Always The Hero. Alison Roberts
at her. Holding her gaze but keeping anything personal well shuttered. If he knew what she was thinking—and, given what she knew about him, he probably did—he wasn’t about to let it interfere with his work.
Oh … help. For a heartbeat, Abby was caught by that intense stare. Or rather by what she could see around it. The gorgeous olive skin and strong features that spoke of Maori heritage. Those dark, dark eyes. The soft, dark waves of hair.
An adult version of her precious Jack.
She couldn’t go there. Couldn’t waste another second thinking about what Tom looked like. Or how it made her feel, seeing him again like this.
‘Mike Henley is our senior police officer. He’s working with Don Johnson, who’s the chief fire officer. They have about twenty people who work in the volunteer fire brigade and have had some training in rescue. We also have our island coastguard guys. They’ve set up headquarters in the information centre, which is on the main street at the ferry terminal end. A boat radio is being used to contact the mainland. The cell phone tower is down.’
‘What medical staff are available? Where are your doctors?’
‘We only have one full-time doctor on the island at the moment—Ben McMahon. He was out on a house call when the quake happened and we haven’t heard any news since. There is another doctor but she’s not working officially and I have no idea where she is at the moment. Apart from that, we have four nurses. Two of them are on duty in the hospital. The others are on their way and they’re going to help look after injured people after we’ve assessed and stabilised them.’
‘We?’
Abby felt a flush of colour stain her cheeks. ‘So far it’s only been me. Fortunately there hasn’t been anything major arriving.’
‘We need to get to the information centre. And we need a medical team to work with. What’s the most serious case you’ve got in here?’
‘There’s nothing life-threatening. Bruises, lacerations and a few broken bones. One of our other nurses who’s coming in is trained in first aid. It’s under control.’
‘Good. You can come with us, then.’
It was a gasp rather than a huff that escaped Abby now. ‘I don’t think so…. This is where people are coming for treatment.’
‘If they can get themselves here, they’re not the victims we need to worry about first. We’ve got doctors arriving very soon and they can base themselves here. You’re an experienced emergency nurse, Abby. We’re going to need more than one team to check the township and triage for injuries. Frank can lead one. You can come with me. I take it you know the layout of the town?’
‘Of course. I’ve been living here for five years.’
A flicker crossed Tom’s face as he registered that this was where she’d come after they’d split up. A frown that suggested he couldn’t understand why. It was gone as fast as it had appeared but Abby was aware of a flash of … what, satisfaction? Relief? He wasn’t as unaffected as he was managing to appear. He hadn’t forgotten everything because he hadn’t cared enough.
Yes. It was a kind of relief. She wasn’t the only one who was finding this painful.
‘Good.’ Tom’s gaze had shifted away from her. ‘You’ll know the people as well, then. Could be a valuable asset.’
Torn, Abby twisted her head to look at Ruth. She could see her own reaction reflected back. She was a valuable asset here, too, wasn’t she? This felt like the right place to be. Where she had access to medical equipment and drugs and where Ben and Ginny would come to help.
This was where someone would come to reunite Jack with his mother.
And … and it was a much safer place to be than out there in the unknown, where things were wrecked and dangerous and where she could be at serious risk if there were any more of those horrible aftershocks.
But these new arrivals were the experts. They also had medical qualifications that exceeded her own. Ethically, she had no choice. She had to follow orders.
‘Let’s go.’ Frank was staring out the window. ‘We’re wasting time here, mate.’
Tom’s glare was holding Abby. Pulling her in.
‘I can’t go out like this.’ Abby held out her bare arms and looked down at the flimsy material of her uniform.
‘There’s the overalls in the back of the Jeep,’ Ruth reminded her. ‘And the helmets.’
‘You’ve got a four-wheel-drive vehicle?’ Tom was moving towards the door. ‘Excellent. Let’s move.’
The Jeep was one of the clinic’s vehicles, modified to have a stretcher clipped in the back and equipped with emergency gear. The island’s equivalent of an ambulance. Ben had the other one.
‘Go, Abby,’ Ruth urged. ‘We can cope here. People need you.’
Abby nodded. She had no choice. Tom was already halfway out the door. Frank was holding back, waiting for Abby to go ahead of him.
‘Send someone to find me,’ she told Ruth, ‘if you hear anything at all about Jack.’
‘Of course I will. He’ll be fine, Abby. They all will.’
But Ruth’s lips trembled. She had two daughters on that school trip, didn’t she? Did she have to try and make Abby believe they were all safe in order to keep herself focused?
‘Who’s Jack?’ Frank asked as he followed Abby out of the door. ‘Your husband?’
‘No.’ Abby took a deep breath as she tried to push her own fear back into its box in the corner. ‘He’s my … my son.’
Tom heard.
Abby had a child? A son?
Of course she’d moved on. It had been nearly six years since they’d been together. How old was this Jack? A baby? A toddler, maybe. Couldn’t be any older unless she’d moved on and replaced him pretty damn fast.
‘So you’ve got a son?’ The words escaped as Tom climbed into the front passenger seat of the Jeep.
Abby reached to switch on the ignition. ‘Mmm.’
‘And he’s in day care or something, because you’re working?’
She might have nodded. It was hard to tell because she was turning her head to see whether Frank was on board and the door was closed. It was also quite possible she was avoiding answering him by simply pretending she hadn’t heard his question.
‘How old is Jack?’ Tom knew it was none of his business. He had no right to ask personal questions and it was entirely inappropriate given the circumstances but the idea that Abby had moved on so conclusively … had had a child with her new man was sitting in his gut like a hot rock right now. Burning, even.
The vehicle lurched forward with enough force to make him think about fastening his seat belt instead.
‘Sorry,’ Abby said. ‘Haven’t driven this beast for a while. It’s a bit rugged.’
‘No worries,’ Frank said dryly. ‘We just won’t hand you the controls for the helicopter any time soon.’
Even when Abby was used to the clunky transmission again, the ride was no smoother. The road was badly damaged with parts that had risen into hillocks and other parts sunken and cracked. There were pools of.
‘What is that?’ Abby asked.
‘Liquefaction,’ Tom responded. ‘Silt gets driven up through the earth. Don’t drive into it. It may be filling a sinkhole and could be deep. We’d get stuck.’
Abby was now manoeuvring the vehicle very competently, driving onto the grass verge at times to avoid obstacles. For a moment, Tom stopped looking through the windscreen to spot