Rescue Nights Read Free

turned off the taps and quickly dried herself off. Respecting the unisex space, she dressed in her spare flight suit before she made to leave the shower stall.
    Kate had never been able to bring herself to produce a hairdryer here at base, so the best she could do was slick her wet hair back in a ponytail. You didn’t prove yourself in a male dominated rescue team by spending time in front of the mirror.
    Taking a deep fortifying breath, Kate pushed open the shower stall door. She had to swallow a surprised curse when she almost collided with Andrew. She had been sure that he had already left the change room.
    ‘When did doctors learn to move so quietly?’ she asked, immediately hoping he didn’t register the harshness of her tone.
    Andrew loosened his hands, which he had placed on her upper arms to steady her, and took a step back.
    ‘The clever ones like me learn to move quietly so we can check on our patient’s charts without waking them.’ He smiled as he continued, ‘Rounds go a lot faster when the patients aren’t conscious enough to ask questions.’
    Considering it was the first time Kate had seen his almond coloured eyes light up with genuine humour, she bit back a peevish response. Confused by the way the barrack-like change rooms seemed to contract in Andrew’s presence, she stowed away her wet uniform and towel and headed to the door. However, Andrew stayed close as she moved out into the cavernous space that was the main area of the helicopter rescue base.
    ‘Do we usually get an update about our patient after we drop them off at the hospital?’ Andrew asked.
    Because his question was about patient care, Kate slowed down her fast gait before answering.
    ‘If you call the hospital, any of the doctors or support staff will be happy to give you an update. We are a relatively small medical community up here in the Far North, so most of us stay helpful to one another.’
    ‘Colin looked relatively happy when we dropped him off at the hospital,’ Andrew observed.
    ‘Probably less happy once they started manipulating and stitching up his leg,’ Kate replied. ‘Although he did look particularly relieved when he realized we weren’t going to leave him with his mates. I don’t think that that band of brothers would have provided the gentlest of medical care.’
    Turning into the helicopter staging area, Kate and Andrew were hailed by the pilot Joe Robinson. ‘Do you guys want coffee or tea?’
    ‘Give me fifteen minutes for the resupply,’ Kate replied, smiling at the middle-aged pilot.
    Andrew wandered past her to take a seat at the table, while Kate went to the opposite wall ready for the meticulous process of resupplying their med bags. She needed to replace the supplies that they used on Colin.
    She couldn’t help but resent the way the new doctor didn’t offer any help. It was looking like he was going to treat her as if she was a junior hospital nurse, rather than a valuable partner with vast experience in pre-hospital care.
    She took a deep breath to restrain a dirty look. At least he had been able to keep up on the rescue site. The doctor they had rostered on last week would no sooner have abseiled down a cliff face than he would have cut off his hand. They were finding it hard to get appropriate doctors for any length of time, so they had been making do with short stints. Getting a six-month contract out of Dr Andrew Wentworth had been a boon. In fact, it was so unusual that Kate had her suspicions. Was this a doctor running away from a malpractice suit? For the first time, Kate wished she had the London connections to find out the dirt.
    Walking back to the table, Kate was in time to hear Joe say, ‘Hope you don’t mind that we use first names around here?’
    Kate had to hide a smile. Too bad if he did mind, seeing they had been using his Christian name all morning. She waited to see if he pointed that out.
    Instead, he said, ‘Joe, you can call me whatever you want, as long as you