St Piran's: The Fireman and Nurse Loveday (10 page)

There was a faint wag of the tail.

‘Bob, she’s absolutely fine,’ Melinda told the elderly man in the ambulance. ‘Look, you can see her. The fireman got her out and she’s wagging her tail.’

‘The dog can’t come in the ambulance, love,’ the paramedic told her.

‘What’s going to happen to her?’ Bob asked. ‘I live on my own. I can’t go to the hospital, I need to stay with Goldie.’

‘Yes, you can, because you need to be treated,’ Melinda said. ‘Don’t worry about her. I’ll take her back to the surgery with me. Dragan and the boys won’t mind if we have another dog for a few days—or, if Goldie decides she doesn’t like it with Bramble at our place, Lizzie Chamberlain at the kennels will take her in until you’re back on your feet.’

Bob was almost in tears. ‘Thank you—I don’t know what I’d do without her.’ He looked at Tom. ‘And thank you. You saved her life.’

‘That’s what I’m here for,’ Tom said simply. ‘I’m glad she’s all right.’

‘She’ll be absolutely fine,’ Melinda reassured Bob. ‘Now go and get yourself fixed, OK? I’ll ring the hospital later to let you know how Goldie’s doing.’

The paramedic closed the door and the ambulance headed off to St Piran’s.

Tom’s arm was throbbing; wincing, he rolled up his sleeve to look at it.

‘You need to get that looked at,’ Melinda said.

Tom shrugged. ‘It’s not that bad. I’m fine.’

‘Trust me,’ she said with a smile, ‘I’ve been bitten enough in my time. That’s a puncture wound, so it could get infected—and you probably need a tetanus jab.’

He grimaced. ‘Oh, great.’

She laughed, ‘A big fireman like you, scared of a little needle? Don’t be such a baby!’ she teased. ‘The doctor’s surgery is just over there and it’ll take ten minutes, tops.’ She made a fuss of the dog. ‘And I’d better get this one in the warm. Come on, girl.’

‘You’ve had your orders,’ Steve said with a grin. ‘And she’s a vet. She knows what she’s talking about.’

‘And can I interview you now?’ the reporter asked.

‘Look, it was just a routine rescue. No big deal,’ Tom said.

The reporter smiled at him. ‘But our readers love this sort of story. It’s a feel-good story, perfect to lift people’s spirits at a miserable time of year.’

‘I…’ He sighed. ‘OK. As long as you put something in there about keeping your dog on a lead when you’re walking by an icy river, and calling the emergency services rather than risking your own safety—in this kind of weather, you can get into difficulties really quickly and it means the emergency
services have to do twice the amount of work, rescuing you as well as your pet.’

‘I’ll make sure I put that in,’ the reporter said. She glanced down at his left hand and clearly saw that he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. ‘Actually, maybe I can take you for a coffee? You must be freezing.’

‘He’s going to the doctor’s to get his arm seen to, love,’ Steve put in.

‘I can interview you while you’re waiting to be seen,’ the reporter said with a smile, ‘and then maybe we can go for a coffee afterwards.’

Tom didn’t want to go for coffee with anyone except Flora; though they were keeping things to themselves, right now, and he wasn’t going to make life awkward for her by giving a declaration in front of half of Penhally. ‘Mmm,’ he said noncommittally.

He had no idea if Flora was in surgery this morning or if she was working at one of the schools, and suppressed the hope that she might be the one to patch him up. And he still had to give the reporter a story. Feeling embarrassed, he went up to the reception desk, explained what had happened, and asked if someone could fit him in.

‘Sit down, and we’ll call you as soon as the nurse is free,’ the receptionist said with a smile.

The reporter wasn’t budging. ‘So how did you feel when you saw the dog?’

‘The same as the rest of the crew—we wanted to get her back safely on dry land, and reassure her owner so that he’d let the paramedics treat him,’ Tom said. ‘Look, there isn’t much of a story. We simply responded to an emergency call.’

‘But the dog was heavy. And it bit you.’

‘The dog was cold, tired and frightened. She didn’t mean to hurt me.’

‘And the bite won’t put you off rescuing the next dog?’

‘Of course not. It’s my job,’ Tom said firmly.

‘OK.’ She finished scribbling notes on her pad. ‘Shall we go for that coffee anyway?’

‘Sorry, I have to get back to work,’ Tom said.

She took a business card from her handbag. ‘If you think of anything else, give me a call. Actually, it’d be nice to run a few features on the local emergency services. Maybe I can come and shadow you for a day.’

Something in her eyes told Tom that she didn’t have just business in mind. And his suspicion was confirmed when she added, ‘And, since you can’t make that coffee, maybe I can take you out for a drink to say thanks for your help.’

The reporter was pretty; three months ago, Tom might’ve accepted the invitation. But things were very different now. ‘That’d be nice. I’ll have to check when my partner’s free,’ he said.

‘Your partner?’

Three months ago, those words might’ve made him run a mile. But now…now, it was different. ‘I assume the invitation extends to her, too?’ Tom said, knowing full well that it wouldn’t.

‘I, um, sure. Of course.’

His name flashed up on the board above the reception desk. ‘Sorry, I need to go.’

‘Sure. Catch you later,’ she said, and Tom had a pretty fair idea that she wouldn’t call him at all.

To his mingled pleasure and embarrassment, it turned out that the nurse on duty was Flora.

She looked worried when he walked into her treatment room. ‘What’s happened? Are you all right?’

‘I rescued a dog from the river, and she bit me.’

‘Right, let me take a look—whose dog was it?’

‘I didn’t catch his last name. His first name’s Bob. He’s quite elderly, and the dog’s a yellow Labrador called Goldie.’

‘I know who you mean. Bob Thurston. Is he all right?’

‘He slipped on the ice—the paramedics were worried enough to take him to St Piran’s, so my guess is that he’s probably broken something. Goldie slid down the bank and into the river. Luckily she was swept against a branch and stuck there, otherwise who knows how far she could’ve ended up downstream.’

‘And she bit you? But Goldie’s really gentle.’

‘She was scared. It’s not a big deal.’

‘Does it hurt?’

‘A bit,’ he admitted. ‘It throbs more than anything.’

‘OK. Let me take a look—I want to make sure there isn’t any damage to the structures beneath the bite, tendons and what have you. Is Goldie OK?’

‘The vet’s taken her back to the surgery. She says she’ll look after her.’

Flora smiled. ‘That’s Melinda all over—she’s lovely like that. She helped me find some homes when one of the feral farm cats had a litter. Jess Carmichael at the hospital—well, Jess Corezzi now she’s married—took a couple, too.’ She finished examining his arm. ‘That looks fine,’ she said. ‘Tom, is your tetanus up to date?’

‘I think so.’

‘Mind if I check?’ She looked up his record. ‘It is. So you’re safe from having a big fat needle in your arm.’

‘Pity,’ Tom said. ‘I could’ve asked you to kiss it better.’

‘You wish.’

‘So how about it?’ he asked.

‘That depends on how brave you are while I sort this out.’ She gave him a local anaesthetic, cleaned the wound, making sure there were no foreign bodies in it, and debrided some of tissue. ‘I’m not going to stitch this,’ she said, ‘because it’s a puncture wound, and you’re more likely to get an infection if
I close it. And you do need antibiotics to be on the safe side, so I’ll ask the doctor to write you a prescription.’

‘OK. Do I get my kiss for being brave now?’

‘Tom, I’m at work and so are you. I have patients waiting,’ she protested. But she gave him a swift kiss.

‘Would that be on account?’ he asked hopefully.

She rolled her eyes. ‘Yes. Go and rescue someone.’

‘I’d rather scoop you up in a fireman’s lift and take you somewhere quiet,’ Tom said. He stole another kiss. ‘But I’ll do that later. Thanks for patching me up.’

‘It’s what I do,’ she said with a smile.

When Tom had finished his shift, he drove to Flora’s farmhouse to pick up Joey.

‘How’s your arm?’ she asked.

‘Sore,’ he admitted, ‘but it’s OK.’

Joey looked worried. ‘What’s wrong with your arm?’

‘I rescued a dog today—she fell in the river and got stuck. She was a bit worried when I rescued her,’ Tom explained, ‘and dogs can’t tell you in words that they’re scared, so she bit me. She didn’t mean to hurt me, she was just frightened.’

‘I know the dog,’ Flora said. ‘She’s really quiet and soft, normally—she’s quite old, too. She’s a yellow Labrador called Goldie.’

‘And she’s doing absolutely fine,’ Tom added. ‘I rang the vet before the surgery closed, to see how she was. I’m fine, too, Jojo. Flora cleaned me up and put a dressing on, and I’ve got some special tablets so I don’t get an infection in the wound.’

‘So you rescued Uncle Tom,’ Joey said to Flora.

‘I was just doing my job—like he was doing his,’ Flora said with a smile. ‘Actually, I had to do a rescue myself today. This cold snap really seems to be knocking everyone for six. Young Jane Hallet in Year Four fell over in the playground at lunchtime and broke her arm, poor thing. I was there so
I could give her a painkiller and put her arm in a sling to make her more comfortable, but her mum had to take her to the emergency department in St Piran’s. Luckily it happened just after her mum Marina finished her shift in the kitchen, so Marina was able to take her. I’ll drop in to see them tomorrow on my way back from lunch and see how she is.’

‘So what were you doing today?’ Tom asked.

‘Healthy eating with the Year Sixes—one of the girls has just been diagnosed as a diabetic, so we were talking about sugar and how the body processes it. I have a quiz so they can guess how many teaspoons of sugar are in each item.’ She smiled at him. ‘Guess how many teaspoons of sugar there are in a can of fizzy drink?’

‘The non-diet sort, I assume?’ Tom asked.

‘Uh-huh.’

He thought about it. ‘Five?’ he guessed.

‘Too low. Joey?’ she prompted.

‘Seven?’ the little boy suggested.

‘Closer—but still too low. Believe it or not, it’s nine,’ she told them. ‘That’s why they’re really bad for teeth. We did some experiments with eggshells in different sorts of drink so the children could see what effect the drinks would have on their teeth.’

‘Eggshells being made of the same sort of stuff as teeth?’ Tom asked.

‘Exactly. Anyway, when they saw which ones dissolved, it’s made a few of them think that maybe water’s the best drink you can have.’ She smiled at Joey. ‘I’ll do that with your class when you’re in Year Six. But I’m going to be doing germs and super-soap with your class after half-term. And we might do the eggshell thing too, if you think it sounds like fun.’

Joey nodded enthusiastically.

‘Ah, so you like science? Excellent. We can do some kitchen experiments,’ Flora said. ‘I know how to make a volcano.’

Joey beamed. ‘That’s cool.’

‘Hey, can I be in on this?’ Tom asked. ‘And I know an experiment about how to make a plastic bottle into a rocket.’

‘This sounds like a very half-term kind of thing to do,’ Flora said. ‘And I’ve heard the mums at school talking about that new science museum just up the coast. They say it’s really good.’

‘I think we need to go,’ Tom said. ‘What do you think, Joey?’

The little boy nodded.

‘Then it’s a date. Flora, is there any chance you can have a day off, next week, and come with us?’ Tom asked.

‘I’ll check at work tomorrow to see if I can swap a shift with someone,’ Flora said. ‘Given that I won’t be doing my usual school sessions, I should be able to get a day off.’

‘Cool,’ Joey said, smiling at both of them.

O
N
F
RIDAY,
Flora dropped Joey at school and spent the morning working at the high school, doing a couple of talks about healthy eating and one about sexual health. During her lunch break, she drove out to Chyandour Farm on the outskirts of Penhally to see how Lizzie was doing.

As she reached the end of the drive, she saw the fire engines there; water was being sprayed onto one of the barns.

Tom came over to her as she climbed out of the car. ‘Just the woman we could do with.’

‘What’s happened?’

‘The lower barn caught fire. John rang us, then tried to beat out the flames, but he burned his arm. Can you take a look?’

‘Sure.’ She grabbed her medical kit from the car, then followed Tom to where John Hallet was standing. She persuaded him to go and sit down in the kitchen so she could take a look at his injuries properly and treat him.

‘I only popped in to see how Lizzie was doing—I wasn’t expecting to treat you, too,’ she said wryly.

‘They say things come in threes,’ John said. ‘Let’s just hope they don’t!’

She looked at his arm. ‘I’m relieved to say the burns are pretty superficial. If it had been your hands, I would have sent
you to St Piran’s, but I can dress this for you. Have you taken anything for the pain?’

‘Not yet.’

She gave him a painkiller, then cleaned and dressed the burn. ‘So how’s Lizzie doing?’

‘She wants to be back at school, but Marina had to take her to St Piran’s to have her cast on today. She’ll be fine,’ John said. ‘Nicola’s home with a headache. I’ll get her to come down and put the kettle on and make tea for everyone.’

Nicola Hallet was the quiet one in the family, Flora remembered, the only one who wasn’t sporty or glamorous. Her older sisters Stacey and Keeley were both model-thin and stunning, popular with all the girls in the village and drooled over by the boys; young Lizzie was into tap-dancing and gymnastics and athletics, and was always talking about how her older brother Jonathan was the captain of the football team at the primary school last year and had a purple belt in kick-boxing. And she had a feeling that Nicola had a pretty hard time fitting in.

‘If she’s got a headache, she’s probably better resting. I can make the tea,’ she offered.

‘No, she’ll do it. She’s been that mardy, lately.’ John called up to her, and a minute or so later Nicola came downstairs into the kitchen.

‘We need some tea for the firefighters, love,’ John said.

Nicola nodded and filled the kettle with water.

‘How’s your headache?’ Flora asked.

Nicola shrugged. ‘It’ll go.’

‘Have you taken anything for it? ‘

Nicola shrugged again. ‘I will in a bit.’

Flora looked at the girl, wondering. Nicola had always been a bit on the plump side, but she’d definitely put on weight since Flora had last seen her—and she was trying to hide it with baggy clothes. Remembering her own teenage years, how she’d felt she didn’t fit in and had cheered herself up with
chocolate biscuits, Flora wondered if Nicola might be worried about something and comfort-eating as a way of dealing with it. Not that she’d ask the girl in front of her dad.

‘Let me give you a hand with the tea, Nicola,’ she offered. ‘John, if you can do us a favour and find out who takes sugar?’

‘Will do,’ he said.

As soon as he’d closed the door, Flora asked gently, ‘Is everything all right, Nicola?’

‘I’m fine. Just fine,’ Nicola said. ‘It’s only a headache.’

Flora was pretty sure it was more than just a headache making the girl miserable. ‘You’re not having any problems at school?’

‘Why should I be?’

‘No reason,’ Flora said quietly. ‘I just remember that it’s hard being a teenager, that’s all. And sometimes people make it harder for you.’

Nicola just shrugged, and concentrated on putting tea leaves in the pot.

‘If you ever need anyone to talk to, you know you can always come and see me at the drop-in clinic at school. Or at the surgery. Anything you say will be just between you and me, OK?’

For a moment, Flora thought that the girl was going to say something—but then the kitchen door opened and John walked back in. Any chance that Nicola would confide in her vanished instantly.

She didn’t get a chance to talk to Nicola when the tea had been handed round, either, because the girl had disappeared back to her room. And Flora was due back in the surgery for the afternoon, so she had to get on. ‘If you’re in pain or you see any sign of infection, John, don’t be stubborn about it—come and see us at the surgery.’

‘I’ll be fine.’

John was of the old school—and that meant he’d only see the doctor if he was in so much pain that he couldn’t sleep. ‘As long as you know that the sooner we look at a problem, the quicker it is to fix it,’ she said gently. ‘Don’t be too proud or too stubborn.’

‘All right, love,’ he said.

After surgery that afternoon, Flora picked Joey up from school as usual, and made dinner with him. When Tom arrived after his shift, he gave her a hello hug and ruffled Joey’s hair; Flora was pleased that the little boy didn’t pull away.

While Joey played with Banjo, Flora made coffee for herself and Tom.

‘Flora, are you busy next weekend?’ Tom asked.

She was never busy. Not that she wanted him to think she was completely desperate. ‘I’m not doing anything important. Why?’

‘It’s the football league dinner—kind of a late Valentine’s ball sort of thing. We have it every year. It’s the local emergency services league, so all the teams have a table—fire crews, the police and the medics—and we take our partners with us. The fire crew team has a huge rivalry thing going on with the medics, but it’s all in good fun and—well, I know it’s a bit late notice, but I wasn’t even sure if I was going to go this year, the way things were. But my parents are going to be here next weekend and they’re more than happy to babysit for us, if you’d like to come to the dinner with me?’

He wanted her to go to a posh do with him? Help. She never got invited to posh dos like this. She didn’t have a thing to wear, or a clue where to find something suitable. And if it was the same crowd as the football lot, who were incredibly cliquey, she wasn’t sure she wanted to be there. ‘Um, can I think about it?’

He looked slightly hurt, but shrugged. ‘Sure. Can I ask you something else?’

She spread her hands. ‘Of course.’

‘My parents are coming over from France for a week or so. They’re staying for a long weekend, then visiting Mum’s brother, and then they’re coming back next weekend. So I was wondering…will you come to dinner at my place tomorrow night to meet them?’

Asking her to a formal dinner as his date was one thing, but now he was asking her to meet his parents. As his friend—or as his girlfriend?

‘I…um…’ Oh, help. This situation was way outside what she was used to.

‘They’re nice, my parents. And they said they’d like to meet you.’

His parents knew about her? What had he said? Had he told them that she was Joey’s babysitter, or that he was seeing her?

‘Please?’ he added.

How could she resist the appeal in his gorgeous dark eyes? ‘All right.’

‘Great. It’ll be a proper home-cooked dinner. About six?’

Which meant it’d be early enough for Joey to be eating with them, she guessed. ‘Sure. I’ll be there.’

‘I’d better get back,’ he said. ‘They’ll be here in an hour or so.’ He looked at Joey. ‘Want a fireman’s lift to the car? ‘

Joey’s eyes brightened. ‘Cool,’ he said.

Tom looked delighted that Joey was finally opening up to him again, returning to their old rough-and-tumble relationship, and hoisted his nephew over his shoulder. But Flora noticed his wince of pain. She slipped her coat on and followed them out to the car. When Tom had strapped Joey into the car seat and closed the door, she said, ‘Is your arm hurting you?’

‘No.’ But he didn’t meet her eye.

‘Tom?’

He shook his head. ‘It’s nothing. Just a bruise.’

Not his arm, then. And the fact he wasn’t telling her straight made her suspicious. ‘Where?’

‘My back.’

‘And you did that rescuing Goldie?’

He flapped a dismissive hand. ‘Look, I’m fine.’

‘Tom,’ she said warningly.

He rolled his eyes. ‘OK. There was another fire this afternoon. A little girl was stuck in her bedroom. Just as I got her out, the roof collapsed and a beam caught my shoulder. I’m fine.’

Flora’s eyes narrowed. ‘The roof collapsed.’

‘Yes, but it missed me. Well, most of it missed me. And the little girl’s absolutely fine.’

There was something he wasn’t telling her. He was an experienced firefighter. He would’ve known if the structure was dangerous and the roof was likely to cave in—and yet he’d gone in anyway. And she remembered what he’d told her when he’d spoken about Ben.
I almost never lose anyone. I remember how it was for his parents… I don’t want anyone else to go through that.

And so he took risks. More risks, she thought, than anyone else on his crew would take. Reckless, even, because he didn’t think of his own safety.

‘Was anyone else with you?’ she asked.

‘No, they were putting out the fire.’

‘So you went into a burning building, on your own, to rescue someone. You could’ve been killed.’

He frowned. ‘Flora, it’s my job. What was I meant to do, let her burn?’

‘She was stuck in her bedroom. You could’ve put a ladder at the window or something, so you didn’t have to go through the dangerous bit of the building to rescue her.’

‘What I did was quicker.’

Maybe—but it was also something else. Something that really worried her. And it had to be said. ‘And r-reckless.’

Tom lifted his chin. ‘It’s my job, Flora. I rescue people from fires.’

‘I know, but you go above and beyond. You don’t protect yourself enough.’ She dragged in a breath. ‘You could’ve been killed. And what would’ve happened to Joey, then?’

Tom stared at her. ‘So what are you saying? That I should give up being a firefighter? It’s who I
am.’

‘I know that.’ It was like that for her, too, with her job. ‘I’m not saying this right.’ And she’d started to stumble over her words. ‘I just don’t want you to take stupid risks, Tom. It’s not going to bring Ben back. It’s not going to b-bring your sister back. And if you die, what about Joey?’ She was shaking now, so worried and angry when she thought about what could have happened that the words spilled out before she could stop them. ‘What about me?’

Tom looked utterly shocked. ‘Flora, I…’

She shook her head. ‘You could’ve been really badly hurt. If you’d been trapped under that beam, you could’ve been killed, or so badly burned that…’ She choked the words back. ‘That little girl could’ve died.’

‘She’s fine. And so am I. It’s just a bit of a bruise.’

A huge bruise, she’d bet, though she couldn’t make him show her. Not outside, on a chilly February night, while Joey was sitting in the car, his face white with anxiety as he looked at them.

‘Joey’s waiting. You’d better go.’

Tom took a step towards her, as if he was going to kiss her, and she took a step back. Not now. She was still so angry with him for taking a stupid risk, for not thinking before he acted, that she didn’t want to kiss him. She wanted to shake him—shake some sense into him.

‘Flora—’

‘Joey’s waiting,’ she said again, taking another step back.

Tom’s face tightened, and he got into the car without another word.

She waved as he drove off—more for Joey’s sake than for Tom’s—and then headed back inside.

It was the first time she could ever remember shouting at anyone. The first time she’d ever had a real fight with anyone. And it felt horrible. But what else could she have done? If Tom was taking risks like that at work…

She was miserable for the rest of the evening. When the phone rang, much later that night, she didn’t answer it. The answering machine clicked in, and she heard Tom’s deep voice leaving a message.

‘Flora, it’s me. I’ve been thinking about what you said, and…well, you have a point. It never occurred to me. When I’m at work, everything else is excluded. I don’t think of anything except my job. And you’re right, I do need to think about other things. About Joey.’ He paused. ‘About
you.
I’ll call you tomorrow morning, OK? Bye, honey. And I’m s—’

The answering machine beeped and cut him off.

Had he just been about to apologise?

But words were easy. Actions were harder. If he wasn’t prepared to put Joey first and take more care of himself, this wasn’t going to work.

At practically the crack of dawn, the phone rang again. Flora answered it automatically.

‘Sorry, did I wake you?’ Tom asked.

‘Sort of.’ She hadn’t slept too well.

‘I apologise. But I needed to talk to you. About last night.’

‘I’m sorry I shouted at you.’

‘You were right,’ he said softly. ‘My life’s different now—if
I take risks, it impacts on more than just me. I need to think about that. Properly.’ He paused. ‘I’m sorry for worrying you.’

‘OK.’ Flora had no idea what to say next. Never having had a huge row with someone, she didn’t have a clue how to make up, either.

‘Will you still come for dinner tonight?’ he asked.

He still wanted to see her? Or—a nasty thought crept in—was it that he was worried about losing a babysitter?

‘Please? And then I can apologise properly, in person.’ He sighed. ‘I don’t want to fight with you, Flora.’

‘I don’t want to fight with you, either.’

‘Then will you still come for dinner? Please?’

‘I… OK.’

‘Good. See you tonight. And I am sorry.’

‘Me, too.’

She thought about it all day. What did you wear when you met your partner’s parents for the first time? In the end, she decided to wear the black skirt and teal top she knew Tom liked. She left her hair loose, but put an Alice band in it to keep it off her face. She’d forgotten to ask him if she should bring red or white wine, so she played it safe and bought a decent bottle of each, plus chocolates and a magnetic fishing game for Joey. If it all went pear-shaped, she could play a game or two with Joey, then claim a headache and leave early.