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‘Right, it’s up to you now, Meg,’ he told her tersely, turning his attention back to the young woman.
Meg didn’t say anything because there wasn’t any time to waste. It was a baby boy and she could see at once that he was in some distress. Carrying him swiftly away from the makeshift operating table, she sank onto a chair and laid him across her knees then used a thin piece of sterile tubing to suction the mucus out of his mouth. He hadn’t cried as yet and her heart was racing as she tipped him head down so that any fluid he might have swallowed would drain from his lungs.
‘Come on, poppet,’ she muttered, willing the tiny scrap to take his first breath. ‘Come on, you can do it!’
She tapped the soles of his feet, mentally running through everything she knew about childbirth. Since she’d learned that she’d been accepted by the agency, she’d spent hours poring over her textbooks, brushing up on skills which had become a bit rusty through lack of use. However, all the reading in the world couldn’t compensate for hands-on experience and she prayed that she would be able to help the child. She would never forgive herself if he died!
Laying the baby across her knees again, she placed her mouth over his nose and mouth and gently breathed into his lungs, willing him to respond. There was no sound in the hut apart from the measured rhythm of her breathing as time after time she inflated the infant’s lungs. When Jack appeared beside her Meg didn’t look up because she couldn’t afford to let her concentration lapse. This child was relying on her and she had to help him!
‘You’ve done all you can, Meg.’
Jack’s tone was low but she heard the regret it held and tears welled into her eyes as she realised what he meant. The thought that the baby had died before he’d even had the chance to live was too much to bear.
She breathed into the tiny rosebud mouth once more, refusing to accept that there was nothing she could do for him…
The tiny body suddenly twitched, the baby’s arms and legs shooting out as he began to squirm. Meg’s face broke into a radiant smile as he let out a weak little wail when she raised her head. Within seconds he was crying in earnest, the sound of his irate screams ringing around the hut.
‘We did it!’ she declared, uncaring that tears were streaming down her face as she looked up at Jack. ‘He’s going to be all right!’
‘You did it, Meg, you mean. You and your determination!’ He uttered a joyful laugh while the baby continued to roar his disapproval of the new world he’d found himself in. ‘By heaven, but he’s got a fine pair of lungs from the sound of it!’
Meg stood up, aware that she was trembling as she quickly wrapped the baby in a towel. He needed bathing and checking over but all that could wait a few minutes longer. Right at that moment he needed his mother more than anything else.
Her heart contracted as she realised that she had no idea how Leah had fared. It took every scrap of courage she could dredge up to turn to Jack and ask him because she was so afraid what the answer might be. ‘Is…is Leah all right?’
He squeezed her shoulder and his grey eyes told her that he understood exactly how she felt. ‘She’s fine, or she will be once she sees that young man.’
Meg could barely contain her joy. She smiled at him and saw his eyes darken. Her breath seemed to catch tightly in her chest when she saw the glitter of something hot and wild appear in their depths before he abruptly turned away and went to speak to Rory, who was clearing up.
Meg hugged the screaming baby to her as she hurried to the bed and knelt down. It was neither the time nor the place to think about what she’d seen in Jack’s eyes just now, to wonder why he’d looked at her with such hunger. If Jack didn’t like her then why should he want her? It didn’t make sense.
‘My baby!’ Leah’s exhausted face lit up as soon as she saw her child. She held out her arms, smiling in delight when Meg gently laid the baby in them.
‘It’s a boy, Leah, a lovely little boy.’ Deliberately, Meg forced the unsettling thoughts to the back of her mind, although it wasn’t possible to erase them completely. Jack was attracted to her? Was it possible? Everything that had happened so far pointed to the fact that she must have made a mistake and yet she couldn’t quite convince herself of that.
‘A boy?’ Leah’s eyes were full of wonder as she unwrapped the towel and stared at her baby son. She looked up and there were tears streaming down her cheeks as she tried to smile at Meg. ‘Thank you…thank you!’
It was hard to contain her own emotions in the face of the young mother’s joy. In the end, Meg gave up trying. Tears poured down her face, too, as she squeezed Leah’s hand. ‘I’m so pleased for you, Leah!’
She gave a shaky laugh as she got up and dried her face on the hem of her gown. ‘What a pair we are! Now, I’m sure that Moses must be dying to see his beautiful new son so I’ll go and fetch him.’
Leah smiled as she undid her robe and placed the baby to her breast, where he immediately began to suckle. ‘My husband will be very proud. Every man wants a son,’ she said simply.
Meg turned away, knowing that the picture of the young mother and her child would stay with her for a long time to come. Rory was still busily clearing up and he patted her on the shoulder as she passed him.
‘Well done, kiddo. A first-rate job, I’d say. Welcome to the team!’
Meg smiled back, appreciating the genuine warmth of the comment. ‘Thanks.’
She left him to finish what he was doing and hurried outside. She paused when she saw Jack talking to a smiling Moses. It was obvious that he’d already given the proud father the good news so she turned to go back inside then stopped when Jack called out to her. She went to join the two men, smiling when Moses grabbed her hand and began pumping it up and down.
‘Dr Jack explained that it was you who saved my son. Thank you, Dr Meg. Thank you!’
‘It was my pleasure,’ she replied sincerely. He gave her hand another enthusiastic shake then hurried into the hut, closely followed by several members of his family who had been waiting outside.
Meg grimaced when she found Jack watching her as she rubbed her throbbing fingers. ‘I’m glad it wasn’t twins! I think I may have a couple of crushed bones from the feel of it.’
He laughed deeply, his teeth gleaming whitely in the darkness. ‘He was certainly pleased and no wonder. You did a great job just now, Meg.’
He moved away from the hut and it seemed the most natural thing in the world to go with him. They crossed the clearing, bypassing the huts on the other side and only stopping when they reached the trees which surrounded the village. The night was very dark, the moon just a slim silver curl in the velvety sky, a myriad stars scattered like diamonds across it.
Meg drew in a deep breath, tasting the unfamiliar scents carried on the night air. She was tired from all the travelling and lack of sleep yet she felt so elated that she wanted to shout for joy. As first days went it could have been worse…a lot worse, in fact, bearing in mind what had happened earlier. Had Jack’s attitude towards her improved?
It was too tempting to resist finding out so that she didn’t stop to think about the wisdom of asking the question. ‘So, do you believe now that I can cope with this job?’
He turned to look at her, although his face was shadowed by the overhang of the branches. ‘I think that you handled what happened just now extremely well.’
‘But?’ Meg laughed but there was scant amusement in the sound. She might not be able to see him clearly but she didn’t need to because she’d heard the reservation in his voice. She turned to face him, unaware of how defensive she looked as she stood there in the watery moonlight.
‘There was a definite ‘‘but’’ tagged onto that sentence, Jack, wasn’t there?’
‘Yes, I expect there was.’
He shrugged, his broad shoulders rising and falling beneath his half-buttoned shirt. He looked tired, too, Meg noticed when he stepped out from the shadows. There were deep lines bracketing his mouth and a lack of animation about his expression which made him look older than the thirty-six years she knew him to be. However, tired or not, he obviously didn’t intend to opt for the easy route. Where work was concerned, Jack would never compromise!
‘It’s fair to say that you handled yourself well tonight, Meg. However, that doesn’t change anything. I still don’t believe that this is the job for you,’ he stated flatly.
‘Because I might not pull my weight? Or because I might not be able to cope with the conditions we’re going to be working under?’ She laughed harshly. ‘Come on, Jack! You’ve just admitted that I acquitted myself well tonight so you’ll have to do better than that!’
‘Yes, you did do well tonight and I’m happy to admit it. However, one night’s work isn’t proof that you’ll be able to keep up once the pressure is on.’ His tone was unyielding. ‘It’s far more difficult trying to deal with the daily grind involved in this type of work, as you’ll soon discover for yourself.’
‘I’m sure you’re right but I know that I shall cope no matter how hard it is. So it seems that we’re at a bit of an impasse, doesn’t it?’
Meg stared back at him, wishing there was a way to make him see that he was mistaken about her. It wasn’t going to be easy, though, if Jack had made up his mind.
‘It seems like it.’ He shrugged again but she saw the irritation in his eyes. Obviously he wasn’t used to people questioning his judgement, Meg thought. Well, tough! He wasn’t going to have things all his own way if she had anything to do with it!
‘Anyway, it’s late and it’s time you got some sleep. We’ll be leaving early in the morning as we still have some distance to travel before we reach our destination.’
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