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CHAPTER ONE
IF ABBY TYLER had kno the day was going to end she ot out of bed that day
As it was, she leaned back in her chair, arched her back and then did so that she never did—put her feet up on the desk Pelican Cove was quieter than quiet She hadn’t treated a patient in the last hour
She took a sip of the strong, dark coffee she’d just made and nibbled on one of the nearby hoh and smiled over at one of the nearby nurses ‘Nancy, you make the best cookies’ Abby closed her eyes for a second Recovery tih to tell her a story The story had lasted the best part of an hour and had been full of anih she’d been blessed with a child who didn’t require h her heavy lids she could see the rest of the e off to the far end of the reception desk The staff here were a great, tight-knit team with a real community approach
As an eency-care paediatric physician Abby loved the twelve weeks a year that she covered in the community hospital—in fact, it was one of the reasons that she’d taken the job San Francisco was ave her the opportunity to do some ency medicine
There was a screech of tyres outside It startled her, breaking her fro in her head Seconds later a pair of heavy feet pounded inside The dark business suit, crisp white shirt, flash red tie and shock of white-blond hair drew the i staff
Abby blinked Twice Before breaking into a lazy s the cookie crumbs from her scrubs ‘Luke Storhmade it inevitable’ The words were out of her mouth in an instant An automatic natural reaction to hiether as med students She ran her eyes up and down his muscular frame Still every bit the male model ‘So what can I do for you?’
‘You can take your feet off the desk for a start’
‘Excuse me?’
‘I take it you work here?’
Abby gestured to the white board on the ith her na to let him rile her
‘What facilities do you have for premies?’
That got her attention ‘What?’ She pulled her feet off the desk and stood up ‘What on earth are you talking about?’
‘I don’t have time for a debate, Abby I need to know if you can deal with a premature delivery or not And I need to kno’
Abby watched in disbelief as her calency unit was instantly transformed into a scene of chaos Half a dozen dark-suited h the doors and i into s their earpieces ‘What on earth … ?’
Luke grabbed hold of her arm ‘What facilities do you have, Abby?’
Abby shrugged her ar sharply into focus ‘This is a small 25-bed acute-care hospital, Luke It’s eries and outpatient consultations We have this eency deliveries but we only have one neonate cot Once stabilised we tend to transfer to San Francisco Children’s Hospital’
‘Do you have a paed?’
It was obvious Luke wasn’t thinking straight What on earth had rattled hi across her lips His words we
re rapid and harsh and she could see from the deep frown lines in his forehead that aaround in his head An expression she’d seen more than once
Her pale-skinned hand reached across the desk and squeezed his golden tanned one Like chalk and cheese The way they’d always been with each other ‘I’m the paed, Luke’
His head turned abruptly towards her ‘You’re the paed?’ She could al into place in his head as the moment of realisation struck him ‘Of course you are Then it’s you that I need’ His hand closed around hers, pulling her towards the door Just for a second she saw the characteristic gleam in his eyes that she reot an obstetrician handy?’
‘Actually, I do’ She ground to a halt, stopping hi hi on I take it you’ve got a patient for me?’
‘Actually, I’ve got two—but the second one I can take care of myself’
‘What do youmore bizarre by the minute
‘He’s a cardiac patient Where do you transfer your MIs to?’
She tugged on his hand ‘Stop, Luke,’ she said in a low voice, and pulled him closer to her Her senses were bo was different A new scent A new cologne So waves in the sea She inched even closer She could see the deep-etched frown lines on his brow, the tiny beads of perspiration glistening under the hospital lights ‘Slon and take a deep breath and tellon’
She heard hilanced over at one of the dark-suited ers through his short white-blond hair, his eyes glancing at the ceiling, with one corner of his lip curling upwards ‘You’re about to deliver the First Lady’s baby’
‘What?’
Luke watched the colour rise in the unflappable Abby Tyler’s cheeks Her head flicked froht? This is one of those daft gaot a hidden camera somewhere, haven’t you?’
Luke stood stock still He still quite couldn’t believe that fate had brought hiency unit that was staffed by Abby Tyler Of all the places in all the world …
Abby put her hands on her hips ‘Luke, what on earth would the First Lady be doing in Mendocino Valley? Isn’t she supposed to be on bed rest in the White House?’