The Shy Nurse's Rebel Doc Read online

  She couldn’t help a sideways glance as she passed the resuscitation area. The curtains weren’t completely closed. She could see Harriet in there, with her arm around a sobbing woman. She could see the baby on the bed and staff members busy. Someone had wrapped a tiny blood pressure cuff around an arm and was sliding an oxygen saturation probe onto a finger. Someone else was attaching ECG electrodes. Weirdly, the baby’s father—who looked like he’d just come from a gig with his rock band—was standing at the head of the bed, where the person responsible for the airway was supposed to stand. And someone was handing him a stethoscope.

  What the heck?

  She dropped the disposable bedpan into the rubbish and then turned on the taps over the huge sink to wash her hands. She took her time, using a lot of soap and then paper towels to prolong the process a little longer. Like that young technician, she was fighting an urge to cry.

  Her first day on her new job, when all she’d hoped for was to perform well enough to make it obvious that she would be a valuable team member and all she’d done was to make people think she was totally incompetent. Clumsy at best. A liability at worst. She was an emergency department nurse, for heaven’s sake. She should be able to cope with an unfolding crisis in her sleep, not jump like a startled deer just because someone was rushing towards her and barking like a guard dog.

  Sam took a deep breath and then lifted her chin.

  She had patients assigned to her care and she was going to go back and do her job. And, on her way back, she would apologise to the charge nurse, Emily.

  ‘It was an accident.’ Emily actually smiled when Sam spoke to her. ‘Unfortunate timing but I saw what happened and I can’t blame you for getting a fright. It’s not like Blake to speak to people like that but he was under a fair bit of stress. He’d just resuscitated that baby out in the car park.’

  ‘Blake?’

  ‘Blake Cooper. He’s one of our top consultants.’

  ‘No way...’

  What had been intended as no more than an astonished inward reaction must have escaped as a whisper but Emily didn’t seem offended. Her lips twitched.

  ‘I know...but he looks different when he’s in his scrubs and has that hair tied up. You’ll see...’

  Sam didn’t want to see. She’d never forget that appalled glance he’d given her. It would have been bad enough if he’d been the baby’s father but at least she wouldn’t have to see him again. That she’d come to the notice of one of this department’s consultants in such a humiliating manner was too much to even try and process right now.

  ‘How’s the baby?’

  ‘Stable. Looks like he’s got a respiratory infection going on but they’re also querying an underlying heart condition. He’s on his way to PICU at the moment for monitoring and follow up. Oh...your patient, Mrs Henderson? They’re coming to take her to Theatre any minute. She was asking for you. Perhaps you could go up with her?’

  ‘Sure. But what about my other patients?’

  ‘The registrar’s discharged the ETOH overdose. And the diabetic lad is eating breakfast. We’ll discharge him as soon as his mum gets back with his clothes. Don’t worry...’ Emily smiled again. ‘I’ll have a whole new list for you as soon as you get back. I might give you some time in the plaster room. And the paediatric corner—just to let you get a feel for the place.’

  Or to keep her out of harm’s way?

  Sam managed to paste a smile onto her face. ‘That’ll be great. Thanks.’

  * * *

  What a start to the day.

  It was nearly two hours later before Blake Cooper felt like things were back to normal. He had a crisp, clean scrub tunic over his jeans, his penlight torch clipped onto his top pocket along with his pens, and his pager and phone attached to a lower pocket. His hair was neatly combed and fastened into the looped ponytail that was appropriate to his work environment and his own stethoscope lay over his shoulders.

  The lasting impression of the dramatic start to his day was an odd mix. There was an enormous relief that the baby was going to be fine. A cardiac abnormality had been ruled out and the respiratory arrest seemed to have been caused by difficulty breathing due to a bad case of bronchiolitis, which was now being treated by the specialist paediatric team. The stress levels had been remarkably high as he was carrying that baby into Emergency, knowing that he could have already stopped breathing again on the journey from the car park but it didn’t excuse the way he’d shouted at that nurse who’d been right in his path.

  So there was an element of guilt to go with the relief. No wonder the poor girl jumped. He’d never seen her before, either, so maybe she was a relief nurse who wasn’t even experienced in being in an often chaotic environment like the ED. The sound of smashing glass had made him think that he might have been responsible for causing a nasty injury but when he’d looked, she was still on her feet and all he could see beneath a halo of very blonde hair and horrified eyes was a face half covered by a hand.

  A hand with ridiculously polished nails. Polka dots?

  Who the hell put polka dots on their nails? Nobody who was serious about working in a place like this, that was for sure.

  Emily was near the triage desk, updating details on the huge board that kept track of the whereabouts and condition of all the patients in this busy emergency department.

  ‘Hey, Em...’ Blake paused for a moment. ‘Thanks so much for sending someone to rescue my helmet and bag from the car park. Much appreciated.’

  ‘No worries, Blake. You can pay me back by seeing how many of these patients can be discharged. Like this asthma attack in cubicle three. Her oxygen saturation levels have been normal for the last hour but she’s anxious. Used her alarm to call an ambulance even before she’d tried her inhaler.’

  ‘I’ll go and have a chat.’ Blake scanned the rest of the glass board, hoping to find something more challenging but the resuscitation and high acuity areas were currently vacant.

  The peal of childish laughter made Blake, and everyone else around him, turn. It was a welcome change from the sounds children usually made here and there were smiles breaking out everywhere as a toddler came towards them at speed, crowing with delight. An adult was in hot pursuit, arms outstretched to catch the escapee.

  Hands that were almost in contact with the small person whose nappy was now loose enough to hamper chubby legs.

  Hands that had fingernails with polka dots.

  ‘Gotcha...’

  The toddler didn’t seem to mind being captured. With another gurgle of laughter he wrapped his arms around the nurse’s neck. She planted a kiss on the curly head and then turned to take him back to where he was supposed to be—presumably the paediatric area. The moment she became aware of her audience was very obvious. Her eyes widened and her smile was fading as she caught her bottom lip between her teeth.

  Then her gaze collided with Blake’s and a flush of colour instantly stained her cheeks.

  And, for the second time in a single day, he was blindsided.

  She’d had her face half covered the first time he’d seen her so he hadn’t realised...

  He hadn’t realised that this was the most beautiful woman he’d ever clapped eyes on in his entire life.

  Sun-kissed blonde hair and the bluest eyes imaginable. A cute little nose and a generous mouth clearly designed for smiling—or for being kissed...

  He couldn’t drag his gaze away from her.

  She was tall and slim, as well. A model masquerading as a nurse. A Disney princess who probably had a tiara and frothy ball gown tucked away in her locker.

  He was still staring as she hurried away with the toddler peering over her shoulder. As if mocking him, a small hand was waving at Blake.

  ‘Oh, dear...’ Emily murmured. ‘She’s not having the best first day, poor thing.’

  Blake’s inward breath made him realise th
at he hadn’t taken one for a while. ‘Who is that?’

  ‘Samantha Braithwaite. She’s come here from Sydney Central with impeccable references including postgrad qualifications in trauma management.’

  There was a moment’s silence, then, possibly because Blake’s tone had finally filtered through to his colleague.

  ‘Oh, no...’ Emily sighed. ‘Do I have to warn her of your reputation?’

  Blake grinned at her. ‘Do I have a reputation?’

  She laughed. ‘Go away. Do your work. What you do in your personal life is none of my business.’

  He pretended not to hear her final murmur as he headed for cubicle three.

  ‘And thank goodness for that...’

  CHAPTER TWO

  ‘OH, MY GOD, Harriet. I can’t go back tomorrow...’

  Ignoring the glass of wine her friend had put in front of her, Sam buried her face in her hands.

  ‘Don’t be daft. It’ll be fine.’

  ‘Everybody thinks I’m an idiot.’

  ‘That’s not true and you know it.’

  Sam reached for her glass and took a long sip. Okay...maybe not everybody thought that but one person certainly did and he wasn’t just one of the senior doctors in her new department and therefore her boss.

  He was, quite possibly, the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen in her entire life. Emily had been quite right that Blake Cooper looked different in his scrubs. When she’d seen him later today, thanks to chasing that wayward toddler, his hair was pulled back, sleek against his head, the length of it hidden in a kind of knot at the back. And, without the distraction of those rock god tresses, it was his eyes that grabbed attention. Eyes that were so dark you couldn’t distinguish the pupils. Brooding eyes.

  Drop dead sexy...

  But also capable of delivering a withering glance. As they had, in that first moment he’d noticed her thanks to that unfortunate bedpan incident.

  Sam was staring at her glass of wine, now. ‘Has it ever occurred to you that chardonnay looks a lot like urine?’

  Harriet let out a peal of laughter that made heads turn in this trendy wine bar with its glorious view of the beach.

  ‘Let it go.’ She was grinning.

  ‘I can’t. I practically threw a full bedpan of the stuff at the feet of one of Bondi Bayside’s top emergency consultants. You were there. You must have seen the way he glared at me.’

  Pushing her fingers into her hair loosened strands that escaped the coil she had created so carefully in the early hours of this morning. She pulled the clip from the back of her head and let the rest of it escape as well. Maybe that would help her try and move on from her disastrous day.

  ‘I think he had other things on his mind,’ Harriet told her. ‘Honestly, he’ll have forgotten all about it by tomorrow. And, if he hasn’t, he’ll make a joke about it.’

  Sam finally picked up her glass and took a sip. ‘Why were you there, anyway?’

  ‘I heard someone screaming for help in the car park. And then I saw Blake leaping over the fence like some hero in an action movie. Joining in was automatic—it was like a training exercise for the team or something.’

  ‘But you don’t work in ED.’

  ‘I mean the SDR. I’ve told you all about that. Wasn’t it one of the reasons you wanted to come and work on this side of town?’

  Sam nodded. She’d long been envious of Harriet’s involvement with the Specialist Disaster Response team. How exciting would it be to get dispatched as a first response to major incidents like floods or fires or an avalanche, maybe? To be working in the field facing the kind of challenges that you’d never experience in a nice, safe emergency department. She fully intended to try and join the team herself and, given that she wasn’t a firefighter or a paramedic, the first step in that ambition had been to become a member of Bondi Bayside Hospital’s staff.

  Her heart had just sunk a little, however. Had Harriet just made her aware of a possible fly in the ointment? A fly the size of an albatross?

  ‘Blake’s in the SDR?’

  ‘Are you kidding? It was pretty much his baby right from the start. He told me once that he’d been planning to join Médecins Sans Frontières. He’d been through the selection process and was just waiting for his first posting but then his mum had a stroke and she’s pretty dependent on him now so he couldn’t go anywhere. He had a mate in the fire service who got him into USAR and that’s when he came up with the idea of a medical team that could add another level of skill to a first response.’

  ‘USAR?’

  ‘Urban Search and Rescue. I’ve done a course myself. You learn how to find victims in situations like collapsed buildings. It’s awesome. I think most firies do it and a lot of paramedics. Not so many doctors or nurses but it’s attracting more interest now. You have to do it if you’re in the team. Blake’s actually one of the regional instructors now. Plus, he’s winch-trained for helicopters. I’m thinking of doing that training myself, actually. Bit scary, though...’

  Sam was nodding but her thoughts were skidding off in another direction. Blake Cooper was getting more intriguing with everything she heard about him. He was obviously a born leader. He wasn’t afraid of danger.

  And he loved his mother.

  He was also clearly at the top of the SDR ladder.

  ‘Um... Who gets to decide if someone’s allowed to join the team?’

  ‘There’s a committee. People have their names put forward by someone who’s already on the team and there’s a discussion and a vote to see if they’re going to be invited to a training session to try out. And then there’s another vote to decide whether they get to join.’ Harriet raised her eyebrows. ‘Want me to put your name forward?’

  ‘Sure. But, if Blake gets to vote, I think I might have killed my chances.’

  ‘By throwing a bedpan at him?’

  ‘It wasn’t just that. He saw me later today, too. Chasing down a toddler who’d taken off from the paediatric area. He must think I’m totally incompetent.’

  She knew that for a fact, thanks to the second time they had made eye contact today. The moment the chase had ended when she’d scooped up that adorable little boy, she could feel the intensity of his gaze. And his expression...well, the only interpretation she could put on it was complete incredulity. As if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing—that she was still working in his department?

  Harriet shrugged. ‘He’ll soon find out you’re not. He’s one of the smartest guys I know and he can read people pretty well. I could tell him myself, just to speed up the process.’

  ‘No, don’t do that, Harry. It feels like I’d be trying to get something the easy way. Breaking some unwritten rule for a team that must have to rely on everyone being super competent. I’ll just have to impress him at work somehow, if I get the chance. And then you could put my name forward.’

  ‘Don’t try too hard,’ Harriet advised. ‘He likes to make his own decisions. If he gets pushed he’s likely to walk off and do his own thing. He’s a...what’s the word for it...when someone’s a law unto themselves kind of thing?’

  ‘Fascinating’ was the first word that sprang to mind. Or maybe ‘irresistible’...

  ‘Maverick, that’s it.’ Harriet’s nod was satisfied.

  ‘Hmm... I guess he is. I mean, that hair...’

  ‘I know. Not my thing but it doesn’t seem to put other girls off.’

  ‘And he was still wearing jeans under that scrubs top. And...and cowboy boots?’

  Harriet was laughing again. ‘I guess when you’re that brilliant at what you do, you can get away with pretty much anything. He’s a nice guy, Sam. As long as you don’t get too close.’

  ‘Oh? What happens if you do?’

  ‘Well, you don’t. That’s just it. You get a broken heart, that’s all. Oh...speaking of hearts.’ Harriet glanced a
t her watch. ‘I’ve got to run. Pete’s taking me out to dinner and that doesn’t happen very often. I think...’ She bit her lip, hazel eyes sparkling beneath her tumble of auburn curls. ‘I think he’s going to ask me to move in with him.’

  ‘Really?’ Oh, my God, Harry. That’s almost a proposal. Are you going to say yes?’

  Harriet grinned. ‘You have met Pete, haven’t you?’

  ‘Of course I have.’

  She’d met Harriet’s boyfriend more than once. A tall, very fit fireman who was also part of the SDR, Pete had sun-bleached blond hair thanks to his favourite hobby of surfing and a body that was a testament to the number of hours he spent at the gym. He was undeniably good looking and seemed like a perfectly nice guy but...

  Sam gave her head a tiny shake as she reached for her bag. There was no ‘but’. Her parents would be rapt if she brought someone like Pete home. They would be horrified if she turned up with someone like...

  Like Blake Cooper.

  Good grief...one glass of wine on a sunny afternoon and it had gone straight to her head, hadn’t it?

  ‘I hope Pete takes you somewhere really romantic.’

  ‘I don’t care if it’s a fast food joint, to be honest. You coming to the bus stop?’

  ‘No. I left my car at work.’ She hugged her friend. ‘And I’ve got some shopping to do. Catch you tomorrow, maybe?’

  Luckily there was a pharmacy in the group of local shops near the wine bar. Sam headed in and grabbed an item that had been at the back of her mind all day.

  Nail polish remover.

  * * *

  The little red car was still there.

  Blake Cooper was finally heading home after a long shift. He had already worked more than his allocated hours and he would have stayed longer still so that he’d had a chance to get up to the paediatric wing and check on the baby he’d resuscitated this morning but he had another place he needed to be and someone who needed him to be there.

  It made him smile to see the car again. He’d have to tell his mum about it, he decided, as he climbed onto his bike and rocked it free of its stand. A trip down memory lane for both of them was one of her favourite things. Maybe he’d even have a dig in those old boxes at the back of the garage and see if that box of toys was still there somewhere.