Marion Lennox - Bachelor Cure

Hell. Hell!

Get a hold on yourself, Mike Llewellyn, he told himself harshly. She’s only a woman, and you know your vow. So keep your thoughts to yourself. Hands off.

Easier said than done.

He had work to do here, he reminded himself. So do it!

He stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. Tessa’s eyes flew wide in panic, and she’d half risen from the bed before she realised he was smiling and shaking his head.

‘It’s OK, Tess. There’s no need to hit the panic button.’ He lifted the observation chart from the end of the bed and studied it while she regained her composure. ‘This looks great,’ he told her. ‘I wouldn’t have disturbed you but I wanted to talk to you before I started work for the day.’

She blinked, rubbed her eyes and checked the clock. It was seven a.m.

‘So…where’s your dog?’

‘He’s fast asleep. Where you should be.’

‘You’re here to do your ward rounds?’ she said cautiously, and he grinned. He lifted Henry’s wrist and nodded in satisfaction when Henry didn’t stir. Like Strop, Henry was soundly asleep. It looked like it’d take a bomb to wake him. He had fluids aboard, he had a comfortable bed and he had his granddaughter beside him. There was nothing he needed now but sleep.

‘I’ve done my ward rounds.’ He smiled down at her and the feeling of weird intimacy grew stronger. It was almost as if he’d known her in another life. In fact, it was just plain crazy! ‘The patients in this hospital are used to early morning calls,’ he said, trying to keep his voice steady. ‘I left you until last.’

‘Until last!’ She grimaced. ‘Gee, thanks, Dr Llewellyn. If this is a late call, remind me never to get sick in this hospital. I like my sleep.’

‘I thought you’d be grateful.’ His lazy smile deepened. ‘You can now do what most of my patients do,’ he told her kindly. ‘Enjoy the dawn chorus, have breakfast and then go back to getting some beauty sleep. That means go back to bed. You shouldn’t be here, Tess. You know we’ll take care of Henry. He’s sound asleep. The saline’s working, he’s rehydrating nicely and the antibiotic should kick in within twelve hours. With the fluid on board, he’s getting better by the minute.’

‘There’s no fluid output yet.’

‘You wouldn’t expect that,’ he said, and he had his voice under control again. ‘I’m hoping we got to him before there’s any long-term kidney damage.’

‘Even if there’s no kidney damage, it’s obvious he’s had a stroke,’ Tess said grimly. ‘And we don’t know how badly he’ll be affected.’

‘No. We don’t know that, and he’s far too weak to do any testing yet. But there are some good signs, Tess. The fact that he’s still alive now is a very good sign.’

‘Yeah, terrific.’

‘I mean it,’ he said seriously. ‘You realise Henry must have had the stroke five days ago. It’s obvious he has a hemiplegia. At the moment, the left side of his body seems almost totally paralysed. He’s slurring his speech and he appears confused.

‘But he’s survived for five days, Tess, and the only way he can have done that is if he’s had water. Also, there’s a pressure wound on his hip but it’s not a major one. It doesn’t look like he’s lain in the one position for five days. Therefore he must have been able to drag himself out of the cave and down to the creek and back again. If he’d been totally paralysed for five days, he’d be dead by now.’

‘So what are you saying?’

‘I’m saying that once he’s got his fluid balance back to normal-once he’s recovered from shock and exhaustion and we get on top of his chest infection-he may well make a full recovery from his stroke,’ he told her. ‘The fact that he was able to say your name last night was amazing, and even though he hasn’t spoken since the muscles must be still operating. That’s all I wanted to tell you, Dr Westcott. I’m sure you’ll figure it out for yourself, but it might take time and I don’t want a gloomy face scaring Henry into another stroke.’

‘My face is not gloomy,’ she said before she could stop herself, and he grinned.

‘Well, maybe you’re right,’ he agreed. ‘In fact, it’s not gloomy at all.’ He smiled down at her, and Tess found herself flushing under his careful scrutiny. ‘But fearful, though,’ he amended gently. ‘Fearful of your grandfather’s future.’

Her momentary lightness faded. ‘He’s at risk of another stroke, Mike. Isn’t he?’

She didn’t need to ask. She knew the odds.

‘He is,’ he said bluntly. There was no use giving false reassurance. ‘But you know we’ve started him on heparin as well as digoxin. I’m sure much of his weakness now is due to being left so long without attention rather than the stroke itself. I’d say, with good rehabilitation, we’ve a very strong chance of getting Henry back to his beloved farm. Between us, I think we’ve done an excellent night’s work.’

‘I guess…’

He looked down at Tess and his smile died. He could see what she was thinking.

Henry had been so near death. To have pulled him back…well, there were no guarantees now that Henry would be grateful-especially if he was left with a body that wouldn’t do as he commanded. To be left with partial paralysis…

‘I’m telling you, Tess, there can’t be major paralysis,’ he said gently, and his hand came down on the bed to cover hers. It was an unconscious action which he did with many patients, but he was suddenly acutely aware of the contact. He was acutely aware of the linking of their two hands. But he didn’t pull away.

‘No, but…’

‘But?’

‘He won’t be out of trouble in a week,’ she said sadly. ‘Or even a month. He can’t be. So what happens now?’ She stared down at her grandfather’s gaunt face and a muscle worked at the side of her mouth.

‘I won’t be able to return to the States now,’ she said at last. ‘I’ll have to stay.’

Mike frowned, but he was aware of a tiny jerk inside him. It was like something deep within was really pleased with the words he’d just heard.

Go for practicalities…

‘Where does that leave you?’ he asked. ‘Are you on leave from your job?’

‘I quit to come here.’

‘You quit?’

She looked up at him then, and her mouth twisted into a wry smile. She hadn’t moved her hand. It was still under his, and for the life of her she couldn’t find the energy to move it.

This man was her only comfort in all this.

‘It sounds dramatic, doesn’t it?’ She shrugged and managed a grin. ‘It’s not. I’ve been working in emergency medicine for the last two years. It’s been exciting but now… I’ve had enough excitement. I’m moving into family medicine.’

‘You have a job to go to?’

‘I’ve applied for a heap of positions in the States,’ she told him. ‘I was really just waiting to hear if-or where-I’ve been accepted when I had to leave to come here.’ Her gorgeous grin flashed out again. ‘If you must know, I’m expecting a pile of job offers-with salary commensurate with my expected lifestyle, of course-to be waiting when I get home. So it seemed only fair to tell the hospital I wouldn’t be back.’

‘So you’re a free agent?’

‘I guess. Until I have to start working to pay for food.’ She smiled again, that blindingly attractive smile that almost shook his socks off. ‘It seems to me that if Grandpa’s farming one sow, eight piglets and six goats and not a lot else, then I might be in trouble if I expect the farm to pay for my keep-and I don’t much fancy living on piglet.’

‘No.’ Mike gave Tess a smile in return, but his mind was racing.

Bill’s words were echoing strongly in his mind. ‘You have a duty here…’ And ‘We’d accept Doris the pig if only she had a medical degree.’