‘Rafferty—’ ‘They’re going to winch us down over there.’ He was all business as he turned to her again. ‘Then we’ll just have to climb the last few feet to reach the crew.’ The ground looked an awfully long way away from where they were standing, and she gulped at the thought of dangling off a thin little cable while she lowered herself down the mountainside. ‘You’ll be fine.’ Rafferty pulled her to him and hugged her hard, and she heard the sudden roughness in his voice. ‘I won’t let anything bad happen to you, Natalie.’ Emotion welled up inside her so that it was hard to smile back at him when she felt so choked up. ‘I know you won’t,’ she said huskily. ‘Do you?’ The urgency in his voice was impossible to ignore. ‘I would trust you with my life,’ she said simply. Because it was true. I have always been fascinated by the work that is carried out by overseas aid agencies, and really admire the courage and dedication of the brave doctors and nurses who volunteer to help other people under the most arduous conditions. Setting up my own fictional medical aid agency is my tribute to them. I knew as soon as I introduced Natalie and Rafferty in the first book of my Worlds Together series that I would have to tell their story! That’s how it happens sometimes—characters suddenly appear on a page, bringing with them their own issues. Natalie and Rafferty are both strong-minded people who love one another, but they cannot get past the fact that Natalie is immensely wealthy and Rafferty isn’t. It sounds so simple put like that, but it’s Natalie’s wealth which is keeping them apart. Although Rafferty is a top-flight surgeon, and highly respected in his field, he isn’t sure if he can live up to Natalie’s expectations. Helping these two people resolve their problems was a fascinating process. They skirt around each other, argue frequently and dig in their heels before they finally admit they are both at fault. Even I breathed a huge sigh of relief when they eventually realised that they couldn’t live without one another! It’s the most wonderful feeling when you know that you have given your characters the story they deserve. That’s how I felt at the end of NURSE IN A MILLION, and I hope you will too. Best wishes Jennifer You can visit my website at: www.jennifer-taylor.com Nurse in a Million Jennifer Taylor CONTENTS ‘INCOMING wounded. Stand clear!’ Michael James Rafferty sighed as he tossed the paper towel he’d been using into the waste sack. He’d been in Theatre since five that morning and he was far too tired to appreciate all these stupid games. Snapping on a fresh pair of gloves, he turned to the newcomer. ‘We’re not starring in an episode of M.A.S.H. here, Sandy, so just tell me what’s wrong with the patient and leave out the rest.’ ‘Oh, um, yes, right. Sorry.’ The younger man looked abashed as he wheeled the trolley into the tent and Rafferty sighed again. It was Sandy Baxendale’s first mission with Worlds Together, a leading international medical aid agency, so it was little wonder that he tended to get carried away by the drama of it all. Rafferty made a note not to be too hard on him in future but with over two dozen missions to his credit, he found it difficult to remember when he’d felt the same kind of excitement. Oh, there was still a certain satisfaction when he managed to save a life under the most arduous conditions, but there was no longer that buzz to the job there’d been once upon a time. Maybe it was the fact that Natalie was no longer working with them that had made all the difference, he mused, then blanked out the thought. There was no point going down that route again. ‘OK, so what have we got?’ He ran a critical eye over the young woman on the trolley. ‘A bit of a mess, isn’t she? Where was she found?’ ‘One of the search-and-rescue teams found her buried under the remains of the maternity unit,’ Sandy explained. ‘They’ve no idea if she’s a patient or a member of the staff.’ ‘Did they find anyone else there alive?’ Rafferty asked as he started to examine her. He gently palpated her abdomen but there were no obvious signs that she’d given birth in the days preceding the mudslide which had engulfed a large area of Guatemala. The Worlds Together team had flown out to the region as soon as the Guatemalan government had declared it a national disaster. That had been four days ago and he knew the chances of them finding many more survivors were decreasing by the hour. ‘Two babies. They were still in their cots and that’s probably what saved their lives, according to the search-and-rescue guys. They think the cots must have floated when the mud started to fill up the nursery.’ Sandy shook his head in amazement. ‘It’s incredible that anyone survived when you see the state of the place. The whole area has been literally swamped by mud.’ ‘It’s been a bad incident,’ Rafferty agreed, gently feeling his way down the girl’s
