of the nurses gestured to them. “There’s an office over there. Why don’t you go and try the phones?” She pulled her watch from her pocket. “According to this, we have about ten minutes before the hurricane hits.”
It was like a chill rushing over her body. Should she be scared? Should she actually be terrified? She’d faced plenty of disease disasters, but never a natural one like this. “What happens next? What happens to everyone out there?” she asked the nurse.
“They’ve moved most of the tourists from the beach-front hotels into emergency shelters. Hawaii has a hurricane preparedness guide. Unfortunately we’ve not had the warning time that would normally be in place. Things have changed quickly.”
There was a tiny wave of panic. “Is there anything else I should know about a hurricane?” She hated the fact her voice sounded high-pitched.
“There’s a standard set of instructions.” One of the nurses pulled a leaflet from her bag.
Stay indoors away from windows, skylights and glass doors.
Secure and brace exterior doors. Store as much water as you can.
Close interior doors and take refuge in a small interior room, like a closet or hallway, on the lowest level of your home.
Jack pulled a face. “How do these apply to a hospital?”
The nurse gave a nod. “We’ve moved all the patients away from windows, mostly to the central corridors, and we’ve evacuated the top floor and ground floor. We’re filling the baths and sinks with water to keep the toilets flushing, but the kitchen says it has ample supplies of drinking water.” She closed her eyes for a second. “After that—we pray. This hospital has been standing for thirty years. We’ve had a few hurricanes in that time. We just hope that it will hold together again.”
Amber gulped. “What about the staff? Do you all have to stay?”
She wasn’t thinking about herself. She was thinking about all the local staff that might have families of their own close by to worry about. With the emergency warning coming so late, most of them might not have had time to make plans.
The nurse held out her hands. “We’ll manage. The hospital has an emergency plan. Extra staff get called in as relief. They help transfer the patients and stock the ER. Some of the rest of the staff had to go home to sort out family issues. I came in early to let my friend go home to her disabled mother.” She pointed at the nurse dealing with Aaron. “Nessa only started here a few weeks ago. Her family are on Oahu. She wouldn’t have time to get there, so decided just to lock down here where she could be useful.”
She gave an anxious glance between Amber and Jack. “No matter what your experience, after the hurricane hits, we’ll need doctors. Probably more than you know.”
Jack gave the briefest of nods. His face was serious, but he didn’t seem intimidated at all. “I’d rather be working than holed up in the hotel. Let us sort out what we can about these meningitis cases. After that, put me where you need me.”
The nurse gave a nod. “I’ll phone up to the ER and let them know we might have some additional help.” Her eyebrows rose a little in question. “What will I tell them?”
His voice was firm. “Tell them I’m an army doc and can deal with whatever they need.” His eyes met Amber. “Dr. Berkeley works for the DPA. She’ll help out where she can.”
“Great.” The nurse picked up the phone and turned her back on them.
Amber gulped. For infectious diseases she was fine. But she wasn’t quite as confident as Jack at being thrown in at the deep end. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel capable. She would always help out in an emergency. She wasn’t sure how qualified or equipped she’d be to deal with things. She’d never really worked in an ER setting. She’d been part of team expeditions for the DPA. But she’d never been in charge. Never had the full responsibility herself. But those expeditions had been more coordinated. She’d always ended up working in pre-ready emergency clinics or vaccination hubs.
Her director had already mentioned he thought she was ready to try her hand as a team leader on a field mission to further her experience. But this was entirely different—totally out with her normal expertise. It was almost as if Jack sensed something from her. He leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Don’t worry. I’ve got your back.”
Then he did something completely unexpected. He turned her toward him and lowered his forehead onto hers. It was a gesture of security. Of solidarity. Of reassurance.
Warmth spread through her. She looked up and met his gaze. His dark brown eyes were fixed on hers. They were genuine and steady.
She pressed her lips together and took a deep breath, so many thoughts flooding into her mind. Her brain was such a mess. All she could concentrate on was the feel of his hands on the tops of her arms and the gentle way his forehead pressed against hers. His warm breath danced across her skin. Her gaze was naturally lowered and she could see the rise and fall of his chest.
He was a doctor. The type of guy she’d spent most of her life trying to avoid any romantic entanglements with. And this was crazy. She’d already seen a flash of something in him that reminded her of the focused way her father used to be.
So, if she already had alarm bells flashing in her head, why wasn’t she running for the hills? She could pretend it was the hurricane. That the only reason she wasn’t moving was because she was stuck here.
But that wasn’t what was anchoring her feet firmly to the ground.
That wasn’t what was letting the heat from the palms of his hands slowly permeate through her jacket and trickle its way through her body. Her last few boyfriends had been as far removed from medicine as possible—a landscape gardener, then a chef. But somehow she hadn’t felt this. This connection.
And she couldn’t understand it. She’d only met Jack last night. And yes, they’d clicked. There was no doubt the man was attractive. There was no doubt her mind was imagining so many other places they could go.
But the timing wasn’t right. It wasn’t right at all. Her mother’s face flashed into her head. The tired, weary look that had always been visible. The sadness when she’d glanced at a clock and realized Amber’s father wouldn’t be home that night. The endless amount of wasted dinners scraped into a trash can. The times when Amber had sat at the dinner table, desperate to tell her father about her day, and he could barely pay attention—talking over her as he launched into yet another story about work, or surgery, or research. Or when he left the table again as soon as the phone had begun to ring with another call from the hospital.
She’d spent her whole life feeling like an unimportant spare part. Constantly trying to earn the approval of a man who barely knew she existed. When Jack had spoken on the stage earlier on today, he’d had the same conviction, the same passion and dedication as her father.
She sucked in a breath as she realized the similarities between them both.
Having any kind of relationship with Jack Campbell was a complete nonstarter. She’d already lived part of her life being second best in someone’s life. She was determined never to allow herself to be in that position again.
She wanted to step away. She should step away.
But
