The Nurse's Christmas Wish Read online

  Mac rolled his eyes and signed the bill, and together they carried the dog back to the car and tucked him up on the back seat, along with his new belongings.

  ‘That dog is more comfortable than us,’ Mac muttered, tucking the blanket around the injured animal and shaking his head in disbelief. ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this.’

  ‘Neither can I, but I’m proud of you,’ Louisa said happily, blowing on her fingers as she settled herself next to the dog. ‘Look, he’s thumping his tail. He knows he’s safe now. Isn’t that lovely?’

  ‘Amazing,’ Mac said dryly. ‘What are you going to call him? Bedraggled?’

  Louisa smiled, her hand on the dog’s head. ‘I’m going to call him Hopeful,’ she said softly, ‘because that’s what he is.’

  CHAPTER FIVE

  HOPEFUL created havoc.

  Bathed and fed by a doting Louisa, he soon regained his energy and took to bounding around the enormous garden and then into the house, leaving muddy pawprints over the floor.

  ‘He makes more mess than us,’ Josh said in disbelief as he watched Louisa scrubbing the hall floor three days later. ‘That’s the fourth time today you’ve done that. Hand me a cloth. I’ll do the walls.’

  ‘Better still, tie the cloth to his tail and he can do the walls himself,’ Mac suggested dryly as he watched the chaos with weary amusement. ‘I’ve never known a dog wag its tail so much.’

  ‘It’s because he’s happy and he knows we saved him,’ Louisa said happily, scrubbing hard at a stubborn muddy patch. ‘He’s showing us that he likes it here.’

  Josh gave a snort. ‘Well, of course he likes it here! Warm bed, regular meals. Dammit, I like it here. Or I did before the place was taken over by a hyperactive canine.’

  Louisa dropped the cloth in the bucket and scrambled to her feet, her cheeks flushed and her eyes shining. ‘Isn’t he brilliant? He’ll make an excellent guard dog while we’re all at work.’

  ‘Based on what?’ Josh looked at her, his expression comical. ‘His ability to bash someone to death with his tail?’

  ‘He has a ferocious bark,’ Louisa said primly, ‘and he knows his territory.’

  And she adored him.

  Mac rubbed long fingers over his forehead. ‘My house used to be a peaceful sanctuary,’ he muttered, ‘and then you sent me Louisa as a Christmas present. Thanks, Josh. Great move.’

  But there was humour in his eyes and something else that made Louisa’s heart skip a beat. Since that moment in Resus she’d been careful to keep her distance. Careful not to crowd him in any personal sense. But the awareness between them was growing by the minute. When he entered the room her spine tingled and her pulse increased alarmingly.

  ‘Dinner’s in the Aga, guys,’ she said huskily, burying her face in Hopeful’s coat and giving him a hug. ‘Help yourselves. I just need to shower and I’ll be down.’

  It was great to have both of them home. Often when they weren’t at the hospital, they were on the beach windsurfing and the utility room was always full of dripping wetsuits. And she loved the lifestyle. She loved being able to wander into the rambling garden and down onto the sand. She loved being able to sit on the beach and watch the waves thrash against the rocks. She loved watching Mac and Josh powering across the bay at speeds that made her gasp.

  She loved everything about the place.

  Looking forward to a nice evening, she sprinted upstairs to her room, closely followed by Hopeful. ‘You’re not supposed to be upstairs,’ she scolded gently, reaching down to stroke his head as he licked her hand. ‘Go downstairs. Kitchen.’

  Hopeful ignored her and sat down with a plop, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

  Louisa sighed and dragged her muddy sweatshirt over her head. ‘OK, but just this once. And stay off the bed or Mac will kill you. And then he’ll kill me.’ She stepped into the bathroom, showered quickly and pulled on a clean pair of jeans and a jumper.

  She was about to dry her hair when there was a tap on the door. ‘Lu?’ Josh’s voice came through the doorway. ‘Phone for you.’

  Louisa sprinted downstairs to take the call, her dark hair hanging wetly down her back, Hopeful close on her heels. ‘Hello?’ She listened and then smiled. ‘Alice? How are you? How’s the wrist?’ Her smile faded and she frowned. ‘She what? Just now? Oh, no!’

  Mac glanced up with a frown. ‘What?’

  Louisa covered the receiver. ‘Vera has fallen downstairs. Alice can’t move her. She’s called an ambulance but they’ve said they can’t get anyone to her for half an hour at least, and she’s panicking.’

  Mac didn’t hesitate. ‘We’ll go round there now. Josh?’

  ‘Right with you, bro.’ Josh abandoned his casserole and stood up. ‘We’ll take my car.’

  ‘The Maserati?’ Mac gave a snort of derision. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. The roads are so slick we’ll end up needing the ambulance ourselves. We need a four-wheel-drive. We’ll take mine.’

  ‘What’s wrong with mine? She handles fine on the ice.’ Josh looked offended. ‘You’re becoming middle-aged, do you know that?’

  ‘Blame Louisa,’ Mac said dryly, ‘I used to be unencumbered but suddenly I seem to have all sorts of responsibilities. One of which is currently chewing your fancy shoes, Josh. Louisa, do something about your wet hair or you’ll catch pneumonia.’

  Josh turned in time to see Hopeful lumbering away with a shoe in his mouth.

  ‘Stop arguing.’ Louisa stuffed her hair into a wool hat, reached for her coat and made for the front door. ‘Hopeful, on guard! You’re in charge.’

  Mac rolled his eyes. ‘Heaven help us all.’

  * * *

  Vera was lying at the bottom of the stairs, her face white with pain.

  Mac was beside her in an instant, his handsome face concerned. ‘Hello, Vera, what have you been up to?’

  Vera winced with pain. ‘Oh, I’m so sorry to be a bother, only Alice thought it would be all right to call Louisa. I didn’t know you came out to patients.’

  Mac glanced at Louisa and gave a ghost of a smile. ‘I don’t usually but we’re neighbours, so that’s different,’ he said softly, shrugging off his coat and bending down so that he could take a closer look. ‘I don’t want to move you until I’ve assessed the damage. Can you remember what happened?’

  Vera closed her eyes. ‘Stupid really. I was upstairs, pottering around, and decided that I wanted a glass of water.’

  ‘You should have asked me,’ Alice scolded. ‘I would have fetched it for you.’

  ‘You’ve broken your wrist,’ Vera reminded her gruffly, opening her eyes and looking at her sister. ‘You don’t need to be waiting on me. I was trying to do it for myself.’

  ‘You missed your footing?’ Mac interrupted gently, and Vera nodded.

  ‘One minute I was at the top, the next at the bottom.’

  Mac frowned. ‘Do you remember what happened? Were you knocked out?’

  ‘She definitely wasn’t,’ Alice said firmly. ‘She was using some language I didn’t know she knew!’

  Mac smiled and turned his attention back to his patient. ‘Her left leg is shortened and externally rotated,’ he said to Josh and his brother nodded.

  ‘Looks like a fractured neck of femur.’

  Alice gasped. ‘She’s broken something?’

  ‘I think she might have done,’ Mac said, examining the old lady gently but thoroughly. ‘Does it hurt here?’

  Vera groaned. ‘Terribly. But maybe I’m just a wimp.’

  ‘You’re not a wimp,’ Louisa soothed, her expression troubled. ‘You’re very brave. Just hang in there and Dr Sullivan will get you sorted out. He’s a genius.’

  Mac threw her a look, finished his examination and then straightened and dug in his pocket for his mobile phone. ‘Let’s see if we can hurry them along, Vera,’ he said, his tone even as he hit the buttons. ‘We need to get you to hospital. In the meantime, we’re going to give you something for the pain and splint that leg.’


  Vera sighed. ‘It’s definitely broken?’

  Mac hesitated. ‘I’m afraid so. But we’ll soon have you more comfortable.’

  ‘I don’t want to go into hospital,’ Vera said anxiously. ‘I’m supposed to be cooking Christmas dinner now Alice is out of action. I’ve been reading books so that I know how to do it. I’m not the cook, you see. That’s her job but with her wrist in a cast she can’t do it.’

  Louisa dropped to her knees. ‘Don’t worry about Christmas dinner,’ she said firmly. ‘Let’s just sort your leg out and then we’ll take care of the rest.’

  ‘No, you don’t understand.’ Vera’s tone was anguished. ‘It isn’t just the food. I can’t leave Alice here on her own. She’s never had Christmas on her own. It would be too awful. We always spend it together.’

  ‘She won’t be on her own,’ Louisa said firmly, ignoring Mac’s sharp glance. ‘She can have Christmas lunch with us. I’m cooking a turkey and it’s so large I don’t know what I’m going to do with it. Josh will pick her up in his fancy car and bring her over.’

  Mac closed his eyes and Josh choked with laughter.

  ‘Just be warned, you’ll be fighting off a brainless dog,’ he drawled, ‘so if you think this is going to be a peaceful Christmas, Alice, think again. You might want to think up some excuses.’

  ‘Peaceful Christmas?’ Mac’s tone was dry as he looked at Louisa with an expression somewhere between exasperation and amusement. ‘What’s that?’

  She grinned. ‘It’s what you used to have before I fell through your toilet window.’

  ‘You fell through his toilet window?’ Vera looked startled and Alice smiled.

  ‘Remember, I told you that the doctor is living with someone now? It’s so romantic.’

  Mac muttered under his breath.

  ‘It’s a long story, Vera,’ Louisa said happily, ‘and I’ll tell it over a glass of hot mulled wine on Christmas Day when I come to visit you in hospital. I do a fantastic turkey and stuffing sandwich.’

  Still laughing, Josh handed Mac a syringe. ‘I reckon she’s the best Christmas present I’ve ever given you.’

  ‘She’s certainly the most memorable Christmas present you’ve ever given me. I’m just going to give you an injection for the pain, Vera,’ Mac said calmly, moving her nightie aside, ‘and then we’re going to splint this leg to make it more comfortable. It will speed things up when the paramedics eventually get here.’

  Louisa carried on chatting, distracting the two old ladies while the two brothers worked.

  ‘All right.’ Mac handed the empty syringe back to his brother. ‘Now we’re going to immobilise the leg, Vera. Josh, what have you got in your bag of tricks?’

  ‘We could do a figure-of-eight bandage around the ankles and use triangular bandages for padding,’ Josh muttered, delving in his bag and pulling out various bits and pieces.

  ‘Great.’ Mac reached for the triangular bandages and rolled them up. ‘I’m going to use these as padding, Vera, and then I’m going to bandage your ankles to give you some support.’

  Louisa stood up. ‘While we’re waiting for the ambulance, I’m just going to check upstairs that the lighting is good and that the carpet isn’t worn. I want to check that you didn’t fall over anything, Vera.’

  She didn’t want the same thing happening to Alice.

  ‘Good thinking.’ Mac shot her a look of approval and she blushed.

  Bother.

  He only had to glance in her direction and she turned into a jittery teenager in the throes of her first crush.

  What was happening to her? Usually she found it all too easy to keep men at a distance. But with Mac it was different. Everything felt different.

  Trying not to think about what her reaction might mean, she sprinted up the stairs and flicked on the light, squinting up at the bulb.

  ‘Well, the light’s strong enough and the carpet is fine,’ she said eventually, ‘but this rug is lifting at the corners. Could you have caught your foot on it, Vera?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Vera said weakly. ‘Maybe. Silly me.’

  ‘What were you wearing on your feet?’ Mac’s tone was even and Alice clucked.

  ‘Those stupid slippers! I’ve told you to throw them away so many times.’

  ‘And you were right as usual.’ Vera closed her eyes and Mac frowned.

  ‘How’s the pain?’

  ‘I’ll cope.’

  ‘In other words, it’s bad,’ he said softly. ‘You’ll be more comfortable as soon as we get you to hospital. I can give you something else.’

  ‘I’m going to roll up this rug and put it out of the way,’ Louisa called, stooping to remove the rug just as the ambulance arrived with the stretcher.

  Alice was hovering anxiously. ‘Can I go with her to the hospital?’

  Josh nodded. ‘I’ll give you a lift. Mac?’

  ‘I’ll go in the ambulance.’

  Louisa came back down the stairs and looked at him in surprise. For someone who claimed not to have time to worry about what happened to patients outside the department, he was showing an admirable degree of concern for Vera.

  She cadged a lift in the ambulance with Mac, noticing how kind he was to the old lady. He helped the paramedics make her comfortable and then gently placed an oxygen mask over her face.

  ‘Just breathe normally, Vera,’ he instructed quietly, ‘it will help.’

  ‘You’re a dear boy,’ Vera murmured, patting his hand, ‘and I’m so glad you’re living with Louisa. It’s time. After my Fred died I could never imagine finding anyone else and now, of course, I’m too old for anyone to look at me. I’m so pleased for you. You deserve to meet a nice girl.’

  Mac opened his mouth and closed it again. ‘Just try and relax,’ he said gruffly, as he threw Louisa a baleful look.

  She gave a weak smile. He was going to kill her later.

  They arrived in A and E and Vera grabbed Mac’s hand. ‘Are you going to stay with me? I trust you.’

  Louisa watched as something flickered across Mac’s face. Then his hand wrapped around the old lady’s. ‘I’m staying,’ he said gruffly, and Vera closed her eyes with a smile.

  ‘That’s all right, then.’

  Observing the interaction between them, Louisa gave a soft smile of satisfaction. Unless she was mistaken, Mac Sullivan was allowing himself to develop an emotional connection. His icy remoteness was slipping.

  He instructed the paramedics to take her into Resus and issued a set of instructions to the team who gathered. ‘This is Vera. She has a suspected fractured femur.’ He turned to the radiologist. ‘I want an AP pelvis and lateral hip X-ray of the right side to start with. Let’s get a line in and send some blood for U and Es, FBC, glucose and cross-match. She had analgesia at the scene but she’s still in pain so I want to give her some more. Louisa...’ He glanced up. ‘Can you arrange an ECG? Just a precaution.’

  Everyone set to work and Josh strolled in. ‘How’s it going? Alice is in the waiting room. Needless to say, she’s worried.’

  ‘Everything’s in hand,’ Mac murmured, checking the ECG carefully and giving a nod. ‘That’s fine. Has someone bleeped the orthopods?’

  ‘I did it,’ Louisa said, hurrying over to Josh. ‘I’ll go and talk to Alice. She must be worried sick.’

  * * *

  Mac stared at the X-rays through narrowed eyes, aware that Louisa’s gaze was fixed expectantly on his face. And he was struggling to concentrate. He felt the brush of her arm against his and caught the worried expression on her face as she waited for his verdict.

  ‘Well?’ Her tone was urgent. ‘What are you looking for?’

  He dragged his eyes away from her soft mouth with difficulty and concentrated on the films in front of him.

  ‘Disruption of the trabeculae, inferior or superior cortices and abnormality of the pelvic contours.’ He lifted a finger and trailed it down the line of the bone to illustrate his point. ‘If you look here, you can see that the trabecu
lae are angulated but the inferior cortex is intact. There’s no significant displacement. It’s classified as a Garden 1 fracture.’

  Why was he noticing her?

  He made a point of never noticing women.

  Especially not women like Louisa. She was lonely and the only relationship she wanted involved diamonds. And he was no good at that sort of relationship.

  He turned as the orthopaedic registrar walked up behind him. ‘Ken.’ He gave a brief nod, grateful for the interruption. ‘Got a patient for you.’

  The orthopaedic reg stared at the X-rays. ‘So you have.’

  Louisa bit her lip. ‘Will she be in hospital over Christmas?’

  All she thought about was the personal, Mac mused, casting a curious glance in her direction. To her a patient wasn’t just an injury to be put right but a whole person with problems. He’d never met anyone quite like her.

  ‘Afraid so.’ Ken tugged the X-rays out of the light box and gave a rueful smile. ‘But don’t worry about it. The orthopaedic ward is the next best thing to Christmas in Lapland.’

  ‘You mean you’re economising on heating?’ Louisa lifted an eyebrow and he grinned.

  ‘No, I don’t mean that. But our ward sister got a little carried away with the decorations this year and the place looks like Santa’s grotto.’

  Louisa gave a delighted smile. ‘That’s excellent.’

  Mac rolled his eyes and handed over the notes. ‘Don’t give her ideas. At the moment my department still looks suitably clinical and I’d like it to stay that way. Vera’s all yours, Ken. Look after her.’

  * * *

  They dropped Alice home, checked that she had food and that she was all right and then drove back to the house.

  Glancing at Mac’s tense profile, Louisa bit her lip. ‘Are you angry with me?’

  ‘Why? For inviting her to spend Christmas with us? Or because the entire village now thinks you’re living with me? You’ve invaded my privacy, taken over my house, introduced a mad dog to my life and given out my home number to patients. Why would I be angry with you?’

  She face fell. She’d ruined his evening. ‘I didn’t mean to interfere.’