by emotion.
She was gasping for breath as they neared the car, but as Luke stopped to find the key she started laughing.
‘I feel like a naughty child trying to get home before they find I’m missing,’ she laughed. ‘Oh, Luke, I hope we can stop this labour.’
He looked down at her curiously in the dim light, and his mouth twisted into an answering smile.
‘So do I,’ he murmured…’But whatever we do, we need to do it fast.’
It was an enigmatic statement which Nikki didn’t follow. There was no need to say the obvious, she thought, but then they were in the car, with Luke’s hand on the horn as they turned back out on to the main road towards the hospital.
Nikki turned her face towards the ribbon of bitumen, forcing her thoughts savagely away from the man beside her. Lara McDonald didn’t need a love-struck girl, she needed a competent doctor, and that was just what Nikki had to be.
Nikki was out of the car almost before it had come to a halt at the front door of the hospital, running swiftly up the tiled steps and through the glass doors. The night sister came out to meet her.
‘She’s in the labour ward,’ the sister said. Behind her, a big man in denim work trousers and generous flannelette shirt materialised out of the shadows. He was literally wringing his hands, but ceased momentarily as he reached to clutch Nikki’s arm.
‘The baby’ll die if it comes now,’ he said hoarsely. ‘Doc Russell, it’s too early. And Lara’s had three miscarriages already. This…this is our last chance-’
He broke off to run his hand across his wet cheeks. ‘Oh, God, Doc, you gotta stop it. If this baby doesn’t make it…’
‘Sister, could you find Mr McDonald a cup of strong, sweet tea?’ Nikki said. ‘And then come straight back to the ward. Have you examined Mrs McDonald?’
‘I didn’t like to,’ the sister told her. ‘I thought I might make matters worse.’
‘Good.’ The nurse was right. An internal examination might hurry things even further. She-turned to the labour ward and found Luke by her side.
Two doctors…At least there were two doctors. If the baby was born it would have a much better chance if it could have the undivided attention of Luke while Nikki attended the mother. She smiled gratefully up at Luke as he swung the door wide.
Lara McDonald was a small, wiry woman in her late thirties. She and her husband owned a small sugar farm just out of town, and struggled to make ends meet. Lara’s face reflected it, weathered and lined from years of too much sun and hard work.
Her face was further lined now, creased in agony as a spasm ripped through her. Her eyes were wide with terror, and as Nikki approached she reached out to clutch her hand.
‘Stop it,’ she whispered frantically. ‘You’ve got to stop it.’
Nikki kept hold of the hand until the worst of the spasm passed. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Luke scrubbing and getting into gown and gloves. Once more she was grateful for two doctors. It meant she could stay where she was.
‘Let’s not panic,’ she said gently. ‘Wait until we see what’s going on. When did you start having pains?’
‘After dinner. About…about an hour ago?’
‘Have you had a show? Any bleeding?’
‘No.’ A fresh spasm hit and the hand clutched again.
Then Luke was at the table. The night sister had returned, and together she and Nikki lifted away Lara’s cotton dress. Nikki frowned as the fabric fell to the side. Lara was mid-spasm but her swollen abdomen was smooth and still. Nikki put a hand on the firm flesh. Nothing. This wasn’t a contraction.
She looked a question to Luke. Swiftly he performed a gentle examination, his face clearing as he did.
‘There’s no dilation at all,’ he told Nikki. ‘Mrs McDonald, what did you have for dinner?’
‘I…’ Lara was wincing through pain. ‘I don’t…’ Then she paused. ‘Curry,’ she said suddenly. ‘We had curry.’
‘Do you often have curry?’ Luke’s voice was clipped and professional, demanding the woman’s attention.
‘No…’ She managed a faint smile. ‘But…but I really wanted it. So Bill went down to Innisfail to get some for me. He got three tubs…’
Luke grinned. ‘And you ate the lot.’
‘Well, Bill didn’t like it.’
Luke shook his head. Nikki found herself relaxing, the tension oozing out of her. Three tubs of curry when unaccustomed to it…
‘Mrs McDonald, you’re not in labour,’ she said gently. ‘I’m sure of it. What’s happening to you is caused by your system reacting to curry. Probably your pregnancy has made you a bit more prone to tummy upsets than usual, and the curry is making itself felt.’
‘Is that all?’ The woman’s eyes widened. She stared wildly from Nikki to Luke and then back to Nikki. Slowly the frantic terror behind her eyes faded. Still clutching her stomach, she fell back on to the pillows, exhausted. ‘Oh, my God,’ she whispered fervently. ‘Oh, thank you.’
‘Any time.’ Nikki grinned. She looked up to see Luke’s smile reflecting her own. Relief was making her light- headed, she thought suddenly. She felt like singing. Or maybe…maybe it wasn’t all relief.
‘We’ll give you an injection to settle your tummy, and we’ll keep you overnight,’ Nikki reassured her patient, forcing her attention away from Luke. ‘But you’ll live to eat curry again.’
‘And…and the baby…?’
‘It seems he’s enjoying the new sensations you’ve been causing him too much to want to leave,’ Luke grinned. ‘I bet he emerges in two months demanding more vindaloo and chapattis.’
‘Ugh…’ Lara McDonald moaned. ‘Don’t even mention them…’
A few minutes later they left their patient resigned to an uncomfortable night. Nikki had kept a straight face as she’d administered medication, but as she climbed into the car she broke into delighted chuckles. It wasn’t often that dramas turned so nicely into farce.
‘Unsympathetic wench,’ Luke growled. ‘Did you never have food cravings in pregnancy?’
‘I was desperate for oysters and beer one night,’ Nikki confessed. ‘But I made myself a cup of hot milk instead.’
‘A very restrained young lady,’ Luke nodded. His hand came over to her side of the car. Starting from the tip of her knee, his fingers gradually worked their way upwards. ‘Keep your eyes on the road, Dr Russell,’ he advised kindly. ‘Just remember how restrained you are.’
Nikki gasped. ‘Don’t…’
‘Why?’ The fingers were touching the soft flesh of her inner thigh through the flimsy fabric of her dress. ‘Why stop, Dr Russell?’
‘Because I’ll crash the car if you don’t,’ Nikki managed.
He grinned. ‘Point taken. How long until we get to Whispering Palms?’
The house was in darkness when they arrived home. A solitary lamp burned in the hall, but Beattie and the children had long gone to bed. Nikki locked the big front door behind them and then turned uncertainly to the man beside her. All of a sudden she felt very young, and very shy.
‘G-goodnight, then,’ she stammered.
He flicked her cheek with his finger, lifting an errant wisp of flaming hair. ‘Do you want it to be goodnight, my Nikki?’
Of course she did. Of course she wanted to walk along the passage to the solitude of her own room. She could even do an hour’s study before she slept.
So why was she slowly shaking her head, as if mesmerised by Luke’s slow smile-the look of understanding and care in his hypnotic eyes? Hypnotic… It was the right word, she thought ruefully. It was as if she were drugged. Her eyes held his and she smiled uncertainly up at him.
‘N-no.’
‘Are you sure?’ He took her shoulders in his hands and held her at arm’s length. ‘Nikki, I make no promises about tomorrow. I’m here for two and a half weeks and after that…well, after that, who knows where I’ll be? But for now…’
