Their Christmas Vows

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‘Look, Callie, we started off on the wrong foot. I made a mistake. I’m sorry, I thought you were someone else.’

He paused, filled with the sense that he was digging himself deeper into a hole. Not a flicker of interest or thawing showed in eyes that were the most unusual colour he had ever seen. They really were a true purple. He frowned, trying to reject an unexpected surge of attraction and get himself back on track. This apology apparently wasn’t working. Disconcerted, he was unable to remember a time when he had not been able to talk a woman round.

‘What’s the matter?’ she snapped at him, and he realised he had been staring.

‘Nothing.’ He gave himself a mental shake, drawn back to reality as the technicians cleared the aircraft and one of the guys opened the door for them. ‘I’ve just never met anyone with such amazing eyes.’

‘Oh, please. You don’t really find that kind of line works, do you?’

‘It wasn’t a line,’ he protested, cut by her scorn.

‘Shall we get on, Dr McInnes?’

Out of sorts, Frazer followed as Callie moved forward. Instinctively, he went to help her, but she batted his hands away.

‘I’m quite capable, thank you. I don’t need you pawing me.’

‘I wasn’t!’

She swung to face him, cold anger evident. ‘Let’s get something straight. Keep your hands and your corny chat-up lines to yourself and we’ll get on with our work just fine.’

Simmering at the injustice of it, Frazer tried to ignore her as they took their places. The helicopter came to life with a characteristic whine, the rotor blades picking up speed, and he had to focus on the emergency call that lay ahead. But he had a sinking feeling that being partnered with feisty, prickly and intriguingly attractive Callie Grogan was never going to work.

CHAPTER TWO

‘HELI-Med Echo-Two-Seven, clear to go.’

Craig’s voice, confirming take-off and their course to the map reference of the accident site, sounded through her earpiece as Callie strapped herself into her seat on board the helicopter and put on her helmet. She tested to ensure her microphone was functional. In flight it was noisy, and they needed the system to communicate with each other and the ground. The helicopter was new and state-of-the-art, complete with a comprehensive medical bulkhead with everything they would need to hand. There was also more internal space, so they could work on the patient during a flight and give them whatever treatment and monitoring was necessary. Callie forced herself to concentrate on double-checking equipment and supplies—anything but think about wretched Frazer McInnes, who had turned out to be every bit as bad as she’d expected.

‘Frazer might look like a playboy, he might evenact like one sometimes, but I’ve never met a better doctor or a more loyal friend. There is no one else I would rather have on my side if I was injured, ill or in a tight spot.’

Quite an endorsement, Callie recalled, and she didn’t imagine Archie Stewart suffered fools gladly. But her own impressions of Frazer had confirmed all her worst fears about the man. Wicked. That was the first word that had come to mind when she had looked at him and been subjected to that practised, lethal smile. It was a smile that promised every kind of sensual sin and carved twin dimples in his lean cheeks. There was no doubt about it. By any standard Frazer was stunningly, impossibly gorgeous. He oozed charm and the kind of smouldering sexuality that made female knees weaken at fifty paces. His hair was cut short, the thick, lustrous strands having a silky black sheen, while the mischievous gleam in eyes the colour of melted dark chocolate was dangerous to any woman’s well-being. She didn’t even want to think about his mouth, or what those perfectly shaped mobile lips could do to a woman, how they would feel, how he would kiss, how … Stop it!

Callie was furious with the man. But she was even more furious with herself and her own inexplicable reaction to him. Those few heart-stopping moments when the unknown masculine hands had touched her had fired a shocking response through her body, stirring things—deep, surprising, scary things—she had not felt before. How could that be? Not only was the man a stranger, and reputed to go through women the way other people went through hot dinners, but she had assumed herself resistant, uninterested, immune. It must have been the surprise of the moment that had made her pulse race like a mad thing and caused an ache to knot low inside her, Callie reassured herself. Any other explanation was impossible—and far too frightening to consider.

‘ETA one minute,’ Craig informed them, drawing her from her disturbing thoughts.

An unwanted tingle raised the hairs on the back on her neck when Frazer’s throaty voice responded. ‘Any update on casualties?’ he asked, and she sneaked a glance at him. How could he sound sexy just asking a simple work-related question?

‘There are four reported, one with serious injuries.’ Craig paused a moment as he flew over the scene of the crash and looked for a safe place to land, bringing the aircraft down on the area of carriageway that had been cordoned off for them as close as possible to the site. ‘The fire service are cutting out a middle-aged woman now. You’re needed there.’

As the helicopter landed, Callie unstrapped herself and grabbed her pack, feeling a rush of adrenalin spill through her veins as she faced her very first call. Too bad it had to be in the company of Frazer McInnes, she groused to herself, following close on his heels as he ran towards the tangled wreckage. Her new boots, protected with steel toecaps and ankle supports, still felt cumbersome, while the full pack she carried was heavy, but she kept up as they were directed by a waiting policeman towards the worst of the injured. The other, less serious casualties, were already being assessed and taken to hospital by road.

‘Hello, Rory, what do we have?’ Frazer enquired as they came to a halt beside the mangled remains of a car.

‘Hi, Doc,’ the paramedic on scene greeted him, giving basic details of the patient and her condition, while his partner, Tim, remained in the car to monitor her as the firefighters worked. ‘Her name is Barbara Allen, fifty-one years old. We have a neck collar on her as a precaution and she’s receiving oxygen. She’s conscious, but having difficulty talking and breathing, and she’s complaining of chest pains. No head injury, and as far as we can tell her legs are clear. The problem was the buckling, and the way the steering column caved in to her chest and abdomen.’

Fearing internal injuries, Callie set out their packs and readied herself, waiting for their casualty to be freed. Another few moments and the firefighters had gently and skilfully removed the woman from her car, a backboard in place as a precaution. Frazer knelt opposite her, speaking reassuringly as he carried out his preliminary assessment.

‘Can you hear me, Barbara? My name’s Frazer, I’m a doctor, and this is Callie, a paramedic. I know you are scared, and in pain, but we’re going to do all we can to make you more comfortable and get you off to hospital,’ he told her, his voice calm, instilling confidence. Callie held Barbara’s hand, feeling the slight squeeze of her fingers as Frazer continued. ‘Are you hurting anywhere else but your chest, Barbara? Any pain in your tummy?’

‘No.’ The response was weak, and plainly the woman was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe.

Callie smiled at Rory as the other paramedic took over monitoring the oxygen flow and saturation, replacing the mask over Barbara’s face, leaving Callie free to carry out her own observations and do what needed to be done.

‘Airway is clear, saturation ninety-two per cent on oxygen, respirations twenty-one, pulse one-twenty, blood pressure one-ten over seventy-five, pupils even and reactive to light,’ she informed Frazer when he had finished listening to the patient’s chest.

‘Unequal air entry,’ he reported with a frown. ‘Her left lung sounds clear, but she has broken ribs on the right and her right lung is hyper-resonant, no breath sounds.’

‘Pneumothorax?’

Frazer nodded, sparing her a glance from those rich dark eyes—one that might have been brief but still had the effect of a physical touch, sending a prickle of unwanted awareness along her spine.

‘Let’s get to work.’

Callie was thankful to snap herself out of her moment of madness and follow Frazer’s decree.

Impressed by Callie’s quiet efficiency, Frazer noted that she had already inserted one large-bore cannula and was running the colloid infusion he had requested before obtaining a second IV access. He gave the order for analgesia, confirming the correct dosage before it was administered. While he prepared to decompress the pneumothorax, giving local anaesthetic to ease the patient’s distress, Callie spoke quietly to Barbara, reassuring her.

When he was ready to proceed, Callie had a sixteen-gauge cannula waiting for him, and he felt for the intercostal space between the second and third ribs in the mid-clavicular line before inserting it, satisfied when he heard the hiss of gas as he withdrew the needle. Tape was prepared for him without the need to ask, along with all he required to insert a chest drain on the affected side. He made the incision above the sixth rib and spread the tissues down to the pleural space. After puncturing the pleura with artery forceps, he felt with a gloved finger to make sure the passage was clear before inserting the drain, connecting it to the seal and securing it in place. Taking his stethoscope, he listened again to his patient’s chest and nodded.

‘OK, I’m done. Everything set?’ At Callie’s confirmation, and after another run-down of Barbara’s obs, they began packing up and readied their patient for transfer. ‘Let’s get you off to hospital, Barbara.’

Willing hands aided them as they hurried the stretcher back to the helicopter, where Craig was waiting, and Frazer thanked paramedics Rory and Tim for their valuable help. Once on board, he was impressed with the way Callie held Barbara’s hand, her gaze alert as she constantly checked the monitors for any change in observation readings or condition, while still finding time to spare some reassuring words.

Thankfully it was a short flight to Strathlochan Hospital, and within minutes they were wheeling the stretcher into A and E to be met by Will Brown, one of the duty doctors, who whisked the injured woman straight into Resus, where the waiting team set to work.

Conscious of Callie’s presence beside him, the faint hint of her sexy coconut scent teasing him, he stepped away, disturbed by his awareness. Forcing himself to concentrate, Frazer gave full details of the treatment given and the state of Barbara’s condition at the scene of the accident and on the journey.

‘Good job, Callie.’ He smiled at her as they wheeled their stretcher back to the helicopter, keeping his praise understated as he sensed her unease now the emergency situation was over. ‘Thank you—you did well out there.’

A brief nod was her only response before she climbed aboard and strapped herself back in. Frazer sighed. He had been pleasantly surprised at finding Callie calm, knowledgeable and efficient, not to mention caring of their patient. She might look as if a gust of wind would knock her over, but she had shown surprising physical strength, and mentally she appeared as tough as nails. And not remotely ready to forgive him. Clearly things were not going to run smoothly with the rest of their working relationship, and he would have a job on his hands to mend fences and make up for their unfortunate start.

They had hardly arrived back at base, taking time to restock the emergency packs, check the drugs and fill in the required paperwork, before they were called out again. It set the pattern for the rest of the day. They had a rushed lunch on the run, and there wasn’t even time for their chat with Archie Stewart.

The freezing weather had brought with it an upsurge in road traffic collisions, as well as other incidents, and on top of these there was a call-out to a woman suffering a heart attack, and to a teenager at an outlying farm whose GP, Conor Anderson, had diagnosed a burst appendix and who needed to get to hospital as swiftly as possible for an urgent operation.

Now they were on their way back to Strathlochan after their last job of the day: transferring a patient with a nasty head injury to the neurological unit in Glasgow. His condition had given cause for concern on the flight, and Frazer had been relieved to have Callie’s expert help before they handed the patient over to the specialist team who would care for him.

Frazer glanced across at Callie, her eyes closed as she relaxed on the flight home. Throughout an inordinately busy day he had kept a surreptitious eye on his new partner, finding himself more and more intrigued by all her contradictions as time went on. He had discovered that Callie was most comfortable when she was occupied in her role as paramedic. Her unease was only apparent in personal situations. While she projected most of the chill onto him, she was reserved with everyone outside a work setting, and unwilling and awkward when asked questions about herself. Yet she was warm and friendly to patients and any colleagues working with her. Once the incident was over she closed in on herself again. Interesting. He sensed there was much beneath the surface that Callie was hiding from the world.

Given their disastrous start, Frazer had expected working with Callie to be torturous. But nothing proved further from the truth. He’d rarely had to ask for anything. Callie was an amazingly competent paramedic and seemingly unflappable. He was stunned at how quickly she seemed to anticipate everything he needed, from equipment to medications. It was as if she was inside his head, interpreting his thoughts before he’d even registered them. Whatever difficulties they had getting along on a personal level, they’d made a uniquely special team on the job—something that usually took weeks or months to build. He’d never worked with anyone so attuned to him … and certainly not in the space of a day. Which was a bit scary, too.

He was thinking far, far too much about Callie Grogan.

It was dark by the time they came to land at the base in Strathlochan, and the temperature was dropping even further, signalling another icy night to come. While Craig did his own checks of the aircraft, and talked to the technicians who would work on it overnight, Frazer accompanied Callie to the supply room, restocking the packs and checking the drugs, making sure all was in order for the crew who would be taking over from them.

‘Tired?’ Frazer asked, looking up with an understanding smile as she stifled a yawn.

‘A bit.’ She’d gone all stiff and awkward with him again, he noted. ‘I enjoy the work, though.’

Frazer nodded, filling in an incident report form, watching her out of the corner of his eye. ‘I can see that. You were excellent today.’

‘Thanks.’ Was that a faint tinge of colour staining her cheeks at his approval?

‘Fancy coming out for a drink?’ he asked casually, hoping to end the day on a lighter and more friendly note after the unfortunate way it had begun. ‘We’re going to be working closely together, and it’s been so busy today we haven’t had a chance to get to know each other.’

The minuscule hint of warmth she had shown was replaced with wariness, her whole body tensing, dark shadows forming in those incredible purple eyes. ‘No, thanks.’

‘Callie, I really want to make amends for earlier.’ He tried another smile, but she moved towards the door, putting distance between them.

‘I have other things to do.’

He watched as she took a ring off the chain around her neck and slipped it on her finger. Frazer stared at the simple gold band, confused at the feelings churning inside him. ‘You’re married?’ The question popped out, and he cursed the tell-tale shock in his voice.

‘Mmm.’

‘I didn’t realise.’ That wasn’t a sickening sense of disappointment chilling him. No way. He didn’t even know her—didn’t like her. She was prickly and difficult. No, he wasn’t interested in Callie Grogan in any way other than establishing a comfortable working relationship.

‘What’s the matter? Afraid my husband will be upset when he hears about the way you “introduced” yourself this morning?’

His jaw tightened at the mocking sarcasm in her voice. ‘No.’

‘I don’t imagine disgruntled husbands are entirely new to you.’

‘What the hell does that mean?’ he gritted, banking down a flare of anger.

She gave a dismissive shrug. ‘In the short time I’ve been here, everyone has seemed intent on filling me in on your legendary reputation … Apparently they can’t see how uninteresting that is. Excuse me. I have a home to go to.’

And a husband waiting for her to get there. Frazer wanted to growl out loud. That or throw something. Bloody woman. She’d got under his skin. Not in a good way, but like an annoying, persistent grass seed, worming its way into his flesh, irritating him and resisting all efforts to remove it. He’d always laughed off his exaggerated reputation, but the scathing way Callie had looked at him had stung. He wasn’t the kind of man she thought he was. Damned if he knew why it should matter what she thought of him, but it did. And that made him madder than ever.

Hamish nuzzled against him, and Frazer scratched the loyal little dog behind the ears. At least he could count on somebody. To hell with Callie Grogan. She was nothing to him. It was a bonus that they worked well together, but it was clear that any friendship or understanding beyond that was never going to happen. So be it. If that was the way she wanted things, it was fine with him. He wouldn’t give the infuriating woman another thought.

A low woof drew him from his reverie.

‘You’re right, Hamish. Life is too short. Let’s get out of here and have some fun.’

The dog trotting at his heels, he went to complete the hand-over to the shift coming on for the night, left a pile of paperwork on Archie’s desk and, after phoning the hospital to check on the condition of the casualties they had seen that day, feeling pleased all were stable, went to collect his things before heading for home. He’d pick up some flowers and pay a visit to the one woman who always gave him a warm welcome. His grandmother, Lily. The decision made, he slipped out his cellphone and pressed the key for one of the few numbers he had on speed dial.

‘Hi, sweetheart, it’s me,’ he greeted, smiling at the sound of the familiar voice.

‘How’s my favourite woman? No, I’m leaving now. I thought I’d pick something up and spend the evening with you. Of course! You know I’d do anything for you! See you soon.’

Frazer’s sexy voice and intimate words rang in Callie’s ears. She ducked back into the female locker room, cursing herself for eavesdropping, even if it had been accidental. And to think she had considered apologising for turning down Frazer’s invitation. It hadn’t taken him long to line up another date for the evening with one of his many women, had it? How foolish of her to ever think he had been sincere, genuine. Collecting her things, thankful to avoid seeing him again, she made her escape, fretting all the way home to the small house she had rented in town.

She’d baited Frazer on purpose, and even though she was annoyed at the way he had reacted, turning swiftly to one of his women, she now felt bad about her own actions. Mostly because her reasoning was so skewed. She’d been scared of weakening, so she had deliberately created more of a barrier between them—just as she had used her wedding ring as an emotional shield, slipping it back on her finger in front of Frazer as a statement. It certainly wasn’t because she wanted any reminder of feckless, uncaring Ed, the man who had done a runner after a few months of marriage, rejecting her the moment things had become remotely tough. A cynical smile twisted her lips as she thought of the vows they had made at the register office. For better or worse, in sickness and in health. Yeah, right. Bastard.

Once home, she felt the tension of the day drain out of her. She was exhausted—they had been manically busy—and yet the exhilaration of the job was everything she had imagined it would be. The buzz, the adrenalin rush, never knowing what was going to happen next. If only it was all like that, with none of the difficult moments with Frazer in between, or Craig and the others asking questions about her that she didn’t want to answer.

Eyes watched her as she flopped down on the sofa.

‘You want to know about my day?’ she asked of her silent audience, thankful to have someone with whom she could let off steam. ‘I made an idiot of myself. The work part was good, though. More than good. I loved it. But meeting Frazer McInnes was an experience I’ll never forget.’

Frazer. Just thinking about him brought a mix of unsettling sensations. She could still remember the feel of his hands on her for those brief moments, the awareness that had rippled through her, the needy response of her body. It had shocked her. The last thing she had expected was to be attracted to him. And however much she wished to deny it—and she would never admit it to another living soul—Frazer was the most deliciously sexy man she had ever met. No wonder he had women falling over themselves to catch his attention. That brought a return of her scowl as she wondered who he was with that night, who had filled the gap after she had turned down a drink with him. Not that she was interested.