He was still in the same clothes—buttoned this time. She could see the paint in his hair and remembered him flying up off the concrete wall, his skate-board attached to his feet. ‘Something old and beat up,’ she said.
He threw back his head and laughed—a rich, throaty noise that weakened her knees. ‘You are a shrew,’ he stated. ‘Get in, Maddy.’
She obeyed meekly, fearing that her knees wouldn’t support her for much longer. She sank into the well-worn soft leather of the bucket seat.
‘Not much room for a child seat in here, Dr Hunt.’
He laughed again. ‘The name is Marcus.’
‘Maybe…but I’m going to call you Dr Hunt,’ she mimicked his earlier words and he laughed again.
‘Touché, Maddy. Touché.’
They rode with the top down and, apart from Madeline giving him the directions to her house, they drove in silence. The steady purr of the engine and the caress of the warm night air against her skin lulled Madeline to sleep.
Marcus took the opportunity to study her and felt a stupid little flutter somewhere in the vicinity of his heart. She was utterly gorgeous. Completely intriguing. The diamond on her finger mocked him and he almost sighed out loud. Pity. He lived by a strict code—no attached women, no matter how much his body insisted.
He pulled the car up outside her apartment block in the valley and switched off the engine. He didn’t want to wake her but felt compelled to touch her at the same time.
‘Maddy,’ he said quietly, lightly stroking her cheek. She wiggled and murmured something unintelligible.
‘Maddy,’he said, louder this time, and watched with regret as she opened her eyes. She sat up abruptly and Marcus’s hand fell away.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said, embarrassed. ‘I didn’t mean to fall asleep.’
He shrugged. ‘You were tired.’
They were quite close in the car and even in the dim light Madeline knew that something was happening inside her that had never happened with Simon. Marcus dominated the small space—his blatant sexuality too big for such close confines. This wouldn’t do at all.
Oh, God! She was so confused. She needed a sleep! She was losing control of the situation completely. He rode a skateboard. He had a child. OK, that didn’t mean he was married but he had responsibilities.
She cleared her throat. ‘Anyway…thank you…for before. After the way I carried on I’m surprised you came.’
He shrugged. ‘I would never ignore a medical emergency. Some things are bigger than petty differences.’
‘Still, I think I owe you an apology.’ ‘Accepted,’ he said, half bowing in the small space. ‘Does this mean my imminent eviction is not on the cards?’
‘It means seeing that you are a real doctor and you came to my aid and gave me a lift home, I guess I can tolerate you. But I’m a sceptic through and through, Dr Hunt. It’ll take more than good CPR technique to convince me.’
He laughed. ‘Ah, a challenge. I do so like a challenge.’ She shivered at the intimate promise in his words. This was crazy—he had a child and she was still wearing her engagement ring. She needed to put this conversation back onto even ground. ‘I’d better go, I’m keeping you from your family.’
‘Well, that would be difficult given I don’t have any.’ Her heart did a crazy leap. ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I saw you earlier today in the skate park with a little boy. I thought…’
She had seen him earlier? Interesting… ‘He was my child? No. He’s my nephew. My sister lives here in Brisbane and Connor’s a mad keen skater. I promised I’d take him to the park on the weekend. Not married. Not in a relationship. No kids.’
He smiled at her and she thought, Free agent. No wife or girlfriend. And no child. ‘I’m sorry. You seemed really close, I just automatically assumed…’
‘Yeah, I guess we’re pretty close. He’s a great kid.’
‘How old is he?’
‘Six. When Nell, my sister, moved to Brisbane for her work I decided to follow. Connor’s father took off when he was a baby and I know what it’s like to grow up without a father.’
‘What happened to your dad?’ she asked, curious despite telling herself not to be.
‘He and my mum divorced when I was five. He was kind of absent really. He married again and sort of forgot about us for large periods of time.’
‘So now you’re Connor’s father figure?’
He laughed. ‘Let’s just say stable male role model.’
She wrinkled her nose. ‘Ah, a man afraid of the F word. How unusual.’
He grinned. ‘I’m not afraid. I just prefer being an uncle. I like being fun Uncle Marcus. But he’s pretty full on. I’m glad when I can hand him back. I like my life a little too much to tie myself down to something like that permanently.’
‘You make it sound like a death sentence,’ she chided.
‘Let’s just say—once bitten, twice shy.’
So there was something in his past. ‘Ouch,’ she joked. ‘Sounds painful.’
He shuddered, thinking about it. ‘It was.’
Madeline yawned despite her interest being piqued. The weariness had returned with gusto. ‘I’d better go. Thanks for the ride.’
He captured her gaze and the wrong kind of ride came to mind. Trying desperately to evict it from his brain, he cleared his throat. ‘Any time,’ he said.
Her hand stilled on the handle. Had she imagined the innuendo? She opened the door, exited the car and turned to face him. ‘Goodbye, Dr Hunt,’ she said, emphatically shutting the door.
His laughter followed her as she walked away on wobbly legs.
Madeline arrived at the hospital the next day just before lunch. She entered the main foyer, past the line of die hard smokers braving the midday sun, and into the blast of cool air. Madeline inhaled deeply, re-familiarising herself with the sterile smell found in hospitals the world over. She loved that smell and felt a pang of regret that she was no longer a part of the hospital system.
She made her way to the ICU only to discover her patient had stabilised and been moved to the coronary care unit. She spoke briefly to the registrar who had been caring for Mrs Sanders, and was told she had suffered a large inferior wall MI, evidenced not only on her ECG but by a massive rise in her cardiac enzymes.
Fortunately, with the swift administration of a thrombolytic agent they had managed to halt any further damage. Mrs Sanders’s condition had stabilised overnight, with fewer and fewer ectopic beats, and they had been able to extubate her in the early hours of the morning.
Madeline was relieved as she made her way next door to the coronary care unit. Mrs Sanders had
