He leant against the wall and groaned. This
couldn’t
be happening. He couldn’t be having lustful thoughts about a woman he barely knew, a woman, to boot, who apparently believed he was some kind of…of dissolute
playboy
. It was mad, senseless, stupid, ridiculous and every other adjective in between. It simply couldn’t happen. He wouldn’t allow it to!
He took a deep breath and turned to go back into the kitchen, then felt the floor ripple beneath his feet when he caught sight of Alison. She was drinking her coffee, and all the feelings he’d experienced before seemed to multiply tenfold as he watched her. He couldn’t drag his eyes away from her mouth as it neared the cup—a small purse of her lips, a tiny puff of cool air, followed by a tentative sip. It
was like poetry in motion and he would have been happy to recite the verse for the rest of his life—purse, puff, sip.
Jack quickly closed his eyes. He had no idea what was going on but he had enough to contend with: a child who was so traumatised he wouldn’t speak; problems with his father; a demanding job. He didn’t need or
want
to add anything else to the equation. He had to stop watching Alison and lusting after her, and get a grip!
Alison put down the cup and looked around the kitchen. It really was a mess, she decided, and if she’d had to live here she would have had to do something about it.
Her gaze skimmed over the cabinets, which had been painted in a particularly vile shade of green, and she shuddered. No wonder Jack was finding it hard to settle into his new life when he had to live in a place like this. Compared to what he had left behind in London—all that glitz and glamour—it must be a shock. Maybe he claimed that he was over the party scene, but she couldn’t believe he didn’t miss all the rest.
It made her wonder how long he would stay in Penhally Bay. She couldn’t see him spending the rest of his life in this quiet little backwater—it was simply a stopgap. At the moment he needed his family’s help to look after Freddie, but once he got used to being a father he would move on, probably return to London and jump right back into the social scene.
It was what Sam’s father, Gareth, had done. He had been brought up in London and had missed city life when he had moved to Cornwall to work. Although Alison had realised when she’d met him that he’d found country living boring, she’d hoped he would adapt in time. When she’d discovered she was pregnant, she’d thought it would help Gareth to put down roots, but it hadn’t worked out that way.
After Sam had been born the situation had grown worse. Gareth hadn’t coped with either the responsibility of being a father or the restrictions of having a new baby to look after. He had left her for another woman when Sam had been six months old and returned to his former life in the city. She’d had no contact with him since. It was up set ting to compare Jack with Gareth and realise they had so much in common.
‘More coffee?’
Jack came back into the kitchen and she started nervously. She shook her head, hoping he couldn’t tell how unsettled she felt. It shouldn’t make a scrap of difference whether Jack stayed in Cornwall or left, but it did.
‘Sure?’ He picked up the cafetière and held it, poised, over her cup.
‘No, this is fine. Thank you,’ she added belatedly.
Jack topped up his mug and sat down, stretching his long legs under the table and accidentally kicking her foot. ‘Sorry,’ he murmured as he lifted the cup to his mouth.
‘It’s OK,’ Alison replied, tucking her feet safely out of the way.
She picked up her own mug, feeling very ill at ease all of a sudden. It had been some time since she’d thought about her ex-husband, and it was worrying to wonder why she had thought about him now. She’d steered clear of relationships since the divorce. It hadn’t been difficult when she’d been so busy looking after Sam and earning enough money to keep them, but there’d been a couple of occasions when she’d been asked out on a date. Each time she had refused.
Although she hadn’t ruled out the idea of meeting someone else, she was wary of making another mistake. If she ever got involved again with a man, she would need a cast-iron guarantee that he wasn’t going to let her down. And a man like Jack Tremayne definitely didn’t come with a
warranty. Any woman who got involved with him wouldn’t know what to expect—in or out of bed.
The thought made her blush and she rushed into speech. ‘How are the boys—?’
‘The boys are fine—’
They both spoke at once and both stopped. Jack grinned at her. ‘Ladies first.’
‘I was just going to ask if Sam and Freddie were all right.’
‘They’re fine. They’re playing some sort of complicated game involving lots of cars and building blocks.’ Jack put his mug on the table and sighed. ‘At least Freddie seems to enjoy playing with Sam. He completely blanked me when I offered to play with him earlier. He didn’t want anything to do with me, in fact.’
‘He’s probably still feeling very unsettled,’ Alison said quietly, thinking that the son took after his father in that respect. It was obvious how unsettled Jack was feeling, and the thought simply compounded all her fears about the dangers of getting involved with him.
‘That’s what I keep telling myself.’ Jack gave her a quick smile, then changed the subject. ‘So what would you do with this place if you lived here?’
‘It would depend how long I was planning on staying,’ Alison said cautiously. ‘It isn’t worth spending a huge amount of money if it’s only a temporary arrangement, is it?’
‘Bearing in mind how hard it is to find some where to live around here, I can’t see myself moving in the fore seeable future.’
‘No?’ She shrugged, clamping down on the bubble of happiness that had popped up inside her because Jack wasn’t planning on leaving.
‘No. The whole point of coming back here was so that
Freddie would have his family around him. I’m certainly not thinking about uprooting him again for a very long time.’
‘In that case, I suppose it depends what you’re allowed to do. The cottage is a holiday let, isn’t it? There must be restrictions on what tenants can do to the property.’
‘It was a holiday let, but it’s been taken off the market now.’ Jack shrugged. ‘It’s owned by a subsidiary company of Whitethorn Holidays.’
‘India’s family business?’ Alison exclaimed.
‘It was. Now it all belongs to Freddie.’
‘You mean that Freddie inherited the company after India died?’
‘Yep. The whole kit and caboodle.’ Jack waved a hand around the kitchen. ‘Including this place. India was an only child, and she left everything in trust to Freddie. He’ll come into his inheritance when he’s twenty-five, although there’s money set aside for his use before then—for school fees, university, that kind of thing.’
‘I had no idea,’ Alison admitted.
‘That’s because I don’t want people making a song and dance about it.’ Jack’s expression was sombre. ‘I want Freddie to grow up like any normal kid and not be burdened by the fact that he’s so wealthy. I firmly believe it was that which led to India going off the rails, and there is no way that I’m going to let the same thing happen to Freddie.’
Alison nodded. ‘I agree. I know that everyone thinks it must be great to be really, really rich, but it must be a huge liability at times.’
‘I’m sure it is. Don’t get me wrong—money is important and I’m not decrying the fact. You need enough to live comfortably, but after that…’ He shrugged. ‘It can cause an awful lot of problems, from what I’ve seen. That’s why I don’t intend to touch any of Freddie’s money. I earn enough to keep us and that’s it.’
Alison admired the stance he’d taken and said so. ‘Not many people would feel that way, Jack.’
‘Maybe not, but it’s how I feel. My only concession is this cottage. We needed a place to live, so I decided to rent it with a view to buying it in the future if it proves suitable for our needs.’
‘Which is why you don’t mind refurbishing the place?’ she suggested, and he grinned at her.
‘Got it one! So, come along, let’s hear your ideas for turning this place into a proper home.’
The next hour flew past as Alison did exactly that. It was only when Sam came to find her because he was thirsty that she realised how late it was. She jumped to her feet, groaning as she glanced at her watch.
‘I got so carried away that I didn’t realise the time. You should have stopped me.’
‘No way. I need someone to set me on the right track.’ Jack stood up and smiled at her, a lazy, boyish smile that made her bones melt. ‘I’m not really strong on the homemaking scene, and it’s good to be able to crib your ideas.’
Alison chuckled as she took Sam into the sitting room and put on his coat. ‘I’m no expert when it comes to interior design, so don’t go by me. I’m sure you can find someone better qualified to advise you.’
‘You mean a
real
interior designer?’ Jack said, making imaginary speech marks with his fingers. He shuddered. ‘No, thanks. I don’t want the place looking like something out of a trendy magazine. I want it to be proper home, a place where Freddie can play and not have to worry about making a mess.’
‘Well, you should get that all right. There’s a lot of mess when you have a three-year-old,’ she said, looking pointedly at the sitting-room floor, which was littered with toys.
Jack laughed. ‘I don’t care so long as he’s happy.’ He
looked at his son and an expression of sadness crossed his face. ‘That’s all I want for him—to be happy.’
‘And he will be, Jack,’ Alison said quietly, moved by the sadness in his voice.
‘Let’s hope so.’
He didn’t say anything else as he showed them out, but Alison knew that he was wondering if he would ever fulfil his wish to make his son’s life better. She wished she could help him but there was very little she could do.
It would have been different if she and Jack had been seeing each other, she thought as she and Sam walked home, then inwardly recoiled. She could never get romantically involved with Jack. Apart from the fact that he wouldn’t be interested in someone like her, she wouldn’t risk her heart being broken a second time. She and Sam were better off on their own. And as for Jack—well, he would manage perfectly well without her help.
J
ACK
had just dropped off to sleep when he heard the phone ringing. Rolling over, he grabbed hold of the receiver before the noise woke Freddie. ‘Jack Tremayne.’
‘Jack, it’s Alex Ross. I’m sorry to wake you but we have a full-scale alert on so we’re having to call in every available member of staff.’
‘What’s happened?’ Jack demanded, dragging himself out from under the duvet.
‘A light plane has crashed on Bodmin moor. The pilot declared an emergency and Air Traffic Control advised him to set down on the A30. Apparently the police were trying to clear the road when it happened.’
Jack’s heart sank. ‘Do I take it the plane hit a car?’
‘A minibus bringing a group of sixth-formers back from a geography field trip.’ Alex said. ‘It was absolute carnage, from what I can gather. Incident Control has asked us to take the burns cases, which is why I need you in here, pronto.’
‘I’ll be there just as soon as I can.’
Jack hung up and leapt out of bed, wondering what he was going to do about Freddie. He could take him with him, but then what? He couldn’t just dump the child in the hospital and go merrily about his business.
He dragged on a shirt and a sweater, finger-combed his hair, and headed for the stairs, still mulling over his options.
He could phone Lucy and ask her to have Freddie, but it was gone midnight and he hated to wake her up when she had the baby to look after. Alison was another possibility, but he was even warier about taking that option after what had happened that evening.
His brain made a lightning-fast detour to that moment when he had watched Alison drinking her coffee and he sucked in his breath. This is neither the time nor the place for that, Jack, my lad, he told himself sternly.
He reached the bottom of the stairs and paused as he stared at the phone sitting on the table beside the front door. If he wasn’t prepared to ask either Lucy or Alison for help, then who could he phone?
He groaned softly. There was really only one other option—one he wouldn’t have considered if he hadn’t been desperate. Picking up the receiver, Jack punched in the number, steeling himself when he heard the person on the other end pick up.
‘Dad, it’s me—Jack. Look, I’m sorry to bother you at this time of the night but I need a favour.’
‘Jack, good to see you.’
Jack grinned at his brother-in-law, Ben Carter. ‘So you got roped in as well?’
‘I was already here when it all kicked off so I stayed on to help.’ Ben grimaced. ‘It’s a bad one. There’s a lot of kids injured, as well as the people on the plane.’
‘I thought we were only getting the burns injuries?’ Jack said quietly, following Ben to the resuscitation room, where the very worst cases were being treated.
‘So did I. However, it appears there was another major accident tonight outside Launceston, involving a coach and a lorry. Every A and E unit for miles around is chock-a-block. Incident Control decided that we would take the most seri
ously injured from the plane crash and the rest would be ferried round to anywhere that has room for them.’
‘What a mess!’ Jack exclaimed.
He followed Ben into Resus, feeling the adrenaline start pumping around his body at the scene that greeted him. Every available bed was being used and the place was buzzing. He swung round when he heard the high-pitched whine of a monitor going off.
‘He’s arrested,’ somebody shouted, and Ben groaned.
‘That’s the pilot. It doesn’t look good, I’m afraid.’ He pointed over to where screens had been placed around one of the beds. ‘Alex is over there. OK?’
‘Fine.’
Jack made his way across the room and slipped behind the screens, smiling when Alex looked up. ‘Looks like a fun time is being had by all.’
‘You could say that,’ she agreed dryly.
Jack’s expression sobered as he looked down at the teenage boy who was lying on the bed. The left side of his face had been burned, although it was difficult to tell how badly damaged the skin was without a closer examination. However, it was obvious that there was severe burning to his upper left arm, and Jack knew without having to check that it would need a lot of work to sort it out. He glanced at Alex and raised his brows.
‘Ryan Lovelace, aged eighteen, a passenger in the minibus,’ she explained crisply, leaning over to adjust the drip attached to Ryan’s uninjured arm. One of the major factors in burns cases was shock caused by the rapid loss of large quantities of fluid from the affected areas, so Jack appreciated why Alex was so keen to ensure that the boy’s fluid levels were restored as quickly as possible.
‘Apparently he got out of the minibus, but he went back to help some of the others, and that’s how he got burned.’
‘I see.’ Jack smiled at the boy. ‘That was a brave thing to do, Ryan.’
‘Naw, anyone would have done the same,’ Ryan said dismissively.
Jack doubted it, but he didn’t argue with him—he was more concerned about the severity of his injuries. Bending down, he examined Ryan’s face first. There was some blistering, but most of the dermis—the deeper layer of the skin—appeared to be unscathed. That was good news because it meant there should be less scarring once the area healed.
It was very different with the boy’s upper arm, however. The burns to this area were third-degree burns. The full thickness of the skin had been destroyed and there was a section of muscle exposed. Although the worst damage was confined to a relatively small area, that didn’t mean it wasn’t a significant injury. Skin acted as a barrier to prevent airborne infection getting into the body, and once it was breached bacteria could rapidly infiltrate the tissues.
‘I take it he’s on broad-spec anti bio tics?’ he said, glancing at Alex.
‘Yes. I got him started on them immediately.’
‘Good.’ Jack frowned. ‘I’d like to get him to Theatre as soon as possible. What’s the schedule like?’
‘Chaotic,’ Alex said. ‘I’m waiting for a slot for one of the passengers in the plane—he’s got third-degree burns to both hands. Ben has a girl who needs her leg amputated—she’s being prepped at the moment, and he’ll be going back to her as soon as he’s finished with the pilot. Then there’s another three who need glass removed from their faces. I’m not sure if they need theatre time as I haven’t had a chance to assess them yet.’
‘That’s quite a queue, even without them,’ Jack said wryly.
He arched a brow. ‘What do you suggest we do—toss a coin to see who gets theatre space?’
‘It might come to that,’ Alex warned him, smiling. ‘We’re still waiting for another couple of casualties to arrive, too. The helicopter is bringing them in, and we won’t really know what we’re dealing with until it gets here.’
Jack shook his head. ‘I thought it was bad in London, but it’s no better here.’
‘No. Sadly enough, accidents happen in even the quietest places—’
Alex broke off when one of the nurses came over to her. She turned to Jack. ‘Theatre two is free, so that’s me sorted. Are you happy to deal with this case on your own?’
‘Yes, so long as you’re happy to leave it to me,’ Jack confirmed.
‘Oh, I have no worries on that score. Right, I’ll see you later. You know where I am if you need me.’
Jack returned his attention to his patient once Alex left. Pulling on some gloves, he carefully examined the boy’s face. He liked to have an overall picture of the problems before he actually did anything. He checked Ryan’s arm as well, and knew that his initial assessment had been correct: it would need reconstructive work to ensure the muscle wasn’t adversely affected, and skin grafts to help it heal.
There was still no sign of a slot in Theatre becoming vacant after he had finished assessing Ryan’s injuries so, rather than waste time, he took one of the teenagers who’d got glass in his face into the treatment room and sorted him out in there.
Using a high-powered magnifying glass, and working under local anaesthetic, he was able to remove the slivers of glass. A couple of tiny sutures, a light dressing and the boy was free to leave. Jack took him through to the waiting room and had a word with his parents, explaining that the
stitches could be removed at their GP’s surgery rather than at the hospital. He hadn’t realised until the parents told him they were patients of his father that some of the school kids came from Penhally Bay. The accident would have a big impact on the town.
It was his turn for Theatre then, so Jack didn’t have time to dwell on it. However, as he made his way to the changing room, he couldn’t help wondering what Nick would think of his work when he saw the youngster.
He sighed. Alex was confident enough about his abilities to leave him to get on with the job, so his father’s opinion shouldn’t matter, but it would be good to have his approval for once. Still, at least Nick had agreed to look after Freddie for him, and that had to be a step in the right direction.
Maybe it was the fact that he was a father himself now, but Jack suddenly found himself hoping that he and Nick would be able to resolve their differences in time. All it needed was for Nick to meet him halfway and they could start being a proper family again—Dad, Lucy, Ben, Annabel, Ed, Freddie and him.
Just for a moment another name flashed into his head, but he blanked it out. Alison wasn’t part of this equation and there was no point hoping that she ever would be.
Alison heard about the accident when she took Sam into nursery the following morning. Several of the mums were talking about it as it appeared there’d been a number of children from Penhally Bay involved.
By the time she arrived at the surgery, she knew that at least three of the injured teenagers were patients there. Sue, the receptionist, greeted her with a sigh when she walked in.
‘I suppose you’ve heard the news?’
‘About the crash? Yes, I have. From what I can gather, several of the kids are from here, too.’
‘That’s right.’ Sue reeled off their names. ‘Ryan Lovelace is the most badly injured. I met Mandy Lovelace on my way here—she’s Ryan’s aunt, you know—and she told me that he’s got burns on his face and his arm. Apparently he got them dragging some of the other kids out of the bus.’
‘Really? That was very brave of him!’ Alison exclaimed.
‘Wasn’t it? It just goes to show there must be good in some branches of that family after all.’
Alison didn’t say anything. Some members of the Lovelace family were patients at the surgery. Although it was widely known that they had their problems, she didn’t feel happy about discussing them and diplomatically changed the subject. ‘Are the children being treated at St Piran’s?’
‘Oh, yes. They took all the casualties there, so it must have been bedlam. Mandy told me that Jack operated on Ryan so he must have been called in.’ Sue reached for the phone when it began to ring. ‘I wonder what he did about his little boy?’
‘I’ve no idea.’
Alison left Sue to deal with the call. Picking up the stack of notes that had been left in her tray, she made her way to the nurse’s room, thinking about what Sue had told her. Had Jack asked Lucy to look after Freddie for him? She could only assume he must have done.
That was one of the drawbacks of him working at the hospital, of course. He would be on call any time the situation warranted it. It must make it very difficult for him to organise child care. Just for a moment she wondered if she should tell him that he could call on her if he was stuck, before she thought better of it. While she would be happy to help, she wouldn’t want Jack to think there was an ulterior
motive to her offer. He was so handsome and so charismatic that a lot of women must have pursued him over the years, and she would hate it if he thought that was what she was doing.
She frowned because that wasn’t the only reason, of course. Normally she would have dismissed her qualms and made the offer anyway. However, she was too aware of the dangers of getting involved with him. She knew it would take very little for her to fall for Jack, and fall hard, too. And that was a risk she wasn’t prepared to take.
It was lunchtime before Jack left the hospital. He had spent most of his time in Theatre, first of all sorting out Ryan’s problems as much as he could, and then assisting Alex. Two of the passengers as well as the pilot from the plane had died, but the third man had survived. His hands had been badly burned, though, and Jack knew that, despite everything he and Alex had achieved, it was only the tip of a very big iceberg. It would need a lot more work to restore full use of the man’s hands.
The injured teenagers had fared rather better. All except two had been discharged. Ryan would need skin grafts once Jack had a better idea what was going on in the under lying tissue, while Ben’s patient—the girl who’d needed an amputation—would be kept in the orthopaedic ward. It could have been much worse, he decided as he got into his car to drive back to Penhally Bay, but it would also have been much better if the crash had never happened.
He drove home and took a shower, then headed to the nursery to check on Freddie. His father had left a message with the theatre staff to say that he was taking Freddie to nursery as usual that day, but Jack wanted to make sure his son was all right. He parked across the road and got out of the car, stepping back as a motorcycle whizzed past with
its horn blaring. It was his fault for not looking what he was doing and it gave him a shock. He was just catching his breath when Alison hurried over to him.
‘Are you all right?’
‘Just.’ Jack grimaced. ‘I’m a bit spaced out after pulling an all-nighter, but that’s no excuse. It was a stupid thing to do.’
‘You should be more careful,’ she admonished, and he grinned.
‘Yes, miss.’
Alison chuckled. ‘Sorry. I seem to have my bossy hat on today.’
‘Don’t worry about it. I could do with someone bossing me around at the moment. I’m completely pooped.’
He unlocked the gate and held it open for her to precede him, feeling his muscles clench when she brushed against him as she passed through the narrow opening. Maybe he was tired, he thought ruefully, but certain bits of him were in fine fettle.
‘Did Lucy have Freddie for you last night?’