the most eligible doctor at Auckland General Hospital a couple of years ago but Summer Pearson had good reason to believe this man was a total bastard. A monster, even.
And monsters weren’t supposed to have warm brown eyes and a smile that could light up an entire room. Maybe she’d made an incorrect assumption when she’d been given the name of her extra crew for the shift.
‘Dr Mitchell?’
‘That’s me.’
‘Zac Mitchell?’
‘Yep. My gran still calls me Isaac, mind you. She doesn’t hold with names being messed around with. She’s an iceberg lettuce kind of girl, you know? You won’t find any of those new-fangled fancy baby mesclun leaves in one of her salads because that’s another thing that shouldn’t get messed with.’
Good grief…he was telling her about his granny? And there was sheer mischief in those dark eyes. Salad greens and names were clearly only a couple of the many things Zac was more than happy to mess around with. Summer could feel her eyes narrowing as the confirmation of her suspicions became inevitable.
‘And you used to work in Auckland? In A&E?’
‘Sure did. I’ve spent the last couple of years in the UK, though. As the permanent doctor on shift for the busiest helicopter rescue service in the country.’
The base manager, Graham, came into the duty room, an orange flight suit draped over his arm.
‘Found one in your size, Zac. And here’s a tee shirt, too. I see you’ve met Summer?’
‘Ah…we hadn’t got as far as a proper introduction.’
Because she’d been grilling him like a prosecution lawyer in a courtroom—making sure of the identity of the accused before firing the real ammunition? Summer felt her cheeks getting pink.
‘Sorry,’ she muttered. ‘I’m Summer Pearson. Intensive Care Paramedic. I’ve been with the rescue service for nearly three years now.’
‘I’ve heard a lot about you.’ An eyebrow lifted and his tone dropped a notch. ‘And it was all good.’
No…was he trying to flirt with her?
I’ve heard a lot about you, too. And none of it was good…
Pretending she hadn’t heard the compliment, Summer turned to Graham. ‘I’ll do the usual orientation while we’re quiet, shall I?’
A groan came from the doorway as another man entered the room. ‘Oh, no…did she just say the Q word?’
‘She did.’ Graham shook his head. ‘What’s your guess?’
‘Eight minutes.’
‘I’ll give it six.’ Graham grinned at Zac. ‘Running bet on how long till a job comes in after someone says the Q word. Worst performer of the week restocks the beer fridge. Meet Monty, Zac—one of our pilots.’
The men shook hands. Then they all looked at Summer and she tried to erase the expression that felt remarkably like a scowl from her face.
‘Three minutes,’ she offered reluctantly. Wishful thinking, maybe, but how good would it be if what was likely to be a complicated winch job came in and an untrained doctor had to be left on base in favour of experienced crewmen? ‘So I guess we’d better get started on the orientation.’
‘Just show him where everything is,’ Graham said. ‘Zac, here, is the most highly trained doctor we’ve ever had joining us. Fully winch trained. He’s done HUET and he’s even part way through his pilot’s training.’
Summer could feel the scowl creeping back. She refused to be impressed but it was difficult. Helicopter Underwater Escape Training was not something for the faint-hearted.
Zac was shrugging off the praise. ‘I’m passionate about emergency medicine, that’s all. And the challenge of being on the front line is a lot more exciting than working inside a controlled environment like an emergency department. Maybe I haven’t really grown up yet, and that keeps me chasing adventures.’
Immaturity was no excuse for anything. It certainly didn’t mitigate ruining someone’s life and then walking away. Summer tried to catch Graham’s eye. Could she tell him she really wasn’t comfortable working with this new team member?
She didn’t get the chance. The strident signal from the on-base communication system told them a job had come in.
Monty checked his watch. ‘Two minutes, ten seconds. You win, Summer.’
She picked up her helmet and jammed it on her head. She didn’t feel as if she’d won anything at all.
She was nothing like what he’d expected.
Well, she was small. No more than about five foot four at a guess. Her head barely reached his shoulder and that was including the spikes of her short blonde hair. Pocket rocket, his ED colleagues had told him. But don’t be fooled. She’s as tough as. And one of the best paramedics in the business.
But they’d also told him she was Summer by name and sunny by nature. And that she was great fun to work with. You’re a lucky man, they’d said.
He’d been expecting summer and he’d got winter instead. Funny, but he didn’t feel that lucky.
Or maybe he did. Here he was in a chopper again and he hadn’t realised how much he was missing the excitement of being airborne and heading for the unknown. Not only that, he was doing it over the sparkling blue waters of his home town instead of the grey British skies he’d become so familiar with. And they were heading for even more spectacular scenery on the far side of the Coromandel Peninsula—one of his most favourite places on earth.
‘Car’s over a bank,’ he heard through the speakers built into his helmet. ‘On the 309, between the Kauri grove and Waiau Falls. Ambulance and fire service are on scene.’
‘The 309’s still a gravel road, I presume?’
‘You know it?’ Monty sounded surprised.
‘Spent most of my childhood holidays on the Coromandel. I’m into water sports.’
‘Talk to Summer.’ Monty chuckled. ‘Queen of the paddleboard, she is.’
Zac would have been happy to do exactly that but it only took a glance to see that she had no desire to chat. Her face was turned away and she gave the impression of finding the view too fascinating to resist.
She still looked small, with the wide straps of her harness across her chest. The helmet looked too big for her head and while someone might be excused for getting the impression of a child playing dress-up, they’d only need to see her profile to sense a very adult level of focus and…what was it…judgement?
Yeah…He felt as if he’d been tried and judged and the verdict had not been favourable.
But he’d never even met the woman before today so what was he being judged on?
Was she some kind of control freak, perhaps, who didn’t appreciate having someone on board who had a medical authority higher than hers? Or did she require confirmation that a newcomer’s ability was what it appeared to be on paper?
Fair enough.
What wasn’t acceptable was making said newcomer feel less than welcome. Undesirable, even.
As if she felt the force of his frown, Summer turned her head. Her gaze met his and held longer than could be considered polite.
Yeah…she was fierce, all right. Unafraid.
Who was going to look away first? Defusing tension was a skill that came automatically for Zac. He might have had to learn it for all the wrong reasons when he was too young to understand but shades of that ability still came in handy at times. All it usually took was turning on the charm. He summoned