Her Firefighter Under the Mistletoe

Particularly when the sick kids were the priority.

And his lasting memories right now were the way her body had felt next to his. The way they’d seemed to fit together so well again—just like they always had.

It was the first time in a long time that he’d felt a connection to a woman.

The first time in a long time he’d ever wanted to feel a connection to a woman.

Sure, he’d dated on a few rare occasions, but nothing had been serious. He’d never introduced anyone to Drew. It was almost as if he didn’t want to let anyone into that part of his life.

Would he ever feel ready to change that?

The doors opened at the end of the corridor and Jessica walked through. She looked absolutely exhausted. There were black circles under her eyes and her skin was even paler than it had been earlier.

He was on his feet in an instant. ‘Jess? How did it go?’

She reached out to touch his arm, her brown eyes fixed on his. ‘The next few hours will be crucial. We’ve done everything we can. Lily’s temperature is coming up gradually. Now it’s just wait and see. I’ve just spoken to her parents.’ Was that a tear in Jess’s eye?

It was there—written all across her face—how much those words pained her. How much she hated it that things were out of her control. The only thing left to do was wait.

She flicked her head from side to side. ‘I need to get a report on all of the other kids. I need to find out how they are all doing.’

‘No.’ He rested his hand on her shoulder. ‘You need to take a break. Come and sit down. Have a coffee, have something to eat. You must be running on empty, you know that can’t be good for you.’

He could see the struggle in her eyes. ‘I just can’t, Callum. There were twelve kids in that accident. I’m the consultant on call. They’re my responsibility.’

Callum glanced at the notes in his hand. ‘Four have already been discharged. Another four have been admitted to the paediatric unit with mild hypothermia, a head injury, and some bumps and scrapes.’

Her eyes widened. ‘How do you know all that?’

He gave her a little smile. ‘It’s part of the investigation after any major incident for the rope rescue crew. I always need to find out the outcomes for the victims. We need to look over everything that we did to make sure there were no mistakes.’

‘And were there?’

He frowned. ‘Apart from our doctor ending up in the Clyde? And your nurse fracturing her ankle?’

A little smile danced across her weary face. ‘I don’t think you have much control over tides and currents—no matter how much you want to. And Jackie? That’s my responsibility. It was me who asked her to come on the rescue.’

He shook his head. He hadn’t been able to shake the picture from his mind of Jessica falling into the icy river. It had made him feel sick to his stomach and would have to form part of his investigation.

‘It’s my job to make sure everyone is safe at the rescue site. It’s my responsibility, not yours.’

Her shoulders relaxed a little. This was probably the first normal conversation she’d had all day. ‘Do you want to fight me for it?’