Frances?’ Zac asked. ‘You weren’t feeling sick before the accident?’
‘I don’t think so. I really can’t remember…’
‘What medications are you on?’
‘I don’t take anything, dear. Apart from my calcium tablets. I’m as healthy as a horse. Haven’t needed to see a doctor for years.’
‘Might be a good thing that you’re going to get a proper check-up in hospital then. Bit of a warrant of fitness.’
‘I don’t like bothering a doctor when I don’t need to.’
‘I know. My gran Ivy is exactly the same.’
‘How old is she?’
‘Ninety-two.’
Summer found herself sliding a quizzical glance in his direction as she gathered dressings and bandages to dress some of the superficial wounds more thoroughly. It wouldn’t occur to her to think about, let alone tell others, anything about her own family. What was it with him and his grandmother? Nobody could miss the pride in his voice and it just didn’t fit with the whole cheeky, bad boy vibe. And it certainly didn’t fit with his reputation.
‘She still swims every day,’ Zac added. ‘Has done her whole life. Reckons she’s half-mermaid. Does it hurt if I press here?’
‘Ooh…yes…’
‘Can you wiggle your fingers?’
‘That hurts, too…Have I broken something?’
‘It’s possible. We’ll put a splint on it and keep it nice and still till you get an X-ray. We might give you something for the pain, too. You don’t have to be brave and put up with it, you know. Sometimes, it’s nice to just let someone else take care of you.’
Frances got a bit weepy at that point but the transfer to the helicopter and their take-off a short time later was enough of a distraction.
It didn’t quite distract Summer. Was Frances stoic and uncomplaining because there was no point in being anything else? Was there really nobody who needed to know she’d had a bad accident other than her neighbour?
The thought was sad.
Maybe more so because it resonated. As the chopper lifted and swung inland to head back to Auckland, Summer watched the people on the ground get smaller and a cluster of houses in the small township of Coromandel where Frances lived become visible. They vanished just as quickly and Summer turned, wondering if the elderly woman was aware and distressed by how far from her home they were taking her.
‘Morphine’s doing its job.’ Zac’s voice sounded loud in her helmet. ‘She’s having a wee nap.’ His eyes were on the cardiac monitor. ‘She’s stable. Enjoy the view.’
But Summer still felt oddly flat. What if she’d been the one to have an accident in such an isolated location? Who would she call if she was about to be flown to an emergency department a long way from her home?
It was moments like this that she noticed the absence of a partner in her life with a sharpness that felt increasingly like failure since she’d entered her thirties and everyone her age seemed to be getting married and starting families. There was nobody to call her ‘sweetheart’ and really mean it. No one to make her feel cherished and safe. It wasn’t that she hadn’t tried to find someone—relationships just never seemed to work out.
If she was really honest, though, she hadn’t tried that hard. She’d told herself that there was plenty of time and her career had to take priority but it went deeper than that, didn’t it? Moments like this always made the loss of her mother seem like yesterday instead of more than fifteen years ago and what she’d been taught about not trusting men was as much a part of those memories as anything else.
Would she put her father down as next of kin? Not likely. She hadn’t seen him since her mother’s funeral and there was still anger there that he’d had the nerve to turn up for it.
She’d probably do what Frances had done and opt to put a call in to a neighbour to make sure her pet was cared for.
No. Her life wasn’t that sad. She had a lot of good friends. The guys she worked with, for starters. And her oldest friend, Kate, would do anything to help. It was just a shame she lived in Hamilton—a good hour’s drive away. Not that that was any excuse for the fact they hadn’t seen each other for so long. Or even talked, come to that.
And, boy…they had something to talk about now, didn’t they?
With Zac monitoring Frances during the flight and clearly happy that the condition of their patient was still stable, there was no reason why Summer shouldn’t get her mobile phone from her pocket and flick off a text message.
Hey, Kate. How’s things? U home tonite?
The response came back swiftly.
Late finish but home by 10. Call me. Be good 2 talk.
It would. Her friend might need some prior warning, though.
You’ll never guess who’s back in town!
‘ZAC…WHEN DID you get back into town?’ The nurse wheeling an IV trolley through the emergency department was overdoing the delighted astonishment just a tad when she caught sight of the helicopter crew coming out of Resus.
‘Only last week. Didn’t see you around, Mandy.’
‘I was on holiday. Giving my new bikini a test run on a beach in Rarotonga.’
‘Nice.’
‘It was. Is. Pink—with little purple flowers. Might have to give it another outing at Takapuna on my next day off.’
It was no surprise that Mandy chose to assume he was referring to the bikini rather than the Pacific island. Confident and popular, she had flirting down to a fine art. There were rumours that it went further than flirting but Summer preferred to trust her own instincts and Mandy had always been willing to help when their paths crossed at work and good company at social events. The smile was as friendly as ever right now, but somehow it struck a discordant note. Maybe it had been the tone in Zac’s voice. Or the warm glance that had flashed between them.
No surprise there, so why was it so annoying?
Because her instincts had been trying to convince her that Zac wasn’t the monster she’d heard about? That someone who could treat a frightened elderly patient as if she was his own beloved granny couldn’t possibly be that bad? They’d just finished handing Frances over to the team in Resus and Zac had promised to come and visit to see how she was as soon as he was back in the department again. There had been tears on her wrinkled cheeks as she’d told Rob, the ED consultant taking over, that this ‘dear boy’ had saved her life.
‘That’s our Zac.’ Rob had grinned. ‘We’re lucky to have him back but we’re letting him out to play on the helicopters every so often.’
