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'You two go and have a shower and I'll make us some hot soup.' Keely walked through to the kitchen, rubbing her damp hair with a towel.
'That was fun.' Zach followed her into the kitchen and dropped their wet things on the floor. 'I haven't seen Phoebe laugh that much for ages. Thanks, Keely.'
'You're very welcome,' she said quietly, rummaging in the cupboard for some cans of soup. 'I had fun, too.'
It was true. She'd really enjoyed herself. She'd even managed to stop thinking about how much she loved Zach for five minutes.
She straightened and met his eyes, and for a moment they stared at each other, tension shimmering between them.
'Keely...' When Zach finally managed to find his voice it sounded gruff, as if his emotions were lodged in his throat.
'Daddy, Daddy—boots stuck.'
Phoebe's shout from the hall interrupted whatever he'd been about to say and he gave a sigh and closed his eyes briefly.
'OK. I'm coming, sweetheart.' He dragged his eyes away from Keely's with a visible effort and walked out of the room to see to his daughter.
Keely dropped onto a chair, feeling as though she'd been caught in the path of a tornado. She felt sure now that he did feel something for her, even if it was just a physical thing. But he clearly didn't intend to do anything about it. He was still in love with his wife and he wasn't ready to move on.
It continued to snow and the weather played havoc with the workload of the casualty department.
'Why don't people just stay indoors?' Nicky muttered as she looked at the ever-growing number of people in the waiting room. 'I've lost count of the number of people who have slipped on the ice today. Why don't they just stay in bed?'
The mere mention of bed made Keely think of Zach and brought a hot colour to her cheeks.
Nicky gave her an odd look. 'Are you all right? You're very red all of a sudden—maybe you're catching something.'
'I'm fine,' Keely said quickly, knowing that she'd already caught something. The trouble was, it was called Zach and, as far as she could tell, it was totally incurable. The only answer was work. 'I'd better get going. Do you want me to see the lady that the ambulance crew brought in last?'
Before Nicky could question her further she picked up a set of notes and made her way to one of the cubicles.
A white-haired lady was lying on the trolley covered in a blanket and a younger woman was hovering anxiously by her side.
'Hello, Mrs Weston. I'm Dr Thompson.' Keely introduced herself and then questioned them both about the injury.
'I was only going to the corner shop for a loaf,' the old lady fretted, and her daughter gave a long-suffering sigh.
'And I would have got that for you, Mum,' she said briskly, rolling her eyes at Keely. 'There was absolutely no need for you to go out at all today.'
'But I wanted to get out, dear,' her mother said placidly. 'If I don't get out, how will I keep these old joints of mine moving?'
The daughter opened her mouth to state the obvious, but caught Keely's look and decided to bite her tongue.
'You're right to try and get some exercise,' Keely said tactfully, examining her carefully, 'but I suppose in future it might be wiser to wait until the pavements aren't so slippery.'
The old lady gave a slight smile. 'Shall I tell you something, dear? It isn't always much fun being wise. Sometimes it's a better idea to just be reckless.'
'Mum!' Her daughter looked horrified but Keely returned the smile that Mrs Weston was giving her.
'You may be right,' she said softly, thinking about Zach. 'You never know what life is going to throw at you, so it's best to live life to the full while you can.'
Her examination revealed that the injured leg was shortened and externally rotated.
'You've fractured your hip, Mrs Weston,' she said quietly, and the daughter tutted.
'Oh, Mum!'
The old lady looked at Keely. 'So what happens now?'
