by Anne Fraser
Reluctantly, Abby stepped on the board and, following Mac’s instructions, tugged on the sail to try and lift it. It was harder than she had expected. Determined to do it, she pulled with all her strength and almost toppled over when the sail whooshed up towards her. But Mac had anticipated her losing her balance and she felt strong hands circle her waist, steadying her. The feel of his hands cupping her waist sent all kinds of sensations shooting through her body and she prayed neither he nor Emma noticed the heat that rushed to her face. The last thing she wanted or needed was to have such a physical reaction to this man and, even worse, for either of them to notice.
Mac remained behind her, close enough for every cell in her body to be acutely aware of him. His breath tickled her neck as he placed his hands over hers, showing her how to hold the board. She was getting more and more flustered. Abruptly she let the sail fall back to the ground and stepped off the board. She knew she had to put some physical distance between her and this man.
‘That’s enough for me for the time being,’ she said, trying to keep her voice light. ‘I think Emma’s dying to get out on the water.’
Mac looked at her and the way his eyes danced told her he knew exactly why she had jumped off the board. His mouth twitched. ‘Okay, then. Let’s go, Emma.’
Abby found a rock and watched as Emma clambered onto the board and valiantly tried to pull the sail from the water. It took several attempts, but with Mac helping her she eventually got the sail up and started to move out towards the open sea. She must have surprised herself as she immediately let go of the sail and fell into the water. Even from a distance, Abby could see the flash of Mac’s white teeth as he threw his head back and laughed. In response, Emma splashed him. Relief coursed through Abby. It really was the perfect way for Emma and Mac to get to know each other. From what she could see, the initial awkwardness of earlier had passed. It was early days, of course, but at least it was the right start.
After an hour, Abby was getting chilled despite having a cup of coffee from the flask she had packed. Emma had managed to get up on the board and move a little distance before falling off. Abby knew she must be getting tired and, sure enough, a few minutes later Emma and Mac, both grinning widely, made their way to shore. Emma flopped down beside Abby, her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkling. ‘That was so good.’ She looked up at Mac, who was detaching the sail from the board. ‘Can we do it again? Soon? Please?’
‘Sure thing. But I think you should get changed now. I don’t want you to get cold.’
As Emma hurried away to get dressed, Abby looked up at Mac. He really was gorgeous. No wonder Sara had fallen for him hook, line and sinker. She found herself wondering about him. How come a man as cute and as eligible as he was hadn’t been snapped up? But perhaps he had. For all she knew, he had been married at one time.
‘I think she enjoyed that,’ Abby said.
Mac looked after Emma’s retreating back. ‘She could be very good, you know. She has natural balance and, more importantly perhaps, seems hugely determined to succeed. Is she like that in everything?’
Abby didn’t attempt to hide her pride. ‘She’s a wonderful girl, Mac. She gives everything she does her best shot. I know her drive and determination will take her far in life.’
‘And a lot of that must be down to the way you brought her up.’ Mac’s eyes glittered and once again Abby felt her body tingle in response.
‘I hope so. But she has a lot of her mother in her, too.’
When Mac raised an eyebrow, a shot of anger coursed through Abby. She would not have this man making judgements about Sara. Okay, so Sara had been pretty wild, but she’d also been kind and loyal.
‘Sara was a good person, Mac,’ Abby said quietly.
Mac opened his mouth as if to reply but Emma, dressed in jeans and a thick woollen jumper, arrived back.
‘Can we have something to eat now? I’m starving!’
The tension disappeared as they all laughed. ‘It’s not even ten o’clock yet, Em,’ Abby protested.
‘But it’s ages since I had breakfast.’
‘I swear I don’t know where she puts it all,’ Abby told Mac. ‘She eats like a horse but is as thin as a rake.’
‘At least she eats,’ Mac said mildly. ‘And she’s still growing.’
‘Mum says I’m going to be tall.’ Emma looked shyly at Mac. ‘I must take after you. How tall are you anyway?’
‘Six foot three, or something like that. I’m hungry, too. What do you say we grab a burger?’
Abby frowned. ‘I don’t really like Emma to have junk food,’ she said primly.
‘I don’t think one will hurt,’ Mac protested.
Abby felt her hackles rise. One day as a father and already he was interfering. But she swallowed the angry words that rose to her lips. She was being overly sensitive. Why spoil the day by falling out over something as ridiculous as a burger? Nevertheless, she would have to speak to him and make it clear that as far as Emma was concerned, it was she who made the decisions.
‘On the other hand,’ Mac went on smoothly, ‘there is a café up the road a little that does great home-made soup and sandwiches. And they have the best hot chocolate, too. Why don’t we go there?’
‘Whatever,’ Emma said. ‘I don’t mind.’
Inside the café, Mac and Emma tucked into their soup and sandwiches while Abby nursed a mug of coffee. She listened as Emma fired questions at Mac, and Mac replied with much the same answers he had given Abby. Nevertheless, there was a reticence, a carefulness about his replies that made her think he wasn’t being totally candid. But why should he? No doubt he was, quite sensibly, feeling the way with his new-found daughter.
‘Can I meet my grandmother?’ Emma asked.
‘Tiree is a long way from here,’ Mac said evasively. ‘But maybe one day.’
‘Have you got brothers and sisters?’
‘Only me, I’m afraid.’
Emma looked glum for a moment. Abby knew that part of her fantasy about finding her father was the hope that she’d discover a whole load of aunts, uncles and cousins at the same time.
But it wasn’t long before her natural cheerfulness re-emerged.
‘Did you always want to be a doctor?’
‘For as long as I can remember,’ Mac replied. ‘What do you want to be when you grow up, or haven’t you decided yet?’
‘Not really decided. I might be a pilot or a vet.’ She looked thoughtful. ‘Or a doctor like you who rescues people. It looks fun.’
‘Yeah, it can be fun, but it can also be a little scary at times.’
Emma’s eyebrows shot up. ‘I don’t think you find anything scary.’
Oh, dear, Abby thought. One day in and already Emma had found a hero in Mac.
Mac flicked a glance at Abby and smiled. ‘I find lots of things scary,’ he said. Then he changed the subject. ‘One of the other things I like doing is mountain biking. How do you fancy coming with me one day?’
‘Oh, I’m not sure about that,’ Abby interrupted before she could help herself. ‘Can’t that be pretty dangerous?’
Mac narrowed his eyes at her. ‘It can be dangerous crossing the road, if you’re not looking where you are going,’ he said mildly. ‘The important thing is to weigh up the risks, decide how you can best protect yourself then go for it.’ Abby had the uneasy feeling he wasn’t just talking about mountain biking. ‘It’s good for kids to test themselves. I believe it stops them from taking risks in other ways. Anyway, I’ll only take Emma on gentle slopes and make sure she’s wearing all the right gear to protect her.’
Once again he was challenging her authority as a mother and Abby didn’t like it one bit. Keeping her voice level, she stood up. ‘I’ll think about it. Emma, it’s time for us to get back. We need to go shopping for groceries.’
‘Oh, do we have to?’ Emma said. ‘Can’t I stay with Mac?’
Before Mac could say anything, Abby shook her head. ‘I’m sure Mac has something planned for th
e rest of the day, and I would really like your help with the shopping, Em.’ It was a pretty poor excuse, but Abby wanted Emma to get to know Mac slowly. Give them both time to let the relationship develop.
Reluctantly Emma got to her feet. ‘Thanks, Mac. It was great.’
‘We’ll do it again next weekend, if you like,’ Mac promised. ‘And I’ll try and work on Abby about the mountain biking thing.’
Emma smiled happily and Abby knew she was too late. Emma had found exactly the kind of father she had always wanted.
CHAPTER TEN
THE next few weeks flew past. Abby looked at a couple of cottages that would have been perfect for her and Emma—if the price hadn’t been out of her reach. Mac and Emma had developed a routine, seeing each other a couple of times a week—either to go windsurfing or mountain biking. Abby’s heart still leaped every time she saw Mac, but she tried to make sure they were never alone. He didn’t ask her out again either. She didn’t know whether to be pleased or disappointed. All she did know was that it was better this way. Much, much safer.
As the weather became more unpredictable, Mac had agreed with Abby, much to Emma’s disappointment, that the windsurfing had to stop—winter was on its way.
‘I don’t mind getting cold,’ Emma had protested. ‘And I’m just getting the hang of it.’
‘You’re doing more than getting the hang of it.’ Mac had grinned. ‘I’ve rarely had a pupil that’s taken to it as quickly as you have. But it’s not just the cold. The waves are getting bigger now, and neither your mother nor I want to risk anything happening to you.’ He ruffled Emma’s hair as the child glowed with pleasure at his praise.
Abby was relieved. Although she trusted Mac not to let Emma do anything outside her capabilities, there was a recklessness in both father and daughter that frightened her. They were both risk-takers.
‘But we can carry on mountain biking?’ Emma asked. ‘I like that, too.’ Abby reluctantly capitulated and agreed to let Mac take Emma.
‘As long as it doesn’t get too wet, yes. And as soon as spring arrives, we can go windsurfing again.’
Emma wasn’t prepared to give up without a fight. ‘Are you going to stop kite boarding?’
Mac laughed again. ‘When you learned to windsurf in Tiree, as I did, a little cold and big waves don’t put you off.’
Emma started to protest, but Mac cut her off. ‘I promised Abby that I won’t let you do anything dangerous and I’m sticking to that promise, okay?’
Seeing the easy way Mac dealt with Emma, Abby was pleased. Despite her concerns, Mac seemed to be developing a real bond with his daughter. Emma’s confidence was growing by leaps and bounds. Abby had one concern, though. She knew how much Emma wanted to impress her newly found father and she wouldn’t put it past her to do something outside her comfort zone to impress him. But there was little she could do about that. She would just have to trust Mac.
Over the last couple of weeks Abby had been on several callouts with Mac. He was always calm and very efficient. Every day she was learning to respect him more and more. But that wasn’t all. Every day she was finding herself more and more attracted to him, and not just physically. She was learning that he had an easygoing nature and that nothing ever fazed him. She often found herself wondering why he had never married.
This morning Mac came in looking tired.
‘Late night? ‘ Kirsten teased. ‘Some woman keeping you up?’
Abby caught her breath as an unfamiliar stab of jealousy hit her in the solar plexus.
Mac shook his head. ‘I wish.’ He smiled. ‘No, I was called late yesterday afternoon. There was a nasty accident on one of the main roads. Two fatalities, I’m afraid.’
‘But you saved one,’ said Mike, who had walked in in time to hear the last of the conversation. ‘I heard it was a real touch and go.’
Mac pulled his hand through his hair. ‘I had to intubate at the scene. It wasn’t easy, even with the fire brigade giving me some light to work with—and some shelter. The rain was pretty torrential. But, yes, the driver of the second car is going to be okay. I just wish we could have done something for the occupants of the other car, but it looks like they died on impact.’
Everyone hated hearing about death, even if they knew it came with the job. Abby was a little surprised to hear the sadness in Mac’s voice. He usually gave away very little of himself.
‘I ended up staying at the hospital until the small hours. I wanted to make sure before I left that the man pulled from the car was stable.’
He caught Abby’s eye and smiled. ‘I think it’s important we follow up on our patients. Don’t you, Abby?’
Abby smiled back. It seemed that Mac was breaking his no involvement rules in more ways than one.
Except with her, that was. He was always friendly when he collected and returned Emma.
‘Anyway,’ Mac said, ‘back to work. Anything on the board?’
‘Shouldn’t you be at home, catching up on your sleep? ‘ Abby asked.
Mac shrugged his shoulders. ‘I’ll be fine. We doctors learn very early on to do without sleep. A gallon of coffee and I’ll be fine.’ He must have noticed that Abby was far from convinced. ‘Honest.’ He held up two fingers. ‘Scout’s honour.’
While he’d been talking Abby had spooned some coffee into a mug and added water from the recently boiled kettle. ‘Drink this,’ she ordered.
As Mac sipped his coffee, the radio came to life and everyone stopped talking. They could only hear Kirsten’s side of the conversation, but the look on her face told them it was a bad one.
‘We have a pregnant woman who has gone off the road. The road ambulance and fire brigade are there, but they’re requesting assistance from us. She’s complaining of severe abdominal pain and they have no idea what they are dealing with. The fire brigade is cutting her out of her vehicle at the moment.’
Mac jumped to his feet, every trace of tiredness banished.
‘Okay, Abby. Let’s go.’
‘Mac has called from the air ambulance. They are bringing in a pregnant woman from an RTA with severe abdominal pain,’ Josh told the assembled A & E team. ‘Would someone page the obstetric and paediatric registrar, please?’
‘I’m on it,’ the senior nurse said, turning away and picking up the phone.
Josh pulled a hand through his hair. He was tired. Spending so much time at the hospital, putting in extra hours, was taking its toll.
But you don’t need to, an insistent voice whispered in the back of his mind. The department copes well when you’re not there. He knew the real reason. It was more and more difficult to spend time at home with Rebecca, pretending. Some time soon he would have to face the reality of the situation, but for now it would have to wait.
Minutes later he was called to Resus to see his patient. Mac and Abby were by her side.
‘Who have we got here? ‘ he asked.
‘Mrs Diane Clifford,’ Mac replied calmly. ‘Twenty-four weeks pregnant and has been having right-sided abdominal pain for the last six hours. She was driving herself to hospital when she blacked out and crashed. No obvious injury from the accident. We’re going to have to leave you guys to it, I’m afraid. We have another call to go to.’
As Mac and Abby left, Josh smiled reassuringly as he palpated his anxious patient’s abdomen. ‘Don’t worry, Diane. We’ll get to the bottom of this.’
He glanced up as Megan swept into the room. As usual she looked every inch the calm professional, her dark hair neatly swept back from her face, her expressive eyes already taking in the scene.
‘You called the paediatric registrar? ‘ she said, acknowledging Josh with a faint smile before introducing herself to the woman on the bed. ‘I’m Dr Phillips,’ she said softly. ‘We’re going to get your baby attached to a monitor so we can monitor the heartbeat. Is that okay?’
Diane’s frightened eyes darted from Josh to Megan.
‘Do you think there’s something wrong with my baby?’ She reache
d out and grabbed Megan’s hand. ‘Don’t let me lose my baby.’
Pain flickered in Megan’s eyes before she rearranged her expression into her usual professional mask. Anyone else would have missed it, but for Josh it was plain to see. Damn it. Why did it have to be Megan who was called to this particular case?
‘Dr Phillips, could I have a word?’ he said, indicating that Megan step outside the cubicle with him. ‘Diane, the nurse is just going to get you attached to the monitor while I have a quick chat with Dr Phillips here. Is that okay?’
Diane nodded silently and Josh followed Megan outside the cubicle. They moved away so they weren’t overheard by their patient.
‘What are you thinking, Josh?’ Megan’s voice was calm and steady, but she couldn’t quite hide the anxiety in her eyes. He knew her too well.
‘It could be three or four things. Appendicitis, premature labour or an abruption. But I don’t really believe it’s appendicitis.’
Megan sucked in a breath.
‘You could get someone else to take over,’ Josh said gently.
Megan’s eyes flashed. ‘No, I couldn’t. Josh, you have to stop treating me as if I were made of china. I’m here now and Diane is my case.’
‘She’s twenty-four weeks,’ Josh continued. ‘I hope to God we don’t have to deliver her.’
Megan bit her lip. ‘We both know a twenty-four-weeker doesn’t have much of a chance. We’ll give her steroids just in case. But if you need to deliver, we’ll do the best for the baby.’
Josh wanted to reach out and touch her. The need to comfort her was so strong he had to lock his hands behind his back.
‘Okay. We’ll do an ultrasound. See how the baby’s doing when we get the CTG result. After that we’ll make a decision. I’ll give you a shout if we need you.’
But before he could turn away, Megan grabbed his arm.
‘I’m staying,’ she said. ‘If she has an abruption you might have to deliver her without waiting for the obstetric team. But have a look at her ovaries. A cyst could present in much the same way.’
He nodded. He hoped she was right.
