He sighed. ‘Okay. I’ll lock the door after me.’
After he’d gone, she flopped back on the pillow and stretched luxuriously. Luke was amazing, he made her feel like the most beautiful woman alive.
She laughed out loud at the happiness that fizzed along her veins.
Love. She was in love. How could she not love the man who made her feel so whole and normal?
A tiny doubt tried to creep in but she refused to let it, refused to listen to the malevolent voice that wanted to remind her about the things she hadn’t told him about herself.
She’d faced so much in the last few years…surely she wasn’t so bad for wanting to clasp
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
‘NO REST for the wicked, you two.’
Terri looked around to see Dianne grinning at them from the doorway of the staff lounge.
‘What’s up?’ Luke said.
‘Three victims of a minor MVA on the way in. Details are sketchy but nothing serious by the sound of it. They’ve been scooped up by a Good Samaritan. ETA about five minutes.’
‘Thanks, Dianne.’ Luke picked up his mug and took a quick swallow as he rose to his feet. ‘I’m on my way.’
‘No worries.’ The nurse gave them a quick indulgent smile and disappeared.
Terri’s heart squeezed as Luke winked at her. He leaned down, his breath whispering over her ear as he murmured, ‘I wonder how she knows we’ve been wicked, darling.’
She inhaled sharply then sputtered when her mouthful of coffee went down the wrong way. As she coughed, Luke helpfully patted her a couple of times between the shoulder blades.
‘It might have something to do with being seen all over Port Cavill for the last two weeks holding hands,’ she gasped between small coughs.
‘Good point. Still, nice to have something true circulating on a hospital grapevine for a change.’
He looked so pleased with himself that she couldn’t help laughing. Her own insouciance surprised her. The magic of her relationship with Luke had infected her with a carefree spirit that she hadn’t felt for years.
Her gaze followed him to the sink, enjoying a quick feast on the lean length of him. She loved the way he moved, confident and full of masculine grace.
He turned, catching her eye, and his smile filled with mischievous intimacy. ‘Relax and finish your coffee.’
‘Thanks.’ Her cheeks flooded with warmth as she grinned. ‘I won’t be long.’
A tiny shadow marred her happiness as she watched him leave the room. She still hadn’t told him everything. Surely it wasn’t so bad if she left it a little longer. Everyday was bringing her a greater sense of belonging, an easiness which meant the words, the courage would come soon.
She sighed as she got up and crossed to the sink. The little pact she was making with herself had disaster written all over it. This weekend. She would talk to Luke this weekend. That gave her just over three days to find the right way to broach the subject.
As she walked down the corridor, she saw Luke and Dianne heading towards the front door. The MVA victims must have arrived. She picked up her pace.
She turned into the main emergency foyer and the scene in front of her exploded into her senses.
A woman. Pregnant. Her groin and legs covered in red. Screams tore at Terri’s ears.
‘My baby. I don’t want to lose my baby. Please, help me. I’ve hurt my baby.’
The air around Terri’s legs turned to heavy syrup, dragging at her steps until she stopped. She felt disembodied. Time jerked past frame by frame.
‘Pete! Where’s Pete?’ the woman sobbed. ‘Our baby…’
Images flashed onto Terri’s retinas, blotting out the scene before her.
Baby in peril.
Mother injured.
Blood everywhere.
Nausea swept up from her toes. She couldn’t do this. Not again. She couldn’t help them. She couldn’t move.
Each pore on her skin iced over. She was failing.
Again.
Failing.
Luke flicked a glance at Terri.
Something was terribly, terribly wrong. She was rigid, face as white as a sheet, eyes fixed on the screaming woman.
‘Terri!’
Oh, God. His voice wasn’t reaching her.
He wanted to go to her, hold her, shield her from whatever nightmare was holding her in its thrall. He sensed Terri’s crisis was the bigger emergency, but the patient in front of him was rapidly descending into hysteria.
‘I’ve hurt my baby. Please, save my baby.’ The woman clutched at his arm, dragging his attention back to her.
‘We’ve got you now,’ he said calmly. ‘What’s your name?’
‘N-Nadia.’
‘Nadia, we’re looking after you and your baby. Are you in any pain?’
‘N-no.’ She hiccuped and looked at him in surprise. ‘Not now.’
As he and Dianne settled Nadia on a gurney, Luke glanced across the foyer. Terri was gone.
It was paint, for God’s sake. Nadia and her husband, Pete, had been travelling with an open can of paint-the pregnant woman had been holding it between her knees so she could stir it.
A contraction had caught them by surprise and Peter had driven into their front fence. With the impact, red paint had gone everywhere. A neighbour had piled the hapless pair into his car and brought them into hospital.
The contractions hadn’t continued so no pattern has been established. Luke suspected it had been a set of Braxton-Hicks’ contractions perhaps exacerbated by Nadia’s fear. They’d keep her in hospital for a few hours and monitor her to make sure everything was as it should be. The baby’s heartbeat was strong and regular.
He’d packed Nadia and her husband off to the showers to wash away the last of the paint and now he had to attend to the real emergency.
‘Anyone seen Terri?’
‘I haven’t seen her since…the call about Nadia and Pete,’ Dianne answered, and the others looked around blankly.
‘If you do, page me, stat. Please.’ He ground his teeth. ‘Same goes for any emergencies. I’m going to find her.’
Aware of the circle of concerned faces, he walked out of the department, leaving no words to soothe their fears. He had none.
Urgency drove his steps. He had to find Terri. She’d been shattered. Something about that case had pushed her into some private hell. He’d seen a glimpse of her terror before she’d disappeared. More than terror, she’d looked in danger of disintegrating.
He worked methodically, checking every room. Would she have gone all the way home? For some reason he didn’t think she’d have been able to get that far.
She’d been like a wounded animal, looking for somewhere to tend her injuries, a private place.
He finally found her outside, behind the new gazebo. She was on her knees with her arms wrapped around her body. He could see her knuckles were white as though by gripping tightly she might hold herself together. But even that self-hug wasn’t enough comfort for her. She rocked in a small rhythmic movement that broke his heart.
