New Boss New Year Bride (15 page)

Melissa kept her thoughts focused. ‘Dex, your pulse is weak. Did you hit your head? Get thrown back?’ She was reaching for her stethoscope as she asked the questions.

‘I’m fine.’

‘Answer her,’ Joss ordered as he performed his own observations on Vitchy.

‘You always were bossy in an emergency.’ Dex tried to make light of the situation, but as he forced a laugh he groaned in pain.

‘Where does it hurt?’

‘I’m still mad at you,’ he murmured, looking up at Melissa. ‘My life was mine before you came into it. You…ruptured it.’

‘Understood,’ she said, acknowledging what he was saying. She couldn’t pretend his words didn’t hurt her, but at least he was saying them out loud. At least he was really communicating with her for the first time. ‘Now, tell me, where does it hurt?’

‘Hurts to breathe. Lots of lower abdominal pain.’

She listened to his chest. ‘You may have a small puncture to your lung.’ She then listened to his abdomen, moving the instrument around, listening carefully. ‘I can’t tell. I’ll need to ultrasound the area.’

‘Well, at least I’m not pregnant, right?’

Melissa continued to check him. ‘Not this time.’

‘So I’ll be fine. I’m just winded—and I think I might have eaten something bad at lunchtime. Wazza made cheese soufflé, and maybe the cheese part wasn’t—
owww
!’ He
slapped at Melissa’s hand as she gently palpated his abdomen. ‘That hurts, Lis.’

‘Sorry.’

Joss looked at Melissa and met her gaze. Instinctively they both knew things weren’t right with Dex, and the sooner they got him back to the hospital the better. Joss called Jeff over. ‘Get another ute set up to take Vitchy to the hospital. We’ll need help loading the patients into the vehicles. Make sure the coroner knows about Milko, and arrange—’

‘I’ve just been informed that it’s all been taken care of.’ Jeff glanced across to where his deceased friend still lay, covered with a tarp. His jaw clenched, but he was a professional and he needed to behave as such.

Joss made a mental note to speak to the mine psychologist as Milko’s friends and family would need counselling over this incident.

‘Right. You’ll find the items you need to set up the other ute in the tray of mine. There’s a—’

‘I know the drill.’ Jeff turned and left the large workshop.

When Melissa checked Dex’s blood pressure, it was to find it rather low. She set up a saline drip and gave him an injection of morphine.

‘How is he?’ Joss asked as they stood to one side, where Dex couldn’t hear them.

‘Not good. I think he has an internal bleed. The lung seems to be holding, but, Joss…’ There was pain, panic and a penetrating urgency in her voice. ‘We need to get him back to the hospital,
stat
.’

‘Agreed. Vitchy will require surgery, but for now, thanks to Dex, he’s stable.’

‘How did he manage to care for Vitchy when he himself is so badly injured?’

‘Adrenaline. We’ll get him sorted out.’ He placed a comfort
ing arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer. The desire to protect her was now totally overwhelming. ‘I promise you.’

Melissa looked up at him and saw the truth of his statement in his eyes. ‘I believe you.’

And at that moment he realised she did. Not only did she believe him, he saw that she believed
in
him. She trusted him. He was struck with an incredible insight that if his world ever came crumbling down in a pile of rubble again, if she was the woman by his side she’d never desert him.

By the time Dex was back at the clinic his blood pressure was dropping quite rapidly, despite replacement fluids via an intravenous line.

‘I can’t wait for an ultrasound. I need to go in now, find the source of the bleed and get it clamped,
stat
.’ Joss’s tone was brisk.

Bub had everything organised, except for an anaesthetist. ‘Dex usually does anaesthetics,’ she pointed out to Joss.

‘I’ll do it,’ Melissa volunteered. ‘I’ve done it plenty of times.’

‘You’ll be all right?’ Joss checked.

‘I will. We need to focus and save his life. Now, do we need to cross type and match?’

Joss shook his head. ‘No. Dex’s blood type is the same as yours. Lis, there’s something very special you can do for your brother, because we don’t keep blood in stock. I’ve got him on plasma, but getting some replacement blood into him will give him that extra boost he needs.’

She held out her arm to Bub and tapped at her vein. ‘Let’s get this blood flowing. We’ve got my brother’s life to save.’

Dex’s surgery was long and meticulous. It was the first real opportunity Melissa had had to watch Joss operate, and she marvelled at how natural and brilliant he was at the task. He
should be doing surgery full-time. He should be head of a surgical department. He should be lecturing, teaching others. Yet being here with him, in the Outback, caring for this community, she knew he was in exactly the right place at the right time.

The surgery progressed, and the nurses proved themselves to be well trained.

‘Ahh. Finally—there it is. Offensive little artery,’ he muttered, before clamping it off and continuing with the rest of the operation.

When it was time for her to reverse the anaesthetic, Dex’s blood pressure was steadily increasing back into the normal range. She’d been able to give a unit of blood, which had really helped. Still, she would give him as much blood as he needed. He was her brother and she loved him.

‘He’s got a long recovery ahead of him,’ Joss commented as they wheeled Dex to the ward.

When Bub had her star patient all settled, Joss and Melissa stood at the end of his bed, watching him sleep.

‘We’ll be there for him. We’ll get him through.’

Her words carried such determination and love that Joss was once again struck by her inner strength. He put his arm around Melissa’s shoulders and she instantly snuggled into him, placing one hand on his chest and sighing. He realised this was more than just comforting her. This was him
being there
for her.

It was an important moment, and Melissa wondered whether Joss’s feelings for her were far deeper than he was letting on. Could she hope? Should she stay? Would leaving Didja be the right or the wrong thing to do?

They stayed for quite some time, both of them content to simply be with each other, watching the man who was dear to both of them. Then Melissa gave another few units of
blood whilst Joss went to check on Vitchy. When he was satisfied with Vitchy’s condition he returned to Dex’s bedside, watching him, Melissa still sitting there holding her brother’s hand. Finally Bub kicked them out of the ward, telling them they were in her way as she went about looking after her patients.

‘When are you planning to operate on Vitchy?’ Melissa asked as they walked through the quiet clinic to their apartments.

‘I’ll review him tomorrow and go from there. Rushing into surgery too early will simply cause further complications. Besides, most of his injuries are orthopaedic, so once he’s stable we’ll need to transfer him to Perth.’

When they arrived at her apartment door Joss pulled her close, simply holding her. After a while, Melissa spoke softly.

‘Before I came to Didja I don’t think I really had a true sense of who I am, deep down inside. I think I never really gathered a sense of who I am because I’d always lose myself in every relationship. I was a daughter caring for elderly parents. Then I was caring for Eva. Then I attached myself to a man who had an abundance of family and a loving heart. But it still wasn’t me. That was why I
had
to search Dex out.’

‘A journey of self-discovery?’ Joss had come to the conclusion that if she really wanted to leave Didja, if she needed some space, then he’d give it to her. He wouldn’t like it, but he didn’t want to pressure her into loving him.

‘If you like.’

‘And have you discovered anything?’ He tried not to hold his breath. He tried not to wonder at what she might say.

‘Quite a few things, actually.’

‘Such as?’

‘I love it here in Didja. I love the people, and you’re right—they
are
like a family.’

‘And you have Dex.’

‘I hope so.’

‘You do. Especially after today. He needs you, Lis.’

What about you?
She wanted to ask the question, to really find out just how Joss felt about her, but she yawned as the events of the day, both physical and emotional, started to catch up with her.

‘You’re tired,’ he murmured. ‘You need to sleep.’

‘Is that your way of telling me I look haggard?’ She smiled up at him.

‘It’s my way of forcing myself to leave you to sleep.’ He kissed the tip of her nose. ‘Goodnight, my Lis. Sleep sweet.’

For the next few days Melissa visited Dex regularly, taking breaks between her patients to go and sit with him. He’d recovered well from surgery and was improving at a dramatic rate. On Thursday Joss came with her after clinic had finished, and she was glad to have him beside her. He’d proved himself time and time again to be interested in her, to be interested in how she was coping with Dex, and Melissa’s love for him grew.

‘I always heal quickly, too,’ she told Dex. ‘Something else we have in common.’

‘Is there anything I can say to make either of you go away?’ Dex asked.

‘Nope.’

‘So we have stubbornness in common as well.’

She smiled. ‘Yes.’ Melissa paused, then took a deep breath. ‘Dex, if there’s anything you want to know about our birth mother—about why she had you adopted, things like that—then all you need to do is ask.’ She placed her hand over her heart. ‘I had no idea you didn’t know you were adopted. My parents told me from the get-go, but then again I was almost three years old when they adopted me.’

‘What? I thought you were a baby?’ Dex was stunned.

‘No. I don’t remember those first few years of my life, but from what our birth mother, Eva, told me, there were times when she could barely afford to feed us.’

Joss shook his head sadly. ‘Must have been tough for her.’

‘It was.’

‘Is she the one who wanted you to hunt me down?’

‘I’m not
hunting you down
, Dex. When you say it like that you make it sound so merciless. I simply want to get to know you.’

‘Why? I think that’s a fair question.
Why?
’

‘Because I don’t have anyone else. My adoptive parents were both very ill and died four years ago. Eva died not too long ago. I have no one else, Dex. No aunts, uncles, siblings, long-lost cousins. You…you are the only blood relative I have, and I need you.’

Dex stared at her from his hospital bed. ‘You have no one?’

‘No.’

‘You have Joss.’ He pointed to where the two of them sat side by side.

‘He’s not my brother.’

‘And just as well,’ Joss replied with a grin, taking Melissa’s hand in his own.

He’d thought a lot over the last few days, and whilst she hadn’t said anything else about wanting to leave Didja, he wanted to show her just how important she was to him. Not because of the clinic or the community but because of
him
.

‘Actually.’ Joss cleared his throat, deciding to take the bull by the horns and step way out of his comfort zone. It was important. Melissa was important. ‘That’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about. You see, I find myself with a bit of a dilemma.’

‘What’s that?’ Dex asked.

‘I need to ask you a question, Dex, and I’m not really sure what your answer’s going to be.’

At his words, Melissa felt as though her heart had stopped beating and she looked up at him. He sounded so serious. She looked from one man to the other and back again.

Joss cleared his throat again, and looked at his friend. ‘As you are Melissa’s brother, and her only living relative, I feel it’s only fitting that I ask your permission to marry her.’

‘What?’ Brother and sister spoke in unison, and behind them Bub dropped a dressing tray she was carrying towards the hospital bed.

Joss rubbed his chin with his free hand. ‘Not really the reaction I’d been expecting.’

‘You want to…to…?’ Melissa couldn’t finish the words and she simply stared up at him, her heart overflowing with love.

Joss looked intently into her eyes. ‘To marry you? Yes. More than anything. First, though…’ he tore his gaze away from Melissa’s to look at Dex ‘…I need Dex’s permission.’

‘This really is serious.’ Dex was astounded. ‘I thought you were just joining the real world again. You know…dating and stuff. I didn’t realise it was
love
.’

‘And now that you realise it?’

Joss hadn’t denied it. He hadn’t denied that he loved her. Melissa was so glad she was sitting down, because otherwise she knew she’d have crumpled in a heap on the floor. Joss loved her! Could this really be happening? Was she about to awake from the best dream ever? She hoped not.

Dex looked to Melissa and then back to his friend. ‘Take her. Marry her. Make her happy.’ He pointed a finger at his friend in warning. ‘But just remember I have a pygmy blow-gun in my apartment and I’m not afraid to use it!’

Joss nodded, trying not to smile. ‘In that case, you have my word that I will do my utmost to make her very happy.’

He turned to face Melissa, lowering himself to one knee. Holding both her hands, his tone clear and filled with conviction, as he started to speak.

‘Melissa Clarkson, I love you. You’ve touched me deeply and helped me to let go of my past and start looking towards my future…the future I want to share with you. You wanted a definite reason to stay in Didja and I’m giving you one. I’m not trying to shackle you to me or to the clinic. I want you here because I love you with all of my heart. I need you by my side, to help me to continue to grow and so that I can also help you. We’ll be equals—a complete loving partnership.’

The love was reflected in his eyes, in a look of pure sincerity, and she knew he meant everything he was saying. ‘I need you, Lis, and I promise you won’t be alone. Not any more. I want you to marry me and to fill our house with a loving family—which is what we both not only want but need in our lives. There’s no one else I want to be the mother of my children except you, my lovely Lis.’ He squeezed her hands and brushed a quick kiss across her lips. ‘Please…’ he implored. ‘Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?’