It was enough to sow the tiniest seed of hope.

If she was unhappy then she could do something about it. If…no, when she escaped, Tim would be there for her.

He would always be there for her.

It was just as well the bright, flashing lights suddenly intruded into the dark compartment that had almost become a confessional, because otherwise Tim might have said something he shouldn’t. Or, worse, done something he shouldn’t—like take Kathryn in his arms and kiss her. He could almost imagine that she wanted him to do precisely that, because even the unwelcome brightness of the police car’s beacons hadn’t been enough to make Kathryn look away from him.

Doctors…Police…Fire…Ambulance…

Police officers and paramedics, nurses and fire officers:

meet the dedicated men and women

of the emergency services.

Every day is packed with drama

as they race to help others.

But while they’re saving lives…they’re finding love!

Mills & Boon® Medical Romance™ is proud to present

EMERGENCY RESPONSE

The exciting new miniseries from Alison Roberts

The Recovery Assignment

The Firefighter’s Baby

Emergency at Inglewood

Emergency at Inglewood
Alison Roberts

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CONTENTS

Cover

Excerpt

Introduction

Title Page

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

HE WAS lying to her.

It was as obvious as the stain of colour that instantly heated Kathryn Mercer’s cheeks, and her discomfort increased as the lie hung in the air between them. It was taking on a life of its own with a past history they shared, a present embarrassment they were both clearly experiencing and the shine taken off a future that Kathryn had been eagerly anticipating.

Was he trustworthy?

Kathryn deposited her small backpack with personal supplies for her first day at work in the allocated locker and took a little more time than she actually needed to push it securely into the small space and fold the strap ends away so they wouldn’t catch in the door.

‘That’s about all there is in here.’ Paramedic Tim McGrath was not looking at Kathryn as she stowed her bag. ‘There’s a shower and toilet through that door but it’s unisex. If you want one that’s women only you’ll need to go upstairs to the bedroom area.’

A seed of resentment bloomed as she heard the echo of the lie.

‘Sorry, I couldn’t ring. I…lost your phone number.’

Kathryn shut the locker with a firm clang of metal on metal. It shouldn’t be a big deal so why was she feeling so crushed? She’d only met Tim on that one occasion, months ago, in a situation that had been emotionally charged for everyone involved. What evidence had she really had to build such a picture of someone who could be trusted?

‘Here’s the office.’ Tim was still avoiding eye contact as he led Kathryn away from the locker room. ‘We have a separate area from the fire service for administration stuff. We share the commonroom and kitchen facilities, though.’

The let-down was refusing to fade. Kathryn had remembered Tim as some kind of hero—arriving at an emergency and taking charge calmly and skilfully. A professional picture impressive enough to have lured her into a new career. The desire to be like him had been strong enough to carry her through all the obstacles she had faced in changing jobs. And those obstacles had been enough to make it no small triumph that she was standing here today. No wonder her nervous excitement was making her over-sensitive.

A burst of deep male laughter could be heard well away from the small office as Kathryn nodded at various instructions she was being given about using the phone, fax machine and computer. Kathryn had arrived early for her first day at Inglewood station but a shift changeover was due shortly and there would be two fire crews and another ambulance crew somewhere on site. Possibly all male. Kathryn sucked in a deep breath to try and quell any nerves. Maybe Sean was right and she would find herself totally unsuitable for work like this.

Tim looked up at the sound of laughter and Kathryn thought she detected some relief in the knowledge they weren’t alone in this old converted house. ‘I’ll introduce you to the mob if you’re ready. We could grab a quick cup of coffee before we go and check the truck. Any questions so far?’

Harbouring a suspicion that he was untrustworthy was hardly the best way to break the ice with the man who would be her partner and hopefully her mentor for the next six months. Kathryn pushed a wayward tendril of blond hair behind her ear and smiled.

‘Not right now but I’m sure I’ll be a nuisance for the rest of the day. This is all so new.’

‘You’re a nurse, though, aren’t you?’ Tim glanced at the qualification patch on the sleeve of Kathryn’s white shirt. ‘Isn’t that why you’re already qualified for IV and cardiac procedures even though you’re in a probationary position?’

Kathryn nodded. ‘I worked in Emergency when I first qualified, but for the last few years I’ve been a part-time practice nurse in a general practice.’ She pulled a wry face. ‘My IV qualification is about the only skill I kept up. I seemed to spend half my time taking blood samples from geriatric patients who weren’t exactly filled with the joys of living.’

‘What made you decide to join the ambulance service?’

‘You did.’

‘You’re kidding!’

Kathryn’s smile widened as Tim visibly relaxed a little for the first time and advertised his interest in the conversation by perching one hip on the corner of the desk. ‘No, I’m perfectly serious. I was out of my depth that day I met you, looking after a woman who was obviously very sick. The relief when you guys came and took over was amazing, and watching you work made me realise how much I’d like to be able to really help in a situation like that.’

‘You did help. And you’d done all the right things before we got there, laying her down and taking some baseline vital signs. You were great.’ Tim smiled back at her.

‘Was she a triple-A, like you thought?’

An eyebrow lifted. ‘You’ve got a good memory. That was months ago.’

‘It made a big impression on me. Enough to make me apply for a career in the ambulance service. And I’ve always wondered how she got on. I watched the paper for a few days but I didn’t see a death notice.’

Tim shifted, looking uncomfortable again at the reminder of not keeping his promise to ring Kathryn and let her know the patient outcome. ‘She didn’t die but it was touch and go there for a while. It was a rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. They got her into Theatre almost immediately and fixed the rupture and dissection with a graft. She was fine.’ He stood up. ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t let you know at the time.’

‘Doesn’t matter.’ Kathryn watched as Tim headed for the door. It did matter, though. Enough to make her pursue the issue just a little further. ‘I should have rung you,’ she added. ‘An empty syringe package wasn’t exactly the best place to write my phone number.’

Tim shrugged. ‘I guess not,’ he agreed, a shade too readily. ‘Bit too easy for it to disappear along with the rest of the rubbish.’

So he’d thrown it away. That he was being truthful about the package going into the rubbish was as obvious as the lie about losing it had been. Kathryn followed Tim along the corridor to the source of the buzz of male conversation and laughter.

She was missing something here and her instincts told her it was something significant. What she couldn’t understand was why it was important enough to be difficult to lie about. Or was Tim McGrath normally so honest that he had trouble with any fabrication? Kathryn hoped that was the case but only time would tell.

Entering the commonroom was daunting. The group of men was seated around a long dining table and their breakfasts were abandoned as Tim walked towards them.

‘This is Kathryn Mercer,’ he told the group. ‘But she prefers to be called Kat. She’s Laura’s replacement on Green Watch for the next six months.’

The chorus of greetings was friendly.

‘Have some porridge, Kat,’ someone suggested. ‘Mrs Mack always makes enough to feed an army.’

‘Um…thanks, but I already had breakfast.’ Actually, Kathryn had been feeling far too sick from nerves to eat anything so far today, but there was no way she could face porridge even on the best of mornings.

‘So did I.’ Tim flashed her the ghost of a wink. ‘All the more for you guys. Have a second helping, Stick.’

One of the firemen muttered something inaudible and a small, wiry figure emerged from the kitchen area.

‘That’s enough o’ that muttering, Jason Halliday. Porridge is good for you. It’s the only thing that puts a good lining on your stomach on these cold mornings.’

‘This is Kathryn, Mrs Mack,’ Tim said. ‘My new partner. Kat, this is Jean McKendry, who lives next door and is kind enough to spend her days looking after Inglewood station.’

Kathryn smiled. The woman reminded her of her grandmother and she could see the warmth that lay below the stern tone. ‘Hi,’ she said shyly.

‘Och, but she’s just a wee thing.’ Kathryn was subjected to a concerned frown over half-moon spectacles. ‘How’s she going to cope in with this lot?’ The older woman sniffed and Kathryn had the horrible feeling that her competence was in as much doubt as her physical ability to handle a demanding job. Then Jean McKendry sniffed even more pointedly, muttered something about muffins burning and disappeared back into the kitchen on an apparently urgent mission.

The blond fireman, Jason, was grinning. ‘Kat’s little and she’s blond. Tim’s big and brown. What does that remind you of, Stick?’

‘Laura isn’t exactly tall, Jase.’

‘No, but my Laura’s got a bit of meat on her bones.’ Jason shook his head impatiently. ‘Come on…it’s not rocket science. What are we eating here?’

More than one of his colleagues was grinning. The rest were looking blank.

‘Porridge,’ Jason said with a grimace. He cast a somewhat guilty glance towards the kitchen but dealing with the muffins was obviously keeping the housekeeper out of earshot and his grin appeared again. ‘Come and sit down, Goldilocks.’

Kathryn laughed. She liked this fireman and she liked the fact that she was already being accepted enough to earn a nickname. She stole a glance at her partner. He was rather bear-like. Tall and solid with brown hair and brown eyes. Not at all fierce, though. He seemed to be enjoying the exchange as much as Kathryn, and his smile was the most genuine she had seen so far.

‘We need to go and check the truck,’ Tim said, after a glance at the wall clock. ‘We’ll get a coffee after that if it’s still quiet so you’ll get a chance to talk to Kathryn later.’ He turned towards her and his smile became simply polite. ‘These guys don’t have to work nearly as hard as we do. They spend most of their days sitting around drinking coffee and talking. Just don’t believe everything they tell you.’

‘We get bacon and eggs for breakfast in summer,’ one of them said.

‘That is true.’ Tim’s gaze veered towards the kitchen but there was no sign of the porridge-maker. He lowered his voice anyway. ‘Roll on summer!’

The appreciative chuckle followed the two ambulance officers as they left the commonroom. Clearly Tim was far more relaxed with this group of men than he was with her but that was hardly surprising. They didn’t know each other and they had started their acquaintance with Tim’s astonished recognition of Kathryn as the member of the public who had assisted a woman in trouble in a restaurant, rapidly followed by his unsuccessful attempt to cover up why he hadn’t bothered to phone her.

At least he had recognised her. It would have been even more of a let-down to find she had made no impression on the man who had been in her thoughts with astonishing frequency over the last few months.

She followed Tim towards the garage where the fire engine and ambulance were parked. Let it go, she told herself firmly. It really doesn’t matter that he didn’t ring you. He probably just got busy with another emergency and forgot. Perfectly reasonable if that was the case, but why hadn’t he just said so?

The outgoing crew was happy to hand over their pagers and head home for some sleep.

‘Good luck,’ they told Kathryn. ‘And just tell Tim to shut up when you get sick of him talking all the time.’

Kathryn raised an eyebrow and Tim smiled wryly. ‘I’m known for being a bit on the quiet side,’ he explained. ‘You’re more likely to get bored stiff with my company than sick of listening to me talking.’

‘I doubt very much that I’ll get bored,’ Kathryn told him. ‘You might need to tell me to shut up if I ask too many questions.’

‘I’m happy to answer anything I can. That’s part of what taking on a probationary officer is all about.’ Tim handed Kathryn a paging device and showed her how to scroll through messages.

‘The job number and date come up first. Then the priority for the call. P1 is a life-threatening emergency and the only one we use lights and sirens for. P2 is non-urgent but requires a response time of less than thirty minutes, and P3 is routine stuff like inter-hospital transfers. P4 is a private hire.’

‘What sort of reasons do people hire an ambulance for?’

‘To take a relative back to a rest home or hospice after they’ve had a few days at home maybe. Usually it’s a rest home bringing a resident back after they’ve been checked out after a fall or something.’

‘OK.’ Kathryn nodded, tucking the information away. P1s were going to be the calls she would be most nervous about.

The thought of heading off to an unknown emergency with the wail of a siren distracting her from remembering even well-rehearsed protocols was enough to make the back of her neck prickle. Thank goodness she had someone like Tim McGrath for a partner. He looked to be in his mid-thirties and had the aura of a relaxed attitude to his job that could only come from a combination of competence and experience.

Kathryn had also had the advantage of seeing Tim in action thanks to that incident in the restaurant. She knew he was competent and could stay calm in an emergency. She’d be OK with a partner like Tim. Becoming good at this job wasn’t just a fantasy. She could do it.

‘Of course, dispatch can only make a priority decision based on the information they get given,’ Tim continued thoughtfully. ‘Quite often a P1 is nothing significant, but you can get some of the sickest people on a P2.’

Kathryn chewed her bottom lip as the flash of confidence faded. She’d have to worry about both P1s and P2s, then.

Tim’s amused expression made her flush with embarrassment at showing obvious nerves, but his smile was reassuring. ‘They get it right most of the time. Like that restaurant case you were involved in. Having got the job definition on the pager as ‘‘abdo pain’’ at a restaurant, we thought we were going to a case of food poisoning and thought the P1 response was a bit of overkill. Turned out it was a life-threatening emergency, wasn’t it?’

‘I’ve never been more relieved in my life than I was when I heard that siren getting closer,’ Kathryn confessed. ‘I could tell she was really sick and I had no idea why. A heart attack seemed the most likely cause but the abdominal pain didn’t exactly fit.’

‘Some MIs do present with epigastric or back pain so it wasn’t so far off the mark for a diagnosis. At least you knew how important it was to get urgent help.’

‘And at least I know a bit more about triple-As now. I paid particular attention to that lecture.’

‘So tell me, then.’ Tim leaned against the back doors of the ambulance, swinging his pager by the curly elastic cord attached to a clip. The awkwardness of revisiting that particular case seemed to be receding and he was obviously warming to his new role as a mentor. ‘What do you know about triple-As?’

A chance to impress Tim was welcome. Maybe he was uncomfortable with her because he had no idea what she was capable of. ‘The signs are a pulsating mass in the abdomen and you might hear a bruit over the mass. If they rupture, it’s a medical emergency. Signs and symptoms include a severe, tearing pain and blood loss leading to shock.’

‘Causes?’

‘Usually arterial disease. You can get a false aneurysm caused by trauma.’

‘Do you know why the heart rate can stay normal?’

Kathryn frowned. ‘I don’t think we covered that in class…unless I’ve just forgotten.’ She chewed her lip again. So much for impressing her new partner. ‘With shock associated with blood loss you’d expect a tachycardia, wouldn’t you? Seeing as that’s the compensatory mechanism to try and keep the blood pressure up.’

Tim nodded, seemingly not bothered by any lack in her knowledge base. ‘That’s why it’s such a good marker for a triple-A. An aneurysm causes the walls of an artery to bulge. When the aorta gets stretched it stimulates receptors into thinking that the blood pressure is actually high. Therefore the compensatory mechanism is to reduce the heart rate to keep the blood pressure down.’

‘Not good for hypovolaemic shock.’ Kathryn was delighted to have something explained so simply. Tim was obviously a good teacher and some of the excitement at the prospect of working with him returned to lift her spirits. ‘And no wonder she started to feel better lying down with her feet up and then fainted when she sat up again.’

‘Two litres of saline got the pressure up enough for us to be able to give her some morphine. She wasn’t feeling too bad at all by the time we got her out of the restaurant. In fact, she was asking for you. She wanted to thank you.’

The awkwardness concerning the case returned with a rush, although it wasn’t Tim’s failure to phone her that was the cause this time. Kathryn found herself mirroring Tim’s earlier action and fiddling with her own pager’s safety cord.

‘I…couldn’t stay any longer.’ She hoped Tim’s memories of that evening were less clear than her own. Sean’s patent ill humour at her involving herself in the case had been humiliating enough at the time.

‘I hope your evening wasn’t entirely ruined.’

The odd tone of the comment made Kathryn glance up in surprise, and she caught an expression she had no hope of reading in Tim’s gaze. She needed to get him off any track concerning her personal life so she smiled brightly.

‘Heck, no! That was the most exciting thing I’d done in years. It was what persuaded me to throw in my practice nurse job and train as an ambulance officer.’

‘And is your…husband happy about it?’

‘Sean?’ Kathryn looked away, trying to sound casual and ignoring the odd hesitation in Tim’s query. He wasn’t to know how laughable the notion of her being out to dinner with anyone other than her husband was. It was laughable enough to make her smile again. ‘He’ll cope.’

She was unaware of the defiant tilt her chin adopted. He’d have to cope. There was no way he was going to interfere with her new career. Even mentioning Sean had added a new tension to the atmosphere and Kathryn’s shiver had little to do with the chilliness of the garage they were standing in.

Care was going to be needed in future not to allow any mention of her home life to intrude on her work hours. This career was her hope for the future. An escape. Something Sean had no part of, and she intended to keep it that way despite the clutch of any tentacles of guilt. Most importantly, she didn’t want Tim or anyone else at Inglewood station knowing anything about her marriage.

If you could even call it that.

Fortunately, Tim seemed completely uninterested. He snapped his pager into the holder clipped to his belt and Kathryn followed his example.

‘There are other priorities as well.’ His tone was coolly professional once again. ‘At times we’re on standby for fires or armed offender callouts for the police, long-distance transfers and back-up assistance for other ambos. You’ll pick it all up in no time.’

‘I hope so.’ Kathryn watched Tim open a side door of the ambulance.

‘Here we have the ramps, carry chair, hare traction splint and KED. Have you covered using the KED?’

Kathryn nodded. Her class had been through more than one scenario training them to use the body splint to help extricate car accident victims. Having to attend a major car crash on her first day was a prospect that had kept her awake for a large part of the previous night. The image of trying to cope with such a scene took turns with an even greater fear—that she might have to defibrillate someone for the first time.

When the side door refused to close easily, Tim took a few minutes to rearrange the contents. Kathryn watched him, aware that her fears about what the day might bring and what would be revealed about her competence paled in comparison to a much darker fear that Tim had inadvertently reminded her of. A fear that had presented one of the largest obstacles to her career change.

Tucked away in her boring job as a GP nurse in an old-fashioned clinic in the suburbs had been safe. It had been easy to keep up the pretence of a happy marriage with the elderly GP who had been a close friend of Sean’s father because he hadn’t been any more interested in Kathryn than he was in his patients. Old Dr Braithwaite had been far too busy having an affair with the clinic’s receptionist and Kathryn had been forced to turn a blind eye because she knew, better than anyone, that it wasn’t always the husband’s fault. It was quite possible for a totally inadequate wife to drive a man into the arms of another woman. A whole string of them, even.

And here she was taking on a career she was determined to excel in, which meant she would be working with a lot of men. Inglewood station was a peripheral city response base that housed both fire and ambulance crews, and being assigned here accentuated the difference in the age group and numbers of her new colleagues. She was going to be in almost daily contact with a lot of men who would inevitably be very sympathetic to Sean…if they knew. Kathryn would end up being labelled in terms she couldn’t bear to imagine, even if there was justification in such derision.

Her problems had nothing to do with life on the outside, however. An ‘outside’ that was now a new start. The future had always been haunted by the unknown but for the first time in many years some of those unknowns were exciting. Compelling, even. Kathryn had taken the first brave steps on a solo journey she had every intention of continuing.

Straightening her spine, she caught one of the swinging doors as Tim opened up the back of the ambulance and she pushed it to catch in the open position.

‘Are you comfortable with the layout and finding what you need in here?’

She nodded confidently. ‘That’s something I can do.’

‘Right. Quick test, then.’ Tim vaulted into the back of the ambulance, surprisingly lightly for such a big man. He tapped the sliding glass door of an overhead locker. ‘What’s in here?’

‘Straps for the scoop stretcher or backboard, hard hat, cervical collars, maternity kit and incontinence pads.’

Tim grinned. ‘Let’s hope we don’t need too many of those on your first day. And this one?’ He tapped another locker on the opposite side of the truck.

‘Dressings in three sizes, bandages—also in three sizes—saline pouches, triangular bandages and another hard hat.’

‘Where’s the IV gear?’

‘In the drawer under the life pack.’ Thoughts of Sean or fears of her private life being exposed were mercifully fading into oblivion. This was fun.

‘And?’

Taken aback, Kathryn frowned as her gaze raked the remaining storage spaces. ‘Well…the giving sets and pressure cuff and bags of saline are in that locker over there and…um…’

‘What happens if we need to put an IV line in when we’re not in the back of the truck?’

‘Oh-h.’ Kathryn rolled her eyes at her obvious omission. ‘There’s supplies of everything in the resuscitation kit.’

‘Good.’ Tim touched the large, tackle-type box with his foot. ‘We’ll go over the kit later. Are you familiar with this type of life pack?’

Kathryn nodded. ‘That’s what we’ve been using for training.’

‘You’re qualified to defibrillate manually, aren’t you?’

Her nod was a lot slower this time. ‘I haven’t done it for real yet. Only on dummies.’

Tim’s smile was quick. ‘We’ll try and make sure your first arrest patient isn’t too bright, then.’

Kathryn laughed but was disconcerted at the way Tim’s gaze veered instantly away from her face. A slightly awkward silence fell, which added to Kathryn’s confusion. This was like a roller-coaster. Whenever she felt that Tim was being friendly and they were establishing some kind of rapport, it got flicked off like a switch and that inexplicable tension was back again. Had she done the wrong thing by laughing at his joke? Why had he made one if she wasn’t supposed to find it funny?

Recognising that she was doing something wrong was a skill Kathryn was expert in, however. She cleared her throat.

‘It must be a pain, having to work with someone like me.’

‘What?’ Tim snapped the battery he was checking back into its slot in the life pack.

‘I mean, I must seem a bit of a liability when you’re used to working with someone as qualified as your last partner. Laura, was it?’

Tim nodded. ‘Laura Green. Now Laura Halliday.’

‘Halliday? Wasn’t that the name of one of the firemen?’

Tim nodded again. ‘Jason. He and Laura got married a few months ago. She’s taking maternity leave now.’

‘Oh.’ Kathryn knew her smile was probably wistful. ‘That’s nice.’

‘Yeah.’ Tim clipped the safety belt that held the life pack in position. ‘She thinks so.’ He looked directly at Kathryn. ‘I hope I’m not giving the impression that I’m not happy to work with you. It’s actually a bit of a treat, getting a probationary officer with your qualifications. I was expecting somebody as green as grass, which can make life a bit difficult for a while.’

‘I’m still green,’ Kathryn warned. ‘As I said, it’s been years since I worked in Emergency and all the pre-hospital emergency medicine I’ve learned over the last few months is still just theory.’

‘You’ve done third crewing, though, haven’t you?’

‘It’s not the same when you’ve got people walking you through stuff. It’s a big step being out on the road as a qualified officer.’

‘You’ll learn soon enough,’ Tim assured her. His eyebrows rose as their pagers sounded simultaneously. ‘Perhaps even sooner than I thought. All set?’

‘As long as I don’t have to defibrillate someone on my first job.’ Kathryn’s smile was rather shaky as she climbed up into the passenger seat of the ambulance. Any concerns over the difficulty she was having breaking the ice with Tim fled into the same space Sean was now occupying.

Her pager informed her that this job was a P1 and it was already as nerve-racking as she had feared.

The switch to change the wail of the siren to a shorter yelp for additional warning at intersections was just above Tim’s head. He left it on yelp and added a blast on the air horn for good measure when a courier van driver decided he could scoot past the other traffic already slowing obediently to give the emergency vehicle right of way. The driver’s non-verbal sign that he wasn’t impressed with being reprimanded drew a disgusted snort from Tim and a squeak from his new partner.

‘Can you believe that guy?’

‘Believe anything if it’s a courier van,’ Tim growled. ‘Or a taxi. Or one of those little granny wagon boxes on wheels.’ He could see Kathryn’s hand shaking slightly as she tried to find the address they’d been given on the map. ‘Don’t worry,’ he said shortly. ‘I know where it is.’

His mood slipped another notch or two as he heard his tone. He should be giving Kathryn some encouragement, not making her feel as though he couldn’t be bothered with any incompetence. This was her first day on the job, for heaven’s sake, and as far as potential partners went he had probably scooped the pick of the latest intake. It would be nice to blame his uncharacteristic ill humour on the idiocy of courier van drivers but, sadly, Tim knew that he had been thrown off his usual even keel well before that.

About the time Kathryn Mercer had walked into the garage at Inglewood station this morning, in fact.

He must have looked like more of an idiot than a courier van driver with his mouth hanging open, but seeing Kathryn had been a shock to say the least. She was supposed to be firmly in the realms of fantasy now. Locked away like an attractive movie star. Perfect but totally unattainable. She wasn’t supposed to walk into his life like that. How the hell could he be expected to work with someone he shouldn’t have been thinking about in the kind of terms he had been?

Tim accelerated hard as he took a bend into a straight stretch of the main road leading to the Hutt Valley. Weaving in and out of the traffic didn’t allow him time for more than a split-second glance at Kathryn but it was enough to absorb the impression of a white face and fingernails buried in the unforgiving upholstery of her seat. She was being thrown in the deep end here and Tim didn’t like the tiny flash of satisfaction it gave him.

He was in control again and it felt like the first time since the sight of her diminutive figure in its smart new uniform had assaulted his senses. He had been the one out of his depth then, and he had really thought he’d been drowning when she’d said she’d been disappointed he hadn’t kept his promise to ring her.

It should have been easy to lie and say the number scribbled on that empty syringe packet had been mislaid, or that they just got incredibly busy and he had forgotten. But he hadn’t forgotten, had he? That moment of panic when he’d thought he’d lost the damn packet, the relief with which he’d fished it out of his pocket, and then the crushing disappointment as Laura had pointed out that both Kathryn and her dinner partner had been wearing wedding rings were burned into his memory with astonishing clarity.

The woman of his dreams, he’d confessed to Laura. And he’d been too late. Someone had got there first and claimed the kind of commitment that was sacrosanct as far as Tim was concerned. He should have been able to put any attraction in the rubbish along with that phone number, but that had proved impossible. As impossible as sounding casual enough to make a lie convincing.

It might have been OK if he’d had a little warning, but the change in Laura’s replacement had only been decided that morning and Kathryn had arrived before he’d had time to collect any messages. He had still been trying to come to terms with the fact that he would be working closely with Kathryn for the next six months when she’d reminded him of precisely why that was going to be so awkward.

Tim pushed his foot down on the brake and Kathryn shot forward into the clutch of her safety belt.

‘This is Rawlston Street. What number do we want?’

Kathryn sat back and fumbled for her pager.

‘You should write that information on the case report form as soon as we get a call,’ Tim told her. ‘You can’t afford to waste any time if it’s an emergency response.’

‘Sorry.’ Kathryn was pushing the button on her pager. ‘It’s number 257 and it says ‘‘Fresh’’.’

‘Fresh Is Best. It’s a supermarket up the end of the road.’ Tim turned off the siren but left the beacons flashing as he slowed the ambulance. ‘It’s a chest pain,’ he reminded Kathryn, ‘so we’ll take everything. Throw the life pack onto the stretcher along with the oxygen and suction kit. I’ll get the kit. Let’s move.’

CHAPTER TWO

ANXIOUS-LOOKING people wearing hats and white aprons over striped uniforms were waiting. Tim jumped out from the driver’s seat and strode to the back to open the doors. Kathryn stayed inside the vehicle, sliding between the front seats into the back and struggling to unclip the safety belt on the life pack quickly. She could hear snatches of the information Tim was being given.

‘Lifting sacks of flour. They’re as heavy as…’

‘Looks awful. All grey and sweaty…’

‘Fifty-six. Never had a sick day in his…’

By the time Kathryn had the life pack on top of the stretcher, Tim had added all the other equipment they needed, unhooked the end of the stretcher and was pulling it free. Kathryn made a lunge to catch the handle on her end so it wouldn’t crash down the steps. Then she had to trot to keep up.

Their patient did look awful. The middle-aged man was slumped against a wall near the massive ovens in the supermarket bakery.

‘Get some oxygen on him,’ Tim instructed Kathryn. ‘Fifteen litres a minute with a non-rebreather mask.’

An easy enough task. Kathryn unzipped the pouch attached to the portable oxygen cylinder and ripped open a plastic bag containing a mask, only to find it was a standard acute mask. She reached into the bag again and this time found the one with the reservoir bag attached. She hooked it up to the cylinder and remembered to keep her finger over the hole at the base of the mask until the reservoir bag was full.

Tim had cut away the apron and uniform shirt of the man and was attaching the sticky electrodes on the ends of the life-pack leads.

‘Have you got any history of heart problems?’

Their patient couldn’t speak. Clearly in agonising pain, he clutched his chest and shook his head as he moaned incoherently.

Kathryn moved closer. ‘I’m just going to put a mask on your face, sir,’ she said. ‘Is that OK?’

Patient consent was not forthcoming but Kathryn found her nervousness vanishing as she touched the man. She could do this. Without being told, she picked up the blood-pressure cuff and wrapped it round the man’s arm. She listened with a stethoscope as she let the pressure in the cuff down but could hear nothing. Frowning, she caught Tim’s gaze as he reached into the kit for a tourniquet.

‘Unrecordable?’ Tim mirrored Kathryn’s quick nod. ‘I’m not surprised. I couldn’t get a radial pulse.’

That meant the man’s systolic blood pressure was less than 80. Kathryn looked at the screen of the life pack and felt a chill of premonition. The trace looked far from normal with the spike of the QRS bizarrely wide.

‘Complete heart block,’ Tim said quietly. ‘Draw me up a flush, would you, please, Kathryn? And give him an aspirin.’

Kathryn found her brain was moving far more quickly than her hands. Her fingers shook as she followed Tim’s calm directions but she managed to draw up the morphine and other drugs he requested. There was no time to do anything more than absorb the impression of urgency after that as bakery staff helped get the man onto the stretcher and load him and the gear into the ambulance. Within a matter of minutes Kathryn found herself driving the ambulance towards the hospital with Tim in the back, caring for a very sick cardiac patient.

Driving such a large, heavy vehicle had been a challenge in itself during her training and it would be months before Kathryn would be allowed to drive under lights and sirens, but she was confident enough at road speed and far happier leaving Tim to care for the patient this time.

By the time they got back to the main road she was almost enjoying herself. Her first job with Tim had gone well, all things considered. Maybe she had been a bit slow drawing up the morphine and adding the saline, but she just wasn’t used to doing things under such pressure of time. She’d get used to it soon enough. Pulling out the wrong oxygen mask had wasted valuable seconds, though. She’d have to—

‘Pull over!’ The shout from the back cut through any satisfaction enveloping Kathryn.

She checked the side mirrors and indicated that she was pulling onto the shoulder of the road.

‘Now, Kat!’

She jammed on the brakes and heard a curse from Tim as he had to catch his balance.

‘Get in the back,’ Tim said tersely, as he reached for the radio microphone. ‘Get the gel pads and charge up the defib. He’s in VF.’

Oh…God! This was her worst nightmare. Her first job and she was expected to defibrillate someone. Kathryn could feel the prickle of perspiration break out down the entire length of her spine as she ripped open the foil packet and slapped two rectangles of spongy orange material onto the patient’s chest.

‘Charge it,’ Tim snapped as a response to his radio signal came through. ‘We need back-up,’ he told the control room. ‘VF arrest.’ He was watching Kathryn as he spoke.

She held a paddle in each hand. The crescendo of sound that depressing the charge button had elicited stopped with a loud beep. The paddles were charged.

‘Do it,’ Tim commanded.

Kathryn pressed the paddles onto the gel pads. She remembered to move so that her legs were not touching the metal sides of the stretcher. A flash of some horror story of an ambulance officer giving himself a nasty shock surfaced.

‘I’m clear,’ she said shakily. ‘Are you?’

‘Just do it, Kat!’

She pressed her thumbs down hard on the buttons. The man jerked and his arm flopped over the side of the stretcher to hit her leg. Kathryn lifted the paddles hurriedly, too horrified to look at the screen behind her.

‘Charge again,’ Tim ordered.

The sound started to crescendo again. Kathryn’s clutch on the paddle handles felt slippery so she tightened her grip. Two shocks at 200 joules, she reminded herself. Then one at 360. Then CPR. She pressed the paddles into position.

‘Wait!’ Tim shouted. ‘Look at the screen.’

Kathryn’s head jerked up. A rapid but normal cardiac rhythm was evident. And here she was with charged-up paddles pressed onto the patient’s chest. She lifted them and her jaw dropped. The only thing she could remember was how dangerous it was to discharge a shock into the air. She couldn’t catch Tim’s eye, though, as he was leaning past her. Hitting a button on the centre of the menu control dial…emptying the charge safely from the paddles.

He was talking into the microphone at the same time. ‘Cancel the back-up,’ he told Control. ‘My partner has just saved our patient.’

Kathryn’s jaw dropped even further. Was he serious?

‘You can put those down now,’ Tim said. Then he grinned. ‘So, how does it feel to save a life, then?’

‘I…ah…’ Kathryn was totally lost for words. She looked at the patient who was actually moving his head and groaning. She looked at the life-pack screen, which still showed a rapid, steady sinus rhythm. Then she looked at Tim and couldn’t help the grin that broke out.

‘Now, let’s see how fast you can get us into hospital,’ Tim said. ‘Use the lights and siren.’

‘But I’m not allowed—’

‘Just do it, Kat. This man’s not exactly stable yet. Or would you rather stay in the back with him?’

Kathryn drove. She could see the reflection of the flashing beacons on the windows of vehicles she shot past. She found the wail of the siren became just a background as she concentrated hard on getting through the traffic. She even remembered to use the yelp switch at intersections. And she backed up to the loading ramp at the emergency department and managed to stop with only a gentle bump against the edge.

The resus team staff were waiting. Kathryn leapt out, opened the back doors and unhooked the foot end of the stretcher. Their patient was still hooked up to the life pack and oxygen as they wheeled him inside. He was sitting up now, though, and Kathryn couldn’t believe it when he smiled at her.

‘Thanks, love,’ he said. ‘I’m feeling a hell of a lot better now.’

So was Kathryn. The worst had happened and she had coped. Her first job and she had saved a life. They had saved a life. Kathryn’s smile when Tim came out to help her clean up the truck was wide enough to let him know just how incredible the experience had been. She had been so right in fighting for the chance to do this job, and right now she was so happy it was all she could do not to throw herself into Tim’s arms and dance along the loading ramp of the ambulance bay.

She was positively beaming at him. Tim had taken a few minutes to complete the paperwork inside so Kathryn had gone out to start the clean-up alone. And here she was, lit up like the happiest Christmas tree ever. Tim could understand how she felt. He could remember the first time he successfully defibrillated someone and the amazing satisfaction in getting them back. It didn’t happen nearly often enough, and Kathryn was looking at him as though he’d arranged all this as a special gift to mark her first day at work.

Good grief. She looked as though she might actually give him a hug or a kiss or something. Tim stepped back hurriedly. Fantasy was much safer. He’d never factored in that electric current that Kathryn seemed to generate around herself. He had remembered her looks well enough—the colour and curl of her blond hair, the cute upturned nose, the wide blue eyes with that hint of anxiety. He hadn’t seen her smile during that first encounter, however, and that seemed to be what was generating the current.

‘All done?’

‘Almost.’ Kathryn bit her lip, clearly trying to control her smile. ‘He thanked me, Tim, can you believe that? He looked dead only a few minutes ago and there he was sitting up and saying thank you.’

‘You did a great job,’ Tim said warmly. ‘Well done.’

‘We saved someone, didn’t we, Tim?’ Kathryn gave a tiny wriggle, like an overjoyed puppy. ‘We really saved someone.’

‘Yeah.’ Tim couldn’t prevent his own grin. ‘Don’t expect me to lay on a case like that every day, though. Consider it a ‘‘welcome to Inglewood’’ job.’ Grabbing the pile of dirty linen from the floor, he turned away. What was he saying? He didn’t want to welcome Kathryn to Inglewood.

What he really wanted was to ring the ambulance training manager and request a transfer of his probationary assistant. Yeah…right. Tim snorted as he shoved the linen into the bag inside the emergency department doors. Kathryn was lacking in confidence quite enough. He could never be so cruel as to let her think she wasn’t up to scratch as far as he was concerned.

What could he say, anyway? Sorry, but I really fancy this chick and she’s married to someone else so it’s kind of like letting a starving man look at a roast dinner in a glass box?

Besides, whatever else it had stirred up, the case had broken the ice. They were given a transfer job next, to take a patient from the emergency department to a convalescent ward in a small rural hospital well north of Wellington. It was over an hour’s drive and Kathryn sat in the back with the elderly female patient on the way there. Tim could hear her chatting happily to the woman, who was remarkably fit, considering her age was well into her nineties, and he smiled more than once as he indulged in a spot of shameless eavesdropping. Having a partner who could establish an easy rapport with a patient was a real bonus. There was nothing worse than a long trip with a totally silent set of passengers. The turn of the conversation in the back as they neared their destination made him listen even more carefully.

‘So Bill was your third husband?’

‘They say it’s third time lucky, dear, and in my case it was absolutely right.’

‘So what happened to your other husbands?’

‘The first one ran off with the wife of one of his customers. He sold cars, you know. That was in 1935 and it was a complete scandal. I was far too ashamed to try and get a divorce. It just wasn’t done in those days.’

‘So how did you manage to marry husband number two?’

‘Charlie got himself run over. In his own car yard, would you believe?’

‘That was considerate.’ Tim could hear the grin in Kathryn’s voice.

‘I thought so. Mind you, then I married Stanley and he didn’t turn out to be a good choice. He hit the bottle rather hard, if you know what I mean. Then he went and got himself killed in the Second World War. It was quite a while before I was tempted to try again but Bill and I had forty wonderful years together. Are you married, dear?’

‘Yes.’

‘Your first husband?’

Kathryn laughed. ‘Yes.’

‘How long have you been married?’

‘Five years.’

‘You look happy enough so I guess you chose the right one.’

‘I guess I did.’

Suddenly Tim didn’t feel very interested in eavesdropping any further. He turned on the radio and changed stations to find some music that wouldn’t offend their patient. Kathryn also seemed inclined to change the subject. Tim could see her on her feet, keeping one hand on a locker handle to keep her balance as she made her patient more comfortable by adjusting her pillow.

‘Would you like another blanket, Mrs Ramsey?’

‘I’m quite warm enough, thank you, dear. We must be almost there by now, mustn’t we?’

‘I think so.’ Kathryn leaned forward, poking her head into the front compartment. ‘How much further is it, Tim?’

‘Only another five or ten minutes. It’s a nice little hospital. They usually give us a cup of tea before we have to head back.’

Tim insisted on driving back to the city as well. Having something to concentrate on besides his new partner was definitely in order. Keeping the conversation strictly professional also seemed a good idea.

‘Any questions you want to ask? About this morning’s job?’

‘Yes.’ Kathryn sounded eager. ‘You said the patient was in complete heart block. I’m comfortable with recognising the shockable rhythms but it was a very condensed ECG course and I’m ashamed to say a lot of it went over my head.’

‘You can’t be expected to know everything. You’ve got a far better knowledge base than most probationary ambulance officers. You’ll find you pick up a lot on the job and you’ll have more classroom time coming up as well.’

Tim glanced in Kathryn’s direction as he finished speaking, to find her gaze fixed on his face and her eyebrows raised expectantly. She wanted to hear more than reassurance. Tim smiled as he looked ahead at the long, quiet road winding through hills dotted with sheep like mushrooms.

‘Complete heart block is third-degree heart block and it’s where the atrial contraction is normal but no beats are conducted to the ventricles.’

‘So that’s why the rate was so slow? It was a ventricular escape rhythm?’

‘Yes. And if you look at the trace you’ll find p waves that have no relationship to the QRS spikes.’

‘We’ve got a copy of that trace, haven’t we?’

‘It’s rolled up and in with the case report forms.’

Kathryn opened the box compartment of the metal clipboard the forms were attached to. She soon had several metres of trace paper uncurled over her knees, examining the recording that covered the various heart rhythms their case had presented.

‘Look, that’s where we defibrillated him! Ventricular fibrillation and straight back into sinus rhythm.’ Kathryn sighed happily. ‘Wasn’t it great?’

‘Sure was.’ Tim enjoyed a moment of the kind of enthusiasm that tended to get blunted by years on this job. His smile was almost one of gratitude for the reminder of what being a paramedic was all about. ‘It was you that defibrillated him, though.’

Kathryn’s nose wrinkled as she grimaced. ‘I don’t think I could have done it if you hadn’t pushed me.’

‘It’s scary for everybody the first time.’

‘I could never do it by myself.’

‘Yes, you could, but you’ll never need to. We don’t work alone. One of our responsibilities is to assess a situation and call for whatever extra assistance we think we’re going to need. If you remember, the first thing I did was to call for back-up.’

‘I thought that was because you only had me to help.’

‘We’re a team, Kat. Most of the time we’ll be able to handle whatever comes our way all by ourselves.’

Kathryn was staring at him again, but this time her expression wasn’t questioning. A play of emotions flitted across her features. Doubt, followed by hope and then a completely charming gratitude that was accompanied by a faint flush of colour in her cheeks. She looked away, clearly embarrassed.

‘I hope so,’ she said quietly. ‘And I can almost believe it with someone like you as a partner.’ Her tone advertised a shy determination to say something important. ‘You were amazing, Tim. You stay so calm!’

‘Just practice.’ Tim couldn’t remember anyone telling him he was amazing. Ever. ‘Besides, you only have to look calm. Doesn’t matter if you’re doing the duck thing and paddling frantically below the surface.’

Kathryn laughed. ‘I don’t believe you’re a duck.’

‘That’s the best thing about it. Nobody can tell.’

‘Yeah. It is amazing what you can hide if you get enough practice, I suppose.’

Tim threw her a quick sideways glance but Kathryn was staring at the trace in her lap again.

‘So tell me about the other degrees of heart block, then.’

Tim launched into a mini-lecture that Kathryn seemed only too willing to absorb, but only half his mind was really on the subject. He was doing the duck thing in a way he’d never had to before. Seeming calm and professional on the surface while part of him was paddling frantically and wondering how on earth he could handle working with Kathryn when he found her so incredibly attractive.

It was ironic in a way. Kathryn’s intelligence, previous medical experience and obvious passion to excel in her new career made her potentially a perfect partner, on a professional basis as much as anything else. It wasn’t her fault that Tim felt irrationally jealous of the man lucky enough to have married her. He knew perfectly well how adolescent such a reaction was and at thirty-five he was old enough and wise enough to know far better.

And even if Kathryn hadn’t been married she wouldn’t have necessarily returned the interest Tim felt, so maybe it was better this way. He’d never have to face the trauma of offering something that would be rejected. Maybe he should just grow up a little and make the most of what fate had presented him with.

He could enjoy her company, help Kathryn gain the confidence she desperately wanted and undoubtedly deserved, and be grateful for whatever he got offered in return in the way of friendship and professional rapport.

He didn’t really have a choice anyway.

Dammit.

Sheer exhaustion was setting in for Kathryn by five o’clock that afternoon. It was a challenge all its own to concentrate on helping Tim restock the ambulance.

‘What about the BGL kit?’ he queried.

‘What about it? Did I do something wrong when I was monitoring that diabetic patient?’

‘Not at all. We just need to replace the lancets and test strips we used.’

‘Oh, of course. Sorry.’

‘Stop apologising, Kat. You’re doing fine.’

Kathryn took a deep breath. Had she been saying ‘sorry’ that often? Maybe she’d been conditioned by Sean. Oddly, she felt compelled to apologise for anything less than perfect for Tim, whereas apologies at home were always grudging these days.

When she came back from the storeroom with all the supplies to tuck into the small case that contained the blood glucose-level testing gear, she found Tim snapping rubber bands around handfuls of differently sized cannulae.

‘OK. That’s the IV gear done,’ he announced. ‘Can you think of anything else we’ve used this afternoon?’

‘What about that triangular bandage I used as a sling for that little girl that broke her collar-bone at school?’

‘Right. We need more dressings and saline pouches, too. We had that student that got knocked off his bike just after her.’

Kathryn shook her head. ‘I’d completely forgotten about him.’

The cases had been so many and varied over the course of the day, they were becoming something of a blur. Except for the very first job. Kathryn would remember that in vivid detail for the rest of her life.

A quick trip to the coronary care unit had been squeezed in after delivering one of their later cases to the emergency department. The satisfaction in finding the man pain-free and virtually unscathed thanks to the angioplasty he had received so promptly to unclog his arteries had carried Kathryn through the rest of the afternoon on a real high. She was only just starting to come down now but the descent seemed to be picking up speed.

Stretching backwards relieved the ache in the small of her back. ‘Is it always this busy?’

‘No. It’s fairly unusual, fortunately.’ Tim looked up from checking the gauge on the Entonox cylinder and smiled. ‘I’ll bet you’re stuffed. Why don’t you go and put your feet up and have a coffee? I’ll finish the truck.’

Kathryn shook her head. ‘I’m happy to help.’

‘Just do it, Kat.’ Tim’s smile belied the stern tone and Kathryn grinned as she recognised the echo of the instruction that had pushed her into meeting the challenge their inaugural case together had presented.

She gave Tim a mock salute. ‘Yes, sir!’

Still smiling, she left the garage and headed for the commonroom. Move over, Nike, she thought. ‘Just do it’ looked set to become a private joke between her and her new partner.

‘You look far too happy to have just finished your first day on the road.’

Startled, Kathryn’s head swung towards the archway that separated the dining area of the commonroom from the kitchen.

‘I’m Laura,’ the young woman told her. ‘Tim’s old partner?’

‘Of course,’ Kathryn said. ‘I remember you from the restaurant.’

Laura looked blank for a moment, then her jaw dropped. ‘You’re that nurse!’ she exclaimed. ‘The one that Tim—’ She broke off abruptly and then laughed. ‘Did Tim know it was you coming as a probationary officer?’

‘I don’t think so.’ Kathryn was feeling disconcerted now. What had Laura been about to say? And was the uncomfortable start to their day actually because Tim had known she was coming and wasn’t pleased about it? A tiny silence fell that neither woman seemed to know how to break. Kathryn took the plunge.

‘You’re…um, Jason’s wife as well?’

‘That’s right.’ Laura’s smile was just as pleased as Kathryn’s had been on entering the room. ‘I’m just making a coffee while I wait for Jase to get back. Would you like one?’

‘Please. Black with two sugars.’ Kathryn noticed the empty car seat on the floor beside one of the couches. ‘Where’s your baby?’

‘Mrs Mack’s taken her for a walk in her new stroller. She’ll be back soon.’

‘How old is she?’ Kathryn accepted the mug of fragrant coffee and sat down with a sigh of relief. Laura sat on the opposite side of the table.

‘Who—Mrs Mack or Megan?’ Laura laughed. ‘Mrs Mack’s age is a well-kept secret but I’d say she’s in her late sixties. Megan’s nearly eleven months old.’

‘But you only started your maternity leave this week, didn’t you?’

‘Yeah. That’s because I’m pregnant.’ Laura smiled at Kathryn’s confusion. ‘Long story. Megan is Jason’s daughter but it was a bit hard for us both to keep working full time. I decided to take leave and be a full-time mother and we thought if I was at home with one baby, I may as well be at home with two.’

‘Sounds like a great idea to me.’ Kathryn nodded. She knew she was being assessed, however kindly, by Tim’s ex-partner, and she was just as curious herself. Laura was no taller than her own five feet two inches but Kathryn had seen her in action with Tim that night in the restaurant and so she knew just how far ahead she was in the confidence and competence stakes.

‘So how’s it been? Your first day?’

‘Amazing,’ Kathryn confessed. ‘I defibrillated my first patient on the very first job.’

‘Wow! Was it a successful resus?’

‘We went to see him in CCU this afternoon. He’s going home in a couple of days.’

‘Even better.’ Laura’s gaze was still interested. ‘And how are you getting on with Tim?’

‘He’s great,’ Kathryn said enthusiastically. ‘I’m going to learn a lot. I just hope he won’t get fed up working with me.’

Laura’s eyebrows rose. ‘I doubt that’ll happen in a hurry.’ A chuckle escaped, and Kathryn stared.

‘Why is that funny?’

‘Because you’re…um…’ Laura glanced towards the door and then lowered her voice. ‘Tim was rather taken with you that night in the restaurant. What he failed to notice was the fact that both you and your dinner companion were wearing wedding rings. He was, shall we say, a little disappointed when I pointed out the fact that you were married.’

‘Really?’ Good grief. Was that why Tim hadn’t rung? Why things had been so tense this morning? An unexpected flash of regret ambushed Kathryn. What a shame she hadn’t met Tim a long time ago. It was far too late now, of course, and she didn’t even think of men in those terms any more but suddenly Kathryn could imagine what her reaction to Tim would have been if she had still been single. It was enough to bring a flood of colour to her cheeks.

Laura bit her lip. ‘I shouldn’t have said anything. Tim would kill me if he knew. Don’t you say anything, will you?’

‘I’m hardly likely to.’

‘No, I guess not.’ Laura still looked worried. ‘And you don’t have to worry about Tim. He’d never try anything. He knows you’re married and that’s it as far as he’s concerned.’

Kathryn nodded. Of course that was it. As far as either of them were concerned. It did explain a few things, however, and Kathryn felt flattered that she could have inspired any interest in the first place. It had been a long time…no, it might even be the first time she had felt really attractive. Attractive enough for somebody to feel disappointed that she wasn’t available. Disappointed enough to feel upset even, and to screw up her phone number and throw it in the rubbish.

Laura looked relieved at Kathryn’s accepting nod. ‘If I’ve learned one thing about Tim McGrath in the time I worked with him, it’s that he’s completely honest and totally trustworthy. He’s also a great paramedic. There’s no way I would have given up working with him if I hadn’t had a better offer.’ Laura patted her tummy and grinned. ‘He’s also one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. You’re going to love it here but just remember, you’re only keeping my seat warm. I’ll be back one of these days.’

Tim came into the commonroom as Laura finished talking. ‘Yeah, right!’ he said. ‘You’ll be up to your ears in babies for the next few years, Laura Halliday, and you’ll be loving every minute of it.’

‘Yeah!’ Laura grinned at Tim. ‘I hear your new partner has been out saving lives.’

‘She has indeed.’ He looked pointedly at Laura’s mug. ‘Did you make me a coffee, then?’

‘Make it yourself,’ Laura retorted. She turned to Kathryn. ‘Don’t let any of these guys take advantage of the fact you’re a woman. They get quite spoilt enough having Mrs Mack around here.’

Tim was heading for the kitchen. ‘Speaking of Mackie, I saw her coming down the road with that racy new stroller. She looks as proud as punch.’

‘I’ll have to drop in more often. She’s not going to see nearly as much of Megan now that I’m at home.’

‘There’s someone else sitting outside the station as well.’ Tim spooned coffee into a mug. ‘Mackie doesn’t have an admirer with a black BMW convertible, by any chance?’

‘That’ll be the day,’ Laura laughed. ‘Mackie would scare off any man.’

‘It’ll be Sean,’ Kathryn confessed, her heart sinking. She glanced at the clock. ‘It’s only five-thirty and he knows I don’t finish till six.’

‘Ask him in for a coffee.’ Tim sat down and reached for a section of the day’s newspaper that had been tidied into neat piles at the end of the table.

Kathryn was saved the embarrassment of trying to explain why Sean was unlikely to accept such an invitation by the arrival of the housekeeper, Mrs McKendry, and baby Megan. There was barely time to admire the junior Halliday before her father and the rest of the Green Watch fire crew arrived back on station. New arrivals for the night shift crowded the space, introductions had to be made and suddenly it was six o’clock and time to go home and Kathryn hadn’t even made a move to say hello to her waiting husband.

Even then she didn’t rush away. She handed her pager over to one of the night crew and followed Tim to collect her bag from her locker. To her acute embarrassment, Sean was waiting for them as they emerged from the locker room.

‘It’s ten past six, Kathryn. How much longer are you going to be?’

‘I’m ready now.’ Kathryn put real effort into her smile. ‘Sean, this is Tim McGrath. My partner.’

‘Tim! Delighted to meet you.’ A hand was extended with alacrity and Sean smiled at Kathryn’s partner. ‘Nice teeth.’

Tim’s jaw dropped and Kathryn cringed. ‘Sean’s a dentist,’ she said hurriedly. ‘He notices teeth.’

‘Oh. In that case, thanks.’ Tim cleared his throat self-consciously. ‘Can’t say I think about them much. I haven’t been near a dentist for years.’

‘Tch, tch.’ Sean extended his hand to take Kathryn’s backpack. ‘You should see an oral hygienist if nothing else. You might develop receding gums and your teeth will fall out.’

Kathryn stifled a faint groan. She could only hope that Tim wouldn’t take this exchange as the kind of put-down it was patently intended to be. Sean clearly wasn’t intimidated by having Tim towering over his height of only five feet seven.

‘No kidding.’ Tim ran his tongue over his front teeth and Kathryn was sure she received another of those ghost winks, like the one sharing her distaste for porridge. ‘Know a good hygienist, then, Sean?’

‘Come and see Kirsty at my clinic some time. She’s the best.’

Kathryn looked pointedly at the door. So Kirsty was ‘the best’, was she? At least Tim couldn’t know that it wouldn’t be cleaning teeth that Sean was referring to. How many young hygienists had ended up in her husband’s bed over the last five years? It would probably be easier to count the ones who hadn’t, but Kathryn had given up counting a long time ago.

Why should she resent the perfect solution? The turnover was high enough to keep Sean happy because he preferred to employ foreigners with limited work permits. Sean was always very discreet and even if Kathryn did resent the ongoing situation, she was hardly likely to complain, was she? Sean might be using this opportunity to remind her of her failings but there was no way Kathryn was going to let it ruin her day.

‘I’ve had the most amazing day,’ she told Sean brightly as he nodded a farewell to Tim. ‘I’ll tell you all about it over dinner.’

‘We’re having dinner at the Gilberts’ tonight. I doubt that they will want to be regaled with tales of blood and guts.’

Sean strode ahead towards his car. Kathryn had considered his offer to provide transport a sign that he had finally accepted her new career choice. Now she wasn’t so sure. It was humiliating to be picked up like a child attending nursery school.

‘I’ve forgotten my jacket,’ she exclaimed. ‘I left it in the truck.’

‘Can’t it wait until tomorrow?’

‘No, it might get lost. Sorry, Sean, I’ll only be a second.’

She ran through the side door of the garage and promptly collided with Tim.

‘Whoa!’ he said, holding her arm to steady her. ‘It can’t be that urgent.’

‘Sorry. I forgot my jacket.’

‘I know. Stop apologising. I was just bringing it out for you.’ Tim had the garment draped over his arm.

‘Thanks.’ Kathryn took the jacket and then hesitated. ‘I’d better get going. Sean hates being late.’

‘See you tomorrow, then.’

Still Kathryn hesitated. ‘I just wanted to say thanks, Tim.’ She met his gaze and smiled. ‘It’s been a wicked day.’

‘We’ll have another one tomorrow.’

‘OK.’ Kathryn’s smile widened. ‘And I’ll try not to say ‘‘sorry’’ so often.’

‘I’m not sure I said it often enough myself. I am sorry I never rang you to tell you about that patient, you know. I hope you don’t think I break all my promises.’

‘It really doesn’t matter,’ Kathryn told him. ‘See you in the morning.’

Running outside again, Kathryn made a beeline for the black BMW. Apart from being delivered and collected and the subtle sniping Sean had indulged in, the day had been as close to perfect as she could have hoped. Even the tension of her meeting with Tim this morning had just become insignificant.

It really didn’t matter.

Not any more.

CHAPTER THREE

AS SABOTAGE went, it was subtle but very effective.

A glance at her elegant gold wristwatch told Kathryn it was nearly 11 p.m. She would have to be up at 6 a.m. to get to work on time and she was already so tired that large chunks of the dinner-table conversation kept turning into an incomprehensible buzz.

It was torture. Kathryn pushed her spoon into the overly rich chocolate dessert she knew she couldn’t eat and then looked up, hoping that the movement would make it easier to keep her eyes open. She was sitting directly opposite her husband, it was inevitable that their lines of vision would meet. When had Kathryn ever looked up to find Sean looking somewhere else?

‘You look tired, darling.’

The tone was caring but the hint of triumph in the green eyes was enough to make her blink and then force a bright smile. The sabotage was not going to succeed. She would not give Sean the ammunition of breaking her promise that her new career would not be allowed to interfere with their social life.

‘Do I?’ Kathryn managed to sound faintly surprised. She kept smiling but there was genuine amusement in her expression now. Even if her exhaustion had aged her twenty years she would still look young in this gathering. It was hard to believe that being drawn into such circles had once made her feel privileged. And special. The looks she could feel coming in her direction at the moment, as conversation around the table petered out, branded her the misfit they had all suspected she really was. Not that Sean picked up any undercurrents.

‘Kathryn started a new job today,’ he announced in the short silence. ‘She’s become an ambulance driver.’

‘A paramedic, actually.’ Kathryn couldn’t stop herself making the correction but hopefully she kept her tone light enough to avoid creating any ammunition for Sean to use later. ‘We do quite a lot more than just driving the ambulances.’

‘Oh, my goodness!’ Evelyn Gilbert touched the rope of pearls at her neck.

Dorothy Harrison looked equally appalled. ‘How could you do that, Kathryn? All those dreadful car accidents!’

Kathryn could feel the satisfaction coming at her from across the table. ‘Blood and guts’ was most definitely an inappropriate topic.

‘Car accidents are actually a very small percentage of the workload,’ she said quietly. ‘Most of our emergency cases are medical. Things like asthma or diabetes or heart attacks.’ She smiled at the other husbands around the gleaming mahogany table.

At forty-five, Sean was by far the youngest of this group. Some of them were pushing sixty and they all looked prosperous and very well fed.

‘My first job today was a heart-attack victim, in fact. A fifty-six-year-old man who’d never had a day off work sick in his life.’ Kathryn glanced down at her dessert with distaste. Surely these people could see that the kind of lifestyle they led made them all potential candidates for a nasty cardiac event?

Donald Harrison was looking rather thoughtfully at his empty parfait glass. ‘Was he all right?’

‘He was dreadfully ill,’ Kathryn said with satisfaction. ‘And then he arrested.’

‘You mean he died?’ Evelyn, the hostess for this evening, went a shade paler and cast an anxious glance at her other guests.

‘No. He’s fine now. I defibrillated him.’ Kathryn couldn’t help the note of pride in her voice. ‘We got him into hospital fast and he had an angioplasty within a couple of hours of the onset of his chest pain. He’ll be going home in a day or two.’

Donald smiled with obvious relief. ‘Well done,’ he congratulated Kathryn. ‘That must have been rather satisfying.’

‘It was wicked,’ Kathryn agreed. She ignored the frown on Sean’s face that was intended as a reminder of how much he disapproved of slang.

‘I had to call an ambulance once.’ Dorothy’s husband Donald was nodding. ‘Had a chap who had a rather unpleasant reaction to the IV sedation I gave him.’

‘That’s why I never use the stuff,’ Sean declared. ‘A good local should always do the job. I use gas if I have to, but you all know my views on that.’

The common topic of dentistry had been well aired over the main course. Donald drained his glass of red wine and stared at Kathryn as though she were a new and interesting exhibit at the art gallery.

‘A paramedic, hmm?’ He turned to Sean. ‘I’m amazed you’re letting your wife run around on the streets doing a dangerous job like that, old chap.’ His gaze returned to Kathryn, making her wish she hadn’t gone the extra mile to keep Sean happy that evening by wearing this particular black dress. It was cut rather too low for her comfort. ‘Don’t you have to work nights as well?’

This wasn’t a safe topic. ‘Yes, but the hours are great, really,’ she said lightly. ‘We work four days on, including two nights, and then have four days off. It’s almost a part-time job, in fact. Not that different from what I was doing with Dr Braithwaite.’ Kathryn smiled again. ‘It’s only two days and two nights out of eight, which means I’m home for six days and six nights out of eight. Sean will probably not even notice.’

‘Not true,’ Sean protested. Only Kathryn heard the warning note.

‘How is dear old Angus Braithwaite?’ Evelyn latched onto a new conversational direction with alacrity. ‘I haven’t seen him or Mary for such a long time.’

‘He never changes,’ Sean told her. ‘I did some reconstruction work for him a month or two back. He claimed it made him look ten years younger.’

‘Wonderful man,’ Dorothy cooed. She smiled at Kathryn. ‘He was telling me about your mother the last time we met. How is she these days?’

Kathryn tried to return the smile but failed miserably. ‘She’s very well looked after.’

‘There’s not much you can do for advanced multiple sclerosis other than keep the sufferer comfortable,’ Sean added.

‘I’ve heard that Hillsborough is the place as far as nursing homes go.’ Donald refilled his wineglass. ‘Might make a reservation for myself one of these years. Lap-of-luxury stuff, isn’t it?’ He raised the bottle. ‘A top-up, Sean?’

‘Just a half, thanks. I’m driving.’ Sean held out his glass. ‘You’ll need to save your pennies for Hillsborough, Don. A minimum of a thousand dollars a week isn’t cheap.’

‘Good heavens.’ Evelyn Gilbert looked impressed. ‘That’s twice as much as the place my father’s in.’

‘You get what you pay for,’ Sean said lightly. ‘And nothing’s too good for my mother-in-law.’ He had to balance his glass carefully as the liquid touched the rim. ‘That’s a generous half there, Don.’

‘You’re a generous man,’ his colleague responded. ‘Not many people would care for their mother-in-law like that. I’m sure you don’t get that much of a discount for being a shareholder in the place.’

‘I don’t take any discount.’

More than one glance told Kathryn how lucky she was, and this time Kathryn managed to smile back. This kind of approbation would make Sean happy and the happier Sean Mercer was, the more tolerable her life became. He’d be on top of the world not to have had to engineer such a blatant reminder of why she would be unwise to ever raise the topic of a divorce again.

‘It’s almost as bad as having three children in private schools.’ Dennis Gilbert made one of his rare contributions to the conversation at one of his wife’s dinner parties. ‘Thank goodness we’re on the countdown to getting the last one off our hands.’

‘You haven’t even started on that caper, Sean.’ Donald’s smile was knowing. ‘You’ll have to step up that chair-side porcelain work to keep the bank manager happy.’

‘We’ll manage.’ Sean’s smile was appearing frequently enough to ease Kathryn’s familiar tension. ‘Cosmetic dentistry is booming.’

‘So you are planning to have children?’ Dorothy Harrison couldn’t help herself. ‘That’s wonderful, Sean.’

‘About time,’ Donald concurred. ‘You don’t want to be booking into Hillsborough by the time they get to university.’

‘Kathryn’s promised it’ll only take a year to get this new craze out of her system. Then it’ll be ‘‘bye-bye paramedic’’ and ‘‘hello parenthood’’.’

Kathryn’s smile felt pasted into place. Of course she had made that promise. She would have made whatever promises it took, and that had been the one that had finally persuaded Sean not to make her new career an impossibility. Sheer desperation had pushed her to actually agree to undergo IVF and produce a child so that Sean would have visible evidence that success in his private life matched his considerable professional achievements.

A lot could happen in a year, though, couldn’t it? He might even get used to her working shifts. Kathryn tried, and failed, to quell the seed of hope that had taken root over the last few months of her training. A year could give her the time and a new career could give her the base to find a way out.

Out of her promises.

Possibly even out of her sham of a marriage.

Happily, Sean had no hint of the direction of Kathryn’s thoughts. He finished his wine before using a starched linen napkin to blot his lips. ‘This has been a most pleasant evening but we’d better make a move, Evelyn. Kathryn has to get up at the crack of dawn to pursue her new career and I suspect she’s falling asleep on us already.’

‘Oh, but you haven’t eaten your dessert, Kathryn!’

Sean was ready to make excuses on her behalf. ‘I’ve eaten enough for both of us. It was absolutely delicious.’ He pulled Kathryn’s chair back. ‘And when you’re vertically challenged you do need to watch that the pounds don’t pile on.’

Everyone except Kathryn laughed politely, but the party was over and the Mercers weren’t the only guests to head out into the chilly night.

‘We’re not through the worst of winter yet. Feels like there’s going to be a frost tonight.’

‘Just think of Madrid,’ Donald reminded his wife. ‘It’s not that long till October and we’ll have some autumn in Spain instead of the usual rubbish that spring throws at us in Wellington.’

‘I can’t wait,’ Dorothy enthused. ‘We’ll have such fun in the shops, won’t we, Kathryn?’

‘Kathryn won’t be going to Spain.’

‘What? But you’re a keynote speaker at the conference, Sean.’

‘I’m on a six-month probationary period with the ambulance service. I couldn’t take time off halfway through.’

Meaningful glances were exchanged around her and Kathryn sighed inwardly. The good humour engendered by the dinner party had just been negated by the reminder of yet another point she and Sean had argued about. Climbing into the sleek BMW convertible, Kathryn tilted her head back and closed her eyes. Only six hours to go and she would be heading back to the only place she wanted to be. It didn’t matter that she felt too tired to think straight. She’d cope.

She had always been able to cope.

It was patently obvious that someone wasn’t coping.

Kathryn heard the muffled sound of sobbing coming from the back of the ambulance parked beside her own vehicle as she came out of the emergency department. One of the back doors was slightly ajar, as though someone had tried to close it but hadn’t latched it properly. Kathryn paused, creating a tug on the end of the stretcher being pulled by Tim.

She tilted her head towards the sound. ‘Is it a patient, do you think?’

Tim’s face creased into the lines of concern that Kathryn could recognise so easily now. She knew that the concern would be genuine and that Tim would not share her own reluctance to intrude. When he pulled the door open far enough for her to see the young ambulance officer hunched on the stretcher in the back of the ambulance, Kathryn’s hesitation also vanished.

‘Jo—whatever’s the matter?’ In a second, Kathryn was sitting beside the woman with her arm around the heaving shoulders.

‘I can’t do this job,’ Jo sobbed. ‘I hate it.’

Kathryn looked up as Tim climbed into the ambulance and pulled the doors closed behind him. ‘This is Jo, Tim. She was in my class.’ Her hold tightened on her colleague. ‘It’s only been a few shifts, Jo. Is it really that bad?’

‘Yes!’

‘You’re working with Bruce Stanton, aren’t you?’ Jo nodded as Tim pressed a wad of tissues into her hands. He sat down on the opposite stretcher, still holding the tissue box. ‘And you just had an unsuccessful arrest case?’

‘You heard him, didn’t you?’ Jo blew her nose vigorously but her tears hadn’t stopped. ‘Telling that doctor how useless I am? Saying how he expected a few more trips to the morgue if he had to keep working with someone like me?’

‘What a jerk,’ Kathryn said indignantly. ‘As if it was your fault!’

‘But I did everything wrong,’ Jo said with a fresh sob. ‘Bruce expects me to know what to do and then he gets angry when I’m not fast enough and I get flustered and make some stupid mistake. Like putting the leads on wrong, like I did this time.’

Kathryn caught Tim’s gaze and a corner of her partner’s mouth quirked ever so slightly. They could both remember the day Kathryn had made precisely the same error. She had stared in consternation at the peculiar rhythm on the screen and Tim had said, very mildly, ‘You might like to swap the left arm and leg leads over when you’ve a second, Kat.’

His tone was just as mild now. ‘Bruce isn’t known for his tolerance, Jo. Don’t let him put you down.’

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