style="font-size:15px;"> ‘Fine.’
Aidan lapsed back onto the grass, groaning as she gently felt from his shoulder to his wrist. There was little doubt in her mind by the time she finished that the humerus was fractured mid-shaft. She checked his fingers next as this type of break could cause damage to the brachial artery and discovered that they felt cold to the touch and were turning blue, both worrying signs.
She quickly checked the pulse in Aidan’s right wrist and her fears were confirmed when she couldn’t detect one. Although the injury wasn’t life-threatening, ischaemia—an inadequate blood supply—could result in long-term damage and she was anxious to prevent that happening.
She looked round when she heard voices and was relieved when she saw Ben and the paramedic coming towards her. She went to meet them, lowering her voice so that Aidan wouldn’t overhear them. ‘This chap has a fractured humerus. There’s no pulse in his right wrist and his fingers are cold and turning blue.’
‘That needs sorting, asap,’ Ben said, turning to the paramedic. ‘Can you ferry him back to hospital as well, Charlie? He should be OK to travel by car once you’ve splinted his arm. Make sure ED knows that he requires immediate treatment. That artery needs to be freed and the blood supply restored pronto if he’s to regain full use of his hand and wrist.’
‘I’ll go and check on the others,’ Gemma said once she was sure that Aidan was being taken care of.
She told Aidan that he would be going to hospital then made her way to the next casualty, a middle-aged man. A section of metal had fallen on him, pinning him to the ground. He was lying face down, his hard hat obscuring his face. Gemma checked for a pulse at both neck and wrist but there was none. It was impossible to turn him over because of the weight of the metal, but she knew there was nothing she or anyone else could do for him. She left him there and hurried to the next person, arriving at the same time as Ben. He grinned at her as they both knelt down.
‘Not quite what I’d planned on doing today.’
‘Me neither,’ Gemma agreed, glancing across at the crane. Ross was leaning into the cab while he attended to the driver. He seemed oblivious to the danger he was in or maybe he didn’t care. Maybe his apparent calm was all a front and inside he was so devastated about losing Heather that he no longer cared what happened to him.
The thought was sheer torture. Gemma knew she couldn’t cope with it if she hoped to do her job properly. She dragged her gaze away and forced herself to concentrate on the injured man. There was a lot of blood on his face and that worried her until Ben discovered that he had broken his nose. That explained the heavy bleeding and a quick examination along with a few pertinent questions—name, age, what day of the week it was—soon established that he hadn’t suffered a serious head injury. He would need to be checked again when he reached hospital, of course, but she and Ben were happy to move on to the next casualty.
‘I hate to interrupt but I need a hand over there.’
All of a sudden Ross was standing beside them, sounding unusually curt again as he addressed himself to Ben. Gemma felt her heart ache because it was so unlike him to speak to anyone this way. He was always totally professional in his dealings with the staff at the surgery, never lost his temper, and was always calm and reasonable. He must be devastated by what had happened to behave so out of character, and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it, either.
‘Typical. Gemma and I were just doing a bit of bonding and now you want to drag me away.’ Ben leered at her so comically that Gemma couldn’t help smiling then wished she hadn’t when she saw Ross’s expression darken.
‘Well, I’m sorry to spoil your fun but you’re the expert here. I’m just a humble GP, don’t forget.’
Ben whistled softly as Ross stalked away. ‘Ouch! That put me in my place, didn’t it? This wedding business has hit him really hard. It’s not like Ross to bite people’s heads off like that. I knew it was odd this morning when he told me what had happened. I mean, he didn’t even sound upset. He must have been bottling it all up until now.’
‘Probably,’ Gemma agreed sadly. ‘I just wish there was something we could do.’
‘To get Ross and Heather back together, you mean?’ Ben’s face lit up. ‘Great idea! It’s a crying shame, them breaking up like that. He and Heather are just perfect for each other. They’re so well matched that it’s disheartening, really. You just know that you’ll never find anyone as perfect yourself, or, more to the point, someone who thinks you’re perfect for them.’ His smile dimmed. ‘I certainly won’t.’
Gemma had a feeling there was more to that comment than Ben was admitting. However, there was no time to ask him to explain when there were so many lives at risk. She finished attending to their patient while Ben went to help Ross, using a wad of lint to clean away the blood. By the time that was done, the police had arrived, bringing with them more members of Dalverston’s rapid response team, although as one wit pointed out they might need a new name after today seeing as their response had been far from speedy.
It was good to have so many experienced people around, though. Gemma did whatever she was asked, unconcerned when at times she found herself acting as gofer. She wasn’t too proud to admit that other people knew more about emergency procedures than she did and was happy to learn from them. It was different in the surgery—she was completely at home there and confident that there was little she couldn’t handle, but this wasn’t her natural element.
Her gaze strayed once more to Ross, who was in the thick of things, helping the team attend to the crane driver. Even as she watched, she saw him issue instructions to one of the paramedics and saw the man obey them. No matter where Ross worked, or in what capacity, he would feel completely sure of himself. Heather had been exactly the same. No wonder they’d been so right for each other. Two good-looking, talented, perfect people who should have had a perfect life together.
Tears filled her eyes and she hurriedly turned away. She wasn’t perfect and she never could be. The scars on her body might have faded but they were still there, still looked repulsive to anyone who saw them. Even if Ross and Heather never got back together, even if Ross realised that he could find someone else equally perfect for him, it wouldn’t be her.
CHAPTER FOUR
‘THERE’S no way we can risk lifting him out of here even on a spinal board. We’ll need the air ambulance to winch him out.’
Ross sank back onto his heels, curbing the urge he felt to question Ben’s decision. He wasn’t sure why he felt so bloody minded. After all, his friend dealt with injuries like this every day. Normally, he would have deferred to Ben’s expertise without a second thought, so what was different today? Was it pique over the way Ben and Gemma seemed to have become best buddies all of a sudden?
The thought did nothing to enhance his mood. Fortunately, another voice entered the conversation then, sparing him from having to reply. ‘I’ll get the police to radio back to base and request the helicopter.’
Sam Kearney, one of the newer additions to Dalverston’s rapid response team, hurried off to set things in motion, giving Ross a very necessary breathing space. He took advantage of it, breathing in and out a couple of dozen times, although it didn’t achieve very much. Ben and Gemma an item? No way!
‘Can you help me get this collar on him?’
Ben’s request interrupted his flow of thoughts. Ross eased himself a little further into the confines of the cab and supported
