Carol Marinelli – Australian Affairs: Tempted: Tempted by Dr. Morales (страница 23)

‘I thought Dr Vermont was on this weekend,’ Juan said to Harry.

‘So did I, but I’m afraid you’re just going to have to make do with me.’ Harry was brisk and efficient as he started his examination. ‘Okay, Juan, you know the drill.’

He went through today’s accident with him, which Juan could remember clearly. ‘A small animal came out of the bushes, I swerved…’

‘And your past medical history?’

‘Can we just…?’ Juan closed his eyes in impatience. Cate thought he was about to ask for the collar to come off, or to say that it was all unnecessary again; instead she raised her eyes slightly at what he said next. ‘Can you leave, please, Cate?’

Two spots of colour burnt on her cheeks as Harry turned round and smiled. ‘We’ll manage, Cate.’

Had it been a door and not a curtain, Cate might have slammed it as she walked out. She simply didn’t know why—she was not upset, she was angry.

Harry went round with him for the CT and Cate tried not to let his dismissal of her sting.

She tried her best to not give a sarcastic response when Harry came to speak with her some time later. ‘All the tests look good and Juan’s neck’s fine. I’ve had the orthopods take a look at the images. He’s got a lot of titanium in there! He needs a dressing to his shoulder—’

‘I’ll get someone to do it.’

‘Cate…’ Harry sighed. They had worked together for a long time and he knew her well, though he hadn’t guessed until now that there was anything going on between them—Juan was for too depraved for Cate, or so Harry had thought! ‘Juan didn’t ask you to leave because he didn’t want you looking after him.’ He shook his head and tried to explain. ‘He’s a proud guy, Cate. he’s been through a lot…’ Harry let out a breath through his teeth. ‘I told Juan that you’d be in to do his shoulder and he’s fine with that. I want him in the obs ward for a few hours, he’s a little bit tender over his left kidney but it all looks fine. I want his urine tested and to be sure he’s okay before I discharge him, because there’s no one at home. Hourly obs, and I’ll come in this evening again to see him.’

‘Thanks Harry.’ Cate attempted to snap back to normal. ‘I really am sorry to rot up your weekend.’

‘It’s not a problem,’ Harry said. ‘It just makes me more determined that we hire the right staff. This place is running on empty…’

Harry headed off with the twins and Cate buzzed Tanya to tell her that they would have a new admission in the observation ward soon; then she prepared a trolley to sort out Juan’s shoulder. She could feel tears pricking at the back of her eyes as she set up but she swallowed them down before making her way in.

Someone, perhaps Harry, had helped him into a gown and his clothes and boots lay in a heap beneath the trolley next to his crash helmet. His cervical collar had been taken off.

‘Harry wants your shoulder cleaned and dressed and I need to look at the scratches on your face. Would you like someone else to come in and do that?’ Cate checked.

‘Why would I want someone else?’ Juan asked, although Cate could tell he was just as tense with the situation as she was.

‘I just thought you might.’

‘Just do what you have to.’

Cate sorted out his face first, cleaning a few superficial abrasions and cuts and closing them up with couple of paper strips. They didn’t speak much; Juan was more than used to staring up at a hospital ceiling in silence.

‘I need you to roll on your side,’ Cate said when she had finished sorting out his face.

‘For what?’

‘So that I can pick the road out of your shoulder.’

The gown was far too small for him and hadn’t been tied up at the back. The abrasion was large and it would take a while to clean it up. Cate moved his hair out of the way and could clearly see the thick scar that ran the length of his neck and the clips scars either side—the reason why he had always halted her hands.

‘This might sting a bit,’ Cate said as she squirted a generous amount of local anaesthetic onto Juan’s shoulder. She knew it must sting but he didn’t wince. While she waited for it to take effect, Cate took a moment to get some more equipment for her trolley so that she wouldn’t need to keep going in and out—they both wanted this over and done with.

Silence dragged on as Cate cleaned his shoulder. Thankfully he was on his side, facing away from her. It was already hard enough without looking at each other—it was going to take a long time to do it properly, and Cate would have loved to take the opportunity to hide in an office.

She knew the severity of his previous injury and she could not believe that someone who’d been given another chance at life could take it so lightly.

It was Juan who broke the silence. ‘Cate, could I just explain—?’

‘The same as you, Juan,’ Cate said through tight lips, ‘I really don’t want to talk about it.’

‘Cate, the reason I didn’t mention it is that I don’t want to be reminded every five minutes about it. I don’t like talking about it.’

‘That’s fine.’

‘Am I supposed to have given you a full medical history before I asked you to dinner?’

Cate was saved from answering when Kelly came in behind the curtain. ‘We’ve got someone on the phone enquiring after you, Juan.’

‘We’ve been through this,’ Juan said. ‘Just say that you’re not sure if I’m on duty and take a message.’

‘The call actually got put through to Reception.’ Kelly grimaced, not that Juan could see it. ‘Jane’s new, she’s the receptionist on duty and she didn’t realise that you worked here. She thought it was your girlfriend enquiring as to how you were after the accident. It’s Martina…’

‘What did she say to her?’ There was an ominous note to Juan’s voice.

‘That you were in X-Ray and she told her to call back in half an hour or so. She has just—’

The expletive that came from Juan’s lips was in Spanish and possibly merited.

‘She’s a bit upset,’ Kelly elaborated. ‘I’ve tried to reassure her but she isn’t listening to me, so I brought the phone down. I thought if you perhaps could speak to her, she would realise that you really are okay.’ Kelly handed him the phone and, still on his side, Juan took it.

‘I’ll leave you to speak to her in private,’ Cate said, as it was already more than awkward. ‘I’ll come and finish doing your shoulder afterwards.’

Cate turned to go but as she reached the curtain Juan called out to her. ‘Cate, would you mind speaking with her, please.’

‘Juan…’ She could not stand to speak Martina, given she had been in Juan’s bed last night—except that wasn’t relevant here. Juan was a patient.

‘She is my ex-fiancée,’ Juan said. ‘Someone I specifically asked your staff not to give any information to.’ And then he lost the warning note from his voice. ‘Cate, I really don’t need this today, of all days.’

‘Sure.’ Cate took the phone, doing her best to simply treat him as a patient. ‘What would you like me to say to her?’

‘Just say as little as possible. Tell her that it was a minor accident and that I’m fine.’

Cate took the phone and introduced herself.

‘I would like to speak with Juan Morales.’

‘I’m afraid that’s not possible. Can I help you with anything?’

‘I want to know what is happening. I’m in Argentina. Have you any idea how stressful this is to not be able to speak with him?’

‘Juan had a small accident this afternoon. He’s got some abrasions, which are being dressed at the moment. Apart from that, he’s fine and will be going home later today.’

‘How did it happen?’

‘I’m sorry,’ Cate answered. ‘I can’t give out that sort of information without Juan’s permission.’

‘He does this!’ She could hear Martina’s mounting exasperation. ‘He wants to pretend he has not had an accident. He’s going to kill himself one of these days; he just pushes everyone who loves him away. I don’t know what he is trying to prove. Today would have been our first wedding anniversary and instead he’s lying in hospital…’

‘Give me the phone.’ She didn’t know if Juan had heard what Martina had said but she handed him the phone and Juan spoke in short, terse sentences, before ringing off.

The silence was deafening as Cate resumed cleaning his shoulder.

‘She seems to think that because we were once engaged—’

‘Juan.’ Cate was struggling to keep her voice even, could scarcely believe the information she had just heard, understood now why his family had all been ringing him. ‘You don’t owe me any explanation. I don’t blame Martina for being concerned. If I cared about you, I’d be concerned too.’

‘Ouch,’ Juan said as her tweezers picked out a particularly deeply imbedded stone, and Cate even managed a wry smile—she had no idea if he was referring to her words or the sudden pain in his shoulder.

She had no idea about Juan at all.

But wasn’t that the whole point of a one-night stand or a brief fling? It was why she simply wasn’t any good at them.

She carried on pulling out some of the deepest stones. He tensed a few times but said nothing and Cate got on with her work, trying not to look at the scratches on his back.

The ones that were courtesy of her.

Kelly noticed them, though.

She came in to get the phone and to ask Cate to cast her eyes over an IV flask—a simple procedure, but because the solution contained potassium it needed to be checked by two nurses. Cate nodded that all was fine.