back into the bus to help his friends and that’s how he got burned.’
‘How bad is he?’
‘The burn to his face should heal without leaving muchof a scar, but his left arm is a different story. There’s some damage to the muscle as well as to the skin and the subcutaneous tissue. Muscle damage is extremely difficult to repair and it’s going to take time to sort it all out.’
‘What a shame! And after he was so brave, too.’
‘I know. It doesn’t seem fair, does it?’ he said. ‘Anyway, I’ve done some of the preliminary work, so that’s a start, and I’m hoping to get another shot at it later this week. I need to see how much more tissue needs excising first. I’ve removed any that was obviously burned but there could be deterioration in the coming days and I might need to remove some more.’
‘Will he regain full use of his arm?’ Alison asked worriedly.
‘If I don’t need to remove too much more of the muscle. He’ll need good physio, though, plus a lot of determination.’
‘There’s no problem on the physiotherapy score,’ she assured him. ‘Lauren Nightingale will soon get him sorted out.’
‘Lauren’s still here? Great! She’s the best person I know when it comes to motivating a patient.’
Alison felt a little stab of jealousy assail her when she heard the warmth in his voice. She took a sip of her coffee, not wanting Jack to suspect that she harboured such feelings. Lauren was a first-rate physiotherapist, and the fact that she just happened to be extremely beautiful was of no consequence. She had no right to censor the people whom Jack liked.
The thought was so ridiculous that she gasped, and some of her coffee shot down the wrong way.
Jack looked at her in concern when she coughed. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Some coffee went down the wrong way,’ she spluttered, trying to catch her breath.
Jack stood up and came over to her. ‘I’ll pat you on the back. It might help.’
Before Alison could protest, he started patting her back, and the rest of the air suddenly whooshed from her lungs. The feel of his strong hand between her shoulder blades was doing horrendous things to her, making her feel both hot and dizzy, and she choked. ‘You really are in a bad way.’
There was real concern on Jack’s face now as he bent over her. This close she could see the laughter lines fanning from the corners of his eyes, smell the clean scent of his skin and taste the coffee-scented warmth of his breath on her lips. It felt as though she was being immersed in sensations and she shuddered deeply.
‘Here—let’s give it another go.’
He started rubbing her back then, his strong hand caressing the length of her spine in a way that made Alison want to purr with pleasure, if only she’d had enough breath to spare. She could feel the heat of his palm seeping into her flesh, and for the first time in ages she felt desire rise up inside her. She stared up at him without saying a word and saw the exact moment when concern changed to something else, something hotter and wilder that couldn’t be contained any longer.
When his head dipped, she closed her eyes, anticipating the moment when his mouth would claim hers. She could feel the feather-light brush of his lips as they hovered over hers and her heart over flowed with need. She wanted this kiss so much, needed it more than she had needed anything in such a long time…
He drew back abruptly, and her eyes flew open as shestared at him in confusion. He gave her a tight little smile as he straightened up.
‘That seems to have done the trick. Now I think it’s time we left. Thank you for everything you’ve done today, Alison. I really appreciate it.’
‘It was my pleasure,’ she said stiffly, standing up.
She went over to the boys and quietly explained that it was time for Freddie to go home, and all the time she was doing so her heart was racing. Jack had been going to kiss her. She had no idea why he had changed his mind,
‘How bad is he?’
‘The burn to his face should heal without leaving muchof a scar, but his left arm is a different story. There’s some damage to the muscle as well as to the skin and the subcutaneous tissue. Muscle damage is extremely difficult to repair and it’s going to take time to sort it all out.’
‘What a shame! And after he was so brave, too.’
‘I know. It doesn’t seem fair, does it?’ he said. ‘Anyway, I’ve done some of the preliminary work, so that’s a start, and I’m hoping to get another shot at it later this week. I need to see how much more tissue needs excising first. I’ve removed any that was obviously burned but there could be deterioration in the coming days and I might need to remove some more.’
‘Will he regain full use of his arm?’ Alison asked worriedly.
‘If I don’t need to remove too much more of the muscle. He’ll need good physio, though, plus a lot of determination.’
‘There’s no problem on the physiotherapy score,’ she assured him. ‘Lauren Nightingale will soon get him sorted out.’
‘Lauren’s still here? Great! She’s the best person I know when it comes to motivating a patient.’
Alison felt a little stab of jealousy assail her when she heard the warmth in his voice. She took a sip of her coffee, not wanting Jack to suspect that she harboured such feelings. Lauren was a first-rate physiotherapist, and the fact that she just happened to be extremely beautiful was of no consequence. She had no right to censor the people whom Jack liked.
The thought was so ridiculous that she gasped, and some of her coffee shot down the wrong way.
Jack looked at her in concern when she coughed. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Some coffee went down the wrong way,’ she spluttered, trying to catch her breath.
Jack stood up and came over to her. ‘I’ll pat you on the back. It might help.’
Before Alison could protest, he started patting her back, and the rest of the air suddenly whooshed from her lungs. The feel of his strong hand between her shoulder blades was doing horrendous things to her, making her feel both hot and dizzy, and she choked. ‘You really are in a bad way.’
There was real concern on Jack’s face now as he bent over her. This close she could see the laughter lines fanning from the corners of his eyes, smell the clean scent of his skin and taste the coffee-scented warmth of his breath on her lips. It felt as though she was being immersed in sensations and she shuddered deeply.
‘Here—let’s give it another go.’
He started rubbing her back then, his strong hand caressing the length of her spine in a way that made Alison want to purr with pleasure, if only she’d had enough breath to spare. She could feel the heat of his palm seeping into her flesh, and for the first time in ages she felt desire rise up inside her. She stared up at him without saying a word and saw the exact moment when concern changed to something else, something hotter and wilder that couldn’t be contained any longer.
When his head dipped, she closed her eyes, anticipating the moment when his mouth would claim hers. She could feel the feather-light brush of his lips as they hovered over hers and her heart over flowed with need. She wanted this kiss so much, needed it more than she had needed anything in such a long time…
He drew back abruptly, and her eyes flew open as shestared at him in confusion. He gave her a tight little smile as he straightened up.
‘That seems to have done the trick. Now I think it’s time we left. Thank you for everything you’ve done today, Alison. I really appreciate it.’
‘It was my pleasure,’ she said stiffly, standing up.
She went over to the boys and quietly explained that it was time for Freddie to go home, and all the time she was doing so her heart was racing. Jack had been going to kiss her. She had no idea why he had changed his mind,
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