Dalverston on Christmas Eve, in fact—because everyone would be too busy with their own affairs to notice him and he’d be spared any fuss. However, as he listened to the conversation, Nick realised that he might have to put his plans for a low-key Christmas on hold.
‘Where’s Julie gone?’ Katie was asking now, so Nick held off a bit longer, hoping there might be another solution to the crisis apart from him revealing who he was.
‘Julie went home sick at lunchtime. She looked really awful, too. I think she’s got that horrible flu bug that’s been going around.’ Abbey sounded really worried. ‘Karen Johnson’s husband was frantic when he phoned to tell us that he’d had to call an ambulance. Apparently, Karen was in tremendous pain and losing a lot of blood. We didn’t know what to do for the best when Niall told us how long it could take him to get here so that’s why I came to find you.’
‘You did exactly the right thing,’ Katie assured her.
Nick felt a spasm of longing tiptoe its way down his spine when he heard the warmth in her voice. He could have done with some of her particular brand of TLC during the last few months, he thought wistfully, then quickly blanked out the thought because it was far too dangerous to go down that route. He forced himself to concentrate again as Katie began listing their options.
‘Obviously, we don’t know what’s wrong with Karen yet but if it’s a placental abruption, for instance, she’s going to need surgery urgently.’ She frowned as she considered the implications of that. ‘In that case, bringing her here will only waste time if there’s nobody available to operate. It might be best if she was taken straight to Hunter’s Green. It will take the ambulance a lot longer to get there but I know they have an obs and gynae consultant on over Christmas because they faxed us a list of their staff in case of an emergency like this.’
‘But they don’t have a special care baby unit at Hunter’s Green, do they?’ Abbey put in anxiously.
‘No, they don’t,’ Katie agreed. ‘The baby would have to be transferred to us after it’s delivered and I can’t say I’m happy about the idea of a preemie being driven around the country. Karen wasn’t due till the end of January so the baby will need a lot of support at first. Damn! If only the new registrar had started before Christmas instead of after, then we wouldn’t be in this mess!’
Nick sighed because it seemed that he really didn’t have a choice any longer. He would have to come clean and admit who he was. He stepped forward, seeing the way Katie’s grey eyes skittered to his face then just as quickly skittered away again. It was all he could do not to gnash his teeth when it was obvious that she was as sensitive about that kiss as he was. Now all he could do was to try and limit the amount of damage he’d caused, but he should never have put himself in this position in the first place.
‘I’m sorry to butt in but I might be able to help,’ he said with a smile that was meant to be cool but which wavered when Katie’s eyes once again shot to his face and stayed there this time.
‘Wh-what do you mean?’ she stammered, and a shiver ran through him when he realised that he was responsible for that catch in her voice. The women he usually dated were far too sophisticated to betray their feelings that way, but Katie had no such pretensions. Nick found himself suddenly awash with tenderness and it was the last thing he needed when he was determined to behave in a purely professional manner from now on.
‘That I’m Nicholas Lawson, your new specialist registrar. I should have introduced myself properly before, I suppose, but better late than never, as they say. Anyway, if I can swing it with Niall then I’d be happy to start right away instead of waiting until after Christmas.’
‘You’re the new registrar!’
A second or two earlier Nick had been glorying in Katie’s lack of artifice. Now he found himself wishing that she’d made more of an effort to dissemble. Did she have to make it quite so clear how dismayed she was by the prospect of him being her new colleague? It was hard to hide his chagrin but Nick didn’t have a choice.
‘That’s right. Sorry to spring it on you like this, but I’ve got references and everything so you don’t have to take my word that I am who I claim to be. And, of course, Niall will vouch for me because he’s the one who interviewed me for the post in the first place.’ There was a hint of challenge in his voice because he really didn’t appreciate the fact that Katie was staring at him as though he’d just sprouted an extra head.
‘If Niall says it’s OK for you to start then far be it from me to question his decision, Dr Lawson,’ she stated coldly, then proceeded to ignore him as she turned to Abbey again. ‘Take Dr Lawson to the office, please, Abbey. He’ll need to speak to Niall and confirm that it’s all right for him to start work earlier than planned. There shouldn’t be a problem, but I expect Niall will want to make sure all the formalities are covered. I’ll be along as soon as I’ve got changed.’
Nick just managed to step aside before Katie swept past him, not that she’d have had much hesitation in mowing him down, he thought. It was obvious that she was furious with him for not revealing his identity before now and he couldn’t blame her in a way. She probably felt that he’d tricked her and that hadn’t been his intention at all.
He sighed as he followed Abbey out of the room, wishing that he’d never decided to drive up to Dalverston that day. If he’d stayed in London over the holiday then none of this would have happened. He wouldn’t have been pressganged into playing Santa and he certainly wouldn’t have ended up kissing Katie. This seemed to be turning into a Christmas to remember.
Katie went straight to the maternity unit after she’d changed into her uniform. It was a few minutes before six and Jean Preston, the senior midwife on duty that day, was delighted to see her.
‘Oh, goodie! I was hoping the carol concert wouldn’t run on too long. How did it go? I was on the phone when you came round so I didn’t get much chance to listen to you.’
‘Fine. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, anyway,’ Katie told her briefly because she didn’t want to go into detail. The thought of having to explain Nick Lawson’s part in the proceedings was a little too much to swallow at the moment. She would have to deal with the way he’d tricked her, of course, but she needed a breathing space first and swiftly changed the subject. She glanced at the whiteboard where all the patients’ names were listed and nodded when she saw there was just one mum in the delivery suites.
‘Any problems there?’ she asked, turning to Jean again.
‘No, textbook delivery from the look of it. She’s one of Anita’s mums so she’s only booked in for the birth. She’ll be going home after the baby’s delivered so you don’t need to worry on that score.’ Jean sighed. ‘It doesn’t sound too promising for poor Karen Johnson, though, does it? What a rotten thing to happen and especially at Christmas. Mind you, it was lucky the new registrar happened to be here. It could be ages before Niall arrives if the traffic is really bad.’
‘It was fortunate he happened to be around,’ Katie agreed neutrally, although there was a lot she could have said if she’d had a mind to.
She picked up the pen and wrote Karen’s name on the board in readiness for her arrival, thinking back over what had happened. Nick Lawson had never so much as hinted that he was a doctor let alone admitted that he was their new registrar. He’d had ample time to do so, too, especially after she’d told him that she was a midwife. Had he decided to keep quiet about his identity so he could make a fool of her perhaps?
Katie’s pretty mouth compressed because she couldn’t
