Buch lesen: «Emergency: Mother Wanted»

CHAPTER ONE

WHAT had she done to deserve it?

Keely Thompson stared in disbelief at the man standing at the front of the lecture theatre.

She always helped old ladies across the road, she fed the birds in winter, she donated time and money to a charity for the homeless, she never told lies and she rang her mother regularly.

All in all she was a pretty responsible citizen and she definitely—most definitely—didn’t deserve to bump into Zach Jordan again. Which proved that people didn’t always get what they deserved, she thought gloomily, shrinking down in her seat and staring at her notepad. They got what they were given, and she’d been given Zach Jordan. Out of the blue, with no warning, and as her boss. Well, not exactly as her boss, but as a senior colleague, which was almost as bad.

When he’d walked through that door to deliver the lecture she’d felt as though she’d been hit by an express train. She’d been expecting one of the junior consultants from the accident and emergency department. She certainly hadn’t expected Zach.

But it was Zach. And as it looked as though she was going to be a senior house officer in the same department as him, she had to come to terms with the fact that he was going to be under her nose. On a daily basis.

She stifled a groan and leaned her forehead on her hand so that he wouldn’t be able to see her face.

So much for her escape plan. She’d chosen the Lake District because it was far away from home. And, most importantly, far away from people who knew her family. She’d needed space. Space and time. Time to think about what she really wanted to do with her life. She hadn’t known that Zach would be here.

Zach, who knew her family almost as well as she did, and on top of that had been present, if not responsible, for the single most humiliating moment of her life. She’d been sixteen and he’d been twenty-four…

What was she going to say to him? How on earth did you greet someone you used to have a massive teenage crush on and hadn’t seen for eight years?

She moved her head slightly and peeped cautiously at the tall, broad-shouldered man standing at the front of the lecture theatre, totally at ease in front of his audience, his presentation style confident and relaxed.

Satisfied that he wasn’t looking in her direction, Keely rested her chin in her palm and allowed herself the luxury of one long look at him. Over the years she’d decided that what she’d felt for Zachary Jordan had just been part of a teenage fantasy, but looking at him now all she could think was that she’d had impeccable taste when she was younger.

The man was lethally attractive. Smooth dark hair swept back from his forehead, sexy blue eyes, a permanently darkened jaw and a body that made women drool. Zach Jordan was a real man in every sense of the word and at sixteen his looks had left her breathless. No other member of the opposite sex had affected her in the same way. She’d spent every minute of every day dreaming about how it would feel to be kissed by him.

He was the stuff of fantasies…

Obviously she wasn’t the only one who thought so if the soft sigh from the female doctor sitting next to her was anything to go by.

‘Wow! I thought doctors only looked like that in American movies. Tell me I’m not going to be working with him every day. I’ll never be able to concentrate. I’m Fiona, by the way.’

Keely quickly introduced herself and picked up her pen. She wouldn’t be able to concentrate either.

She shrank further into her seat as she remembered the way she’d behaved towards him as a teenager. The things she’d said to him. Like the night she’d proposed—

She suppressed a whimper of horror as she recalled that night. How totally humiliating. How on earth was she going to convince him that she wasn’t a dippy teenager any more?

At least she looked different. Her blonde hair was shorter and somewhere along the road she’d grown a chest. And she was twenty-four now, for goodness’ sake. Hardly the child who’d thrown herself at him all those years before. Maybe he would have forgotten all about it.

Staring at Zach was making her insides feel strange so she stared down at her lined pad instead and decided that the thing to do was to concentrate on making notes. It was certainly a better alternative than looking at Zach’s broad shoulders—not that it was guaranteed to keep her mind on her work. There had been at least four occasions at school when she’d been given detention for scribbling ‘Keely loves Zach’ all over her notebook instead of paying attention.

Keely loves Zach…

Only she hadn’t loved Zach, she told herself firmly, tapping her pen on the page as if to emphasise the point to herself. Not really. She’d just been a vulnerable, impressionable teenager and he’d been drop-dead gorgeous and very kind to her. A recipe for emotional disaster when you were sixteen.

She gave herself a mental shake and a sharp talking-to. She didn’t have anything to worry about. She was a completely different person now. A grown woman and a fully qualified doctor about to take up her position as casualty officer in the accident and emergency department. She was long past the age of suffering from childish crushes. All she had to do was keep their relationship professional and prove to him that she was an excellent doctor.

With a determined expression on her delicate features she concentrated hard on that deep, sexy voice, making notes as he spoke about the medico-legal aspects of working in the A and E department, the importance of good note-taking and liaison with GPs.

He was a good speaker, using just enough humour to keep their attention and just enough drama to make his talk interesting. Everyone was paying attention. Especially the women.

‘He’s unbelievable. I don’t think I can work next to that man every day without throwing myself at him,’ Fiona said dreamily, and Keely gave a wry smile. If her brother and sister were to be believed, women had been making fools of themselves over Zach since the minute he’d arrived at medical school, and probably long before that.

And hadn’t she done exactly the same thing herself?

With a sigh her mouth softened into a smile and she remembered the first time her brother had brought Zach home to stay.

It had been love at first sight. On her part at least. Not on Zach’s, of course. By all accounts he’d been used to cool, sophisticated women, and she’d been a smiley, chatty schoolgirl. He wouldn’t have even thought of her in those terms. But still they’d been friends. And maybe they could be friends again—

She pulled herself together to find everyone in the lecture theatre staring at her expectantly.

‘Dr Thompson?’

Oh, help! He’d asked her a question and she’d missed it. She’d been so intent on planning how to make him see her as a mature, qualified doctor that she hadn’t been listening.

Her face heated and her palms were suddenly sweaty. So much for wanting him to take her seriously.

‘I asked you to tell us where you worked last, Dr Thompson.’ He repeated the question calmly and she swallowed.

‘Medical,’ she said breathlessly, glancing round with a self-conscious smile, relieved when he turned his attention to another of the new SHOs.

‘I bet he’s fantastic in bed,’ Fiona said in an undertone. ‘Look at those shoulders, those muscles, those legs—I feel faint just thinking about it.’

Keely felt faint, too, but for different reasons. This was never going to work. Zach was going to treat her the same way everyone else back in London had. As just another member of the Thompson clan, instead of as an individual. All the usual pressures would be there, the expectations—only with Zach it would be even worse because he was bound to remember her as a scatty teenager.

Was he going to think she wasn’t up to the job?

With a long sigh she stared hard at her pad. Unlike her companion, she didn’t want to look at Zach’s body. She already knew how good it looked and the only way she was going to be able to work with Zach was if she didn’t look at his body.

Suddenly she realised that everyone was standing up and shuffling papers. The lecture was over. It was time to start work. And Zach Jordan was walking towards her…

She stood up and clutched her notepad to her chest, aware that her new colleagues were melting discreetly into the background.

‘Hello, Keely.’ The tone of his deep voice told her immediately that he knew exactly who she was and she felt hideously self-conscious. What on earth should she say? Sorry I wasn’t listening when you asked me a question. Sorry I proposed to you last time I saw you.

‘Hello, Dr Jordan—I mean Mr Jordan.’ She’d suddenly remembered that he was a surgeon and corrected herself hastily.

A smile touched his mouth. ‘Just Zach will do fine,’ he murmured. ‘We’re very informal in A and E.’

‘Right—well, what a surprise to see you.’ She stroked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and smiled brightly, wondering what it was about those blue eyes that made her revert to a stammering teenager. ‘I had no idea that you’d be working here.’

‘And is that a problem?’ He gave a quizzical smile which made her knees feel weak and her heart misbehave.

‘Problem?’ Her voice squeaked slightly and she cleared her throat. ‘No—of course it’s not a problem. Why would it be a problem?’

She could think of a hundred reasons, starting with the physical effect he had on her. Just being in the same room as him brought her close to physiological meltdown.

‘So what are you doing here?’ He tilted his head speculatively. ‘You’re a long way from home, Keely Thompson.’

That had been the general idea when she’d chosen the Lake District.

‘After six years in London I needed a change,’ she said quickly, ‘and I love mountains.’

She flushed under his steady regard, remembering that he’d always been perceptive. Could he read her mind? Did he know the real reason she was here? Had he guessed that she’d needed some space to make her own decisions, away from the influence of her family?

‘Right.’ He continued to watch her thoughtfully. ‘And how are Prof and the twins?’

The inevitable question.

‘Oh, you know,’ Keely pinned a smile on her face, her response automatic. ‘Fine. They’re fine. Doing very well as usual.’

‘I lost touch with Stephen,’ Zach confessed, his blue eyes disconcertingly sharp as he looked at her. ‘Doubtless he’s made it to the top?’

Of course. Where else was there for her family?

‘Professor of Immunology,’ Keely muttered, still managing to maintain the smile. Just.

‘And Eleanor?’

‘Consultant Oncologist in London.’ The smile was slipping but he didn’t seem to notice.

‘And the Prof? Is he retired?’

‘Dad?’ Keely’s cheek muscles were aching and she gave up smiling. ‘Oh, come on, Zach! Dad will never retire. His whole life revolves round being a professor.’

‘I suppose it does.’ Zach’s voice was suddenly soft. ‘And what about you, Keely? What’s your chosen career path?’

Did she tell him the truth? That she didn’t know? That the whole question of her future was driving her mad—

No, of course she couldn’t tell him that! Zach was exactly like the other members of her family—clever, ambitious and totally driven. A born leader who had probably never known a moment of self doubt in his life. He was hardly likely to understand or sympathise with her plight, would he? She could hardly confess that she wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to do with her career—could hardly confide that she wasn’t totally enchanted at the prospect of a career as a hospital doctor.

‘Well, I’m doing six months of A and E before I commit myself,’ she said finally, trying to sound suitably enthusiastic, ‘but I’m thinking of doing cardiology. It’s always fascinated me and we haven’t got a cardiologist in the family.’

‘I see.’ He spoke quietly, his expression thoughtful, and for a moment she wondered whether he’d guessed that she wasn’t being entirely honest.

‘And do you think you’ll enjoy A and E?’

She swallowed. Did he think she wasn’t up to it? He’d already said he hadn’t got used to the fact that she’d grown up.

‘I know I’ll love it,’ she said firmly.

‘Right.’ Those blue eyes fixed on hers a moment longer. ‘Well, if you have any problems—any worries at all—I want you to come to me.’

Oh, bother, he definitely didn’t think she was up to it.

‘I’ll be just fine,’ she said, a determined expression on her face. ‘I’m really looking forward to A and E. It’s going to be brilliant. I know I’ll love it.’

He seemed amused by her enthusiastic outburst. ‘It’s nice to see you haven’t changed.’

Well! Talk about tactless! Keely gaped at him. Did the man have problems with his eyesight?

‘Of course I’ve changed!’ She hoped that none of her new colleagues were listening to this conversation. How embarrassing! Being told she hadn’t changed since she was sixteen was hardly flattering. ‘Last time you saw me I had a flat chest, long hair and spots.’

He threw his head back and laughed. ‘Actually, I wasn’t talking about your physical appearance, I was talking about your personality. You always were smiley and good-natured.’ His grin faded. ‘I just hope you don’t find A and E too stressful.’

‘Zach, stop treating me like a child!’ Keely was still put out by the fact that he didn’t think she’d changed. She liked to think of herself as a cool cat. He made her sound more like a fluffy kitten. ‘Of course I won’t find it too stressful. I’m a doctor now! I’m not some child that needs to be nurtured.’

‘I know that.’ His voice was a slow drawl and he smiled again, obviously amused by her defensiveness. ‘It’s just going to take me a bit of time to get used to the idea.’

Oh, great. Then this was going to be every bit as bad as she’d feared when she’d first seen him stride into the lecture theatre.

She clutched her notepad harder and changed the subject. ‘So, how long have you been working here?’

‘In this department? Two years. I’ve been a consultant for a year.’

He was young for the post but, then, that was no surprise. He was every bit as bright as her siblings. In fact, she remembered Stephen sulking because Zach had beaten him in several exams.

‘Well…’ She broke off and cleared her throat. ‘I don’t suppose we’ll see that much of each other, will we? I mean, there are four consultants in the department.’

‘True.’ His eyes gleamed. ‘But we each work with three SHOs and you’re on my team. We’ll see plenty of each other, Keely.’

Her heart tumbled in her chest. How was she going to work with him every day without making a fool of herself? Just five minutes in his company had been enough to show her that the man still had a powerful effect on her. And what did he think of her? He’d admitted that he needed time to get used to the idea she was grown up. Did he think of her as the schoolgirl who’d proposed to him all those years ago?

She chewed her lower lip and decided she had to get things into the open.

‘Listen, Zach…’ She coloured furiously and glanced around quickly to check that no one was listening. ‘About what happened when I was sixteen…’

His face was impassive but she thought she detected a brief twinkle in his eyes.

‘I don’t remember anything happening when you were sixteen.’

He was turning a blind eye to the fact that she’d made a total fool of herself over him.

‘You’re very kind, but I want to apologise. I’ve wanted to for a long time.’ She pressed on, determined to have her say. She couldn’t work with him otherwise.

‘There’s really nothing to apologise for,’ he said quietly, and she flushed.

‘How can you say that when I—when I—’ She broke off, totally swamped with embarrassment, and his face was unbelievably gentle.

‘Had a crush on me? There’s nothing to apologise for, Keely. These things happen.’

‘Are you sure?’ She looked up at him anxiously. ‘You’re not cross? You don’t think it’s going to be a problem between us?’

One dark eyebrow lifted. ‘Why should it be? Unless you’re planning to develop another wild crush on me.’

She was beginning to think it was entirely possible but she managed a laugh that she hoped sounded convincing.

‘Goodness, no! I think I’m a bit beyond childish crushes now, Zach.’

And even if she wasn’t, there was no way he was going to find out about it this time!

His eyes locked with hers. ‘Good. Well, in that case we’re not going to have a problem, and we won’t mention it again.’ He held out his hand. ‘Welcome to A and E, Dr Thompson.’

With that he turned on his heel and left the room, leaving her staring after him. If he’d been handsome at twenty-four—and he certainly had been—then at thirty-two he was devastating.

Not that she was going to think about him in those terms, she told herself hastily. She had made a complete fool of herself over Zach all those years ago and once in a lifetime was more than enough for anyone. This time she was keeping a strict control over her hormones.

She was not going to fall in love with Zach Jordan again…

* * *

Zach walked out of the lecture theatre and made his way back to the A and E department, his thoughts full of Keely.

He still couldn’t believe it was her.

Last time he’d seen her she’d been little more than a child—and a very engaging child at that. He’d never been able to understand how her family had managed to produce a child like Keely. She was so totally different from the rest of them. Eleanor and Stephen were both like their parents—academic, emotionally reserved and totally driven.

But Keely…Zach gave a slight smile as he thought of how she’d been—Keely was warm, affectionate and slightly scatty. Unfortunately those qualities hadn’t been valued enough by her family and he remembered several occasions when Eleanor and Stephen had given their little sister a hard time.

He frowned as he pushed open his office door and put the slides from his lecture back in the cupboard. But somewhere along the line she’d obviously changed if her career plans were anything to go by. Funny really. He wouldn’t have thought she was the sort to be happy in a high-powered hospital career. But he was obviously wrong.

He flicked on his computer, checked his messages and then glanced out of the window towards the mountains. This late in January the fells were always topped with snow and the views from the hospital were breathtaking. He loved it here, but would Keely?