Summer Fling

‘He likes to be stroked,’ Evanna murmured, noticing that the toddler favoured one arm. She glanced back at the mother. ‘How did you catch him?’

‘I caught his wrist and jerked him up to stop him falling.’

‘So his weight would have been on his arm?’

‘Yes.’ The mother bit her lip. ‘Have I broken his wrist?’

‘From the sound of it, you did what needed to save him from falling into the water. Looking after an inquisitive toddler is never easy,’ Evanna said steadily, thinking of the number of times that little Kirsty had surprised her with her antics. She wiggled the fox and smiled at the child. ‘Can you stroke foxy with your other hand, William?’

The toddler ignored her request and kept one arm firmly in his lap.

Evanna put the fox down on her desk. ‘He obviously doesn’t want to use that arm so I think we do need to ask one of the doctors to check him out. I’ll just nip across the corridor and see if one of them is free to take a look.’

‘You think he’s broken his wrist? Oh, no, and we’re on holiday here in the middle of nowhere.’

‘I think he may have injured his elbow,’ Evanna said gently. ‘And Glenmore may be remote but we have a surprisingly large population and two excellent doctors who are used to dealing with all sorts of injuries. Try not to worry.’

The red light was showing outside Ethan Walker’s consulting room, which meant that he was back from his house call and busy catching up with his patients. She hesitated outside Logan’s door, rapped sharply and then entered when she heard his voice. ‘Sorry to bother you. I know we’ve got a backlog, but I’ve a toddler in my room who looks as though he might have a pulled elbow. His mother caught him by the arm to stop him falling off the quay.’

Logan sat back in his chair. ‘You’ve taken a look at him?’

‘He isn’t moving the arm.’

‘I’ll examine him in your room. Ethan’s back now anyway, so things are calming down.’ He rose to his feet in a fluid, athletic movement and strode across to her, strands of dark hair flopping over his forehead. His skin was bronzed from the summer sun, his eyelashes thick and dark, and Evanna quickly turned and opened the door, trying not to look at him.

She felt awkward and self-conscious in his company and despair rose inside her. Being full of good intentions was one thing, but somehow she had to communicate her new resolve to her body. She needed to stop her knees shaking and her stomach spinning.

‘I’m Dr MacNeil.’ He shook hands with the parents and then dropped into a crouch and smiled at the little boy. ‘What have you been up to, William? Trying to dive off our quay?’

‘Fox.’

‘You like Evanna’s fox, do you?’ Logan carefully examined the child’s hand, wrist and shoulder. ‘There’s no obvious swelling. Does this hurt, William?’

‘Ow.’ The toddler jerked and his face crumpled.

‘Obviously the answer to that question is yes. Sorry to hurt you, little chap,’ Logan murmured apologetically, stroking a hand over the toddler’s head and reaching for the fox puppet. He waggled it around, made the child smile and then glanced at Evanna. ‘He’s tender over the radiohumeral joint. He’s comfortable until you try and move the elbow. It’s all consistent with a subluxation of the head of the radius. I’ll reduce it here.’

‘Here?’ The mother tensed. ‘Doesn’t he need an X-ray or anything?’

‘If there was any suspicion of a fracture, I’d arrange for an X-ray,’ Logan said easily, standing up and crossing the room to wash his hands, ‘but all the signs are that your son’s elbow is slightly out of place and I’m sure I can correct that. It will hurt for a few moments and then hopefully he’ll be fine. If this doesn’t do the trick, yes, I’ll consider an X-ray as the next step.’

Evanna stepped forward. ‘Can you hold him on your lap? Like that—perfect.’ She settled the child while Logan ripped a paper towel out of the dispenser and dried his hands.

‘All right, William, let’s do this so that you can get on with your holiday. Have you tried the ice cream at Meg’s Café yet?’ He put his thumb over the head of the radius and pressed down while he smoothly extended the elbow. ‘It’s the best ice cream in the world.’

Evanna watched while he moved the arm and then flexed the elbow, keeping his thumb pressing against the radial head.

The toddler screamed loudly and the mother inhaled and covered her mouth with her hand, but Logan gave a satisfied nod.

‘Sorry about the pain but I think that should have done the trick. I felt a click against my thumb. I’d like you to hang around here for about ten minutes, if that’s all right, then I’ll take another look at him.’

‘That’s it?’ The mother was cuddling William but he’d already stopped crying and was watching, fascinated, as Evanna made the fox puppet perform a series of elaborate tricks. ‘Does he need a plaster or a sling or anything?’

Logan shook his head. ‘I think he’s going to be fine. Let him play with the toys in the waiting room and then I’ll give you a shout and take another look. Good boy, William. You were very brave.’

The mother let out a sigh of relief. ‘I thought I’d broken his wrist.’

‘A sudden jerk on the arm can be enough to pull the elbow in a child of this age.’