by Anne Fraser
‘Pulse 126, BP 78 over 42, O2 sat 78 per cent—he’s certainly shocked,’ Logan shouted to them.
‘And short of oxygen,’ Georgie added, taking his oxygen mask off briefly. ‘His air passages and tongue are swollen from the sting restricting his airway.’
‘It’s very difficult in the helicopter to hear anything—the stethoscope is a waste of time. We’d better assume he’s wheezy, causing the low oxygen saturation.’ Logan spoke his thoughts out loud.
‘Okay, I’ll get the nebuliser out of the bag. How long till we get to Oban?’
Georgie could hear bits of Logan’s conversation with the pilot as she drew up the nebuliser solution. It had been ten minutes since the adrenaline had been given and his oxygen sats had risen to 82 per cent. His condition was starting to improve.
‘He’s holding up,’ she shouted, as Logan came alongside to help her.
‘It’s only four minutes before we land and the ground team should be on standby.’ Logan gave her a wide smile. ‘Think you’re going to enjoy being part of the team?’
She knew she didn’t have to say anything. Despite her vertigo, Georgie had loved every minute of it and she knew it was written all over her face.
By the time the helicopter dropped them back at the hospital, Georgie’s shift was over. She could hardly believe how quickly the hours had flown. As she was gathering her belongings together, ready to leave, Logan appeared.
‘You did very well.’
‘Thank you,’ Georgie replied.
‘Have dinner with me,’ he said abruptly.
It wasn’t really a question and the suddenness took her breath away. Flustered, she could only open and close her mouth like an idiot.
‘I…I have to see my daughter,’ she managed through a throat as dry as dust.
‘After she’s in bed, then. She must have a bedtime, and didn’t you say your mother was staying with you? Couldn’t she stay with Jess?’
‘Yes. But she’s already had Jess all day. I couldn’t ask her to babysit tonight too.’ That wasn’t the real reason she was prevaricating and they both knew it. Once Jess was in bed, that was usually her for the night. She wouldn’t be any bother. Why couldn’t she just be honest? She took a deep breath and her courage in both hands.
‘I don’t know if I’m ready to date again.’
She flushed as she realised what she’d said. What if she was jumping the gun and this wasn’t a date at all? Maybe he was only asking her as a colleague he’d be working closely with? Her and her big mouth.
‘I mean if it is a date…’ Her flush deepened as he grinned widely.
‘That’s kind of what I had in mind.’ His eyes dropped to the ring finger of her left hand. ‘Perhaps you’re right,’ he said softly. ‘But, Georgie, I only had dinner in mind. That’s all.’
Her heart was thudding uncomfortably in her chest. What should she do? There was no doubt she found him attractive, almost painfully so. And it wasn’t only a physical attraction either; there was a connection between her and this man. A connection that went far beyond physical attraction. She could fall for him. Fall for him in a big way. And she just couldn’t take that chance. It wasn’t just his career. A career that took him all over the world, never settling in one place. Never allowing him to put down roots. That was one thing. No way did she want to lead that kind of life again, and no way did she want it for her daughter either.
No, it was more. Hadn’t she repeatedly told herself that she would never want to be with a man who put his life in danger almost every day of his life? Logan would be gone in three months. Far better that she keep her distance. Even if every nerve cell in her body was refusing to listen to her brain.
On the other hand, it was just dinner. What was the harm in that? Two colleagues sharing a meal.
Confused by the conflicting emotions whizzing around her brain, she shook her head. ‘I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it.’
Logan took a step back, surprise written all over his face. Georgie guessed that he wasn’t used to being turned down.
‘Of course,’ he said smoothly. ‘I understand. Maybe another time?’
‘Sure,’ Georgie mumbled. ‘Sorry, I’ve got to run.’ And before he could say anything else, she took off as if the devil himself were behind her.
Bemused, Logan watched her retreating back. It was the first time he could remember that he’d been turned down when he’d asked a woman out. He whistled under his breath. He hadn’t got it wrong, he was sure of it. She found him attractive, he could tell. So, what was it then—could his instinct be wrong? He shook his head. No. It wasn’t. She was attracted to him. He could see it in the way she pinked up when he looked at her, in the way she dropped her eyes under his gaze. He knew enough about women to know he hadn’t misread the situation. But Georgie was different from any other woman he had been with, he also knew that. Could it be that she was still in love with her dead husband? She was still wearing her wedding ring, a sure sign that she still thought of herself as married. In which case it was unfair of him to pursue her. Especially when he had no intention of getting too involved. On the other hand, was it wrong to want to bring a smile to that mouth? To see her laugh again? He ignored the inner voice that was telling him that the argument going on inside his head was one that suited him. All he knew for sure was that he wasn’t ready yet to give up on Georgie McArthur. He would just have to try a different approach.
His thoughts turned to his mother. For some reason, ever since he had met Georgie he had kept thinking of the woman who had given birth to him. Perhaps it was because in Georgie he had seen how a mother could be—no, should be—with a child. Maybe his mother had had no choice when she’d given him up; maybe even loved him the way Georgie loved Jess? Perhaps it was time he tried to get in touch with her and give her a chance to tell her side of the story. At the very least he would find out whether she was still alive, whether she was okay. Whatever she had done in the past, surely he owed it to himself—and to her—to find out the truth. Even if she rejected him all over again, he was a grown man now. What harm could it possibly do?
Georgie finished putting Jess to bed and then ran herself a hot bath. Her mother was downstairs, watching her favourite gardening programme on TV, and would be happily engrossed for the next hour.
Logan asking her out had taken her by surprise. Should she have taken a chance and said yes? As he’d said, it was just dinner—not a lifetime commitment. For the last few years she had concentrated on being a mother, caring for her daughter. Between that and work there’d been no time for anything else. But Georgie knew that for her at least it wasn’t just a meal with some casual acquaintance, and that was the problem. Logan made her heart race—that grin of his, the twinkle in his eyes, the way he made her conscious of her femininity again. She knew she could fall for Logan Harris. Fall in a big way. And there was no way he was the kind of man she should let herself become involved with. No. It was safer to keep her distance. He wouldn’t be around for ever. And if she wasn’t very careful he would take her heart with him.
CHAPTER FIVE
THE next couple of weeks passed without a callout. At least, not for her. Sally had gone out with Logan to a walker with a suspected stroke when Georgie had been off duty. Happily the clot-busting drugs they had administered at the scene had worked and the man was on his way to a full recovery.
The new service was creating a buzz within the hospital and Georgie was proud to be part of it.
Over the last couple of weeks there had been regular meetings to go over protocols and when they weren’t doing that, Logan was spending every free moment with the other rescue services, finalising arrangements. Logan quizzed her and Sally constantly until he was sure that they were both comfortable with the protocols and knew exactly what to do for each type of incident.
‘We can’t have protocols for everything,’ Logan admitted. ‘There are too many variants to each scenario, but the basic principles are the same: maintain an airwa
y and contain bleeding until arrival at hospital. In its simplest form, we keep the casualty alive until the A and E team takes over.’
He hadn’t asked her out again and Georgie didn’t know whether she was relieved or disappointed. All she knew was that every time she saw him, her heart beat faster. Even the sight of him from a distance caused a nervous flutter in her stomach.
‘Remember, folks, this Saturday is the team-building day. I’m planning on taking my car so we can all go together.’
‘Remind me what it involves,’ Sally said anxiously.
‘The day falls into two parts. In the morning we go over the protocols Nick and I have drawn up. Yes, yet again.’ He smiled as everyone groaned. ‘After lunch we’ll move on to the team-building part of the day. It involves some abseiling, some high ropes and starts with off-road driving. Nothing too complicated.’
‘Nothing too complicated for you and Georgie perhaps. You do that sort of thing all the time. Georgie is a climber,’ Sally muttered. ‘I have never even climbed higher than my own height. The water thing…’ She shuddered. ‘That was bad enough.’
At one time, Sally would have been right; it wouldn’t have fazed Georgie in the slightest. But that was before…before she had begun to lose her nerve. Her stomach clenched with anxiety. What if she couldn’t perform? What if she couldn’t cope? She’d be put off the team and now that was the last thing she wanted. She gritted her teeth. She was damned if she would give up before they’d even started and let her fear get the better of her. After all, she’d managed to put it behind her when they’d taken Jack off the mountain, hadn’t she? And she’d coped in the helicopter too. Just as long as she wasn’t looking down at the ground from a height.
‘We’ll take good care of you, Sally.’ Logan grinned. ‘Don’t worry, it’ll be a piece of cake. Now, what about transport?’
‘Sally and I are on the same side of the city,’ Nick said. ‘Why don’t I pick her up in the morning and you take Georgie? That will save time.’
‘Fine with me.’ Brown eyes swept the room, before they found hers. ‘Georgie?’
Georgie nodded. ‘What time?’
‘We need to be there around 0900 hours. It’ll take a couple of hours. So say 0700?’
Georgie hid a smile. Years with the army had left its mark on Logan. Just in time she stopped herself from saluting.
‘Suits me,’ she said instead.
After a sleepless night tossing and turning, Georgie was ready and waiting when on the dot of seven Logan’s two-seater pulled up outside. She watched as he swung his legs out of the car and marched up to her door. He was wearing a T-shirt that clung to his chest, outlining every honed muscle clearly. Faded blue jeans emphasised the contours of his thighs in the most disconcerting manner. Georgie sucked in a breath as heat pooled in her abdomen.
Before he could ring the bell, she had opened the door. Jess was at the breakfast table, finishing her cereal under the watchful eyes of her grandmother. Georgie kissed her goodbye.
‘I’ll be back later tonight, sweetheart. Granny will look after you.’
Jess’s eyes lit up when she saw Logan. Before anyone could stop her she was out of her chair and had rushed across the room to fling herself into Logan’s arms.
‘Uncle Logan,’ she yelped. Logan had no option but to lift the little girl. Bemused brown eyes met Georgie’s.
‘Hello, sweetie. It’s good to see you too.’ It was the first time Georgie had seen him looking flustered. Gently he set Jess back down on the floor. ‘How are you, Mrs Morrison?’ he asked Georgie’s mother politely. If Georgie didn’t know better she would have sworn her mother blushed. Damn the man. Did he have this effect on every woman he met?
‘Please call me Mary,’ her mother replied. ‘I’ve organised a flask of coffee and some home-made biscuits.’ Mary smiled coquettishly and Georgie wanted to kick her. ‘In case you get hungry.’
Logan’s eyes lit up. ‘Thank you, ma’am. It’s been a while since breakfast.’ A while since breakfast? It was only seven!
Logan must have noticed her astonishment. ‘Remember I get up at six most mornings and I almost always go for a run. Army habit, I’m afraid. So by this time I’m usually starving again.’
Silently, Georgie unwrapped a piece of shortbread and handed it to him. He devoured it in a couple of bites. ‘Hey, great baking.’
Mary blushed again and Georgie knew that Logan had won her mother over. ‘I’ll just pop in some of my cheese scones, in that case.’
As Georgie’s mother turned away, Logan grinned at Georgie. ‘Are you ready?’ Georgie’s heart thumped. This wasn’t good. Wasn’t good at all.
‘We need to get going, Mum.’ She practically snatched the scones from her mother’s hands. Any longer and Mary would be adopting Logan, inviting him for dinner, offering him the spare room. She had seen the look in her mother’s eyes and knew exactly what she was thinking. For the last year or so she’d been pushing Georgie to start dating again. But whatever plan she was hatching would have to be shelved. Logan Harris was not the man for her.
Logan drove the way he seemed to do everything—as fast as possible. Noticing that Georgie was gripping the edge of her seat, he grinned.
‘Hey, relax,’ he said, ‘before you dig holes in my car seat with your nails.’
‘We have got two hours to get there,’ she admonished through gritted teeth. ‘And I have a child I don’t want to see orphaned.’ As soon as the words were out she could have bitten her tongue.
The smile left his face and he slowed the car to a more sedate pace.
‘Sorry.’
They drove on. The sun was rising in the sky, clearing the final traces of mist from the distant hills. It would be warm later on, Georgie knew. They sat in silence as they left the city behind them.
‘What happened to Jess’s dad?’ Logan said suddenly.
Before she could help herself, Georgie covered her left hand with her right. She still wasn’t ready to talk about Ian. At least, not to Logan.
He must have seen the stricken look on her face. ‘Sorry. Forget I asked. It’s none of my business.’
For a moment there was a strained silence.
‘What about you? Have you ever wanted to get married?’ she asked. Once again, the words were out before she could stop herself. There was only one interpretation he could put on her question. Why, oh, why had she asked? Why did she feel so nervous in his company and feel driven to say the first thing that popped into her head?
‘Nope. Not the marrying kind. As far as I can tell, marriage is overrated. I guess the army is as much of a wife as I need. It would take a special woman to put up with being an army wife, I guess. Someone who doesn’t mind moving all the time.’
‘How can you bear it?’ Georgie asked. ‘Never being able to put down roots. Always travelling. My dad was in the army, and I hated that we were always on the move. Mum always seemed so lonely, although she denied it. Despite what she always said about having Kirk and I for company, we couldn’t have been enough for her. And what about the constant danger? Why do some men seem to thrive on putting their lives at risk?’ She couldn’t help the note of bitterness that crept into her voice. Ian had been like that. And looked what had happened. It seemed so unfair that the first man she found attractive since Ian shared that need.
Logan looked at her curiously. ‘I can’t imagine doing anything else,’ he said quietly. ‘The army helped me turn my life around and has given me opportunities I would never have had otherwise. As for the danger…’ He shrugged and his hand strayed briefly to the scar below his eye. ‘I’m a doctor. It’s my job to go where I’m needed. The danger I face is nothing compared to those who are actually fighting.’ His jaw clenched and Georgie wondered what had happened to bring that bleak look to his eyes.
‘What opportunities?’
‘Let’s just say I wasn’t the most well-behaved teenager. The army helped channel what could have been destructive energy into something that gave me
direction when I needed it most.’
‘Like?’ Georgie persisted.
‘Like sport. I was always good at school but I didn’t take studying seriously. When I joined the army cadets when I was thirteen, I realised I was really good at lots of different sports. After that I started doing the military pentathlon every year. It keeps me focused.’ He looked thoughtful. ‘Once I stopped mucking around, I realised I was also clever enough to go to university. The army put me through med school.’
She noticed he still didn’t talk about who had brought him up. Although she was intensely curious, for once she was going to keep her mouth shut. Logan would tell her when and if he was ready. ‘What’s a pentathlon?’ she asked. ‘I know I’ve heard the term somewhere but I can’t think now what it is.’
He laughed. A deep, rich sound. ‘A combination of shooting, fencing, horse riding, swimming and cross-country. It’s supposed to simulate a nineteenth-century cavalryman behind enemy lines. You know, where he could grab a horse, fight his way out of trouble with a gun or his sword, before hightailing it across water or open fields.’
Georgie whistled. ‘And you do all of those things? Competitively? Cripes, no wonder…’ She bit her lip. She’d been just about to say no wonder he had a body like he did but, thank the lord, she had stopped herself in time. Unfortunately she wasn’t able to stop the blush stealing up to her face.
‘Yep. It still keeps me out of trouble.’ But the look he slid her way told her he was thinking of a different kind of trouble. One that involved a totally different type of sport.
‘And let me guess—you jump out of planes too.’
‘’Fraid so. And fly ‘em.’
Definitely not the man for her, then. The last thing she needed was to fall for another adrenaline junkie. She’d do well to remember that. Why, then, did her heart twist with disappointment?
