Wedding Bells for the Village Nurse

by Abigail Gordon

  Francine had always been a loving mother and wife and had seemed settled in the UK where both their jobs were, so it was totally out of character for her to have created the present situation.

  Jenna’s first patient of the day was Meredith Slater, who owned a guest house on the road that led to the beach. She was a pleasant, capable woman in her fifties, and her good cooking and spotless accommodation kept a steady flow of satisfied visitors returning regularly to Bluebell Cove.

  Today she was subdued and pale and the notes that Ethan had brought to the nurses’ room after he’d examined her indicated that he wanted blood tests done for a manner of things, including thyroid, diabetes, calcium levels and anaemia.

  ‘We don’t often see you here, Meredith!’ Lucy exclaimed as Jenna was following his instructions.

  ‘I know,’ she agreed. ‘I’ve just told Dr Lomax that I feel like an engine that is running out of power. I’m tired all the time, totally listless, and that’s no good in a business like mine. I can hardly get out of bed in the mornings as I ache all over.’

  Jenna nodded. ‘He has asked for an ESR test as well, Meredith.’

  ‘What is that for?’

  ‘When a woman over fifty complains of not being able to get out of bed she can be suffering from polymyalgia and an ESR test is done to check the amount of inflammation present.’

  ‘Inflammation where?’

  ‘In the muscles rather than the joints, and as soon as it has been diagnosed the patient is prescribed steroids, usually a drug called prednisolone, and the symptoms disappear almost immediately.’

  ‘It’s as simple as that?’

  ‘Not exactly. It can take a couple of years for the sufferer to come off the steroids as it has to be a very gradual process, but polymyalgia usually clears up eventually. So let’s wait and see what the tests show up and in the meantime can you get some help in the guest house?’

  ‘Yes. My husband has taken early retirement and we’re going to run it together from now on, but I’ll feel happier when I know what is wrong with me.’

  At the other end of the passage Ethan was closeted with an elderly man who had been rushed into hospital in the middle of the night with a serious nosebleed that had not stopped until it had been cauterised by an ear, nose and throat specialist, and having been told by someone that it could be a sign of a serious form of leukaemia he was there seeking reassurance.

  ‘I’ve had a report from the hospital and there was nothing in the blood tests that they took to indicate anything of that sort,’ he told him reassuringly.

  ‘It was more a case of the membranes inside your nose becoming drier and thinner because of your age and the hot temperatures of summer. Also the fact that you are on a reduced dosage of aspirin to keep your heart healthy and prevent strokes will have made your blood thinner. That is why the force of the bleed was so unsustainable until the inside of your nose was cauterised. However, having said all that, I will ask for another blood test just to be on the safe side.

  ‘If you will go and wait outside the nurses’ room, one of them will do that for you and we should have the results back within a week. Did the doctor from Ear, Nose and Throat tell you to put Vaseline inside your nose?’

  ‘Aye, and they said not to blow it, or try to hold it back when I want to sneeze,’ was the reply, ‘but I’ve never had any patience with people who spread their germs around by sneezing all over the place.’ And off he ambled in the direction of the nurses’ room.

  When Jenna arrived home in the car that Lucas had lent her without a moment’s hesitation, she noticed a magazine pushed towards the back of the glove compartment, and when she reached across for it saw that it was the winter edition of Hunters Hill Hospital’s report on patient care, new ventures, finance and various other items of interest to those employed there.

  After glancing through it briefly, she was about to put it back when she noticed that the back cover was given over to photographs of the staff ball on the previous New Year’s Eve and clearly on view amongst those present was Lucas with a tall, strikingly attractive, flame-haired woman by his side, and if she’d had any doubts about her identity the caption beneath would have banished them as it said, Lucas Devereux, the Hospital’s Leading Cardiovascular Surgeon, with his Fiancée and Second in Command, Philippa Carswell.

  Jenna sighed as she put the magazine back where it belonged. The engagement may have foundered, but that was clearly the kind of woman that Lucas was attracted to and she was nothing like her.

  Small, petite almost, with fair colouring that would look insipid against the dark allure of the woman in the picture, it was amazing that he had even noticed her, let alone wanted to spend time with her, and the feeling that Lucas might be looking for a stopgap was stronger than ever.

  It was fortunate that she wouldn’t be seeing him over the weekend. It would give her time to cool down, and as part of the process she was going to find a car that suited her budget and return the sports car to its owner.

  She’d promised to take her mother and Lucy clothes shopping in the town the following morning. They were going to put a fold-away wheelchair in the boot of the family car and once the two women had exhausted their interest in fashion she was going to take them to her mother’s favourite restaurant for lunch.

  They had to pass the hospital on their way to the shops and as she glanced casually across to the main entrance she almost lost control of the car.

  The couple on the back page of the magazine were standing at the top of the steps that led to the main reception area and she thought chokingly some broken engagement if the body language of the woman beside him was anything to go by.

  Her mother and Lucy were chatting on the back seat and didn’t see them, or notice when she increased speed, but for her the day had taken a downward plunge as it began to sink in that maybe Lucas wasn’t on the rebound after all.

  They arrived home in the early afternoon and when she’d settled her mother in a chair on the patio with a foot rest, a cool drink and a canopy above to keep the heat of the sun off her, Jenna went down to the beach to unwind.

  The surf was tempting as the waves came crashing onto the sand and she wished she’d brought her board with her. There was a yearning within her to ride high on it, to let the dismay at her foolishness in secretly falling for a man like Lucas be wiped away by the power of the elements.

  Why couldn’t she have fallen in with someone with an uncomplicated life? Obviously the two of them were still in touch, though why they should have been about to go into the hospital of all places when the flame-haired woman was now based in America and Lucas was in the middle of moving house, she didn’t know.

  One thing was certain. He wasn’t going to be striding along the beach towards her today, making her blood warm and her heart beat faster. He had other fish to fry, and, with ‘fish’ in mind, there was another thing.

  There’d been a message waiting for her when they’d got back from the shopping trip to say that for her part in the Harvest of the Sea thanksgiving service she would be required to wear a straw boater, a blue and white striped apron, and would be carrying the largest fish of the day’s catch on a silver tray, and if that ‘attractive’ ensemble didn’t finally quench any yearnings towards her that Lucas might have had, she didn’t know what would. Gone were the dreams of being a beautiful sea creature. Maybe she could rustle up a pair of clogs to finish off the outfit.

  He had a busy weekend ahead of him and with the memory of the flat atmosphere between Jenna and himself on Thursday night Lucas was not feeling on top of the world when Philippa of all people had appeared on his horizon once again—at the hospital of all places.

  He’d gone to collect some personal belongings that he’d left there in his locker and couldn’t believe what he was seeing when they’d met in the car park.

  ‘I’m over for my niece’s wedding,’ she’d said, ‘and thought I’d look up some of the people from Hunters Hill while I’m here, yourself include
d.’

  ‘I’m only here briefly myself,’ he’d told her. ‘I have a busy weekend in front of me. I’ve just called to pick up some of the things I left behind.’

  ‘So you haven’t come back yet?’ she’d commented. ‘Seems a waste.’

  ‘A lot of things have seemed like that of late, but I’m getting sorted and am happier than I’ve been in a long time,’ he informed her.

  ‘So you wouldn’t like to come out for a meal one evening?’

  His glance was cold. ‘No, thanks. I would have thought you knew better than to suggest something like that. The days are gone when we had something to say to each other. So if you’ll excuse me…’ And he’d gone straight to the room that had once been his and collected his belongings.

  And now in the middle of the afternoon he was waiting for the van to arrive with the furniture from the apartment, and once it had been delivered he was going to see if he could find Jenna without actually knocking on the door of her house.

  He was aware that he’d been abrupt with the woman he’d once intended to marry. She probably thought he hadn’t forgiven her. If she did she was wrong and maybe he should have put her right about that.

  Philippa had done him a favour. If they hadn’t split up he would never have met Jenna who, with her clear and uncomplicated mind, seemed to understand him better than he understood himself.

  She’d behaved naturally towards him almost from the moment of their meeting until the other night, and then for some reason she’d become aloof and he wasn’t sure why, so he wouldn’t rest until he’d seen her if only for a moment.

  He could see her down on the beach when he reached the end of the coast road and his heartbeat quickened, but not for long. She was running towards where a young family had been climbing over the rocks that led upwards to the headland.

  There had been excited cries from the children as they’d moved from one sea-worn rock to another but not any more. When he looked down at them he saw that the youngest child, a small girl, had slipped and was lying flat on her back on the rough, uneven surface of the rock with one of her legs twisted awkwardly beneath her.

  He groaned. At one time he would have rushed to them without a moment’s thought, but not now. As he clambered downwards he was bracing himself for what lay ahead, wishing that the little girl hadn’t fallen, wishing that he didn’t have to be a doctor again.

  Until he drew level with Jenna after her upward climb and saw the look in her eyes. It was telling him she understood what was in his mind and that it would be all right…

  At that moment the child’s father, horrified at the mishap that had befallen his daughter, bent to try and lift her up, and back in his doctor role he called out, ‘Don’t move her!

  ‘There could be spinal injuries or broken bones,’ he explained as he bent over the sobbing child. ‘We need to wait until paramedics arrive. They’re used to dealing with accident cases without causing further damage to fractures and suchlike.’

  He glanced across at Jenna who was already on her phone, ringing A and E at Hunters Hill and explaining that a helicopter might be needed to lift the child off the rocks in the safest possible way. ‘I’m going to phone the coastguard,’ she told the voice at the other end of the line, ‘and ask for their co-operation in winching the little girl off the rocks, as she appears to have injuries that could be serious to her back and leg. We need help fast.’

  ‘You’re not threatened by the tide, are you?’ she was asked.

  ‘No, we are halfway up the side of the cliff.’

  ‘So hang on in there,’ was the reply. ‘We’ll get to you as fast as we can.’

  When she’d finished the call Jenna crouched beside Lucas, who was checking the little girl’s pulse and heartbeat with the parents hovering anxiously nearby.

  ‘Don’t cry, sweetie,’ her mother said gently. ‘Some doctors and nurses are coming to look after you.’

  They are here already, Lucas thought wryly as his glance met that of his fair assistant, but no point in going into that scenario. All that mattered was to get the now shivering child into the proper kind of care because as well as being injured she was in shock.

  He checked her pulse again and took off the lightweight jacket he was wearing to provide extra warmth, indicating for the others to do likewise, and at the same time they heard the whirring blades of a helicopter.

  It appeared within seconds and hovered above them, looking for a place to land, but there was nowhere flat or large enough and the pilot called down, ‘We’re going to winch paramedics down and if they decide she shouldn’t be moved in the normal way they’ll send the child up fastened to a backboard with a winchman in attendance to avoid jarring any injured parts. Who’s in charge amongst you?’

  ‘We are!’ Lucas shouted above the noise of the engine, and pointed to Jenna. ‘We are doctor and nurse.’

  The pilot nodded. ‘They thought from the phone message that someone who knew what they were doing was making the call.’ He glanced over his shoulder, ‘Hey ho! Here they come!’ And two paramedics came down the winch line to land beside them.

  They agreed immediately with his decision that the child should be handled as little as possible and when she’d been strapped on to a backboard, still sobbing with pain and fear, one of them took her upwards with him to the warmth and safety of the helicopter.

  The family followed and Jenna and Lucas watched them fly off into the distance in disbelieving silence. A family stroll had turned into a serious situation and by some miracle the two of them had been there when they were needed.

  It had not been a good day, Lucas was thinking. There’d been the unexpected meeting with Philippa, which he could have done without, and all the time simply had a niggling longing to be with the woman walking beside him along the headland. Only to have their moment of meeting turned into an emergency by a child being hurt and frightened, and a family traumatised by what had befallen them.

  Maybe in the morning they would have news of the young one’s condition. He’d been crazy to let his nightmares get to him when he’d been clambering down the cliff side, but Jenna had been there for him again, she’d understood.

  Jenna’s thoughts were running along different lines and amongst them was surprise, the surprise of seeing Lucas there when she’d expected him to be with the flame-haired woman.

  ‘Would you like to come in for a coffee?’ she asked with stiff politeness when they reached her home, and he swung round to face her, taken aback by her tone.

  ‘Er, no, thanks,’ he replied. ‘I’ve had a vanload of furniture delivered and the place is in chaos. What have you been up to?’

  ‘I took Mum and Lucy into town to do some shopping. Then we had lunch, and now she’s resting on the patio, Dad is pottering in the garden and very soon I will be making the evening meal.’

  ‘So you haven’t time to give an opinion on my decorating before I arrange the furniture?’ He hoped it didn’t sound as if he was begging but now that they were together he didn’t want to leave her.

  She looked surprised for a moment, then putting what she’d seen on the hospital steps to the back of her mind said, ‘I’d love to see it and to watch you decide what is going where. I’m pushed for time now, but could come up this evening if you haven’t got company.’

  There’d been something meaningful about the way she’d said that and he gave a dry laugh. ‘Such as who? Ethan is my only visitor and he has such a lot on his mind at present I rarely see him, but I like to be there if he’s low in spirit or stressed by what is going on in his life. It must be agony being apart from his children.’

  ‘Yes, indeed,’ she agreed. ‘When I have babies I won’t let them out of my sight for a moment.’

  A vision of her holding a golden-haired child in her arms came to mind and he could feel himself weakening in his resolve to control the attraction she had for him.

  They were at the gates of the old weathered house that had been her home for as long as she could r
emember and she said, ‘I can’t come until I’ve got Mum settled for the night, which could be rather late. Is that all right?’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ he told her easily.

  She could come in the middle of the night if she so wanted just as long as she came. She was so full of life, so easy to have around, for a little while he would feel like the man he used to be, upbeat and in control of every aspect of his life…

  She arrived at nine o’clock, on foot, and when he opened the door to her Lucas exclaimed, ‘Jenna, why didn’t you use the car, for goodness’ sake?’

  ‘I didn’t want to exploit your kindness in loaning it to me,’ she explained primly. ‘I’m going to get one of my own as soon as I have a moment to spare.’

  He was frowning. ‘Didn’t I tell you I was in no hurry to have it back?’

  ‘Yes,’ she agreed, ‘but nevertheless…’

  He sighed. ‘So what have I done to make you back away from me?’

  ‘Nothing,’ was the reply, and it was true. She was the one in the wrong for being piqued at seeing him with the woman he’d once been going to make his wife. Having seen them together only hours ago, she was dreading hearing that the engagement was back on.

  She was looking around her. Lucas had transformed the drab house into a place of light and colour, and the furniture, yet to be positioned, was stylish yet old enough to fit in with the age of the property. The Old Chart House was coming into its own. All it needed now was people, living and loving there.

  Lucas was watching her as they went from room to room and when they came to the master bedroom he saw her colour rise, but she was composed enough as she looked around her.

  ‘You’ve made this old house beautiful,’ she told him. ‘Do I remember you saying when we first met that you’re going to turn part of it into private consulting rooms?’

  He nodded. ‘Yes. There is a separate entrance where the morning room is, and on the same side of the house there is a study and a garden room that I’m going to have converted.’