Fortunately, there was no time to dwell on that depressing thought because Sean was rattling out instructions. Ben nodded when he was informed that he was one of the staff who would be going in the helicopter. He followed the others out of the office and collected his flight-suit then made his way to the helipad on the roof of the hospital. Nicky Brunswick and Josh Hammond, the two paramedics, were joking about it being just their luck not to have had time for a second cup of coffee but Ben could tell they were as excited as he was. This was their first real test as a team and they needed to prove that all the money that had been invested in the service hadn’t been wasted.
The take-off was remarkably smooth so that within seconds they were circling the hospital. Ben stared out of the helicopter window, watching the ground rushing past below. He caught a glimpse of something green and white turning out of the hospital’s gates and felt his pulse leap when he realised it was Holly on the motorbike. He watched until she disappeared from sight then sat back and tried to compose himself. An incident like this could present many problems and he would have to deal with whatever came his way. Still, he had plenty of back-up because Nicky and Josh would be there to help, plus Holly, of course.
His mind latched onto her name and wouldn’t seem to let it go again. Ben felt the fluttering of excitement build into a steady hum and knew it wasn’t solely because of what he might be called upon to do. That would be taxing enough but it was the thought of working with Holly that was making his nerves twang like rusty guitar strings.
Could he remain impartial around her? He hoped so. He really did. But he couldn’t put his hand on his heart and swear that the past wouldn’t intrude at some point.
Holly could feel her tension mounting as she neared the site of the accident. The satellite navigation system had made a huge difference by helping her find a route that had avoided the worst of the traffic. The fact that the motorbike could slip through gaps a car couldn’t pass through meant that she should arrive well before any ambulances got there. There was only the helicopter that could beat her and even that would need to find a place to land. She might be the first medic on scene and she had to prepare herself for what she was going to find.
She rounded the final bend and skidded to a halt when she spotted the coach up ahead. It was lying on its side and even from that distance she could tell it was very badly damaged. Part of the roof had sheared off when it had rolled down the banking and there was broken glass and lumps of metal strewn across the nearby fields. There were also a few people wandering about so she hastily put the motorbike into gear and rode straight over to the young police officer who had been first on the scene and removed her helmet so she could introduce herself.
‘I’m Holly Daniels, specialist reg from Dalverston General.’
‘They’re sending someone else as well, I hope,’ the policeman said anxiously. He was obviously deeply shocked by the scale of the accident and Holly uttered a silent prayer that someone with more experience would be sent to take charge. Dealing with an accident of this magnitude required a great deal of skill. Although the emergency services worked closely together—fire, police and ambulance crews each playing a vital role—it needed someone with experience to bring it all together.
‘There’s a helicopter on its way and a fleet of ambulances should be here very shortly,’ she assured him, taking her Thomas pack—the bag of vital medical supplies that she carried—out of the pannier. She looked up when the sound of an engine confirmed the arrival of the helicopter. ‘Here’s the ‘copter now, in fact. See if you can help the pilot find a safe place to land.’
She left the policeman to deal with the helicopter and ran towards the coach. There were two bodies lying on the grass and a quick check soon established there was nothing she could do for them. A woman came staggering towards her with blood streaming down her face, and Holly quickly grabbed hold of her arm.
‘Sit down.’ She made the woman sit on the banking then took a wad of lint out of her bag and placed it over the gash on her forehead. ‘Hold this there and keep some pressure on it to stop the bleeding.’
The woman didn’t say a word but she did as she was told so Holly left her. The rules were quite simple in this type of situation: the walking wounded should be given minimal treatment so that time could be spent on the severely injured. It might appear heartless but she couldn’t afford to waste precious time attending to someone who really didn’t need her help. There was an elderly couple huddled together nearby so she ran over to them next.
‘Are you hurt?’
‘My arm…’ The old lady showed her a blue-veined arm and Holly winced when she saw that the bone was protruding through the flesh.
‘That looks nasty.’ She took a dressing out of her bag and gently placed it over the wound to minimise the risk of infection. ‘Try to keep your arm very still. I know it must be terribly painful but there isn’t much I can do for you here, I’m afraid. You’ll be taken to hospital as soon as the ambulances arrive. Is there anything else wrong with either of you?’
‘No, no,’ the old man assured her. ‘We’re fine. It’s the people in the coach who need your help, dear.’
‘I’ll do all I can for them,’ Holly assured him as she stood up. ‘You just stay there and someone will be with you very shortly.’
She ran straight over to the coach but it was impossible to see inside it because it was lying on its side. She tossed her bag onto the chassis then scrambled up after it and carefully made her way to one of the windows. She could hear people calling for help but it was difficult to tell how many were trapped inside the vehicle.
‘So what have we got?’
Suddenly Ben was there and Holly felt her heart leap when she swung round and discovered how close he was. He was kneeling right beside her and it would have taken very little to tuck her hand into his and lay her head on his shoulder…
She recoiled in horror and saw his expression darken but there was nothing she could do about it. An hour ago she’d claimed to be immune to him and it hadn’t been an idle claim either. She’d spent months shoring up her emotions and hardening her heart against the memories because it hadn’t been her fault that they’d split up but his. He had fallen in love with someone else so there’d been no point dwelling on the good times they’d had. She had torn up the photographs, thrown away all the silly little notes he’d been in the habit of leaving around the flat for her to find and had erased every trace of Ben Carlisle from her life.
She’d done a good job, too, because she hadn’t thought about him for—oh, at least two months. She had been confident that Ben was out of her system but if that was true, why had she responded to him just now? Why had she longed to touch him, lean against him, snuggle into his arms and play the loving little woman when it had got her absolutely nowhere first time around? Was she so pathetic that she needed to have the message hammered home to her again?
Ben never loved you. He just used you. You were a convenience to him, good in bed and more than willing to provide him with sex!
‘Damn it, Holly, don’t do that!’
Holly jumped. ‘Do what?’ she muttered, struggling to rid her mind of that taunting little voice.
‘Look at me as though I’m some kind of…of ogre!’ He glowered at her. ‘Working with you is going to be a nightmare if you insist on walking round with that massive chip on your shoulder. What happened between us is history and it’s about time you got over it!’
BEN couldn’t remember another time when he’d felt like such a louse. Apart from when he’d told Holly that lie, of course, and ‘louse’ wasn’t the word he would have used to describe himself then. He held his breath as he watched myriad expressions cross her face before she finally