Helen Green stood tall like her daughter, her faded red hair a rosy blonde, and her face lit with the loving smile that had healed a hundred skinned knees over the decades. Ailee hugged her mother for comfort. The scent of fresh scones and rosemary soap made her shoulders sag with instant comfort as she was hugged strongly back. It was so good to see her.
Ailee stepped back, still holding her mum’s arms. ‘Where’s William?’
Her mother met her concerned look with one of her own. ‘In hospital. I’ll tell you in the car.’
Ailee’s heart sank. ‘Let’s get out of here, then.’ She didn’t want to look around to see if anyone was meeting Fergus. To risk the awkwardness of running into him.
Helen paused and turned to study her daughter searchingly. ‘Are you well?’
‘Fine. Just tired, that’s all.’ Ailee fiddled with her tote bag, checking she’d replaced her passport and zipped it closed again. Diverting herself and hopefully her mum. She didn’t want to see the concerned look from her mother, or admit that her mother could look deep into her heart and divine there was more bothering her than a red-eye flight. ‘William would have enjoyed the bustle of the airport,’ she said to divert more attention away from herself.
She remembered the souvenirs, different coloured singing bagpipes that would drive her mother mad and forced a smile.
‘Come on, Mum. I need a cup of your tea and I’ve presents to distribute.’
Chapter 8
Fergus
* * *
Fergus heard the click of the hotel room door and his hand slid across and found the warmth of the sheets next to him instead of the warmth of Ailee’s body.
He shuddered at the sense of loss that swept over him. ‘Ailee?’ He looked towards the bathroom but the door was open the large expanse of space echoing with emptiness.
She’d gone. Just like that. After the day they’d shared. After sleeping with her hand in his.
He shook his head, unable to believe she’d slipped away without a word. Fled. Yes, that was the word he sought.
He hadn’t picked that in her but he knew he’d pushed fast and inexplicably and he shouldn’t have been surprised. He’d been too desperate to cling to the sunshine she projected, the idea they were fated and had found each other.
The unexpected fantasy turned into an illusion.
He knew she’d gone, but he found final confirmation when he sat on the edge of the bed and his glance fell on the note she’d written.
‘Dear Fergus, Thank you for the day. Ailee.’
That was it? Nothing else? No personal touch, no reflection of her vibrant personality, no touch of humour.
No phone number. No meet in Sydney. No future plans.
He remembered the way she’d first ignored him in the plane, and he wished bitterly that she hadn’t turned to him a few minutes later. That he hadn’t asked her to talk.
Obviously their time together had left no impression on her, while he feared she’d pierced the protective shell he’d sworn to keep intact — and he wasn’t sure the wound would heal at all well.
How could such a short encounter affect him so deeply?
* * *
When he landed at Sydney airport Fergus handed his carry-on over to his driver and scanned the arrivals hall until he caught a disappearing glimpse of Ailee as she left with an older woman. He would recognise her anywhere. Now.
Disappointment made his breath catch. He’d seen nothing of her since she’d left his room in Singapore, neither at their hotel or the airport. He’d intended to arrange an upgrade for her on that final flight, but after her cool exit from his room and that cold little bedside note, he hadn’t thought she wanted him near her. He left well-enough alone.
So he’d travelled the last leg in the pointy end of the plane with Ailee back in Economy, and he guessed that was lucky because if he’d had to sit and watch her for eight hours, he would have weakened and reached out with a suggestion they meet at least one more time.
He hated weakness, especially in himself.
Fergus sighed and followed his driver from the terminal to the car park. It was better to suffer a little now because if watching her leave was this bad after one flight and one short day in Singapore, then long-term exposure to the woman could be fatal.
A sudden uneasy thought finally pierced his tired brain and made him wonder why he hadn’t thought of it before. What if there was another reason she hadn’t stayed? What if Ailee was sick, had been ill, or would be? What if she was awaiting medical results that could prove life-altering?
He shook his head. He’d never seen anyone healthier or more physically fit the woman who had strode around Singapore in the equatorial heat, her smile bright, her energy never flagging? His groin clenched and he gritted his teeth.
It was astonishing but egotistical of him that their time together hadn’t been as special for her as it had been for him. Should he have pushed his advantage when he’d had it? No. He’d seen something more precious than a one-night stand in Ailee’s company. Clearly, he’d been mistaken or totally missed her reasons for her flight.
He lacked practice in the art of wooing women but he’d have sworn he’d connected with Ailee during their time together. Connected on a level beyond physical desire.
He was a fool and a besotted one at that.
Enough. He had to let her go.
He and Simone made a good team. He might check with his daughter again to find out if the boarding-school thing was working, though. If one good thing came from his brief encounter with Ailee, that could be it.
Chapter 9
Ailee
* * *
In her mother’s car, Ailee cast one final look at the passengers streaming from the terminal into the car park and then she faced the front. ‘So how is William?’
‘He’s had a bad week. His creatinine level is sky high and his electrolytes are all over the place.’
Her mother’s voice was heavy with concern and Ailee could see the strain in the set of her mouth. The small tick above her cheek. Helen went on. ‘He’s so weak he can only take two hours of dialysis for the next few days. Hopefully he’ll be able to build up his tolerance and extend the length to gain strength for the operation.’
Ailee pressed her hand on her mother’s leg in comfort.
‘He’ll pull through, Mum. He’s a fighter.’
Helen swallowed. ‘It’s been terrible, watching him. He’s so young for this.’ Ailee could hear the tremor in her mother’s voice as she listened.
She’d left all this on her mother’s shoulders. But she’d had such an opportunity to gain experience they’d all decided she had to have this sabbatical to London for her career. While she could. But this she needed to hear. ‘Tell me.’
‘The body rash had been the worst, but he’s so tired and nauseous. Now the convulsions, and I think they’ll decide on your transplant in the next few weeks if he can get well enough to undergo the operation.’
‘That’s a good thing.’ Ailee’s voice was firm with conviction. She wanted to do this, see her brother well, and to help her mother’s greatest fears be put aside.
‘I can’t wait for it all to be over. For William to get his life back. To see energy and colour in his face will be worth everything.’ Even Fergus. ‘He’s eighteen, for heaven’s sake. He should be out chasing girls.’
A sudden snapshot of Fergus, his eyes black with desire, his hands on her and hers on him, made her squeeze her hands in her lap, and she was glad that her mother was driving and couldn’t hear her tiny gasp for what might have been, but the thought was fleeting. Not now. It would never have worked now.
William was the important one. Thank goodness she’d left Fergus when she did.
* * *
After a day forcing herself to stay focused on tasks she needed to complete after being away for three months, and finally in her pyjamas ready for bed at a normal hour for Australia, her mother came to Ailee’s room. ‘I’m still not convinced
you should do this, darling.’
Ailee hugged her and sat her down on the bed beside her. ‘Look, Mum, the only drawback I can see is no contact sport, and I was never that good at netball anyway.’
She tried to lighten her mother’s concerns with that touch of humour and earned a hint of a smile for her effort.
‘I will always have to wear a seat belt in the car in case of accidents but I would have anyway.’ She ticked this concern off on her fingers. ‘Diet and exercise are not something I have a problem with, except for the occasional chocolate biscuit.’
Both women smiled because Ailee’s weakness for chocolate-covered biscuits was a joke in the family.
Helen chewed her lip. ‘What about childbearing? When you get married?’
‘If I get married! I’m nearly thirty and no knight on a charger has chatted me up yet.’ She looked away. Now, that was the first lie she’d ever told her mother!
Helen missed her daughter’s lack of conviction. ‘But he’s out there somewhere. With one kidney there is some increase of risk if you became pregnant.’
‘Mother.’ Ailee grasped Helen gently by the shoulders and looked into her worried eyes. ‘We both want William well. Some people are born with one kidney and never have a moment’s problem. I could get hit by a bus tomorrow and lose a kidney or worse. Even someone who’s had a kidney transplant can have a baby. We’ve been all through this.’ She touched her mother’s cheek and lowered her voice. ‘I’m sure this is what I want.’
Helen couldn’t hide the relief that warred with her worry. ‘I’m so proud of you, Ailee.’
‘Fiddle.’ Ailee thought little of pride when her brother’s health was at stake. ‘If the roles were reversed, William would do the same for me like a shot. Stop worrying about it and let’s concentrate on getting William well enough to undergo the transplant so we can all finally relax.’
* * *
A week later, Ailee looked round her temporary coordinator’s office at Sydney West, one of the two major transplant hospitals in New South Wales, and then settled into the worn black swivel chair and switched on her computer.
Transplant co-ordinators didn’t have much down time and when the transitory vacancy had been difficult to fill, Ailee had offered to fill the gap until the replacement sister arrived in two weeks, as a favour to her boss. Ailee was way over-qualified as a surgeon instead of a nurse, but the experience would stand her in good stead when she gained her own consultancy.
She believed so passionately in the donor programme she could only benefit from access to another facet of the process and anticipated the day when she saw her brother William energetic and happy. Hopefully, that day wasn’t far away.
As temporary transplant co-ordinator, Ailee would not only be responsible for the care and preparation of the computer-chosen patients needing organ donation but also for liaison with the families of donors who had been fatally injured and had allowed their organs to be harvested, and, of course, with live donors themselves recovering from the life-saving operations.
She would be the one who interacted with relatives in regard to any organ donation and the arrangement of the organ-donation procedure. Afterwards she would follow up with the families and inform them of the progress of any of the recipients who had benefited from their relative’s generous act.
While incumbent, even if briefly when their own operation came forward in time, she hoped to help raise the profile of people signing organ-donation cards. For the moment she needed to grab the patient list and head over to the kidney transplant unit for the morning’s ward round. As well as the head of department, Dr Lewis Harry, she knew most of the team of surgeons, physicians, nurses, pharmacists and dieticians who kept the new recipients in optimum health.
As Ailee entered the airy ward, there was a vibrancy about the unit that made her pause so that she had a moment to study the group of professionals up ahead before they saw her. Something was different.
Disbelieving, rocked to her core, almost unable to take it in, she saw the big man at the centre of the group. Heat rushed into her face.
What was he doing here?
The last week had felt like a lifetime, but one lingering look at Fergus McVicker brought back Singapore so poignantly her body shuddered as if he’d touched her again. It hadn’t been as easy as she’d hoped to go on and not regret Fergus, and he’d shared her dreams every night in her lonely bed as if to drive home the fact.
Now the real man confronted her and this was the last thing she needed on the first day of her temporary post. So much for doing the ward a favour.
Ailee searched the rest of the team, all known to her from her visits here with William, but the delightful Dr Harry was missing. The consultant who had recruited her for the job, and would care for both William and her, had promised to be here for her first morning.
There wasn’t time to dwell on this shock because Fergus had looked up and was staring across at her. There was no mercy in his look. He didn’t look surprised, so at least one of them had known in advance about this meeting.
Ailee lifted her chin and crossed the room. ‘Good morning, everyone. For those who aren’t aware, I’m the temporary transplant co-ordinator while Maureen’s broken arm is mending and before the replacement sister can start.’
Ailee ignored the icy gaze fixed on her by Fergus as her colleagues murmured their appreciation. Fergus finally looked away and Ailee breathed a tiny sigh of relief. She would have to deal with him later, though she had no idea how, as he’d obviously taken her rapid exit from his room in the worst possible way.
Hopefully she would be more prepared when the time for discussion came.
‘Now that Dr Green has arrived, we’ll get on with the round, shall we?’ There was no hesitation at the end of the sentence and Fergus set off with his entourage in tow.
The tiny note of censure in his comment made Ailee lift her brows in surprise but she shrugged it off. She’d been on time. What was his problem?
Maurice, the new young pharmacist, walked beside Ailee and she quietly asked the question uppermost in her mind. ‘Where’s Dr Harry?’
‘His wife had a stroke last night, and McVicker has been seconded from Sydney East to cover for the next few weeks. We’re lucky. He’s a leader in the field and just back from Britain, like you.’
‘Poor Mrs Harry.’ A kinder, more pleasant woman would be difficult to find. That kind of luck they could both do without.
Which left her with Fergus. Inwardly Ailee sighed. She seemed destined to come up against this man in her life at a time that wasn’t at all convenient.
‘Are you with us, Dr Green?’ This time the question was pointed and beside her she could feel the surprise emanating from Maurice. The young pharmacist raised his eyebrows at her in silent query. Ailee’s usually placid temper began a slow burn and she lifted her chin. McVicker didn’t need to make such an obvious point of his problem with her.
‘Of course, Mr McVicker,’ she said calmly, at least on the surface. ‘Everyone is here because they want to be.’
Fergus blinked and for a moment she thought he’d smile but he didn’t.
Ailee knew the patients they would see today because she’d come in yesterday to read all the notes and introduce herself to them. She’d ignore the consultant and concentrate on the important people in the room.
The young woman in the first bed, Jody Withers, was unable to hide her excitement.
Today was Jody’s discharge day, and she’d spent the last two weeks smiling since she’d woken up with her new kidney and pancreas. Jody had been on the waiting list for two years and the double-transplant call had come the day before her twenty-first birthday. She represented a bright star in the sometimes-tragic arena of transplant recipients.
Jody could now forgo the thrice-weekly dialysis for her renal failure, which she’d fitted in after work, and her newly donated pancreas meant she was no longer an insulin-dependent diabetic. The four insulin needles a day she’d lived
with since she’d been ten were now a thing of the past.
‘So how do you feel, Jody?’ It seemed Fergus had also done his homework because Jody was quite at ease with the great man.
‘Still blown away that somebody somewhere changed my life by doing this, Mr McVicker.’ She closed her eyes briefly and shrugged, her young face suddenly troubled. ‘I can’t stop thinking about my donor’s family giving permission while they dealt with losing someone they loved.’
Ailee empathised with the young woman. This was part of her job. ‘We do understand, Jody. It’s the thought uppermost in all recipients’ minds. Some recipients have said a letter to the donor family feels like it helps. You could write down your feelings and when you’re happy with how it sounds we can forward your letter to your donor’s family. I really believe it helps them as well to hear how much of a miracle their loved one has made possible.’
Jody’s smile looked slightly less strained. ‘That would be wonderful, Ailee. I’ll bring a letter back when I come in for my check-up next week.’
Ailee sensed Fergus’s attention on her again. Not sure where she’d picked up this new freakin’ Fergus antenna and cursing it, she forced herself to ignore the sensations that fluttered over her skin. Yup, it was going to be incredibly difficult to work with this man. But if she’d slept with him, it would have been even more so. She smiled sourly at that. She’d just have to keep her distance and ignore the way his presence affected her.
Fergus seemed to be managing more easily than she was, but he’d had prior warning. She would have liked some of that.
She’d probably been a pleasant interlude for him. One who hadn’t come through and not what he wanted to find at work. Her stomach sank but she risked a glance under her brows at him, but he was focused on Jody.
His thoughts were where hers should be — on the patient. ‘All your pathology results look perfect today, Jody,’ Fergus said. ‘Are you happy with your medications?’
The Doctor's Gift Page 5
