Her Boss and Protector. Joanna Neil

to feel really ill and they all started to rush about doing tests and things. They said that I was bleeding inside, and they didn’t know what was causing it, but in the end they had to send me to Theatre for an operation. I feel much better now, but I’m a bit sore.’

      ‘I expect you will be for a while,’ Jade said. ‘I had a word with the doctor. He said that they found a small tear in your liver, but they managed to stitch it up. As long as you rest, you should be all right, but they’re going to keep you in here for a few days, just to make sure.’

      Her mother looked at her, her green eyes troubled. ‘How are you coping? You’re looking after the children, aren’t you? Is everything working out all right? How are they bearing up?’

      ‘Everything is fine,’ Jade said. ‘Don’t worry yourself. The children are worried, obviously, but they seem to be taking it all in their stride. Rebeccah is older, so she seems to have more of an inkling about what’s going on, but she’s coping. They were both hoping that Ben would come home, but he’s still in the decompression chamber. I should think he’ll be here as soon as he’s able.’

      ‘That will make Gemma feel better, I expect.’ Her mother frowned. ‘How is she?’

      ‘I’m not absolutely sure, but I’m going to see her in a few minutes. As far as I know, they’ve managed to stabilise her pelvis in Theatre. She’s lost a lot of blood, though.’

      They talked for a while longer, and then Jade gave her mother a kiss and stood up, ready to go. ‘I brought you some magazines,’ she said. ‘I’ll hunt out a few more for you and bring them along tomorrow. You take care now, and get some rest.’

      Her mother smiled. ‘You’re an angel. You always were able to cope, no matter what life threw at you. You always seemed so strong. Look at how you looked after your brother when he was little—I feel so guilty sometimes because of the way I failed you back then, and here you are, going through a similar situation all over again.’ She sent Jade a pensive look. ‘I know this can’t be easy for you, and you must have a lot to contend with just now. You should try to take some time out for yourself.’

      ‘I will.’ Jade didn’t think there was much chance of that, but it would make her mother happy to think all was going well.

      ‘You were going to start your new job today, weren’t you? Is everything working out all right?’

      ‘Yes, it’s turning out just fine,’ Jade lied. She wasn’t going to burden her mother with her problems. ‘At least it means I’m on hand to come up and visit you whenever I get the opportunity.’

      She left the room a minute or so later and went in search of Gemma, her half-brother’s wife. Gemma’s condition was much worse than her mother’s, and Jade was shocked when she saw her. The accident and the haemorrhage that followed had taken their toll on her.

      Her sister-in-law was almost as white as the bandages that held the dressing in place on her head, and the brown of her hair made a stark contrast to her pale skin. She seemed very weak and tired, and Jade guessed that she was in quite a lot of pain and discomfort.

      Even so, Gemma wanted to know about the children. ‘Are they all right? Have they settled in with you?’

      ‘Yes. They’re doing just fine, and they send their love. I told them that you’ll be staying here for a little while, but that they could come and see you as soon as you were feeling stronger. The doctors don’t think it would be a good idea for them to come in just yet.’

      ‘I know.’ Gemma was near to tears. ‘Thanks for taking care of them for me. I was hoping that Ben would bring them to me, but I expect he’s still out on the rig. He spends more time there than he does with us, but perhaps that’s how he wants it. Sometimes I wonder if we made a mistake, getting married.’

      Jade reached out and touched her hand. ‘You mustn’t think like that. Ben loves you.’

      ‘I don’t think so—not enough, anyway. Why else would he spend so much time away from us? And I don’t think he cares about the children—why should he after all? They’re not his, so I suppose he can’t be expected to love them the way I do.’ Her voice faded.

      ‘I’m sure you have it all wrong,’ Jade said. ‘He loves all of you, and he’ll be here just as soon as he can manage it. The last I heard, he was still in the decompression chamber.’

      ‘Maybe.’ She could see that Gemma wasn’t convinced. ‘It takes something like this to make you take stock of things and realise what’s important in life. At least I have the children.’

      ‘You have Ben, and me and Mum as well,’ Jade told her. ‘You’re not alone. You mustn’t think like that.’

      Jade stayed with Gemma until her sister-in-law’s mood had lifted a little. She knew something of what Gemma was going through…she was feeling lost and alone. Her own childhood experiences had left her feeling much the same way, making her reluctant to believe that she could rely on anyone.

      Her lunch-break came to an end and she hurried back to A and E. The little boy who had taken the propranolol was showing signs of recovery, and she was pleased about that. She checked him over, and left the treatment room feeling glad that at least something was going right.

      ‘He was fortunate,’ Callum said, coming over to sign her chart and allow her to pass the boy over to admissions. ‘If his family had left it much longer before they realised what he had done, things could have been far worse.’

      She nodded. ‘It’s easy to be wise after the event, I suppose. Children will always get up to mischief of some sort, but I expect his family will keep medicines securely locked away from now on.’

      He gave her a long look, those blue eyes lancing into her. ‘I imagine that’s something you know a lot about—the mischief, I mean.’

      She managed a hollow smile. ‘That reminds me—about this morning,’ she began. ‘I didn’t know that the children had come to you, asking for milk. I was in the shower, and I didn’t realise that they had left the house.’

      ‘I guessed as much, and it sort of went along with what I’ve come to expect. You don’t have to explain.’

      ‘No…but I want to. You see, under normal circumstances I would have had enough milk to keep us going, but then we took in a stray kitten, and he seems to have guzzled all I had.’

      ‘I noticed him yesterday. As for your breakfast problems, I take it that your husband is no good at helping out in that kind of situation? I’d have thought that with two of you in the house, one or other of you could manage to keep an eye on things.’

      ‘I’m not married,’ she told him.

      ‘Ah…I see.’

      ‘I don’t think you do.’

      She was about to explain the situation to him, but before she could get her act together he said, ‘Well, let’s just say that it all makes some kind of sense now. No wonder you’re struggling, if you’re on your own.’

      He gave her an assessing glance, and then added, ‘I’m afraid I didn’t really have time to say very much to the children this morning—I planned on getting into work early, and they caught me on the hop, so to speak.’

      She frowned. ‘I’m sorry that they came and disturbed you. They shouldn’t have done that.’

      ‘It’s not a problem,’ he said. ‘I realise that you’re having trouble keeping it all together, but I guess you’re not alone. A lot of single parents seem to find it difficult to manage.’

      He signed her chart while she was still staring at him open-mouthed, and he didn’t give her the opportunity to set things straight. He didn’t stay around to talk any longer, but strode away to treat a patient who was being rushed into the emergency room.

      Jade was kept busy for the rest of the afternoon. She was a bit out of her depth, but