learn. I’ll teach you some time, if you like,’ he said. ‘Actually, I was hoping to catch you today. Ric says they have a space, so come along on Saturday for a chat. Any time you like between nine and four—he or Bea will be around.’ He fished in his pocket and brought out a folded piece of paper. ‘This is their phone number, their address and directions to the stables from the centre of Brighton.’
She really hadn’t expected that, and her breath caught. An unexpected kindness. ‘Thank you. It’ll mean the world to Ty. He’s been obsessed with horses for years—but, living in London, we didn’t really get to see horses unless we went out at the weekend to one of the farm park places.’
‘And you thought that maybe he’d grow out of the obsession, get interested in something else?’
She nodded. ‘Our paediatrician said these obsessions are very common with Asperger’s children, and they tend to change as the children grow up. But he still really, really loves horses.’
‘I’m with him, there. I met my horse when he was an hour old, and I fell in love with him on the spot.’
She could identify with that. The moment she’d first held Tyler, she’d felt a rush of love like nothing she’d ever experienced before—a deep, deep sense of wonder mingled with protectiveness and sheer joy. She knew that some mothers found it took time to bond with their child, but for her it had been instant and overwhelming—and the love had grown even deeper over the years. ‘I’d better get back to my patients,’ she said. ‘And thank you again. I really appreciate it.’
On Saturday morning, Tyler was almost beside himself with excitement. She drove him to the stables, and Bea showed them around.
‘Did Dominic mention about…?’ Louisa asked quietly when they were in the tack room and Tyler was trying on hard hats.
Bea smiled. ‘Yes. I assume he told you about Andy?’ At Louisa’s blank look, she continued, ‘Ric’s younger brother. He has Asperger’s. Actually, he’s in charge of stable management—Ric and I run the classes,’ she explained. ‘So you don’t need to worry. We’re aware of the challenges, but as far as I’m concerned if a child loves horses and wants to ride, my job is to help the child do just that. We’ll work around the challenges together, because we’re all on the same team.’
Louisa had to swallow hard.
Bea patted her on the shoulder. ‘Riding’s going to be great for him.’
‘Will he be in a class?’
‘I prefer one to one with beginners, at least for the first couple of months, until they’re a bit more confident. But if he wants to come along to a class as well, once we’ve got him started, that’s fine.’
‘Dominic said you do RDA work.’
Bea nodded. ‘We have half a dozen ponies that we use for RDA sessions—they’re very calm and gentle. We run one class each day especially for RDA students. And it’s not just about physical therapy, though of course riding’s great for improving muscle tone and posture and helping to develop fine and gross motor skills. It’s about life skills, too—being with the horses helps both children and adults with communication skills, taking responsibility and being part of a team. And connecting with the animals brings in a new element to their lives.’ She paused. ‘Really, Louisa, you don’t need to worry. We’ll take very good care of him. You can come and watch, bring someone with you, or even just sit in the car and read while he’s having a lesson. Whatever makes you comfortable.’
‘I’d like to watch. Not because I don’t trust you,’ Louisa hastened to add.
‘But because he’s your baby and you don’t want to miss a thing.’ Bea smiled. ‘The first time they ride without being on a leading rein, it’s like watching them take their first steps. It always makes me tear up as much as their mums.’
And then Louisa realised that Bea would take as good care of Tyler as she would herself; as the tension in her shoulders eased, she realised how worried she’d been.
‘He’ll be fine,’ Bea said softly.
Tyler appeared before them, wearing a hard hat. ‘It fits, Mum.’ He beamed at her.
‘Come on. I’ve got half an hour before my next lesson. Let’s get Polo saddled up and you can have a walk round the paddock,’ Bea said.
Tyler’s eyes went wide. ‘Really?’
‘Really. Polo’s going to be your special horse for a while, so let’s get you introduced.’
Watching her son being led round the paddock put a real lump in Louisa’s throat. And Tyler was glowing afterwards. ‘I did it, Mum. I’m going to be a knight. Just like the man in the photograph.’
‘The man in the photograph?’ Louisa was mystified.
Bea looked at her. ‘Ah. You didn’t know.’
‘Know what?’
Bea blew out a breath. ‘I feel as if I’m breaking a confidence here. But I guess you need to see it.’ She took Louisa and Tyler back to the tack room and showed Louisa the photograph on the wall in silence. A man on a white horse, wearing black armour and carrying a lance.
When Louisa peered more closely at it, she realised that the helmet’s visor was up and she could see the rider’s face. Someone she recognised. ‘Dominic?’
‘He still has Pegasus, but he doesn’t joust any more,’ Bea said.
Dominic was a knight—or, at least, he had been one. But, given that he’d been so open about the fact that he had a horse, and that he’d helped her arrange riding lessons for Tyler, why on earth hadn’t he said anything to her when she’d mentioned how much her son wanted to be a knight? ‘Why did he give up jousting?’ she asked.
‘I think it’d be better if he told you,’ Bea said. ‘It’s not my place.’
‘Was he hurt?’ But she could see the mingled concern and awkwardness on Bea’s face. ‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that. It’s not fair to you. Forget I said anything.’
‘That’s what I want to be. A knight,’ Tyler told her.
‘A knight on a white charger, hmm?’ Louisa asked.
‘The horse isn’t white, he’s grey,’ Tyler corrected.
‘He looks white to me,’ Louisa said.
‘White horses are always called grey, Mum,’ Tyler informed her, rolling his eyes.
She ignored his impatience. In Tyler’s mind, if he knew something, it followed that the whole world must know it, too. And in the same painstaking amount of detail.
‘He’s a Percheron. They come from Normandy in France,’ Tyler explained, ‘from a place called Le Perche. It’s thought that Percherons are descended from des-triers, but they’re bigger and heavier than the medieval warhorses. Destriers were trained so you didn’t have to use the reins, because your hands would be full carrying your sword and your shield.’
‘Absolutely right,’ Dominic said. ‘Hello, Louisa.’
Louisa jumped. ‘I didn’t hear you come in.’
‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.’ He looked at Tyler. ‘And you must be Tyler. How was your first riding lesson?’
‘Brilliant, thank you,’ Tyler said politely. He peered at Dominic. ‘And you’re the knight in the picture, aren’t you? Bea says your horse is called Pegasus. That’s a cool name. How big is he?’
‘Seventeen hands.’
‘And how much does he weigh?’
‘Nearly nine hundred kilograms.’
Tyler looked serious. ‘That’s quite a lot.’
‘It feels like even more than that if he stands on your foot,’ Dominic said with a wry smile.
‘Does he live here?’
‘Yes.’ Dominic paused. ‘You can come and see him, if you like—if that’s all right with your mum.’
‘Please, Mum? Can I?’ Tyler’s gaze was full of entreaty.
‘He’s very gentle,’ Dominic reassured Louisa.
And huge, she thought, when Dominic took them over to the stables.
Tyler duly admired the horse, asking if he was allowed to stroke him and then, at Dominic’s agreement, stroking the horse’s nose. ‘He’s beautiful.’
‘He certainly is,’ Dominic agreed.
‘Are you jousting this weekend?’
‘No.’
His voice was even, but Louisa noticed the shadows in his eyes. Time to head off her son’s line of conversation. ‘Ty, we ought to—’ she began, but Tyler spoke over her.
‘But there’s that picture of you. You’re a knight. You had a lance and you were wearing armour, so you must be a jouster.’
‘Not any more.’
‘Why not?’
‘Ty, you can’t ask questions like that,’ Louisa said.
‘Why not?’
‘It’s rude.’
‘But I didn’t say a swear.’
How was she going to explain this? ‘Ty, let’s talk about this later, OK?’
‘But I wasn’t rude,’ Tyler said, looking puzzled.
Dominic raked a hand through his hair. ‘It’s a fair question. I don’t joust any more because there was an accident and someone got hurt.’
He frowned. ‘My mum’s a nurse. She makes people better. Why didn’t your friend go to see a nurse or a doctor?’
Dominic took a deep breath. ‘It doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes even a nurse or doctor can’t fix things.’
‘Oh.’ Tyler digested the information. ‘Do you miss jousting?’
‘Ty, let’s talk about something else,’ Louisa pleaded. ‘I dunno—what the horse eats, what kind of saddle he has?’
But her son refused to budge. ‘If I’d been a knight and I didn’t do it any more, I think I’d miss jousting,’ Tyler said. ‘I want to be a knight.’
‘It takes a lot of practice and hard work,’ Dominic warned.
‘I don’t mind. I’m going to practise holding the reins at home. Bea showed me how. All I need is a ribbon.’
‘So let’s go and buy the ribbon now,’ Louisa said, seeing an opening. She caught Dominic’s eye and mouthed, ‘Sorry.’
He said nothing, and she stifled a sigh. So much for thinking he understood about Asperger’s and the way it gave a child tunnel vision. Then again, Ty had obviously trampled on a really sore spot. He hadn’t meant to: he just hadn’t been able to pick up the visual clues that Dominic was uncomfortable and she hadn’t been able to head Tyler in another direction.
‘Time to say goodbye, Ty,’ she said.
‘Goodbye, and thank you for showing me your horse,’ Tyler said politely.
Dominic leaned back against the stable door and watched them both walk over the yard. Hell. He hadn’t been prepared for that one.
Do you miss jousting?
Yes, he missed it. Missed it like crazy. Holding the lance in his right hand and the reins in his left, then focusing on the tilt, urging Pegasus to a quick canter and then closing in, focusing on where he was going to land his lance. Speed, precision and skill: the kind of thrill that reminded him he was still alive.
Except he’d been a little too precise, the last time he’d jousted. Too fast. And he’d unhorsed his opponent. Oliver had fallen awkwardly, and the armour hadn’t been enough to protect his back: he’d ended up with an incomplete spinal injury. An injury that had left him stuck in a wheelchair and ruined his career—because, as a surgeon, you needed strength as well as delicacy. And you also needed to be able to move round your patient. Stand up. Lean over. Oliver couldn’t do that any more.
Hell, hell, hell. He’d taken so much away from his brother. His career, his hobbies, his mobility, his joie de vivre—Oliver was in too much pain, most of the time, to be full of laughter the way he’d used to be.
So giving up jousting had been the least Dominic could do. To make absolutely sure he never made a mistake like that again and someone else ended up badly hurt.
Pegasus whickered and shoved his head against Dominic’s.
‘Yeah. I know you miss it, too.’ He made a fuss of his horse. ‘But we just do steady hacking nowadays, OK? It’s safer.’
On Monday, Louisa sought out Dominic at lunchtime. ‘I’ve got something for you.’
‘For me?’ He looked at her in surprise.
She went over to her locker, took out a plastic wallet and handed it to him.
He looked at it; it was a sketch of a horse. And not just any horse. One he recognised. ‘That’s Pegasus.’
‘Ty drew him for you yesterday. He just wanted to say thank you. For helping me sort out the lessons and for letting him make a fuss of your horse.’
‘No worries.’ He stared at the picture. ‘Nobody’s ever drawn my horse for me before. And he did this from memory, from seeing Pegasus just once?’ At Louisa’s nod, he blew out a breath. ‘Wow. He’s seriously good at this.’
‘I’ll tell him you liked it, shall I?’ She looked pleased, too; clearly she was more used to people being put off by her son’s directness.
‘You can tell him I’m going to frame it,’ Dominic said. ‘And tell him thank you.’
‘I’m sorry about the way he grilled you. He didn’t mean to trample on a sore spot. He doesn’t pick up—’
‘Visual cues, and he has tunnel vision,’ Dominic finished. ‘I know. I’m used to Andy.’ Andy had said the same thing, too: Why let the accident stop you jousting? He’d gone further, saying that Dominic giving up jousting wouldn’t fix Oliver’s back, so he was being completely self-indulgent and wallowing in it.
Maybe Andy and Tyler were right.
But Dominic still couldn’t see past the guilt. Oliver would never joust again, or be a surgeon again. And that knowledge was hard enough to live with; harder still was the knowledge that his brother was in constant pain. Oliver had forgiven him, but Dominic still couldn’t forgive himself.
‘Are you all right?’ Louisa asked, looking concerned.
‘Old ghosts.’ He shook himself. ‘Ignore me. I’m fine.’
And that was the biggest fib of all.
Dominic had gone back into his shell, Louisa thought over the next couple of days. He was always perfectly polite and professional if she was working with him in Resus, but she was aware of his reserve. She tried to put it out of her head; they were colleagues, so it shouldn’t matter. As long as the patients were treated properly, it shouldn’t matter that he was reserved with her.
And then, on Wednesday evening, her car refused to start after Tyler’s riding lesson. ‘Oh, great.’
‘Why won’t your car work, Mum?’ Ty asked.
‘I don’t know, love.’ She sighed. ‘I’d better call the roadside rescue people.’
She’d been waiting for nearly a quarter of an hour when Bea came over. ‘Are you all right?’
‘My car won’t start. I’ve called the roadside rescue people—hopefully they’ll be here soon and they’ll able to fix it.’ And hopefully it wouldn’t cost a fortune; the expenses of moving had eaten into her savings.
‘Come and sit in the kitchen. It’s getting chilly out here. I’ll get you a coffee,’ Bea said, shepherding them inside and switching on the kettle. ‘Ty, would you prefer juice or water?’
‘Apple juice, please.’
She rummaged in the fridge. ‘Sorry, love. I’ve got orange or cranberry. Or milk.’
‘Nothing, thank you.’
‘Always so polite. You have beautiful manners, Ty,’ she said with a smile.
Tyler was busy drawing a picture of Polo when the roadside rescue people arrived.
‘He’ll be fine in here with me,’ Bea said, ruffling Tyler’s hair. ‘He knows where you are if he needs you—right, Ty?’
He smiled at her. ‘Right.’
When the mechanic had hooked up the diagnostic computer, Dominic came over. In faded jeans, riding boots, a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and no tie, he looked incredibly touchable. ‘What’s the problem?’
‘Spark plugs,’ the mechanic said. ‘Two of them. The problem is, they’ll need specialist equipment to get them out—they’re not a standard size and I don’t have the right equipment to sort it out here. The manufacturer changed them on this particular model,’ he said, rolling his eyes. ‘It’s not like the old days, when spark plugs were the same on every car. If just one had gone, I could’ve disengaged it for you and you would’ve been safe to get home or to the garage, but with two gone it’s not safe to do that, I’m afraid. If you ring the main dealer now, they’ll still be there,’ he suggested, ‘and they’ll book you in so I can put your car on the back of the tow truck, and all you have to do is drop your keys through the door in an envelope.’
‘Would you be able to drop us home afterwards?’ she asked.
‘Sorry, love. It’s not covered by your policy. I would’ve bent the rules for you, given that you’ve got a little one, but I’ve got another callout waiting,’ he said.
‘Fair enough. I can call a taxi.’
The dealer’s service department was just about to close, but they duly booked her in for the next morning and asked her to drop the keys through their door.
She was about to arrange for a taxi to meet them at the garage when Dominic laid a hand on his arm. ‘Don’t worry about calling a taxi. I’ll follow you to the garage and drop you and Ty home.’
‘I can’t impose on you like that.’
He shrugged. ‘From what Tyler tells me, you don’t live that far from me. And I’m finished here for this evening anyway.’
‘Actually, I can drop the keys through the letterbox for you at the dealer’s,’ the mechanic added, ‘if that saves a bit of time.’
‘And it means you’ll get home quicker—Tyler’s routine won’t be thrown out so much,’ Dominic said.
That was the clincher. Ty. Although he coped much better with change nowadays than he had as a small child, it would still throw him. Routine was really, really important to him, and Louisa tried hard to stick to it. ‘Thank you. Both of you. That’s really kind.’
Louisa clearly wasn’t used to leaning on anyone, Dominic thought, so she must’ve been a single parent for quite a while now. And she’d been adamant about Ty’s father not being part of his life. Whatever had happened between them, it had obviously hurt her badly. Not that he could ask. It would be way too tactless.
When he pulled up outside the little terraced house they were renting, Louisa said, ‘Would you like to come in and stay for dinner? It’s nothing special—just pasta, garlic bread and salad—but you’d be very welcome.’
Tempting. So very, very tempting. He was about to say no when Tyler added, ‘If you don’t, then Mum will have to buy you flowers to say thank you for helping, and boys don’t really like flowers so she’ll fuss about it.’
He couldn’t help laughing. ‘OK, then, thanks. I have to admit, it’ll be nice to have home-cooked food for a change.’
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Kate Hardy
A Christmas Knight
Kate Hardy
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Table of Contents
Cover Page (#uc3a505c1-e3f5-544f-acc4-f77d6e728bb5)
Title Page (#u503c58a8-edd2-57d2-922e-88546cde0a4b)
About the Author (#uc7af87fa-0a11-52ec-8e24-f497cfd8dfad)
Chapter One (#u4916e5af-714c-5494-a660-27aeb16f724a)
Chapter Two (#u381e81d7-4944-5495-81c2-cb56fdc81111)
Chapter Three (#u4a9cf23b-f992-55dd-8fdc-4fb63c9a49c8)
Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Author
KATE HARDY lives in Norwich, in the east of England, with her husband, two young children, one bouncy spaniel, and too many books to count! When she’s not busy writing romance or researching local history, she helps out at her children’s schools. She also loves cooking—spot the recipes sneaked into her books! (They’re also on her website, along with extracts and stories behind the books.) Writing for Mills & Boon has been a dream come true for Kate—something she wanted to do ever since she was twelve. She’s been writing Medical™ Romances for nearly five years now, and also writes for Modern Heat™. She says it’s the best of both worlds, because she gets to learn lots of new things when she’s researching the background to a book: add a touch of passion, drama and danger, a new gorgeous hero every time, and it’s the perfect job!
Kate’s always delighted to hear from readers, so do drop in to her website at www.katehardy.com
Chapter One
‘LET me get you a coffee, and then I’ll take you round and introduce you to the team,’ Essie, the charge nurse, said with a smile.
‘Thanks. I, um, brought some biscuits for the staff-room,’ Louisa said, handing her a large tin.
‘Thanks very much.’ Essie beamed as she peered at the lid. ‘Chocolate ones, too. Excellent. You’ll fit right in.’ She gave Louisa a sympathetic look. ‘The first day’s always the worst, isn’t it? Like being back at school.’
Louisa smiled back. ‘I’ve been doing agency work for the last three months, so you’d think I’d be used to change. But, yes, you’re right. It feels like the first day at school, when you don’t know anyone and you don’t know the routine—well, as much of a routine as you get in the emergency department,’ she finished. No two days were ever quite the same.
‘You’ll be fine,’ Essie told her warmly. ‘I’ve rostered you onto Minors—but if anything big comes in, I might need to borrow you for Resus.’
‘That’s fine,’ Louisa said. As a nurse practitioner, she was able to see patients through from start to finish for the less serious problems—from taking the medical history through to doing the clinical examination, ordering and interpreting tests, diagnosing the ailment and organising a treatment plan for the patient. She loved the responsibility and the feeling that she was in charge of her own day, but she also enjoyed the busy, hands-on role in Resus, working as part of a team.
‘Dominic’s the senior registrar in Resus today. He’s our resident heart-throb,’ Essie said with a grin. ‘He looks like Prince Charming.’
Heart-throb. Jack had been a heart-throb, too. But he’d been very far from being Prince Charming. He’d walked out on Louisa just when she’d needed him most. So much for promising to love, honour and cherish her. Jack had left her—and Tyler—because he couldn’t handle the idea of having a son with Asperger’s. As soon as Jack had heard the paediatrician say the words ‘autistic spectrum disorder’, he’d closed off, and Louisa had seen it in his eyes. She’d known that her marriage was cracking beyond repair, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Less than two months later, he’d moved out and asked her for a divorce.
She could cope with Jack’s rejection of her; but she’d never, ever forgive him for rejecting their bright, quirky, gorgeous son. And she’d taken notice of the old saying, ever since: Handsome is as handsome does.
Essie didn’t seem to notice Louisa’s silence. ‘He’s been here for eight years now. He joined us as a wet-behind-the-ears house officer, and worked his way up.’ She sighed. ‘Though he’s not one for settling down, our Dominic. Women used to fall at his feet in droves, but nowadays he doesn’t even date—he’s completely wrapped up in his work. Pity, because he’d make a fantastic husband and father.’
Louisa had already spotted the photograph on Essie’s desk; the charge nurse was smiling for the camera, looking blissfully happy with her husband and two children. It seemed that Essie was the type who wanted everyone to be as happy and settled as she was. Well, she was happy and settled. She just wasn’t in a two-parent family. ‘Marriage isn’t for everyone,’ she said quietly.
‘You’re not married, then?’
‘Not any more.’ Not that she wanted to talk about it. Though, given the photograph on Essie’s desk, she could offer the perfect distraction. ‘But I do have a gorgeous son. Tyler.’ She took a photograph from her purse to show the charge nurse.
‘Oh, he looks a sweetie. And he’s so like you.’
‘He is,’ she agreed with a smile. ‘I’m really lucky.’ And she meant it. Tyler was the light of her life, and she loved him with a fierceness that she knew probably made her protect him too much.
‘So how old is he?’ Essie asked.
‘Eight. He started middle school last week—so this summer was the least disruptive time to move here from London.’ Louisa took a deep breath. ‘Actually, that’s why I started today, not last week—I wanted to give him a few days to settle in to his new school first.’
‘It’s always hard, changing schools, whether you’re from the local first school or not,’ Essie agreed. ‘Though I’m sure he’ll soon make friends.’
Louisa would be very, very surprised if he did. Tyler was self-contained in the extreme. Having Asperger’s meant he saw the world in terms of black and white, with no shades of grey. Other children quickly noticed that—especially as Ty was a walking encyclopaedia on his favourite subjects, and wouldn’t hesitate to correct anyone instead of just letting it go for the sake of social harmony. She’d tried to help him, inviting children home for tea after school—but Tyler had never been invited back. Probably because most of the time, when someone came over, he’d lose interest in whatever game they were playing, disappear up to his room and start drawing. ‘Maybe,’ she said.
‘Give it a week and he’ll be playing football with the rest of them,’ Essie said cheerfully.
Louisa wrinkled her nose. ‘He’s not really into football.’
‘Computer games, then?’ Essie asked. ‘Tell me about it. My eldest is glued to his console.’
‘What Ty really likes is horses. I’m going to ring round the local riding stables to see if there are any places for lessons.’ Louisa had read an article about how good riding could be for children with Asperger’s; it was just a matter of finding the right stables, one that could accommodate Tyler without making a big deal out of things. And maybe he’d find it easier to make friends with children who shared his passion.
‘Horses?’ Essie looked thoughtful. ‘Then you definitely need to talk to Dominic. He’s got a horse. He’s bound to know a good riding school locally.’
Louisa smiled politely, but she had no intention of asking a heart-throb for help. She’d already learned the hard way that heart-throbs weren’t reliable—and she’d never, ever take any risks with her son.
Essie had introduced Louisa to everyone except the resus team when her bleep went off.
‘Resus—and I’m needed,’ she said ruefully, glancing at the display. ‘Sorry. Can I leave you with Jess to open up Minors?’
‘Sure. No worries,’ Louisa said.
Her first case was a seven-year-old girl who’d fallen and bent her fingers back the previous day; now her hand was stiff and swollen.
‘I know I should’ve brought her here earlier. I thought she’d just banged herself and was making a fuss, and it’d settle down,’ Mrs Aldiss said, chewing her bottom lip.
‘That’s often the case, after a fall,’ Louisa reassured her. ‘It’s a tough one to call. Have you given her anything for the pain?’
‘I’ve been giving her paracetamol, and I put an ice pack on her hand yesterday.’
‘That’s good.’ She crouched down so she was on a level with the little girl. ‘Hello, I’m Louisa—and you’re being ever so brave, Pippa,’ she said with a smile. ‘Can I have a look at your hand, so I can see what’s wrong and make it better?’
The little girl was white-faced, but she nodded.
Gently, Louisa examined her fingers. ‘Can you make a fist for me?’ she asked, showing Pippa exactly what she wanted her to do.
The little girl tried, but her sharp intake of breath told Louisa that it was just too painful.
‘OK, sweetheart, you can stop trying now. You’ve done really well,’ Louisa reassured her. ‘I don’t want to do anything that’ll make it hurt more. But what I do want to do is see what’s making it hurt so much, so I’m going to send you to X-Ray. It’s not going to hurt, but they have special cameras there to take a picture of your bones so I can see if you’ve broken your finger or whether you’ve hurt one of the ligaments—that’s the bit that helps you bend your finger.’ She ruffled the little girl’s hair. ‘And once I know that, I’ll know how to treat you. If it’s just a little break, I’ll do what we call buddy taping—that means I’ll strap your poorly finger to the one next door, to help it mend.’
‘If it’s a big break, will she need a plaster on her hand?’ Mrs Aldiss asked.
‘It depends on the break. But I’d definitely recommend resting her hand in a sling. If you can just wait here for a second, I’ll make sure Pippa’s booked in with X-Ray and they know exactly what I want to see,’ Louisa said.
Mrs Aldiss cuddled the little girl. ‘And we’ll have a story while we’re waiting, OK, honey?’
Louisa swiftly booked a slot in X-Ray, explained what she was looking for, and then went back to her patient. Pippa’s mother was clearly near the end of the story, so Louisa waited for her to finish. ‘You’re very good at that.’
‘It’s Pip’s favourite. I’ve read it that many times, I know it off by heart,’ Mrs Aldiss said.
Louisa smiled at them and took a sticker out of her pocket. ‘I’ll see you again after you’ve gone to X-Ray, Pippa, but in the meantime I think you deserve one of my special stickers for being really brave.’
‘Thank you,’ Pippa said shyly, brightening slightly at the sight of the glittery badge.
Louisa directed Mrs Aldiss to the X-ray department, then went to collect the notes for her next patient.
The morning was busy, with a steady stream of patients; when Pippa came back after her X-ray and Louisa pulled the file up on the computer screen, she was relieved to see it was a stable fracture.
‘See this little tiny mark on here?’ she asked. ‘That’s where you’ve broken your finger. So what I’m going to do is strap it to the finger next to it, to be a buddy to keep the poorly one straight.’ Gently, she strapped up the little girl’s finger. ‘You need to rest your hand, sweetheart, so I’m going to give you a sling—that will help you keep your hand up and make the swelling go down, so it doesn’t hurt so much. And I’d like you to come back in a week’s time for another X-ray so we can see how well it’s healing.’
‘How long will she need her fingers like that?’ Mrs Aldiss asked.
‘Usually it’s three or four weeks, and then another couple of weeks where you keep the hand rested—not too much exercise, and I’m afraid that includes using games consoles.’
‘Just as well it’s you and not your brother, then,’ Mrs Aldiss said ruefully, ‘or we’d really be in trouble!’
‘It is your writing hand, Pippa?’ Louisa asked.
Pippa shook her head. ‘So I can still draw?’
‘You can definitely still draw.’ Louisa smiled at her.
‘I’ll bring you a picture when I come back,’ Pippa said.
‘I’d love that. I’ve only just moved to this department,’ Louisa said, ‘so I have a whole wall that’s just waiting for pictures. I’ll see you in a week, sweetheart. Remember to rest your hand as much as you can.’
Things had quietened down slightly, just after lunch-time, when Essie came into the office where Louisa was catching up with paperwork. ‘The lull before the storm, hmm?’ she asked.
‘Probably. So I’m making the most of it and sorting out this lot,’ Louisa said, gesturing to the notes and the pile of letters she was working through.
‘Can I borrow you for a minute to meet the resus team? They’re on a break—and very grateful for your biscuits, I might add.’
Essie continued chatting until they reached the rest room, and then introduced her to the resus team. ‘This is Sally, our student nurse.’
Sally greeted her warmly, and then Essie motioned to the man who was sitting apart from the others, reading a medical journal.
‘Louisa, this is Dominic Hurst, our senior reg. Dominic—Louisa Austin, our new nurse practitioner.’
Essie had described him as looking like Prince Charming. And that wasn’t the half of it, Louisa thought. Dominic Hurst looked like a Pre-Raphaelite painting of a medieval prince, all dark flowing locks and fair skin and chiselled cheekbones and dark, dark eyes. Even dressed simply in a plain white shirt, sober tie and dark trousers, he was incredibly striking. No wonder women fell at his feet in droves. He was tall—just over six feet, she’d guess—and, at close range, those navy-blue eyes were devastating. Not to mention that beautiful mouth, which sent all kinds of crazy thoughts spinning through her head.
‘Pleased to meet you, Dr Hurst,’ she said politely.
He looked up from the journal and blinked. ‘Sorry?’
‘Dominic, I can’t believe you’re still working when you’re on a break.’ Essie rolled her eyes. ‘You didn’t hear a word I just said, did you?’
‘’Fraid not. I was reading.’ He gave her a wry smile. ‘Sorry.’
‘This is Louisa Austin, our new nurse practitioner,’ Essie repeated.
‘Pleased to meet you, Nurse Practitioner Austin.’
Dominic’s handshake was firm, precise and brief—and it felt as if an electric current was running through her veins. Which was crazy, because she never reacted like that to anyone. It hadn’t even been like that with Jack, in the good days. So why now? And why this man?
‘Louisa’s looking for riding lessons, because her son likes horses,’ Essie continued, and Dominic’s expression turned wary.
Oh, for pity’s sake, did he think she was going to use her child as an excuse to come on to him? Still, she wasn’t going to be rude to him. ‘He does indeed. He wants to be a knight when he grows up,’ Louisa said, keeping her tone light.
If anything, Dominic’s expression grew even warier. She didn’t have the faintest idea why, but despite Essie’s suggestion she wasn’t going to bother asking him if he could recommend any riding stables locally. Clearly he’d take it the wrong way, so she’d be better off doing what she always did and sorting it out for herself.
Dominic Hurst might look like Prince Charming, but he definitely didn’t have a charming manner. She sincerely hoped he was better in a work situation, for the sake of his patients and his colleagues. She made a polite murmur, and to her relief Essie stepped in again. ‘Let me introduce you to Sasha and Ronnie,’ Essie said, and swept Louisa over to where two women were making coffee.
Dominic took a gulp of coffee. Whatever was the matter with him? It was the poor woman’s first day in the department and he’d been rude to her.
Well, not rude, exactly—he had at least acknowledged her and shaken her hand.
But the zing of attraction when her skin had touched his had thrown him, made him tongue-tied. Which was crazy, because he was never that boorish. Essie had even given him an opening, saying that Louisa was looking for riding lessons for her child. He could’ve given her Ric and Bea’s number, because he knew they had a couple of spaces on their list. They’d talked about it last night, how people were cutting back on extras in the recession and riding lessons were expensive, and Bea had suggested that they should hold an open day to get people interested in the stables.
But then Louisa had said something that slammed right through him. He wants to be a knight when he grows up. Yeah. Been there, done that, and the absolute worst had happened.
Though that wasn’t her fault and he shouldn’t have taken it out on her.
He’d apologise later, and hopefully she wouldn’t hold it against him if she was needed to work with his team in Resus.
Riding lessons. For her son.
Though she wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. And there wasn’t a tell-tale band of pale skin on her finger to say she’d removed it for work. He’d looked. And he was cross with himself for looking.
Dominic took another gulp of coffee, needing the bitter liquid to jolt some sense back into him. Louisa Austin was gorgeous, with beautiful grey eyes and long dark hair; she’d tied it back hygienically for work, but he could imagine what it looked like loose. Like waves of shiny silk. Her mouth was a perfect rosebud, and it sent a shiver of pure desire running through him, along with an insane urge to find out how it would feel against his own mouth. It had been a long, long time since he’d felt an attraction that strong and that immediate—and that was what had thrown him most.
He knew that it would be pretty stupid to act on that attraction. He wasn’t in the market for a relationship; and, even if he was, Louisa had a son. Which meant that either she was already spoken for, despite the lack of a wedding ring, or she was a single parent who’d be wary of taking any risks in a relationship, for her child’s sake, and would want someone responsible in her life.
Responsible.
Right.
Which was about as far from him as you could get: hadn’t he ruined his brother’s life, two years ago?
He needed to get out of here. Now.
‘No rest for the wicked,’ he said, striding over to the sink and rinsing out his mug. ‘If we’re to have any chance of meeting our targets today, I’d better get back out there and hope Resus stays quiet for the rest of the afternoon. Welcome to the team, Nurse Practitioner Austin.’ And he left the rest room before he could do anything ridiculous. Like asking her to have lunch with him tomorrow so they could get to know each other a little better.
The rest of Louisa’s shift turned out to be as busy as the morning, but she managed to get to the after-school club on time to meet Tyler.
‘Hi, Mum.’ He gave her the shy smile that always made her melt.
‘How was your day, honey?’ She gave him a hug.
‘OK.’
‘Best bit?’
‘Lunch. We had pasta. It wasn’t as good as yours, though.’
She really hoped that he hadn’t actually said that to the dinner ladies. She could still remember the time they’d had Sunday lunch at her best friend’s house and then, when asked if he’d enjoyed it, he’d very politely thanked Mel and gone on to tell her that her gravy was slimy and her potatoes weren’t nice and crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle like his mother’s were. Luckily Mel hadn’t taken it to heart, but Louisa had had to explain to Tyler that sometimes it was OK to tell a little fib so you didn’t hurt people’s feelings. And even after she’d finished explaining, he still didn’t get it. ‘Let’s go home and make dinner. Do you have any spellings or times tables I need to test you on?’
‘No. Do you want to see the horse I drew at lunch-time?’ He had his sketchbook out of his schoolbag as soon as he’d put his seat belt on.
She stared at the drawing in awe. ‘It’s beautiful, darling.’ The horse was drawn in painstaking detail, and was incredibly realistic. Tyler really did have a talent for art—something she could only assume came from Jack’s side, because nobody in her side of the family was arty. But there was nobody to ask, because Jack’s family had severed all connection with them as soon as Jack had left—and for the same reason.
Though it didn’t bother her any more. She knew that she and Ty were better off without them. Her parents accepted Tyler as he was and gave him enough love for two sets of grandparents. They didn’t need the Listons.
Tyler disappeared to his room as soon as they got home, and Louisa knew exactly what he was doing. Putting his drawing in a plastic wallet, labelling it and adding it to his database. One good thing about having a son who was obsessed with order was that she never had to tell him to tidy his bedroom. It was always immaculate. Smiling, she busied herself preparing dinner, and when everything was ready she called him down, careful not to let the new potatoes, chicken or vegetables touch each other on Tyler’s plate.
He chattered happily about horses all the way through dinner; and then it was the usual routine of washing up while he had a bath, nagging him to clean his teeth, and giving him a kiss goodnight.
Carefully, he turned the kitchen timer next to his bed to twenty minutes. ‘I’ll put my light out as soon as the alarm goes off, Mum,’ he promised.
And she knew he would, even if he was in mid-sentence. Tyler was one for sticking to the rules. ‘See you in the morning, darling. Sleep well,’ she said, giving him another kiss.
Then she curled up on the sofa with her laptop and looked up all the local riding stables, listing them with their phone numbers in her diary. She’d start calling them tomorrow. It was a pity that Dominic Hurst had turned out to be so formal and unapproachable—she would’ve appreciated some tips on choosing the right riding school. But she was used to doing things on her own, so she wasn’t going to let it throw her.
And as for stray thoughts of a tall, dark, gorgeous and reserved medic with a mouth that promised sin…she’d banish them all from her head, because there just wasn’t room in her life for someone like that.
Handsome is as handsome does.
Chapter Two
TUESDAY went without incident in Minors, but on Wednesday Louisa was called in to help in Resus.
‘Essie tells me you’re very experienced, so I’d like you to work with me, please, Nurse Practitioner Austin,’ Dominic said.
She noticed again that he’d addressed her by her title rather than by her name. Was he just being like that with her because she was new, or was he like that with everyone? Then she remembered that Essie had called him by his first name. Better get things straight now, then. ‘OK, but can we spend thirty seconds now to save us a lot of time when our patients arrive?’ she asked.
He frowned. ‘How do you mean?’
‘It goes without saying that I respect your seniority, but I’m used to working on first-name terms. It’s quicker, easier, and less of a mouthful. Would you mind?’
He blinked. ‘OK, Nu—Louisa.’
‘Thank you, Dominic.’ She used his name deliberately. ‘So what’s happened?’
‘Car crash. Three casualties,’ Dominic explained. ‘Both drivers are coming in with suspected whiplash, and the passenger has suspected multiple fractures. Ronnie and Sasha are going to treat the drivers, and I need you with me as lead nurse to treat the passenger—Sally will assist us.’
She nodded. ‘How long have we got to prepare?’
‘Five minutes. I’m going down to the ambulance bay now.’
She busied herself getting the trolley ready; when Dominic came back with the paramedic and their patient, the team swung into action.
‘Rhiannon, this is my team, Louisa and Sally,’ Dominic said calmly. ‘They’re going to help me look after you.’
‘Hurts,’ Rhiannon mumbled. ‘Where’s Gary?’
‘Your husband’s right here,’ he reassured her. ‘Ronnie’s looking after him, and as soon as she’s checked him over and made him comfortable, he’ll be able to come and see you. And we’re going to give something to help with the pain,’ he said. ‘I’m going to put an oxygen mask on you to help you breathe better, and then we’re going to have a proper look at you, OK?’
On Dominic’s direction, Sally gently cut through Rhiannon’s clothes so he could do a full body assessment, top to toe. Meanwhile, Louisa hooked Rhiannon up to a cardiac monitor, put in a second line and started taking obs.
‘Heart rate 135, respirations twenty-six, blood pressure 82/54,’ she said. Tachycardia and low blood pressure pointed to major loss of blood—probably caused by internal injuries, Louisa thought.
‘We need to get some fluids in. Start with a litre of Hartmann’s, and get six units cross-matched for me,’ Dominic said—and looked approving when he saw that she already had the saline solution in her hand.
Dominic had given Rhiannon painkillers to make her more comfortable; but when her blood pressure didn’t respond to the fluids and her sats started dropping, he glanced at Louisa. ‘Can you do ABGs for me, please, Louisa? And, Sally, I need X-rays.’ He listened to Rhiannon’s chest.
From the bruising on Rhiannon’s skin, it looked as if she had several broken ribs. No doubt Dominic wanted to check for pulmonary contusions. There were a lot of problems that could be caused by blunt trauma at high velocity, Louisa knew; with damage in Rhiannon’s chest area, there could be trauma to the heart as well as the lungs.
‘I think we need to intubate.’ He held Rhiannon’s hand as he explained to her what they were doing. ‘You’re struggling to breathe, sweetheart, so we need to help you with that and make sure you get enough oxygen. I’m going to put a tube down your throat so you won’t be able to speak, but I’m going to give you some medication first so you won’t feel it and it won’t hurt—it’ll make you more comfortable. I know you’re feeling tired and it’s hard to talk, so just squeeze my hand if you’re OK with that—once for yes and twice for no.’ He paused. ‘That’s a yes—that’s my girl. We’ll get you comfortable as soon as we can.’
Louisa was just drawing up the ampoules of anaesthetic when one of the drivers who’d been brought in came over to them, his face ashen. ‘Oh, my God, Rhi! I’m so sorry. I couldn’t avoid him—he just pulled out on me and there was nothing I could do.’ He looked distraught as he stared wildly at Dominic and Louisa. ‘I can’t believe I’ve come out with just bruises, and Rhi’s so…so…’ His voice caught.
‘Gary, isn’t it?’ Dominic said, somehow managing to divide his attention and eye contact between his patient and her husband.
‘Yes.’
‘She was asking for you.’
‘Can I hold her hand?’ At Dominic’s brief nod, Gary curled his fingers round his wife. ‘Honey, I’m here, and I love you, and I’m so sorry.’ He dragged in a breath and looked pleadingly at Dominic. ‘Is she going to die?’
‘Not on my shift,’ Dominic said, ‘though it might be easier on you if you wait outside. There’s a vending machine just round the corner. I promise we’ll come and find you as soon as we’ve got her stable and let you know what’s going on, but for now we need to concentrate on Rhiannon here and treat her.’
Gary shook his head. ‘No. I need to stay with her.’
‘Unless you’re a trained medic, it can look very worrying in here,’ Dominic said gently. ‘Especially as we’re just about to intubate her to help her breathe. Trust me, we’re going to do everything we can for your wife, but it will be much better on your nerves if you go and get yourself a hot drink and leave us to it for the next few minutes.’
‘I’ll come and get you as soon as there’s any news,’ Louisa promised. But she noticed that Gary was staring at his wife, looking stunned. In shock, she thought—not the medical kind, but the emotional kind. They needed to get him out of here. ‘Do I have two minutes, Dominic, to show Gary where everything is?’
‘Two minutes,’ Dominic confirmed; the expression in his eyes told Louisa that he knew exactly what she was doing and approved. Which was a huge relief: he was much easier to work with than she’d expected. And he was sensitive with patients and relatives. Maybe she’d just caught him on a bad day on Monday.
‘Come on, I’ll show you where the drinks machine is,’ Louisa said, slipping her arm through Gary’s and guiding him out of Resus.
‘I was coming down the hill. I wasn’t speeding. I could see the other car approaching the junction, but he wasn’t even indicating! And then he just pulled out in front of me. It was as if it all happened in slow motion. I could see we were going to crash, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. I slammed on the brakes, but it wasn’t enough.’ Gary shivered. ‘We hit him and the car spun round. Rhi’s side of the car was squashed against another one. And…’ He covered his face with his hands. ‘She can’t die. We celebrated our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary last week. I can’t…Not without her…’
Louisa got him a cup of hot, sweet tea from the vending machine—even if he didn’t normally take sugar or drink tea, she knew it would help—and settled him in a chair. ‘Gary, it wasn’t your fault, and the staff here are really good,’ she told him gently. ‘We’re going to do our very, very best. Now I have to go back and help Dominic treat Rhiannon, but I’ll be back as soon as I can with any news.’ She squeezed his shoulder. ‘I know waiting’s hard but hang on in there, love.’
‘You’re so kind. Thank you. And please—’ Gary’s face was stricken ‘—please, don’t let my wife die.’
By the time Louisa got back into Resus, the medication had taken effect, and Dominic started to intubate their patient. She’d seen it done before, but never with this calm, confident efficiency—and he was amazingly quick.
Dominic Hurst was a superb doctor, she thought. And she liked the way he’d made time to talk to his patient and her husband, clearly aware of how important communication was as a way of bringing down stress levels.
He blew up the cuff on the tube and turned to the other nurse. ‘Sally, are they ready for us in Radiology?’
‘Yes.’
‘Great. Thanks for that. Can you bleep the orthopods, please, and let them know we have a patient with suspected flail chest? I want to have a look at the X-rays, so I’m going down to Radiology with Rhiannon.’
‘Do you want me to give ITU a call, to put them on standby?’ Louisa asked quietly, so Rhiannon couldn’t hear her and start to worry. In her experience, it was best to involve the intensive care unit as early as possible, because cases of pulmonary contusions often led to ARDS—adult respiratory distress syndrome. And if there were multiple broken ribs, she’d need careful monitoring.
‘Yes, please. And could you tell Gary I’m taking her to X-Ray? Not because he should worry himself sick, but because it means I can see the X-rays straight off and it’ll save us some time. Tell him I’ll come and talk to him as soon as we know more.’ He smiled at her. ‘Thank you, Sally. You’ve done a really good job. You, too, Louisa. Even though this is the first time we’ve worked together, it’s felt as if we’ve been on the same team for years. Your old department must really be missing you.’
The compliment made her feel warm all over—especially as she hadn’t expected it from him. And it was good to work with a doctor who appreciated the nursing staff rather than taking them for granted, especially one who bothered to give a student praise where it was due. She smiled back at him. ‘Thanks.’
While Dominic went off to X-Ray with Rhiannon, Louisa contacted the intensive care unit to put them in the picture, then went in search of Gary to let him know what was happening.
‘Is she going to be all right?’ he asked. ‘I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to her. And that stupid guy who tried to get into a gap that wasn’t there, just to save a few seconds…’ He was shaking, clearly near tears.
Louisa put her arm round him. ‘I know, love. You said yourself there was nothing you could do, so don’t blame yourself. The police will deal with the other driver.’ Who’d also walked away without a scratch, according to Ronnie, but that wasn’t something Louisa intended to share. ‘We’ll know a lot more when the X-rays are back, and Dominic will talk you through what Rhiannon’s injuries are and how we’re going to treat her. But for now we’re keeping her comfortable. Try not to worry—and, yes, I know that’s a lot easier said than done.’ She gave him a sympathetic smile. ‘Is there anyone we can call for you?’
‘I…No.’ He shook his head. ‘I’d better call our daughter myself. She’ll be devastated.’ He dragged in a breath. ‘I can’t use a mobile phone here, can I?’
‘In the corridors, you can,’ she reassured him. ‘The phone won’t interfere with equipment there.’ It wasn’t the only reason the hospital preferred not to have people chatting on mobile phones—loud conversations disturbed other patients, and some ringtones sounded eerily like alarms on equipment. The blanket ban on mobile phones throughout the hospital had been relaxed, except for critical-care areas such as the emergency department, the coronary care unit and the special care baby unit, where equipment could be affected by electromagnetic interference.
‘Thank you.’
When Dominic came back from Resus, he looked serious but calm. ‘Gary, I’ve seen the scans and I’m sending Rhiannon up to Theatre where the surgeons can help her. She’s got four ribs broken in two places, pulmonary contusions—that’s a bruise on the lung and you often get that with broken ribs—and what looks to me like a cut to her liver.’
‘So the surgeons can fix her ribs?’
‘They might decide to let them heal without fixing them,’ Dominic said. ‘But the contusions are going to make it a bit hard for Rhiannon to breathe, so she’ll be in Intensive Care afterwards until they heal—they can keep a close eye on her and make sure she’s comfortable.’
‘You mean she’s going to be ventilated?’ Gary’s eyes widened. ‘Oh, my God.’
‘It looks and sounds a lot scarier than it is. It’s going to be the best treatment for her,’ Dominic reassured him. ‘We’re taking her up to Theatre now, and if you’d like to you can come with us, as far as the doors. There’s a waiting area there, and one of the surgeons will come out and talk you through what’s happening. The staff at the ICU—the intensive care unit—are lovely, and they’ll be happy to answer any questions you have.’
They headed up to Theatre, Gary holding his wife’s hand all the way.
‘I’m so sorry, Rhi. I love you,’ he said, clearly trying to hold back tears.
‘They’ll take care of her,’ Louisa said gently, putting her arm round his shoulders as Rhiannon was wheeled through the doors to Theatre. ‘Is your daughter coming?’
‘She’s on her way.’ He bit his lip. ‘And I’m keeping you from your work.’
‘That’s OK.’ If necessary, she’d work through her lunch hour to make sure that the targets were hit. People came before admin, in her book, and always would; and if she had to explain herself to the bean-counters, so be it. Nursing was about people, not numbers. ‘I’ll wait until she gets here.’
When Gary and Rhiannon’s daughter arrived, Louisa explained what had happened and what would happen next, made sure they both had a hot drink, then headed back down to the emergency department. She was back in Minors as nurse practitioner for the rest of her shift, and her lunch break consisted of two minutes to bolt a sandwich so that she could catch up with the delay in treating her patients. When it was clear that she was still running late, she made a quick call to her mother to ask if she could pick up Ty from after-school club, and continued working steadily through her list. After she’d seen her last patient, she headed for Resus, hoping that Dominic would be there and that he knew how Rhiannon was.
‘Shouldn’t you have been off duty half an hour ago?’ he asked.
She shrugged. ‘It happens. I just wondered if you’d heard anything from the ICU about Rhiannon?’
‘Yes, I have.’ He smiled at her.
Without that reserve, he was truly stunning; her heart felt as if it had just done a somersault. Which was crazy, because she wasn’t looking to feel this way about anyone. She didn’t need a relationship to complicate her life.
‘Do you have time for a quick coffee while I fill you in?’ he asked. ‘I could do with a Danish pastry.’
That sounded dangerously close to a date. Even though Essie had said he was wrapped up in his work rather than relationships, she didn’t want Dominic to get the wrong idea. Especially as she was aware of how attractive she found him. ‘Sorry, I can’t. I need to pick up my son. Mum met him for me, but he hates it when I’m late.’
‘Can I give you a lift home and tell you on the way?’ he asked.
‘Thanks for the offer, but my car’s in the staff car park.’
‘Then how about I walk you to your car while I tell you about Rhiannon?’
She nodded. ‘That’d be good. Thanks. I’ll just get my bag from my locker.’ She hurried off to collect her things. ‘So what did they say?’ she asked when she returned and Dominic walked with her to the car park.
‘Rhiannon’s pulled through—the surgeons fixed the liver damage and stopped the bleeding. She’s got an epidural in for pain relief, and she’s going to be observed in ICU for a while to make sure she doesn’t develop pneumonia.’
‘Did they wire her ribs?’
‘They decided against surgical correction of her flail chest, because the ventilator will make sure her lungs are working properly and aren’t compromised by her ribs,’ he said. ‘As soon as the contusions are resolved, provided there aren’t any secondary complications, she can come off ventilation. I popped in to see how she was doing and have a chat with Gary. They’ve warned him that her breathing is going to get slightly worse before it gets better—on the same principle that a bruise always hurts more the day after—but now he knows she’s got a good chance, he’s relaxed a bit.’
‘His daughter’s nice,’ Louisa said. ‘She’ll support them both through it.’
He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. ‘You didn’t have a lunch break either, did you?’
‘Yes, I did,’ she protested.
He gave her a wry smile. ‘Long enough to scoff a chocolate bar, hmm?’
‘A chicken wrap, actually. I don’t like chocolate.’
He looked surprised. ‘You must be the first medic I’ve ever met who doesn’t think it’s a food group. And didn’t you bring in a tin of chocolate biscuits the other day?’
‘Yes—because most people like them.’
‘So you’re more of a savoury person?’ he asked.
‘I love cheese scones,’ she said. ‘And hot buttered toast with Marmite.’
‘That’s utterly revolting,’ he said, pulling a face. ‘So where did you work before here?’
‘The London Victoria. It’s where I did my training.’
‘It’s got a good reputation. What made you come to the George IV?’ he asked.
‘The nurse practitioner post was vacant—plus my parents wanted to retire to the coast. I know London’s only an hour and a half from Brighton, but Ty adores his grandparents and I wanted to be able to stay close to them.’
‘So your husband was able to move his job, too, or is he commuting to London?’
‘Ex.’ She took a deep breath. ‘And Ty’s father isn’t part of our lives. At all.’
He grimaced. ‘Sorry. That was nosey of me, and I didn’t mean to stomp on a sore spot.’
She shrugged. ‘It’s OK. I guess the only way you get to know a new colleague is to ask questions.’
‘True.’ Dominic looked wary. ‘And I owe you an apology from the other day. I’m not normally that rude.’
‘I didn’t think anything of it.’
‘Yes, you did—otherwise you wouldn’t have been so sharp with me in Resus this morning.’
She bit her lip. She had been a bit sharp with him. ‘I’m sorry I was—well, snotty with you.’
‘I understand why. Anyway, there isn’t room for egos in our business. The patients should always come first.’
Her sentiments exactly. ‘I think we started off on the wrong foot.’
‘Agreed, and I’m sorry, too. For the sake of a decent working relationship, can we start again?’
She was all in favour of decent working relationships. ‘Louisa Austin, nurse practitioner. Pleased to meet you.’ She stretched out her hand.
He shook it; again, it felt as if electricity bubbled through her veins, but she ignored the sensation. This was work.
‘Dominic Hurst, senior ED reg. Pleased to meet you, too, Louisa.’ He paused. ‘You said you were looking for riding lessons for your son. I assume Essie told you I have a horse? My best friend owns the stables where I keep him. I could have a word with him and his wife.’
‘Thanks, but there’s no point. He won’t have a space.’
He frowned. ‘How do you mean?’
‘I’ve already tried ringing round some of the local riding schools and…well, their lists are all full.’
He looked surprised. ‘We’re in a recession and riding lessons are one of the first things that tend to get cut, because they’re not cheap—instead of going twice a week, people go riding maybe once a fortnight instead.’
Just as she’d thought. Especially when the waiting lists had suddenly become two years long. Might as well get it over with now. ‘The thing is, my son has Asperger’s.’
He shrugged. ‘And?’
‘The riding schools I rang changed their minds about having places when I explained.’
‘More fool them. Riding’s really good for Asperger’s kids. Being with horses helps them learn to understand non-verbal body language.’
Now that she really hadn’t expected. She was more used to people being uncomfortable around Ty. Understanding like this was rare. ‘Did you used to work in paediatrics, or do you know someone with Asperger’s?’
‘I know someone,’ he said, ‘and horses have made a huge difference to him. But I can remember his parents used to worry themselves sick about him, because he never seemed to make friends at school. I guess you probably do the same with your son.’
‘All the time,’ she admitted, caught off guard.
‘Don’t,’ he said softly. ‘He’ll be fine. He might only have one or two really close friends, but they’ll be good ones—and that’s better than having hundreds of acquaintances you can’t really rely on when life gets tough. And if he finds a job that matches the things he’s interested in and doesn’t involve having to deal with people whose minds aren’t quite as quick as his, he’ll shine.’
She blinked back the sudden rush of tears. How ridiculous. Just because someone understood, instead of making unfair judgements.
‘Look, I’m going straight to the stables from here. I’ll talk to Ric and Bea tonight, and then maybe you can come and have a look round at the weekend, meet the team, and see if Tyler likes the place.’
‘That’s very kind of you. Are you sure?’
‘They do a lot of work with the RDA—Riding for the Disabled Association,’ Dominic said.
Louisa’s chin came up. ‘Tyler isn’t disabled. He just happens to have a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome.’
Dominic sucked in a breath. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean it to sound like that. What I mean is, Ric and Bea believe in inclusion and it doesn’t matter who you are or what your particular challenges are—if you love horses and want to ride, then you should have the chance to do it. Ric’s parents owned the riding school before they retired and Ric took over, and they were the ones who started the RDA work at the stables. So Tyler won’t be made to feel that he’s a special case or anything—he’ll be treated just like everyone else.’
Again, the tears threatened. How long had it been since people outside her own family and her best friend had treated her precious son just like anybody else? ‘Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome.’
‘He’s eight,’ she warned, ‘and he’s only ever ridden a horse at one of the farm park type places. He’s a complete novice.’
‘Bea’s a brilliant teacher. She’s great with kids and she’s really patient with novices. I’ll talk it over with her tonight. See you tomorrow,’ he said as they reached her car.
‘See you tomorrow. And, Dominic?’ She gave him a heartfelt smile. ‘Thank you.’
Chapter Three
‘WHAT happened?’ Louisa asked.
Mrs Livesey was ashen with worry, cradling her two-year-old son. ‘It’s all my fault. The children were playing nicely and I was chatting to my friend over coffee—I should’ve been watching them more closely. Julian slipped and cut his head open on the piano. I put a cold wet cloth on it to try and stop the bleeding, but it wouldn’t stop, so I brought him here.’
‘That was the best thing to do,’ Louisa reassured her. ‘Scalp wounds always bleed a lot, so they often look worse than they are. Has Julian been sick at all, or had any kind of fit?’
‘No.’
‘Did he black out, or has he been drowsy since?’
Mrs Livesey shook her head.
‘That’s good,’ Louisa said. She assessed the little boy’s limb movements, then shone a light into his eyes; she was relieved to see that his pupils were equal and reactive. She took his pulse and temperature—both of which were in the normal range—and gently examined the cut on his head. ‘It’s clean—you did brilliantly there,’ she told Mrs Livesey, ‘but it’s a little bit too deep just to glue it.’
‘Glue it?’
‘You’d be amazed at what we can do nowadays,’ Louisa said with a smile. ‘I’m going to put a couple of stitches in there, because it will heal better with less scarring.’ She stroked Julian’s hair. ‘I’m going to put some magic cream on your head now to stop it hurting. But to make the magic work even better, we’re going to have to sing a song. Do you know “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”?’
‘Yes,’ the little boy said. ‘Tinkle tinkle.’
‘And can you waggle your fingers like starlight?’ She demonstrated, and he copied her.
‘Brilliant,’ she said. ‘And we’ll get Mummy to sing, too, shall we?’ From experience, Louisa knew that often parents needed as much distraction as toddlers. And Julian was giving a normal two-year-old’s verbal response, which made Louisa fairly sure that the worst of his injuries was the cut.
Once the cream had numbed his skin, she got Mrs Livesey and Julian to sing with her, and gently but swiftly made sure the wound was perfectly clean, then sutured the cut.
‘That was brilliant singing, sweetheart,’ she told the little boy. She glanced up at Mrs Livesey. ‘They’re dissolvable stitches, so you don’t have to worry about bringing him back to have them taken out. You need to keep an eye on him over the next couple of days; if he starts being sick, has a fit or is drowsy or just a bit unwell and you feel something’s not right, come straight back. A mother’s instinct is usually pretty sound and you know your child best.’ She smiled. ‘It’s a lot to take in, so I’ll give you a leaflet about head injuries.’
‘And I have to keep him awake, right?’
‘No, it’s perfectly safe to let Julian go to sleep—he’s going to be tired from crying and the stress of hurting himself. If you’re worried, try waking him after about an hour. I can tell you now, he’ll be pretty grumpy about it, but that’s normal. If you can’t wake him easily, that’s when you need to bring him back.’
She answered a few more questions and, once Mrs Livesey was reassured, Louisa gave Julian a shiny ‘bravery’ sticker and called in her next patient.
When she walked into the staff kitchen for a swift coffee break, Dominic was there.
‘Good timing. The kettle’s hot.’ He smiled at her. ‘Want a coffee?’
That smile was lethal, Louisa thought. Those dimples…no wonder her heart felt as if it had just done another of those odd little flips. But Dominic was her colleague. There wasn’t room in her life for him to be anything more than that. And, even if there was, she’d got it so badly wrong last time that she was wary of repeating her mistake. Handsome is as handsome does.
She strove to sound normal. ‘Thanks, that’d be wonderful. Milk, no sugar, please.’
‘Same as me.’ He paused. ‘How’s the little one you were giving stitches to?’
‘He’s fine.’ She looked at him in surprise. ‘How do you know about that?’
‘I was passing through Minors earlier, and I heard you singing a magic song.’
She felt herself colour. ‘Um.’
‘Hey, don’t be embarrassed. I’m all in favour of whatever it takes to make a child feel less frightened, and singing’s great. I learned three magic tricks when I was a student, precisely so I could make a child concentrate on something other than the reason they came in to see me.’
‘Magic tricks?’
He handed her a mug of coffee. ‘What’s this behind your ear?’ He touched her ear briefly; it was the lightest possible contact but it made Louisa very, very aware of him. When he brought his hand away again, he was flourishing a coin between his thumb and index finger—which he then proceeded to flip between his fingers, one by one.
‘That’s very impressive.’
‘It’s called a Vegas coin roll,’ he told her.
‘That’s going to beat the offer of a sticker every single time—especially for the boys,’ she said with a smile.
‘It doesn’t take long to learn. I’ll teach you some time, if you like,’ he said. ‘Actually, I was hoping to catch you today. Ric says they have a space, so come along on Saturday for a chat. Any time you like between nine and four—he or Bea will be around.’ He fished in his pocket and brought out a folded piece of paper. ‘This is their phone number, their address and directions to the stables from the centre of Brighton.’
She really hadn’t expected that, and her breath caught. An unexpected kindness. ‘Thank you. It’ll mean the world to Ty. He’s been obsessed with horses for years—but, living in London, we didn’t really get to see horses unless we went out at the weekend to one of the farm park places.’
‘And you thought that maybe he’d grow out of the obsession, get interested in something else?’
She nodded. ‘Our paediatrician said these obsessions are very common with Asperger’s children, and they tend to change as the children grow up. But he still really, really loves horses.’
‘I’m with him, there. I met my horse when he was an hour old, and I fell in love with him on the spot.’
She could identify with that. The moment she’d first held Tyler, she’d felt a rush of love like nothing she’d ever experienced before—a deep, deep sense of wonder mingled with protectiveness and sheer joy. She knew that some mothers found it took time to bond with their child, but for her it had been instant and overwhelming—and the love had grown even deeper over the years. ‘I’d better get back to my patients,’ she said. ‘And thank you again. I really appreciate it.’
On Saturday morning, Tyler was almost beside himself with excitement. She drove him to the stables, and Bea showed them around.
‘Did Dominic mention about…?’ Louisa asked quietly when they were in the tack room and Tyler was trying on hard hats.
Bea smiled. ‘Yes. I assume he told you about Andy?’ At Louisa’s blank look, she continued, ‘Ric’s younger brother. He has Asperger’s. Actually, he’s in charge of stable management—Ric and I run the classes,’ she explained. ‘So you don’t need to worry. We’re aware of the challenges, but as far as I’m concerned if a child loves horses and wants to ride, my job is to help the child do just that. We’ll work around the challenges together, because we’re all on the same team.’
Louisa had to swallow hard.
Bea patted her on the shoulder. ‘Riding’s going to be great for him.’
‘Will he be in a class?’
‘I prefer one to one with beginners, at least for the first couple of months, until they’re a bit more confident. But if he wants to come along to a class as well, once we’ve got him started, that’s fine.’
‘Dominic said you do RDA work.’
Bea nodded. ‘We have half a dozen ponies that we use for RDA sessions—they’re very calm and gentle. We run one class each day especially for RDA students. And it’s not just about physical therapy, though of course riding’s great for improving muscle tone and posture and helping to develop fine and gross motor skills. It’s about life skills, too—being with the horses helps both children and adults with communication skills, taking responsibility and being part of a team. And connecting with the animals brings in a new element to their lives.’ She paused. ‘Really, Louisa, you don’t need to worry. We’ll take very good care of him. You can come and watch, bring someone with you, or even just sit in the car and read while he’s having a lesson. Whatever makes you comfortable.’
‘I’d like to watch. Not because I don’t trust you,’ Louisa hastened to add.
‘But because he’s your baby and you don’t want to miss a thing.’ Bea smiled. ‘The first time they ride without being on a leading rein, it’s like watching them take their first steps. It always makes me tear up as much as their mums.’
And then Louisa realised that Bea would take as good care of Tyler as she would herself; as the tension in her shoulders eased, she realised how worried she’d been.
‘He’ll be fine,’ Bea said softly.
Tyler appeared before them, wearing a hard hat. ‘It fits, Mum.’ He beamed at her.
‘Come on. I’ve got half an hour before my next lesson. Let’s get Polo saddled up and you can have a walk round the paddock,’ Bea said.
Tyler’s eyes went wide. ‘Really?’
‘Really. Polo’s going to be your special horse for a while, so let’s get you introduced.’
Watching her son being led round the paddock put a real lump in Louisa’s throat. And Tyler was glowing afterwards. ‘I did it, Mum. I’m going to be a knight. Just like the man in the photograph.’
‘The man in the photograph?’ Louisa was mystified.
Bea looked at her. ‘Ah. You didn’t know.’
‘Know what?’
Bea blew out a breath. ‘I feel as if I’m breaking a confidence here. But I guess you need to see it.’ She took Louisa and Tyler back to the tack room and showed Louisa the photograph on the wall in silence. A man on a white horse, wearing black armour and carrying a lance.
When Louisa peered more closely at it, she realised that the helmet’s visor was up and she could see the rider’s face. Someone she recognised. ‘Dominic?’
‘He still has Pegasus, but he doesn’t joust any more,’ Bea said.
Dominic was a knight—or, at least, he had been one. But, given that he’d been so open about the fact that he had a horse, and that he’d helped her arrange riding lessons for Tyler, why on earth hadn’t he said anything to her when she’d mentioned how much her son wanted to be a knight? ‘Why did he give up jousting?’ she asked.
‘I think it’d be better if he told you,’ Bea said. ‘It’s not my place.’
‘Was he hurt?’ But she could see the mingled concern and awkwardness on Bea’s face. ‘Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that. It’s not fair to you. Forget I said anything.’
‘That’s what I want to be. A knight,’ Tyler told her.
‘A knight on a white charger, hmm?’ Louisa asked.
‘The horse isn’t white, he’s grey,’ Tyler corrected.
‘He looks white to me,’ Louisa said.
‘White horses are always called grey, Mum,’ Tyler informed her, rolling his eyes.
She ignored his impatience. In Tyler’s mind, if he knew something, it followed that the whole world must know it, too. And in the same painstaking amount of detail.
‘He’s a Percheron. They come from Normandy in France,’ Tyler explained, ‘from a place called Le Perche. It’s thought that Percherons are descended from des-triers, but they’re bigger and heavier than the medieval warhorses. Destriers were trained so you didn’t have to use the reins, because your hands would be full carrying your sword and your shield.’
‘Absolutely right,’ Dominic said. ‘Hello, Louisa.’
Louisa jumped. ‘I didn’t hear you come in.’
‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.’ He looked at Tyler. ‘And you must be Tyler. How was your first riding lesson?’
‘Brilliant, thank you,’ Tyler said politely. He peered at Dominic. ‘And you’re the knight in the picture, aren’t you? Bea says your horse is called Pegasus. That’s a cool name. How big is he?’
‘Seventeen hands.’
‘And how much does he weigh?’
‘Nearly nine hundred kilograms.’
Tyler looked serious. ‘That’s quite a lot.’
‘It feels like even more than that if he stands on your foot,’ Dominic said with a wry smile.
‘Does he live here?’
‘Yes.’ Dominic paused. ‘You can come and see him, if you like—if that’s all right with your mum.’
‘Please, Mum? Can I?’ Tyler’s gaze was full of entreaty.
‘He’s very gentle,’ Dominic reassured Louisa.
And huge, she thought, when Dominic took them over to the stables.
Tyler duly admired the horse, asking if he was allowed to stroke him and then, at Dominic’s agreement, stroking the horse’s nose. ‘He’s beautiful.’
‘He certainly is,’ Dominic agreed.
‘Are you jousting this weekend?’
‘No.’
His voice was even, but Louisa noticed the shadows in his eyes. Time to head off her son’s line of conversation. ‘Ty, we ought to—’ she began, but Tyler spoke over her.
‘But there’s that picture of you. You’re a knight. You had a lance and you were wearing armour, so you must be a jouster.’
‘Not any more.’
‘Why not?’
‘Ty, you can’t ask questions like that,’ Louisa said.
‘Why not?’
‘It’s rude.’
‘But I didn’t say a swear.’
How was she going to explain this? ‘Ty, let’s talk about this later, OK?’
‘But I wasn’t rude,’ Tyler said, looking puzzled.
Dominic raked a hand through his hair. ‘It’s a fair question. I don’t joust any more because there was an accident and someone got hurt.’
He frowned. ‘My mum’s a nurse. She makes people better. Why didn’t your friend go to see a nurse or a doctor?’
Dominic took a deep breath. ‘It doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes even a nurse or doctor can’t fix things.’
‘Oh.’ Tyler digested the information. ‘Do you miss jousting?’
‘Ty, let’s talk about something else,’ Louisa pleaded. ‘I dunno—what the horse eats, what kind of saddle he has?’
But her son refused to budge. ‘If I’d been a knight and I didn’t do it any more, I think I’d miss jousting,’ Tyler said. ‘I want to be a knight.’
‘It takes a lot of practice and hard work,’ Dominic warned.
‘I don’t mind. I’m going to practise holding the reins at home. Bea showed me how. All I need is a ribbon.’
‘So let’s go and buy the ribbon now,’ Louisa said, seeing an opening. She caught Dominic’s eye and mouthed, ‘Sorry.’
He said nothing, and she stifled a sigh. So much for thinking he understood about Asperger’s and the way it gave a child tunnel vision. Then again, Ty had obviously trampled on a really sore spot. He hadn’t meant to: he just hadn’t been able to pick up the visual clues that Dominic was uncomfortable and she hadn’t been able to head Tyler in another direction.
‘Time to say goodbye, Ty,’ she said.
‘Goodbye, and thank you for showing me your horse,’ Tyler said politely.
Dominic leaned back against the stable door and watched them both walk over the yard. Hell. He hadn’t been prepared for that one.
Do you miss jousting?
Yes, he missed it. Missed it like crazy. Holding the lance in his right hand and the reins in his left, then focusing on the tilt, urging Pegasus to a quick canter and then closing in, focusing on where he was going to land his lance. Speed, precision and skill: the kind of thrill that reminded him he was still alive.
Except he’d been a little too precise, the last time he’d jousted. Too fast. And he’d unhorsed his opponent. Oliver had fallen awkwardly, and the armour hadn’t been enough to protect his back: he’d ended up with an incomplete spinal injury. An injury that had left him stuck in a wheelchair and ruined his career—because, as a surgeon, you needed strength as well as delicacy. And you also needed to be able to move round your patient. Stand up. Lean over. Oliver couldn’t do that any more.
Hell, hell, hell. He’d taken so much away from his brother. His career, his hobbies, his mobility, his joie de vivre—Oliver was in too much pain, most of the time, to be full of laughter the way he’d used to be.
So giving up jousting had been the least Dominic could do. To make absolutely sure he never made a mistake like that again and someone else ended up badly hurt.
Pegasus whickered and shoved his head against Dominic’s.
‘Yeah. I know you miss it, too.’ He made a fuss of his horse. ‘But we just do steady hacking nowadays, OK? It’s safer.’
On Monday, Louisa sought out Dominic at lunchtime. ‘I’ve got something for you.’
‘For me?’ He looked at her in surprise.
She went over to her locker, took out a plastic wallet and handed it to him.
He looked at it; it was a sketch of a horse. And not just any horse. One he recognised. ‘That’s Pegasus.’
‘Ty drew him for you yesterday. He just wanted to say thank you. For helping me sort out the lessons and for letting him make a fuss of your horse.’
‘No worries.’ He stared at the picture. ‘Nobody’s ever drawn my horse for me before. And he did this from memory, from seeing Pegasus just once?’ At Louisa’s nod, he blew out a breath. ‘Wow. He’s seriously good at this.’
‘I’ll tell him you liked it, shall I?’ She looked pleased, too; clearly she was more used to people being put off by her son’s directness.
‘You can tell him I’m going to frame it,’ Dominic said. ‘And tell him thank you.’
‘I’m sorry about the way he grilled you. He didn’t mean to trample on a sore spot. He doesn’t pick up—’
‘Visual cues, and he has tunnel vision,’ Dominic finished. ‘I know. I’m used to Andy.’ Andy had said the same thing, too: Why let the accident stop you jousting? He’d gone further, saying that Dominic giving up jousting wouldn’t fix Oliver’s back, so he was being completely self-indulgent and wallowing in it.
Maybe Andy and Tyler were right.
But Dominic still couldn’t see past the guilt. Oliver would never joust again, or be a surgeon again. And that knowledge was hard enough to live with; harder still was the knowledge that his brother was in constant pain. Oliver had forgiven him, but Dominic still couldn’t forgive himself.
‘Are you all right?’ Louisa asked, looking concerned.
‘Old ghosts.’ He shook himself. ‘Ignore me. I’m fine.’
And that was the biggest fib of all.
Dominic had gone back into his shell, Louisa thought over the next couple of days. He was always perfectly polite and professional if she was working with him in Resus, but she was aware of his reserve. She tried to put it out of her head; they were colleagues, so it shouldn’t matter. As long as the patients were treated properly, it shouldn’t matter that he was reserved with her.
And then, on Wednesday evening, her car refused to start after Tyler’s riding lesson. ‘Oh, great.’
‘Why won’t your car work, Mum?’ Ty asked.
‘I don’t know, love.’ She sighed. ‘I’d better call the roadside rescue people.’
She’d been waiting for nearly a quarter of an hour when Bea came over. ‘Are you all right?’
‘My car won’t start. I’ve called the roadside rescue people—hopefully they’ll be here soon and they’ll able to fix it.’ And hopefully it wouldn’t cost a fortune; the expenses of moving had eaten into her savings.
‘Come and sit in the kitchen. It’s getting chilly out here. I’ll get you a coffee,’ Bea said, shepherding them inside and switching on the kettle. ‘Ty, would you prefer juice or water?’
‘Apple juice, please.’
She rummaged in the fridge. ‘Sorry, love. I’ve got orange or cranberry. Or milk.’
‘Nothing, thank you.’
‘Always so polite. You have beautiful manners, Ty,’ she said with a smile.
Tyler was busy drawing a picture of Polo when the roadside rescue people arrived.
‘He’ll be fine in here with me,’ Bea said, ruffling Tyler’s hair. ‘He knows where you are if he needs you—right, Ty?’
He smiled at her. ‘Right.’
When the mechanic had hooked up the diagnostic computer, Dominic came over. In faded jeans, riding boots, a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and no tie, he looked incredibly touchable. ‘What’s the problem?’
‘Spark plugs,’ the mechanic said. ‘Two of them. The problem is, they’ll need specialist equipment to get them out—they’re not a standard size and I don’t have the right equipment to sort it out here. The manufacturer changed them on this particular model,’ he said, rolling his eyes. ‘It’s not like the old days, when spark plugs were the same on every car. If just one had gone, I could’ve disengaged it for you and you would’ve been safe to get home or to the garage, but with two gone it’s not safe to do that, I’m afraid. If you ring the main dealer now, they’ll still be there,’ he suggested, ‘and they’ll book you in so I can put your car on the back of the tow truck, and all you have to do is drop your keys through the door in an envelope.’
‘Would you be able to drop us home afterwards?’ she asked.
‘Sorry, love. It’s not covered by your policy. I would’ve bent the rules for you, given that you’ve got a little one, but I’ve got another callout waiting,’ he said.
‘Fair enough. I can call a taxi.’
The dealer’s service department was just about to close, but they duly booked her in for the next morning and asked her to drop the keys through their door.
She was about to arrange for a taxi to meet them at the garage when Dominic laid a hand on his arm. ‘Don’t worry about calling a taxi. I’ll follow you to the garage and drop you and Ty home.’
‘I can’t impose on you like that.’
He shrugged. ‘From what Tyler tells me, you don’t live that far from me. And I’m finished here for this evening anyway.’
‘Actually, I can drop the keys through the letterbox for you at the dealer’s,’ the mechanic added, ‘if that saves a bit of time.’
‘And it means you’ll get home quicker—Tyler’s routine won’t be thrown out so much,’ Dominic said.
That was the clincher. Ty. Although he coped much better with change nowadays than he had as a small child, it would still throw him. Routine was really, really important to him, and Louisa tried hard to stick to it. ‘Thank you. Both of you. That’s really kind.’
Louisa clearly wasn’t used to leaning on anyone, Dominic thought, so she must’ve been a single parent for quite a while now. And she’d been adamant about Ty’s father not being part of his life. Whatever had happened between them, it had obviously hurt her badly. Not that he could ask. It would be way too tactless.
When he pulled up outside the little terraced house they were renting, Louisa said, ‘Would you like to come in and stay for dinner? It’s nothing special—just pasta, garlic bread and salad—but you’d be very welcome.’
Tempting. So very, very tempting. He was about to say no when Tyler added, ‘If you don’t, then Mum will have to buy you flowers to say thank you for helping, and boys don’t really like flowers so she’ll fuss about it.’
He couldn’t help laughing. ‘OK, then, thanks. I have to admit, it’ll be nice to have home-cooked food for a change.’
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Kate Hardy
Тип: электронная книга
Жанр: Современные любовные романы
Язык: на английском языке
Издательство: HarperCollins
Дата публикации: 16.04.2024
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О книге: A Christmas Knight, электронная книга автора Kate Hardy на английском языке, в жанре современные любовные романы