Saving Dr Cooper

‘That’s exactly what I’m doing.’ Heather picked up her fork. She swallowed a mouthful of mashed potato but it tasted like sawdust all of a sudden.

‘There’s more to life than working and looking after Grace,’ Sandra said quietly, then changed the subject to what Grace had done after they had arrived home that afternoon.

Heather made appropriate responses but she couldn’t seem to give her small daughter’s antics her undivided attention as she usually did. Was her mother right? Was it time that she looked for more out of life than just her work and caring for Grace?

Her mind veered off towards what that more might entail and she felt her heart spasm in panic. She wouldn’t risk falling in love again! Even if she found a man who could match Stewart in her estimation—which was highly unlikely—she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t face the heartache if anything happened to him, too. What she’d said to that fireman today about the unexpected happening had been true. He, more than anyone, must know that.

In Ross Tanner’s world life and death were too closely linked to be discounted. It made her wonder how any woman could bear to fall in love with a man who put himself in constant danger like that. How did a woman cope with the thought that the man she loved might not come home one day? She certainly couldn’t, which made it all the more imperative that she steer clear of Tanner.

The thought brought her up short. She wouldn’t see Ross Tanner again so what was she worrying about? They had fleetingly crossed paths that day and that was the end of the matter.

Heather shivered as the cool finger of premonition suddenly slid down her spine. Or had it been merely the beginning and not the end?

‘Thanks, Jane. I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me.’

Ross kissed the ward sister’s cheek. It was Monday morning and, after a lot of persuasion on his behalf, he’d finally been discharged. The consultant had been inclined to keep him in another day but in the end he’d relented after Ross had promised to come straight back if he experienced any problems. To his mind, it was a lot of fuss about nothing, but he did appreciate the excellent care he’d received.

He left the ward and headed for the lift. He knew that he could have asked any one of the crew from Red Watch to collect him but he’d decided to take a taxi back to his flat. Maybe he was making a big mistake but there was something he needed to do before he left.

Sign boards directed him to the accident and emergency unit when he reached the ground floor so he had no difficulty finding his way. The waiting area was packed with people and Ross hesitated. Maybe this wasn’t a good time to talk to Heather when she was so busy.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he spotted her leaving a cubicle and, without pausing to reconsider, he hurried after her. ‘Heather!’

It seemed the most natural thing in the world to call out her first name, natural and right. Dr Cooper was too formal, Ms Cooper impolite, so how else would he address her? And yet Ross wasn’t prepared for the way it made him feel as her name rolled off his tongue. Heather.

He repeated it in his head and felt the heat that flowed through him as he savoured it once more. In that moment Ross knew that it might have been the first time he’d said it but it wouldn’t be the last. Definitely not!

He saw her turn, saw the alarm that lit her soft grey eyes when she recognised him, and knew that it wasn’t going to be easy to convince her of that. Given an inch, Heather was going to run a mile in the opposite direction both physically and metaphorically speaking. He had to find a way to stop her, had to make her run towards him instead of away. Only then could either of them be truly happy.

‘I’m busy.’

The clipped tone of her voice cut through his thoughts like a hot knife slicing through butter, and he flinched. He wasn’t a man given to fanciful notions normally and it stunned him to find himself indulging in them now. However, he didn’t have the time to worry about it when he had more important matters to deal with, like making Heather listen to him for starters. From the look on her face, listening to anything he had to say was about as attractive an idea as plunging her hand into a nest of vipers!

‘I realise that so I won’t detain you. I just wanted to thank you for what you did the other day, Heather. For me and the kid. I believe he’s on the mend.’

‘Yes, so I believe.’

Her expression softened so that Ross had a glimpse of the real woman beneath the ice-cool exterior. He sent up a silent vote of thanks that he was no longer attached to any monitors when he felt his heart kick up a storm. Did she have any idea how drop-dead gorgeous she was? he wondered giddily.

He cleared his throat but he could hear how rough his voice sounded even if Heather seemed blissfully unaware of the strain he was under. Keeping his hands by his sides and well away from her took an awful lot of will-power.

‘You did a great job on him, and on me, too. I just wanted to find a way to thank you properly and wondered if you’d consider having dinner with me one night.’

Ross was almost as shocked as Heather so obviously was when the invitation sprang from his lips. He certainly hadn’t planned on asking her out and would have set about it with a bit more finesse if he had. He saw her face close up and cursed his wayward tongue because it had just cost him an awful lot of ground he might never be able to make up.

‘Thank you, but that isn’t necessary, Mr Tanner. I was only doing my job. Now, if you’ll excuse me.’

She didn’t wait for him to reply before she hurried away. Ross didn’t try to stop her because there was no point. He had wasted the one and only opportunity he was likely to get and that was it. Finito.

There was a taxi dropping off a fare outside the main entrance. Ross got in and told the driver to take him home. He sank back in the seat as the cab headed down the drive, feeling so bad that he seriously wondered if he should have stayed in hospital after all. There was an ache in his chest which alarmed him until he realised it was disappointment at ruining his chance to get to know Heather and not the prelude to a heart attack. He wouldn’t get another opportunity…unless he came up with some sort of a plan to engineer another meeting with her.

A brilliant smile suddenly lit his face and a middle-aged woman, who had stopped on the kerb to let the taxi pass, blushed with pleasure as she received the full benefit of it. Ross didn’t notice her smiling back at him because he was too concerned about devising the perfect plan to see Heather again. It wouldn’t be easy but he’d find a way. There was too much at stake to fail!

CHAPTER THREE (#u7863c25e-4101-5731-99dd-5fa1b3a5cef0)

‘WE’LL need to X-ray your wrist, Mrs Montgomery. I’m fairly certain that it’s broken and not just badly sprained, as you hoped.’

Heather smiled reassuringly at the elderly woman. Alice Montgomery had tripped over a paving stone whilst out shopping with her husband. The couple were obviously shocked by the accident so she decided to arrange for a porter to take the old lady to the radiography unit rather than ask her husband to take her. There was a small unit attached to the accident and emergency department so Alice shouldn’t have to wait too long to be seen.

‘I’ll get a porter to take you through to X-Ray. You can go with your wife, Mr Montgomery, or you can wait in Reception. I could ask one of the nurses to fetch you a cup of tea,’ she suggested, noticing how grey the old man looked.

‘It’s very kind of you, Doctor, but I’d prefer to go with Alice. We do everything together, you see.’

‘Of course. Why don’t you sit there and keep your wife company until the porter gets here? It could take a few minutes to find one who’s free.’

Heather left the cubicle but instead of going directly to the phone to summon a porter she went to the staffroom instead. Melanie was in there, making herself a cup of tea, and Heather smiled beseechingly at her.

‘Any chance that you’d make a cup of tea for the old man in cubicle six? He’s really shaken up and it might help to steady him. I’d make it myself only I’m a bit pushed this morning with Ben being off sick.’

‘No problem,’ Melanie replied cheerfully, dropping a tea-bag into a second mug and topping it up with boiling water from the kettle. ‘What’s up with Ben, by the way? Any idea?’

‘He’s suffering from a nasty case of diarrhoea apparently. Trish took the message.’ Heather grimaced. ‘Let’s hope it isn’t catching. The last thing we need is the rest of the staff going down with some bug or other.’

‘I doubt that will happen. Ben doesn’t get close enough to pass on his germs,’ Melanie observed ruefully.

Heather laughed. ‘I take it that you’ve had no luck with him?’

‘Nope! Not even a flicker of interest. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Maybe you could give me a few tips?’

‘Tips?’ Heather stared at the younger woman in surprise. ‘What do you mean?’

‘That if I had the same kind of effect on our dishy Dr Carlisle that you had on that fireman, I’d be a happy woman.’

Melanie picked up the mug of tea and headed for the door. She grinned as she eased past Heather. ‘I saw him talking to you, Heather. He’d obviously made a special detour down here to see you.’

‘I…um…Yes.’

Heather blushed. She’d tried to forget about Ross Tanner’s visit by concentrating on work, but Melanie’s teasing comment brought it all flooding back. She had been so shocked when he’d asked her out to dinner that she’d not even stopped to think. Her refusal had been instinctive yet all of a sudden she found herself wondering why Ross had invited her out. Had it been simply his way of thanking her, as he’d claimed, or because he was attracted to her, as Melanie believed?

The thought made Heather blush all the more and she heard Melanie laugh. ‘There’s nothing like a hero to make a woman go weak at the knees, is there, Heather?’

Fortunately Melanie didn’t wait for her to reply as she hurried away with the tea. Heather followed more slowly, taking several calming breaths to get herself under control. Maybe some women were attracted to the heroic type of man but she wasn’t one of them. If…and it was a very big if…she ever formed another relationship with a man then she would make sure he was someone who spent his working life safely ensconced behind a desk.

She had reached for the phone to ring for a porter when it struck her that a few days ago she wouldn’t even have considered another relationship. She’d had her work and Grace and they had been more than enough. Her throat constricted with a sudden attack of nerves. Although she hated to admit it, she couldn’t deny that meeting Ross Tanner seemed to have affected her thinking. What a good job it was that she’d refused his invitation to dinner.

It was Friday before Ross came up with a plan to see Heather again. It had been a busy week and Red Watch had been called out a number of times while they’d been on duty. They were off duty that weekend and Ross was looking forward to spending some time with his sister, Kate, and his nephews. It made a nice change, being part of a family, even if it was only for a couple of days.

The plan occurred to him while he was catching up with some of the never-ending paperwork. A memo from divisional HQ, reminding station officers about the need to keep on top of issuing fire certificates, had the same effect as a light being switched on. When was St Gertrude’s due for an inspection?