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a rueful grimace. ‘I can’t say that I blame them.’
    Phoebe stared down at the liquid in her glass. Shehad been resentful of the ban at first. For all he had landed in trouble on a regular basis, Connor had always managed to tug at her heartstrings. Maybe that was why she had gone looking for him that day when he’d gone missing at the end of her fifteenth summer. It had been as though there was an almost telepathic bond between them, and she had sensed that something was seriously wrong.
    Jessica’s face lit up with curiosity. ‘You were wild? Oh, I can just imagine it. You still have that look about you as though the devil’s lurking in there somewhere.’ She grinned impishly. ‘I’m intrigued. Tell me more.’
    ‘Nope. Will not.’ Connor sent her a teasing glance. ‘I shall keep my murky past to myself, and leave you in suspense. All I will say is that Phoebe’s parents were probably right to warn her off me, and Phoebe showed a lot more common sense than you might have expected for a girl of her tender years. She always followed her instincts, and I expect that’s why she and Alex bond together so well. He’s protective of her, and in return she gives him the stability he needs.’
    ‘Alex—huh…he’s a liability.’ Jessica’s tone was scornful. ‘What he needs is a good shaking.’
    ‘See—we all have our faults.’ Connor yawned and then stretched, as though preparing for action, his movements supple like a tiger’s, and Phoebe watched, unwillingly drawn to follow the way his long body uncoiled.
    ‘I have to get ready for work,’ he said. ‘Does anyone want a lift in to the hospital?’
    ‘Oh, yes, please.’ Jessica straightened, preparing to stand up. ‘I’ve been waiting for you to ask. How could anyone resist a spin in that beautiful car?’
    He smiled, and glanced at Phoebe. ‘And you? We all finish work around the same time, don’t we?’
    She shook her head. ‘I’ll stick with my runabout, thanks. That way I can come and go as I please.’
    ‘Independent to the last,’ he murmured. ‘One day, Phoebe, one day…’
    She had no idea what he meant by that. ‘Yes, one day I’ll find out what it is I truly want,’ she said, ‘and then the world will be my oyster.’
    Things certainly weren’t going the way she wanted right now. At work, she struggled every day to come to terms with working with vulnerable babies, and it was no different when she arrived at the hospital a short time later. In fact, it looked as though things were about to get worse.
    ‘They’re calling for you over in A and E,’ Katie told her as soon as she walked into the neonatology unit.
    Phoebe frowned. ‘What’s the problem, do you know?’
    ‘A traffic accident, as far as I understand it. A woman gave birth prematurely as a result, and it looks as though the baby is in difficulty. The parents are both injured and being treated right now. I think A and E want you to go and help with the baby and bring her over to Neonatology.’
    Phoebe sucked in a quick breath. ‘Okay, tell them I’m on my way.’
    Things were not going well when she arrived in the A and E department. The parents had been whisked offto the operating theatre, and the paediatric team working with the baby was concerned about the infant’s frail condition.
    ‘She’s not breathing,’ the nurse said, her expression anxious. ‘I’ve applied suction, but she’s still not responding.’
    Phoebe helped to resuscitate the infant. ‘Her heart rate is very slow,’ she said. Already she was reaching for the bag and mask oxygen equipment. After trying to inflate the baby’s lungs for a short time, she shook her head. ‘There’s little chest movement.’ There was a note of urgency in her voice. ‘I’m going to have to put in a tube to help her to breathe. We need to get her on a ventilator as soon as possible.’
    It was some half an hour later, after she had linked the infant to a heart monitor and taped a cannula in place at