Read Online A Special Kind of Family by Marion Lennox - Free Book Online

tightened his hold so the airway couldn’t shift out of position. ‘Hey, Jamie,’ he said, firmly, surely. ‘It’s okay, mate. You ate something with peanuts in it, and your throat’s swollen. We’ve popped in a tube to help you breathe. It’s important to keep still until we get the swelling down.’
    This was one smart little boy. And brave. He stared up at Dom, and Erin saw recognition; she saw the moment when he decided to trust.
    He breathed on. All by himself. His chest rose and fell. Rose and fell.
    He’d live.
    She felt tears well behind her eyes. Unprofessional? Maybe. She didn’t care.
    ‘Here’s your mum and dad,’ Dom said, keeping his voice calm and prosaic, still holding Jamie tight. He raised his voice a notch, talking to the woman behind him. ‘Casey, Jamie’s breathing again. Your crying is scaring him. Rob, can you tell your son he’s going to be fine?’
    It was a command, no matter how softly spoken, and Jamie’s bravery must be inherited. Jamie’s parents were themselves again in moments.
    Casey brushed tears fiercely away from her face. She knelt beside Jamie and took his hand.
    ‘No cuddling yet,’ Dom said, but he was smiling. ‘Let’s keep Jamie nice and still until his breathing’s settled. You injected the adrenaline pen at home okay? Great. I know, it didn’t work as well as we hoped, but it gave us time. Erin, can you prepare a syringe with light sedation?’
    ‘Are you a nurse?’ Casey asked her, her eyes not leaving her son’s face.
    ‘This is Dr Carmody,’ Dom said, answering for her. ‘She’s not like the doctors you’ve met before, eh? Wellingtons must be the latest fashion for lady doctors. Do you reckon they’ll take over from white coats? They’re about as sexy, don’t you think?’
    It was light banter, Erin thought. Dom was talking them all down from horror.
    Herself included.
    She was used to emergencies. Emergencies were what she did for a living. But even in her city emergency department, a case such as this, where a child had come so close to death, would shake her to the core.
    She still needed to be professional. She did not need to cry. She never cried at work. Why the sudden urge now?
    Emotions. Hormones. Her world was shifting.
    Stupid. Fanciful. Undeniable.
    Jamie breathed on while Erin administered light sedation. She did it without conferring but Dom watched her; watched the dose. She felt on trial. A new kid in school, desperate to please the big guy.
    Or not. It was a fanciful way of thinking. She was here to help, not to think about what Dom was thinking about her.
    Or to cry.
    Stupid, stupid, stupid.
    And then, at last, the ambulance arrived. Two skilled paramedics took over. They knew Dom well. She could see they respected him. As well they might, she thought.
    Jamie would need to spend the night in hospital, until the swelling subsided. ‘There’s no hospital here,’ Dom told her, regretful. ‘We have a small one but with only one doctor we had to close it. There’s a paediatrician in Campbelltown. Jamie will be in good hands.’
    They loaded Jamie into the ambulance. His mother went with him.
    His dad followed behind, driving the family car.
    Dom and Erin were left alone, standing on the verge of a country road, with the debris of an emergency around them.
    She still wanted to cry.
    ‘Let’s get you home,’ Dom said gently, and she made a last-ditch attempt to get herself together. And found suddenly there was a wad of tissues in her hand.
    ‘I’m n-not c-crying,’ she stammered. ‘I never cry.’
    ‘I can see that,’ he said, and he wasn’t smiling.
    ‘It’s just…’
    ‘You had a really big night last night.’ He paused. ‘Thank you,’ he said softly.
    ‘Thank…me?’
    ‘You know we only had seconds. The seconds you gave me here may well have made the difference. Thank you for being here.’
    ‘It’s my pleasure,’ Erin said, and subsided under her tissues, trying not to wail. ‘It’s all my