A Doctor to Remember (5 page)

Matt came towards them. ‘What are you up to, Ben? I thought you were coming down to the sea to fill up your bucket. Or have you changed your mind about getting water for the moat?’

Then he looked at Saffi and his eyes widened in appreciation, taking in her curves, outlined by the sun top and shorts that clung faithfully to her body. ‘Hi…I wondered if I might see you down here some time.’

She nodded vaguely, but inside she was reeling from this new discovery. Matt had a son? That meant he was married—or at least involved with someone. It was like a blow to her stomach and she crumpled inside. Was this what he’d been trying to keep under wraps? No wonder she’d been guarded about her feelings towards him…her subconscious mind had been warning her off…but weren’t those warnings all too late?

Ben was looking at Matt with wide-eyed innocence. ‘I do want to finish the moat. I was just talking to the lady.’

‘Hmm.’ Matt studied him thoughtfully. ‘You know what we’ve said about talking to strangers?’

The boy nodded. ‘But she’s not a stranger, is she? I know her name. She’s Saffi.’

Matt made a wry face, trying unsuccessfully not to smile at that marvellous piece of childish logic.

He shook his head, looking at Saffi. ‘I guess I don’t need to introduce you to one another. Ben seems to have taken care of all that for me.’ He lightly ruffled the boy’s hair. ‘He’s going to be staying with me for a week or so.’

‘Oh, I see,’ she said slowly, and then with a dry mouth she added quietly, ‘I didn’t realise you had a child. You didn’t say anything about him.’

He raised his brows in surprise. ‘You think I have a child? Heavens, no—that’s not going to happen any time soon. I’m not planning on getting involved in any deep, long-term relationships.’ He frowned. ‘Once bitten, as they say…’

Saffi stared at him, feeling a mixture of relief and dismay at his words. He wasn’t married. That was something at least. But as to the rest, she didn’t know what to think. He’d spoken quickly, without giving the matter much thought, but it was clear his feelings were heartfelt. Once bitten, he’d said. Who had hurt him and made him feel that way?

Matt seemed to give himself a shake to get back on track and said, ‘Ben’s my nephew, my sister’s child. I should have told you right away, but I think I was a little bit distracted with this talking-to-strangers business. I barely took my eyes off him while I finished off the drawbridge, yet he managed to wander off. I could see him, out of the corner of my eye, talking to someone, but you have to be so careful…It can be a bit of a nightmare, taking care of children.’

‘Well, yes. I can see that it must be worrying.’ She was still caught up in his comment about long-term relationships. So, when he flirted with her it was nothing more than a bit of fun, a light-hearted romance. Of course it was. Why would she have expected anything more? She barely knew him.

At least it was out in the open, though, and she would be on her guard even more from now on. She didn’t think she was the sort of woman who would be content with a relationship that wasn’t meaningful. Or was she? Her mind was a blank where past boyfriends were concerned.

Matt turned to Ben once more, crouching down so that he was at the boy’s level. ‘I think you and I need to have another serious chat some time, Ben. Do you remember we talked about strangers?’

Ben nodded.

‘That’s good. So, what would you say if a stranger came up to you and asked if you’d like a sweet?’

Ben thought about it. ‘Um…Yes…please?’ he answered in an overly polite voice, and Matt groaned.

‘I’ve a feeling it’s going to be a long conversation,’ he murmured, getting to his feet. ‘Do you want to sort through those pebbles in the other bucket, Ben? See if you can pick out the smallest.’

‘Okay.’ Ben went to do as Matt suggested.

Saffi smiled. ‘How is it that you’re looking after him?’

‘Gemma’s ill—my sister, that is. She hasn’t been well for some time, but late last night she rang me and said she was feeling much worse. I went over there and decided she needed to be in hospital. She didn’t want to go, and kept saying it was just stress, but I insisted. At the very least, I thought she needed to have tests.’

Saffi sucked in a quick breath. ‘I’m sorry. That must have been upsetting—for you and for Ben—for all of you.’

‘Yeah, it was a bit of a blow.’

‘How has he taken it? He must miss his mother.’

‘He’s not doing too badly. I explained that she was poorly and needed to rest, and he thinks he’s spending time with me so we can have fun together.’ He looked at Ben once more. ‘Why don’t you put some of those pebbles on the wall of the sandcastle, while I talk to Saffi?’

The boy nodded, his eyes lighting up with anticipation. ‘Okay.’

‘What’s wrong with her?’ Saffi said, once the boy was absorbed in his new pursuit. ‘Do you mind me asking?’

He shook his head. ‘No, that’s all right. We’re not sure what the problem is, exactly. She’s been feeling tired and nauseous for a few weeks now, with a lot of digestive problems, and yesterday she was vomiting blood.’

He glanced at Ben, to make sure he couldn’t hear. ‘That’s why I took her to the hospital, so that the doctors can find the source of bleeding and cauterise it. They’ll start doing a series of tests from tomorrow onwards to find out what’s causing the problem.’

‘It’s good that your sister can rely on you to take care of things,’ Saffi said. ‘But how is it going to work out, with you looking after Ben? You have to be on duty at the hospital throughout the week, don’t you?’

‘Yes, but he’ll be at day nursery some of the time, and for the rest he’ll be with a childminder until I’m free to look after him. We’ll muddle through, somehow.’

He smiled at her. ‘Anyway, it’s good to see you here. Do you want to help us finish off this sandcastle? Ben’s been nagging me to bring him down here and get on with it since breakfast this morning. Of course, he’s not satisfied with plain and simple. The bigger, the better.’

She went over to the castle. ‘Wow. It looks pretty good to me.’ There were towers and carved windows and walls that surrounded different levels. ‘It’s fantastic,’ she said, and Ben beamed with pleasure at her praise.

She looked at Matt. ‘You must have been working on this all afternoon.’

‘Pretty much,’ Matt agreed. ‘There’s no slacking with this young man. He knows exactly what he wants.’

She watched the little boy arrange small pebbles on top of the castle’s main wall. He did it with absorbed concentration, placing each one carefully.

‘Shall I make some steps just here, around the side?’ Saffi asked, kneeling down, and Ben nodded approvingly.

Matt knelt down beside her and added some finishing touches to the drawbridge. After a while he sat back on his heels and surveyed his handiwork.

‘That’s not looking too bad at all,’ he mused, wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

Saffi smiled at his boyish satisfaction. ‘You look hot. Do you want a drink?’

He nodded and she rummaged in her canvas beach bag until she found the bottle of pop. ‘Here, try some of this.’

He drank thirstily, and when he had finished she offered the bottle to Ben. He took a long swallow and then went back to work with the pebbles.

She glanced at Matt, who was studying the castle once more. ‘Has there been any news from the hospital?’ she asked, having a quick drink and then putting the bottle back in her bag.

He nodded. ‘I rang the hospital just before we left the house. Tim managed to repair Charlie’s spleen, and stabilised the pelvis. He’ll be non-weight-bearing for a while, and he’ll have to wear a spica cast for a few weeks, while the fractures in his leg and pelvis heal, but he should gradually return to his normal activities. He came through the operation all right and Tim thinks he should recover well.’

‘I’m so glad about that.’ Saffi gave a slow sigh of relief. ‘I don’t suppose you found out how he is in himself?’

‘He’s obviously frail and shocked right now, but children are very resilient. They seem to get over things far quicker than we expect.’

He glanced at Ben. ‘It all makes me thankful that it didn’t happen to my own family. Though I guess I have Gemma to worry about now.’

Kneeling beside him, Saffi laid a comforting hand on his arm. ‘You did the right thing, taking her to hospital. I’m sure they’ll get to the root of the problem before too long.’

‘Yes, I expect so.’ He looked at her hand on his arm and overlaid it with his own. His fingers gently clasped hers and his gaze was warm as it touched her face softly ‘You’re very sweet, Saffi. It’s good to have you here.’

She smiled in response, but they broke away from one another as Ben urged them to look at his creation.

‘That’s great,’ Matt told him. ‘I think we can say it’s actually finished now, can’t we?’

‘It’s wonderful,’ Saffi said.

She sat back and watched Matt and Ben, their heads together, admiring their handiwork.

A tide of warmth ran through her. What was not to love about Matt? she was drawn to him despite her misgivings. He was everything any woman could want…and yet instinct told her she had to steel herself against falling for him.

Didn’t she have enough problems to contend with already? He wasn’t the staying kind, he’d more or less said so, and the last thing she needed was to end up nursing a broken heart.

S
AFFI HEARD A
rustling sound behind her and turned around to see that Ben had come into the garden. He stood, solemn faced, just a few yards away from her.

‘Hello,’ she said with a smile. ‘You’re up and about bright and early. Are you ready for school?’

He nodded, not speaking, but watched as she tended the flowers at the back of one of the borders. It was breakfast-time, but she’d wanted to get on with the work before the sun became too hot.

‘I’m putting stakes in the ground so that I can tie up the gladioli,’ she told him, guessing that he was interested in what she was doing but unwilling to talk to her. ‘See? I’ve wrapped some twine around the stem.’

He stayed silent but seemed content to stay and watch her as she worked, and she wished there was some way she could bond with him, or at least reach out to him. What could be going on inside his head? Of course, he must be missing his parents. The disruption going on in his family was a lot for a four-year-old to handle.

‘Sometimes the flower stems get too heavy and fall over,’ she told him, trying to include him in what she a doctor to remember was doing, ‘or they might bend and break. Tying them like this keeps them standing upright.’

He nodded almost imperceptibly, and they both stood for a while, looking at the glorious display of flowers on show. There were half a dozen different colours, and Saffi was pleased with the end result of her work.

‘It’s time we were setting off for nursery school, Ben.’ Matt came to find his nephew and smiled at Saffi. ‘Hi.’ His gaze was warm and in spite of her inner warnings her heart skipped a beat as her glance trailed over him.

‘Hi.’

He was dressed for work in his role as the man in charge of A and E and the trauma unit, wearing a beautifully tailored suit, the jacket open to show a fine cotton shirt and subtly patterned silk tie.

‘It’s looking good out here,’ he said, glancing around. ‘You definitely have green fingers.’

Saffi glanced down at her grimy hands and made a face. ‘In more ways than one,’ she said with a laugh. ‘I suppose I’d better go and clean up. I need to make a trip to the shops to get some food in. The cupboard’s bare.’

‘Uh-huh. That won’t do, will it?’ His glance drifted over her, taking in her dark blue jeans and short-sleeved top. There was a glint in his dark eyes. ‘We can’t have you fading away and losing those delicious curves.’

Her cheeks flushed with heat, but he added on an even note, ‘I can give you a lift into the village if you like. But we need to leave in ten minutes.’

‘Oh…’ She quickly recovered her composure. ‘Okay, thanks. I’ll be ready in two ticks.’

She hurried away to wash her hands, and met up with Ben and Matt at the front of the house a short time later. They were waiting by the rapid-response vehicle, and as she slid into the passenger seat she asked softly, ‘Are you on call again today?’

He nodded. ‘Just this morning.’

She was puzzled. ‘How does it all fit in with you working at the hospital?’

‘Well enough, most of the time. There are some mornings or afternoons when I’m in the office, or attending meetings, rather than being hands on, so to speak, like today, so I fit in outside jobs when I can. Otherwise the call centre has to find other people who are available.’

He smiled. ‘At least it means that this morning I can take Ben to nursery, rather than handing him over to Laura, his childminder. His routine’s already disturbed, so I want to make things easier for him as best I can. He’s been a bit unsettled, with one thing and another.’

‘I noticed that,’ she said softly. She glanced behind her to see Ben in his child seat, playing with an action figure. ‘He’s very quiet this morning. I suppose that’s understandable, in the circumstances.’

Matt nodded. He parked up outside the day nursery and Saffi went with him to see where Ben would be spending the next few hours. The school was a bright, happy place with colourful pictures on the walls and stimulating puzzles and craft activities set out on the tables for the children.

The staff were friendly and welcoming, and one of the women took Matt to one side to speak to him while Saffi helped the boy with his coat.

Matt came back to Ben a moment or two later. ‘All being well, your daddy will be coming to fetch you at lunchtime,’ he said, bending down to give him a hug. Ben’s face lit up at the news. ‘If he can’t make it for some reason, Laura will come as usual. Anyway, have a good time…we’ll see you later.’

Saffi and Matt waved as they left the school and went from there to the village store, where Saffi stocked up on essentials like bread, eggs and cheese. Later, as they walked back to the car, she talked to him about Ben’s father.

‘Does he work away from home a lot of the time?’ she asked as they stowed her groceries in the boot alongside all the medical equipment. ‘Only, the other day when we were at the beach, Ben told me he feels upset sometimes about not seeing his father so much.’

‘Mmm…that’s a difficult one. He
is
away a lot of the time…he works for a computer company and goes out to set up systems or resolve problems for business clients in the banking industry or health services. Sometimes it means he has to travel to Scotland, or Wales, or wherever the customer happens to be based. If their systems go down for any reason, he has to sort it out and recover any lost data.’

‘Is that why Ben gets anxious—because his father’s working life is unpredictable?’

‘Possibly. Though he and Gemma have been going through a bad patch lately. That might be something to do with it. They decided to separate, and I think Ben has picked up on the tension. They haven’t told him about the split, but most likely he’s sensed some of the vibes.’

‘I’m sorry. It must be really difficult for everyone.’

‘It is, but at least James is home right now. I haven’t actually spoken to him, but apparently he called the day nursery to let them know, and he also left a message for Gemma to say he would pick up Ben today—up to now I’ve tried calling him to let him know that Gemma is ill, but I haven’t been able to reach him. I think he must have changed his number.’

‘Oh, I see.’ She sent him a quick glance. ‘It’s a bad time for you just now, having to look after Ben and with your sister in hospital. How is she? Is there any news?’

He grimaced. ‘Not too much as yet. They’re still trying to find what’s causing her problems—they’ve done blood tests, and an endoscopy to check out her stomach and duodenum, and they’ve taken a biopsy. They’re keeping her in hospital because she’s very anaemic from loss of blood, and she’s lost a lot of weight recently. Obviously, they want to build up her strength.’

‘From what you’ve told me, I’d imagine she must have stomach or duodenal ulcers.’

‘Yes, that’s right, but the tests have shown they aren’t due to any bacterial infection.’

His grey eyes were troubled and she said softly, ‘It’s worrying for you…if there’s anything I can do to help, you only have to ask. I could watch over Ben for you any time you want to go and visit her.’

‘Thanks, Saffi.’ He squeezed her arm gently. ‘I appreciate the offer…but Ben wants to see his mother whenever possible, so I’ll probably take him with me.’

She nodded. ‘Well, the offer still stands…if there’s anything I can do…if you want to talk…A trouble shared is a trouble halved, as they say.’ She waited while he closed the boot of the car. ‘Do you have any other family?’

‘Only my parents, but they don’t live locally, and, like me, they’re both out at work during the week, so they’re not really able to help. And Gemma was desperate to have Ben stay close by.’

‘It’s good that you were able to look out for him.’

He nodded. ‘The other alternative was foster-care, and I didn’t want that for him.’ His mobile phone trilled, and he quickly took the call, becoming quiet and alert, so she guessed it was the ambulance control centre at the other end of the line.

He cut the call and glanced at Saffi. ‘Looks like you get to come along for the ride once again,’ he said, a brow lifting questioningly.

She pulled in a quick breath, doubts running through her. Was she up to this? What if it was another child, like Charlie, whose life stood on the brink? Part of her wanted to pull out, to shut herself off from anything medical, but another, more forceful, instinct urged her to face up to her demons.

She nodded. ‘Where are we going?’ she asked, easing herself into the passenger seat a moment later.

‘A riding stables—or, at least, an area close by them. A girl has been thrown from her horse.’

Saffi winced. ‘That could be nasty.’

‘Yeah.’ He hit the blue light and switched on the siren and Saffi clung on to her seat as they raced along the highway, heading away from town towards the depths of the countryside.

A few minutes later, he slowed down as they turned off a leafy lane on to a dirt track that ended at a wide wooden gate, bordered on either side by a rustic fence and an overgrown hedgerow.

Saffi saw a small group of people gathered around a young woman who was lying on the ground. Someone was holding the reins of a horse, and a little further away two more riders stood silently by their mounts. Everyone looked shocked.

Matt stopped the car and removed his jacket, tossing it onto the back seat. He grabbed his medical kit and hurried over to the girl, leaving Saffi to follow in his wake. There was no sign of the ambulance as yet.

‘What happened here?’ he asked. ‘Did anyone see how she fell?’

‘The horse reared,’ one of the bystanders said, her voice shaking. ‘Katie lost her hold on him and fell. Then Major caught her in the back with his hoof as he came down again.’

‘Okay, thanks.’

Matt kneeled down beside the injured girl. ‘How are you doing, Katie?’ he asked. ‘Do you have any pain anywhere?’

‘In my neck,’ she said in a strained voice. ‘It hurts if I try to move.’

Saffi could see that she was completely shaken, traumatised by finding herself in this situation. For Saffi, it was heart-rending, knowing how serious this kind of injury could be. If there was a fracture in any of the neck bones, causing spinal-cord damage, this young woman might never walk again.

‘All right,’ Matt said in a soothing voice. ‘It’s best if you try to keep as still as possible, so I’m going to put a neck brace on you to prevent any further injury. Once that’s in place I’ll do a quick examination to make sure everything’s all right. Okay?’

‘Yes.’ The girl was tight-lipped, ashen-faced with pain. She was about seventeen or eighteen, a slender girl with long, chestnut hair that splayed out over the grass.

Saffi helped him to put the collar in place, carefully holding Katie’s head while Matt slid it under her neck. Then he fastened the straps and began his examination, checking for any other injuries.

‘Shall I start giving her oxygen through a mask?’ Saffi asked. Any damage or swelling in the area could eventually deprive the tissues of oxygen and add to the problem.

‘Yes, please.’ He went on checking the girl’s vital signs. ‘Heart rate and blood pressure are both low,’ he murmured a short time later, glancing at Saffi. ‘We need to keep an eye on that. I’ll get some intravenous fluids into her to try and raise her blood pressure.’

She nodded. ‘She’s losing heat, too. Her skin’s flushed and dry. We should get her covered up as soon as possible.’

‘Yes, it’s most likely neurogenic shock. But first we need to get her on to a spinal board. I’ll go and fetch it from the car.’ He gave a brief smile. ‘Last time I saw it, it was underneath a large sack of chicken feed.’

She pulled a face. ‘Oops.’

He was soon back with the board, and quickly enlisted a couple of onlookers to help him and Saffi logroll their patient onto the board. ‘We need to do this very carefully, no jolting. Is everyone ready?’

On a count of three they gently laid Katie on the board and then Matt covered her with a blanket before securing the straps.

As if on cue, the ambulance finally arrived, and Saffi sighed with relief.

Matt made sure the transfer into the vehicle went smoothly, and once Katie was safely inside, a paramedic stayed beside her to watch over her. The driver closed the doors and then walked round to the cab. Matt spoke to him briefly and a few seconds later Katie was on her way to the hospital.

‘I’ll follow her and see how she gets on,’ Matt said. ‘Do you want to come with me or should I call for a taxi to take you home?’

‘I’ll go with you,’ Saffi said quickly. ‘I want to know what the damage is.’

‘Come on, then. I’ll ask the paramedics if they can drop you off at home when they’ve finished at the hospital.’

He was as worried as she was, she could tell, from the way his mouth was set in a grim line. When they were almost at their destination, though, he relaxed enough to ask, ‘How are you coping with all this…coming with me on callouts?’

‘All right, I think. It’s like stepping into the unknown…I’m a bit scared of what I’ll find.’

‘But you decided to come along anyway. That must have been hard for you…I could see you were in two minds about joining me.’ He sent her a sideways glance. ‘So what made you do it in the end?’

‘I felt I had to see things through.’ Her lips made a flat line. ‘After all, this was my career before I fell down the stairs and lost my memory. I need to know if I can go back to it at some point.’

‘Do you think that will happen?’

She sighed. ‘I don’t know. It’s one thing to stand to one side and watch, but it’s a whole different situation making decisions and holding someone’s life in your hands.’

He nodded agreement. ‘Yes, I can see how that would be difficult.’

He turned his attention back to the road, pulling up at the hospital a few minutes later. They hurried into the trauma unit.

‘Hi, there,’ Jake greeted him at the central desk, and smiled at Saffi. ‘Are you here to find out about the girl from the riding accident?’

‘We are,’ Matt said. ‘What’s been happening so far? Have you been in touch with her parents?’

‘They’re on their way…should be here in about half an hour. She’s been down to X-Ray and right now the neurologist is examining her reflexes. Her blood pressure’s still low, so we’re giving her dopamine to improve cardiac output.’