The Wife He Never Forgot. Anne Fraser

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      ‘You have a strong grip for such a little thing,’ Nick drawled.

      She hadn’t realised that she’d grabbed his hand, but when she tried to pull away he curled his fingers around hers.

      It was easier to leave her hand where it was. Especially when it felt so reassuring—or would have if it weren’t for the millions of little sparks, enough to ignite the whole plane, shooting up the side of her arm.

      Adrenaline made you over-sensitive, didn’t it?

      ‘So, tell me, what made you come out here?’ Nick asked.

      Anyone would have thought they were on a day trip to the seaside.

      ‘Brothers. One in Engineers, the other an Apache pilot. Thought I’d better come and check up on them.’

      ‘I’m surprised they let you come out.’

      ‘Let me? You mean you think I should have asked their permission?’ Actually, if they had known she was planning to head out after them to a war zone, she had no doubt they would have stopped her—forcibly if necessary.

      They might all be adults now, but her two brothers continued to protect their little sister as they had all their lives. Although they liked to spoil her, there were disadvantages to having older brothers.

      ‘If I had a sister I wouldn’t let her come out here,’ Nick continued. ‘No way. Women have no place in a war.’

      Even if that was almost exactly what her family thought, Tiggy wasn’t prepared to let it pass. ‘Oh, for goodness’ sake! This is the twenty-first century.’

      ‘Doesn’t matter. Women should be safe.’

      ‘Barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen? Please!’ She had only just got started on putting him right when the plane lurched once more. She yelped again.

      The I-told-you-so look he gave her was enough to make her decide that even if the plane went into a spiral she’d rather die than let him hear her scream.

      Die? God, don’t let her mind go there.

      She took a deep breath. ‘Just because I’m a little frightened of flying, it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have come here.’ She lifted her chin and stared at him. ‘I’ll be fine once we’re on the ground.’ At least her voice sounded reasonably steady.

      He laughed. ‘Good on you. Now, why don’t you tell me about those brothers of yours?’

      When the plane touched down with a skipping bounce, Tiggy was surprised. Despite her terror, the last twenty minutes or so had flown past. She realised that she’d told Nick about her brothers, her parents, every place her father had been posted and even the family’s pet dog, Hannibal.

      God, she’d been babbling so much Nick knew almost everything about her life. On the other hand, she knew nothing about him. Probably because she hadn’t let him get a word in edgeways.

      Her companion returned her hand—she hadn’t even realised she was still holding onto it—and eased out of his seat.

      He touched his cap in a mock salute. ‘See you around, Lieutenant.’

      Tired and disoriented, Tiggy had only a vague recollection of being shown to her quarters by a friendly nurse in army uniform who had greeted her sleepily, shown her to her bunk and then, with a yawn, excused herself with a ‘Catch you at breakfast’.

      Even if the bed had been comfortable, Tiggy doubted she would have slept anyway. The adrenaline that was still making her heart hammer would have kept her awake even if she’d had a feather mattress to sleep on. And as for the heat! She couldn’t remember being as hot during the day as she had been last night. Plus she was sure her foot had been chomped to bits by some horrible insect through the night.

      How the hell was she going to manage six weeks of this? She’d have to. She doubted if the British Army would put on a special plane to fly her back out.

      She straightened the collar of her uniform and took a deep breath. Courage, girl, she told herself. You can do this.

      * * *

      The mess tent was a hive of activity and noise as soldiers and medics helped themselves to breakfast. Tiggy looked around, unsure of what the correct protocol was. She didn’t want to make more of an idiot of herself than she’d done on the flight. She tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. She had never felt so lonely, or so out of her depth.

      A familiar smell drifted on the air. Coffee! That would make it better. She’d never be able to force solid food down her constricted throat but she’d kill for a cup of coffee. Wrong choice of words. She felt the tension in her limbs ease as a bubble of nervous laughter rose to the surface.

      Someone came from behind and touched her on the elbow, and Tiggy jumped.

      ‘You look lost.’ It was Sue, the nurse from last night who’d showed her to her accommodation. Sue lowered her voice ‘And absolutely terrified. Don’t worry, we all felt the same way when we first arrived. In a day or two everything will seem as familiar as the good old NHS.’

      Tiggy managed a smile. ‘I doubt that.’

      ‘You’ll see, I’m never wrong.’ Sue pressed a mug of coffee into her hands. ‘Get that down you. You’ll feel better. If you want breakfast, help yourself from over there.’ She nodded in the direction of a counter where cheerful men in army fatigues were piling plates high with what looked like a full English breakfast. ‘But I’d stay away from the scrambled eggs. They’re powdered. Yuck.’

      Tiggy shook her head. ‘I think I’ll give breakfast a miss, thanks all the same.’

      Sue smiled. ‘Can’t say I blame you. But you’ll get used to the food in the same way you’ll get used to everything else. Finish your coffee and I’ll take you across to the hospital and show you around. We’ve fifteen minutes before rounds.’

      Tiggy took a grateful swig of coffee and almost spat it out. It was the worst she had ever tasted. And if Sue thought the eggs were bad... She gave herself a mental shake. Where was her usual optimism? Okay, the food might be rubbish, but she was always meaning to go on a diet—so what better way to give it a kick start? And if the coffee was hot, she would get used to that too.

      Her mood improved further when she saw the hospital. Divided into separate sections, it had two well-equipped theatres, a resus area as well as a couple of wards and three intensive-care beds.

      Looking at the facilities, she felt reassured. She could almost forget she was in the desert on the edge of a war zone—until the low rumble of an explosion made the building shudder. When no one else even flinched, she forced herself to concentrate on what Sue was saying

      ‘You’ll have been briefed before you came out, but it’s different once you actually come here. I’m a full-time army nurse and this is my third tour. Don’t worry, we’re perfectly safe here. The hospital has never come under attack and even if it did, we’re well protected. We nurses all take turns working between Resus, ITU and the wards. Your background is casualty, if I’m not mistaken?’

      Tiggy nodded. ‘Eight years in a busy city-centre A and E. I’ve seen СКАЧАТЬ