For a moment Terry felt herself back in Casualty, forming part of a team in an emergency where splitsecond decisions had to be taken. This man was right, of course. The risk of fire was imminent, and they had no choice but to get the people out as quickly as possible. She helped to hold Maisie’s back as they edged her out, her neck being supported by the doctor, who shouted out instructions to the others, then they laid her on Terry’s jacket which she’d put on the ground.
Terry squeezed Maisie’s hand comfortingly. It was vital that the girl, already in shock, was kept as calm as possible. ‘Now it’s Amy’s turn,’ she said.
The aperture to the back of the car was very small, constrained by the buckling of the car’s chassis. No way could a large man get through it.
‘I’m doing this,’ said Terry firmly. ‘I can get through that space.’
‘Oh, no, you won’t.’ The biker tried to push in front of her. ‘It’s up to me—it’s too damn dangerous.’
‘And you’re too damn big to get through,’ retorted Terry angrily. ‘I thought you said there’s no time to waste. Don’t let’s argue about it.’
Their eyes sparked across at each other aggressively for a second then reluctantly he gave way, allowing her to push herself into the small opening.
‘You win,’ he muttered. ‘I’ll try and force this door a bit more.’
By squeezing herself sideways, she managed to wriggle her body to the squashed rear of the car. Stretching forward with every sinew, she reached the baby and fumbled with the child’s safety harness. It seemed terribly difficult to undo but behind her she could hear the distinctive deep voice of the biker.
‘You’re doing well. Press the button in the middle of the harness firmly and squeeze the two sides together…sometimes they’re quite stiff.’
There was something reassuring about that measured voice and when Amy began to scream as this unfamiliar person tried to extricate her from her seat, Terry concentrated on what the biker was telling her and did her best to ignore the smell of petrol that seemed to get stronger every second.
‘It’s all right, darling—don’t cry. You’ll soon be with your mummy,’ she murmured in her most soothing tones whilst still struggling desperately with the catch on the harness. Suddenly the spring release worked and the belt came apart.
‘Ah…gotcha!’ she said triumphantly.
She pulled the child towards her, hugging her to her chest and backing out as quickly as she could. Waiting hands took the crying baby to the side of the car park near to where her mother was lying, and Terry toppled back as someone’s arms caught her and prevented her falling to the ground.
‘Well done,’ said the biker’s familiar voice gruffly. ‘You did a good job there.’ His arms held her close to him as he helped her across to the side of the car park. ‘Come on, now—let’s get you away from this vehicle.’
Her legs felt like jelly but he took her weight easily, almost carrying her to one of the benches by the dock railings. He took off his leather jacket and put it round Terry’s shoulders and she gave a shaky laugh. ‘You seem to make a habit of helping me.’
He leaned forward and brushed away a piece of mud that was on her cheek. ‘Sure you’re OK?’ he asked, smiling at her, his face so close to hers that she could see the beginnings of evening stubble on his chin and the dark flecks in his extraordinarily blue eyes.
His breath was on her cheek as he looked at her and unexpectedly she felt a funny little shock of attraction ripple through her body. She took a sharp intake of breath and got up hastily from the bench, stepping back from him unsteadily. What the hell was happening? Not so long ago her life had been ruined by a man and she’d vowed it would be a long time before she’d look at the opposite sex again. Here she was only fifteen minutes into her new life and behaving like a schoolgirl who’d just seen a pop star! Her goal when she came to Scuola was to devote her life to medicine and put romance behind her—and that was what she was going to do!
‘I…I’m perfectly fine,’ she said in a measured tone.
His eyes held hers for a second, his expression contrite. ‘I’m afraid I was a bit abrupt with you back then. I just didn’t want you putting yourself in danger.’
‘We both had cross words—all in the line of duty,’ she replied. Quickly she went to kneel beside Maisie and her baby, who was in the arms of one of the men who had been helping, and pushed this hunky guy to the back of her thoughts.
‘You’ll soon be in good hands,’ she comforted the young girl. ‘And little Amy looks very lively.’
‘Thank you,’ whispered Maisie. ‘Thank you for getting Amy out. I thought she’d be trapped.’
A few minutes later a police car sped into the car park, followed by an old-fashioned ambulance.
‘That car reeks of petrol,’ the biker doctor said to the officer who got out of the car. ‘I’ve turned off the ignition, but I’m frightened it might ignite.’
Without a word the officer pulled a fire extinguisher out of his car and started to douse the back of the crashed vehicle with foam, then he shouted to the onlookers, ‘Can you clear this area please? This car’s not safe to be near and we need room for the ambulance.’
Two paramedics jumped out of the ambulance, one with a medical bag, and the doctor went up to them and explained in his concise and brisk manner the circumstances of the accident. Terry kept up a comforting commentary to Maisie until they came over, noting how she had begun to relax slightly now she was out of the vehicle and her baby was safe.
The paramedics swiftly assessed Maisie’s condition, then put a brace round her neck and lifted her onto a board to support her back before placing her on a carrying stretcher. Then she was put in the ambulance with Amy, and Terry and the biker watched as it disappeared up the hill.
Terry sat down on the bench and leaned back, closing her eyes, a mixture of relief and tiredness flooding through her.
The doctor chuckled. ‘What you need is a wee dram—that’ll put new life in you!’
She opened her eyes to see the doctor bending down beside her, a grin on his mud-bespattered face, blood still oozing from his chin.
Terry shook her head and smiled. ‘I’m fine, thanks. In fact, it’s quite exhilarating when you get a good result after a bit of drama.’ She felt in the front pocket of her knapsack and pulled out a compact, grimacing at her reflection in the mirror. ‘What a wreck I look,’ she murmured to herself.
‘Just a bit mud-spattered,’ he said. ‘Nothing a good wash won’t remove!’
Terry watched as the man picked up his helmet and searched in his pockets for the key to his bike. She realised just what she owed to this stranger, and reflected that her little flicker of attraction to him a few seconds before was probably because of the emotional rebound that often happened after a traumatic event.
‘I have such a lot to thank you for. If you hadn’t had such lightning reactions I wouldn’t be here now,’ she said to him. ‘I was paralysed when I saw the car coming towards me—I couldn’t move. You saved my life, no doubt.’
‘Think nothing of it. You didn’t do so badly yourself, getting that baby out. The whole thing could have gone up in flames any second.’
Terry shivered. ‘It was the same for you getting Maisie out—a nightmare scenario,’ she murmured. She looked at the cut on his chin. ‘You know, you ought to have that graze cleaned—it’s quite deep and got a lot of dirt in it.’
‘Oh, I’ll see to it when I get back,’ he said carelessly, then looked at her with interest.