by Joanna Neil
She shook her head. ‘I don’t really see too much of my parents.’
He looked as though he might have been about to ask her more, but one of the lifeboat men came over to them and said, ‘We’re about ready to dock. A couple of ambulances are waiting at the quayside ready to transfer you to hospital. The paramedics say they’ll take the boy in one, and perhaps one of you would like to go with him. The rest of you will be going in the other ambulance.’
‘I’ll go with him,’ Rebecca said quickly. ‘He’s my responsibility until we get him to the hospital.’
‘As you like. I’ll pass on the message.’
Within the next few minutes they were escorted off the lifeboat and transferred to the waiting ambulances. Rebecca sat with Connor, and watched Craig from inside her vehicle as he climbed on board the second ambulance. He turned and looked back at her, mouthing, ‘I’ll see you at the hospital,’ but before she could answer, the paramedic closed the doors on her, and they were whisked away.
‘Will I see my mum and dad soon?’ Connor stirred and looked at her briefly.
‘I think so, Connor.’ She smiled at him. ‘How are you feeling now?’
‘I don’t know.’ His voice trailed away. ‘Yucky.’
‘You just need to get some rest. We’ll soon have you tucked up in hospital.’
Rebecca watched him, and wondered how much he remembered of what had happened. Hopefully it would all seem like a dream that would soon be forgotten.
When they arrived at the hospital, Rebecca wanted to stay with Connor, but there was a team waiting for him, and as soon as she had recounted the details of his treatment, the nurse prepared to wheel him into one of the side bays.
‘His parents are anxious to see him,’ she said, and of course that was understandable.
Rebecca said goodbye, adding, ‘I’ll come and see you as soon as I’m able,’ but she couldn’t be sure whether he had heard her, because he gave no response and he was already being moved towards the treatment room.
Rebecca watched anxiously as he disappeared from view. He had to get well. The child had been through so much.
‘We should take a look at you now and make sure that you’re not suffering any ill-effects after that horrendous journey.’ Another nurse came to take charge of Rebecca, and for the next half-hour or so she was given a thorough check-up. After she had been given the all-clear, the nurse, Helen, ran a bath for her, and Rebecca luxuriated in the warmth for a while, letting the hot water ease away the strains of the day. She washed her hair and dried it, wrapping herself in a clean hospital gown while she brushed it through until it shone. Then she wondered what she was going to do about her wet clothes.
‘It’s all right,’ the nurse told her. ‘I took them into our kitchen and put them through a washing cycle, and they’re being tumbled dry at this very minute. Just relax for a while and I’ll bring them to you as soon as they’re ready. You can go and sit in our day room, if you like. It’s comfortable in there, and private. No one else will be using it. I’ll take you over there, shall I?’
‘Thanks.’ Rebecca smiled at the girl. ‘I wonder if the men are getting the same kind of treatment? We were all soaked through. Have you heard any news of how they’re doing?’
Helen nodded, going to the door of the bathroom and guiding Rebecca along the corridor. ‘I’ve made sure that they’ll all have clean, dry clothes to put on when they’re ready to leave. Tom’s been examined by our emergency registrar, and he’ll be all right to go home in a while. His ribs will be sore for a few weeks, but there’s no worrying internal damage, so he’ll be given a prescription for painkillers. Harry’s not so lucky—they’re worried that there might be a haematoma forming inside the skull, so it’s quite possible that he’ll have to go to Theatre for emergency surgery.’
Rebecca’s expression was serious. ‘I was worried that might happen. I hope he’s going to be all right.’
‘At least he’s in the right place.’ The nurse came to a halt just a few yards along the corridor and pushed open a door. ‘Here we are. This is our day room. We use it for patients or relatives who need to come and have a few quiet minutes. You shouldn’t be disturbed.’
Rebecca glanced around the room. ‘It’s lovely in here, very bright and cheerful.’
‘Yes, it is. There’s a coffee-machine, with supplies of milk and sugar,’ Helen said. ‘Just help yourself.’
‘I will. Thanks.’ Rebecca smiled, but then became serious once more. ‘And Connor? How’s he doing? Do you know?’
‘We’ll admit him to our emergency ward for observation, and then as soon as we think he’s ready, he’ll be sent back to the surgical ward where he was cared for after his original accident. I think the drainage tube that Craig put in will help to speed up his progress…but, then, Craig’s always been a wonderful emergency doctor. I’ve never known him put a foot wrong.’
Rebecca’s eyes widened a fraction. ‘You know him?’
Helen smiled. ‘Oh, yes. This hospital is his home ground. Didn’t you know?’
Rebecca shook her head. ‘I didn’t.’
‘Yes, he’s been with our emergency department for a long while. We were all worried when we thought he might have been injured in the crash.’
‘I don’t know how we would have coped without him,’ Rebecca murmured. ‘He was a tower of strength, and nothing seemed to throw him. I had the feeling he was planning what he needed to do right from the minute we first realised something was wrong.’
‘That’s our Craig. You sort of feel instinctively that you can rely on him. I’ve never known him to let anything get him down, although I would have thought this latest calamity might have shaken him up a bit. You never can tell. He always has that untroubled attitude…. or, at least, he has as long as I’ve known him.’
Helen went back to the door. ‘I’ll leave you alone in here for a few minutes, then. Just try to relax, take it easy, and I’ll be in with your clothes as soon as they’re ready. Will you be OK for a while?’
‘I will. Thank you.’
Helen left the room and Rebecca went over to the coffee-machine to make herself a drink. She checked that the jug was filled with water and then flicked the switch to heat it up.
It was an odd feeling, being here alone in this hospital room after the trauma of the day. All day long she had been keyed up, living off adrenalin, trying to cope with each event as it happened, and now, all at once, it was over. Everything had been lifted from her, taken out of her hands, and she ought to be feeling so much better by now. Only she wasn’t in a good way at all. She was numb inside and, try as she may to come to terms with everything that had gone on, she was finding it incredibly hard.
A few minutes later there was a knock at the door, and she half turned, expecting to see Helen walk into the room. Instead, it was Craig who she saw standing in the doorway.
‘Is it all right if I come in?’ he asked, and she nodded.
‘Of course.’
He looked different somehow, and after a moment she realised it was because he had changed out of his crumpled jeans and was wearing a whole fresh set of clothes, dark trousers that clung his long legs, and a crisp shirt that reflected the blue-grey colour of his eyes.
‘You look all spruced up,’ she commented lightly. ‘I can’t believe that the nurse managed to find those in a cupboard somewhere.’
He smiled wryly. ‘No. I keep a fresh set in my locker, just in case. You never know when you might need them in this job.’
‘I can imagine.’ She pulled the gown a little closer around her body. She felt awkward now, half-dressed and still dazed from the events of the day, while he was fresh and alert.
She said softly, ‘I was just going to make some coffee. Would you like a cup?’
‘I would, thanks.’
She lifted the filter jug and started to pour the hot liquid, but then she stopped suddenly and carefully replaced the glass container on its stand. Her hands were shaking and that was upse
tting. She had tried so hard to keep her emotions reined in, but now the strain was proving too much for her. She couldn’t even manage this simple task, and it was scary how defencelessness she felt.
‘Let me do that for you,’ he said. ‘You’ve had a bad day and I would hate to see you scald yourself.’
She nodded and moved away from the worktop, letting him take over. She pressed her lips together. It was frustrating, this inability to take control of the most mundane task, and it was humiliating to have him witness her inadequacy.
‘It’s just—I’ll be fine in a little while,’ she managed. ‘I think everything must be catching up with me, that’s all.’ She gave a choked laugh. ‘Perhaps I should have gone to bed early last night, instead of partying. That way, I might have been more prepared for the way things turned out.’ Her mouth twisted a little. Last night seemed so far away now.
Craig glanced at her, but he continued to pour coffee. When he had finished, she thought he might hand her a cup, and she wondered how she would disguise the fact that she was still feeling shaky. It bothered her a lot. None of this should be happening. She had always been strong, and yet now she was as weak as a kitten.
He left the drinks untouched on the tabletop. ‘Come here,’ he said in a low, roughened tone. He held out his arms to her, and when she would have hesitated he reached out and drew her into his embrace, holding her close and lowering his head to hers, so that his cheek lightly grazed her face.
‘You’ve been through a hellish day,’ he said. ‘There’s no shame in feeling this way. It’s bound to have an effect on you.’
‘But it’s over now. We’re safe, on dry ground, and we haven’t been hurt, you and I. I don’t understand why I feel as though I’m falling apart.’
‘Don’t try to understand it,’ he said. ‘You’re human, you do the best you can, and sometimes life takes its toll anyway. You’ll feel differently about things in the morning, after you’ve had a good night’s sleep. Don’t worry about anything now. It’ll pass.’
She looked up at him. ‘How do you manage to stay on top of things? How do you keep on going?’
A faint smile touched his mouth. ‘I suppose I count my blessings. I’m thankful to be alive. I think about how the one good thing about this day is that it has brought me into contact with a sweet, vulnerable young woman, and it makes me want to take her in my arms and comfort her, just like this…’
His fingers threaded through the silk of her hair, gently caressing the nape of her neck, smoothing away all the tension there. It was such a warm and lovely feeling being held this way, and she found herself wishing that this closeness might go on for ever and ever…or at least, for just a little longer.
She stirred in his arms, lifting her head a fraction, and perhaps that was her undoing because the line of his jaw, already snuggled close to her cheek, shifted with the movement and his lips brushed the softness of her face, sliding down to glide over the tender fullness of her mouth.
A low sigh escaped him, and he lightly tasted the sweetness of her lips.
It was barely a whisper of a touch, not even a kiss, really, but Rebecca’s eyes closed, savouring the delicious thrill of that moment. Heat flooded her veins, coursing through every part of her body. She was safe, she was complete, and right now she wanted nothing more than to be held like this, in his arms.
It took a while for sanity to return. Perhaps it was a noise outside in the corridor that made her come back to the raw reality of the present, or maybe it was that he began to reluctantly ease himself away from her.
In either case, that magical moment drifted to an end and he looked into her eyes and she began to realise that she must have slipped into a dream world and lost her senses.
What had she been thinking? Nothing at all, judging from her reckless actions. Hadn’t she learned anything at all from her bitter experience with Ben? Above all she ought to have realised that her instincts were sadly misguided where men were concerned.
‘Perhaps I should see if I can find Helen and see if my clothes are ready,’ she murmured awkwardly. ‘I ought to go and phone my aunt and start making arrangements to go home.’
‘I’ll go and find her for you,’ Craig said. His gaze drifted over her. ‘You should stay and drink your coffee. Take a few minutes more to get yourself together.’
His mouth made a flat line. ‘Besides, we both need to see what we can do about reclaiming some of our lost belongings. I’ll do some ringing around for both of us if you like. I dare say we can make arrangements to replace cash cards, keys and so on.’
She stared at him. ‘I hadn’t even thought that far ahead.’
‘That’s all right. I’ll set the wheels in motion. You go and sit down and drink your coffee. Nothing has to be done right away.’
He handed her the cup, closing her fingers carefully around the rim and ensuring that she was steady enough to be left with it.
‘I’ll be back in a minute or two.’
She nodded, frowning as she watched him leave the room a moment later. Did nothing bother him? He was totally in command of himself, and it was as if their moment of closeness had never happened.
Perhaps it was just as well that he was behaving that way. It meant that she, too, could forget about it and move on. Couldn’t she?
CHAPTER SIX
‘WERE you planning on leaving those French fries?’ Craig asked, eyeing up the dish to one side of Rebecca’s dinner plate. They were sitting in the hospital restaurant, taking advantage of the mid-afternoon lull in order to grab a bite to eat. Craig had found them a table by the window, overlooking a quiet, landscaped portion of the hospital grounds, and Rebecca was finally beginning to relax.
She speared some tomato and lettuce with her fork, adding a thin slice of red pepper, and then followed the direction of his gaze. ‘Yes, I’ve had enough, thanks. Help yourself.’
He did as she suggested, tipping the lot onto his plate, alongside what was left of his fillet steak and mushrooms. She watched him eat, amazed by the way he managed to tuck away so much food when there wasn’t so much as a spare ounce of fat on his torso. ‘You must burn it up as soon as you put it away,’ she remarked.
He sent her a quick grin. ‘Always on the move, that’s me. I like to keep busy.’
‘I can imagine.’
She felt so much better now that she was dressed in clean clothes once more, and she had discovered that her jeans and cotton top were none the worse for wear. Helen had brought them to her, along with a cosmetic bag and a few toiletries, and Rebecca had finally realised that she was hungry and ready to get back into the swing of things once more.
‘I didn’t realise how long it’s been since I last ate,’ she said. ‘The food here is lovely but, then, I suppose you’re used to it. I expect you come in here to eat all the time.’
‘Mostly, I do, yes. Living on my own, I tend to get my meals wherever I can. Saves me having to cook.’
She smiled across the table at him. ‘So do you go home to cadge meals off your parents every now and again?’
He nodded. ‘That, too. My mother’s not too keen on cooking, but my father’s a dab hand in the kitchen. He likes to whisk up exotic meals every now and again, but mostly when I go home it’s curry and rice or pizza specials.’
‘Specials?’
‘Dad’s own recipes. You eat it and guess what the herb is that he’s tossed in with the tomato purée and assorted meats. My brother’s usually the one who works it out, so I’m the one who gets to do the washing-up afterwards.’
She smiled wryly. ‘I guess you’ll have to take a course in gourmet cuisine if you want to keep your hands dry.’
‘Too right.’ His mouth slanted. ‘Only I don’t have had a lot of spare time lately. It seems as though there’s always something going on.’
Rebecca finished off her salad and flicked a glance over her dessert. ‘I don’t suppose you want to polish off the apple pie and custard, do you? I notice you didn’t fetch yourself a
pudding.’
‘I wouldn’t dream of taking your sweet from you. Eat it up.’ He studied her, a faint line forming between his dark brows. ‘You’re not on a diet or anything silly like that, are you?’
‘Um, no…not really.’
‘Good, because you look perfect just as you are. Tuck in and enjoy it. I don’t really eat puddings very much. I prefer good, solid food inside me.’
‘You’re a peasant,’ she told him, her mouth curving.
He smiled. ‘Very probably.’
Rebecca dipped her spoon into the apple pie. He had said she looked perfect. Did he mean it, or was it simply something that men said to flatter the woman they were with? Still…A tiny glimmer of heat started up inside her.
‘So, are you thinking of arranging transport over to the island,’ Craig asked, ‘or will you wait until tomorrow? Perhaps it would be best to give yourself a break after all that’s happened today.’
‘My passage over there is already booked,’ she told him. ‘I think I really want to go and see how Aunt Heather is bearing up. She’s such a sweet, lovely woman, and I can’t wait to be with her again. She was like a mother to me.’
‘Really?’ He looked puzzled at that. ‘But your parents are still around, aren’t they?’
‘Yes, they are, that’s true, but they don’t live locally, or even together, and that’s why I haven’t told them yet about my decision to come back to Scotland.’
‘So they went through a divorce? Or was it just a separation? Do you mind me asking?’
Rebecca shook her head. ‘I don’t mind. It was a divorce and it happened a long time ago. My father never really stayed properly in touch with my sister and me after that. He was a bit of a wanderer, always looking for something new. My mother went off the rails a bit after they split up, so my aunt took us all in as a temporary measure. Then my mother was taken ill, and the arrangement gradually became permanent.’
