The Consultant's Adopted Son. Jennifer Taylor

break when Angie told her what had happened.

      ‘Are you sure?’ the charge nurse said, frowning. ‘You’re entitled to a meal break—it’s in your contract.’

      ‘It’s probably in yours, too, but that won’t stop you working,’ she replied lightly.

      Angie laughed. ‘You’re right there! Anyway, thanks. If you could cover Resus with Julie and Ellen, that would be a big help. Sharon can take her break and I can keep things ticking over out here.’

      Rose nodded. She followed the nurses into Resus and made sure everything was ready when the ambulances arrived. The other women seemed a bit more approachable that day, and showed her where the various supplies were kept to save her having to hunt for them. By the time the first stretcher was wheeled in she felt as though they were starting to accept her, and she had to admit that it felt good to be part of the team for a change.

      She grabbed a corner of the board and helped transfer the patient onto the bed. It was a young girl and she was unconscious. ‘Where was she found?’ Rose asked the paramedic.

      ‘In her bedroom. From the look of all the bottles that were strewn around, she and her friends must have been drinking until they passed out.’

      ‘So it’s alcohol related?’ Rose sighed. ‘She doesn’t look old enough to be drinking alcohol, does she?’

      ‘She’s fourteen, according to her parents. They start younger and younger these days,’ the paramedic replied wearily as he left.

      Rob arrived just then, and came over to Rose. He grimaced when she relayed what the paramedic had told her. ‘Binge drinking is the scourge of modern society. Just wait until you’ve done a stint here on a Saturday night and then you’ll get an idea what a problem it is.’

      ‘I’ve seen the effects it can have when I’ve worked in other A and E departments,’ she assured him.

      ‘Of course you have. I keep forgetting that you travel around.’ Rob grinned at her. ‘You’ve fitted in so well here that I keep thinking you’re part of our staff.’

      ‘Thanks.’ Rose smiled at him, truly appreciating the compliment. Turning away, she reached for the leads to attach the teenager to the bedside monitoring equipment and paused when she realised that Owen was watching her. There was something on his face, a kind of raw awareness, that made her long to tell him that she was just as aware of him, too…

      He turned away as the next patient was rushed in, and she carried on with what she was doing—linking the girl to the machine so that her BP, heart rate and oxygen saturation levels could be monitored. It was a task she’d done countless times before, but this time she had to concentrate to make sure she did everything right.

      There was no room for error in her job; people depended on her. There was no margin for error with regard to Owen Gallagher either; she had to get it right for Daniel’s sake. And letting herself get carried away by the idea that Owen was interested in her would be a mistake of epic proportions. The only thing Owen was interested in was his son. She had to remember that or suffer the consequences.