sure the police will take care of that. Danni seems fine. Let’s have a look at that head of yours.’
Kate could hear the noise level in the department increasing, presumably due to a new wave of arrivals, but that wasn’t what made her brow furrow in concern.
‘Is your mother’s pulse normally irregular?’
‘Yes. She has chronic atrial fibrillation.’
‘I might see if I can find a twelve-lead ECG machine that’s free. I’ll check to see if any results are back on those tests as well.’
‘You might be needed more urgently elsewhere.’
‘Help!’ someone was shouting. ‘Help me …’
‘It hurts!’ a child’s voice cried. ‘It really, really hurts!’
It was a cry that would have torn anybody’s heart. Kate looked up deliberately to catch Rory’s gaze.
‘You could help,’ she heard herself suggesting. ‘While your mum’s asleep.’
‘No.’ The word was a harsh dismissal. ‘I’m no longer a doctor, Kate. It’s out of the question.’
She stared at him. This wasn’t the man she knew. Or thought she knew. The brilliant doctor who’d never missed a beat, no matter how much pressure he was under. The leader who had thrived on coping and still being fanatically careful with his treatment of every patient. The physician whose diagnostic abilities were a legend and his skills with highly invasive procedures even more so. The man colleagues had admired and respected. That patients had adored. That women had fallen in love with.
Like Kate had.
And to ignore a child like the one who had just cried out! She’d seen him with children in the past. He’d always gone to whatever lengths were necessary to help a child.
Who was this man? The lines on his face were as uncompromising as his tone had been. The topic was clearly not open for discussion, but surely Kate had the right to know?
‘You left medicine? Just walked away?’
‘That’s exactly what I did.’
‘What have you been doing?’
‘Not that it’s any of your business,’ Rory said coldly, ‘but I’ve been building roads. New mining development in the south of Australia.’
No wonder he looked so tanned and lean. Toughened by a harsh climate and physically demanding work.
‘But … why?’ The word came out as a whisper. It just didn’t make sense.
Marcella stirred, probably disturbed by the now chaotic noise level in the department.
‘Jamie?’
The change in Rory was subtle, but Kate didn’t miss any of it. She’d had too much practice watching this man in the past. She saw what amounted to physical pain at hearing the wrong name. She could see the instant tension in his body, the shadow in his eyes, and it reminded her so strongly of the trouble he’d been in that night.
She was no closer to understanding what it was all about, but—stupidly—she still wanted to help. She almost reached out to touch him. To convey that desire. What stopped her was seeing the fierce determination in his face. Confidence. So something had changed in the months he’d been gone. Whatever it was, and however hard it might be, Rory could deal with this by himself this time. He didn’t need her comfort.
‘Leave it, Kate,’ he said wearily. ‘It really is none of your business.’
‘Oh?’ The tension had been contagious, and Kate didn’t have access to whatever inner strength Rory had just tapped into.
And, yes, the fantasy of seeing the dawning joy in his face on learning he was soon to be the father of twins was over-the-top, to say the least, but to reject her like this was unfair.
Unacceptable, really.
Maybe it wasn’t any of her business, but Kate could at least live up to her responsibilities. She could do what should have been done a long time ago.
‘It might be helpful if you could leave some kind of forwarding address the next time you decide to vanish,’ she said.
‘Why?’
Kate’s smile was wry. ‘So that I can let you know when your children are born.’
CHAPTER THREE
‘CHILDREN?’
The colour in Rory’s face was draining, but Kate’s gaze didn’t falter.
‘Twins,’ she confirmed.
‘Kate?’
Judy’s voice was coming from behind the curtain screening the cubicle, but something had clicked for Kate. Something important.
‘It’s in your family, isn’t it?’ She didn’t give Rory time to respond. ‘You have a twin. That’s why your mother keeps calling you Jamie.’
‘Kate?’ The curtain was twitching now, but Kate was still watching Rory. Seeing the pain that darkened his eyes to an impenetrable black.
‘Had.’ His voice was so low and raw the words were almost inaudible. ‘He died. A long time ago.’
‘Kate? We need help in Resus 1. I know you’re supposed to be on light duties, but are you up for it?’
‘Of course.’
Judy’s glance turned to Rory. ‘Dr Foster asked me to bring you, too, if possible, Dr McCulloch. It’s a Code Red.’
Meaning that this was a crisis. They had more serious cases than they could safely handle with the staff they had available.
Rory shook his head.
‘We can find someone to sit with your mother. Now that she’s started antibiotics there’s not much more we can do for the moment.’
‘No,’ Rory said aloud. ‘I can’t help you. I’m sorry.’
Judy stared with the same incredulity Kate had experienced only a minute ago. She flicked Kate a ‘what on earth is going on?’ kind of look, but couldn’t linger.
Neither could Kate. But neither could she let Rory get away with dismissing his moral responsibilities like this. He’d taken an oath when he became a doctor. One that Kate considered if not sacred at least equal to the kind of obligation and responsibilities that came with becoming a parent. If he could ignore that oath and the patients that needed him in a situation like this, what sort of father was he going to make to her children?
It simply wasn’t good enough.
‘There are children out there,’ she
