Henry swapped cubicles and Maia breathed out. She hadn’t realised that she’d been holding her breath but it must have been protective tendencies. If she couldn’t smell Henry, she could think. It was good that he was gone. She needed a bit of distance. Despite telling herself that Henry’s return didn’t matter and that it wasn’t going to affect her, she knew that was a lie. She hoped he’d spend a lot of time in Theatre and on the wards—anywhere away from Emergency. She didn’t know how she could be expected to function normally if she had to work closely with him.
She put a new dressing on Bailey’s head and pulled the curtain back so the boys could see each other. Henry had his back to her as he studied Adam’s X-rays. He held them up to the light and Maia was about to leave him to it when she heard Carrie’s voice on the other side of the curtain, and another stranger came into the cubicle. Another woman. But this time Maia knew immediately who she was. The boys’ mother. It wasn’t that she looked particularly like them but Maia could tell by the way she rushed in and ignored the adults in the room completely as she sought out her children. Maia might as well have been invisible. The woman hesitated for just a fraction as if trying to choose which of her sons to hug first but chose Bailey. He was closer.
Henry turned around at the sound of a new voice and Maia noted the woman’s double-take when she saw Henry. As concerned as she was for her children, part of her, possibly just her female hormones, still couldn’t help reacting to Henry. It seemed he wasn’t quite as invisible as Maia was. Not that Maia could blame her. There weren’t many people, men or women, who were immune to Henry’s looks. He was a strikingly handsome man. Maia’s glance went instinctively to the woman’s left hand to see if she was single. Not that it was any of her business. She tried not to care but she didn’t want other people noticing Henry. Although she knew that was impossible.
‘Mrs Evans?’ Henry queried as the woman kissed Bailey and then moved over to hug Adam. ‘I’m Dr Henry Cavanaugh,’ he went on when she nodded. ‘I’m an emergency specialist at the hospital and Maia and I have been treating your sons. They are both fine. They’ve sustained relatively minor injuries but, all things considered, they’ve been very lucky. Bailey has a few small cuts that have been cleaned and dressed but he also had one larger gash on his head which required ten stitches—just here.’ Henry touched his own head just at his hairline. ‘He’ll need to get those out in a week. Your GP might be happy to do it or you can bring him in here.
‘Adam has a fractured knee cap,’ Henry continued as he slid one of the X-rays into the light box on the wall. This X-ray showed a lateral view and Maia could see the dark line indicating the break running across the middle of Adam’s patella. Henry traced his finger over the line. His fingers were slender and capable, his hands smooth and hairless. Maia forced her attention back to the matter at hand and listened as Henry told Mrs Evans what had happened. She needed to pay attention; she would need to write discharge summaries for the boys.
‘It’s not serious. A transverse fracture of the patella is not particularly common but it matches with Adam’s age and the injury history. The physio will be along shortly to fit him with a splint and we’ll make an appointment with an orthopod to review his progress in two weeks. He should expect to stay in the splint for four weeks and then he will need physiotherapy. You can take the boys home as soon as the physio has taught him how to use crutches.’
‘Adam gets crutches?’ Bailey sulked.
The boys’ mother laughed. ‘Now I know you’re okay,’ she said.
Henry high-fived both of the boys. ‘Maia, can you ring Outpatients and set up a review for Adam in a fortnight?’
Maia nodded. They had worked well together. No awkwardness. There had been no time to worry about anything other than their patients. She was right—Henry being back wasn’t going to affect her.
Henry scrubbed his hands as he prepared to go into Theatre, taking a few moments to collect his thoughts. He hadn’t had a moment of solitude since he’d bumped into Maia earlier today. If he hadn’t been working solidly with her all morning, he could almost have believed he was dreaming. They’d been treating their young patients nonstop for hours, and his day wasn’t over yet, but he needed just a little time to think.
He hadn’t been completely honest with Maia about his reasons for coming back to Christchurch. He’d been offered a grant, that much was true, but he’d been offered several and he’d accepted Christchurch partly because of her. He hadn’t come back for her but because of her. He had actually been happy here and he had Maia to thank for that. It had been many years since he’d felt truly happy, before Christchurch or since.
Six years ago his world had collapsed and as he’d recovered he’d made a decision. He would save the world, one disaster at a time, and if he couldn’t save the world then he would at least try to make a difference to one family at a time. That had put him on the path to emergency medicine and disaster management. He knew exactly how devastating losing loved ones unexpectedly in traumatic circumstances was and, if he could make a horrible, tragic situation better, then that was what he wanted to do. If it kept him busy day and night, that was a good thing. He had no desire to have a life of his own. His family didn’t get that now—why should he?
He’d been rudderless, almost homeless, for six years now. He hadn’t wanted to stay in one place; he knew that being settled without any family around would make him feel even more alone. Family couldn’t be replaced. Not even by another family. The risk was too great—something might happen to them too.
He’d decided it was better to remain alone, even if it meant being lonely, rather than risk his heart on love.
And then he had met Maia and he’d been tempted to change his mind. But he hadn’t been able to ask her to commit to a life of uncertainty with him when he hadn’t even been sure if he wanted that commitment. Yet he hadn’t been able to resist returning and so he was back in Christchurch. This city held some of his few cheerful memories, without any lurking ghosts, and he was sorely in need of some happiness.
MAIA LOOSENED HER hair from the bun she’d worn it in all day and let it fall down her back in thick, dark waves as she and Carrie strolled along the banks of the Avon River towards the Stratford-on-Avon. The pub’s picturesque waterside setting, proximity to the hospital and well-timed happy hour all combined to make it a popular watering hole for the staff of the Children’s Hospital.
‘Can you stay for a feed tonight?’ Carrie asked as they pushed open the door and entered the pub.
Maia shook her head. ‘I’m singing tonight. The band has a gig at the Cathedral Square Hotel,’ she said as they ordered two bottles of cider.
Maia loved to sing. If she’d been good enough to make a living out of it, she would have tried, but her father had convinced her to have a career as well and she’d discovered nursing, which she loved just as much. But she sang as often as she could with a jazz band.
The girls took their drinks out onto the deck that overlooked the Avon River. Willow trees lined the bank, their sweeping branches dipping into the calm waters. It was a pleasant spot on a summer’s afternoon. They could watch the occasional punt taking tourists along the river or the university rowing crews on their afternoon trainings.
Today it was a rowing four that glided past as Maia asked, ‘Are you still okay to come to the dressmaker with me next week?’
‘Are you finally going to pick out the dresses?’
‘No.’ Maia laughed and sipped her cider. ‘I’m hoping you’ll do that.’ Carrie was Maia’s maid of honour and along with Maia’s three younger sisters would form the bridal party. The wedding was only six weeks away. Maia needed to stop procrastinating and make some decisions. Todd had done most of the preparation work. Maia had given her opinion but she wasn’t the one driving this.
‘I’m