Mr Adams nodded, still fighting for breath.
‘Can you count for us now, Lulu?’ Hayley asked. ‘Four in, then six out. Count with me for the first set so we can get the rhythm right together. One, two, three, four...’
Mrs Adams joined in with counting.
Sam took the older man’s hand to reassure him. ‘OK. Breathe in—now out.’ Breathing to the counts would slow Milton’s breathing down, making it easier for him.
‘Purse your lips as you breathe out, Milton,’ Hayley said. ‘That helps to slow your breathing and keeps your airways open. That’s it. Keep going. You’re both doing really great.’
Mr Adams was still wheezing, but his colour was improving. ‘Can you place one hand on your stomach, Milton, just below your ribcage?’ Sam asked. ‘Then, when you breathe in, focus on pulling down into your stomach. Use your stomach muscles to help you push out,’ he said. ‘It’s called diaphragmatic breathing and it will really help you take deep, slow breaths.’
Eventually, Mr Adams’s breathing pattern settled and he seemed noticeably calmer.
Sam caught Hayley’s eye. ‘Shall we all go downstairs, so we’re away from the cold air?’
She nodded. ‘And we can ask the crew if they’ll sort out a bowl of hot water and lend us a towel.’
‘Good call,’ he said. They could make a tent with the towel and the bowl of hot water, and then Milton Adams could breathe in the moist air to help him recover.
Everyone else on board was on the upper decks by the railings, watching what sounded like a couple of whales playing in the water, so it made their passage down the stairs a bit easier—even if they were missing out on all the fun. They supported Milton Adams down the steep staircase to the inner deck, but he was wheezing badly again by the time they’d got him sitting down by a table.
‘Could you get your husband a cup of coffee from the bar, please?’ Hayley asked Mrs Adams.
‘He doesn’t like coffee,’ Mrs Adams said. ‘Or tea. Only hot chocolate.’
‘Maybe make the coffee milky and sweet?’ Hayley suggested. ‘The chemical structure of coffee is similar to theophylline, which is in most asthma medications, so a hot cup of coffee can help with wheezing, shortness of breath and chest tightness. Plus the warmth of the liquid will help break up the phlegm and mucus, making breathing easier.’
‘I’ll drink the coffee,’ Mr Adams wheezed.
‘Great. Are you OK to sit with Milton while I sort out a towel and hot water?’ Hayley asked Sam.
‘Sure,’ he said. ‘What I’d like you to do, Milton, is to sit up straight for me again, and count the number of blue things in the room.’
‘Blue things?’ Mr Adams looked nonplussed.
‘Blue things,’ Sam confirmed. ‘Count them, and keep breathing like we did upstairs. I’ll count while you breathe. In for four, out for six.’
As he’d hoped, the small task of looking round the room for blue things distracted the older man enough to help calm him further, and by the time Mr Adams had drunk the coffee and Sam and Hayley had arranged the bowl of hot water and towel as a temporary recovery tent so he could breathe in warm, moist air, he was looking in a much better condition.
When the boat arrived back at the dock, they were met by an ambulance. The guide came to join them as Sam and Hayley explained the situation to the paramedics.
‘Thank you both so much for all your help.’ Mrs Adams bit her lip. ‘And you missed most of the trip and the whales because of us. I feel so bad.’
‘We can arrange a replacement trip at no charge,’ the guide said. ‘And I’d like to thank you both, too. We have trained first aiders among the crew, of course, but we really needed a doctor to help us in this case.’
‘No problem,’ Hayley said.
‘Call into the office whenever suits you best,’ the guide said, ‘and we’ll rearrange your trip.’
‘I ought to give you something for helping us,’ Mrs Adams said.
‘There’s really no need,’ Sam said. ‘It’s what doctors are supposed to do—help people who need it.’
‘Agreed. Though if you really want to give us something,’ Hayley added, ‘then I’d like you to promise you’ll talk to your asthma specialist about what happened today, Milton, and that you’ll take your preventer inhaler regularly—even if you don’t think you need it, because taking it regularly is what helps to keep you well.’
Milton looked slightly shame-faced. ‘I will.’
‘Good.’ Hayley patted his shoulder. ‘Best of luck, and enjoy the rest of your holiday.’
‘You, too.’
When the ambulance doors closed and the Adamses were taken to hospital, Sam looked at Hayley. ‘Would you like to go for a coffee? Or do you need to get back to whoever you’re travelling with?’
‘I’m on my own,’ she said. ‘So a coffee would be lovely—unless you need to get back to your travelling companions?’
‘I’m on my own, too,’ he said. ‘Do you want to rebook your whale-watching trip first?’
She wrinkled her nose. ‘I saw one come up out of the water and dive back in. Expecting anything more’s probably greedy. Though if you want to rebook yours...?’
He smiled. ‘I’m greedy enough as it is. I go every week.’
‘Every week?’ She looked surprised. ‘Do you work at a hospital here, then?’
‘No. I’m kind of on sabbatical,’ he said. ‘My brother has a tour company out here, specialising in extreme trips—taking people walking on a glacier and that sort of thing. I’ve been helping him. But I go whale-watching every Monday afternoon. It’s the most amazing experience.’
She nodded. ‘It’s something Dani and I always wanted to see.’
‘Danny?’ Well, of course someone as pretty as Hayley Clark would be spoken for.
‘Danielle. My best friend,’ she explained.
How ridiculous that he should feel pleased that Dani was her best friend, not a partner. He was in no position to even think about starting a relationship, not with his new job starting in a fortnight.
Yet something about Hayley Clark tempted him.
Which was weird, because he’d had tourists throwing themselves at him all summer and not one of them had interested him.
What was it about her?
‘She fractured her second and third metatarsal last week, so the orthopods said she couldn’t come,’ Hayley continued.
He’d come across those kinds of fractures before. ‘Your friend’s a runner, then?’
Hayley nodded. ‘She was training for a charity run. Obviously she can’t do that now, so we talked the organisers into letting me run in her place.’
‘You’re a runner, too?’
She grimaced. ‘No. Actually, I loathe running. But the only way to keep her sponsorship money is if I run for her.’
‘That’s good of you.’
‘She’s my best friend, and she’s been through a lot. And doing that for her helps me feel less guilty about coming here while she’s missing out.’ Hayley wrinkled her nose. ‘Though I’m pretty sure she