Reclaiming Her Army Doc Husband Read online

  Cole placed her drink on the table before returning to his chair, this time sitting with his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped under his chin. ‘My left shoulder was dislocated, four ribs fractured, three fractures to my left leg. It could’ve been worse. My right side was spared. I also received a moderate concussion from impacting on the tarmac when I landed head-first.’

  She wanted to cry, scream, be sick, to fling herself at him. Tremors rocked her, her fingers went rigid, and her mouth fell open. ‘Are you telling the truth? You are all right?’

  ‘Yes, I am. Not perfect, but functioning okay.’

  Thank goodness. Relief poured in. Cole wasn’t so badly injured he couldn’t get on with his life. She should’ve been with him throughout his surgeries and rehab. He hadn’t asked for her. The disbelief was still ringing in her head. ‘You didn’t ask for me.’

  ‘No. I stalled the CO when he was determined to let you know what had happened and make arrangements for you to fly to Darwin to meet the plane I was medevaced out on.’

  ‘I’m down as your next of kin.’ The details were there in black and white on his contract. ‘Did he call your father instead?’

  Cole shook his head. ‘No. I explained about the miscarriage and said I wanted to be the one to tell you about the accident when I had been operated on and my concussion was gone.’

  ‘Obviously, he agreed.’

  ‘Eventually. Mainly because I refused to have surgery until he did.’

  ‘You were that determined.’ It wasn’t a question. ‘Thanks a lot, Cole. It shows where we were even back then.’ She tried to stand, had to get away from him, but her legs had other ideas, dumping her back on the chair, so instead she reached for her glass, took a small sip, and waited for the pounding in her chest to subside enough not to feel like a jackhammer was at work.

  Cole tipped his head back and drained his bottle. Then he looked at her again. ‘You’re wrong. I knew you were unhappy, and that there were things I’d screwed up, but I’ve always believed our marriage was in reasonable shape.’

  ‘Right,’ she snapped around the bitterness tainting her mouth. Last time he’d come home she’d told him how she felt she was waiting in the wings instead of putting a life together with him. It was also when she’d become pregnant. ‘You always expected me to be happy while I worked and waited for your short visits home.’

  ‘I was wrong. I know that.’ He watched her with such intensity it worried her. What was he about to say?

  She remained silent, her fingers tapping the table top.

  ‘There was nothing I wanted more than to have you with me. But...’ He stopped.

  Tap, tap, went her fingernails.

  Finally, ‘I injured my spine. At first the doctors weren’t sure I’d walk again. You’d said we were over. I did not want you rushing to my side because you felt you had to take care of me.’

  She stared at him, totally confused by his comment. And hurt beyond belief. Anger rose, unstoppable. She couldn’t do this. Toughen up. She had to. Had to hear him out even if he never listened to her. Then she could go ahead with getting on with her life. But first she’d listen to the rest of his story, and try not to give in to the horror of his injuries and fall into his arms. Because that was really what she wanted to do the most. ‘Go on.’

  He went to the fridge, got another beer and brought the wine bottle over to top up her half-empty glass, though there was more on the table than had gone down her throat. ‘Even as I was flying through the windscreen I held onto my phone so tight the indents on my fingers were there the next day. I would not lose my only contact with you.’ He held up a hand as she went to protest. ‘No, I don’t remember your number off by heart. At least, I didn’t then. I do now.’

  Too damned late.

  She said nothing. What could she say that wasn’t full of anger and hurt and disappointment? And worry for Cole. Yet he’d had his phone all through whatever had happened after the accident and still hadn’t called her.

  ‘Vicki, I was desperate to talk to you, to hear your voice, to make sure you were coping, and get some comfort myself, but how could I expect anything when I hadn’t been there when you were miscarrying our baby? The pain and grief in your voice tore me apart. How could I think I deserved you to come to my side after that? After the other times I’d neglected you? I won’t use the excuse that I had no choice once I signed up with the army any more. I made that decision in the first place, so I manned up and took responsibility for letting you down, starting with not begging you to come to me when I was unable to go to you.’

  ‘Which is it, Cole? You felt guilty? Or you were afraid I’d come out of a sense of duty, not love?’

  ‘Both.’

  She stared at this man who’d never once told her he could be selfish, never admitted he might’ve done the wrong thing by them when he’d signed up for the military. His answer was direct, and honest, and still filled with that stubborn pride so typical of him. Now what? Forgive and forget? The ball of anger and pain that had been with her for months was loosening, letting go a few of the strands that kept it wound tight. Could she let him off that quickly? That simply? Without explaining that she had a future of her own she wasn’t prepared to put aside to follow him wherever he chose to go. No, she still had a battle on her hands, but at least the hope had returned to flicker behind her ribs. ‘Were you admitted to a hospital in East Timor?’

  ‘Only to have my spleen removed by an American army surgeon, before being flown down to Darwin for orthopaedic surgeries the following day. It was a little like flying in ICU, the number of wires and tubes attached to me.’

  She closed her mind on that picture. ‘Multiple surgeries?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘After a splenectomy.’ This only got worse every time he opened his mouth. The pain he must’ve suffered being transferred before those fractures had been dealt with. Vicki shuddered. ‘Cole, you should’ve told me. I would’ve been there as fast as possible, no matter what had gone down between us earlier. I’d have wanted to be with you, despite everything, not because I felt I had to.’

  He nodded.

  ‘You told Conrad everything?’

  He blanched. ‘Yes.’

  Forget the fluttering hope. The flutter turned to lead. ‘Did he race to be with you?’ Honesty could be a bit much to swallow sometimes.

  ‘He came to see me in Darwin.’ His chest rose. ‘I made him promise not to say a word to you. He argued with me, and I’m sure he picked up the phone to call you more than once, but eventually I won.’

  ‘I bet he kept up to date with your progress.’ This hurt so much. She was his wife. She loved him. ‘You didn’t even mention anything during those few awkward calls we had.’ She might understand his restraint, but didn’t accept it. ‘That was wrong.’ What he’d done made her angry, sad, and very frightened. ‘I can’t forgive this in a hurry.’ If ever.

  ‘Vicki, sweetheart, I’m being straight with you, not hiding anything this time. I am sorry I’ve hurt you. I will make it up to you, if you’ll let me.’

  Loud knocking on the front door interrupted her. Which was probably for the best. Who knew what would spill out of her mouth at the moment? She was hurting so much it blinded all common sense. Once spoken, words could never be taken back. Though right now she couldn’t think of anything she’d want to withdraw once uttered. Had she ever really known Cole? As in really, honestly, truly?

  ‘Vicki, you there?’ someone called out.

  She leapt to her feet. ‘Helen?’ Thank goodness for intrusions. She could put her whirling mind on hold, unless Helen only wanted a cup of sugar.

  The neighbour from three houses down stood at the door she’d opened, water pooling at her feet. ‘You’re needed. Bill’s fallen off his ladder onto the drive. He’s unconscious.’

  * * *

  Hearing what the woman said to
Vicki, Cole leapt to his feet, ignoring the pain in his leg, glad of a diversion. Seeing the emotions roiling in Vicki’s eyes had decimated his already broken heart. What had started out as trying to do the right thing by her had turned into the biggest mistake of his life, and it had kept growing until now he had no idea if he’d ever be forgiven and allowed the chance to rectify things in their marriage.

  ‘Cole, you hear that?’ Vicki called out. ‘Cole’s a doctor,’ she told the woman standing on the porch.

  At least Vicki wasn’t denying he had a role to play in what was obviously an emergency, despite her anger at him. Anger he’d expected, and deserved. Telling her the truth only made resolving their differences all the harder, but honesty had to be a part of sorting this mess out. If they ever did. Telling her about his injuries and how he hadn’t called for her had been excruciating. Not least because he’d finally seen how wrong he’d been, how deeply he’d hurt her. That meant nothing was going to be as straightforward as he’d thought. Explain, apologise, and get on, that had been his hope. Not the reality, he saw now. Talk about being an idiot. Did he deserve her love when he could do this to her?

  ‘Cole?’

  He shook his mind clear of their problems. He was right behind her. ‘Has anyone called an ambulance?’

  Helen looked directly at him. ‘Yes, but all emergency services are very busy. They’ll get someone here as soon as the next ambulance is free.’

  ‘That figures. I’ll get the pack.’ Vicki headed for her father’s medical storeroom.

  Cole was with her as she tapped in the security number to unlock the cupboard. ‘Let me look at the drugs we might need.’

  ‘All yours. Want the defib?’

  ‘Might be wise. I’ll carry it.’ Thankfully, she didn’t argue. It took only a moment to find what he might need, covering the basics for pain, shock, cardiac arrest. After hauling on a jacket and shoes, he rushed up the road with the women.

  Vicki asked Helen, ‘What was Bill doing up a ladder in this weather? He’s at least seventy-five and not as stable as he used to be,’ she added, for his benefit.

  ‘Then some of his bones have likely broken on impact.’ But it was the head injury worrying Cole most at the moment. The man was apparently unconscious. That wasn’t good.

  ‘His guttering was blocked with leaves and flooding the internal garage,’ Helen replied. ‘Stubborn old coot didn’t think to ask anyone for help.’

  ‘Where is he now?’ Cole asked.

  Helen glanced at him, quickly looked away. ‘I know you’re not supposed to move someone in this situation but he was soaked and with this weather we all thought it best to get him under shelter so we rolled him onto a blanket and slid him across the floor to the back of the garage where there’s a modicum of shelter.’

  There was no changing that so as they raced up the driveway, Cole said, ‘You’re right about getting him out of the rain.’ Fingers crossed. Someone holding a large sun umbrella over the man might’ve been a better option, but these people were obviously not medically trained and couldn’t be blamed for trying to do their best to helping a friend.

  Gingerly lowering onto his knees beside the elderly man, Cole immediately began listening to his airway, and finally nodded. ‘Breathing’s shallow, but his chest’s rising and falling regularly,’ he told Vicki as she knelt on the opposite side of Bill.

  ‘Bill? It’s Vicki Halliday—Vicki Chandler. Can you hear me?’

  The old man didn’t move.

  Vicki continued. ‘Cole’s here too. He’s a doctor.’

  No response.

  She reached for Bill’s wrist to take his pulse.

  ‘Bill,’ Cole said. ‘We’re going to check you all over. I don’t want you trying to move at all. Okay?’ He’d continue talking to him while finishing his primary survey in case the words got through. ‘Pulse?’ he asked Vicki.

  ‘Low. He’s sweating profusely.’ She was placing patches from the defibrillator on Bill’s now exposed chest so they could get a reading of his heart. Immediately, the rapid heart rate was apparent.

  ‘Shock and probable internal blood loss.’ Feeling Bill’s abdomen, groin, listening to his chest, Cole found swelling, signs of haemorrhaging. ‘The liver’s taken a knock.’

  ‘His arm was caught in the ladder and we had trouble removing it,’ a man told him. ‘It was jammed between his upper body and elbow.’

  Why had they moved the man? Cole stared at the arm now lying beside Bill’s body. More damage might’ve been done. His gentle prodding told him the elbow was shattered. He left the limb as it was, not wanting to inflict further injury. ‘Right, now the head.’ Gently touching the skull, he quickly found trauma that explained Bill’s unconscious state. ‘We need an ambulance fast.’ He looked around at the people standing back, watching him and Vicki attend to their neighbour. ‘Can someone call 000 and give me the phone when you’ve got the service on line?’

  ‘On it,’ a woman answered.

  ‘There a neck brace in that pack?’ Cole asked Vicki.

  She gave him a quick glance before returning to watching the defib screen. ‘Yes.’

  ‘I’ll find it.’ Helen opened the bag and began removing containers of bandages. ‘This what you want?’

  ‘Thanks.’

  The other woman handed him the phone. ‘I’ve explained that we’ve already called this in so he knows where you are.’

  He nodded and spoke to the dispatcher. ‘I’m a doctor and I understand there’re delays getting an ambulance but we have a GCS of two. Severe head wound, major fractures of ankle, knee and elbow, also internal bleeding.’

  ‘I’ve contacted the rescue helicopter service. They’re about to lift off. Can you put someone on so I can explain what we need done for the chopper to land safely?’

  ‘Sure. And thanks.’ Cole looked around. ‘I need someone to take this. We need the road cleared for a helicopter.’

  A man grabbed the phone and Cole returned his attention to Bill.

  ‘BP’s slowly dropping,’ Vicki informed him. Calmly, she rechecked all the readings and noted them down on a pad, which Helen had found in the pack, to go with Bill to hospital. Nurse Vicki was in play. Not the woman whose heart he had broken. Or who was breaking his. Even in nurse mode she was gorgeous.

  His own heart squeezed. Damn, he loved her. He had to win her back. Had to.

  ‘Have to get this collar on,’ she reminded him, dragging his thoughts back to where they needed to be.

  ‘Let’s do it.’ With practised ease they quickly had the collar in place. Even though Bill hadn’t moved at all since they’d arrived, a sudden jerk could cause serious damage to his spine if there was any trauma.

  Cole continued examining his patient, now checking the less urgent injuries. Blood stained the trousers around the knee area. There was a tear in the fabric that he used to rip down the leg to expose the damage. The bleeding was minor, the least of their worries. The right ankle was at an odd angle. Again, there was nothing he could do until the paramedics got here with splints and a stretcher.

  It seemed for ever before the thumping of rotors suddenly slammed their eardrums from directly above the house. The rain had hidden the approach of the flying machine now hurling water in all directions outside as it descended to the road beyond the end of the driveway where many locals had come out with torches and lanterns to light up the area and stop any traffic that might come along.

  Within moments paramedics were kneeling beside Bill, and Cole filled them in with his observations before stepping away, glad there were others to lift the stretcher. His leg was throbbing. The emergency crew was in charge now, and had all the gear needed to transfer Bill safely to hospital. There was nothing more he or Vicki could do. Time to head back to the house and that unfinished conversation.

  Except what else could he tell her?

  That he�
��d missed her more than ever while lying on his back for weeks on end, waiting for his bones to heal enough to be able to get up on crutches and start walking again. How the fear brought on by her words, which had kept ringing in his head throughout the sleepless nights, hadn’t let up. Even when he’d been concentrating hard on walking and ignoring the pain of those broken bones, he’d kept hearing her desperation.

  I can’t do this any more.

  As long as he lived he would hear the sadness, the anguish in her voice on that day. His darling Vicki believed he had let her down.

  He had.

  She’d been gutted over losing their baby. Her distress had vibrated through the ether to him. She’d needed him with her, not helping strangers. She’d needed him to talk about their loss. How had she got through those days and weeks afterwards? By talking to Julie? Her parents? Molly and Nathan? Hopefully, she’d had someone’s support, otherwise there was still a lot of pain to be worked through. Not that it would’ve disappeared anyway, merely eased a little. He knew, because he held his own knot of pain deep inside. It would’ve been better for both of them if he hadn’t been in another country at the time.

  Never again. From now on he’d always be there for her.

  If only she would give him a second chance to show how much he meant it. How much he loved her.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  ‘I HOPE BILL makes it.’ Vicki strode out alongside Cole as they headed back to her parents’ house, aware that he didn’t move as freely as he used to, despite saying he was fine.

  He limped, ran, limped, ran. ‘I can’t lie. That head injury is a worry,’ he agreed.

  Quite likely Cole was still in pain from those fractures, especially when trying to run, as the impact when his foot hit the pavement would be sharper than when he was walking. She slowed a little, trying not to be obvious, ignoring the rain. There were plenty of dry clothes in the house. ‘I can’t believe he climbed a ladder in this weather.’ Vicki let out a long, regretful breath. ‘Actually, that’s not true. He’s a stubborn old man by all accounts, and apparently since his wife died last year he often says there’s no reason to keep himself safe any more.’