Harlequin Medical Romance December 2015, Box Set 1 of 2 (41 page)

Wouldn't he?

‘Thank you.' His voice grated and he cleared his throat, unable to deal with all the conflicting emotions rioting around inside him. Did he really want to let Claire go and look to the future? Could he bear to do so when he might be consumed by guilt for ever? He had to be sure because he couldn't play with Molly's emotions, couldn't lead her to believe that they had a future together when in all likelihood it wouldn't amount to anything.

‘There's nothing to thank me for.' She gave a little shrug and he almost weakened when he realised how brave she was being. However, it would be wrong to allow this to go any further, so very wrong to risk hurting her all over again.

Sean's heart was heavy as he said goodbye and made his way to the door. Molly saw him out although she didn't wait to wave him off, not that he could blame her. She was probably glad to see the back of him after what he had told her. He stood in the road for a moment, sucking in great gulps of the frosty air. It should have been a relief to tell her about Claire and explain his reasons for breaking up with her but it wasn't relief he felt. Not right now anyway. Maybe relief would come later but at the moment all he felt was a deep sense of sadness for what he could have had if things had been different.

If he hadn't made that vow then he could have had Molly in his life. For ever and always.

CHAPTER TEN

S
URPRISINGLY
, S
EAN
DISCOVERED
that he did feel better after his talk with Molly. He wasn't sure why when it had thrown up so many other issues but it felt as though some of the weight had been lifted off his shoulders. There was a definite spring to his step when he went into work two days later but, sadly, it didn't last very long. One glimpse of Molly chatting to Adam Humphreys soon put paid to it. Even though he knew it was wrong, he hated to see her with another man.

Fortunately, the department was as busy as ever so he had no time to brood. There'd been a car crash on the bypass which resulted in several casualties being brought in at more or less the same time. Molly was doing triage that day and she quickly dispensed with the less seriously injured, leaving him to deal with the rest. However, it was only when the paramedics rushed the trolley into Resus that Sean discovered one of the casualties was Joyce Summers, the most senior Sister on the unit.

‘Let's get her on the bed.' Sean did the count as they quickly moved Joyce off the trolley. She was receiving oxygen as her Sats were worryingly low. She was unconscious and had been since the paramedics had arrived at the scene. She had suffered a serious head injury and Sean's heart sank as he ordered a CT scan because he knew it would be touch and go whether she pulled through. Molly had followed the ambulance crew into Resus and she asked if she could accompany Joyce to Radiography.

‘Of course,' Sean agreed immediately. He sighed as he watched her help the porters wheel the bed out of Resus. If Joyce didn't make it then he knew that Molly would be terribly upset and he hated to think of her suffering that way.

He forced his mind back to the job as he set about dealing with the second casualty, a young man called Sam Prentice who, thankfully, wasn't as seriously injured. He had several broken ribs which were causing him some problems breathing. Sean suspected—rightly so—that Sam had a haemothorax and set about sorting it out with the help of Steph Collins, their F1 student. It was the first time that Steph had performed the procedure so Sean guided her through it, showing her how to insert the needle through the tough intercostal muscles between the patient's ribs while they drew off the blood that had collected in the pleural cavity and was compromising Sam's breathing. By the time they had done that, Joyce was back so Sean left Steph to keep an eye on their patient while he went to check the results of the CT scan. It was immediately apparent that it wasn't good news.

‘Heavy bleeding on the left side of the brain,' Sean observed, pointing to the area in question. ‘The blow to the right side of her head must have carried enough force to knock the brain sideways and cause it to collide with her skull. She's going to need immediate surgery.'

‘What are her chances?' Molly asked and his heart ached when he heard the catch in her voice.

‘Not good, I'm afraid.' He sighed. ‘The bleed is extensive and even if the surgeon manages to stop it then there's probably going to be extensive brain damage.'

‘It's so unfair. Joyce is due to retire this Christmas and she and her husband have a whole list of things they are planning to do, including her dream holiday, cruising around the Caribbean.'

‘You're right. It isn't fair,' Sean said quietly. He dredged up a smile, wishing there was more he could say by way of comfort. However, he understood better than most how one's plans could alter in mere seconds. ‘All we can do is hope that things aren't as bad as they appear.'

Molly didn't say anything. Sean suspected that she didn't believe it any more than he did. He went to the phone and asked for one of the neurosurgical team to attend, aware that his efforts to reassure Molly had failed dismally. He sighed. There was very little else he could have said as it wouldn't have been fair to raise her hopes but it didn't stop him feeling bad about it.

He frowned as that thought sank into his consciousness. If only he had thought harder about being fair when they had been seeing one another then maybe he wouldn't have ended up making such a hash of things. He had known for weeks that he should end their affair but he had kept putting it off because he hadn't wanted to let her go. He had behaved with the utmost selfishness and he would always regret it.

Molly deserved someone better than him, someone without all his attendant baggage. Someone like Adam Humphreys, for instance—steady, reliable, ready and eager to make a commitment. Quite frankly, he should be glad that she had met someone like Humphreys but as he went back to his patient Sean knew that it wasn't happiness he felt, not by a long chalk. Right or wrong, but he couldn't bear the thought of Molly falling in love with the other man.

Sean tried to put that thought out of his mind but, typically, it seemed that Humphreys was never out of the department. Every time he turned round, he spotted Molly and Humphreys chatting to one another. Fair enough, most of their conversation was related to their patients but Sean could feel his irritation rising each time he came across them. Surely the guy could tell that he needed to give Molly some breathing space rather than...than bombard her this way! He did his best to ignore them but when he happened to overhear Humphreys inviting her out for dinner that coming Friday, he finally flipped. No way was Molly spending the evening with Humphreys. Not while there was any breath left in his body!

‘I hate to butt in, guys, but you already have plans for Friday, Molly.' He smiled as Molly turned to him in surprise. ‘It's Bert and Doris's wedding reception—remember?'

‘I'm sure they aren't really expecting us to go,' Molly said shortly, glaring at him. ‘They probably only asked us for politeness' sake.'

‘Not at all.' Sean held his smile although the way Molly was glowering at him would have made a less determined man waver. ‘In fact, Bert assured me that they're both looking forward to seeing us there.'

It was only the smallest distortion of the truth but Sean crossed his fingers anyway. Bert had said that he and Doris would be delighted to see them when he had issued the invitation but he had no intention of explaining that to Molly.

‘When did you speak to him?' Molly demanded.

‘Oh, I'm not sure—a few days ago,' Sean replied, crossing the fingers on his other hand as well. ‘It doesn't really matter, does it? I mean I'd hate to disappoint them, wouldn't you?' He turned to Humphreys and grimaced. ‘Sorry to scupper your plans, and all that. But it's important to keep a promise, don't you agree?'

‘I...erm... Yes, of course.' Adam Humphreys both looked and sounded decidedly put out but Sean didn't care.

Sean turned to Molly, smiling winningly at her.

‘We'll sort out the time nearer to the day. At least I won't have to drive very far to pick you up.' He laughed. ‘I'm moving into the cottage this week so we'll be living just around the corner from each other very soon.'

He didn't say anything else as he went to fetch his next patient; however, he could tell that Molly was seething about the way he had railroaded her into falling in with his plans. Tough luck, he thought, as he headed to Reception. Although Humphreys might appear perfect on paper, he wasn't right for Molly. He was convinced about that—

‘What the hell do you think you're doing?'

Sean stopped dead when Molly came hurrying after him. That she was furiously angry was obvious and he experienced a momentary qualm. Maybe he shouldn't have interfered like that but the thought of her and Humphreys getting cosy was more than he could swallow. He adopted an expression of bewilderment as he turned to face her.

‘I'm sorry...?'

‘Don't give me that!' She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. ‘You know exactly what you've done. You, quite deliberately too, came up with that to stop me going out with Adam, didn't you?'

‘I merely reminded you that you had a previous engagement,' Sean replied in his most ingenuous tone. He shrugged. ‘I'm sure you don't want to disappoint Bert and Doris, do you?'

‘No. But that's not the point, is it?'

‘Isn't it? So why do you imagine I butted in to your conversation like that?' he said evenly although his heart was thumping. Did he really want Molly to guess just how much he hated the thought of her dating Humphreys when it would give rise to so many awkward questions?

‘I have no idea,' she began and then stopped abruptly when a middle-aged man came hurrying in through the main doors. ‘Oh, that's Joyce's husband—Ted. He's going to be devastated when he finds out what's happened to her.'

‘Take him into the relatives' room and we'll talk to him in there,' Sean said quickly, hating himself for feeling so relieved at the interruption. ‘Once we've explained what's happened then maybe you can take him up to Recovery. Joyce should be finished in Theatre soon and I'm sure he will want to see her.'

‘What if she didn't make it?' Molly said with a catch in her voice.

‘Then we would have heard by now.' He reached over and squeezed her hand. ‘I left a message with the theatre sister to phone us if anything happened.'

‘Oh, right. Well, I suppose that's a good sign,' she said quietly.

Sean let her go, watching as she hurried over to Joyce's husband and led him towards the relatives' room. He went to the phone and called Recovery to get an update on Joyce's condition. She had come through the operation successfully but she was being kept sedated as it was hoped that it would help her brain to heal. Although the person he spoke to didn't say as much, he knew that it was still touch and go. Now he had to try and explain all of that to Joyce's husband the least stressful way he could.

Molly sat quietly as she listened to Sean explaining the extent of Joyce's injuries to Ted Summers. He didn't try to paint a brighter picture but carefully and methodically outlined the difficulties Joyce faced. Molly's heart ached when she heard the compassion in his voice. Sean had always been marvellous with grieving relatives and now she understood why he was able to empathise with them to such an extent. He had been on the receiving end of devastating news like this when Claire had died and he had first-hand knowledge of how it felt to have your hopes and dreams ripped apart.

It made her anger over the way he had butted into her conversation with Adam seem very trivial. Maybe she didn't understand his reasons for doing so but it obviously wasn't jealousy at the thought of her and Adam going out together, not when she could hear the underlying grief in his voice. Sean was remembering Claire, recalling how devastated he had felt when he had lost her; how devastated he still felt, in fact. Molly found herself suddenly wishing with every fibre of her being that one day he would be able to move on, even if she wouldn't be around to help him.

‘I'm sorry the news isn't better, Ted. All I can say is that Joyce has come this far and that's a positive sign.' Sean stood up, bringing an end to the meeting. ‘I'm sure you must want to see her so Molly is going to take you to Recovery. Joyce will be moved from there to ICU very shortly.'

‘Thank you.' Ted Summers rose shakily to his feet. He looked completely poleaxed by what he had heard and Molly hurriedly got up and put a guiding hand under his elbow to lead him to the door.

‘There's no need to rush back, Molly. It's not that busy in here so take as long as you need.'

‘Right. Thank you.' Molly glanced back, feeling her heart scrunch up inside her. It was only Sean who could make the decision to put the past behind him; no one else could make it for him. And the thought that he might never get over losing Claire was so painful that it was hard to hide how much it upset her.

‘Are you all right?' he said softly and she knew that he had noticed she was upset but had assumed it was because of Joyce.

‘Yes. I'm fine.'

She turned away, not wanting to burden him with her feelings. Sean had enough to contend with and it would be wrong to encumber him with anything else. She had to deal with her own emotions and come to terms with the situation as it was. The sooner she did that too, the better.

* * *

The rest of the week passed and Friday rolled around. Molly had seen very little of Sean, as it happened. He had agreed to swap shifts with his opposite number, who needed time off that coming weekend to visit an ailing relative. While she was glad of the respite, she had to admit that she missed him. Sean was fun to have around, always bright and cheerful and ready to lend a hand. In fact, the department didn't seem the same without him, although maybe it was a good thing that he wasn't there if it gave her a chance to get used to being without him. She must never forget that Sean's time in Dalverston was strictly limited.

By the time she left work on Friday evening, Sean still hadn't contacted her to arrange when he would pick her up to attend Bert and Doris's wedding reception. Molly made her way home, assuring herself that she was relieved that he had apparently changed his mind. An evening watching the box was far preferable to one spent agonising over matters she couldn't change.

She changed into a comfy old tracksuit and settled down in front of the television with her supper on a tray. When the doorbell rang she was engrossed in the latest episode of her favourite soap opera and reluctantly got up to answer it. She'd had several visits from local children out carol singing so she fetched her purse before opening the door then gasped in surprise when she found Sean standing on her step.

‘What are you doing here?'

‘Collecting you so we can go to Bert and Doris's do.' He frowned as he took stock of what she was wearing. ‘I'm sorry. Am I too early?'

‘Seeing as we never agreed on a time, then no, you aren't,' Molly replied testily, overwhelmingly aware of how awful she looked in the ratty old tracksuit.