Page 43 of Falling for His Best Friend

‘Davina!’ Anna called out as the paramedics departed with their stretcher. ‘I need some help in here.’

Davina came in and took one look at Kitty, who was standing motionless in the centre of the room, holding the plastic bowl in her hands.

‘Kitty, go, take a break,’ Davina instructed. ‘I’ll handle this.’

Kitty didn’t waste any time getting out of there. She rinsed the bowl in the sluice room and headed for the change rooms. She opened her locker but ignored the salad she’d made for her lunch. She didn’t think she could eat. She was still nauseous and shaky. She took her phone from her locker and pushed the button to speed-dial Joe.

‘Hi, it’s me,’ she said when he answered. ‘Can you meet me a bit earlier?’

‘Sure. When?’

‘Now.’ She was close to tears. Hearing Joe’s voice was almost enough to push her over the edge into hysteria. She needed to see him. She wanted his arms wrapped around her. It was the only thing that would make her feel safe.

‘Is everything OK?’

She couldn’t talk to him over the phone. She wanted to see him. Needed to feel him, to hear him tell her everything would be all right. ‘I need to see you. Can you meet me in the ambulance bay?’

* * *

Kitty was sitting on the wall. She was hunched over, her elbows resting on her knees. She looked tiny. From this angle it was impossible to see her baby bump. She looked small and fragile. Wounded. Joe knew looks could be deceiving but he’d heard the tremor in her voice and he’d known instantly that something was wrong. He just didn’t know what.

He could see her shoulders rise and fall—she was taking deep breaths. He reached out with his left hand, putting it on her shoulder. She jumped at his touch. She was shaking and he felt the coldness of her skin through the thin fabric of her scrubs. When she lifted her head, her eyes were dark, haunted, and a tell-tale crease of worry ran between her brows.

‘Kitty, what is it? What’s happened? Are you hurt?’

He ran his eyes over her but could see nothing.

She stood up, shaking her head, and stepped into his arms.

She fitted perfectly against his chest and he held her tight, as if his life depended on it. As if hers did.

‘I’m worried about the baby.’

Joe frowned. He knew Kitty worried more than most people but, even so, something usually acted as a trigger for full-blown anxiety.

‘What’s going on?’ he asked.

‘The paramedics just brought in a two-year-old boy. A near-drowning.’

Now things started to make sense. Kitty used to be the middle one of three sisters. Her younger sister, Eliza, had drowned when she was two. Kitty had been almost six years old, and she’d never got over it. Her sister’s death had been her first loss.

‘It made me think of Eliza.’

‘Of course it did,’ Joe said as he rubbed her back. ‘That’s understandable.’

‘But it also made me worry about all the other things that can and do go wrong. What if something happens to this baby?’ She put her hand protectively over her belly.

‘Kitty, you can’t worry about unforeseen things.’ He knew what she was like and he understood her concerns, but the reality was it wasn’t going to be her job to worry about this baby once it was born. That would be Jess and Cam’s responsibility. He knew Kitty sometimes forgot this baby wasn’t hers to keep but he wasn’t about to remind her of that right at this moment. ‘I know you’ve suffered tragedies, but you need to stay positive.’ He kept her in his embrace and led her away from the ambulance bay into the sunshine.

‘Your body reacts to stress, the baby doesn’t need that,’ he said, trying to calm her and distract her by playing on her sense of responsibility to her unborn baby. He held her until she stopped shaking. ‘Are you going to be OK?’ he asked gently.

Her face was pale but he watched as she squared her shoulders and gave him a wan half-smile, nodding. ‘Yes,’ she answered as she stood up. ‘I’ll be fine. Thank you for being here.’

‘I’ll always be here,’ he said as he kissed her forehead. As much as he wanted to follow her back into work, he couldn’t go with her. He had to trust that she’d be all right. But his words echoed in his head as he watched her go. What exactly was he promising her? Would he always be there for her now? In what capacity? As a friend or a lover?

He didn’t do serious commitment, but how could they go back now?

* * *

Kitty stretched her legs out in front of her and kicked her shoes off. She’d noticed her feet had started to swell at the end of her shifts and it felt good to have a day when she could put them up.

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