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Ethan smiled suddenly, nodding. ‘Sam’s the one who really matters.’
‘Of course. And I’m sure he wants you home on a Saturday morning, doesn’t he?’
‘Not this morning. I took him over to my parents when I knew I was coming down to the police station, and they’ve promised him a trip to the adventure park. I doubt he’ll appreciate me coming home too soon.’
It would be wiser to turn his offer down nicely and get out of the car. But Kate couldn’t do it, not now. She reached for the cardboard beaker in his hand.
‘Thank you. It’s very kind of you.’
He grinned, reaching for the ignition, and then thinking better of it and leaning back in his seat, taking a sip from his own drink. ‘My pleasure. Anyway, I’m intrigued to know whether you’re actually going to drink that.’
Kate peeled the plastic top from her beaker, squinting at her drink. ‘Why, what have you put in it?’
‘Only what you asked for—an extra shot of espresso, whipped cream and caramel. Just one sugar, this time. It sounds...interesting.’
‘Ah. So you’re a “don’t put flavours in my coffee” type, are you?’ His medium-sized cup, alongside her large one, indicated that he probably was. Kate took a sip from her beaker and rolled her eyes in an expression of defiant bliss.
Ethan chuckled and started the car.
* * *
It had been a relief to tell Kate where he stood. Letting her know that Sam was the single most important thing in his life now and hearing her obvious acceptance of that had cleared away his doubts and allowed him to concentrate on the matter at hand.
A and E was crowded and so was the minor injuries clinic. Kate seemed to be sticking close by his side, nursing her arm against her chest, and Ethan reckoned it must be really hurting her. He decided on a quieter place, away from the noise and activity, and steered her towards the lift.
‘This is your office?’ She looked around as he opened the door and ushered her inside. ‘It’s very tidy.’
‘I don’t spend much time in here. Not much chance to make a mess.’ Ethan wondered what Kate thought of the straight lines and utilitarian order. Her own surgery was neat and comfortable but one wall broke the pattern, an exuberant mass of photographs, obviously added piecemeal as and when people provided pictures of the animals she’d treated.
It was a sobering thought. Last night, her free spirit seemed to have been crushed under the weight of shock and distress. This morning, it was as if she was undergoing some internal struggle. He’d seen flashes of that delicious exuberance, but she was still frightened and bemused, still trying to cope by putting everything back in its proper place.
‘Is this your son Sam?’ She was looking at the framed photograph on his desk, tucked neatly behind the phone.
‘Yes, that’s him. He’s five now.’ The framed photograph was just over a year and a half old, the last one that Jenna had taken of him, and Ethan had stuck a more recent one of Sam in the corner of the frame.
‘He’s a beautiful little boy.’ She was studying both photographs carefully. ‘You must be very proud of him.’
‘Yes, I am. He’s got a great sense of humour, and he’s kind.’ Sam’s dark hair and eyes were like Jenna’s.
‘Does he want to be a doctor when he grows up? Like his Dad?’
‘No, he has bigger fish to fry. He wants to be a superhero and save the world.’
She gave a little laugh, putting the photograph back down again, tilting it carefully so that it was in the exact same place she’d found it. ‘That’s close enough to being a doctor, don’t you think?’
Saving the world wasn’t exactly Ethan’s thing; he confined himself to doing the best he could. The photo on his desk was a reminder of that. Sam was smiling at his mother. They’d been a happy family. Two weeks later, Ethan had left for work, too hurried to do anything other than take Jenna’s assurances that the urinary infection she had was a little better. That night he’d stayed at work and the following day Jenna had been taken into hospital. By that time, the sepsis had too tight a hold on her.
‘Let’s have a look at your arm, then.’ He turned his mind to things that were still possible to change, watching as Kate pulled her jacket off painfully.
She got tangled in the sweater as she pulled it over her head, and he leaned forward to help. As he pulled it off her arm, she caught her breath in pain.
‘That’s really hurting you.’
She nodded, as if making a shameful admission. ‘It does hurt a bit.’
‘Let me see, then.’ He gently rolled up the sleeve of her shirt. The arm was swollen from wrist to elbow, the skin bruised and inflamed.
‘And you didn’t notice this last night?’ Ethan couldn’t help the gentle reproach.
‘It hurt a bit then, too.’
And she’d pretended that it was nothing, the same as Jenna had. The thought clawed at his heart.
‘All right. I’m going to want an X-ray.’
‘It’s not broken.’
‘Let me be the judge of that. You’re in my surgery now.’
‘Okay, doctor.’
Ethan smiled. He wasn’t going to allow her to go until he was sure that she was physically all right, and it seemed that Kate was finally coming to accept that.
* * *
‘There’s no fracture, which is always good.’ Kate had craned over his shoulder while he reviewed the X-rays, and Ethan had been momentarily blinded by her scent. Now that she was back in her seat he could think more clearly. He paused for a moment to admire the fine structure of her bones, and then forced his mind back to the matter at hand.
‘You have some bruising there. He grabbed your arm?’ Ethan avoided the very obvious fact that the bruising was in the shape of a handprint.
‘Yes.’ Kate twisted her other hand around, trying to demonstrate, but her thumb was on the opposite side from the handprint. Slowly, shyly, she held her arm out towards him.
Ethan felt something block his throat. Gently, he laid his fingers on her arm over the bruises. ‘Like this?’
‘Yes. Just like that.’
Her gaze met his. An unspoken message that somehow tenderness might wipe away the violence. His hand, placed in the exact spot her attacker’s had been, might somehow heal her.
‘Well there’s some trauma, and it’ll be painful for a while, but with rest it should improve in the next week or so. The bruising will fade eventually.’ If he could have erased the bruises now, Ethan would have given almost anything to do so.
She nodded. Ethan wondered whether kissing it better would make any difference, the way he did with Sam’s bumps and scrapes, and decided that was way out of his medical remit.
‘Use ice packs to relieve the swelling. And I’m going to give you a sling.’
‘But my work...’ Alarm registered in her eyes.
‘Maybe you should take some time off work. Just a few days, to get over the shock.’
She shook her head, pulling her arm away from his fingers and cradling it in her lap. ‘I don’t want to take time off work. I want things back to normal as soon as possible.’
‘Are you sure you’re not pushing yourself too hard?’
‘Yes, I’m sure. This is what I want.’
There was no disagreeing with her. And, even if he could, perhaps Kate was right about this and he was wrong. But he could at least attend to her medical needs.
‘In that case, I’m going to insist you wear the sling for a week. You need to keep that arm rested to allow it to heal.’
Kate nodded. ‘All right. I can get one of the veterinary nurses to help me at work.’
This was a victory of sorts. Ethan hid his smile, scribbling a note on his pad to send down to the dispensary. ‘I’m going to prescribe some painkillers as well. Just enough for a few days. If you have significant pain after that, you should go and see your own doctor.’
‘Thanks. I think I’ll be wanting those.’
There was one more thing he had to ask. He didn’t even want to think about it, but maybe it would be better coming from him.
‘Have the police seen your injuries?’ Ethan kept his eyes fixed on the pad in front of him, as if he were checking what he’d written and this was just an aside.
‘No.’
When he glanced up at her, her cheeks were bright red. Ethan knew that the officer she’d seen would have asked about injuries, and Kate had probably repeated the mantra that she was okay. She’d probably turned down the offer of victim support as well.
‘You know, don’t you, that they’ve caught the man?’ She nodded. ‘And that they’ll be wanting as much evidence against him as they can gather. It’s up to you, of course.’
It was, technically, up to Kate. But Ethan had no doubt that there would be an attempt at persuasion. Maybe it was better coming from him.
‘They’ll want photographs, won’t they? To show in court. They did that the last time.’
So she had been hurt before. It seemed to Ethan that Kate was fighting not just this incident but her memories of the last one.
‘Yes, they will. As a medical practitioner, it’s my duty to encourage you to report any injury that’s the result of a crime. As a...friend, I’ll tell you that this is a difficult process, but one that may well help you to feel better in the long run. It helps if you decide to do it on your own terms.’
She thought for a moment. Then that spark of resilience flashed in her eyes. ‘Yes, you’re right. Can you do it?’
The thought that she trusted him was almost overwhelming. Ethan could do it. He’d documented and photographed injuries many times before for police use. If there were any question about his personal involvement in the crime, then he’d take the flack that Mags would almost certainly dispense.
‘You’re sure?’
‘Yes. Positive.’ Now that Kate had made up her mind, she seemed impatient for action.
‘All right. I’ll go and get the forms and see if I can find a nurse.’ An impartial observer would be good on two counts—first to countersign the forms. Mags would like that. And second to help Kate pull up her shirt at the back and position her arm. Because, if the first time he’d touched her had been intoxicating, now it was almost becoming a craving.
CHAPTER THREE
THIS WAS NOT GOOD. A hero, someone who would appear out of nowhere and save the day... It was every girl’s dream, which was absolutely fine, just as long as that hero didn’t think he could remove himself from the imaginary world and infiltrate reality.
And Ethan Conway was more than six feet of solid reality. The kind that made her melt when she looked at him and shiver whenever he touched her. He’d stepped out of a dream, and was wreaking havoc with her waking world, and she’d let him do it. She’d given in and allowed him to help her.
He’d been in the right place at the right time. That was all it was. If she could just concentrate on not being so needy, then Ethan wouldn’t seem so much of a hero.
* * *
Kate had learned her lesson, the last time she’d been mugged. It had been two days before Mark had come to see her. Looking around and declaring that he hated hospitals, he’d dumped an ostentatious bunch of flowers across her legs, making Kate wince in pain, and then had selected a chair, brushed it off with a handkerchief and sat down.
After the attack, as soon as she’d been able to get someone to help her with the phone, Kate had made frantic calls, trying to find out whether Mark was all right. She’d heard that he was professing himself to be a bit shaken up, but that he was uninjured, and her friends had expressed surprise when they’d heard she was in hospital. Mark had never thought to mention that.
‘It’s every man for himself in these situations, Kate.’ Mark had seemed keen to justify his actions, but suddenly guilt had cut into his air of nonchalance.
He couldn’t have known. That was what Kate had been telling herself. He’d thought that she’d be able to run too, and that was why he hadn’t come back. And afterwards...? Perhaps he’d felt guilty and that had kept him away.
Mark’s mouth twisted suddenly. ‘You need to keep your wits about you a bit more.’
‘I... I couldn’t get away...’ Tears had blurred her vision and Kate had tried to blink them away. However needy she’d felt, however battered and bruised, it had been clear that Mark didn’t want to see it.
‘Like I said—if you’d been taking notice, then you would have been right behind me.’
Mark had shaken his head slowly, as if her slow-wittedness left him at a loss.
And that had been the end of it. Mark had talked about a film he’d gone to see—one that they’d been planning to see together—and had left exactly one hour after he’d arrived. He’d clearly been keeping his eye on the time.
She’d asked one of the nurses to give the flowers to a woman at the other end of the ward, who didn’t seem to have any. Mark wasn’t coming back.
And he’d been right in one thing. If Kate couldn’t look after herself, then no one else would.
* * *
Kate stubbornly refused to call Ethan, and he hadn’t called her. For three weeks she’d worked solidly, trying to get her life back into some semblance of normality. And then his name showed up on her caller display.
This must be the call she’d made him promise to make. She tapped the answer button, smiling into the phone, trying to inject some of that smile into her tone.
‘Hi, Ethan. How’s everything?’
‘It’s Jeff. He’s failing fast.’ His voice was broken with emotion.
‘Okay. Why don’t I drop in and see you? I’ve just finished my Friday evening surgery, and I can be with you in half an hour.’
‘Are you sure? That would be great.’
‘That’s fine. No point in having you come all the way here.’ If Ethan was going to lose Jeff tonight, then it would be better for both he and his dog if they were at home. Then a thought struck her.
‘What about Sam? Is he there?’
‘I’ve explained everything to him. He seems to be taking it better than I am...’
Ethan’s voice faltered and Kate wished she could hug him. This must be so hard for him. Not only dealing with his own feelings but also trying to decide what was best for Sam.
‘I’ll call my mother and ask her to pick him up. He can spend the night with my parents. Perhaps we can take things from there?’ Ethan seemed to pull himself together suddenly.
‘Okay, that’s a good idea. I’ll see you soon.’
Kate ended the call and pulled on her jacket. Then she hurried outside to her car.
* * *
Ethan had hoped that Sam would be gone by the time that Kate arrived. But his son was dawdling, obviously waiting for something before he went with his grandmother, and Ethan didn’t have the heart to hurry him up.
The doorbell rang, and Sam ran to the door with him. ‘Why don’t you go upstairs and help Grandma?’ Ethan tried to deflect Sam but Sam shook his head stubbornly.
‘No!’ Sam pressed his face against the glass in the front door, trying to see through the frosted panels. Ethan saw movement outside, a blur of red hair and the wave of an arm. Sam waved back.
‘Out of the way, then.’ Sam stepped back a little, allowing Ethan to open the door.
‘Hello.’ Sam greeted Kate before Ethan had a chance to.
‘Hello. You must be Sam.’ Kate smiled down at his son and Sam nodded.
‘Are you the lady who might take Jeff to heaven?’
Sam had clearly taken everything that Ethan had told him and put it together in his own way. Ethan flashed a look of apology at Kate, gently trying to move Sam away from the doorway.
Both of them ignored him. Kate bent down and Sam escaped his grip, joining her on the front porch.
‘Yes, I am.’ She reached out, brushing the back of Sam’s hand with one finger. ‘Is it all right with you if I come in?’
Sam looked Kate up and down, obviously thinking about it. Kate was smiling, and any interruption was suddenly impossible, as the two sized each other up.
‘Dad says that Jeff’s very, very old.’
‘Yes, he is.’ Kate’s tone was gentle.
‘Will he see Mummy in heaven?’ Sam’s question delivered a knife to Ethan’s heart. He saw Kate’s gaze flip up towards him, in the way that most people’s did when Sam asked questions about his mother, but she didn’t back off or change the subject, leaving Sam to wonder what was going on.
‘What do you think, Sam?’
‘He will.’
‘I think you’re right.’
If Kate really was an angel, come to take Jeff to heaven, then she made a very good one. She almost shone in the evening sunshine, which slanted across the porch—red-haired, with soft, honey-coloured eyes, which were unafraid of Sam’s questions. Sam seemed to see it too, stepping towards her and laying his hand on her knee. Then he leaned forward, whispering into Kate’s ear, and Ethan strained unsuccessfully to hear what he was saying.
‘Yes, of course I will.’ Kate crooked her little finger, hooking it around Sam’s. ‘There. That makes it a promise.’
Sam nodded, clearly satisfied, and ran into the house and straight up the stairs to his grandmother. Kate got to her feet.
‘How’s your arm?’
‘Fine. Gives me a twinge now and then, but it’s okay.’
She was smiling. She was wearing a short-sleeved top, which allowed Ethan to see that the bruises on her arm had faded now. More than that, there was a lightness about her. Maybe she’d been right in getting straight back to work. It seemed that the last three weeks had lifted the burden that had rested on her shoulders.
‘I’m sorry about Sam ambushing you.’
‘That’s okay. He’s working it out for himself.’
Ethan thought about asking Kate what Sam had said to her and decided against it. If Sam had wanted him to know, he wouldn’t have made such a show of whispering in Kate’s ear. It seemed that Sam had grasped the concept of having secrets now, and Ethan supposed he should respect that.
She leaned forward, the evening sunlight tangling in her hair. For a moment, Ethan couldn’t move. ‘Can I come in, then?’
‘Oh. Yes, of course. Thanks for coming.’
He showed her through to the conservatory, and she walked across to Jeff’s basket, kneeling down. It looked as if Jeff was just sleeping, and Kate was stroking him gently, but Ethan knew that she was examining him.
‘I think...’ She looked up at him suddenly. ‘Is Sam going now?’
‘Yes, in a minute. As soon as my mother gets his things together. I think he’s been waiting to see you.’
She pressed her lips together, in an unspoken understanding that this was hard. ‘I think that if Sam has any goodbyes to say...’
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