BRIDE ON THE CHILDREN’S WARD BY LUCY CLARK
CHAPTER ONE
EDEN couldn’t believe the apprehensive nervousness clouding her as she entered the hospital and made her way to the spinal ward.
She was back.
Back home in one of Sydney’s most exclusive suburbs, walking through the halls of the hospital she’d been born in twenty-nine years ago.
She’d fled under the cover of darkness ten years earlier, and until two weeks ago hadn’t made any plans ever to return. Australia was quite a way from where she’d been only a few days ago, but nevertheless she’d promised Sasha, her best friend, she would come home—and come home she had.
She glanced at a few people as she walked down the hospital’s corridor, wondering if she would recognise anyone or if, heaven forbid, anyone could recognise her. Subconsciously, she knew she was hoping to see David walking towards her.
Did he know she was here? Had Sasha told him?
Eden’s heart-rate increased at the thought of David Montgomery—Sasha’s older brother. He was the man she measured every other man against, and no one had yet lived up to the standards of tall, dark and handsome David.
When Eden had left home, only sweet Sasha had known her plans. The two had remained in constant contact over the years, their friendship never waning. They’d shared their deepest secrets from the moment they’d met when they were ten years old. Eden’s leaving hadn’t changed that.
They’d written letters, and Sasha had visited her quite a few times. First in Darwin, where Eden had done her medical degree, and later overseas, where Eden had been working for Pacific Medical Aid, a medical relief organisation.
swallowing over her dry throat, she felt another prickle of apprehension wash over her…as though someone was watching her. She looked behind her, but the corridor was empty. No David anywhere. Disappointed, she shook her head and chided herself for looking for him. David was a busy doctor and was no doubt somewhere in the hospital busy doing doctor duties. He didn’t have time to stand around corridors looking for her…
did he?
Laughing nervously, she clutched the present for Sasha tightly to her chest and turned left into another long corridor. There was an information board on the wall and she stopped momentarily to make sure she was going the right way. Yes. The spinal unit should be the second corridor on the right.
The butterflies returned, but she reminded herself it was just Sasha. She was here for Sasha. Not David—the man who had broken her heart all those years ago. Sure, she’d been young, and he’d been her first serious boyfriend, but just as a girl never forgot her first real kiss, she’d never forgotten her first heartbreak either.
Sasha. She had to focus on Sasha. Not David, not her parents or brother or anyone else in the exclusive suburb where she’d done most of her growing up. She was here for Sasha because that was what best friends were for.
When she was finally standing outside Sasha’s door, Eden paused and brushed her free hand down her skirt. It had been two and a half years since she’d last seen Sasha. Eden had been working in Ethiopia when Sasha and Robert, Sasha’s then fiancé, had come for a visit. It had been the first time Eden had met the man who had stolen her friend’s heart, and she’d been delighted with him. The three of them had made lots of good memories during that visit, and for Eden it had been absolutely wonderful to see her friend so happy.
Then, a few months after their visit, Eden’s world had exploded once again. Pain and anguish washed over her as pictures of that time flashed before her eyes, but she quickly pushed the awful memories from her mind, focusing instead on being able to do something for her friend. She had come because Sasha needed her.
Thank God Sasha had survived the horrific car accident which had now left her a patient in the spinal ward. Life wasn’t fair—they both knew that—but at least Eden still had her best friend.
Hitching her handbag onto her shoulder, Eden knocked on the door before pushing it open and looking into the private room. She frowned. It was empty. She walked back towards the nurses’ station and looked over the patient information board to make sure she had the right room. Yes.
Room 4 was where Sasha Litchfield should be. Eden went back into the room and sighed.
All that anxiety and trepidation wasted. She laughed brightly at her own ridiculousness and put the bag and present down before heading over to the window, gazing out at the view of a small courtyard garden below.
‘Now, there’s a laugh I haven’t heard in a long time.’ A deep, masculine voice spoke from behind her.
Eden froze, recognising it instantly. ‘David.’ His name was scarcely a whisper on her lips, and one she enjoyed hearing there. Goose bumps spread up and down her arms and she breathed in, trying not to sigh as the sweet and hypnotic scent she would always associate with David assailed her senses. That spicy scent had driven her wild at the age of seventeen, when they’d first got together. Actually, it was starting to drive her wild now. It was amazing that such a thing as the mere smell of him could still affect her after a whole decade. He might have broken her heart, but that was a long time ago. That was then…this was now.
Slowly Eden turned. Their gazes met. He stood in the doorway, all neat and tidy, and as sexy as all get out. Eden let her gaze wander over his lithe frame, knowing he was doing exactly the same thing to her…she could feel it. Could he see the woman she’d grown into? Did he see much difference from the seventeen-year-old she’d been when he’d last seen her? She certainly hoped so.
‘Well …’ David was the first of them to find his voice. ‘Eden Caplan.’ There was a veiled twinkle in his brown eyes and the slight hint of a smile on his lips. ‘I thought I saw you in the corridor just now.’
Eden spread her arms wide, her heart starting to beat a different rhythm. ‘It’s me. In the flesh.’
‘So I see.’ His gaze dipped briefly to her knit top which had a V-neckline. Eden smiled as his Adam’s apple worked up and down and he swallowed.
She quirked an eyebrow. ‘Should I turn around? Give you the full view?’ She couldn’t quite believe she was flirting with him the way she had in the past. Instantly, she felt as though she was seventeen all over again, teasing him, wanting to make him laugh. He’d always been so serious.
David was startled just for an instant, but quickly recovered. He should have known to expect something like that from Eden…the girl who had provided such a bright spark to his otherwise staid life all those years ago. ‘still saying the most outrageous things, I see.’
‘still stating the obvious, I see.’
He took a step farther into the room. ‘It must be what…twelve years?’
Eden nodded. ‘Your nineteenth birthday. Remember?’
He swallowed again and put his hands in his trouser pockets. ‘I remember.’ There was an air of determined nonchalance about him, as though he didn’t want her to see how her words were affecting him. Was it possible that she could still knock the ever-steady David Montgomery off balance? She hoped so.
‘You broke my heart.’ She said the words with a hint of jest.
‘I remember.’
‘You broke my seventeen-year-old little heart and then you fled to Melbourne. Two years later, I fled—due to my own circumstances—and went to Darwin.’
‘Opposite ends of Australia.’
‘Until now.’
‘Until now,’ he repeated, and nodded his head slowly. There was a pause, which neither of them rushed to fill. It was as though they were both swept back to the last time they’d been together—that night in the depths of the Montgomerys’ enormous garden—where, beneath the moonlight, Eden had kissed David for the last time. Kissed him goodbye with all the passion and wonder of a seventeen-year-old in the throes of her first love.
Back then she’d thought they’d be together for ever. That they’d be able to overcome the objections of both his and her parents and live happily ever after. Wasn’t that what all seventeen-year-old girls thought?
As though catching himself, David shook his head and gestured to the empty bed. ‘Sasha finally got you here.’
Eden instantly became serious and concerned, knowing he wouldn’t sugar coat the truth. He was David—the most honest man she’d ever known. ‘How is she, David?’
‘Coping. It’s been two weeks since the accident, and medically she’ll be fine. There’s still quite a bit of bruising, but that is fading. Of course they say she’ll never walk again, but you and I know Sasha’s determination. She’ll prove them wrong.’ His tone was that of an experienced doctor, but Eden knew him far too well to miss the slight tremor in his voice.
‘You’d better believe it. Sasha’s a fighter. I’m just sorry I couldn’t get here earlier. For the past two weeks I’ve been getting daily updates from Robert. They’ve been like a lifeline to me.’
‘Well, you’re here now. I guess that’s what counts.’
Eden sighed and shook her head, looking at the empty bed. ‘Poor Sasha.’
‘Uh, sorry. That’s not allowed.’ David took his hands out of his pockets and ticked the points off on his fingers. ‘No pity, no lies, no looking back. Those are her rules.’
Eden grinned through the tears which had gathered behind her eyes. ‘That sounds like my Sasha. Determined to find the silver lining and remain positive.’
‘ And we’re allowed to spoil her as much as we want.’
‘Oh, thank goodness. For a moment there I thought she’d gone totally off her rocker.’
David smiled, and she found it difficult not to sigh. He had the most gorgeous smile. It had always made her heart flutter and now was no exception. ‘I’m glad you’re here for her, Eden. It’ll mean a lot to her.’
‘Hey, that’s what best friends are for. I’d do anything for Sasha.’
‘Yet you didn’t make it to her wedding two years ago.’
Eden’s smile faltered at his words and she looked away, flicking her long auburn curls over her shoulder. Why had he brought that up? ‘Sasha understood.’
David could see walls going up around her. Eden? Walls? She’d used to be an open book—especially to him. Then again, it had been twelve years, and people could certainly change a lot in twelve years. Himself included. ‘Yes, she did. I didn’t.’
Eden shrugged, not about to discuss one of the blackest period of her life. Not here, not now, and not with David. He’d always seen her as a strong person, and at that point she’d been anything but strong. Now, though, she was here for Sasha—to help her friend be strong, to listen and to make her laugh. That was her role because that was what best friends did.
Eden glanced towards the bed and picked up the nursing chart, scanning it briefly.
‘You’re not allowed to read that.’ He sounded as though he didn’t really care, but as David always did the right thing he probably felt he had to say the words out loud, even though he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop her.
‘So sue me,’ she muttered.
‘Got good malpractice insurance?’
‘Doesn’t everyone?’ She glanced up at him and smiled, the uncomfortable moment over. ‘Why? You want to borrow some of mine?’
‘You’ll share?’
‘If I’m allowed to—which I don’t think I am. But, hey, it’s yours if you want it.’
David chuckled. ‘still the same old Eden. Confusing, baffling, but always amusing.’
Her smile brightened as the sound of his laughter washed over her. She tried not to sigh with repressed longing. She’d always loved his laugh, and here she was, years later, still enjoying the way it made her feel…the way he made her feel.
‘Thank you, Dr Montgomery. I aim to please.’ She returned the chart to its rightful place and prowled around the room, straightening the bedsheets so they’d be ready when Sasha returned. She could feel his gaze on her, watching her movements.
‘I have to say that when Sasha told me you were studying medicine I was surprised.’
‘Didn’t think I was smart enough?’
‘It was never a question of intelligence, Eden. No, I always thought you’d end up as a lawyer. Righting wrongs. Saving the oppressed. Doing your duty.’
‘And you don’t think medicine covers any of that?’
He thought for a moment. ‘I guess it does, but in a different way.’ Silence reigned again before he asked, ‘So, what made you decide on medicine?’
‘Your influence.’ Eden’s words were honest. ‘Watching your dedication during your first year of med school, helping you swot for your exams. I was intrigued.’
It was because she’d helped him study for his first-year exams that they’d become closer friends. He’d started to see her as a person in her own right, rather than just a friend of his sister’s. And then one night, when they’d been exhausted from studying and punch-drunk from too much caffeine, they’d kissed. His mouth on hers. It had been the most seductive and all uring kiss of his entire life…and he hadn’t wanted it to end.
He’d known his parents didn’t approve of Eden, of her influence over himself and Sasha, but he hadn’t cared. She had been so vibrant, so radiant, that he’d been drawn to her like a moth to a flame. She’d brought sunshine into his life and he’d wanted it to remain. So they’d secretly started to date.
‘I remember being surprised that you wanted to help. You had your own studying, your own homework to get through, your own high school exams.’
Eden waved his words away. ‘They were easy. The medical world was exciting and different and I liked being able to help you out.’ It had also given them the excuse they’d needed to spend time together.
Eden had always liked to be of help whenever she could, and when she’d realised that David didn’t have a study partner she had offered her services and hadn’t taken no for an answer. At first he’d thought it was simply so she could be near him, and whilst that was definitely a benefit, he’d been impressed when she’d proved herself to be a more than capable study partner.
David continued to watch her as she once more prowled around the room, glancing out of the window, straightening the different vases of flowers, making sure the sheets had perfect ‘hospital corners’. Was she nervous? Had coming home after all this time made her nervous? Was he making her nervous? Did he still have the power to affect her? He wasn’t sure how that made him feel. It was definitely something he could ponder later on.
‘I take it Sasha’s either in radiology or hydrotherapy, or having some other tests and she’s going to come back wiped out and exhausted?’
David nodded. ‘More than likely.’
‘Seriously, David. How is she? From the big brother perspective, not the medical one, please.’
David’s tone softened, and she could hear the love he had for his little sister in his words. ‘She’s coping, which is to be expected because that’s the type of person she is, but the scars run deep, Eden. I’m expecting her to coast along for a few months and then come crashing down in a heap.’
Eden nodded. She’d seen it before—far too many times to count. ‘It’s to be expected. Her life’s been spun in a circle, chopped in half and then flipped upside down.’
‘You sound as though you know something of that.’
‘Well, I could hardly be expected to stay the same person I was when I left. A lot can happen to a girl from nineteen to twenty-nine.’
‘She becomes a woman.’ His words were soft, caressing, and Eden had to stop herself from crossing the room and planting a big, smoochy kiss on those delicious lips of his. David had been the only man who had ever affected her like this. The sound of his voice, the scent of his cologne, the way he held himself. Everything about the man made her want to be reckless and exuberant, yet at the same time she couldn’t forget that he’d broken her heart once before—which meant he was more than capable of doing it again.
There was another one of those pauses, but this time neither of them rushed to fill the gap. It was as though simply being in the same room was enough for now. There was a lot that hadn’t been said between them, and she hoped during this visit she’d finally be able to get some perspective on things where David was concerned. He was definitely an unfinished chapter in her life, and she was very interested in finding out how it would end.
He cleared his throat. ‘I’ve…er…read your papers. They’re very good.’
That surprised her. ‘Really?’ Did he have any idea how much it meant to hear him say something like that?
David chuckled. ‘That’s what happens when you publish them in medical journals, Eden.’
‘I guess. But that wasn’t the reason I wrote them.’
‘Not for the prestige? Not interested in making a big name for yourself?’
‘No. That may surprise you, but it’s the truth.’
‘So you’re content to hide away in some Third World country, caring for the sick and then writing about it?’
‘As well as trying to educate other doctors,’ she felt compelled to point out. ‘And I’m hardly hiding, David.’
‘Where are you based now?’
‘The Ukraine. A small village about two hours outside Kiev.’
‘And how long are you back for?’
‘I’m not sure. It all depends on Sasha.’ She had been devastated that she hadn’t been able to get back to Australia for Sasha’s wedding, and this time, when her friend needed her, she had been determined to be there. To help—because that was what Eden did. She helped people. If she kept herself busy, if she focused on helping others to get better, then it meant she didn’t need to focus on herself.
‘Good to hear. You’ve come back just in time for a fairly decent Sydney spring.’
Eden shrugged. ‘Actually, the temperature isn’t that much different from the Ukrainian autumn.’
He nodded, still unable to believe she was really here. He’d thought about her a lot over the years—more than she would ever know—but he’d also accepted that Eden Caplan was nothing more than a long-ago romance. He was, however, surprised to find that being near her, standing close to her and inhaling her wild perfume, still elicited a reaction from his body.
His pager beeped and he quickly glanced at the number. ‘Well …I guess we’ll be seeing each other quite a bit whilst you’re here.’
‘I guess we will.’ As she spoke, her eyes dipped down to rest on his mouth. The memory of those lips pressed against hers flashed into her mind. The kisses they’d shared had happened so long ago, yet standing near him now it felt as though it was only last week. How could twelve years disappear so quickly, yet the feelings and emotions remain? What would it be like, she wondered, to feel that mouth on hers once more?
He cleared his throat. ‘I’d…better get to the ward.’
At his words, Eden immediately looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed.
‘Do you want me to find out how much longer Sasha will be?’ he offered.
‘No, that’s fine.’ She waved his words away. ‘You go. I can speak to the nurses, introduce myself, get a cup of coffee. That sort of thing.’
David nodded. ‘OK.’ He still didn’t move. ‘I guess I’ll see you later.’
Eden’s smile was bright. ‘I guess you will.’
David didn’t move. He was mesmerised by the way her green eyes twinkled with happiness, and for a second he wanted to believe that it was happiness at seeing him again. Her mouth was curved in that delicious way which had always urged him to kiss it—and he realised that now was no exception.
He closed his eyes for a moment and slowly shook his head. ‘Don’t do that, Eden.’
‘Do what?’ The smile faded. What had she done?
‘Don’t smile at me like that.’ He didn’t want her to affect him the way she did. He didn’t want to stare at her mouth the way she’d been staring at his. He wanted to be immune to her smiles, to her expressive eyes, to the way her body seemed to sway and radiate a love of life. Here she was, the girl who had definitely grown into a woman…and she was still affecting him. He’d left town all those years ago to escape his constant thoughts about her, to put temptation right out of the way. And now, over twelve years later, she was back—and the connection between them was not only still there but apparently as strong as ever.
‘My smile? You’re cross when I smile?’
He raked a hand through his hair. ‘Yes.’
‘Why? It’s just a smile, David.’
‘No, Eden. It’s your smile. That come hither smile.’ His voice was low and a little shaky, showing Eden just how much she could affect him. It surprised her.
‘Do you want me to…come hither?’ Her tone was equally intimate.
‘No.’ He took a step backwards as though to prove his point. ‘We’re grown-ups now. We can control our emotions much better than when we were teenagers.’
She wasn’t too sure about that. A few minutes in his company had revealed that she was still as strongly attracted to him now as she’d been as a teenager, and apparently she wasn’t alone in her feelings.
Again they both stood there, almost as though they were sizing each other up, drawing the boundary lines…Well, David certainly was. He needed to guard his heart, to guard his words and to guard his unwanted attraction to Eden. He’d made a fool of himself in the past and he’d vowed he’d never let it happen again. One failed marriage was enough for a man to live with—and besides, the reason for his marriage breakup was still very relevant.
He’d do well to keep her at arm’s length during her stay and not get involved, despite the signals his body was sending to his brain. Flirting and getting involved with Eden Caplan was the last thing he needed—especially now, when he was determined to prove himself as the new head of Paediatrics.
His pager beeped again, bringing him back to reality.
‘You’re obviously very popular,’ she murmured.
David knew he should go, knew he had to go, but again he found it hard to leave her presence. He opened his mouth to say something, decided better of it, closed his lips together, gave her a brisk nod and turned on his heel, striding from his sister’s hospital room. To say anything else to Eden would just continue to wind him in knots.
He hadn’t been prepared to see her, even though Sasha had told him she’d been in contact with Eden. still he hadn’t expected her to come.
She hadn’t bothered to come for Sasha’s wedding, which David had found extremely odd. Or perhaps it was just that he had been mentally psyching himself up to see her, interested to see whether the frightening natural chemistry which had existed between them in the past was still there. And then he’d been let down by her lack of appearance.
As soon as Sasha had announced her engagement to Robert, David had thought Eden would come home. It had been the day before Sasha’s wedding when his sister had told him that Eden would be unable to make it. Still, he’d half expected Eden to show up on the day, in a flurry of colour, but she hadn’t—and he’d been angry with himself for caring. That had turned into anger aimed at Eden for not being there on her best friend’s special day.
‘Well, she’s here now,’ he muttered. ‘And you certainly weren’t prepared.’ He shook his head, feeling a lot like an adolescent schoolboy, unable to control his body’s reaction to a beautiful girl. Which was exactly the predicament he’d found himself in all those years ago when they’d first kissed.
He’d known she’d had a crush on him, and whilst he’d been flattered, he’d known it was up to him to ensure they kept their distance. Dating his sister’s best friend would only lead to disaster. Besides that, he’d had medical school ahead of him, and Eden Caplan would have ended up being an enormous distraction with a capital D.
Then, when she’d offered to study with him, he’d accepted—even though he’d known he was playing with fire. He’d managed to keep things on an even keel until after she’d been helping him study for over two months. Then one night, tired from studying so much, Sasha long since having fall en asleep on her brother’s bed, David had given in to the irrepressible urge to feel his lips against Eden’s.
She had waited patiently for him to make that first move, but once he had she hadn’t held back. He’d been astounded at the surge of emotions he’d felt upon kissing her. Even then he’d still fought against the attraction, knowing his parents wouldn’t approve of Eden, but he’d been helpless.
Eventually he’d agreed to date her, so long as it was kept from their parents.
He shook his head, wondering how they could have been so stupid. ‘Nineteen and thinking you knew it all,’ he scolded himself with a half laugh, shaking his head at their teenage na?veté. Still, the time they’d spent together had been so freeing for him—especially given that his home life hadn’t been all that happy. Then, at his nineteenth birthday party, David’s father had informed him that the rest of his medical schooling would be completed in Melbourne, rather than Sydney. When he’d asked why, his father had bluntly stated that it was to get David away from trash like Eden Caplan.
David had tried to argue, to state that the grades for his recent exams wouldn’t have been so high if it hadn’t been for Eden, but his father had simply dismissed him. So David had found Eden, taken her out to the garden so they could be alone, and then broken her heart.
He hadn’t been able to tell her the truth about his parents’ decision because he’d been so embarrassed and ashamed by their snobbery. He’d known if he’d confessed the real reason why he was leaving, Eden would stand up and fight against it. That she would no doubt lobby his parents to get them to change their minds, to show them how unfair they were being. But he’d known his parents’ controlling indifference far too well, and known that if he allowed Eden to do that it would mean the end of her friendship with Sasha…and Sasha had needed Eden more than he had.
So he’d told her it was over between them. Told her he was leaving because he needed to devote more time to studying. That she was a distraction, that his life didn’t have room for her in it. She hadn’t cried, even though he’d seen quite clearly that she wanted to. Instead, she’d kissed him, so passionately, so intimately that it was as though he could still feel the touch of her lips on his now. Then she’d fled.
Now, though, Eden was back—and so were the memories. Her scent was the same. Her laugh was the same. Her rich, green eyes were as hypnotic now as then. His heart-rate accelerated. He couldn’t believe his reaction to her was the same as it had been well over a decade ago.
Well, of one thing he was certain. He couldn’t change the past, but he could certainly learn from it—and that meant better control over his future.
Eden was only in town for a few weeks, and he would have to keep all contact with her down to the absolute minimum. They were older now, and their careers would keep them headed in different directions. He’d lived through some intense events. He’d worked his way methodically through them and was still dealing with others. He wasn’t the same man he’d been at the age of nineteen…Yet seeing Eden standing framed against the sunlight coming from the window had stirred something deep within him which he’d thought long since dormant.
She wouldn’t be here long. She had her own life. He had his. He could resist her…and he would. With his mind firmly back on track, David took the stairs two at a time as he headed to the paediatric ward to check on his little patients.
As he walked in, a flash of blue ran in his direction before wrapping around his legs. David looked down in surprise. ‘Dart?’
‘They want to give me yucky meddy. I don’t like yucky meddy, Dr David.’
David looked up to find Francie, one of the nursing sisters on the ward, standing there with her palms spread wide. ‘He’s too quick for me,’ she said with a grin as she headed towards them.
David managed to pry Dart’s hands from his legs and bent down so he was closer to the four-year-old’s height. ‘I don’t like yucky medicine either, Dart.’
Dart’s blue eyes widened. ‘You don’t?’
‘No, but sometimes swallowing the yucky medicine is the only way our bodies can get better.’ David stood and held out his hand to the boy.
‘Let’s get you back to your bed and I’ll check your chart.’
Dart trustingly took David’s hand and went happily back to his bed, where he bounced around on his hands and knees. Francie was there beside him, trying to get Dart to quieten down. ‘Have you been bouncing around like this all morning long?’ David asked Dart.
‘I’m feeling so good today that I don’t even need to have the yucky meddy.’
‘Is that right?’ David nodded wisely, but couldn’t help the niggling feeling that he was missing something. ‘Temperature normal all night long.
And you’ve managed to eat all your breakfast.’
‘I was hungry,’ Dart interjected.
‘These are all good signs.’
A grin split the little boy’s face. ‘And that’s why I don’t need to have any yucky meddy.’
David couldn’t help but laugh. ‘You’re a persistent one.’
‘I am.’ Dart stopped bouncing for a second and tilted his head to the side. ‘What’s sersistent mean?’
‘Persistent. It means you don’t give up.’ Dart merely shrugged his shoulders and started bouncing around again. ‘In fact,’ David continued, ‘if you keep on getting better we might be able to let you go home tomorrow. Where’s your mum? I’ll go and have a chat with her now.’
David winked at the little boy and went in search of his mother. Mrs Wilman was always around. She was one of those parents who insisted on spending all of her time in hospital with her son, wanting to care for him as much as possible. It was strange that she wasn’t around now.
‘Ah…Mrs Wilman had to go home last night. Her husband called to say he was in town for a brief visit and wanted to take his wife out to dinner.
I told her to go—in fact, I had to almost pressure her to go. Dart was doing fine. The woman needs a break every now and then. Anyway, she should be back within the hour. Apparently, her husband had to fly off to Prague this morning.’
‘He travels a lot?’
‘Yes. From what I understand, from what she’s told me, he’s an international businessman. Not really sure exactly what he does, but he’s away ninety percent of the time.’
‘That can’t make it easy on her. Raising a bubbly four-year-old on her own.’ David read Dart’s case notes, which were kept at the nurses’
station. ‘Did Dart’s father come to see him last night?’
‘No. Mrs Wilman said that as it was only a flying visit she didn’t want Dart upset at not being able to spend more time with his father.’
David nodded, frowning a little as he read about Dart’s previous two admissions. One had been when he’d just turned three—almost eighteen months ago. The boy had fall en out of a tree and broken his arm. The fracture had been a greenstick, but he’d been kept in for over a week. The second admission had been just four months ago.
Back then David had taken a shine to the little boy who had presented with a multitude of symptoms. Dehydration, iron deficiency and slight malnutrition. This time Dart’s symptoms had been somewhat similar, the malnutrition more severe. Mrs Wilman was concerned that Dart was hiding his food, that he was somehow not eating what she provided. She would give him drinks, but for all she knew he was tipping them into the garden.
After a week in hospital, the first twenty-four hours having seen the little boy on a drip to boost his fluids and get his system back on track, Dart had made a brilliant improvement.
‘What do you want me to do with the yucky meddy?’ Francie asked, a small smile on her lips.
‘Watch him. See how he is. Do his obs for the next few hours, and if he starts to go down, call me. If he can do without the medicine and his body is functioning fine, then we’ll leave it at that.’ David wrote those instructions in Dart’s notes before getting started on his informal ward round.
Once he was done, he headed to his office to return some phone calls. He was pleased that he’d managed to not think about Eden for almost a whole hour, and reminded himself that when he focused on work any diversion could be controlled.
As he rounded the corner, he slammed straight into the one woman he didn’t want to slam into. ‘Eden.’ His arms came around her to steady both of them. The scent of her wild perfume swirled around him, wiping all coherent thought from his mind. The last time he’d held her like this he’d ended up being unable to resist her charms. His first instinct was to put as much distance between them as possible, and he meant to do just that.
Yet all he seemed capable of managing was to shift his hands from her waist to her arms.
‘Sorry,’ she mumbled, her head down, her hair shielding her face. She sniffed, and that was the first inclination he had that something was wrong.
‘Eden? What is it? What’s wrong?’
She looked up at him. He hadn’t removed his hands from her arms, and all she wanted right at that moment was to lean close to him, to feel his arms about her, giving the comfort she was so desperate to receive.
‘I’m sorry, David. It’s fine.’
‘It’s obviously not.’ He propelled her into his office. Once inside, he shut the door and turned her to face him. Her nose was shiny and red, her eyes were glazed and her cheeks were ruddy. ‘You’ve been crying!’
Eden gave a pitiful laugh. ‘Was it the tears which gave it away, or my impersonation of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?’
David put his hands on her shoulders. ‘Rudolph, actually.’ The attempt at humour was totally Eden, always trying to lighten a serious moment, and he gazed down into her eyes, his tone filled with compassion. ‘What is it?’
‘It’s nothing. Honestly. I just thought I was sufficiently prepared, that’s all. I wasn’t, and now I’m paying for it.’
‘Prepared? For what?’
‘For Sasha!’ Even as Eden said the words her eyes filled once more and her lower lip quivered. ‘I’ve seen a lot of terrible and tragic sights in the past, but this…this is different. This is Sasha. My Sasha. I had no idea it was going to hit me like this.’ She waved her arms about in the air. ‘I mean—to see her like that. And in a wheelchair! I knew it was going to be like that, but it’s real, David. It’s real. My beautiful Sasha, my best friend…she’s broken and I can’t fix her.’ The distress in Eden’s voice was paramount and a fresh bout of tears followed.
Without a word, David pulled her into his arms and held her tight.