The Single Dad's Marriage Wish (Bachelor Dads) by Carol Marinelli Page B

Ronan. First, can you tell me your name?’
    ‘Vince!’ Exasperated as to what possible bearing it could have, he raised his palms to the air as he answered.
    ‘Okay, Vince, I’m Charlotte.’ Repeating her name, she gestured to the chair. ‘Let’s sit down while I ask you some questions. I know this is hard, but every detail is vital.’ She watched as he clammed his jaws together, bit back a thousand questions and trusted that for now this stranger knew best. ‘You’d just finished milking the cows—is that right?’
    ‘I was loading the milk into the dairy truck. Ronan was fixing up a bit of equipment back in the milking shed…’ She tried to picture it—her grandparents had had a dairy farm and it helped Charlotte envisage what he was saying as she prompted Vince to tell his tale.
    ‘So how far from the shed were you?’
    ‘A couple of hundred metres—if that,’ Vince answered.
    ‘And then what happened?’
    ‘I heard a bang. I was up the ladder on the side of the truck, and as I turned around the milking shed went dark—I knew what had happened.’
    ‘So then what did you do?’ Charlotte pushed.
    ‘I just ran over. I know I should have turned off the power—I just didn’t stop, though—I knew the safety switch would have been tripped. Figured I had my gumboots on…’ It had been a gamble, they both knew that, but panic, instinct to help his son had clearly taken over, regardless of the consequences to himself. ‘I started CPR straight away. I’ve told the doctor this and that nurse. I did an instructor’s course for first aid last year…’
    ‘Who turned the power off?’ Charlotte asked. ‘It was off when the paramedics arrived.’
    ‘The truck driver—he was running behind to help and I knew I’d already taken a risk—I didn’t want him doing it. I told him to go…’
    She’d got the history they so badly needed and Charlotte didn’t wait for the rest, just headed for the door with one final question.
    ‘How long from the ladder to Ronan?’
    ‘A minute, if that.’ Vince sobbed. ‘Charlotte, you have to help him—please, tell the doctors that they mustn’t give up!’
    She paused for just a fraction of a second to give him one promise. ‘Vince, no one will stop in there without talking to you first.’
    ‘A minute!’ Running into Resus Charlotte delivered the vital information and Hamish gave a grateful nod. ‘Hewas down for no more than a minute—and the dad’s recently done a first-aid course.’
    As Hamish called for yet more drugs, as the defibrillator was recharged and the vigorous resuscitation continued, Charlotte elaborated on what Vince had told her but Hamish was barely listening, satisfied now it was more than appropriate to continue.
    ‘If we have to stop, I’ve told the father someone will go in and talk to him first,’ Charlotte told Hamish, watching him for a reaction. As painful as it was for relatives to see their loved ones being worked on, sometimes it was appropriate to offer, for people to see and understand that despite the best of efforts there was nothing that could be done, and she was sure that Vince would want to be the one to make the call.
    ‘Sure.’ Hamish gave a brief nod. ‘Everyone back!’
    Cameron was just about to resume compressions again when Hamish halted him. A flicker of a heartbeat had appeared on the screen, only instead of elation there was still a sense of trepidation as Hamish felt first the patient’s carotid artery and then moved his hand to his wrist. ‘We’ve got a radial pulse—have we got a blood pressure?’
    ‘Sixty,’ Charlotte called, holding her breath as the monitor showed that the weak, thready pulse that had first flickered had been replaced now by strong regular bleeps, helped along by the drugs Hamish was delivering into his vein.
    ‘We’ve got him,’ Hamish said, staring at his team with a quiet nod of appreciation for their efforts. ‘At least for the moment. Does anyone know if ICU has a