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‘Any chance of you starting sooner?’ Reece joked. ‘Emergency is full.’
‘No chance.’ Steele smiled. ‘I don’t need you to show me around if you’re busy.’
‘You’re sure?’
‘Of course.’
‘I’ll see you at the meeting, then.’ Reece nodded. ‘Make sure you put a hard hat on.’
‘I feel like a builder,’ Candy said as she put hers on.
‘Come on, Bob,’ Steele said, and he took her through the building. It was near complete in parts and the roof was going on in others. ‘This is going to be the acute geriatric unit,’ he explained as he showed her a huge area where the wiring was going in. ‘Very high-tech computer system,’ he said. ‘It has its own occupational therapy assessment area.’ He took her in. There were two kitchens and various sets of stairs being built, as well as showers and baths of various heights so that patients could be assessed on how they would manage at home. ‘I’m aiming for a forty-eight-hour admission time. Either home afterwards with support or admitted to the correct ward, but most of my patients will first come through here—well, that’s the plan.’
‘Forty-eight hours isn’t very long.’
‘Best time frame,’ Steele said. ‘It gives us enough time to put proper support in place for when they return to their homes.’
Steele showed her the other wards—a palliative care ward and also the acute medical unit—and then he opened a door and they stood in a huge empty space.
‘This is the dream,’ he said. ‘It’s not happening yet. We’re facing lots of obstacles and red tape, insurance issues and things, but I’m hoping this space will be a gym.’ He smiled. ‘Actually, I’m not allowed to call it that. I’m hoping this space will be utilised for healthy living...’
‘Sorry?’
‘Well, I always feel a bit of a bastard when I know someone’s lonely and that a cream cake at three in the afternoon means not only a cream cake but a walk to the shops and some conversation too. Instead of asking them to give it up, I’m hoping that they can come here and have a chat with friends and maybe a bit of exercise. I’m hoping for a slimming or exercise club or something like that. It’s all a bit of a pipe dream at the moment, but at least we have the space earmarked for it, if we ever do get to go ahead.’
‘How long’s your contract for?’ Candy asked.
‘Two years,’ he said. ‘They wanted five but I wouldn’t agree to it.’
‘Because?’
‘Because I’ve never stayed anywhere for more than two years. I like fresh starts. I like putting everything into it and building things up...’
Or rather he had.
They drove to a pub and had a lovely lazy lunch overlooking a huge village green.
‘Gorgeous, isn’t it?’ Candy said, and he nodded.
‘Even if we don’t get the go-ahead for the gym, I’ll probably start a walking club over there.’
‘You’re going to go start a geriatric walking club!’
‘Yep, I walk with my dog every morning that I can. Why not have company?’
‘You have a dog?’
‘I do.’ Steele smiled. ‘You have me pegged as a loner—no friends to go to the movies with, no pets. I have a dog, I have nice furniture and I have, when I’m not sleeping with Nurse Candy, a very busy social life.’
‘Where’s your dog now?’
‘At my parents’,’ he said. ‘He’s a chocolate Labrador called Newman.’
‘Newman?’
‘You’ll...’ Steele stopped. He had been about to say she would see why when she met him but that wasn’t what today was about. No pressure, he reminded himself. Today was doing her good, he could see that already. Her cheeks were pink and she seemed more relaxed than she had since...well, since Macey had opened her mouth and knocked their worlds off their axes, but they were starting to spin again, tentatively, though. ‘He’s got blue eyes,’ Steele said instead. ‘And he’s the love of my life and he knows it.’
‘Does he sleep on your bed, Steele?’
