I really don’t care if I offend at times. This is better for the patient.’
He handed over the chart and then spoke to Reece. ‘I’m going to put another IV in you so that we can push fluids in and then I shall speak with your wife.’
‘Can you tell her that there’s no point hanging around?’
‘She’s not going to want to go home while you’re in Theatre,’ Cate pointed out as she added the medication to the flask.
‘I just don’t want her here,’ Reece snapped. ‘I don’t want to be a burden.’
‘Then stop being one,’ Cate said, and Juan’s head jerked up from the IV he was putting in. He’d heard a lot of straight talking—emergency nurses were very good at it—but hearing what Cate had to say to Reece made him falter momentarily.
‘The illness and the treatment you are on must be awful, for both of you,’ Cate continued to Reece, ‘but I can think of nothing worse than loving someone who is sick and being repeatedly told that they don’t want you there, that you’d be better off without them.’
‘I think she’d be happier—’ Reece attempted, but Cate didn’t let him finish.
‘I’m quite sure Amanda would be happier if you graciously accepted her love and affection and her need to take care of you, to help you both get through this.’
Juan headed over to the sharps box. He could feel his pulse pounding in his temples, feel the roar of blood in his ears, and, for reasons of his own, he wished he hadn’t heard that, yet he felt compelled to respond.
‘She’s right.’ Juan’s voice was husky and he cleared his throat before continuing. ‘Cate is right, Reece. If your wife didn’t want to be here for you then she’d have gone long ago.’
‘You don’t know that.’
‘Cate…’ Juan turned ‘…could you go and speak with Amanda and let her know what is happening and then bring her in?’
‘Sure,’ Cate answered. ‘Reece, are you okay with me letting her know that you have appendicitis?’
Reece nodded. Clearly Cate’s words had had an impact on him because he let out a sigh and lay back on his pillows, but as she walked out of the cubicle he met suddenly serious grey eyes. Only then did Reece realise that there was more to come.
‘Right,’ Juan said to his patient. ‘While we’ve got a moment, I’ll tell you exactly what I do know.’
By the time Cate returned from taking Reece to Theatre, the critically injured patient had been moved as well and the place was settling down. All the staff worked hard to clear the backlog and at six Juan looked up at the clock and spoke to Harry.
‘Why don’t you go home?’
She saw Harry hesitate. There were other doctors on but no one particularly senior.
Except the locum just happened to be Juan.
‘Go and have dinner with your children,’ Juan said. ‘I’m sure we’ll cope.’
Juan would more than cope.
Everyone knew it.
‘You’re sure?’ Harry checked. ‘Dr Vermont won’t get here till ten.’
‘Of course,’ Juan said. ‘Anyway, the nightclubs don’t really get going till midnight.’
Harry gave a wry smile and headed for home, and Cate did her best to avoid the six feet three of testosterone who sat and worked his way through a huge bunch of grapes between seeing patients.
Relieved that Juan wouldn’t be joining them on their night out, Cate had relented and agreed to drive her friends, but before she headed off to get ready she did have a question for Juan. He was sitting writing up his notes before handing over to Dr Vermont.
‘What did you say to Reece?’
‘Reece?’
‘The appendicitis.’
‘I’m not with you,’ Juan said, still writing his notes.
‘He was a whole lot nicer to Amanda when we came back in. He even thanked her for being there for him when I took him up to Theatre.’
‘He must have listened to what you said to him.’ Juan shrugged and Cate walked off with a slight frown. Yes, she had been direct while talking to Reece but something had happened while she’d been speaking with Amanda. She was sure of it, because they had returned to a very different man—and Cate was positive Juan had had something to do with it.
She just had no idea what.
The night staff came on duty and Cate handed over the patients, then headed to the changing rooms, where there was a fight for the mirror.
‘I thought Christine was coming?’ Kelly said. ‘She said she was a little while ago.’
‘No.’ Abby laughed. ‘When she found out Juan wasn’t coming, Christine changed her mind, of course. He’s made it obvious that he’s no longer interested—you’d think that she’d have taken the hint by now.’
Cate changed quickly, moaning that her strapless bra dug in and gave her four breasts before pulling on a black halterneck she had bought the previous weekend.
‘Is that new?’ Kelly asked as Cate pulled on a pale lilac skirt.
‘Yep.’ Cate smiled. ‘And so are these!’ She held up the most gorgeous pair of wedges—they were nothing like her usual choice, and had been an absolute impulse buy.
Her first.
Cate did up the straps around her ankles and blinked back sudden tears. She was still in that wobbly post-break-up stage, still trying to work out what had gone wrong, what was wrong.
She’d been happy with Paul, just not happy enough. She had loved him in so many ways, but she still hadn’t been able to give Paul the answer he wanted. The answer everyone wanted! Her parents had been equally shocked when the rather predictable Cate had made a rather unpredictable choice.
Why had she ended it?
‘Because…’ had been her paltry response.
Even Cate didn’t really know why.
Juan tried not to notice when the late staff all emerged from the changing rooms, changed and scented, like a noisy flock of butterflies floating down the corridor—but there was only one who drew the eye.
She had make-up on, not much just enough to accentuate her wary eyes, and her mouth should not be allowed out, unescorted by him, when it shimmered with gloss. A lilac skirt showed off her tanned legs and he did his best not to notice, as they walked past the nurses’ station, her back, which was revealed in a halterneck.
‘I’m not staying long,’ he heard Cate warning her friends as they said goodbye and headed out. ‘I’ve got to be back here in ten hours.’
‘Are you sure you won’t change your mind, Juan?’ Kelly called over her shoulder.
And he should leave well alone. Cate wasn’t, Juan guessed, up to what he had in mind.
Except he couldn’t get her out of his head!
Her words to Reece had lowered his defences, and the scent of her as she walked past, the sight of her bare skin…it was surely worth one more shot?
Juan wanted their time.
‘I might see you there,’ Juan called out to the departing group, and watched her bare shoulders stiffen, watched as she very deliberately didn’t turn round.
As she, still, denied him.