Heatherdale's Shy Nurse (Mills & Boon Medical) Read online

  ‘How serious are his injuries?’ she continued.

  ‘Serious enough, but he’ll recover,’ he told her. ‘What about your group? Did you get them safely back to base?’

  ‘Er, yes, no casualties amongst them, I’m pleased to say.’

  Leonie was conscious that he was mellower now than he’d been out there on the way to the moors. She’d hardly expected him to seek her out in person to report on the motorcyclist, so why was he here, standing before her awkwardly and making stilted comments?

  ‘I’ve come to apologise for my abruptness when I came upon you and your group at the scene of what was a nasty accident. My excuse, such as it is, may sound trivial, but I was looking forward to some time on my own in the wide-open spaces after six months of hard grind in the States.

  ‘The thought of having two days to myself before going back to work on Monday morning seemed like precious gold in my busy working life. It isn’t often that I get my priorities wrong, but maybe I did this morning, and I’m sorry.’

  ‘When you appeared I felt that you were heaven-sent but could hardly be described as angelic.’

  He laughed. ‘That is fair comment. I’m known more as a tartar than an angel in my working life.’ In reality work was the only life he had these days since his catastrophe of a marriage. ‘So, do you accept my apology?’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ she replied.

  ‘So what about the bike? Did you have time to call in at the garage to have it collected?’

  ‘They’re picking the bike up but won’t be sending you the bill. I’ve paid it.’

  He frowned. ‘That is not what I asked of you.’

  ‘Maybe, but that is what I’ve done as I felt that I was partly to blame for not insisting that my group walk in single file. It was because they were all over the road that the young guy on the bike lost control.’

  ‘Even so,’ he protested.

  ‘Please don’t make an issue of it,’ she told him steadily. ‘I did what I felt was right and don’t want to discuss it any further.’

  ‘All right, so be it,’ he agreed. ‘Have you eaten since you got back?’

  ‘I haven’t yet,’ she replied cautiously.

  ‘I was planning to eat at the restaurant at the hotel by the river in a while. If you won’t let me pay for the removal of the motorcycle, can I take you for a meal to make up for it?’

  ‘I’m afraid not,’ she told him, imagining the gossip that would spring up at the hospital if word got out she’d been seen dining with her boss.

  ‘A friend of mine who works full time at the community centre should have taken the kids on the walk today, but I had to take her place as she’d picked up some sort of a flu virus and sounded quite ill when we spoke this morning. So I need to go round to see how she is and look after her. I will have something to eat while I’m there, but thank you for the invitation.’

  ‘Of course. Maybe we’ll meet again some time and I’ll be able to make amends, as I do like to repay my debts.’

  ‘You don’t owe me anything, please believe me! It was the least I could do for the poor young guy and compared to what you’ve done for him it was nothing.’

  * * *

  When Leonie arrived at Julie’s studio flat, she found that her friend was feeling much better. She was sitting up and taking notice as Leonie made them a meal and was wide-eyed with astonishment to hear about Callum Warrender’s invitation.

  ‘Weren’t you the lucky one!’ she gasped. ‘Was he surprised to know that you are one of the staff on the orthopaedic unit?’

  ‘No, because I didn’t tell him,’ Leonie told her. ‘I said I was a nurse, but either he wasn’t interested or in fairness to the man he was too tuned in to the injuries of the motorcyclist to get involved in chit-chat.’

  ‘So on Monday morning all will be revealed between the two of you.’

  ‘Maybe, maybe not,’ Leonie said. ‘He almost didn’t recognise me earlier this evening, out of my walking gear. The uniform might really throw him off track, and anyway, they say that Warrender isn’t a woman chaser. That he’s had a bad experience that’s put him off relationships.’

  ‘In what way?’ Julie questioned.

  ‘I don’t know any details. I haven’t been on the wards all that long. He seems like the kind of doctor who will only see nurses as a pair of hands without their faces registering.

  ‘Anyway, enough about Callum Warrender. How have you been feeling while I’ve been up on the moors?’

  Julie shook her head. ‘I do feel a lot better now.’

  ‘Is Brendan coming round later?’

  ‘Yes. We’ve started making wedding plans. I’d be delighted if you’d agree to be my chief bridesmaid, along with my young sister, if that is all right with you, Leonie. It won’t bring back past heartache, will it?’

  ‘No, of course not. The past is the past,’ she told her evasively. ‘I’m over that and if Brendan is coming to talk about wedding arrangements I’ll be off as soon as I’ve tidied the kitchen. I don’t need to tell you not to go to the centre tomorrow. I know what Sundays are like there with every kid in the neighbourhood turning up, but you aren’t fully recovered yet.’

  ‘I’ve already phoned in to say that I won’t be there,’ she replied, ‘so don’t worry about me, Leonie, but do let me know what happens on Monday with you know who.’

  ‘I can give you the answer to that now,’ she said laughingly. ‘Nothing is going to happen. Callum Warrender is not my type.’

  * * *

  Back at home Leonie felt at a loose end. Julie’s reference to the affair she’d had with one of the senior anaesthetists at the London hospital where she’d been employed before coming to Heatherdale had brought back vivid memories of the pain and heartache she’d felt on discovering that he was married. But that had been nothing compared to the raw agony of losing the baby that she’d been expecting.

  Since then she’d been wary of any other relationships as the hurt of being deceived in such a way hadn’t yet healed; it was still new and agonising. Moving to Heatherdale had been about making a fresh start, but that couldn’t erase the memories of the past.

  Still, she was genuinely thrilled for Julie and Brendan. They made a strong and devoted couple. However, it was difficult to imagine ever being in that situation herself.

  To be asked to be a bridesmaid was a different matter. She was honoured that her friend had asked her and she’d be proud to support her on her big day. She wondered what sort of dress Julie had in mind.

  Her reverie was interrupted by the couple from the yurt next door, who were having a few folks round for supper. They asked if she would like to join them. As she accepted the invitation her glance was on the hotel on the opposite side of the river and the memory came back of the one she’d turned down and was now wishing she hadn’t.

  It would have given her the chance to tell Callum Warrender what she did for a living, instead of him discovering on Monday morning in front of all the ward staff of the orthopaedic unit of Heatherdale Children’s Hospital that their acquaintance was not going to be a fleeting thing. Now she still had that doubtful pleasure to come.

  * * *

  Callum sat in the hotel lounge, having a nightcap before returning to his apartment.

  He should have been feeling content but he wasn’t. The night before he’d been full of the pleasure of being back home and enjoying the weekend ahead, but the day that would soon be over had been full of uncertainties.

  The fear that they would lose the boy on the bike when there’d been no heartbeat had been allayed when he and the woman who had been at the scene of the crash had worked on him and he’d begun to breathe again.

  That had been followed by him operating on the young man and he’d had no idea what lay ahead regarding that until he’d seen the X-rays, but as usual he’d been in top form and all was going to be well with the lad.

  Then when he’d arrived back in Heatherdale he’d sought the Leonie person out to apologise fo
r being bossy and abrupt and, totally out of character, when he’d discovered that she’d paid the garage for the removal of the motorcycle had invited her to dine with him and been refused, which had turned it into a very short reacquaintance.

  He’d made a point of telling her why he wanted to take her for a meal and there’d been no finesse in the way he’d done it, so it was small wonder that she’d refused and come up with an excuse that could have been the result of some quick thinking.

  Yet, if he was being honest with himself, hadn’t he issued the invitation because he’d seen her in different clothes, in a pretty blue dress with her chestnut hair down and the merest hint of make-up, so bringing a moment’s brightness to what had been a far from happy day? Or maybe was it because he’d been intrigued by the determination not to be told what to do by him that he’d seen in the green eyes looking into his.

  But tomorrow was another day and he was going to let it make up for this one. He finished his drink and headed home. As he glanced towards the bridge that spanned the river between their two residences he heard laughter filtering over on the night air, saw a flash of blue, and wondered what had happened to the sick friend.

  When he arrived at the apartment there was an email from his ex-wife, Shelley, to say that she was getting married again to her boss, hoped he would wish her well, and that they were going to live in Australia. He gazed at the screen for a few thoughtful moments and then switched the message off, wondering as he did so why he wasn’t surprised.

  * * *

  As Callum walked the length of the corridor that led to the orthopaedic unit on Monday morning his step was light. He was back on his own patch. Back amongst the young patients who came to him for treatment for the long-term or shorter illnesses that were blighting their lives.

  It was a place where he’d performed miracles and his staff followed them up with excellent nursing, and nowhere was he happier than there.

  The time in America had been rewarding and well spent, but on thinking of the persuasion that had been used to encourage him to join them he only needed to look around him at the familiar sights of Heatherdale Children’s Hospital to know that the Americans had never stood a chance.

  Here he was and here he was going to stay. He hoped that there wouldn’t be any changes in the staff that he had left behind when he’d gone to the States, as they were a well-organised team.

  He heard his name called and turned to see his friend Ryan Ferguson, head of the neuro unit, approaching from behind.

  ‘Welcome back, Callum. It’s great to have you on board again.’

  It’s great to be back,’ Callum told him. ‘They wanted me to stay but this is where I belong.’

  ‘Me too,’ Ryan agreed, and followed it up by saying, ‘Melissa and I are having a belated garden party next Saturday afternoon and we would be really pleased if you could come. You remember how we had our two houses made into one? Well, it’s to celebrate that. So how are you fixed? Will you be able to join us?’

  He smiled. ‘Yes, of course. Since Shelley left for a more interesting life my diary has been empty, just as when she was here it was always full. We never did find a happy medium.’

  ‘Do you ever hear from her?’ Ryan asked.

  ‘Yes, as a matter of fact. There was a message from her on Saturday night. She’s getting married again, to her boss, and going to live in Australia.

  ‘I don’t think there could be two people anywhere as incompatible as we were. I won’t make that mistake again, Ryan. Marriage is not for me, but I’m delighted that you and Melissa are so happy,’

  Callum checked his watch. ‘I’d better get on. I’ll see you both on Saturday.’

  CHAPTER TWO

  LEONIE DIDN’T HAVE a car. She cycled to work each day through the centre of the beautiful old market town with its gracious Victorian buildings and famous spa that people came to from far and wide to take of its healing waters.

  Once the town was left behind she pedalled into open country for a short distance until she came to the hospital, built from the same local stone as the rest of the buildings in Heatherdale.

  It was Monday morning and she had arrived earlier than usual with a feeling that was a mixture of expectation and unease. She was worried about Callum’s reaction when he realised that they would be close colleagues.

  She’d often heard his name spoken since coming to join the staff at the hospital as ward sister in the orthopaedic unit, but had taken little notice as she hadn’t known the man. He’d gone to America before she’d started there and therefore was of little interest, but after Saturday’s happenings all that had changed. He’d probably think her crazy for not mentioning at some time that she was a nurse at the Heatherdale Children’s Hospital, where he was head of Orthopaedics.

  Yet there’d been nothing to stop him asking what branch of nursing she was involved in when she’d told him what her occupation was as they’d knelt beside the injured youth, but he’d been too high and mighty to ask such questions and probably wouldn’t have been interested if she’d told him, which meant that today he might have cause to regret asking her out in the evening when he’d arrived back from Manchester.

  Prodded by a sense of duty, he had sought her out and amazed her by asking her to join him for a meal, an invitation that she’d refused with little graciousness.

  Soon, very soon, when she’d fastened her bike up securely and taken off her outdoor clothes, they were going to be in each other’s company again, and considering that he’d been in her thoughts ever since Saturday night she supposed she ought to be relieved that the uncomfortable meeting would soon be over and then the less she saw of Callum Warrender the better. Though how she was going to manage that when they’d be required to work closely together, she didn’t know.

  * * *

  ‘Good morning everyone,’ Callum announced as he strolled into the two-ward complex that was the hospital’s orthopaedic centre. He was greeted by happy voices while Leonie, in a uniform that was a darker blue than the rest, bent over the bed of a fretful toddler and kept her head down.

  As his keen gaze swept over those present, Callum asked crisply, ‘Where’s Janet?’

  ‘She’s taken early retirement to look after her mother,’ one of the nurses told him with a glance in Leonie’s direction.

  Well, there was no avoiding it now. Leonie straightened up and looked Callum in the eye.

  ‘I have been appointed ward sister in her place, Dr Warrender. I’m afraid that the opportunity to mention that didn’t present itself on Saturday when we met unexpectedly.’

  Callum was dumbstruck. She had told him she was a nurse but he’d been too busy running the show to ask anything further. Two surprises on his first morning back he could do without.

  Used to working with Janet Fairfax as sister-in-charge, he was sorry he hadn’t been there when she’d left. She’d been totally reliable, even though she had family commitments that had kept her on the go. Leonie had a lot to live up to.

  He gave a grim smile. He had actually thought he wasn’t likely to meet up with her again. So much for forward thinking.

  ‘Carry on, everyone,’ he said briskly He turned to address Leonie directly.

  ‘In a moment, Sister, can you spare a few moments to update me about our current patients?’

  She was still soothing the fractious infant but nodded her agreement.

  ‘Then I will see you in my office in ten minutes, Sister...er, I’m afraid I don’t know your surname.’

  ‘It is Mitchell,’ she said levelly. Returning to her work, she placed the now pacified infant back in his cot and went to speak to parents. They’d been there all night beside their baby, who had been born with a deformation of one of its feet and been operated on the previous day to correct the problem.

  All had gone satisfactorily and the relief surgeon who had been filling in for Callum had been pleased with the result of what had been his last task before moving to a Manchester hospital for a spell.
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br />   ‘We are so relieved that our baby’s feet are now normal,’ the mother said. ‘We were going to wait for Dr Warrender to come back, but the chance came and we couldn’t let it pass by. We have an older child who was born with the same problem and he operated on her, so it would seem that the fault might be genetic.’

  ‘And if it is, we aren’t having any more,’ the baby’s father said grimly.

  When Leonie finished her chat, Callum was at the door of the ward office, waiting for her, and after saying goodbye to the parents she moved towards him and was watched with interest by other staff members.

  ‘Take a seat, please, Sister,’ he said, pointing to a nearby chair as she closed the office door behind her. He sat down behind his desk. ‘Why on earth didn’t you tell me that you were a nurse employed in my unit when we were involved in the catastrophe up on the moors road?’

  ‘It was hardly the moment to start giving you my life history,’ she replied. ‘I told you I was a nurse to reassure you that I was capable of assisting you, which I did. I wouldn’t have expected you to want to know anything else at that moment, and in any case there was nothing to stop you from asking me in which area of nursing I was employed. I came to this hospital a couple of months after you went to America when my predecessor left at short notice because of her mother’s health.’

  ‘Where did you work before?’

  ‘At a large hospital in London. This position became vacant just as I’d decided that I needed a change And so I made the move up here.’

  ‘Right,’ he said, getting to his feet. ‘Now that’s cleared up, we’ll do a ward round so I can familiarise myself with our patients.’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ she said, and led the way to the first bed, where a ten-year-old boy was engrossed in the tablet that he was holding.

  ‘This is Daniel,’ she said. ‘He ran across the road when the lights were red, was knocked down by a car and has two broken legs. He is due to go home tomorrow on crutches.’