A Mother's Secret

And this time he did pay attention. His bright blue eyes met her brown ones, with more than a little surprise in them.

The smile had disappeared from his face, replaced by a straight line. ‘If you say so,’ he murmured.

* * *

It only took an hour or so to familiarise Gemma with the practice systems and introduce her to the two other GPs who worked at the surgery. She seemed to pick things up quickly, only asking a few pertinent questions then going round and introducing herself to the rest of the staff.

The working-hours negotiations were a little more fraught. He’d hoped she’d be a bit more flexible. She needed to cover three days within the practice, but it would have worked out better if she could have worked some mornings and afternoons and actually done her hours over five days.

But Gemma Halliday was an immovable force. She was adamant that three full days was all she could do. No extra surgeries at all. Her time was to be spent with Isla.

They walked over to the Angel Grace Hospital. It was a nice day and the brisk walk did them both good.

‘I’m hoping you’re happy to see everyone who comes into the practice.’

‘Why wouldn’t I be? Isn’t that what GPs do?’ He should have asked her if she had a jacket. The breeze was rippling her pale pink shirt against her breasts, and the unbuttoned collar was flapping in the wind. Boy, she could be prickly.

‘I just thought you might request to see only the kids.’

She shrugged and shook her head. ‘Not at all. Happy to see anyone. If the other partners want me to see more than my share of kids, that’s fine too. Obviously, they’re my specialty. But that doesn’t mean I won’t see other patients.’

‘Good. That’s good.’

‘How much antenatal care do you have?’

He shook his head. ‘Minimal. We have around twenty-five to thirty-five births a year on the island. Our midwife, Edith, generally does all the antenatal care. It’s only if someone is a complicated case that we become involved.’

‘Do the mothers deliver here?’

‘Most deliver on the mainland. Last year we had six home births. All planned with military precision by Edith. A few more requested them, but Edith and the obstetric consultant deemed them too risky. When we have plans for a home birth, both midwives on the island have to be on call. It can get a little complicated.’

They reached the door of the hospital and Logan held it open for her. ‘So what happens in an emergency situation—for anyone, not just maternity cases—and we need to transport someone quickly?’

He led her down one of the corridors of the hospital. ‘That’s when we call in the emergency helicopter from the naval base at Prestwick. Surgical emergencies, unstable head injuries and maternity emergencies would get transported that way. Ayrshire General Hospital is only about ten minutes away once the helicopter gets in the air.’

He opened another door. ‘We do have a theatre that can be used in emergencies, but it’s a bit basic. This is mostly used for minor procedures.’

She looked around the single theatre. She’d already noticed that the hospital was an older building, probably left over from the war. ‘Do you have a lot of emergencies that require the helicopter?’ Even the thought of the helicopter made her nervous.

‘We had ten last year. They are search-and-rescue helicopters. There are three of them and they normally get scrambled every day. They cover a huge area—twelve times the size of Wales—and we only call them out if absolutely necessary. We’ve transported stable patients on the main island ferry before, or we occasionally run a private boat if the ferries schedules are unsuitable, and transport patients to the mainland where we have an ambulance waiting.’

They walked further along the corridor. ‘Oh, and there’s also the hyperbaric chamber over on the Isle of Cumbrae—Millport. It’s one of only four in Scotland and used for anyone with decompression sickness.’

‘You deal with that around here?’ She shook her head. She hadn’t even considered anything like that. And she didn’t know the first thing about decompression sickness.

He nodded slowly. ‘It would surprise you, but we have a lot of diving in and around the island, and along the Scottish coast. But don’t worry, there’s an on-call hyperbaric consultant at Aberdeen Hospital. He’s the expert in all these things.’

They continued along the corridor and Gemma tried not to let the panic on her face show. She really hadn’t realised the realm of expertise that would be required to work in an island community. At this rate she was going to have to go back into student mode and start studying again. They’d reached the single ward in the hospital. Logan pointed through the glass.

‘Sixteen beds, with patients that we normally reassess on a daily basis. It’s kind of like a mix between a medical ward and an elderly care ward. Lots of chest conditions and confusion due to low oxygen saturation. We have good permanent nursing staff that are more than capable of dealing with any emergency. They re-site drips, give IV antibiotics and other meds, order X-rays and can intubate during an arrest.’ He pointed down the corridor.

‘There are also a few side rooms if required and an A and E department that is chaotic during the summer.’

Gemma’s eyes widened a little. ‘How is that staffed?’ His stomach curled a little. This woman could practically see things coming from a million miles away.

‘It has its own doctor, a couple of nurse practitioners and some regular nursing staff.’ He pointed to a rota on the wall. ‘If the A and E doctor isn’t busy, he would deal with any issue with the ward patients. If not, we get called out.’ He could tell from the expression on her face that she was worried. ‘Don’t worry, it doesn’t happen too often.’

She nodded slowly. ‘I knew there would be occasional callouts because I was covering one day a week for the GP practice. I guess I’ll just need to bring Isla with me.’

Darn it. He hadn’t considered her little girl when he’d persuaded her to work three days a week in the GP practice for the next six weeks. Her job as a paediatric consultant two days a week wouldn’t have included any on-call services. He’d only been thinking of the needs of the practice, not the needs of a single parent and her five-year-old daughter. With one step he’d just trebled her chances of being called out.

He smacked his hand on his forehead. ‘I’m sorry, Gemma. I hadn’t even considered Isla. We’ll need to have a look at the rota.’

She shrugged her shoulders. ‘There’s not much you can do. It’s only for the next six weeks. I guess I’ll just have to cope.’

But the guilt was gnawing away at him. He hadn’t been entirely truthful as he’d given her the tour. Isla just hadn’t entered into his radar at all.

This was the problem with being a single guy with no other responsibilities. Work was his only real consideration in life. Once he had that covered, he didn’t think about much else. ‘Yeah, well, about that...’

‘What?’ Her eyes had widened, giving him an even better view of just what a warm brown they were. She was much smaller than him, maybe around five feet two or three? The kind of small woman that men like him usually wanted to protect. It was instinctual.

But he had the strangest feeling that Gemma Halliday was the kind of woman that didn’t want to be protected. She was more likely to kick you in the groin than cower in a corner.

‘How about I show you where the canteen is in here?’ He tried to guide her along the corridor. From the look of her small frame, the chances were slim that he could fob her off with coffee and cake but it was worth a try.

* * *

Gemma was suspicious. She could practically see Logan Scott shuffling his feet like some nervous teenager waiting to tell you that they’d smashed the car or broken a window. He’d been quite straightforward up until this point, so she had a pretty good idea she wouldn’t like what he had to say.

She let him guide her down the corridor towards the canteen. Coffee sounded good right about now. The hospital set-up looked fine. It was old, but it was clean and functional. The patients in the ward looked well cared for. The staff around here seemed efficient.

It was obvious she wouldn’t find the latest state-of-the-art technology here but, then again, why would she need it? They had X-ray facilities and an ultrasound scanner. An emergency theatre that she hoped she would never see the inside of, and a way to transport the sickest patients off the island.

Logan pushed open the door in front of them and held it open. It took around two seconds for her senses to be assaulted by the smell of prime-time baking. ‘Wow. What do they make in here?’

He pointed at the counter. ‘Della makes cakes every day. And you can make requests if you find a favourite and want it on a particular day.’

She couldn’t help but smile. ‘And what’s your request?’

His answer was instant. ‘The carrot cake...or the cheese scones...or the strawberry tarts—they’re giant. Not like the ones you would buy elsewhere.’

They’d reached the counter. It was clear that anyone who set foot in here wouldn’t want to leave. Piles of freshly baked scones and crumpets, some tray bakes and a whole array of cakes. Gemma didn’t hesitate, she leaned over and picked up a fruit scone. It was still warm. She could practically taste it already.

‘What kind of coffee?’ Logan was poised at the coffee machine. Gemma pointed at the china mugs he was holding.

‘What, no plastic cups?’

He shook his head in mock disgust. ‘On Arran? Not a chance. Everything is served in china over here.’