Beneath Still Waters. Alex Archer

aware that Janet Fairfax had been good but she was even better. One thing was very plain to see. Leonie Mitchell was a natural with children, which was more than he had ever been able to say about his ex-wife. Shelley had held no yearnings to bring children into the world, which was something she’d kept quiet about until she’d had his wedding ring on her finger.

      It had been the first of many things that they hadn’t agreed on as they’d discovered that sexual chemistry alone wasn’t enough to make a good marriage.

      As they moved from bed to bed it was obvious that Leonie knew exactly what upset each child and, equally, what comforted them, and the only thing that was spoiling his return to base was the fact that he hadn’t known that the yurt dweller with the glinting chestnut hair and wide green eyes was a member of his staff. He supposed it should have been a pleasant surprise, but he felt a bit as if he’d been made a fool of.

      Their round was interrupted when Callum was paged to attend A and E.

      Leonie breathed a sigh of relief as he left the ward, before remembering that she hadn’t asked Callum for an update on the young biker they’d treated. She’d make a point of asking him later that day.

      * * *

      It was hours before Callum came back to the ward, looking grimly preoccupied. Leonie hoped that it wasn’t anything to do with her appearance in his working life. It seemed that it wasn’t. A child had been badly injured when an ancient stone stump in one of the town’s parks had fallen over onto her.

      ‘Her name is Carys and she’s seven years old,’ he told the staff. ‘She has a fractured shoulder and two broken arms, which I’ve dealt with. She will shortly be coming up here to be nursed. Needless to say, she is very weepy and traumatised, and being so young doesn’t realise that she missed death by inches. Luckily her father saw the stump toppling and pulled her away, but not fast enough to prevent some injuries.’ He glanced at Leonie. ‘So work your magic on this little girl, please.’

      ‘Yes, of course,’ she replied. ‘We all will, won’t we?’

      On his way back from the operating theatre Callum had thought about his childlessness in a brief moment of sadness, and pondered, as he’d done many times, how Shelley could be so lacking in maternal feelings. Yet he was aware that it was the woman who inherited the pains and problems of pregnancy and giving birth, and for any who were not prepared to go along that road there had to be understanding.

      But in the case of his ex-wife it had been more of not wanting to be bothered with what she called the shackles of motherhood. She had wanted parties and expensive clothes, holidays abroad, what to her was the good life, and when the demands of his calling had sometimes come first and he’d had to refuse, she would go with friends or relations, not prepared to be denied her pleasures.

      The marriage had lasted three years, with them growing further apart all the time, and when it had ended with a huge fall-out about that very thing, his only feelings had been of relief and a firm intent to steer clear of marriage in the future.

      After telling the ward staff about the injured small girl who’d been hit by the falling stump, Callum went into the office and Leonie followed him to ask about the motorcyclist of two days ago.

      ‘I spoke with his parents last night,’ he informed her. ‘They wanted to thank us for what we did for their son. He has been moved from Intensive Care and is now in a side ward, so it seems as if he is progressing as I thought he would.’

      ‘How about his mobility and the heart stoppage that we brought him out of?’ she asked anxiously.

      ‘His heartbeat is now regular, but regarding any movement, with two fractured legs it will be slow progress, whatever the doctors over there decide to do.

      ‘By the way, I called at the garage on my way here this morning and they’d picked up the motorcycle as soon as you’d been in to ask them to do so.

      ‘When his parents phoned I told them where it was and they’ve asked the garage to repair it for him. They are insisting on reimbursing you for the money you paid the garage to collect it.’

      Before she could reply their patient arrived from Recovery and without further discussion she went to supervise the little girl’s transfer to the ward with her traumatised parents by her side.

      * * *

      The day had run its course and the staff of the orthopaedic unit were homeward bound. As Leonie pedalled out of the main gates of the hospital Callum passed her in a smart car and pulled up a few yards ahead.

      He wound the window down. ‘It’s good to have you on the unit, Leonie. You have the right touch with the children and having read your application form from when you applied for the position you also have all the necessary medical knowledge and experience for the position.’

      The colour rose in her cheeks and he groaned inwardly at the way he’d sounded so patronising when that was the last thing he’d wanted to be. If he had any doubts as to that was how he’d come across, her reply confirmed it.

      ‘I would have thought that the opinion of the person who interviewed me when I applied for the job would have been enough to reassure you with regard to my abilities,’ she said coolly, ‘unless, of course, I was proving unsatisfactory.’

      ‘Certainly not that,’ he said. ‘Surely a word of praise can’t be unwelcome?’

      ‘No, of course not,’ she said quickly. ‘I’m sorry.’

      ‘There’s no need to be,’ he assured her. He was about to drive off but had one last thing to say that he feared would also not please her.

      ‘You are going to let the biker’s parents pay you for having the bike brought to the garage, I hope? If it had been the child of either of us that had been hurt and strangers had shown them such kindness, I think that we would want to do the same, don’t you?’

      Her reaction surprised him. ‘Yes. I suppose so,’ she agreed, almost choking on the words, and as she started to pedal away from him he saw tears on her lashes and wondered what that was all about.

      * * *

      Leonie called at Julie’s flat on the way home to make sure that she really was over the bug that she’d picked up and found her on the point of returning from a busy day at the community centre looking fully recovered.

      They were good friends and noticing Leonie’s red-rimmed eyes Julie was concerned. ‘Have you been crying?’

      Leonie managed a smile. ‘Just a moment’s blub, that’s all.’

      ‘A sick child twisted your heartstrings?’

      ‘Yes, that was it.’ No way was she going to go into details about a momentary return to the past. She quickly changed the subject. ‘So how are wedding plans progressing?’

      ‘We’ve decided on a date in June. I’d like to be a June bride, and guess what?’

      ‘Go on, tell me. What?’

      ‘We were going to have the reception at a nice hotel but have had a better offer. The council is having the community centre remodelled and have invited us to have our wedding reception there after a service in the church because we are both staff. What do you think?’

      ‘That would be lovely.’ No way was she going to let the mention of weddings and children turn the day into an even more painful occasion.

      * * *

      It was Saturday after what Leonie felt had been a strange week on the unit, getting used to Callum’s presence. But she’d adjusted and admitted to herself that, whatever their original meeting had been like, working with him was a pleasure.

      To her surprise, the young biker’s parents had called at the yurt one evening to repay what they insisted they owed her, and remembering what Callum had said she’d graciously accepted it. They had stayed for a while and had told her over coffee how much they felt indebted to Dr Warrender, who had given of his time and expertise