he was a good foot taller than Jess, with a lot more bulk and muscle. Even he could feel the hidden currents pulling at his weight.
Every man working on the minibus had been wearing a line—except him. He took a few seconds to follow the lines from the riverbank to the bus, until he located the one that led directly into the river.
The firefighters on the bank were having the same problem. It took a few moments of frantic scrambling to ascertain which line belonged to Jess. They started to reel it in and Callum waded through the water towards it.
There! A flash of green as she was tugged nearer the surface.
He grabbed, lifting her whole body with one arm, raising her head and chest above the water’s surface.
For the briefest second there was nothing, just the paler-than-pale face.
Then she coughed and spluttered, and was promptly sick into the river. He fastened one arm around her chest, pulling her back towards him, supporting her weight and lifting his other arm to signal to the crew to stop pulling in her line.
‘I’ve got you, Jess. It’s okay.’ He whispered the words calmly in her ear. The cold wasn’t bothering him now. There was no heat coming from her body, but he could feel the rise and fall of her chest under his hands. He could feel her breathe.
Relief. That was the sensation sweeping through him. Pure and utter relief.
He always felt like this after a rescue. It was as if the anxiety and stomach-clenching that had been an essential part of his momentum and drive to keep going just left him all at once. More often than that, after a rescue he would go home and sleep soundly for ten hours, all his energy expended. Building reserves for the next day so he could do it all again.
Even Drew understood. And on those nights his little body would climb into bed next to his father and cuddle in, his little back tucked against Callum’s chest—just the way Jess’s was now.
She coughed and spluttered again. He could hear her teeth chattering. She still hadn’t spoken. Was she in shock?
There would be an investigation later. An investigation into why the paediatric consultant helping them had ended up in the middle of a fast-flowing icy river.
But right now he wanted to make sure Jess was okay. He started wading towards the riverbank, keeping Jess close to his chest. Several of his colleagues waded in towards him, sweeping Jess out of his arms and wrapping them both in blankets.
One of the paramedics started pulling out equipment to check her over. Callum pulled his jacket and shirt over his head. The cold air meant nothing to him right now—he couldn’t be any colder anyway. He gratefully accepted a red fleece thrust at him by one of his colleagues.
He pulled it over his head. There was instant heat as soft fleece came into contact with his icy skin. Bliss.
Two basket stretchers with a firefighter on either side were currently being guided up the steep, treacherous slope. The two kids with hypothermia. He could see the ambulance technicians waiting at the top of the bank, ready to load them into the waiting ambulances.
‘Stop it!’
He turned, just in time to see Jess push herself to her feet and take a few wobbly steps.
‘I’m fine. Now, leave me alone.’ She pulled the blankets closer around her, obviously trying to keep the cold out.
He turned to one of his colleagues. ‘See if someone will volunteer some dry clothing for our lady doc.’
Jess stalked towards him. Her face was still deathly pale, but her involuntary shivering seemed to have stopped. She pointed to the stretchers. ‘I need to get to the kids. I need to get them to hospital.’
Callum shook his head. ‘Jess, you’ve just been submerged in freezing water. You need to get checked over yourself. The kids will go straight to Parkhill. One of your colleagues will be able to take care of them.’
She shook her head fiercely. ‘I will take care of them. I’m the consultant on call. Neither of my junior colleagues has enough experience to deal with this. Two kids with hypothermia? It’s hardly an everyday occurrence. Those kids need me right now.’
One of the firefighters appeared at his side with a T-shirt and another jacket. Callum rolled his eyes. ‘You’ve still got a stubborn streak a mile wide, haven’t you?’
He handed the clothes over to her. ‘Get changed and I’ll get you back topside.’ She shrugged off her jumpsuit, tying the wet top half around her middle, hesitating only for a second before she pulled her thin cotton top off underneath.
In just a few seconds he saw her pale skin and the outline of her small breasts against her damp white bra. It was almost translucent. She pulled the other T-shirt over her head in a flash. But not before he’d managed to note just how thin she was.
Jess had always been slim. But slim with curves. What had happened to her?
She zipped the jacket up to her neck. Meeting his eyes with a steely glare. Daring him to mention the fact she’d just stripped at a riverside, or to mention her obviously underweight figure.
Callum knew better.
He’d learned over the last few years to pick his battles carefully.
Now wasn’t the time.
He signalled and a couple of lines appeared down the side of the steep incline. He leaned over and clipped her harness. Her whole bottom half was still wet—as was his. Spare T-shirts and jackets could be found, but spare shoes and trousers? Not a chance.
‘You do realise we go back up the way we came down?’
She sighed, but he couldn’t help but notice the faint tremble in her hands. An after-effect of the cold water? Or something else?
He stepped behind her and interlocked their harnesses. ‘The quickest way to get you back up is to let me help you.’
He could see her brain searching for a reason to disagree.
‘You want to get back up to those kids?’
She nodded. Whatever her reservations, she’d pushed them aside.
‘Then let me help you. It’s like abseiling in reverse. Lean back against me.’
She was hesitating, still keeping all the weight on her legs, so he pulled her backwards towards him. He felt a little shock to feel her body next to his.
It had felt different in the water, more buoyant, the water between them cushioning the sensation. But now it was just clothes. Wet clothes, which clung to every curve of their bodies.
Her body was tense, stiff, and it took a few seconds for her to relax. He wrapped his arms around her, holding onto the lines in front of them, and gave them a little tug. His lips accidentally brushed against her ear as he spoke to her. ‘We let the lines take our weight. If you just lean back into me, I’ll walk up back up the incline. Just try and keep your legs in pace with mine. It feels a little weird, but it’ll only take a few minutes.’
He let her listen, digest his words. He could feel her breathing sync with his, the rise and fall of their chests becoming simultaneous. She put her hands forward, holding onto the same line as he was, reaching for a little security in the strange situation.
He wrapped his hands around hers. his thick gloves were in place, to take the taut strain of the line.
He felt the tug of the line and started to walk his legs up the slope, taking her weight on his body. He looked skyward. Praying for divine intervention to stop any reactions taking place.
It was the weirdest sensation. The last time their bodies had been locked together she’d been seventeen and he’d been twenty-one. A whole lifetime had passed since then.
A marriage, a divorce, a fierce custody battle—and that was just him. What had happened to her?
His eyes went automatically