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The hordes of tourists had long since left and there was only one other car in the car park as they parked their cars side by side.
‘The walk I had in mind is a couple of miles each way,’ Mac said. ‘That’s not too far for you, is it?’
‘I like walking,’ Abby said. ‘As long as I’m home for seven.’
She had to walk rapidly to keep up with Mac’s long strides. He glanced down and checked his pace so it matched hers.
‘How are Jenny and the baby doing? ‘ she asked. As promised, Mac had taken Tim back to the hospital where his father had been waiting for him.
Mac frowned. ‘Last I knew, mother and baby were doing fine. Why, did you hear something? ‘ There was no mistaking the concern in his eyes.
‘No, I haven’t heard anything.’ Abby said. ‘I just thought you might have popped in to see her when you were at the hospital.’
Mac looked puzzled. ‘Why would I do that?’
‘Don’t you follow up on your patients? Aren’t you curious to know how everything turned out?’
He shook his head. ‘I treat them, look after them as best I can, then let the hospital staff do their bit. All I care about is giving the best treatment I am capable of. I don’t see the point in getting too involved with patients. We have to know when to let go, so we can move on to the next one.’
Abby was dismayed. Once again it seemed she had got this man wrong. Could he really be as disinterested in his patients as he seemed? Abby couldn’t imagine not following up on her patients. Most of the time, out there on a rescue, she formed a strong bond with the people whose lives depended on her. It was part of who she was.
‘So tell me, what brings you here, to Cornwall and Penhally Bay in particular?’ Mac changed the subject. ‘Someone mentioned you’d been working with the London ambulance service for the last eleven years. What happened? Did you get tired of the big city?’
Anxiety raced along her spine. It was the perfect moment to tell him about Emma, but she wasn’t ready. Not yet. Not until she knew more about him. Once she told him there would be no going back.
‘My daughter needed a change of air,’ Abby said evasively. ‘And I needed a change of scenery.’
‘You have a daughter? I didn’t know.’ He sounded surprised … and regretful.
Abby suspected he wouldn’t have been so keen to ask her out if he’d known she had a child. Most of the men she had dated in the past had reacted the same way. They all backed off when she told them and if they didn’t, her refusal to put them before Emma usually made them give up on her sooner or later. And that was fine. She didn’t need or want a man in her life who couldn’t accept Emma. Not even this one. Particularly not this one.
He flicked his eyes to her left hand again. ‘You don’t wear a ring so I’m guessing you’re not married.’
‘I’m a single mum.’ Let him make of that what he would. He would know the truth soon enough. First she had some questions of her own.
‘What about you? I assume you’re not married?’
‘Nope. Not the marrying kind, I guess.’
‘Children? ‘ Abby held her breath as she waited for his reply.
‘No, none of them either. Not the father kind.’
Little did he know.
‘How long have you worked for the air ambulance? ‘ Abby asked.
‘Two years. I completed my specialist training in anaesthesia, then I did a course in medical emergency retrieval in Glasgow. But unfortunately the surfing conditions aren’t great there, so when I found they were looking for a rescue medic here, I jumped at the chance. It means I can kite board when I’m not working.’
So his sport was as important as his job. Maybe more so. Abby was disappointed. Minute by minute she was having to revise her opinion of the man who was Emma’s father.
‘Although I can tell you’re Scottish from your accent, it doesn’t sound very Glaswegian,’ Abby probed. The more she knew about this man, the better.
‘I was brought up on Tiree. It’s an island off the west coast of Scotland. I lived there until I went to medical school in Glasgow when I was eighteen. I don’t go back to Tiree very often.’ His mouth tightened and as Abby glanced at him she could have sworn she saw anger behind his eyes, but it disappeared so quickly she couldn’t be sure. Did Mac have secrets of his own?
She was about to question him further when he stopped in his tracks. She followed his gaze to see what had caught his attention. To their left, close to the edge, a man was pacing frantically up and down, shouting a boy’s name.
‘Something’s wrong,’ Mac said. ‘I’m going to take a look-see.’
As Mac called out, the man turned to them, relief evident under his panic.
‘It’s my son,’ he said. ‘I can’t find him! One minute he was here, and then the next he was gone. I only meant to close my eyes for a minute, but I must have dropped off. You’ve got to help me find him. He’s only eight.’ The man’s eyes were darting around while he was speaking.
Mac placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘Stay calm and tell me everything. What’s your name?’
‘Dave. My son’s called Luke.’
‘Where did you last see Luke?’
‘He was over there.’ The man pointed behind him. ‘He wanted to go down to the beach but I told him there was no path. I said I’d take him there tomorrow. Oh, my God. What if he tried to go down by himself and fell?’
‘Have you phoned for help?’
‘No, I haven’t had time. I’ve been too busy looking for him.’
Mac’s eyes raked the side of the cliff. Something caught his attention and he stopped and sucked in a breath. Abby followed his gaze. Near the edge, a piece of the cliff had broken away. From the look of it, it had only happened very recently. Seeing the troubled look in Mac’s eyes, she knew he was thinking the same thing. There was a good chance the boy had got too close to the edge and slipped over. If they were right and the boy had fallen, he could be badly hurt, or worse.
‘Abby. Phone 999 and get them to alert the coastguard and the rescue services. Dave, I’m just going to have a look over this cliff and see if I can see him. You stay back, okay?’
Abby touched Dave’s shoulder reassuringly as she used her mobile. It was still possible the boy had wandered off and was nowhere near the cliff but they couldn’t take the chance.
Mac walked close to the cliff then dropped to his stomach to peer over the edge. ‘I think I can see him,’ he called. ‘Is he wearing a red jacket?’
Luke’s father rushed forward. Mac jumped to his feet and barred his way.
‘You have to stay back,’ Mac warned. ‘The edge here is already unstable. If you come any closer you could slip or a bit of the cliff could crumble and fall on your son.
‘I’m going to climb down there and see how he is, okay?’ Mac added quietly.
‘Shouldn’t we wait for the rescue services?’ Abby said. ‘The operator said they shouldn’t be more than ten minutes. If you go down there, you could fall, too.’
Mac dug in his pocket and pulled out his car keys. He tossed them to Dave. ‘Dave, go back to the car park. My car is the Jeep. In the boot you’ll find a red medical case, a rope and a yellow jacket. Could you fetch them? ‘
Dave hesitated and Mac gave him a gentle push. ‘Go! It’s the best way to help Luke. Be as quick as you can.’
As soon as Dave had set off at a run, Mac turned back to Abby. ‘We don’t have time to wait for help.’ While he was talking he had removed his jacket. ‘I’m going to go down. When Dave returns I might need you to lower my medical bag on the end of the rope. Okay?’ He moved towards the cliff.
‘Shouldn’t you at least wait for the rope?’ If Mac fell they would have two victims to rescue. Even in her anxiety, the irony wasn’t completely lost on her. She had just found Emma’s father. If he fell now, Emma might never get to know him.
Mac turned around and grinned. ‘Hey, I was brought up near cliffs. Never met one yet I couldn’t beat. I’ll be okay. As soon as you hear the rescue ‘copter, let off a flare. Keep Dave occupied by telling him to search for a good place for the helicopter to land.’
Before she could protest further, he disappeared over the edge.
Abby’s heart banged against her ribs. What was Mac thinking? Although if it had been Emma down there, she would have gone herself. Fear of heights or not.
She tiptoed over to the edge, following Mac’s earlier example, and lay flat on her stomach and peered over. Although Mac was picking his way carefully down the cliff he was moving faster than she would have thought was safe. From this vantage point she could see that although the cliff was steep, it didn’t fall away as sharply as she’d thought. Relief swept through her. Perhaps Luke had a chance.
As Dave returned with the bag, rope and Mac’s fluorescent jacket she became aware of a whooping sound in the distance. Shielding her eyes against the sinking sun, she could just about make out the large yellow shape of a Sea King helicopter. Thank God! They would have proper equipment and hopefully a way to get both Mac and Luke up.
‘Come on.’ She jumped up and shouted across to Dave. ‘We need to find a decent landing place to direct the pilot to land.’
‘How is my son? Could you see him? Is he okay?’
Abby moved towards open ground and yelled back over her shoulder. ‘Mac will be with him in a few minutes. He’s a doctor. He’ll do everything he can to help Luke.’
Without waiting to see whether Dave was following or not, she raced over to the flat piece of ground. It was just about big enough for the helicopter to land and thankfully the previous days’ rain had run away, leaving it solid underfoot.
Abby waved Mac’s jacket and immediately the helicopter headed in their direction. Dave was standing behind her, looking lost and terrified. She summoned up a smile. ‘I promise you, your son is in good hands.’ And she believed it. ‘Stay back until they land, then tell them everything. Okay? I’m going to lower the medical bag down to Mac.’
She ran back to the cliff edge and dropped on to her front again. Mac was at the bottom now and kneeling next to the prone figure of the boy. At least he had made it down in one piece. But Mac couldn’t risk moving the child on his own. If Luke had survived the fall, there was every chance he had serious neck and head injuries and any movement could mean the difference between a full recovery and life in a wheelchair.
Mac glanced up and gave her a thumbs-up. Luke must still be alive. She tied the medical bag to the rope and lowered it down but it snagged on the jagged rock face. The incline may have helped Mac reach the boy, but it was hampering her efforts to get the bag down to him. Almost crying with frustration, she was only vaguely aware of a hand touching her shoulder. She looked up into calm green eyes of a crew member from the helicopter.
‘Miss, you have to stand away from the edge.’ Before she could protest, the man took her arm and raised her to her feet. ‘We’ll take it from here.’
‘Mac—Dr MacNeil—is down there with the boy. Mac’s a doctor with the air ambulance. He needs his bag.’
‘Mac, as in Daredevil Mac? ‘ A broad smile spread across the man’s craggy face. ‘Well I’ll be bug—blown. We know him well, and if he’s onto it, everything will be A-okay. Don’t worry, I’ll get the bag down to him.’
Pulling the case back up, the man, whose name badge said Roberts, took it and ran back to the helicopter. Seconds later the Sea King took off again.
Abby joined Dave, knowing that for the time being there was little she or the anxious father could do. She hooked her arm in his as they watched the helicopter hover over the cliff. A couple of tense minutes passed before a figure, clutching a stretcher and the medical bag, was lowered from the side of the helicopter. Abby’s heart thudded painfully. In many ways she would have preferred to be down there helping. This waiting was worse than anything.
Minutes crawled like hours. Then suddenly the crewman came back into view. He was holding onto the stretcher, which now contained a figure. Immediately after the winchman and the stretcher were pulled on board, the helicopter lowered the rope again and after a few moments Mac appeared above the top of the cliff. He, too, was pulled into the waiting Sea King.
Instead of flying off, the helicopter landed again. Abby grabbed Dave’s hand and ran towards it. Roberts had barely pulled her and Dave in before the helicopter banked away. Roberts passed her a helmet with a radio attached.
With a brief word to Dave to stay where he was, Abby hurried over to Mac, who was bent over the stretcher.
‘He has a compound fracture of the femur. I can’t rule out internal injuries and of course we have to suspect head and spinal injuries. I’ve given him IV morphine for the pain.’
Mac attached his patient to the pulse oximeter while Abby checked Luke’s vital signs.
Although Luke’s blood pressure was low and his pulse elevated, and he wasn’t out of the woods yet, he was a very lucky boy. His leg would take time to heal and would have hurt like crazy before the morphine took effect, but as long as he didn’t have internal injuries he’d probably be able to leave hospital in a week or two. Abby shuddered when she thought what might have happened if she and Mac hadn’t come across Dave when they had. She was even more confused about Mac than ever. He had risked his life for Luke, he had been thoughtful with Tim, yet he had made it clear that he didn’t believe in getting involved with patients. Which one was the real Mac?
Luke tried to sit up, but Abby pushed him gently back down.
‘Dad?’ he asked. ‘Where’s my dad?’
Abby beckoned to Dave to come forward. Anything to help the child stay calm was good.
‘He’s right here,’ Abby said gently. She moved away slightly so Luke could see his father. Both father and son started to cry. ‘Dave, you need to move away again so we can work on your son, okay? Try not to worry, I’m sure he’s going to be okay.’
When they touched down at St Piran’s the staff from A & E were waiting for them.
‘Status update?’ the A & E consultant, bearing the name badge Dr Josh O’Hara, asked. Abby had only the briefest impression of dark hair and deep blue eyes before Luke was rushed inside.
Abby, her part in the drama over, went in search of Dave. He would be desperate for news of his injured child. She found him sitting outside Resus, his head in his hands.
She tapped him gently on his shoulder. ‘Dave.’
He looked at her with red-rimmed eyes. He tried to speak, but couldn’t. He shook his head, almost as if he were too scared to ask after his son.
‘How is he?’ he managed after clearing his throat.
Abby sat next to him and took his hand in hers.
‘I think he’ll be fine, Dave. It was good we found him when we did, and that we were able to start giving him medical treatment straight away. All that will make a big difference to his recovery.’
They sat in silence for a moment. ‘Is there anyone I can call for you? Luke’s mother? She’ll need to know he’s in hospital.’
Dave took a deep shuddering breath. ‘She’s dead.’ He buried his face in his hands. ‘She died from breast cancer six months ago.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ Abby said.
Dave’s eyes were bleak. ‘She’d never forgive me if I let something happen to our child. I promised her I’d look after him and I fell asleep. What kind of father am I?’
‘You’re human. It can be difficult, bringing up a child on your own. You can’t watch them all the time.’
Dave raked a hand through his hair. ‘But I fell asleep! I’ve been working overtime so I could afford to take Luke away on holiday. So he and I could spend more time together. He needs something to cheer him up. The loss of his mum was a terrible blow. To both of us.’ Abby was only dimly aware of Mac coming to stand next to them. ‘And I could have lost him, too.’
‘You’ve not lost him,’ Mac said quietly. ‘He’s got to go to Theatre to get his leg pinned where it was broken, but he’s going to be fine.’
‘He’s going to be okay? ‘ Dave said almost as if he didn’t dare allow himself to believe what Mac was telling him. The relief in Dave’s eyes brought a lump to Abby’s throat.
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