Sarah smiled secretively, as if remembering something. 'I hate to tell you this, Georgie, but some of us have tried to run away from love, only to find it's hopeless. We do it because we're scared. Scared of being hurt usually-I know I was. I also know that sometimes the best thing you can do is face the future with courage, knowing there are no guarantees.' She paused and looked searchingly at Georgie. 'Tell me something. If you had a choice and you could make it right now, knowing that Ian was going to die, what would it be? Would you rather you'd never had that time with him, however short? That you didn't have Jess? Or would you spend every possible minute making the most of the time you had together? Tell me, Georgie, what would you do?'

Later, after Sarah and Calum had left, Georgie read Jess a story, tucked her up in bed then ran herself a bath. She fiddled with the gold band on her left hand. Was Sarah right? Was everyone right? Was it time to get on with her life?

The day Ian had put the ring on her finger came flooding back. It had been snowing. Soft flakes had covered the ground, turning the Scottish scenery into a place of magic. When Ian had slipped the ring onto her finger, it had been the happiest moment of Georgie's life. Little had she known that they'd only have three short years together.

Impulsively she tugged at the ring until with a final twist it was off. Georgie stared down at her now bare hand, noting absent-mindedly that the ring had left a narrow white band on her finger. She went over to her bedside table and opened her jewellery box. She paused for a moment, aware of the significance of the decision she was taking. Her eyes misted with tears as she kissed the ring. 'Goodbye, my love, my heart, I'll never forget you,' she whispered, and gently placed the ring inside the box and closed the lid.

The next few days pa.s.sed with the usual amount of road traffic accidents and other incidents that were an everyday part of a busy city A and E department.

Often Logan helped out and soon had a reputation in the department of being decisive and innovative in his approach to dealing with casualties, and the department had reason to be grateful he was around when several patients from a nasty accident were brought in.

Fortunately the collision had happened only just over a mile from the hospital. A speeding motorist had crossed the central reservation and flipped onto the other side of the road. Taken by surprise, a young man and his girlfriend travelling on a motorbike had been unable to avoid the car and had crashed into it. The motorbike rider had serious chest injuries as well as several broken limbs. His girlfriend had a head injury while the driver of the car was trapped by the steering wheel of his car and seemed to have breathing difficulties.

Logan arranged for Nick and Lata to attend the scene.

'Nick has the most experience as an anaesthetist. He is best placed to deal with the driver and Lata will be there to a.s.sist him. If we went too, we'd only get in the way. Far better we help here,' Logan explained to Georgie.

The A and E team sprang into action. Lizzie telephoned Theatre to ask them to have an emergency team standing by in case they were needed.

It was only ten minutes before the ambulances carrying the injured biker and his girlfriend arrived. Georgie and Logan took the more seriously injured driver while Jamie and Sarah took his girlfriend, who'd been riding pillion.

Although everyone dealt with incidences like this on a regular basis, the injuries to the motorcyclists, as well as their youth, made everyone draw breath. From the odd angle of the young man's foot, his leg had suffered terrible damage in the collision and the injury was bleeding copiously. The biker was conscious but struggling to breathe, and his vital signs suggested that he could be bleeding internally too. They would have to find the bleed and stop it while replacing the fluids he had lost-and quickly. Otherwise there was a very real danger they would lose him.

His girlfriend, although less seriously injured, was also a concern. She was in terrible pain and drifting in and out of consciousness. Georgie knew everyone would do their d.a.m.nedest to save the young couple's lives.

Georgie cut away the leathers the young man was wearing, knowing that the thick material would have cushioned him somewhat. Nevertheless, she was shocked by what she saw. His foot just above his boot was a mangled mess of skin and bone and jutting out at an abnormal angle. As she checked his vital signs, it seemed something else had caught Logan's eye.

'It's the injuries we can't see that are the most dangerous,' he said, bending over and listening to the patient's chest.

'Breath sounds are okay but look at this imprint on his ribs. It's quite faint but I bet it'll be a ma.s.sive bruise in a few hours.'

'Pulse 140...BP 72 over 42...' Georgie called out. It wasn't good. It seemed Logan's instinct had been correct and the young man had a serious internal injury.

'He's quite shocked but we need to get him to CT to check his chest and abdomen. If he's bleeding out into his abdomen, the other injuries don't matter.'

Sure enough, a short while later the duty radiologist confirmed Logan's fear that the man was bleeding from a ruptured spleen.

'Georgie, can you make sure the blood's on its way while I get the surgeons down?' Logan said.

'We've got six units coming but I thought we'd better try to keep one step ahead of the bleeding and give him some O-negative blood. Just look at him, he's as white as a sheet,' she replied, increasingly alarmed at their patient's condition.

'Good thinking. Give him two units stat through the high-speed infuser,' Logan replied, picking up the phone.

Meanwhile, the girlfriend had been much luckier-she only had some head lacerations as well as severe bruising. Sarah and Jamie were preparing to send her to X-Ray to confirm their a.s.sessment that she was only concussed.

While everyone had been busy with the motorcyclists, Lata and Nick arrived with the driver of the car that had smashed into the young couple. Lata was sitting on top of his chest, applying CPR, while Nick bagged him. There was a flurry of activity while all spare hands surrounded their patient, attaching him to monitors. Out of the corner of her eye Georgie could see Nick preparing to shock his patient's heart.

Outside Resus, Georgie could hear the cry of a woman in distress and wondered if it was one of the parents. But she couldn't let herself be distracted. They had to get the lad's bleeding under control, and quickly. The initial transfusion had successfully brought up the man's blood pressure and crossmatched blood had arrived too. Lizzie and Georgie applied splints as a temporary measure to the injured limbs and shortly afterwards the surgical team arrived. They agreed with Logan's opinion that he needed to go to Theatre immediately, and set about preparing to transfer the young man.

Nick and Lata were still attempting to resuscitate their patient. From their terse words, Georgie gleaned that they thought that the driver of the car had had a heart attack while driving his car.

Suddenly there was a cry of satisfaction from Nick. 'We have a rhythm. Page the cardiology team.'

Although she knew it was early days yet, Georgie felt incredibly proud to be part of the effort. With everyone working together, utilising the best of their skills, all the patients had the best possible chance.

As soon as the patients were out of their hands Logan stripped off his paper gown and gloves and, tossing them into the bin, indicated with a nod of his head that Georgie follow him.

Outside, Lizzie introduced two couples as the parents of the injured teenagers.

One of the mothers raised a tear-stained face while the other parents stood by, looking too frightened to ask.

Logan crouched by the side of the first couple-the parents of the boy.

'I'm Dr Logan, one of the consultants. Are you the parents of the young man?' His voice was soft.

The woman nodded. 'Is he all right? Please tell me he's going to be okay?' She got to her feet as her son was wheeled out on his way to the operating theatre. She made to follow but Logan stopped her.

'Your son has made it this far. That's good. We need to get him to Theatre so the surgeons can remove his spleen.' The woman cried out and sank to the floor.

'It's not as bad as it sounds,' he said quickly. 'Most of us can live perfectly happily without a spleen and your son is a strong young man.'

'What about my daughter?' the other woman interrupted through frozen lips.

'They'll be taking her up to the ward shortly.' Logan said. 'She'll probably be in for a couple of nights, but I think she's going to be just fine.'

The man next to her stepped forward towards the male patient's father.

'I told her she couldn't go on that bike,' he said furiously. 'What kind of parent lets their child own a motorcycle?'

In a flash, Logan placed himself between the two men.

'It wasn't his fault. There was nothing he could have done to avoid hitting the car. We'll know more when the police have finished their investigation, but from what we've been told it was the car driver who caused the accident. It seems he blacked out at the wheel.'

The man looked around wildly, desperate to unleash his pent-up feelings, needing someone to blame. 'Where is he? That driver. Let me get my hands on him.'

Once again Logan blocked his path. 'The driver is having emergency treatment. As I said, there will be a full police investigation in due course. I can't tell you too much about him without breaking confidentiality, but believe me when I say it wasn't anything he could help.'

The distraught father made to shove Logan out of the way. Georgie couldn't really blame him. He was clearly terrified and this was the only way he knew how to deal with his fear.

Logan stopped him with a gentle but firm grip. 'You can't go in there, I'm afraid. The best thing you can do is wait until they have your daughter settled in the ward and go and see her for yourself.' The man sagged visibly, the fight gone out of him.

'She's my wee girl, my baby,' he said, his voice cracking. 'I can't let anything happen to her.'

'She's going to be all right,' Georgie said quietly. 'You can trust that Dr Harris is telling you the truth.' She looked at him steadily, willing him to believe her. Whatever the father saw in her face seemed to rea.s.sure him and he allowed his wife to gather him sobbing into her arms where they comforted each other.

'I'll take you to the relatives' room near Theatre,' Georgie told the other couple. 'You can wait there. Someone will come and speak to you as soon as they've finished operating.'

She left Logan consoling the other parents. When she returned he was at the nurses' station, writing up notes. He looked up when he saw her and gave her a rueful smile.

'Some morning,'

'At least we didn't lose anyone, but for a moment back there I thought it was close.'

'It's a good team here,' Logan said. 'Everyone works well together. It makes a difference.'

'In many ways we're like a little family. It gets to the stage where we know what each other is thinking.'

Logan looked bleak.

'Just like me and my army colleagues,' he said. 'Most of us would lay down our lives for each other, and in some cases have.'

Georgie reached out and touched the scar on his face before she could help herself. 'Have you lost friends?' she asked gently. 'Is that how you got this?'

Logan said nothing. Gently he removed her hand, before staring into the distance for a moment. Then he seemed to recollect himself.

'I don't like to talk about it, if you don't mind. I find it's better just to get on with life and think about the living.' He moved away, forcing Georgie to drop her hand.

'Sometimes it's better to talk, Logan,' she said softly.

He looked at her and for a moment she saw something in his eyes that made her draw a sharp breath. Was it anger? Pain? Regret? Guilt even?

'As I said, it's the living that matter. The here and now. It's all we have and we should make the most of it while we can. Don't you agree?'

'So people keep telling me,' Georgie replied. 'But it's not so easy, is it?'

'But we have to try, don't we?' He glanced around. There was no one within earshot.

'Try with me, Georgie.' His voice was low. 'Come out with me. Just once. And if it doesn't meet your expectations, I won't ask again. Come on,' he urged as she hesitated. 'Take a risk.'

Georgie felt the fight go out of her. 'Why not?' she said. 'You're right. What's there to lose?'

Except my heart, she thought as Logan smiled.

'Until Sat.u.r.day,' he said, and then he was gone.

CHAPTER SEVEN.

SAt.u.r.dAY arrived clear and warm. Jess woke Georgie up at the crack of dawn and once they'd had breakfast Georgie set about getting ready. Deciding what to wear was a problem. Logan had been cagey when saying where he was taking her. All he had said was to dress comfortably and that they would be having dinner later. Georgie wondered what he had in mind.

Eventually, she settled on a pair of comfortable but smart trousers and a blouse. Hopefully that would see her through most eventualities, but just in case she popped a dress and her favourite cashmere cardigan into her oversized handbag. She knew enough about Logan to suspect that the date would be different.

Her stomach churned. A date. The first she had gone on since Ian. He had been the only serious boyfriend she'd had and they had gone out for years before eventually marrying. Her heart twisted. It felt so disloyal to his memory. When he had died her soul had splintered into a million pieces. If it hadn't been for Jess she thought she might have curled into a ball and never recovered. But the demands of looking after a nine-month-old baby was probably the only reason she had coped. It had left little time for self-pity. Jess needed her. And so every day Georgie had dragged herself out of bed and forced a smile on her face and cared for her daughter. And slowly, so slowly, the terrible pain had begun to ease, until she thought of Ian only once or twice a day, instead of constantly. Sometimes, when Jess turned her head a certain way, or smiled, she would see Ian, and she'd feel a fresh stab of grief. She hoped he'd be happy that she was beginning to make a new life for herself.

Downstairs in the kitchen, her mother was reading the newspaper. She looked up when she heard her daughter.

'Okay, mo ghraigh?' she asked.

Georgie poured herself a mug of coffee and sat down next to her mother.

'Am I doing the right thing, Mum?'

Mary peered over the rim of her cup. 'Darling, it's been more than two years. Ian would want you to get on with your life. You know that.'

'It feels wrong. As if I'm forgetting about him.' She glanced down at her hand, at the white band where her wedding ring used to be.

'You'll never forget him. How could you when you were together for so long and have so many happy memories? And you have his child. Part of him lives on in her.'

The two women looked at Jess who was on the kitchen floor bent over her colouring book, her little tongue caught between her lips as she concentrated.

'She looks more and more like Ian every day,' Georgie murmured. She sighed and drained her cup. 'I don't know what I'm getting so het up about. It's only a date. But, Mum, I can't help thinking I'm about to make a big mistake. Maybe I should just call the whole thing off.'

'Whatever for?'

'Because Logan reminds me too much of Ian. He has the same recklessness that Ian had. It scares me. And then there's his career. Supposing anything came of this, then what? I can't see myself as an army wife. Always moving around and living in fear that he might not come back.'

'His job doesn't involve danger, does it? I mean, he's a doctor. Surely they work behind enemy lines?'

Georgie glanced at her watch. 'Grief. Is that the time? He'll be here any minute.' She got up from the table and, bending, kissed her mother on the cheek. 'I'm getting way ahead of myself, Mum. It's too late to back out now. And as I keep telling myself, it's just a date. I suspect that if Logan caught a whiff of something more serious, I wouldn't see him for dust.' She looked across at her daughter. 'Somehow I don't see him as a family man. I'm just going to take the date at face value and have some fun.' She stretched. 'It's been a very long time since I had any.'

Her mother smiled back. 'So isn't it about time you did? G.o.d knows, everyone, most of all you, has the right to be happy. We have to find happiness wherever and whenever we can. You know that more than most, Georgie. Life is short.'

Mary's eyes misted and Georgie knew she was thinking about her father. She bent and kissed her mother's cheek, hugging her fiercely.

'Wish me luck, Mum,' Georgie said, hearing the sound of a car pulling up outside. 'I've got the strangest feeling I'm going to need it.'

Georgie was out the door and by the car before Logan had time to get out. She didn't want Jess to get any more attached to Logan than she already was. Not until she knew where, if anywhere, this was going. On the other hand, rushing out like that must make her look embarra.s.singly keen to Logan. Cripes. When she had wanted to seem impossibly cool. She sighed inwardly. He would just have to think what he liked. Explanations would only make matters worse.

'All set?' Logan grinned, his eyes creasing at the corners. Georgie's pulse did that curious hippity-hop it always did these days when he smiled.

'You still haven't said where we're going,' she remarked, dumping her handbag in the back seat.

'No, I didn't, did I?' Logan said obliquely. 'If I did, it wouldn't be a surprise.'

As they headed out of Glasgow, Georgie sat back, enjoying the feel of the wind in her hair. It was the first time in years she'd felt carefree and she was determined to enjoy every minute of her day out. For once she was going forget about responsibility and put herself in someone else's hands. And as for the future? Who cared? She had done enough worrying about that to last a lifetime.

They chatted about music as they drove. He liked jazz, she hated it. She loved opera and he hated it. Surprisingly they both agreed on 1970s rock. Then they discussed books. He rarely read, but when he did it was biographies. She read whenever she could and devoured thrillers.

'I've enough real-life thrills in my life, without having to read about them.' He smiled but Georgie thought she saw sadness flit across his eyes, though it was gone before she could be sure. 'Besides, there's not much time to read. Training for the pentathlon keeps me busy when I'm not working.'

'How do you train?' Georgie asked, genuinely curious.

'It depends where I am. While I'm in Glasgow I go for a run on the hills most mornings before work. After work I go to the pool and swim a mile or two.'