A Christmas Knight

She nodded. ‘That’d be good. Thanks. I’ll just get my bag from my locker.’ She hurried off to collect her things. ‘So what did they say?’ she asked when she returned and Dominic walked with her to the car park.

‘Rhiannon’s pulled through—the surgeons fixed the liver damage and stopped the bleeding. She’s got an epidural in for pain relief, and she’s going to be observed in ICU for a while to make sure she doesn’t develop pneumonia.’

‘Did they wire her ribs?’

‘They decided against surgical correction of her flail chest, because the ventilator will make sure her lungs are working properly and aren’t compromised by her ribs,’ he said. ‘As soon as the contusions are resolved, provided there aren’t any secondary complications, she can come off ventilation. I popped in to see how she was doing and have a chat with Gary. They’ve warned him that her breathing is going to get slightly worse before it gets better—on the same principle that a bruise always hurts more the day after—but now he knows she’s got a good chance, he’s relaxed a bit.’

‘His daughter’s nice,’ Louisa said. ‘She’ll support them both through it.’

He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. ‘You didn’t have a lunch break either, did you?’

‘Yes, I did,’ she protested.

He gave her a wry smile. ‘Long enough to scoff a chocolate bar, hmm?’

‘A chicken wrap, actually. I don’t like chocolate.’

He looked surprised. ‘You must be the first medic I’ve ever met who doesn’t think it’s a food group. And didn’t you bring in a tin of chocolate biscuits the other day?’

‘Yes—because most people like them.’

‘So you’re more of a savoury person?’ he asked.

‘I love cheese scones,’ she said. ‘And hot buttered toast with Marmite.’

‘That’s utterly revolting,’ he said, pulling a face. ‘So where did you work before here?’

‘The London Victoria. It’s where I did my training.’

‘It’s got a good reputation. What made you come to the George IV?’ he asked.

‘The nurse practitioner post was vacant—plus my parents wanted to retire to the coast. I know London’s only an hour and a half from Brighton, but Ty adores his grandparents and I wanted to be able to stay close to them.’

‘So your husband was able to move his job, too, or is he commuting to London?’

‘Ex.’ She took a deep breath. ‘And Ty’s father isn’t part of our lives. At all.’

He grimaced. ‘Sorry. That was nosey of me, and I didn’t mean to stomp on a sore spot.’

She shrugged. ‘It’s OK. I guess the only way you get to know a new colleague is to ask questions.’

‘True.’ Dominic looked wary. ‘And I owe you an apology from the other day. I’m not normally that rude.’

‘I didn’t think anything of it.’

‘Yes, you did—otherwise you wouldn’t have been so sharp with me in Resus this morning.’

She bit her lip. She had been a bit sharp with him. ‘I’m sorry I was—well, snotty with you.’

‘I understand why. Anyway, there isn’t room for egos in our business. The patients should always come first.’

Her sentiments exactly. ‘I think we started off on the wrong foot.’

‘Agreed, and I’m sorry, too. For the sake of a decent working relationship, can we start again?’

She was all in favour of decent working relationships. ‘Louisa Austin, nurse practitioner. Pleased to meet you.’ She stretched out her hand.

He shook it; again, it felt as if electricity bubbled through her veins, but she ignored the sensation. This was work.

‘Dominic Hurst, senior ED reg. Pleased to meet you, too, Louisa.’ He paused. ‘You said you were looking for riding lessons for your son. I assume Essie told you I have a horse? My best friend owns the stables where I keep him. I could have a word with him and his wife.’

‘Thanks, but there’s no point. He won’t have a space.’

He frowned. ‘How do you mean?’

‘I’ve already tried ringing round some of the local riding schools and…well, their lists are all full.’

He looked surprised. ‘We’re in a recession and riding lessons are one of the first things that tend to get cut, because they’re not cheap—instead of going twice a week, people go riding maybe once a fortnight instead.’

Just as she’d thought. Especially when the waiting lists had suddenly become two years long. Might as well get it over with now. ‘The thing is, my son has Asperger’s.’

He shrugged. ‘And?’

‘The riding schools I rang changed their minds about having places when I explained.’

‘More fool them. Riding’s really good for Asperger’s kids. Being with horses helps them learn to understand non-verbal body language.’

Now that she really hadn’t expected. She was more used to people being uncomfortable around Ty. Understanding like this was rare. ‘Did you used to work in paediatrics, or do you know someone with Asperger’s?’

‘I know someone,’ he said, ‘and horses have made a huge difference to him. But I can remember his parents used to worry themselves sick about him, because he never seemed to make friends at school. I guess you probably do the same with your son.’

‘All the time,’ she admitted, caught off guard.

‘Don’t,’ he said softly. ‘He’ll be fine. He might only have one or two really close friends, but they’ll be good ones—and that’s better than having hundreds of acquaintances you can’t really rely on when life gets tough. And if he finds a job that matches the things he’s interested in and doesn’t involve having to deal with people whose minds aren’t quite as quick as his, he’ll shine.’

She blinked back the sudden rush of tears. How ridiculous. Just because someone understood, instead of making unfair judgements.

‘Look, I’m going straight to the stables from here. I’ll talk to Ric and Bea tonight, and then maybe you can come and have a look round at the weekend, meet the team, and see if Tyler likes the place.’

‘That’s very kind of you. Are you sure?’

‘They do a lot of work with the RDA—Riding for the Disabled Association,’ Dominic said.

Louisa’s chin came up. ‘Tyler isn’t disabled. He just happens to have a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome.’

Dominic sucked in a breath. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean it to sound like that. What I mean is, Ric and Bea believe in inclusion and it doesn’t matter who you are or what your particular challenges are—if you love horses and want to ride, then you should have the chance to do it. Ric’s parents owned the riding school before they retired and Ric took over, and they were the ones who started the RDA work at the stables. So Tyler won’t be made to feel that he’s a special case or anything—he’ll be treated just like everyone else.’

Again, the tears threatened. How long had it been since people outside her own family and her best friend had treated her precious son just like anybody else? ‘Thank you.’