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Josh gave a shudder. ‘Sounds awful.’
‘It’s fantastic,’ she said simply, her eyes shining as she looked up at him. ‘I can’t wait to meet him or her and be a mum.’
For some unaccountable reason Josh felt a lump in his throat. ‘You’ll be a great mum.’
‘It’ll be your turn next, Josh.’ She slid her arm through his as they walked back through A and E. ‘I’m working on it as we speak.’
If he’d been eating he would have choked. ‘You’re working on it?’ He stopped dead, a suspicious frown in his eyes. ‘What’s that supposed to mean? What are you up to? What are you working on? Are you interfering again?’
‘Me?’ Louisa put a hand in the centre of her chest and looked innocent. ‘Do I ever interfere?’
‘Constantly.’ They reached the ambulance bay and Josh pushed open the doors. ‘Don’t mess with my love life,’ he warned, holding the door open so that she could walk through. ‘I’m happy with it the way it is.’
‘That’s because you don’t know any better.’ Louisa walked past him, a shine in her eyes. ‘But you’re about to learn, Josh Sullivan, you’re about to learn. Trust me on that one.’
* * *
Kat was mortified.
She’d missed an enormous fracture.
She’d been so wrapped up in Josh that she’d totally lost her powers of concentration.
Still thorougly embarrassed by the incident and wondering just how much Josh had guessed about her feelings, Kat watched as he examined the old lady on the trolley.
After the X-ray incident, as she now termed it, she’d seen a couple of patients by herself to restore her equilibrium and her confidence. She’d given advice on a simple case of sunburn and examined a badly sprained ankle. And when she’d finally felt she could look him in the eye again, she’d gone in search of Josh, only to find him moving Louisa’s car.
‘She’s too pregnant to be driving this thing,’ was all he’d said after he’d parked it neatly away from the ambulance bay and strode back into the department.
And now he was examining the old lady brought in by Louisa, and Kat watched him work in silent admiration. On the surface he seemed like the archetypal playboy, she mused, but there was much more to him than that. So much more depth.
He was gentle and reassuring and extremely thorough, asking a series of detailed questions as he conducted his examination.
Obviously he knew the patient and Kat wondered who she was.
‘You seem dehydrated, Vera.’ He straightened. ‘The weather is very hot at the moment. Have you been drinking enough?’
‘The dog’s escaped,’ Vera mumbled weakly, and Josh frowned and glanced at Hannah, the staff nurse, who gave a little shrug. ‘Do you know where you are, Vera?’
‘The dog escaped, you know,’ the old lady fretted, plucking at the blanket with her fingers. ‘I forgot to close the door.’
Hannah took her hand and gave it a squeeze. ‘Don’t you worry, Vera, everything will be fine.’
Josh looked at Vera, his gaze impassive. ‘I’m going to run some tests, Vera, and see what they show.’ He looked at Kat. ‘Can you get a line in so that we can give her some fluids, and take bloods.’ He listed the tests he wanted. ‘I just need to make a couple of calls.’
Kat nodded and watched as he left the room. Then she turned her attention back to the patient.
‘I don’t want to have an accident. Have I had an accident?’ Vera shifted on the trolley. ‘Oh, I do hope not. It’s so embarrassing.’
Something clicked in Kat’s head. ‘Vera, are you having trouble getting to the toilet on time?’
‘No.’ The old lady licked her lips, her mouth dry. ‘I don’t go much.’
‘Right.’ Kat asked a few more questions then gave Hannah a quick smile and slipped out of the room to look for Josh.
He was just finishing a phone call. ‘I’ve called the medical reg. They’re expecting her on the medical assessment unit. My guess is she has an infection.’
‘Probably a kidney infection,’ Kat said quickly, her cheeks slightly pink as she caught his quizzical gaze. ‘In my opinion, she’s been suffering from incontinence so to try and control it she’s stopped drinking.’
