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He cleared his throat and she turned to look at him again, feeling her heart immediately sink when she saw that the aloof mask was firmly in place once more. What a fool she was to have imagined that he might have had a change of heart so soon!
‘It will take a couple of days once we get under way to assess the kind of problems we’re going to be dealing with. As you know, my main area of interest is eye disorders, but I shall be doing my share of general surgery, as well as dealing with whatever medical problems we encounter.’
‘That was something I was going to ask you about,’ Meg put in quietly, deliberately confining her thoughts to work because it seemed wiser. She was there to do a job, not to make friends and influence people, and she would be better off remembering that. ‘I know a lot of these overseas aid trips specialise in various fields and I wasn’t sure if that was what we would be doing.’
‘Ideally it would be wonderful if we could specialise. Diseases of the eye, for instance, are a huge problem in a lot of developing countries. I would like nothing better than to spend the next three months devoting my time solely to that area. However, it just isn’t practical,’ he explained levelly. ‘Oncamba has been cut off from the rest of the world for so long that the people have had no access to any sort of medical help for a great many years.’
‘I see. So we are going to treat anyone and everyone we can—is that it?’ Meg asked, frowning as she thought what a huge undertaking it was going to be.
‘That’s right. Oh, I shall still focus as much as I can on treating cases of trachoma and Guy, the other surgeon who has travelled on ahead to get things ready, has a keen interest in the early detection of cervical cancer. But, basically, you’re right. We shall be seeing as many patients as we can fit into a day, no matter what type of problem they have.’
He frowned. ‘It means that the workload is going to be very intensive so it certainly won’t be the best introduction you could have had to this type of work.’
Meaning that he didn’t think she would cope with the pressure? She almost laughed out loud as she realised just how foolish she’d been to imagine he might care about hurting her feelings when he lost no opportunity to try and undermine her confidence!
‘Maybe not. But I’m sure I’ll cope, Dr Trent, despite the fact that you’re expecting me to fall flat on my face!’
She knew how unprofessional it was to speak to him like that and steeled herself for his reply. What she had never expected was that he would laugh.
‘I’m sure that falling flat on your face is something you rarely do, Meg Andrews! I’m certainly not expecting or hoping it will happen either.’
His amusement vanished as abruptly as it had appeared. ‘However, that doesn’t mean that I’ve changed my mind. This isn’t the sort of work for a woman like you.’
And what sort of a woman is that? Meg wanted to ask, only she didn’t. She didn’t need to because she already knew. Obviously, the sort of woman who didn’t impress Jack Trent!
It wasn’t a comforting thought when they would be working together for the next three months. Yet, if she was really honest, she would have been forced to admit that it wasn’t just the fact that he held her in such low esteem professionally which hurt, but the fact that his opinion of her as a person obviously wasn’t any better.
What a good job it was that she had no intention of being that honest!
It was getting dark by the time they reached the village where they would spend the night. Meg was as exhausted as everyone else as she scrambled stiffly down from the lorry. The last five miles of the journey had been a test of endurance and she was black and blue from being jolted around.
‘Why on earth do we volunteer for these trips? I mean, I could be sitting in front of the telly right now with a cup of tea, watching Coronation Street. Must be mad, mustn’t we?’
Lesley came to join her, rubbing her back as she tried to work the kinks out of it. Meg smiled sympathetically. ‘I know what you mean. I thought my teeth were going to drop out on that last stretch!’
She grimaced when Lesley laughed then coloured as she caught the I-told-you-so expression on Jack’s face as he strode past them to speak to Rory. Without stopping to think, she stuck out her tongue at his retreating back and heard Lesley stifle a snort of surprised laughter.
‘Do I get the impression that you and our esteemed leader don’t see eye to eye?’
Meg shrugged, wishing that she hadn’t behaved so childishly. She certainly didn’t want to cause problems within the team at this early stage. ‘Sort of. Anyway, what happens now?’
Lesley took the hint and didn’t pursue it, but Meg could tell that she was curious about what had gone wrong between her and Jack. What could she have said if Lesley had asked her what the problem was? Meg thought ruefully. That Jack didn’t like her for some reason?
It was the truth and yet it seemed such a feeble explanation that she doubted anyone would believe it. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, Jack Trent didn’t strike her as a man who took an unreasoning dislike to people.
That thought didn’t help one bit—it simply served to make her feel even more perplexed. It was a relief when Jack announced that because of the lateness of the hour it might be better if they got straight to bed after they’d had something to eat.
It turned out that Moses lived in the village and his wife, Leah, had prepared a meal for them. Everyone sat round the fire while they ate the deliciously spicy stew the woman had made.
Meg hadn’t realised just how hungry she was until then and had a second helping when Leah shyly offered it to her. She was a beautiful young woman with smooth, ebony skin, her hair intricately beaded and braided. She was obviously heavily pregnant, her distended belly clearly visible beneath the flowing, brightly coloured robe which covered her from neck to ankle. However, she still managed to move gracefully as she served their meal.
She smiled shyly when Meg thanked her. ‘I am pleased that you enjoyed it, Doctor,’ she said in her lilting voice, before she moved away to offer Rory a second helping, which was eagerly accepted.
‘Why does she call us all ‘‘Doctor’’?’ Meg queried, spooning up another mouthful of the tasty concoction. ‘I noticed that Moses did the same before, calling me Dr Meg.’
‘Women come very low down in the pecking order in a lot of these African countries,’ Rory explained, then glanced at Jack who was sitting beside him. ‘Isn’t that right?’
‘Unfortunately, it is. We’ve found by trial and error that it’s better if all the staff are awarded doctor status as it cuts down on a lot of problems, particularly with the male patients,’ he explained, putting aside his empty plate. ‘They accept treatment from a female doctor far more readily than they would accept it from a nurse. On trips like this, our nurses are more nurse practitioners than anything else, responsible both for diagnosing and prescribing treatment in many cases.’
‘And you have no problem with that?’ Meg asked before she could think better of it. She shrugged when everyone looked at her, glad that the heat of the fire could be blamed for her suddenly heightened colour.
‘A lot of doctors don’t hold nurses in very high esteem,’ she muttered uncomfortably.
‘Not a sin that I’m guilty of, believe me. And especially not on an undertaking like this. Everyone’s input is equally important to the success of the operation, which is why everyone is expected to pull his or her weight.’
Was she the only one to feel the sting in the tail of that statement? Meg glanced round the assembled group but not one of them looked as though they suspected Jack had meant that as a warning. It was hardly surprising when it had been aimed at her, though, was it? Hadn’t he said much the same thing earlier, that she was expected to pull her weight? Maybe he was taking the opportunity to remind her?
Suddenly, Meg knew that she’d had enough for one day. She was sick and tired of being in the dog house when she hadn’t done anything to deserve it! She scrambled to her feet, avoiding Jack’s eyes as she smiled at the rest of the team.
‘I don’t know about you lot, but I’m worn out. I think I’ll call it a night if nobody minds.’
‘Well, I don’t for starters.’ Kate got up as well, groaning as she arched her aching back. She shot a wry look at Jack. ‘Yvonne was right to cry off at the last minute if you ask me. I bet she knew you were going to have us bouncing around over miles and miles of dirt tracks!’
Jack laughed deeply as he rose to his feet. In the flickering glow from the fire, his face looked almost saturnine until he smiled, and then there was such a transformation that Meg had to look away, because she didn’t like the way her heart had started to bounce up and down.
It was only a smile, for heaven’s sake! she told herself sternly. And it hadn’t even been directed at her. Yet her foolish heart was playing leap-frog with her ribs.
‘You could be right about that. I should have told her that we’d be travelling by limo and then she might have felt well enough to come along.’ He sighed as he looked at the others. ‘I’m sure we’re all going to miss her.’
Especially when he’d been saddled with a replacement he didn’t want!
Meg turned away, afraid that the hurt she felt would show on her face. Was he deliberately trying to be cruel? she wondered sickly as she hurried towards the hut she’d been allocated to sleep in.
‘Meg, wait a moment!’
She paused when she heard Jack calling her name, although she didn’t turn round because she wasn’t sure that she had her emotions in check sufficiently to face him. She kept her back towards him, staring at the inky blackness of the trees that surrounded the village, yet she knew to the second when he stopped behind her.
That inner radar again, working overtime, she thought with a surge of black humour. Maybe she should use it as an early warning system for whenever he was in the vicinity. She certainly could do with avoiding him from the look of it!
‘I didn’t mean that as it sounded.’ He got straight to the point without any preamble, surprising her enough so that she half turned. She saw the regret in his grey eyes and somehow that undid all her good work, setting free her carefully shored-up emotions. It had been a long, tiring day and Jack’s intransigent attitude hadn’t helped one bit!
She felt her lower lip quiver before she could stop it and quickly turned away, hating herself for letting him see that he had the power to upset her.
‘Oh, hell!’ He reached out, as though he was going to touch her, then let his hand fall to his side without actually making contact. ‘Look, Meg, I wasn’t trying to make you feel that I wanted Yvonne here instead of you,’ he ground out, as though the words had cost him an awful lot of effort.
Maybe they had, Meg thought with unaccustomed cynicism. It certainly couldn’t have been easy for Jack to lie for the sake of harmony within the team!
‘Don’t worry about it,’ she said with an insouciance which cost her even more. ‘I certainly shan’t!’
He didn’t actually grind his teeth but the effect was much the same. Her blue eyes widened when she saw myriad emotions cross his face at that moment. It was a measure of his strength of mind that he managed to control himself, but she was shaking in her boots.
Why in the name of all that was holy did she know that he’d been tempted…sorely tempted…to kiss her? She had no idea but the thought was enough to make her head spin.
‘I apologise, anyway. Goodnight.’
He strode away, leaving her standing there, staring after him. Meg took a tiny breath and let it trickle into her lungs. A bigger one might have helped but she didn’t seem capable of that. Breathing was an effort, thinking even more of one, but feeling…well, feeling was easy-peasy!
She shivered as a hot trickle worked its way up her spine, shuddered as a cold one flowed the other way. Hot and cold chills were suddenly racing through her body however they chose and she couldn’t stop them!
She closed her eyes and tried to subdue the little devils but that was a mistake of gigantic proportions. Jack’s face suddenly filled her mind—lean cheeks, moody grey eyes, enticingly kissable lips…
‘Oh!’ Her eyes shot open before her wayward mind could go any further. Stills she could just about deal with, but if that picture had become animated and moved to the next frame—a close-up of the kiss Jack had so very nearly bestowed on her…
She groaned then clapped a hand over her mouth in case anyone heard her. She had to get a grip! So what if Jack had been tempted to kiss her just now? It didn’t mean that she would have let him or responded. It took two to tango, as her mother was so fond of saying, only that didn’t sound nearly as reassuring as it should have done. While she had absolutely no desire to tango with Jack…
She cut the rest of that thought dead!
Meg wasn’t sure what had woken her. She was so tired that it was a wonder anything had. Yet suddenly she found herself wide awake and staring round at the darkness. Lesley was snoring softly in the adjoining campbed so obviously whatever had woken Meg hadn’t disturbed her.
For a moment she debated rolling over and going back to sleep, but the nagging feeling that something was wrong wouldn’t go away. Pushing back the mosquito net, she took her shoes from the end of the bed and shook them to dislodge any creepy-crawly visitors before slipping them on her feet.
Leah had left them a candle to light the hut with while they’d got undressed but they’d blown it out and now there was only the pale shimmer from a sickle moon to see by as Meg made her way to the door. She peered out across the clearing in the centre of the village and felt her skin prickle with alarm when she saw shadowy figures moving about in front of one of the huts. What was going on? Who was out there? And, more importantly, should she go and find out?
Meg hesitated but the feeling that something was wrong wouldn’t go away. Her legs felt like lead as she stepped from the relative safety of the hut and began to cross the clearing. It was a relief when she spotted Moses among the crowd of people gathered by the hut.
‘Is something wrong?’ she asked, going straight over to speak to him.
He turned to her and his face looked grey and drawn in the moonlight. ‘It is Leah, Dr Meg. The baby is coming but there is something wrong and he cannot be born.’
He gave an expressive shrug which said more than any words could have done. Meg felt her heart sink as she wondered what the problem might be. There were so many things that could go wrong during a birth, although thankfully most could be dealt with in the safety of a hospital. However, this was the middle of the African bush and she had no idea what she was letting herself in for as Moses eagerly accepted her offer of help. At that moment, it seemed a very long time since she’d done her stint on the maternity unit.
The hut was lit by candles, and as Meg went inside she could see several women gathered around the low pallet that Leah was lying on. It was obvious that they were the local midwives and she was conscious that she might offend them if she offered her help. However, they made no objection when she knelt beside Leah, simply moved aside to make room for her. She had a feeling that they believed they’d done all they could and her heart sank even further at that thought, although she tried not to show any trace of concern.
‘Hello, Leah. It’s Dr Meg,’ she said softly, noting the lines of pain that bracketed the girl’s mouth. ‘Can I just check how your baby is doing?’
Leah nodded mutely. She was obviously too exhausted to speak. She arched upwards as another contraction began, a keening wail coming from her as the pain tore through her body. Meg was shocked by how strong her contractions were because there had been no sign that she’d been in labour when she’d served their meal a few hours earlier.
She placed her hand on the young woman’s abdomen and gently palpated it, feeling the hard form of the baby beneath her palm. She couldn’t be certain but she suspected that it was lying in the breech position and that was what was causing the problem. Turning the baby was beyond her because she simply didn’t have that kind of expertise. However, it was obvious that something had to be done—and quickly—otherwise both mother and child could die.
She patted Leah’s hand, trying to sound a lot more confident than she actually felt. ‘Don’t worry, Leah. I’ll go and get another of the doctors and we’ll help you deliver your baby. All right?’
She wasn’t sure that the girl had even heard her as Leah stared at her with pain-glazed eyes. Meg hurried from the hut and ran across the clearing. Whether it was professional courtesy or pure instinct which made her go straight to Jack’s hut, she wasn’t sure, but she didn’t stop to debate it as she ducked under the low lintel. Leah needed help and, in her view, Jack was the best qualified to give it.
‘Jack, wake up!’ Pushing aside the mosquito netting, she put her hand on his bare shoulder, ignoring the frisson which shot up her arm as she felt the heat of his skin. He was naked from the waist up, a thin white sheet covering the lower half of his body and outlining the narrowness of his hips and muscular power of his long legs.
Meg quickly averted her eyes and focused on the task of waking him rather than letting her mind go wandering off. All right, so Jack was superbly fit but now certainly wasn’t the time to be thinking about it. She tightened her grip on his shoulder and shook him. ‘Wake up, Jack!’
He came to in a rush, grabbing hold of her and rolling over in one swift movement. Before she knew what was happening, Meg found herself flat on her back with Jack looming over her.
‘What the devil…?’ For a moment he looked as stunned as she felt before a slow smile spread across his face. Meg felt her heart go into overdrive because it wasn’t a nice sort of smile by any means. Wolfish. Mocking. Sexy, certainly, but definitely not nice!
‘Well, well. What have we here? Don’t tell me that you’re hoping to improve my opinion of you that way, Ms Andrews?’
CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_0f72f5a4-a6e3-583f-a98a-6869a8d0c0f9)
‘I…YOU…Let me go!’
Meg rolled to her feet as soon as Jack had released her. Pushing back her tumbled hair, she glared at him. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’
He lay back against the pillow, a thin smile curving his mouth. ‘I think I got my question in first, don’t you?’
Meg felt a rush of colour wash up her face and was glad that it was so dark that he couldn’t possibly have seen it. Did he honestly believe that she would have tried to influence him by offering to sleep with him?
The thought sent another surge of heat through her veins which she decided owed itself to anger. It had nothing to do with the remembered feel of his powerful body as it had pressed hers into the mattress, no connection whatsoever to the fact that just for a moment she’d found herself actually enjoying the contact. She was angry because never in her life had she been so…so insulted!
‘If you imagine that I shall dignify that question with an answer then think again!’ she snapped back.
‘In that case, you’ll understand if I don’t answer your question, won’t you? Anyway, I suppose there must have been a reason why you saw fit to wake me even if it isn’t the one that sprang to mind. Is something wrong?’
She very nearly turned round and marched right out of the hut. She had sensed all along that Jack had a low opinion of her but she hadn’t realised before just how low it was. It was only the thought of Leah which helped curb her temper and remember what she was doing there in the first place.
‘Leah’s in labour but there seems to be a problem,’ she explained through gritted teeth. ‘I might be wrong but I think the baby could be breech. Can you come and take a look at her?’
‘Of course.’ He was out of bed before she could blink, stepping into his trousers and dragging on his shirt as he headed for the door. Meg hurried after him as he strode across the clearing, answering the questions he shot at her to the best of her ability. She felt a trifle stunned by the speed of the transformation as he’d switched back to total professionalism in the blink of an eye. Obviously, work came first on Jack’s list of priorities and everything else came a very poor second. Why didn’t that surprise her?
Jack went straight to the bed. Kneeling down, he smiled reassuringly at the young woman. ‘Dr Meg tells me that you’re having trouble, Leah—may I see?’
‘Yes…’ Leah’s voice was weak with exhaustion and Meg found it difficult to hide her concern as she knelt beside the bed and took her pulse. It was so thready and faint that Meg’s heart plummeted because she knew Leah wouldn’t survive if something wasn’t done soon to help her.
Jack looked up and his eyes reflected her concern as he looked at her across the bed. ‘The baby is lying horizontally rather than breech from the feel of it. There’s no chance of it being delivered normally because its arm and shoulder appear to be jammed in her pelvis.’
Meg swallowed as she realised the implications. ‘She needs a Caesarean section, you mean?’
Jack nodded. ‘Yes. There isn’t any other option open to us at this stage. The only way to get that baby out is by doing a section otherwise we’re going to lose both of them.’ He glanced at the young woman and for a moment his face contorted with pain. ‘It might be too late even now but we have to try.’
Meg didn’t question his judgement because she knew he was right. If they didn’t operate immediately then both Leah and her baby would die. She stood up and there was a new determination in her eyes when she looked at Jack. Even if there was only a slim chance that they could save them then they had to try.
‘What do you want me to do first?’
Jack stood up as well and she felt her pulse leap as he smiled at her because for the first time ever there was a trace of admiration on his face. ‘Reckon we can do it, then, Meg?’ he asked quietly, his voice sounding very deep.
She squared her shoulders, striving for a calm she wished she felt, but it was hard to achieve that state when it felt as though dozens of butterflies were fluttering around inside her stomach. To see Jack look at her that way was everything she could have wished for, even though she wasn’t sure why it should have mattered so much.
‘Yes. If anyone can help Leah, I know you can,’ she said quietly, knowing in her heart that it was true.
He inclined his head in brief acknowledgement but that didn’t mean she missed the flare of some other emotion in the depths of his eyes…
She turned away before her mind could start racing along paths there simply wasn’t time to follow right then. She focused strictly on what Jack was saying as he rattled out a list of instructions. Fortunately, they had all the supplies they could possibly need close to hand, although the thought of performing the operation under such conditions was daunting.
