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Suddenly he was intrigued.
And he was also impressed. He’d seen numerous colleagues make the mistake of dismissing a patient who was drunk. She hadn’t made that mistake. Even when the patient had vomited on what he assumed to be a frighteningly expensive pair of shoes, she hadn’t allowed it to cloud her decision-making.
She was a good doctor.
And he had to face the fact that the reason he was being so hard on her had absolutely nothing to do with her clinical abilities and everything to do with his own emotions.
Katy was nearly at the end of her shift the following day when a call came through requesting a medical team to attend an accident.
‘They’ve got a man trapped in a car and they’re worried about his leg. I’m the duty consultant so it’s mine,’ Jago said immediately, reaching for high-visibility jackets and the equipment they’d need at the roadside. ‘I’ll take Charlotte and Katy.’
Katy felt the adrenaline rush through her veins.
She knew that immediate care—tending to the patient at the scene of the accident—was very different from looking after someone in the A and E department where they were surrounded by equipment.
Was he expecting her to take the lead as he had with the drunken head-injury patient the previous day?
‘I’m taking you as an observer,’ he said smoothly, evidently reading her mind, ‘and an extra pair of hands if we need one. I’ll be right by your side all the time.’
And she was supposed to find that reassuring?
But Katy didn’t have time to reflect on Jago’s reasons for taking her because they were soon in the car, travelling at high speed towards the scene of the accident.
The roads were slick with rain and Jago drove fast but carefully, the powerful headlights cutting through the darkness.
They arrived to find the fire crew cutting one of the occupants of the car out of the vehicle.
Jago retrieved several rucksacks from the car and checked that she was wearing the correct protective clothing.
The darkness and the foul weather were clearly hampering the rescue efforts.
Responding to a shout from one of the paramedics, Katy hurried across to one of the stretchers.
‘We’ve got him on a spinal board and he’s conscious but his leg’s a mess. It needs attention before we transfer him.’ The paramedics addressed her directly and Katy looked frantically around for Jago but he was speaking to a member of the fire crew.
Which meant it was up to her.
A blanket was covering the injured man and Katy lifted it gently, feeling the colour drain out of her face as she saw the extent of the man’s injuries. The leg was severely deformed and she felt a cold rush of panic in her chest. Where should she start? She could see that there was an open fracture, with part of the bone exposed to the air, as well as a severe laceration. She knew that it was important to cover it to try and prevent infection but the leg was so badly damaged that she was afraid of making the damage worse.
Aware that she was well outside her own realms of experience, she looked over her shoulder for Jago and to her relief he was there, his powerful presence reassuring in the chaos of the accident.
‘What have we got?’
Unlike her, his expression didn’t flicker as he saw the state of the man’s leg. He merely pulled on a pair of sterile gloves, and turned to the nearest paramedic and quietly listed the equipment he needed.
Katy took a deep breath to steady her stomach and those sharp dark eyes settled on her face.
‘Are you OK?’ He frowned sharply as he scanned her pale face. ‘You can wait in the car if you like.’
And give him more ammunition for accusing her of not being able to cope? No way!
‘I’m fine,’ Katy replied sickly, hoping that he couldn’t see just how much she was shaking.
‘As long as you’re sure.’ His voice was surprisingly gentle. ‘If you change your mind, let me know.’
The rain had plastered his jet-black hair to his face and trickled off the dark stubble on his hard jaw.
He was breathtakingly handsome and very much in control of the situation.
