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Was she right?
Was that how he saw her?
To be honest, he wasn’t really sure. Certainly it was hard to imagine her as a doctor and, frankly, he was distinctly uncomfortable about exposing her to some of the horrors that they saw in A and E. But was that because he saw her as a child? He didn’t think so. It was more to do with her personality. Keely had a vulnerability about her that brought out all his protective instincts.
He could see immediately why Sean had found her attractive. It wasn’t just that she was pretty, although she was. Very pretty. But her appeal went much deeper than just her looks. She had the widest, most compelling smile he’d ever seen, an infectious laugh and a warmth that wrapped itself around you like a blanket from the moment you met her.
And privately he thought she was going to find A and E work emotionally draining. Keely felt things too deeply to be able to successfully shrug off some of the incidents that burst through their doors on a daily basis. Which meant that he needed to keep a close eye on her. A very close eye on her indeed.
* * *
By the end of the week Keely was at screaming pitch.
He was driving her mad. Whereas her colleagues were left to their own devices until they shouted for help, every time she turned round Zach was breathing down her neck. It was doing absolutely nothing for her confidence.
She could do the job—she knew she could. But not if her every move was being watched.
She was going to have to say something. The trouble was, when? Working in A and E was fast-paced to say the least. So far they’d had very little time for cosy chats. Maybe today she’d pluck up courage…
Before she could work out how to tackle the subject without sounding defensive, the paramedics brought in an emergency and she and Adam, one of the other new casualty officers, were called to the resuscitation room.
Seconds later Zach slammed open the swing doors of Resus and joined them at the trolley.
‘OK, what have we got?’
‘Twenty-five-year-old male, overdose—we don’t know what he’s taken. He was brought in unconscious.’ Nicky Roberts, one of the A and E sisters, briefed him quickly as they all swung into action. ‘One of his friends found him. Said he’d been depressed lately but didn’t know if he’d been taking any drugs. The ambulance crew put in an airway.’
‘OK.’ Stethoscope looped round his neck, Zach started to examine the man, his movements swift and methodical. ‘No gag reflex. Someone bleep the anaesthetist and let’s give him some oxygen.’
Keely tried not to be impressed by the speed and confidence with which he worked as he took charge of the situation.
‘He’s got dilated pupils, a divergent squint and increased muscle tone and reflexes.’ His eyes flickered past Keely and rested on Adam. ‘Does that give you any clues as to what he might have taken?’
Keely ground her teeth. He was doing it again. Ignoring her and asking Adam the questions. Why hadn’t he asked her? Why wasn’t he treating her the same way he was treating the others?
Did he think she didn’t know the answer?
She gave Adam a moment to speak but when he hesitated, clearly unsure, she stepped forward, her small chin lifting slightly as she spoke.
‘Could it be tricyclics?’
Zach’s gaze swivelled to her and she saw the flicker of surprise in his blue eyes. ‘It could be.’ He looked at her for a long moment, obviously unsure whether to question her further.
Keely took the matter in her own hands. ‘Obviously you’ll want certain tests done,’ she said crisply. ‘In my opinion he needs a drug screen and a blood glucose, BMG, ABG and U and Es.’ She listed the necessary investigations and then held her breath, waiting for his response. Would he give her a row for interrupting when he’d asked Adam the question?
There was a long silence and then a ghost of a smile played around his firm mouth.
‘Then you’d better get a line in and send off those tests.’ He shifted his sharp gaze to one of the student nurses. ‘Pulse and BP?’
Keely felt a rush of relief and reached for an IV cannula.
‘Pulse is 110 and his blood pressure is 70 over 50,’ the student nurse said quickly, flushing slightly as that hard gaze shifted in her direction. ‘Wh-what are tricyclics, Mr Jordan?’
Zach jerked his head towards Keely. ‘Dr Thompson will tell you.’
Was he testing her? Keely taped the cannula in place. ‘It’s a type of antidepressant. Unfortunately it’s quite serious in overdose.’
‘He’s tachycardic and hypotensive,’ Zach muttered, his eyes moving back to Nicky. ‘And his skin is dry and hot. Check his temperature, please. I’m sure Keely’s right and it’s tricyclics. What do you think?’
Nicky shrugged and picked up a thermometer. ‘You’re the doctor, Zach.’
‘That’s never stopped you giving an opinion before.’ Zach’s tone was dry as he returned his attention to the patient. ‘OK, is that line in? Well done, Keely. Let’s give him a plasma expander—500 mils gelatin. Do we have a name for him yet? Address?’
‘The friend was giving his details to Reception. We’ll check,’ Nicky said quickly, despatching another nurse to talk to the receptionist.
Zach drew breath and wiped his forehead on his sleeve. ‘Someone contact the GP, please—find out what he’s taking, if anything.’ He glanced up as the anaesthetist strode into the room. ‘Hi, Doug.’
His colleague gave a brief smile of acknowledgement. ‘What’s the story?’
‘Overdose,’ Zach said briefly. ‘Don’t know what yet. We’re working on it, but we’re guessing tricyclics.’
The anaesthetist rolled his eyes and snapped open the laryngoscope. ‘Bloody antidepressants.’
‘Quite.’ Zach’s gaze returned to his patient. ‘He’s got no gag reflex. I want to wash him out. We need to intubate him with a cuffed tube.’
‘By “we” I assume you mean me,’ the anaesthetist said dryly, and Zach grinned.
‘I do indeed. I’m not rummaging around in someone’s vocal cords unless I have to.’
The anaesthetist frowned and reached for an endotracheal tube. ‘Isn’t it a bit late for gastric lavage? When did he take them?’
‘His friends saw him two hours ago and he was fine,’ Zach said calmly. ‘I want to try it and I want to give him some charcoal.’
‘You’re the boss.’ The anaesthetist shrugged and intubated the patient quickly, using a cuffed endotracheal tube designed to prevent liquid accidentally entering the lungs.
‘Great.’ Zach lifted his eyes to Nicky. ‘Let’s wash him out. Keep 20 mils of the aspirate for a drug screen. Then I want 50 grams of activated charcoal down the tube. And let’s do an ECG.’
His steady stream of instructions left Keely’s head reeling and she watched in awe as he and Nicky worked together, their smooth teamwork a result of years of experience. Nicky seemed to anticipate Zach’s every move without being asked and he was so calm and relaxed that Keely’s admiration quickly turned to gloom. Would she ever be as confident as that?
‘He’s in urinary retention,’ Nicky said quietly, and Zach nodded.
‘That’s common after a tricyclic overdose. Try suprapubic pressure. If that doesn’t work then let’s put in a catheter. How’s that ECG?’
He leaned over her shoulder, frowning as he saw the trace. ‘Well, that pretty much confirms Keely’s diagnosis.’
As if to prove the point the student nurse came back in at that point. ‘I’ve spoken to the GP. He was taking tricyclics. Amitriptyline.’
‘Well done, Keely.’
Zach’s quiet words of praise brought a faint colour to her cheeks and she suddenly felt deliciously warm inside. Maybe she would be as confident as him one day. He was the consultant after all.
Zach lifted the ECG trace and stared down at it. ‘All right, Keely, you’re the one who wants to be a cardiologist. Take a look at that and tell me what you see?’
He handed her the ECG trace and waited while she looked at it.
‘Prolonged PR interval and QRS widening.’
‘Right.’ Zach took the trace back. ‘Consistent with a tricyclic overdose. Let’s give him 8.4 per cent sodium bicarbonate.’
Nicky turned away to do as he’d instructed and Zach turned back to Adam. ‘He needs to be admitted to CCU for cardiac monitoring. Can you bleep the medical reg and I’ll have a word with him?’
Half an hour later the man was stabilised and had been admitted by the medical team.
‘Will he live?’ The student nurse stared at Zach, her eyes wide and slightly stunned.
‘Probably. And he’ll probably do it again,’ Zach said calmly, folding the ECG trace and putting it carefully in the notes.
‘You were amazing, Mr Jordan. You knew exactly what to do. You saved his life.’ She stared at him with a mixture of awe and reverence and Keely felt some empathy with the girl. Watching Zach in action was a humbling experience. Not only was he clearly a skilled doctor but his cool self-confidence had transmitted itself to the rest of the staff. There was no panic with Zach around.
The student nurse was still round eyed with admiration and Keely saw Zach frown slightly as he registered her longing gaze.
How would he react? Would he demolish the girl? No, that wasn’t his style. Look how kind he’d been to her for a start.
But she sensed that his style had changed over the years. The easy charm was still there on the surface but underneath she sensed a cynicism, a hard edge that hadn’t been part of the Zach that she’d known all those years ago. Was it just maturity? Or something else? Had something happened to change him?
‘Saving lives is what we do in A and E.’ His tone was matter-of-fact and a touch impatient as he addressed the student nurse. ‘It’s the job. Any of the doctors here would have done the same.’
Keely could tell by the look on the young nurse’s face that she didn’t believe him, that she’d suddenly turned Zach into some sort of god with supernatural powers.
Nicky had obviously noticed, too, because she dealt with the situation quickly.
‘You’re needed in the dressing clinic, Bella,’ the A and E sister said hastily, ushering the young student nurse out of the room before she could say anything else.
Zach made no reference to the incident, instead thanking them all for their help and issuing a few final instructions to Nicky before striding out of the room to talk to the patient’s friends who were waiting in the relatives’ room.
Keely exchanged looks with Nicky. ‘Does he have that effect on everyone?’
Nicky nodded as she started to clear up the debris in the room.
‘Everyone female. They soon get over it when they realise he isn’t interested.’
Keely threw some rubbish in the bin and tried to sound casual. ‘Isn’t he?’
‘Never.’ Nicky glanced up and shook her head slowly as she looked at her. ‘Oh, no. Not you, too.’
Keely stiffened. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I recognise that expression on your face. I’ve seen it too many times before not to. Don’t fall for him, Keely,’ Nicky warned, lowering her voice as she spoke. ‘It’s a quick route to a broken heart.’
Keely licked dry lips. ‘Do lots of women fall for him?’
‘What do you think?’ Nicky pulled a face and tilted her head to one side. ‘Zach Jordan is so good-looking he can’t walk down a street without women getting neck ache as they stare at him. He’s clever—very clever—and on top of that he’s got this air of calm confidence that women find irresistible. Pretty devastating combination of qualities. Of course lots of women fall for him.’
‘Is he married?’
Now, why on earth had she asked that question?
Nicky’s expression was suddenly remote and discouraging. ‘I can’t discuss Zach’s private life—it wouldn’t be right. But take it from me, he’s not available.’
Keely frowned slightly, wondering why Nicky hadn’t just answered her question.
‘Forget him, Keely. He’s a colleague and nothing more.’ Nicky opened a laryngoscope to check the bulb. ‘I know he’s good-looking but, like I said, falling for Zach is a quick route to a broken heart.’
Unfortunately her warning was about eight years too late, Keely thought gloomily as she ripped off her gloves and tossed them in the bin. She’d fallen heavily for Zach when she’d first met him and she had a nasty feeling that nothing much had changed. He still had the power to turn her insides to jelly.
CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_c54e2b0c-dad7-54d5-91a5-a51209348766)
‘FANCY a drink?’ Nicky opened her locker and pulled out her coat and bag. ‘There’s a lovely pub just across the road. Log fire, nice staff, dishy barman…’
Keely grinned. ‘In that case, definitely.’
It had been a long and stressful day so maybe a drink was just what she needed. A drink and the chance to stare at a dishy man who wasn’t Zach. With any luck she’d fall madly in love with the barman.
‘I’ll just give Fiona and Adam a shout,’ Nicky said, fastening her locker and putting on her coat. ‘They’re both off now, too.’
Keely took a deep breath. ‘And Zach?’
Nicky shook her head. ‘Not Zach. Zach never joins us and anyway…’ she frowned at Keely ‘…I’ve already warned you.’
‘I know.’ Keely wrapped a wool scarf around her neck and smiled brightly ‘Just being sociable, that’s all. He is one of the team.’
‘At work, yes,’ Nicky agreed, walking across the staffroom and tugging open the door, ‘but out of work—no. Zach keeps himself to himself.’
Didhe? Why?
Keely followed her down the corridor, waited while she hassled the two SHOs into joining them and then walked out into the bitterly cold January night and across to the pub.
The pub was warm and cosy and a welcome alternative to her chilly flat.
‘I need to find somewhere decent to live.’ Keely sipped her orange juice and passed her crisps to Nicky. ‘Because I was living and working in London until last week, I didn’t have much time to hunt around so I took the first thing I saw. Believe me, it’s less than exciting and, frankly, the landlord gives me the creeps.’
‘My wife and I are renting a house in Ambleside until we decide where we’re going to settle,’ Adam told them, savouring his beer with obvious enjoyment. ‘What about you Fiona?’
‘Oh, I’ve got an aunt who lives about ten minutes from the hospital, so I’m staying with her for now. She’s great fun, actually.’ Fiona ripped open another packet of crisps. ‘Where do the rest of the staff live?’
Nicky settled back in her chair and stretched out her hands towards the log fire. ‘Well, the senior consultant, Sean, lives about fifteen minutes’ drive away in a converted barn with his wife and three utterly delectable children. Zoe, the staff nurse you probably met today, lives with her boyfriend in Ambleside and I live with my husband in a cottage about ten minutes away towards the Langdales.’
‘Nice. I want to live somewhere more rural. At the moment I’m stuck in a tiny flat in the middle of town.’ Keely pulled a face. ‘What I really wanted was to live in a rural retreat. You know, views of the fells, sheep at the bottom of my garden and an appalling trip to work every time it snows.’
