she’d soon be able to clear up her own messes as swiftly and efficiently.
Although she’d never regret her decision to leave her full-time teaching position to raise Simon, she did envy both women to a certain degree. They were still career women, free to gossip over coffee without feeling guilty about taking some ‘me’ time. It was just as well they’d been so welcoming, arranging this meet as soon as she’d expressed an interest in the committee. Otherwise her jealousy might have got the better of her again.
‘Personal impact stories, of course. Perhaps we could collate short statements from patients and their families, past and present. They could give an account of what the hospital has done for them and what it would mean to lose its support.
‘That could add a really heartfelt element to the cause…’
‘I could make a start with the families of the other children who were treated after the school fire.’ Quinn knew most of them by sight now, if not personally, and they were certainly aware of Simon. Their kids had been discharged from the hospital long ago whilst he and Ryan, who’d suffered the most serious injuries, were still receiving treatment.
This new mission would give her an introduction into a conversation which didn’t have to solely revolve around Simon’s trauma. She wasn’t the one who bore the physical scars but even she was sick of the sympathetic murmuring every time they walked past.
‘Fantastic. That would be better coming from you, a concerned parent, rather than a soon-to-be-out-of-work member of staff.’ Victoria’s smile softened her features and her praise endeared her to Quinn even more.
‘We might even get the papers to run a series of them to really hammer home how much a part of the children’s recovery the Castle has become. Honest raw emotion versus cold hard cash…I think my contacts at the paper would be only too glad to wage war on some corporate fat cats.’ Robyn was furiously scribbling in a reporter’s notebook she’d plucked from her handbag.
‘Quinn, I’ll pass your name on to a few of the patients who want to help. You could be the co-ordinator for this leg of the campaign, if that’s not too much trouble?’ After draining her cup, Victoria got to her feet and effectively ended the meeting.
‘Not at all. I could even make up some questionnaires to hand out if it would make things easier?’ Admin she could do, and while paperwork had been the bane of her teaching career it was something positive here. It gave her an identity which wasn’t merely that of Quinn, the single mother. She still had one useful function.
‘I’ll leave the details to you and try to organise a collection point for the completed papers. I’m really glad you’ve joined us, Quinn.’ Another smile of acceptance and a firm handshake to solidify her role on the team.
Robyn, too, was packing up to leave. ‘All excellent suggestions. I’ll be sure to put your name forward for a medal or something at the next board meeting if we pull this off. In the meantime, I’m going to go make some more phone calls.’
She gave a sharp nod of her head as though to assure Quinn she’d just passed some sort of initiation test before she vanished out the door after Victoria. It seemed she was the only one not in a hurry to get anywhere.
She took her time finishing her latte and the caffeine seemed to have kicked in as she went to collect Simon with a renewed bounce to her step. Her well-received ideas today gave her hope that somewhere down the line she might come up with another brainwave to aid Simon as well as the hospital.
She rounded the corner and stopped dead, the rubber soles of her shoes squealing in protest on the tiled floor as she pulled on the emergency handbrake.
Unless her eyes were deceiving her, Simon and Matt were walking towards her. Panic slammed into her chest that something was wrong; there was also a fluttering in her pulse, followed by irrational fear again…then relief because they were both smiling. And finally, a surge of gratefulness she’d chosen a dress today instead of her jeans and cardi.
So, her wardrobe choices had become decidedly more feminine this week. It was an ego boost; she felt better inside when she knew she looked good on the outside. It held no significance where Matt was concerned. She definitely hadn’t been paying more attention to her make-up and clothes in case she ran into him again so she looked her best. That would mean she regretted telling him to leave the other night which wasn’t possible. Her primary focus would always be Simon and any other future foster children over men with wanderlust in their bewitching green eyes.
‘Hey. Is everything all right?’ She managed to keep her voice steady and un-chipmunk-like regardless of her heart pounding a dizzying beat.
All of the thoughts she’d had about him since that night hit her at once as the sight of him reminded her she hadn’t exaggerated the effect he had on her. Her lips tingled with the memory of him there, her skin rippled with goose bumps as though his hand still rested upon her and the hairs stood on the back of her neck where he’d kissed her so tenderly.
She supposed it would be really out of order to grab the fire extinguisher off the wall and hose herself down before she forgot where she was and tried to jump Matt’s bones.
‘I thought I’d call in and see how things were going.’ He ruffled Simon’s hair, not meeting her eyes.
Did he mean that in a purely professional capacity? Was he checking in to see how she was after their moment of madness, or just Simon? Why was she overanalysing his every word like a neurotic teenager when she was the one who’d called it a night? She’d forfeited her right to be on his watch-list when she’d directed him towards her front door rather than her bedroom door.
And now her imagination was really going into overdrive, along with her heart rate. Any minute now her tachycardia was going to require a hospital stay of her own if she couldn’t stop thinking about Matt without his scrubs.
She cleared her throat and refocused. He was wearing clothes. They were in public. He had Simon by the hand. Anything remotely erotic beyond that was in her disturbed mind.
‘We’re chugging along as usual.’ The only disruption to their carefully organised schedule were the distractions she was seeking to stop her obsessing over a certain medic. ‘Oh, and I’ve volunteered my services to the hospital committee.’
‘Good. Good. We can use all the help we can get.’ Matt rocked forward and back on his toes, displaying the same unease about seeing each other after their last meet.
Yet, he’d come to seek her out. Albeit using Simon as some sort of barrier between them.
‘How did you get on today, sweetheart?’ It was never fun waiting on the sidelines no matter what the purpose of the visit because there was no telling how his mood would be at the end of these appointments. No child enjoyed sitting still for too long or being poked and prodded by doctors and nurses. Although there was no dragging of heels when he was with Matt. She should really capitalise on that and get him home while there were some happy endorphins going on.
‘Okay.’ It was probably as good an answer as she could hope for.
‘I took the liberty of checking on Simon while I was here. Everything seems to be healing nicely.’
‘Yes. Thanks to you and the rest of the staff.’ Praise where it was due, Matt was very skilled at what he did and everyone here was working to ensure Simon’s scarring would be as minimal as possible.
‘And you. Aftercare at home is equally as important.’
Quinn didn’t know how to respond to his kind acknowledgement that she’d contributed to his recovery in some small way. So far, she’d only seen the areas in which she’d failed him.
As they ran out of things to say to each other, memories of that kiss hovered unattended between them, the air crackling with unresolved sexual tension.
‘Matt says we can go to the zoo tomorrow.’ Leave it to Simon to throw her even more off guard with extra last-minute drama.
‘I don’t