Rapid Response

“What’s going on, Ben? You’ve been avoiding me all week, so why do I get the feeling that you suddenly want to talk to me? Has something else happened?”

“Something else?” he repeated, playing for time because he still wasn’t sure if he was going to carry this through to the possibly bitter end. “I didn’t know anything had happened in the first place.”

“You know very well what I mean, so let’s not split hairs. What is this all about? If it has anything to do with what happened two years ago, then I think I have a right to know.”

Dear Reader,

I particularly enjoy setting a book in the emergency department, but decided that this time I wanted to inject some extra drama and excitement into the story. The result was a brand-new rapid response unit.

When Holly Daniels and Ben Carlisle discover they are both part of the new rapid response team at Dalverston General Hospital, it comes as an unpleasant shock. Two years previously, Ben walked out on Holly after claiming that he’d met someone else. Holly had tried to put her life back together but working with Ben soon makes her realize that she isn’t over him. When it becomes clear that Ben still has feelings for her, Holly is confused. If Ben cares for her, why did he leave her?

As they work side by side, saving lives, Ben is forced to confront his very deepest fears. He has never stopped loving Holly, but how can he tell her the truth about why he left her when it could still ruin her life?

Helping Holly and Ben work through their problems was a real pleasure, and I hope you enjoy reading their story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Best wishes,

Jennifer Taylor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Cover

Dear Reader

Title Page

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

Copyright

THE last time Holly Daniels had seen Ben Carlisle she’d slapped his face and told him to go to hell. That had been two years ago but she doubted if he’d forgotten what had happened any more than she had. She sighed as she tossed back her mane of chestnut curls and stood up. Oh, well, she would just have to brazen it out.

Holly crossed the room and went to join the group of people clustered around the coffee-urn. She’d met most of them already during the recent training sessions. Setting up the new rapid response team at Dalverston General Hospital had been a major undertaking and a lot of time and money had been invested in the service. The area health authority was keen to avoid any problems so the training course had been extremely tough. At least two of the candidates had dropped out and Ben had been hired to fill one of the vacancies.

‘Hello, Ben.’ Holly steeled herself when he swung round. It had been a shock when she’d found out yesterday that they would be working together but she had no intention of letting Ben see that it bothered her. Maybe he had broken her heart two years ago when he’d dumped her for another woman but she’d got over it. Eventually. Now she treated him to a cool little smile.

‘How are you?’

‘Holly! What are you doing here?’

‘The same as you, apparently. I’m one of the specialist registrars on the team. Snap!’

It was hard to hold her smile when she saw the dismay on his face. Even though she knew it was stupid, Holly couldn’t help feeling hurt. Did Ben have to make it so obvious that she was the last person he’d hoped to see?

The thought steadied her. She’d done her share of crying after they’d split up and there was no way that she would let him upset her again. Her smile widened as she looked at him with mocking green eyes.

‘What’s the matter, Ben? Aren’t you pleased to see me?’

‘I’m just surprised, that’s all.’ He summoned a smile but Holly could tell how shocked he was. ‘I never imagined you’d leave London. You used to say that you hated the thought of leaving the bright city lights.’

‘Did I?’ She shrugged. ‘I don’t remember so I’ll have to take your word for it.’

She looked round when someone banged on the table and called for order. She certainly didn’t intend to admit that the reason why she’d left London had been because it had held too many memories. She and Ben had spent a lot of time exploring the city together and it had been too painful to be constantly reminded about the good times they’d had. It had been one of the reasons why she’d been so keen to take this job, in fact, because moving to Lancashire had meant a completely fresh start. How ironic that Ben should have turned up in Dalverston as well.

Holly pushed that thought out of her mind as Sean Fitzgerald, the head of Trauma Care, began his welcoming speech. He briefly outlined the set-up to make sure that everyone understood what their roles would be. The front-line team consisted of four specialist registrars and four highly trained paramedics. They would be on call to deal with any major accidents that occurred in their catchment area. Once the casualties were brought back to the hospital they would be handed over to the resus team, who were all experts in the field of trauma care. It was an exciting new venture and it was obvious that Sean was as keen to make a success of it as they all were.