thoughtful. Then his eyes dropped to Ben, and back to her, and she thought, Good grief, is it so obvious? Do I have a sign on my bump that says, Child of Ben Carter on it?
Or was she just reading something that didn’t exist into his expression?
‘Lucy, can we put a cuff on the arm to cut off this blood supply? And can I have some saline to irrigate this, please?’ Ben asked, and she stopped worrying about Dragan and what he was thinking and concentrated on doing her job—or rather helping Ben do his, which she had to admit he was doing beautifully.
He numbed the area and sutured the vessel so neatly Lucy could only watch in awe, then he cleaned the wound thoroughly and released the cuff to check his suturing had worked. ‘Good,’ he murmured, and trimmed away the little flaps of skin that had lost their blood supply and drew the edges of the wound together with Steristrips. The whole thing had only taken him a few minutes.
‘There,’ he said, flexing his shoulders and nodding in satisfaction. ‘That should sort you out. I can’t suture the skin because of the high risk of infection, but the tape should hold it together well enough. Keep it dry, though—and I think you should have a broad-spectrum antibiotic. They’ve discovered bugs in dog bites that they didn’t know infected humans, so I like to provide a broader cover than a simple penicillin type. Lucy, could I have a sterile non-adherent dressing, please?’
‘Sure.’ She handed him the pack, found the tape and helped him dress the wound.
‘OK,’ he said, sitting back with a smile. ‘Hopefully it’ll heal fast, but I’m afraid you might end up with a scar.’
Melinda shrugged and smiled. ‘It won’t be the first—occupational hazard. Thank you, Ben. Now I can get back to my patient.’
‘How’s your tetanus?’ Lucy asked, and she laughed.
‘Well and truly up to date. I got bitten last year. You’d think I’d learn but apparently not.’
Ben chuckled. ‘Right, Lucy had better give you your prescription—and you’ll need painkillers. Something with codeine, probably, and a non-steroidal. And look out for reddening, fever, swelling, shivering and anything else unusual in the next week. OK?’
‘OK. And thank you so much. Right, now I must get back to this dog.’
‘You should get someone else to do it,’ Dragan said, frowning, but she brushed his suggestion aside.
‘No. She’s frightened, that’s all. She’s only young, and she was hurt. She’s not vicious. I’ll get a nurse to help me, we’ll be fine.’
He muttered something unintelligible and foreign under his breath. ‘I should be here, we’re meant to be having a meeting, but you haven’t got your car,’ he said to Melinda, and Lucy shook her head and handed over the prescription.
‘Don’t worry, Dragan, you give her a lift back. We’ve talked it all through and, anyway, I’ve got a surgery starting in a few minutes. We’ll catch up tomorrow and I’ll fill you in, and we’ll schedule another meeting in a week or two.’
He nodded and, shaking Ben’s hand and thanking him, he ushered Melinda out, leaving them alone.
She was about to offer him more tea when Ben glanced athis watch. ‘Right, I suppose I ought to shoot off. I’ll pick you up tonight—from here? Six-thirty?’
She shook her head. The last thing she wanted was him picking her up from the surgery when her father was likely to be lurking around. ‘I’ll meet you somewhere at seven. Your house?’
He nodded. ‘Fine. Do you still know the way?’
Know it? She’d almost worn out the road, toing and froing, desperate to see him and yet unable to bring herself to ring the bell and tell him she’d made a mistake about them not being together. And then she’d found out she was pregnant, and she had been wearing out the road for another reason, trying to screw up the courage to tell him that.
‘Yes, I know the way,’ she said. ‘I’ll see you there. And make it eight. That’ll
Or was she just reading something that didn’t exist into his expression?
‘Lucy, can we put a cuff on the arm to cut off this blood supply? And can I have some saline to irrigate this, please?’ Ben asked, and she stopped worrying about Dragan and what he was thinking and concentrated on doing her job—or rather helping Ben do his, which she had to admit he was doing beautifully.
He numbed the area and sutured the vessel so neatly Lucy could only watch in awe, then he cleaned the wound thoroughly and released the cuff to check his suturing had worked. ‘Good,’ he murmured, and trimmed away the little flaps of skin that had lost their blood supply and drew the edges of the wound together with Steristrips. The whole thing had only taken him a few minutes.
‘There,’ he said, flexing his shoulders and nodding in satisfaction. ‘That should sort you out. I can’t suture the skin because of the high risk of infection, but the tape should hold it together well enough. Keep it dry, though—and I think you should have a broad-spectrum antibiotic. They’ve discovered bugs in dog bites that they didn’t know infected humans, so I like to provide a broader cover than a simple penicillin type. Lucy, could I have a sterile non-adherent dressing, please?’
‘Sure.’ She handed him the pack, found the tape and helped him dress the wound.
‘OK,’ he said, sitting back with a smile. ‘Hopefully it’ll heal fast, but I’m afraid you might end up with a scar.’
Melinda shrugged and smiled. ‘It won’t be the first—occupational hazard. Thank you, Ben. Now I can get back to my patient.’
‘How’s your tetanus?’ Lucy asked, and she laughed.
‘Well and truly up to date. I got bitten last year. You’d think I’d learn but apparently not.’
Ben chuckled. ‘Right, Lucy had better give you your prescription—and you’ll need painkillers. Something with codeine, probably, and a non-steroidal. And look out for reddening, fever, swelling, shivering and anything else unusual in the next week. OK?’
‘OK. And thank you so much. Right, now I must get back to this dog.’
‘You should get someone else to do it,’ Dragan said, frowning, but she brushed his suggestion aside.
‘No. She’s frightened, that’s all. She’s only young, and she was hurt. She’s not vicious. I’ll get a nurse to help me, we’ll be fine.’
He muttered something unintelligible and foreign under his breath. ‘I should be here, we’re meant to be having a meeting, but you haven’t got your car,’ he said to Melinda, and Lucy shook her head and handed over the prescription.
‘Don’t worry, Dragan, you give her a lift back. We’ve talked it all through and, anyway, I’ve got a surgery starting in a few minutes. We’ll catch up tomorrow and I’ll fill you in, and we’ll schedule another meeting in a week or two.’
He nodded and, shaking Ben’s hand and thanking him, he ushered Melinda out, leaving them alone.
She was about to offer him more tea when Ben glanced athis watch. ‘Right, I suppose I ought to shoot off. I’ll pick you up tonight—from here? Six-thirty?’
She shook her head. The last thing she wanted was him picking her up from the surgery when her father was likely to be lurking around. ‘I’ll meet you somewhere at seven. Your house?’
He nodded. ‘Fine. Do you still know the way?’
Know it? She’d almost worn out the road, toing and froing, desperate to see him and yet unable to bring herself to ring the bell and tell him she’d made a mistake about them not being together. And then she’d found out she was pregnant, and she had been wearing out the road for another reason, trying to screw up the courage to tell him that.
‘Yes, I know the way,’ she said. ‘I’ll see you there. And make it eight. That’ll
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