Jack over to Marcia and pointed to the passenger seat of the car. ‘Janet, get in. One of the world’s leading orthopaedic surgeons is waiting to perform his artistry on your leg. Let’s not keep him waiting.’
That sounds indecent,’ Janet muttered. ‘Now if it were you I’d say Ryan Henry could go ahead, no sweat.’
What on earth…? Abbey took a deep breath and fixed her mother-in-law with a defiant look. ‘Janet, what do you mean by that?’
‘I’ve got eyes in my head,’ Janet said sagely, ‘so don’t think you can pull the wool over ‘em, Abbey Wittner.’ She gave Abbey a sideways smile. ‘And you’ve been a widow for close on two years now. Don’t you even think about letting the memory of my son get in the way of what’s happening between you and that nice young man.’
Abbey licked suddenly dry lips. ‘Janet…’
Janet arched her eyebrows. ‘Yes?’
‘Janet, Ryan Henry is engaged to be married. We haven’t heard from him for nearly a week. He might even
‘Well, if he’s married then I’ll stop thinking thoughts,’ Janet agreed. ‘But you’re barking up the wrong tree if you think my thoughts are indecent. I happen to be thinking thoughts that are very decent indeed.’
After that, it was hard to get any sort of thought process operating for a while. Abbey eventually pulled up in front of the hospital and there was only one thing in her mind.
She’d see Ryan again.
And he might be married.
Ryan was waiting for them. The car pulled up outside Casualty and Ryan strolled across the car park to greet them. The same Ryan. The same smile. The same twinkle in his eyes. The same impossible charm…
‘Janet…’ He greeted Abbey’s mother-in-law first, and gave her a swift hug. Making himself right at home, Abbey thought bitterly. Making my mother-in-law putty in his hands. ‘Glad you decided to trust us.’ Then he turned to Abbey. ‘You shouldn’t be driving.’
‘I have full mobility of my foot and it’s my left one anyway. My right one’s for the brake and that’s all that matters.’ She said it promptly-so promptly that Ryan laughed.
‘You’ve been rehearsing that line.’
‘I knew you’d give me a hard time.’
She did, too. Abbey looked up at Ryan and felt her heart twist. She knew him so well. It was as if the years had peeled away and there was still the same Ryan… Wealthy and respected world-wide, she could still see inside his heart.
‘How’s Sam?’ she said faintly, and blushed. Ryan was looking at her, and if he could read her like she could read him then she was in big trouble. ‘How’s your father?’
‘He’s great.’ Ryan lifted Janet’s bags from the car and took the old lady’s arm. ‘He said to thank you for the flowers and the chocolates.’ He looked at Janet, a faint smile playing at the corner of his mouth. ‘Oh, and he said to give you a message, Janet. He says he’s had a change of heart so now it’s about time you did. Do you think he was talking about your operation-or something else?’
And, to Abbey’s astonishment, Janet blushed bright crimson.
‘Get away with you,’ Janet said fiercely, but she smiled. ‘Silly old fool he is. When’s he due home?’
‘With luck, I’ll have him back at the farm by next week.’
‘Well…’ Abbey stared at her mother-in-law but Janet wasn’t meeting her eyes. No questions, her body language said, and Abbey could only acquiesce. Abbey picked up her crutches and the three of them made their way across to the hospital entrance. ‘And Felicity?’ she asked, still eyeing her mother-in-law.
‘She’s great, too,’ Ryan said curtly.
‘Are you married yet?’ Janet demanded, and Ryan shook his head.
‘Nope. Don’t worry. You’ll get an invitation. Now, Janet, have you been nil by mouth since midnight?’
‘If you mean has Abbey let me eat anything then the answer is not a drop,’ Janet said bitterly. ‘Not even my breakfast cup of tea. Well, what have you done with this Felicity if you haven’t married her?’
Ryan grinned. ‘You make it sound like I’ve stuffed her in a cupboard. You’ll meet her soon enough,’ Ryan promised, ‘but, meanwhile, you and I have a date with a new hip.’ He smiled across at Abbey. ‘Abbey, Steve’s giving the anaesthetic. He’s done his first part anaesthetics and is good-but I wondered if you’d like to scrub and assist. Can you manage it, do you think?’
There was nothing Abbey would like better. To sit out in the waiting room-to play the anxious relative instead of doctor-would just about kill her. She gave Ryan her very best smile and nodded.
‘Watch you work? I’d love to.’
‘Just count the swabs, Abbey girl,’ Janet growled. ‘I’ve heard all about surgeons who leave things behind. What goes in has to come out, and I’m depending on you to see to it.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
Ryan’s preparations left Abbey stunned.
For a start, Ryan had the theatre as Abbey had never seen it. Designed to cope only with emergency surgery, there was equipment here now that Abbey had had no idea could be begged, borrowed or bought on Sapphire Cove’s limited budget
‘It’s borrowed,’ Ryan said briefly when Abbey queried it. ‘Some from Cairns and some from Brisbane.’
‘He’s pulling in favours all over the place,’ Steve told Abbey as they left Ryan, sorting equipment, and went together to don theatre gowns. ‘Ryan Henry’s one slick operator.’
‘Now this I don’t understand,’ Abbey complained. ‘How come Ryan can ask favours in a country he has no contacts in?’
‘If you think he has no contacts, how do you think he got me?’ Steve demanded. He shoved a theatre cap over his receding hairline and gave her a sheepish smile. ‘Favours owed.’ Then, at Abbey’s look of surprise, he explained.
‘Ryan’s a world expert in the orthopaedic management of brittle bone disease. He’s the best, bar none. And he’s generous. Unlike most researchers, he shares his knowledge all over the world. I’ve been using him as a source for my doctorate in medicine.’
‘You’re doing a doctorate?’
‘Well, at the moment. I spent a bit of time trying to figure out what I wanted to do career-wise. I tried general practice, then anaesthetics and then orthopaedic surgery, but I’m heading more and more for a research-based career. My home base is Cairns but I spent last year in New York, working with Ryan. And Ryan… well, he’s been so darned good to me that I can’t refuse. That’s why I’m here. And there are plenty more like me. He only has to ask.’
He only has to ask…
Abbey tied her gown and scrubbed while she thought this through. It was true enough. More than true. Ryan only had to smile… and then he hardly had to ask at all.
What followed was the slickest piece of surgery that Abbey had ever had the privilege to witness.
Abbey abandoned her crutches-her leg was weightbearing again anyway-refused Ryan’s offer of a stool and stood by to assist in any way she could.
Ryan hardly needed her help. He hardly needed anyone.
This surgery normally took a theatre full of staff. Here there was Eileen, Ryan, Steve and herself, and no one could doubt that Janet was in the best of hands.
From the moment Janet was wheeled into Theatre Ryan concentrated totally on the job in hand, to the exclusion of everything else, and Abbey could only marvel at the speed at which he worked.
He made a swift incision-tiny compared to the incisions Abbey had seen for this procedure before. He dislocated the joint with an ease that left Steve and Abbey exchanging wondering glances. Just as easily, the acetabulum-the cup of the pelvis-was cut away and the prosthetic cup inserted in its place. Then the femur was sliced neatly and the damaged sphere of bone removed. The stern of the prosthesis was wedged skilfully into the shaft of the femur, and the new joint enlocated.
Easy. Fast and simple.
It was just that Ryan made it seem so. It looked easy enough that anyone could do it. Only Steve and Abbey, watching in wonder, knew that the ease Ryan was showing was a skill they could never match with a lifetime of
