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One glance told her the department was already busy. Liz put down the phone and looked up, her well-shaped brows raised in query. ‘Is he still in one piece?’
‘Of course.’ Toni began slotting pens into her top pocket. ‘We got engaged.’
Liz smothered a squawk and then chuckled. ‘We’ve missed you.’
‘Yeah.’ Toni shook back her halo of auburn curls. ‘Now, who’s doing what?’
‘Justin’s suturing in the small treatment room. Beryl Reilly took a dive down the post-office steps this morning. Kneecap nearly split in two.’
Toni grimaced. ‘Poor old love.’ Beryl, in her seventies, was one of their regulars at A and E. ‘Why on earth was she out and about so early?’
‘Posting coupons for some cruise or other. Today was the last day to enter apparently.’
‘Oh, my lord,’ Toni sighed. ‘What would she do if she won? She’d never go on her own.’
Liz snickered. ‘She’d probably hook up with one of the old guys from their indoor bowls team and take him along.’
‘We shouldn’t laugh.’ Toni pressed a finger to her smiling lips. ‘It’s very sweet, really, the way they all look out for each other.’
‘And Beryl probably has about as much chance of winning as we do of getting a raise.’
‘OK, back to business,’ Toni said firmly. ‘Who’s assisting Justin?’
‘Harmony. Not that she wanted to,’ Liz added caustically. ‘She hates anything to do with blood.’
‘Well, she’s only newly graduated,’ Toni reasoned. ‘These days they’re not exposed to much on the wards in their training. It’s always a bit of shock when they strike the real thing. Where’s Ed?’
‘Doing an eye-wash. One of the council workers copped a load of sand and grit when they were unloading turf for the new sports oval.’
Toni nodded. ‘Amy OK?’
‘I’ve assigned her to tidy the drugs cabinet with Mel. The night shift left a tip.’
‘Well, they had two RTAs in quick succession, by the look of it.’ Toni scanned the report. ‘This one says Riccardi was the admitting MO.’
‘So?’
‘So that means he’s been here since four o’clock this morning.’ Toni made a small face. ‘No wonder he was grouchy. The man’s missing sleep.’
‘It’s his job.’ Liz was not so forgiving. ‘It’s what he signed on for.’
‘I wonder what he was doing before coming here?’ Toni mused.
‘Dunno. Don’t tell me you’re falling for him?’
‘As if,’ Toni responded with a little tsk. ‘Perhaps we should cut him a bit of slack, though. Forrestdale might be a huge lifestyle change for him.’
‘Well, there’s usually a trigger for those kinds of decisions,’ Liz pointed out pragmatically. ‘But I’m for making love, not war, so we’ll be nice to your reg.’
‘He’s not my reg,’ Toni said in exasperation. ‘Now, both Natalie and Samantha in?’ she asked, referring to the department’s assistants in nursing.
‘By the grace of God. And Dr Tennant is circulating if we need her.’
‘Excellent.’ Toni clipped on her badge and checked it was straight. ‘I’ll ask her to pop in on our eye patient. He may need an antibiotic and a medical certificate for work.’
‘Uh-oh,’ Liz sighed as their phone lit up. ‘Call from the ambulance base. Welcome to Monday!’
Toni took the details from Liz. ‘Mine, I think, and I’ll bleep the reg.’
They met at the ambulance bay and Toni relayed what details they had. ‘Unrestrained two-year-old thrown against the dashboard when his mum had to brake suddenly. He appears to have been knocked out for a second but conscious now.’
‘The child was in the front seat of the car?’ Rafe asked in disbelief.
‘Apparently.’ Toni twitched a shoulder. ‘We don’t know the circumstances. It may not be the mother’s fault.’
‘Well, we certainly can’t blame the child,’ Rafe said grimly. ‘Do we have names?’
‘Child is Michael. Mum is Lisa.’
He received the information with a curt nod. He’d have a few words to say to Lisa. Having a child unrestrained in a moving vehicle was totally irresponsible.
The ambulance arrived and reversed into the receiving bay. One glance told Toni the mother was distraught. ‘It’s all my fault!’ Lisa was all but wringing her hands. ‘The childminder is only two streets away and I was running late so I just popped him in the front seat beside me—but he’s learned how to undo the seat belt—’ She broke off, rubbing tears away with the backs of her hands. She sent a frantic look at Rafe. ‘Will I be in trouble? What will happen now?’
Despite his earlier silent disapproval at the mother’s negligence, Rafe’s heart melted at the sight of the little lad lying quietly under the blue blanket, his eyes wide and questioning.
His mouth tightened. There were extenuating circumstances and he didn’t have the stomach for a confrontation anyway. Not today. And especially not with Antonia watching his every reaction with those soulful brown eyes. He regrouped his thoughts.
‘We’ll take a look at Michael,’ he said gruffly. ‘Try not to worry. Children are remarkably resilient.’
‘Can I stay with him?’
Toni jumped in, ‘Of course you can.’
‘Oh—thank you.’ Lisa held tightly to her child’s hand as he was whisked through into a cubicle.
‘Lisa, if you could just stand back, please?’ Toni eased the mother away from the side of the bed. ‘Dr Riccardi will need room to examine Michael.’
Still visibly shaken, Lisa complied, wrapping her arms around her body almost as if she could hold herself together in some way. ‘I’m here, baby,’ she said brokenly. ‘Mummy’s just here …’
The child looked clean and well cared for, Toni noted, peeling the blanket back gently. ‘Doctor?’ She looked pointedly at Rafe.
‘Thanks.’ Rafe began his examination. ‘Let’s see how you’re doing, little mate,’ he said, his hands gentle, swift and sure as he tested the child’s neurological responses. ‘Looking good,’ he murmured, as Michael’s pupils appeared equal and responsive. Placing his pencil torch aside, he checked the little boy’s limbs for any obvious deficits and then began a careful palpation of the child’s tummy. Any hardening would indicate internal bleeding. But all seemed well. He replaced the blanket and turned to the mother.
‘Was he sick at all, Lisa?’
‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘He just seemed out of it for a second or two and then cried a bit …’
Rafe nodded. ‘I’d like to run a scan to be on the safe side. And we’ll need to keep your son for several hours, just to make sure there are no residual effects from the accident.’
‘It really was an accident.’ Lisa stood her ground bravely. ‘This guy just shot out of his driveway without warning and I had to slam on my brakes. I realise I should have had Michael in the back in his safety seat.’
‘But you didn’t.’ Rafe continued writing on the child’s chart.
‘I was going after a new job,’ Lisa explained dispiritedly. ‘But I’ve lost my interview time now.’
‘There’ll be other jobs.’ Absorbed in Michael’s chart, Rafe curled his lips into a silent no-further-comment moue. He handed the request form for the X-ray department to Toni. ‘After Michael’s scan could you see whether Kids could take him, please? He’ll be more comfortable there. And ask Justin to check Lisa over and perhaps we could run to a coffee for her?’
Toni gave him a taut little smile. ‘I’m sure we could.’
Rafe pulled back the curtain to make his exit and then wheeled back, the light from the window illuminating the hard line of his jaw with its rapidly darkening growth. ‘I’d like to see the X-rays when they’re back, please, Antonia?’
‘Certainly, Doctor.’ Toni’s response was crisply calm but a niggle of uncertainty caught her unawares. She’d told Riccardi she was usually called Toni. Why couldn’t he just do it? Perhaps it was as simple as his not liking shortened names. She frowned a bit. Whatever his reasons, it was already setting her apart and causing the oddest trickle of awareness along her spine.
CHAPTER TWO
BACK in his office, Rafe threw aside the medical journal he’d been reading.
It may as well have been written in a foreign language for all he’d taken in.
Antonia Morell. The cameo-like picture was still there in his head. Her complexion magnolia fair against the dazzling auburn hair; the quick, intelligent air about her. And the amazing smile that outlined the sweet curve of her mouth. Her mouth …
Disconcerted, he rubbed a hand across his cheekbones. The wild feelings of want were annoying him, disturbing him. He didn’t need them. He just needed to get through the next few months, recoup his energy, regain his enthusiasm …
‘Rafe …?’ Toni popped her head around the door. He looked up and she saw at once she’d interrupted a very focused train of thought. ‘Sorry … the door was open …’
‘Come in, Antonia.’ He voice was slightly rough. ‘What’s up?’
‘You said you wanted to see Michael’s CT scan …’Toni moved towards his desk, feeling as though she was walking in sand, ankle deep. ‘He’s up in Kids now. Amy asked to special him.’
Rafe’s dark brows rose interrogatively. ‘Is that wise?’
Toni bristled at his implied criticism. ‘Are you saying I should be keeping her away from babies and toddlers?’
‘No.’ He glinted an impatient green glance at her. ‘You mentioned she’s a bit fragile at the moment, that’s all.’
‘It was her decision.’ Toni placed the large envelope on the desk in front of him. ‘In fact, she said she hoped we wouldn’t think we had to keep walking on eggshells around her.’
‘Well, that sounds positive.’ Spinning off his chair, Rafe selected the first plate and slapped it on to the viewing screen. ‘I’ll need a word with Lisa,’ he murmured almost absently. ‘Ask her to pop in and see me when you have a minute.’
‘Uh …’ Toni hesitated. ‘She’s actually not in the hospital just now.’
‘She’s gone?’ Rafe’s dark head swooped back in question. ‘She’s left her boy here and just gone off somewhere? Where are the woman’s priorities?’ He put the next plate up and studied it. ‘The whole trauma for this child is down to his mother’s failure to carry out the basic safety rules for young children in cars.’
‘You’re putting the wrong spin on it,’ Toni said heatedly and went on to explain, ‘Lisa had a phone call. Apparently, she managed to reschedule her job interview. She’s a sole parent, Rafe. She needs a full-time job not just the bits and pieces she presently has. You saw how upset she was about Michael’s accident. She doesn’t need you jumping all over her as well.’
‘You’re breaking my heart, Antonia,’ he growled, clearly unimpressed with Toni’s defence of the young mother.
‘And which heart would that be, exactly?’ she inquired tartly.
The corners of his mouth pulled down almost comically. ‘I’ve really rained on your parade today, haven’t I?’
Toni rolled her eyes heavenwards. Really, the man was impossible.
‘This all looks good.’ He drew her attention to the last of the X-rays. ‘Michael has been fortunate.’
‘He’s sporting quite a lump on his forehead, though.’ Toni positioned herself beside Rafe and looked at the screen.
‘I’ll write up some pain relief for him. That whack has possibly left the little guy with a headache. And let’s keep the neuro obs going, please? I’m not letting him go until I’m quite sure he’s stable.’
‘All noted.’ Toni swept out.
She made her way back to the nurses’ station, the busyness of the morning enveloping her. But an hour later, she was on her way upstairs to the children’s ward. Amy needed a break.
She popped her head in, turning to speak to Jennifer on the desk. ‘Michael Yates, Jen?’
The senior nurse flapped a hand. ‘Right down the end in the cot. The reg arrived a while ago to check him over. He’s gorgeous, isn’t he?’
‘Michael?’
Jennifer rolled her eyes. ‘Riccardi.’
Toni wasn’t about to go there. She still hadn’t made up her mind about anything to do with Rafe Riccardi. ‘He probably is,’ she flannelled instead. ‘If you go for tall, dark, bloody-minded men.’
‘Oh, my stars, Toni Morell!’ A teasing smile curved Jen’s mouth. ‘You fancy him!’
Toni clicked her tongue exasperatedly and skipped away, drawing to an abrupt stop when she saw Rafe and Amy, their heads together in obvious earnest conversation. She watched as Amy’s dark little head came back and she laughed at something Rafe said. And then he touched the nurse briefly on the shoulder before exiting from the door at the far end of the ward.
‘Well, ten out of ten,’ Toni murmured, feeling a tiny flicker of satisfaction. Rafe had obviously taken their talk to heart and made the effort to smooth things over with Amy. He’d kept his word. And that, as far as Toni was concerned, had earned him a large tick of approval.
Oh, heck! Impatiently, she swept her hair up from the nape of her neck and let it fall back. Surely she wasn’t actually beginning to like the man?
She walked briskly along the ward to Michael’s cot. ‘Everything OK?’ she asked softly.
‘Still a bit out of it, I think.’ Amy was sitting by the cot, stroking the toddler’s chubby little arm.
‘That’s understandable.’ Toni ran her eye over the chart. Pain relief had been administered and the child was being kept hydrated. There was little more they could do now than to monitor Michael’s neuro responses. If nothing untoward presented, Rafe would probably allow Lisa to take her son home. ‘He’ll probably drop off to sleep soon.’ Toni bent and touched a finger to the baby-soft cheek. ‘But, Amy, if for any reason you have to take him out of the cot, be sure to carry him, won’t you? We don’t want him falling.’
‘I have nursed in Kids before, Toni,’ Amy said with a wry little smile. ‘I’ll take great care of Michael.’
‘Of course you will.’ Toni made a face. ‘Sorry. I’m a bit distracted this morning.’
Amy chuckled. ‘The new reg would distract anyone.’
Toni held back a cryptic comment. Not Amy too. ‘Mel is coming up to relieve you shortly. It’s time for your break. Make sure you take it, please.’
There was a flurry around the station when Toni returned to Casualty. ‘What’s going on?’
‘These amazing roses just arrived!’ Harmony’s blonde ponytail jiggled as her head tipped from side to side in excitement.
