A Consultant Beyond Compare Read online

  ‘It’s my little sister who deserves all the credit. She was the one who spotted you lying there.’ Katie smiled at him. ‘It’s good to see you sitting up and talking.’ His jaw had been broken, but he was managing to make himself understood, and clearly he was going to make a good recovery.

  They left him in good spirits a few minutes later, and when they were out in the corridor Alex led Katie towards the lift. He said quietly, ‘How did the interview go, by the way? Did they take you on?’

  Katie shook her head. ‘It wasn’t right for me. I understood that it was to be a full-time position, but it turns out that it’s only part time. That won’t do for me.’ She sighed. ‘I’ll just have to keep on looking.’

  ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would be what you wanted.’ He was silent for a moment and then said, ‘Would you like to come and see our A and E department while you’re here? I can give you a whistle-stop tour. It isn’t particularly large, but generally the staff are a friendly crew, and I think you’ll be taken with the great atmosphere in the unit.’

  ‘It sounds as though you’re trying to sell it to me.’ She gave him a wry look. ‘I told you I don’t want to work in A and E.’

  ‘I realise that, but it wouldn’t hurt to take a look around, would it?’

  By now they had arrived at the lift, and she decided she may as well go along with him. It was easier to do that than to stand here and argue with him.

  ‘I suppose so.’

  His mouth made a satisfied quirk. ‘That’s good.’ They stepped into the lift and he pushed the button for the ground floor. ‘I would have thought it was difficult for you to take proper care of your sister if you don’t have a job to go to. Teenagers don’t come cheap these days, and it must cause all kinds of problems for you.’ He gave her a sideways glance. ‘Of course, you might have independent means, for all I know.’

  Katie’s eyes flashed a warning. ‘Will you stop with the persuasive tactics? I can sort my own problems out.’

  He leaned a hand up against the wall of the lift. ‘Can you? How’s Jessica doing? Has she managed to get over whatever it was that made her want to leave home? Since I’ve met you, I can’t imagine that it was any more than teenage hormones and a slight difference of opinion between you.’

  Katie pressed her lips together in an awkward shape. ‘I think I should come clean with you over that,’ she murmured. ‘Jess wasn’t leaving me. The truth is, she ran away from our parents’ home, and she was trying to find me all along. She didn’t want to tell you because she thought you would put her back on the train.’

  He stared at her. ‘She was probably right. I certainly would have tried to make contact with her parents.’ The lift came to a stop and the doors opened. ‘What on earth are you doing, taking care of her?’ he asked as they stepped out into the corridor. ‘Are you going to send her home?’

  ‘She’s my sister. Why wouldn’t I take care of her? And, no, I don’t think I’ll be sending her home for a while. There are too many issues to be resolved before I can do that.’ She frowned. ‘Anyway, what’s caused this sudden about-turn? Not so long ago, you were criticising me for not doing my duty.’

  ‘That was when I believed she was your responsibility. You must be mad to even think about taking on the care of a young girl when you don’t need to. Don’t you have enough to contend with already?’

  ‘With losing my job, you mean?’ She shook her head. ‘That’s nothing compared with what Jessica has been going through, but, then, I dare say you have next to no idea about what it’s like to be part of a dysfunctional family. You probably had your parents behind you every step of the way, helping you through medical school and supporting you through every challenge. What do you know about family breakdown?’

  ‘Believe me, I wouldn’t let it hamper me if there was something I wanted to achieve.’

  By now they had reached the double doors that led into the A and E unit, and he walked with her into the department, his stride long and brisk. She sent him an oblique glance and saw that his jaw was rigid, his eyes taking on a determined glitter.

  No, he wouldn’t let anything stand in his way, would he? He was a man who would succeed no matter what, because he had something inside him that would set him on the right path and keep him there.

  Hadn’t she met someone like him before, someone who had toughed it out no matter what the circumstances, and had made it his aim to live life to the full?

  He stopped suddenly and turned to face her, his eyes widening, and she drew in a quick breath as realisation hit her.

  ‘It was the children’s home, wasn’t it?’ she said in a breathless whisper. ‘That was where we met, all those years ago. You were just a boy, just a couple of years older than Jess is now. They called you Al, and sometimes they were cruel, in the way children are occasionally, because your parents had problems and you could never rely on them to be there for you.’

  ‘And you were Katie Metcalf. You were there because your father died and your mother was going through a nervous breakdown.’ His features had taken on an arrested expression. ‘Lord, how many years ago was that? I still remember that quiet little waif who would shut herself away from everyone else and disappear for hours at a time.’

  She remembered him, too. Tall and good-looking even then, he had been the focus of all the girls’ attention. They had fought over him and he had laughed it off and teased them.

  It had been as though he had been impervious to pain. He had shrugged it off and toughed it out, all swagger and bravado, and she had kept her distance because she had recognised even then that he had the power to break her heart.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  THE doors to the A and E department swished open and Alex laid a hand in the small of Katie’s back, gently urging her into the department. His touch was light and fleeting, but even so it heightened all her senses and sent the blood racing through her veins.

  ‘No wonder I felt that I knew you from somewhere,’ he murmured. ‘We must have been at the children’s home together for several months before you left to go back to live with your mother.’

  ‘I couldn’t place you either,’ she murmured, ‘but, then, you’ve changed. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but your features are somehow different from when you were younger.’ Perhaps it was that his face had matured, the bone structure was more defined, and he had lost that lean and hungry look. His hair was still jet black, but it was expertly cut and shaped now, a far cry from the tousled mane he’d had as a child.

  ‘You’ve changed, too. You were always pretty, but now…now you’re beautiful…And your hair was never this long or this glorious explosion of curls.’ He smiled. ‘You always pinned it back as though it had to be brought under control by whatever means possible.’

  Alex let his gaze wander over her, and she hoped that he couldn’t see the warm flush that must be colouring her cheeks. ‘I remember that you weren’t like the other girls who were staying there with us,’ he said. ‘Most of the time you were quiet and reserved, as though you were in a world of your own. But it was a different matter if some poor soul was being picked on…you were there like a shot, ready to defend him or her.’

  He gave a half-smile. ‘I realised then that there was a fire burning deep inside you. There was a lot more to you than met the eye.’

  Katie wrinkled her nose. ‘We all had our own private sorrows. Some people handled them better than others, I suppose. I was grieving for my father and sad for my mother, and I didn’t feel as though I could take part in the general banter and rough and tumble. My parents had been divorced, but they still kept in touch, and I saw my father on a regular basis.’ She gave him a wry smile. ‘I envied the rest of you. You all seemed to take things in your stride, though of course I know now that outward appearances don’t count for much in that kind of situation.’

  ‘That’s probably true. Most of the kids hung around together and managed to muddle through somehow without too many ill effects.’ His mouth t
wisted. ‘You were different somehow. There must have been umpteen times when the house parents sent me to look for you after you went off and disappeared into the wilderness. I suppose they knew that I would find all your favourite hideaways…like the little copse down by the brook, or the fisherman’s hut at the far end of the marina. We weren’t supposed to go there, but those kind of rules didn’t seem to bother you overmuch at that time.’

  Her blue eyes softened at the memory. ‘They didn’t seem to worry you either. Thanks for not telling on me.’ Her lips made an odd twist. ‘It wasn’t that I didn’t want to know anybody. It was just that I needed to be alone to think things through and try to get my head straight.’

  ‘I realised that.’

  She nodded. It had been Alex above anyone else who had helped her to get through those despairing months. He had talked to her and tried to draw her out, and it hadn’t been long before it had come to her that she had fallen for him, big time. Most likely it had simply been a youthful crush, but even then she had realised that he was someone she could lean on, who would lead her back to a safe haven come what may, and she had found that she longed for the moments when he would be by her side.

  Only it soon dawned on her that his attention wasn’t reserved for her alone. Far from it…He had been a hit with all the girls, and the boys had wanted him on their team, whatever game they had been into at the time. Alex had been devil-may-care, full of ideas about what to do, and everyone had wanted to be with him.

  ‘Alex—uh…Dr Brooklyn, we’ve a patient coming in by ambulance. Aged 30, with chest pain and shortness of breath.’ A fair-haired nurse came over to Alex and handed him a clipboard. Katie guessed she had added the ‘Dr Brooklyn’ for her benefit.

  ‘Ten minutes and he should be here,’ the girl added. ‘I’ve asked Colin to oversee him. Is that all right? I know you wanted him to fill in for an hour or so.’

  ‘That’s fine, Sarah.’

  ‘Good. Will you sign these forms for me? Martin’s on a lunch-break and I need to get them sent off to the lab.’

  ‘OK.’ Alex obliged, checking each of the forms before adding his bold, flowing signature. ‘I’ve brought Katie here to show her around the department. We used to live in the same town by the Humber River, years ago. She’s a doctor, and I’m hoping we can persuade her to join us as an experienced senior house officer. She’s a bit reluctant, so maybe we should show her that we’re all just normal, friendly people who will do our best to make her welcome.’

  Sarah’s expression brightened. ‘An SHO? Rope her in, quick, and don’t let her get away.’ She smiled at Katie. ‘We’re desperate for doctors in here. The department has been expanding quickly, and there are far more patients than we can decently cope with. You’ll love working here, I promise.’

  ‘I’m sure it’s a great unit,’ Katie said softly. ‘I’m just not certain that I want to work in A and E.’ It was easier to put it that way than to say she couldn’t cope with any kind of work as a doctor.

  ‘Oh, Alex is a dream to work with. You’ll see.’ Sarah was already turning away. ‘Must go. I have a dozen or more patients waiting.’

  ‘Don’t let the workload put you off,’ Alex said. ‘We’re all very supportive of one another.’

  ‘Maybe, but I think I’ll go on looking for something else, all the same.’

  His mouth took on a serious slant. ‘Are you still running away, even after all these years? I thought you had more backbone than that.’

  ‘I never ran away.’ Katie looked him straight in the eye. ‘I told you…I needed time to work things out back then. I had to sort it all out in my head. I wasn’t like you…I didn’t know how to put my past life behind me and move on.’

  ‘What makes you think that I did?’

  Her glance flickered over him. ‘You were always strong and in control of yourself. People went to you with their worries and you helped them out. You always seemed to have the answers.’

  ‘But not with you. You were the exception, weren’t you? You always kept something back, just as you’re doing now. I wasn’t shrewd enough then to know how to reach you, and you slipped away.’

  ‘We all moved on eventually. Look at you. Here you are, the head of a department, and you’re still in your early thirties. I always knew you were a go-getter, that you wouldn’t let anything stop you from climbing the mountain.’ She gave a brief smile. ‘Come to think of it, you always said you wanted to come to live in the Lake District, so that’s another ambition to be crossed off the list.’ If he didn’t have any family to leave behind, there was nothing to stand in his way. He was a free agent and could go wherever he wanted.

  She looked around the unit, taking in the calm atmosphere, the quiet way in which the doctors and nurses went about their business. ‘You say you have staffing problems, but you seem to have everything well in hand here.’

  ‘It’s an illusion, all smoke and mirrors.’ His expression was rueful as he followed the direction of her gaze. ‘You should see us on a weekend when the pubs and clubs spill out their customers. Besides, it may look quiet, but the board is filled with the names of patients being attended to.’

  He took her over to the central desk and swivelled the computer monitor around so that she could see the triage screen. ‘See, there are fracture patients, head injuries, suspected septicaemia—you name it, they’re all there.’

  ‘Shouldn’t you be dealing with some of them?’

  He inclined his head a fraction. ‘Officially, I’m still off duty for the next couple of hours. Besides, I wanted to take the opportunity to learn a little more about you. And now that I’ve finally remembered where it was that we met, I’m all the more intrigued. What happened to you after you left the children’s home? Presumably your mother must have married again? I imagine that’s why I didn’t recognise the name Sorenson.’

  ‘She did. I kept the Metcalf part of my name and added Sorenson.’

  ‘And Jessica is your half-sister?’

  ‘That’s right.’

  He leaned his hip against a small side table, so that he was half sitting, half standing, and Katie’s gaze was drawn to the way the fabric of his trousers was stretched across the taut expanse of his thigh. He was strong and muscular, fit and vital in a way that made her heart begin to pound. She looked away.

  ‘So why have things suddenly gone wrong? Why can’t your mother and stepfather take care of her?’ Alex probed. ‘Why should you be landed with all the difficulties of looking after a wayward teenager?’ A siren sounded in the distance, but he took no notice and stayed where he was.

  Katie frowned. ‘What makes you think there are difficulties…and why do you call her wayward? You hardly know her.’

  ‘She has to be wayward to run away in the first place. And teenagers are always trouble. They stay out late, they have issues over clothes and spending money, they get in with bad crowds.’

  ‘Some do, perhaps, but that doesn’t mean that Jess is like that. Anyway, she’s young and vulnerable and I want to do my best for her. She hasn’t had an easy life.’

  ‘She’s still her parents’ responsibility.’

  ‘They’re going through a bad patch.’ It was one that had lasted for more than a few years, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. ‘Mum doesn’t handle stress well. She was ill and went into hospital when Jess was just a toddler, and we both ended up in care because my stepfather couldn’t handle looking after both of us. I think my sister deserves a break. She’s had a troubled childhood.’

  ‘So did you, from the sound of things. You went into care at least twice. I still don’t see why you have to take up their load.’

  ‘Then it’s just as well that you’re not the one who has to make the decision, isn’t it?’ She sent him a cool stare, and he responded by batting it away as though it was of no consequence.

  ‘The ambulance has arrived. Come and see how we work here.’

  ‘Are you sure it’s all right for me to do that?’

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bsp; ‘Of course. Anyway, after the way you did that crike airway on Matt Johnson I looked up your registration. I wanted to be sure that you were qualified before I went ahead and drew up application forms for you to sign.’

  She pulled in a quick breath. ‘Don’t you think you might have been getting a little ahead of yourself?’

  ‘Yes, maybe.’ He didn’t seem at all concerned by her rebuke. ‘Come on. The paramedics will be bringing the patient in at any moment. Colin’s our registrar. He’ll be handling this case.’

  Katie recognised the paramedic from the previous week. ‘This is Luke Hathaway,’ he said, ‘aged 30, complaining of chest pain radiating to both arms, shortness of breath and palpitations. There’s tenderness over the anterior part of his chest wall.’

  Colin supervised Luke’s transfer to a resuscitation room. The registrar was a lanky individual, in his early forties, Katie guessed, and he didn’t seem to mind at all when Alex asked if they could stand in on his assessment of the patient. After acknowledging her and Alex briefly, he concentrated on the young man.

  He began to examine Luke’s chest with a stethoscope. ‘How long have you had this pain?’ he asked him.

  ‘A couple of days, on and off.’ Luke struggled to get his breath. ‘But it started to get worse about an hour ago.’

  ‘Any cough?’

  Luke nodded. ‘I have been coughing, but it’s a hard, tight cough.’

  ‘OK. Are you on any medication, or do you use any kind of drugs?’

  ‘No.’ Luke lowered his head, frowning.

  Colin studied the chart that the paramedic had handed to him. ‘It says here that your father suffers from coronary artery disease, is that right?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘All right. Well, we’ll do an X-ray and obtain an ECG so that we can look at the activity of your heart,’ Colin told him. ‘It’s probably nothing serious, but we’ll do some tests and check for any sign of chest infection.’