The Nurse's Christmas Wish (The Cornish Consultants)

Thank goodness.

Mac vanished from his position by the driver and shouted up to the paramedics and the fire brigade.

Bright lights shone in her face and suddenly she could see properly.

‘Get me a wide-bore cannula,’ Mac was saying, and one of the paramedics was by his side, helping him to drain the pneumothorax.

After that it was a blur of activity.

Once Mac had stabilised the driver he moved to the other side of the car and helped Louisa, who was keeping the pressure on the wound, even though she could feel the bandages were already soaked.

With the minimum of fuss he inserted two wide-bore cannulae and started IV fluids.

Louisa’s teeth were chattering and she could no longer feel her fingers. ‘Shouldn’t we just get him to hospital as fast as possible?’

‘Yes.’ Mac applied more pads and pressure to the arm. ‘But while they’re evacuating the driver he can be getting fluids. Time is crucial and he’s lost a lot of blood.’

Relieved that her part in the rescue was over, Louisa wriggled out of the back of the car and stumbled up onto the bank.

One of the paramedics frowned at her. ‘Are you OK, love?’

‘No.’ Mac’s tone was short as he joined them, snow clinging to his coat. ‘I should think she’s in the early stages of hypothermia. I need to get her home before she freezes. She wasn’t exactly dressed for the rigours of emergency care at the roadside.’

‘We could take her in if you like.’

‘Into A and E?’ Louisa’s voice was a squeak of horror. ‘You’re joking!’

She couldn’t think of anything more embarrassing.

‘I’ll take her home,’ Mac said roughly, watching as they loaded the casualties into the ambulance. ‘Will you take it from here?’

‘Certainly will.’ The paramedic smiled. ‘Josh on at the unit?’

Mac nodded, a ghost of a smile flickering across his handsome face. ‘Tell him I’m sending him an early Christmas present.’

‘Will do.’ He secured the doors and walked round to the front.

At that moment the police drew up and Mac strode across to speak to them.

Louisa watched from a distance while Mac outlined what had happened, gesturing with his hand to show how the car had crossed onto the wrong side of the road.

The police asked him a number of questions and then Mac strode back across to her.

‘Let’s go.’

‘Have they finished talking to you?’

‘For now.’

‘Good. Because I’m a bit cold.’ She was shivering so hard she could barely speak and he cursed under his breath as he helped her across the road and into the car. He yanked open the door and then glanced over his shoulder, his gaze on the wreckage in the ditch. His stare was bleak and full of ghosts and Louisa frowned.

Was he thinking of his wife?

‘Mac? Are you OK?’

He pulled himself together. ‘Fine. Cover yourself with these.’ He reached into the back of the car, thrust a couple of blankets onto her lap and added his own coat on top.

‘You can’t give me your coat,’ she protested, but he ignored her and swung himself into the driver’s seat.