and Noah eyed her quizzically. She must have been outside recently, because rain beaded in her hair and the corridor seemed to vibrate around her like the electricity that flashed across the heavens outside the window.
‘This is a restricted area.’ She used her well-modulated voice with authority and Noah cynically admired her technique. Perhaps because he did it all the time himself.
She squared her shoulders at him. He outweighed her in muscle by a good twenty kilos, so he wasn’t quite sure what she thought she could do if he decided to proceed past. There was something about her that made his day brighten and a smile hovered on the edge of his lips. There could be no mistake she was a hostile native! A magnificent hostile native but definitely hostile.
‘Good morning,’ he said. ‘I’m looking for the shift co-ordinator.’ Noah smiled his charming smile but the warrior maiden wasn’t like the receptionist and didn’t budge. He resisted the almost irresistible temptation to move another step forward to see what she’d do.
She raised her chin, almost as if she’d read his mind, and Noah had to bite back a smile. He returned her appraisal and gained the impression that the mind behind her really quite beautiful blue eyes was as sharp as the creases ironed into her short-sleeved shirt.
Thick lashes came down and hid her thoughts. ‘I’m the shift co-ordinator but I’ll be busy for the next half-hour. Are you connected with the hospital?’
His mouth curved a little more. She was interrogating him. He nodded and held out his hand. ‘Noah Masters, regional CEO, and you are…?’
Cate had known it! The enemy! ‘Cate Forrest, the morning shift co-ordinator.’ The suit he was wearing had warned her. But that was the only part of his appearance that tied in with her mental image. She’d known he was coming, she’d just expected a weasel with accountant’s glasses.
Unfortunately, he was nothing like she’d imagined. He had a smooth, masculine presence that radiated command and Cate had to tilt her head slightly to look up at him. She didn’t like the necessity. There weren’t that many men taller than Cate and she wasn’t used to it. His hand was out in front of her, waiting, and reluctantly Cate took it.
When his fingers closed around hers in a firm clasp, she returned the shake, frowned and then pulled free as soon as possible.
Her fingers still thrummed. She certainly couldn’t say his handshake was as furtive as his visit. The man vibrated with energy! She couldn’t stand a man with a limp handshake but that buzz between them was ridiculous. Surreptitiously she wiped her hand on the side of her skirt to remove the tingle.
They stood there and eyed each other like opposing generals, and the silence lengthened. Cate had a suspicion it was amusement she could see in his eyes and it stirred her temper, as a breeze lifted a tiny pile of leaves. Yes, he rattled her, she admitted grudgingly. She was usually the one in control. One minute in his company and she could tell he wouldn’t be as co-operative as Mr Beamish was to her plans.
She steered Noah Masters around and back out through the plastic doors to the corridor. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t have the time for a formal tour today. Perhaps you can arrange something later with Mr Beamish?’
Noah’s smile was winning but it bounced off Cate. ‘This isn’t a formal visit, Sister Forrest. I’m not inspecting Riverbank, I’m just gaining a feel for the place.’
Cate raised her eyebrows delicately. ‘How interesting.’ You can get a feel just by poking around, can you buster? She only just kept the words from her lips. The pager clipped on her belt emitted an insistent beep and she glanced down to see the phone extension displayed on the mini-screen. It was the accident and emergency main desk. ‘Excuse me. I must answer this call. The cafeteria is on this floor if you would like some lunch.’
Noah inclined his head. ‘Perhaps I’ll see you on my travels later?’
You’d better believe it. ‘We’re a small hospital. I imagine you might,’ Cate said dryly, and walked away to answer the page.
Noah watched her stride away, her straight back not apologising for her exceptional height and the gentle sway of her hips more provocative, he guessed with a grin, than she intended. She wasn’t a dainty, helpless female like Donna had been—totally the opposite, in fact—but she was arresting.
His lips twitched. She actually looked like she wanted to arrest him!
Noah turned back towards the cafeteria with the smile still tugging on his lips. This visit to Riverbank could be more interesting than he’d anticipated.
Cate’s head was high. Big city sleaze. He was a big man all over, most of it muscle. Broad-shouldered and deep-chested, and she wouldn’t like to meet him in a dark alley. Cate realised it could be a problem to keep her antipathy towards him under control. There was something about him that made her bristle, apart from his obvious threat to Riverbank. But it was a worry what the snoopy Noah Masters was really doing, and how much of a disadvantage to Riverbank it could be to leave him unsupervised. She looked at her watch and sped her footsteps. Hopefully he’d linger over his lunch and she’d be able to find someone to keep an eye on him.
As Cate entered the emergency department, the activity was centred on an elderly gentleman and her footsteps quickened in concern. Mr Beamish, the present CEO of the hospital, was lying on a trolley, obviously in a lot of pain. Judging by the splint still attached to his leg, the problem would affect the man she’d just left. Hell. When it rained it poured.
Casualty Sister Moore turned to Cate with her usual calm. ‘Well, that saves me answering the phone. Thanks for coming. Mr Beamish has just come in. He has severe hypothermia and a probable fractured femur.’
Cate nodded and smiled gently at the older man’s pale face as he almost blended in with the white pillowcase. ‘Hello, Mr Beamish. You’ve come to the right place for some tender loving care. We’ll get you fixed up as soon as we can.’ She didn’t mention Noah Masters—it was the last thing the poor man needed to know!
Stella Moore followed her out to the nurses’ station. ‘The ambulance officers just brought him in. He slipped over on his cattle-grid this morning and his wife didn’t realise he was in trouble for at least a couple of hours. Mr Beamish had to lie in the rain until she found him, and he’s pretty shocked.’
Cate’s face clouded for a moment before she said, ‘It must have been horrific. Hopefully he won’t get pneumonia.’ She picked up the phone and glanced out of the window. Water streamed off the pane as she waited for her call to be answered. ‘My dad says we’re in for a flood and I wouldn’t be surprised.’
Stella winced. ‘Don’t say that. We’ve just recarpeted our house.’ Cate nodded sympathetically. She thought of her parents’ farm and the cattle that would have to be moved if the river rose too far, then shelved that problem for after her shift. The telephone just kept ringing so she dialled the nurse manager’s number again and finally Cate’s immediate superior answered.
Cate left the notification of Mr Beamish’s accident with her, along with the news of Noah Masters’s appearance.
Miss Glover’s voice was hurried. ‘I’m in a meeting. Show Mr Masters around if you have time, Cate, please.’
Cate screwed her nose up at the phone and reluctantly agreed.
Her pager beeped and she glanced at the number on the screen. She looked at Stella. ‘Anything else you need for the moment,
