The Taming of Dr Alex Draycott

He made a wry smile. ‘Maybe not.’ He went over to the coffee machine to one side of the room and poured hot liquid into two mugs. ‘Do you take milk and sugar?’ he asked, and she nodded.

‘Both, thanks.’ She sniffed the air appreciatively. ‘That smells good.’

He nodded. ‘It’s one thing I look forward to around here. Decent coffee.’ He waved her to a chair. ‘Have a seat and make yourself comfortable.’ He came to sit close to her and swallowed his coffee, savouring the taste and taking a moment to relax. ‘So, tell me about yourself,’ he said quietly, his glance moving over her and coming to rest briefly on the smooth shapeliness of her long legs. ‘From what I heard, you’ve moved here from Herefordshire? I suppose that means this job must have had some special appeal for you?’

‘I thought it would give me the best of both worlds, the chance to work in paediatric emergency, which is what I like doing best—it’s what I specialised in—and at the same time it allows me to take on a managerial role.’ She clasped her cup in both hands, feeling the comforting warmth spread slowly through her. ‘But the main reason I’m here is because I have family who have settled in Somerset.’

‘Your parents?’

She shook her head. ‘My brother and his family. My parents do have a home here, but they’re away at the moment, because of my father’s job. He’s a troubleshooter for an oil company, so he tends to travel a lot.’

He gave a brief smile. ‘That’s something we have in common, then. My parents have always travelled far and wide, as far back as I can remember.’ A fleeting sadness came into his eyes and she studied him thoughtfully for a moment or two. Had that been a problem for him?

‘Perhaps I’ve been lucky,’ she murmured. ‘My parents were always there for me while I was growing up. It was only when I started work as a doctor that they began to travel further afield.’ She would have liked to ask him about his family, but something warned her that this might be the wrong time to do that. She didn’t want to blunder into areas that might cause problems, especially on her first day. Perhaps when she knew him a little better.

‘It must have been difficult for you, uprooting yourself,’ he said. ‘Did you manage to find a place of your own, or are you renting while you look around?’

‘I thought about renting. Back in Herefordshire I’d taken out a lease on a flat, but it ran out—another reason why it seemed feasible to make the move to Somerset. I planned to do the same down here, but then I saw this big, old house on the market, going for a song, and I decided to snap it up. It was purely an impulsive action—not like me at all, but something about it appealed to me. Of course, the reason it was going so cheap is because it needs a lot of work…’ She pulled a face. ‘And the owner wanted a quick sale.’

‘But things are working out fairly well for you, overall?’

She nodded. ‘I think so. I hope so.’ She drank her coffee and looked around. ‘As I see it right now, though, my biggest challenge is going to be this job. According to Dr Langton, the hospital is deep in debt and the accident and emergency department is at risk. I want to do all I can to keep it safe, but it means taking some measures that might not be all that popular.’

She braced herself. ‘In fact, I think I ought to make a start on getting to grips with the job right now—it’s been good to spend a few minutes in here, and I appreciate you taking a break and having coffee with me, but perhaps now I should start to familiarise myself with the way things work around here.’ She glanced at him. ‘Mr Langton suggested you might be available this morning to give me an insight into the way you run things—where and when you use agency staff, for instance—and perhaps you could let me see your drugs list, so I can gain some idea of expenditure in that area?’

He frowned. ‘Are you sure you want to do that on your first day? Wouldn’t you prefer to take a general look around and get to know some of the staff? I’m sure they’re all anxious to meet their new colleague.’

She nodded. ‘Of course, and I want to meet them, but I don’t want to intrude on them while they’re busy. I’ll definitely make time to introduce myself to them through the course of the day. For the moment, though, I think it would be better if I were to spend time with you…going through the workings of the department.’

‘Hmm…yes…’ He seemed to be distracted all at once, and glanced at the watch on his wrist. ‘Unfortunately, I have an emergency to attend,’ he said, getting to his feet. ‘So I’m afraid you’ll have to forgive me. Maybe we could get together some other time?’

She frowned. ‘But I understood that you would be free from clinical duties this morning for a couple of hours. Is that not so?’

He nodded. ‘But then this emergency came up…a thoracic injury, flail chest. He should be coming back from Radiology any time now.’

Alex stood up. ‘But I was really hoping to make a start…’

‘Of course. I appreciate that, but, you know, I don’t actually have the figures you want right at this moment…you’ve caught me on the hop a bit there, and I really do have to go and check on my patient.’ He gave her an encouraging smile. ‘Perhaps it would be best if you go and find our registrar. He’ll help guide you around the department. Ask him anything you want to know. He’ll be only too happy to help you.’

‘But I…’ Alex gazed at him in confusion.

‘I’m sure you’ll soon have all the information you want.’ He laid his hands on her shoulders, his grasp gentle, his fingers warm and strong, causing a ripple of heat to flow through her. It was odd, but all at once, as he held her, she became strangely conscious of her femininity. It was confusing. She was so used to taking charge, of being in control, and yet with just one simple act he had made her overwhelmingly conscious of his powerful masculinity.

‘Take time to ease yourself into the job,’ he said. ‘It will all work out, you’ll see.’ Then he smiled, his blue eyes homing in on her face, taking in the faint line that creased her brow and the look of uncertainty that hovered around her eyes and mouth. ‘You’ll be fine, Alex,’ he murmured. ‘It’s good to have you here.’

Then he released her and strode briskly away, leaving Alex to stare after him in a bewildered fashion. Somehow, she couldn’t help thinking he was fobbing her off, albeit in a kind and gentle manner, and if he was an example of what she might expect from the staff here, it was clear she was in for a tricky time from the outset. His easy charm had befuddled her senses and she was finding it hard to come to terms with that. It knocked her off track, and she wasn’t used to that at all.

CHAPTER TWO

‘IT CAN never be easy, can it, seeing your loved ones this way…even if you’re a doctor?’ The nurse was sympathetic, sensing Alex’s distress. ‘All I can say is that your brother’s condition is stable at the moment. I hope that might be some comfort to you.’

‘It is. Thank you.’ Alex dragged her gaze away from the hospital bed. It was heart-rending to see her younger brother lying there, looking so fragile. He was deathly pale, his hair dark against his pillow, various tubes and drains coming from his body, and there were cables linking him to monitors. Ross, who had always been so vigorous and who could be relied on to brighten any room with his presence, was just a shadow of his former self.

‘It was a nasty accident,’ the nurse added, ‘and there was a considerable amount of lung damage because of the broken ribs he suffered. That’s why he’s still on the ventilator, but he’s receiving pain medication, so at least he should be fairly comfortable.’

Alex nodded. ‘I know you’re all doing everything you can for him.’

The nurse made a note of Ross’s heart rate and blood-oxygen levels. ‘Have you been to see his wife? I know she was badly injured, too.’

‘Yes, I make a point of looking in on her every day. The doctors are treating her for a laceration to her liver, but they found there was some damage to her kidney as well. She’s been through surgery, and she’s in much the same situation as Ross, reliant on tubes and drips and monitors. Even so, she’s fretting over the children.’

‘I’m sorry.’ The nurse laid a hand on Alex’s arm. ‘It must be very worrying for you, especially with the youngsters to consider. I think it’s good that you’ve been bringing them in to see their parents, though.’

Alex sucked in a deep breath. ‘Better for them to see what’s happening, I thought. Otherwise their imaginations might cause them to worry even more. Their grandparents will be coming over at the weekend, so that should help to cheer them up a little.’ Her mouth flattened. ‘My parents have found it hard, being so far away when it happened. But they’ve worked out a schedule so that one or other of them will be over here to spend time with Ross for a good part of the week.’

‘You said they were working abroad, is that right?’

Alex nodded. ‘My father works for an oil company. It’s a really difficult time for him right now, but all he can think about is Ross.’

‘That’s understandable.’

Alex spent a few more minutes by her brother’s bedside until she finally had to acknowledge that time was getting on. She had taken a late lunch, but now she needed to go back to work. Reluctantly, she made her way to the ground floor of the hospital, heading for A and E.

Things were no easier in that department, either. Her work colleagues were uneasy, doubtful about her intentions in her role as manager, and worried regarding their job security.

Alex tried not to let it unsettle her. She would try to put their minds at ease, and she would do the best she could for the department. After all, she was her father’s daughter, wasn’t she, strong, determined, willing to put in every effort for a cause she felt to be worthwhile? And in these difficult times keeping the A and E department viable and open for business was surely the best outcome for everyone?

Today, though, she was here in her role as doctor, and now she glanced at the whiteboard as she walked over to the main desk. ‘Katie, I’ll take the three-year-old with fever in treatment room two.’

‘Okay.’ The triage nurse handed her the child’s admission notes.

Alex headed for the treatment room. As she had told Callum, landing this job had given her the best of both worlds—management took up fifty per cent of her time, and working as a consultant emergency paediatrician took up the rest.

She glanced at the triage nurse once more as she passed by the desk. ‘Is Dr Brooksby about?’ She’d been on the lookout for him all morning.

Katie hesitated, tucking a strand of glossy black hair behind one ear. ‘Um…last I saw of him he was in Resus.’

‘Hmm.’ Alex had already checked, and he certainly wasn’t there now. ‘Thanks, Katie. I’m sure I’ll manage to hunt him out.’

She found him a minute or two later in the treatment room next to hers. He was checking an ECG printout, while at the same time assuring his patient that he was in safe hands.

‘You’ve had a minor heart attack,’ he told the middle-aged man lying on the bed, ‘but we have things under control now. The medication should help to open up your blood vessels, and things should soon start to feel a lot easier. Just keep pulling on the oxygen.’

He glanced across the room as Alex put her head round the door. ‘So there you are,’ she said. ‘I’m glad I’ve run into you at last. I’ve been searching everywhere for you.’

‘What it is to be popular,’ he murmured, winking at his patient. He adjusted the settings on the medication pump and checked the drip. ‘What could be better than having a gorgeous young woman seeking you out?’

Alex pulled a face. He obviously knew how to charm the birds out of the trees. ‘I know you’ve a lot on,’ she murmured, ‘but I really need you to go over the drug expenditure figures with me some time soon—and I noticed your casualty cards aren’t up to date. We need to get them filled in so that we can check waiting times.’

‘Yes, of course.’ He nodded agreeably. ‘I’ve been working on it. We always try to fill these things in on time, you know, but it can get pretty frantic around here, and it isn’t always easy to keep up with the admin paperwork.’ He sent her an engaging smile, inviting her to agree with him, his blue gaze shimmering over her so that she found herself unwillingly caught up in his masculine magnetism and his easygoing manner.

‘Yes, well…um…’ She blinked. It was thoroughly disconcerting, the way he managed to tip her off balance. What was she thinking? She made an effort to pull herself together. ‘Maybe we could get together for a few minutes as soon as you’ve finished here and go through a few of the items we need to get to grips with? I’ll be next door in the paediatric bay, working with a patient.’

‘Sounds like a good idea. I’ll see what I can do.’ He was totally relaxed, completely unfazed by her request.

‘Good. That’s encouraging.’ She slanted him a brief, searching glance. ‘See you in a few minutes, then,’ she murmured.

She left the room, with a friendly nod to the patient, who was looking much better than he had done a short time ago, and went to see the toddler next door.

The infant was lying on a trolley bed, clearly feeling too wretched and uncomfortable to be held in his mother’s arms. A nurse was cooling him by holding a damp cloth to his forehead, but as Alex entered, she went to step aside.

‘That’s all right, Charlotte,’ Alex said. ‘You go on with what you’re doing. I’m sure he’ll feel much better for it.’

Alex smiled at the boy’s mother. ‘Mrs Stanhope, I understand Tom has been poorly for several days?’

The woman nodded. ‘It’s horrible to see him like this. He won’t eat, he keeps being sick, and now he has a temperature. I’m really worried about him.’

‘Of course you are.’ She looked at Tom. ‘The poor little chap looks really miserable.’ She spoke gently to the boy. ‘I’m going to try to make you feel a bit more comfortable, Tom,’ she murmured, ‘but I need to listen to your chest first…and maybe look at your tummy. Is that all right?’

The toddler looked uncertain, his lower lip trembling, and the nurse attempted to distract him by producing a teddy bear from a basket at the side of the bed. ‘Look,’ she said, ‘Teddy’s feeling poorly, too. His tummy hurts.’

Tom’s eyes widened and he gazed at the toy, putting out a hand to feel his silky fur. Alex sent the nurse a grateful glance and gently began her examination. When she had finished, she said softly, ‘That’s all done now, Tom. You were very brave.’

The boy clutched the teddy to him. ‘Teddy hurting,’ he said. ‘He feels sick.’ Suddenly all the colour left his face and the nurse promptly moved forward with a kidney dish, holding it in place as he began to retch.

Alex went to sit next to the child’s mother. ‘We tested Tom’s urine earlier,’ she told her, ‘and it looks as though he has a urinary infection of some kind. It’s quite possible that his kidneys are inflamed, so I’m going to start him on a course of antibiotics. I’ll give him the first dose by injection so that it will start to act quicker, but the rest we’ll give by mouth.’ She glanced at Charlotte and gave instructions about the medications. ‘And that includes something to ease the pain and bring down his temperature.’

‘Thank you.’ Mrs Stanhope seemed anxious. ‘How long will it be before he’s better?’

‘It could be two or three weeks. I feel we should admit him to hospital so that we can keep an eye on him—I know that’s probably worrying for you, but we have to make sure we deal with this properly, right from the start, and of course that way he’ll be on hand when we get the results of his urine culture back from the lab.’

Mrs Stanhope nodded. ‘It’s all right. I just want what’s best for him.’

‘That’s good. I’ll make the arrangements.’ Alex stood up and went back to her small patient. ‘Just a tiny jab,’ she told him, preparing the antibiotic injection. ‘It will all be over in a second or two.’

A few minutes later, she left the infant and his mother in Charlotte’s capable hands, and went to look for Callum. He was nowhere to be found, not in any of the treatment rooms, or in Resus, or even out by the ambulance bay. She checked the quadrangle where staff sometimes took a breath of fresh air between seeing patients, but he wasn’t there either.

She frowned. ‘Any sign of Dr Brooksby?’ she asked Katie as the nurse walked towards the reception area.

‘None at all.’ Katie shrugged lightly. ‘I expect he’s gone back to Resus.’

Alex suppressed a sigh. ‘Not to worry,’ she said. ‘I dare say I’ll catch up with him sooner or later.’

Katie nodded. ‘That’s how it is down here, unfortunately. Everyone’s so busy.’

Alex’s mouth made a flat line. Busy or not, they all had to work together to help streamline the department, or before too long the trust board would be calling for closures. One way or another they had to find time to cooperate with her. ‘If anyone needs me, I’m heading over to Pathology,’ she said.

She would take Tom’s sample over to the lab herself for culture, and ask if the results could be hurried up. Once they knew the bacterial culprit, they could choose the most appropriate treatment for the child. The wide-spectrum antibiotic she had used was a catch-all for the most likely bacteria, but given the severity of the infection it was possible that they needed to use something more specific to counteract it.

She walked into the lab a few minutes later, shooting a quick glance around the room. Over to one side, by the workbenches, she saw a by-now familiar figure huddled over a rack of test tubes.

‘So here you are,’ she murmured, after handing over the specimen to the lab technician. ‘I never would have thought to find you here, Dr Brooksby.’

He straightened, turning to look at her. ‘I’m checking on some samples I sent for testing. I want to see how things are coming along, you know.’

‘Really?’ She inspected the label of the sample he was studying. ‘Since when were you working with the staff on the geriatric ward? Was your patient sent there from A and E?’

He frowned. ‘It’s the wrong sample,’ he said. ‘My patient’s elderly, but not geriatric.’

She sent him a cautious look, her grey eyes doubtful. ‘You wouldn’t be deliberately trying to avoid me, would you, Dr Brooksby?’

‘Callum, please. Now, why on earth would I want to do that?’

‘That’s what I’m wondering. Only I was under the impression we were going to meet up in the treatment room a while ago. Didn’t you agree to that?’

‘Of course—though I believe what I actually said was that it was a good idea, which is not necessarily the same thing as saying I’d be there. You can’t guarantee anything in the hectic atmosphere of the A and E department.’ He searched among the papers in a wire tray and grasped one in triumph. ‘Found it,’ he said. He held it up to her. ‘My patient’s results.’

She stared at him in frustration. ‘Why is it that I have the feeling you’re playing games with me?’ she asked. ‘You haven’t actually completed the drug lists, have you? Or tried to catch up on filling in the waiting times on your casualty cards?’

He leaned back against the workbench, his long legs crossed at the ankles. ‘Actually.uh.no, you’re right. I haven’t.’ His mouth made a rueful shape. ‘As I said before, I’m much more of a hands-on medic than someone who concentrates on keeping his paperwork up to date.’

His gaze ran over her, appreciation lighting his eyes as he took in the shapeliness of her figure outlined by her classically styled dress. ‘I know you want to get on with updating your numbers and counting the financial cost of everything, but is it so essential that it’s done right this minute? You’ve only been here a short time. Surely you need to take some time to settle in? And how about giving everyone a bit of leeway? Give them a chance to get used to the idea of you being around. That way people would be so much more on your side.’

She sighed. ‘That would be so satisfying, wouldn’t it…just to let everything hang easy for a while, gain a little popularity and then sit back and enjoy the ride?’ There was amusement in her tone. ‘I hardly think that’s going to happen.’ Her grey glance meshed with his.

‘You don’t?’ He frowned.

‘I don’t. Why do you imagine I was brought in here? The executives were hardly going to appoint a pussycat to monitor things, were they?’ She didn’t wait for an answer. ‘The hospital budget is badly overdrawn and the trust has to make drastic cuts if the services the public want and expect are to survive.’ She drew in a deep breath. ‘So that’s where I come in. I have the task of auditing the department to find out where savings can be made…and if I don’t come up with the right answers, the whole emergency unit is at risk—so it’s not just my job on the line, but those of everyone who works here.’ She studied him. ‘You do understand that, don’t you?’

He lifted his shoulders. ‘Of course I do…it’s just that I don’t see why you can’t hold fire for a while. The trust has been overspending for years—a few weeks isn’t going to make much difference to the grand scheme of things, is it?’

She shook her head, causing her chestnut curls to swirl and shimmer under the overhead lights. ‘That’s where you’re wrong, I’m afraid. I have to report back to the board at the end of each month. They aren’t going to look kindly on me or the department if I show them an empty file.’

He watched the cloud of burnished hair drift and settle. ‘You realise, don’t you,’ he countered, ‘that the board will do what it wants, no matter what facts and figures you manage to produce? If they’re set on closing the department, then ultimately that’s what they’ll do. They just need you to give them the firepower.’

She regarded him steadily. ‘Well, I don’t think that way about it at all. I believe that I can make a difference. I believe we can make savings in lots of ways. In fact, going on my experience with a young patient this morning, I’ve decided I want to start a separate audit into the treatment of children with urinary infections…let’s see if we can’t cut down on the number of ultrasound scans, and choose our drugs more wisely, so that we’re not prescribing expensive ones where generic drugs will do better.’

She warmed to her theme. ‘It’s just a question of devising the forms for people to fill in whenever they treat a child—and at the end we’ll collate all the information and see what savings we can come up with.’

He looked at her, aghast. ‘Good grief, woman…don’t you have enough to do without getting started on audits that aren’t even part of your remit?’

‘But it all comes down to the same thing in the end, don’t you see? Savings are at the heart of everything.’

He relaxed, beginning to smile at her. ‘I can see why you got the job…and I have to admire your persistence. You’re so full of energy and enthusiasm—but there’s more to life than work, you know. Where do you find time in all that for a social life—that thing called ‘fun’—boyfriends, and so on?’

His glance drifted over her. ‘You’re a very attractive woman, and I’d have thought men would be queuing up to ask you out. Yet from what I’ve heard you don’t have a significant other, you don’t join the staff at the local pub—or even share lunch breaks with them. Isn’t there something missing from your life?’ His gaze became thoughtful. ‘Or perhaps you’ve been hurt…’ he said softly. ‘Maybe someone let you down?’

She stared at him blankly for a moment or two. So he thought she was attractive? He’d said it before, but even so, it gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling, hearing him say it again. But as to the rest, when did she have time to socialise? Any spare time she had at work was spent on visiting her brother and his wife, and after work she needed to take care of the children.

‘I see the hospital grapevine has been busy,’ she murmured. ‘Is nobody’s life private around here?’ She frowned. ‘Though I could say the same for you. Snatches of gossip I’ve heard tell me you don’t ever settle to a relationship—fear of commitment is how they put it, I think.’