friend to me.’
Matthew frowned. ‘Is this the same Tom who goes fishing with you in the summer?’
‘That’s right. I’m sorry to see him brought down by something like this.’ He sent Laura a quick glance. ‘I’m glad that you and Nick were there to take care of him.’
‘I think Nick was expecting it, to be honest. I knew that Tom had been unwell for some time, but I didn’t know how bad it was.’
‘Nick’s more observant than most, I’ll give him that. He’s a very clear-headed young man, but he’s very forthright in his views, too. He doesn’t pull his punches, and he forgets that there is more than one side to most situations.’ He frowned, his mouth tightening in a spasm of anger. ‘We’ve had more than a few arguments over this very subject. He didn’t think Tom should have still been working in A and E.’
‘I know.’
‘Sometimes it seems as though Nick is totally insensitive to what other people are going through. I can understand how Tom must have felt, faced with the thought of giving up his work. I know what it’s like to have to give up a career in medicine. It isn’t an easy thing to accept that your way of life, everything that you’ve worked for, has to come to an end. It can be a brutal blow, but Nick will never appreciate that.’ There was a bitter edge to his words. ‘For him it seems like a simple enough decision, but for Tom it was something he couldn’t even bear to consider.’
‘It’s been forced on him now.’
‘Yes. He’ll have a lot of thinking to do over these next few months while he recovers his strength.’
He reached for the coffee-pot and filled his cup. ‘Actually, I called in to see Tom before I came home this evening. He said that you’d been in to see him, too, and I think it’s made him feel a lot more cheerful to know that he’s surrounded by friends. He seemed resigned to the fact that he’s not going to be able to avoid surgery.’
‘A triple bypass would give him a new lease of life.’
‘That’s true enough.’ He shook his head in grim reflection. ‘It’s a sad fact, but I can’t see him being able to come back to work. He’s only a year or so off retirement, and I think in the end he’ll come around to the fact that he will have to accept his limitations.’
‘That’s probably true, but at least he’ll have his family around him. That will be something for him to look forward to.’
Her father nodded. ‘I’m sure he’ll be glad of their support.’ His expression was sombre. ‘On the other hand, as far as we’re concerned, this whole sorry business leaves us with something of a predicament.’
Laura looked at him curiously. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean that the A and E department has been left with no consultant in charge.’
‘Yes, I had thought of that. I suppose, if Tom is ill for any length of time, which seems likely, the hospital will have to appoint an acting consultant, a locum perhaps.’
‘I don’t imagine it will be easy to get someone suitable as a matter of urgency. What’s most likely to happen is that Nick will be asked to stand in temporarily.’ His features darkened. ‘I expect he’ll be glad enough to step into Tom’s shoes. With nobody standing in his way, he’ll have free rein, won’t he? What is there to stop him from going after what he wants?’
Laura’s eyes widened. ‘You mean that he will be in charge?’
‘Unfortunately, I think that’s a strong possibility.’
Laura struggled to absorb that. Nick, in charge? While she respected him as a doctor, there was no way she would be happy for him to have overall control of her daily work situation. It was bad enough at the moment, when there seemed to be constant friction between them. She was forever having to bite her tongue when their sometimes heated disagreements threatened to get out of control. How would it be when he was the acting consultant?
And that was without even beginning to consider the damaging effect his sudden promotion would have on his working relationship with her father. The result would be calamitous and didn’t bear thinking about.
CHAPTER THREE
LAURA wiped yet another name from the board. That was one more patient she had treated and discharged that night. How many more were there likely to be before her shift ended? It seemed as though she had already dealt with hundreds. Flexing her tired muscles, she reached for another treatment chart.
Wayne Golding was waiting in cubicle number four, and she went there now, drawing back the curtains.
‘Hello, Mr Golding,’ she greeted him. ‘I’m Dr Brett.’ She glanced at the chart, and added, ‘I understand you’ve had a nasty gash to your hand. Perhaps I could have a look at it.’
‘Oh, so you’re finally ready for me, are you?’ he snarled disagreeably. ‘How long does it take for you doctors to get around to looking at your patients around here? I could have bled to death by now.’
Taken aback, Laura viewed him warily. He was a big man in his forties, with ruddy cheeks and nose in a well-worn face that made him look as though he had lived life to the full. He also reeked of alcohol.
‘I’m sorry that you’ve been kept waiting. We’ve been very busy dealing with emergency patients elsewhere in the department.’
He glared at her, his body stiff and threatening, so that she surreptitiously looked towards the alarm button. ‘I haven’t seen any emergency activity around here. I think you’re just making excuses. I’ve got better things to do than sit around for hours on end.’
‘I’m sure you have,’ Laura said, hanging onto her patience by a thin thread. ‘No one enjoys having to wait, but I can assure you that if we had made our road accident patients wait, they certainly wouldn’t have lived to see the day out.’ Her chin lifted in a determined and businesslike way. ‘Perhaps if you let me take a look at your hand I’ll be able to see what needs to be done and send you on your way.’
He thrust his hand towards her face so that she took a step backwards. ‘It’s obvious what needs to be done, isn’t it?’ He spoke to her as though he thought she was an idiot. ‘It needs stitching up.’
She inspected the wound. His knuckles were lacerated, the skin split in several places. She probed gently, searching for any injury to the underlying tendons and ligaments. Growling, he pulled his hand away.
‘Watch what you’re doing. You don’t need to maul it like that,’ he snarled. ‘For all you know, it could be broken.’
‘I’m sorry if I hurt you,’ Laura said quietly. ‘Have you been in a fight?’
‘Someone came at me and I let him have it. If my hand’s broken, he’s going to pay for this.’
‘Fortunately the X-rays don’t show any broken bones,’ Laura murmured. ‘The downside is that there is a nasty infection in there, possibly from an old wound.’
His eyes narrowed on her suspiciously. ‘So what does that mean?’
‘It means that I’ll need to wash the wound out with a medicated solution, and then I’ll put a dressing on your hand so that it stays clean. I’ll prescribe an antibiotic as well to clear up the infection.’
‘You mean you’re not going to stitch it up?’ Angrily, he got to his feet, and Laura quickly drew back, startled.
‘I’m afraid I can’t, not while there’s an infection present. You’ll need to come back the day after tomorrow so that we can look at it again.’
‘You’re doing this to wind me up.’ He lunged towards her, his face a mask of aggression.
‘I’m not, I promise you.’ She tried to stay calm, but his anger was making