fine.’ She dropped her hands.
‘Are you sure you should be starting back today? You only got back into the country yesterday, didn’t you?’
Kay’s concern would be her undoing if she let it. ‘I’m fine. Raring to go, in fact.’ Alex hauled her shoulders back into place and plastered a tight smile on her face, then reminded herself where she was. At work, in her comfort zone. She relaxed. A little. ‘I’m a bit tired, nothing else. Rushing from one city to the next took its toll.’
Kay gave an exaggerated eye roll. ‘My heart bleeds for you.’
Alex laughed, finally feeling secure with being back at work. Kay always kept her grounded when the going got rough, and today hadn’t even started. ‘I know I’m early but let’s get the shift under way. What’s been going on in my absence?’
Instantly Kay’s demeanour turned serious. She pointed to an envelope tucked half under the files lying on her desk. ‘There’s a message you need to deal with before anything else. I believe it explains everything.’ She headed for the door. ‘Umm, we’ve had some changes. Big ones.’ Suddenly Kay was in an awful hurry to be gone. ‘Good ones.’
Good changes? What was wrong with how things were before? She ran a well-organised and successful department. There wasn’t any need to alter a thing. Her unease increased as she reached tentatively for the missive. ‘Why? Has something happened?’
Beep, beep. The pager on her desk interrupted. Snatching it up she glanced at the message as she ran out of her office right behind Kay, who was racing for the ward. Then the loudspeaker crackled to life and told them what they needed to know. ‘Cardiac arrest, room four.’
‘Tommy Jenkins.’ Kay shoved the fire door back so hard it hit the wall. ‘It’s so unfair.’
Alex ducked around the door as it swung back, and kept running. ‘Who’s Tommy Jenkins? Fill me in. Quickly.’
‘He and his mother moved to Nelson to be closer to Tommy’s grandparents last month after his father died in a fishing accident. Tommy has cystic fibrosis and was admitted five days ago with a massive chest infection that’s not responding to any treatment.’
‘What an awful time to shift the boy.’
‘Tell me about it.’ Kay scowled. ‘He’s missing his mates, and isn’t happy about getting to know new medical staff.’
Room four was chaos. The boy lay with his head tipped back while a nurse, Rochelle, inflated his lungs with an Ambu bag. Jackson, an intern, crouched astride him, doing compressions on his chest.
‘Hand me the tube,’ a deep male voice Alex had never heard in her life ordered calmly. ‘Now, please.’
‘Here.’ Kay obliged in an instant.
Alex pushed in beside Rochelle, ready to take over. She needed to be in control of this situation. Staring at the stranger, who admittedly seemed to know what he was doing, she demanded, ‘Who, may I ask, are you?’ He certainly wasn’t the man she’d Skyped with about taking her place on the ward. This man she’d never forget. A strong jawline, a mouth that smiled as easily as breathing. Eyes that demanded attention.
‘Mario Forelli.’ He didn’t look up, didn’t falter in suctioning the boy’s mouth. ‘This lad’s arrested.’
Since it didn’t look like she’d be pushing this man out of the way any time soon and wanting something to do with her hands she reached for the drugs bag. ‘What are you doing here?’ Alex asked, feeling even more perplexed, while at the same time recognising the name on that note in her office. Not Maria, but Mario. Not a woman, but a well-muscled, broad-chested, dark-haired male.
‘Mr Forelli, as in paediatric specialist,’ Kay spoke from across the bed where she read the monitor keeping track of Tommy’s status.
‘Stop the compressions.’ The stranger spoke clearly but quietly as he deftly inserted a tube down the boy’s throat.
‘How long has Tommy been down?’ Alex asked while her brain tossed up distracting questions. Where had Mr Forelli come from? More importantly, what was he doing on her ward? And taking care of all her paperwork? Where was John Campbell? Big changes, Kay had said. Presumably this man was one of them. Alex forced herself to concentrate as she drew up the drugs in preparation to inserting them into Tommy’s intravenous line. Right now this lad depended on her being focused on him, nothing or anyone else.
This Forelli character had no qualms about taking command as he asked Jackson to move aside so he could resume the chest massage. His hands were ludicrously large against the boy’s thin, pale chest. He explained to the room in general, ‘I found Tommy lying half out of bed a few minutes ago.’
‘I’d popped out to get his meds only moments before.’ Guilt laced Rochelle’s voice as she glanced at Forelli, a disturbingly ingratiating look in her calf-like eyes.
‘You mustn’t blame yourself, Rochelle. No one could’ve predicted he’d go into cardiac arrest at that moment.’
Relief poured through the young nurse. ‘Thank you, Mario,’ she murmured.
Blimey. ‘Just as well you were here, Mr Forelli,’ Alex muttered, trying to ignore the flare of anger that there was a new doctor on her ward whom she knew nothing about. What was the point of being head of department if no one consulted her about something this important? Even if she hadn’t been here, someone could’ve mentioned it in one of the many emails she’d been sent throughout her trip, supposedly keeping her up to date with staff gossip and scandal. She’d have preferred knowing about Forelli’s arrival than Rochelle’s cousin’s car accident.
Forelli gave a quick flick of his dark head in her direction, a beautiful, winsome smile lightening a seriously good-looking face. ‘You must be the marvellous Miss Prendergast I’ve been hearing so much about.’ There’d been no change in the rhythm of the compressions. Very smooth.
‘I am,’ she retorted. Think you can charm me? Think again, buster. So why the flutter in her tummy? Why the sense of something she couldn’t quite fathom slipping past her fingertips? Her reaction had nothing to do with that sexy voice with a hint of an accent that made her melt inside. No, it had to be the fear of them losing Tommy. There was so much she needed to find out about.
After they’d saved the boy. According to the notes Tommy was fourteen years old. Too young to be in this situation. He hadn’t even begun to experience life, and if his heart didn’t start soon he’d never get the chance.
Squashing the distress flaring within her she focused on the monitors and pleaded for Tommy’s weary heart to start pumping, itching to take over the compressions, feeling ridiculously useless as everyone worked well together.
The room went quiet as everyone concentrated on bringing Tommy back to life. More compressions, drugs and oxygen. Finally, Forelli sucked a lungful and commanded, ‘Stop.’ Everyone held their breath and watched the monitor’s screen.
At last a rhythm appeared. A collective sigh of relief and a thankful ‘Yes’ resounded around the small room.
Alex fought to keep her shoulders from slumping. That had been too close. ‘Is Tommy’s mother in the hospital?’ she asked Kay after she’d administered another dose of adrenaline.
‘No.
