Kasey was relieved to turn her thoughts to less stressful topics when Lorraine spoke to her. ‘With a K. My name is actually Kathleen Christine but it caused no end of confusion when I was a child. My gran was called Kathleen, you see, and each of her sons wanted to name their first daughter after her.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘It wouldn’t have been a problem if all four of them hadn’t had a girl. At family get-togethers Gran used to shout ‘Kathleen’ and we’d all come running. In the end she decided it was easier to call us by the initial letters of our names so I ended up as Kasey and it just sort of stuck.’
June laughed. ‘You should fit right in, then. We’re really big on nicknames. You’ll find a lot of the folk who work for Worlds Together have them.’
‘Really? So what’s Adam’s nickname?’ she asked, grinning.
‘I don’t have one.’
She spun round when she recognised the gravelly voice and felt her pulse leap when she found Adam standing behind her. It was an effort to respond with an outward show of calm when her heart was hammering but there was no way that she was letting him have the upper hand. ‘Why not? Surely it’s not beneath your dignity to have a nickname, Adam?’
‘Not at all. I’ve no idea why I haven’t been given one. Maybe you could suggest something?’
He had batted the ball right back into her side of the court and Kasey drummed up a laugh. ‘Oh, I can think of a few which would suit you but it might be wiser to keep them to myself in the interests of team harmony.’
‘How very diplomatic of you, Kasey. You’re obviously on your best behaviour today because it’s not like you to hold back. I got the distinct impression the last time we met that you rather enjoy causing a stir.’
‘Did you? I really can’t remember what happened, I’m afraid. Would you care to remind me?’ she challenged. If he thought he was going to make her back down by bringing up the past, he was in for a shock.
‘Oh, I don’t think it would be appropriate to tell everyone, do you?’ His voice dropped, the gravelly tones taking on a velvet smoothness that made the tiny hairs on the back of her neck spring to attention. ‘Some things are best remembered in private, Kasey. And that is definitely one of them.’
He gave her a slow smile then walked away. There was a moment’s stunned silence after he’d left before June let out a small gasp.
‘Phew! I don’t know about the rest of you but I can definitely feel a hot flush coming on!’
Everyone laughed as June fanned herself with her hand. Kasey shot her a grateful look, glad the nurse had helped to dispel the tension, but she couldn’t deny that she was shaken by what had happened. She’d known that Adam wouldn’t welcome her with open arms and had been prepared for his wrath, but it hadn’t been anger that she’d seen in his eyes just now, had it?
A shudder ran through her as she quickly excused herself, hearing the chatter that broke out as soon as she moved away from the group. The other women had seen it too so there was no point trying to tell herself that she’d been mistaken. Adam hadn’t threatened her—he hadn’t needed to because he’d used a far more effective method of evening the score, one that would cause maximum damage. He’d taken the attraction they’d felt for one another five years ago and used it against her. Now all she could do was wait and see what happened. But it wasn’t going to be easy, was it?
She closed her eyes as panic gripped her. Maybe she did still blame Adam for ruining her brother’s life, but it hadn’t stopped her wanting him before and it might not be enough to stop her wanting him again.
‘IT’S not the ideal start by any means but we’ll just have to cope the best way we can.’
Adam looked around the room, hoping he’d managed to convince everyone that they shouldn’t let this latest setback deter them. His gaze landed on Kasey and lingered for a moment before he forced it to move on.
It had been a mistake to use that tone with her before and he couldn’t understand why he’d done it. The other women had picked up the sexual innuendo in his voice just as Kasey had done, and he hated to imagine what they must be thinking. He’d always guarded his private life, mainly because of the way he’d been brought up. As the only child of elderly parents who had discouraged any displays of emotion, he’d learned at an early age to keep his feelings to himself. It had only been when he’d met Kasey, in fact, that he’d opened up, and it was doubly galling to know that he hadn’t learned from his mistakes.
‘It should only be a couple of days before the bulk of our equipment arrives.’ He forced himself to concentrate on the problems they faced because it was pointless worrying about the mistakes he’d made, both past and present. ‘That means the theatre tents, generators, lighting equipment—things like that. We’ll be able to take all our drugs, dressings and surgical instruments with us because they’re within the weight restrictions so that’s something, at least.’
‘But where are we going to operate?’ David Preston, the other surgeon on the team, put in worriedly. ‘From what I’ve read, the hospitals over there are in an appalling state.’
‘My contact in Mwuranda has promised to get one of the theatres up and running before we arrive,’ Adam assured him. ‘We’ll be based in Arumba which is where the main hospital is situated. The equipment there will be very basic by our standards, of course, but that won’t matter too much because we’ll be taking all our surgical instruments with us. I’m confident that Matthias will be able to provide us with a sterile environment to work in and that’s the most important thing at the moment.’
‘What about the anaesthetic equipment?’ Kasey put in quietly. ‘It would be helpful to have some idea what’s available.’
‘I’ll have to check with Matthias about that and get back to you,’ he replied shortly, trying to keep the edge out of his voice, then sighed when he saw the look Mary and Lorraine exchanged. Obviously he’d failed to hide his feelings again and it was worrying to know how vulnerable he was around Kasey.
The thought was like the proverbial red rag and he had to make a conscious effort not to let her see how furious he was with her for putting him in this position. She must have known how hard he would find it to work with her yet she’d still gone ahead and joined the team. It just seemed to prove all over again how little she’d ever cared about him.
‘I suggest that you and Daniel work out if you’ll need to make any changes to the anaesthetic agents we’re taking with us.’ He handed her a printed list of the drugs, trying not to let that thought do any more damage. ‘You may need to order something to tide you over until our equipment arrives.’
‘Looks like we’d better dig out some old text-books,’ she said lightly, smiling at Daniel, who was sitting beside her. ‘I bet it’s been a while since you got out the ether.’
‘Too right! Still, I’m game for a bit of late-night swotting if you are, Kasey.’
Everyone laughed as Daniel leered suggestively at her. Adam stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets in case he gave in to the urge to thump the younger man on the nose. It was just the usual show of high-spirits everyone exhibited before setting off on a mission, he told
