St Piran's: The Fireman and Nurse Loveday by Kate Hardy Read Free Book Online Page B

water for five minutes, then dry it and rub the area with a pumice stone to get rid of the dead skin. Then you put more duct tape on, and keep following the cycle. Usually it goes in three or four weeks.’
    ‘I’ll try that,’ Jenny said.
    ‘It’s really infectious, so make sure you don’t share towels,’ Flora warned.
    ‘And I’d better stop taking her swimming for a while.’
    ‘Nowadays, the advice is just to cover it with waterproof plaster when you’re swimming and use flip-flops in the communal areas,’ Flora said with a smile.
    Just when she’d finished explaining, Rachel and Joey sang and clapped the last bit of their song.
    ‘That was brilliant, Rachel and Joey.’ Flora applauded them both. ‘Rachel, I’ve told Mummy what she needs to do, and you’ll be pleased to know it won’t hurt and you can still go swimming.’
    The little girl beamed. ‘Yay!’
    ‘We’d better let you get on. Sorry we interrupted.’ Jennygave Tom an apologetic smile, then patted Flora’s shoulder. ‘Thanks, Flora. You’re such a star.’
    Absolutely right, Tom thought, though he noticed how Flora shrugged the praise aside.
    ‘Sorry about that, Tom,’ Flora said as they headed towards the playground again.
    ‘No, you’re fine. I guess that’s one of the perils of being a medic—everyone always wants to stop and ask your advice instead of going to the surgery.’
    ‘I don’t mind,’ she said.
    No, he thought, because she was special. She made a real difference to people’s lives. ‘Actually, that was fascinating. I learned a lot from that.’ As well as reinforcing what he’d already guessed: that Flora was patient, was instinctively brilliant with children, and was great at reassuring worried parents, too. And he’d noticed that, even though Flora clearly knew Rachel’s mum, she’d been shy with the woman until she’d actually been treating the child: and then the professional nurse had taken over, pushing the shyness away. Flora clearly had confidence in herself at work, but none outside. And he really couldn’t understand why. Not wanting her to go back into her shell, he kept her talking about work. ‘I had no idea about verrucas. I can’t remember having one as a kid.’
    ‘You must’ve been about the only child who didn’t get one,’ she said with a grin. ‘Does Joey like swimming?’
    He had no idea. ‘Susie used to have a paddling pool for him in the garden, but I don’t know if he ever went to a proper pool or had lessons. Probably not, or the swimming teacher would’ve got in touch with me by now, through Carol or something.’ He sighed. ‘I doubt if Joey will tell me himself, so I’ll have to ask Matty Roper.’
    ‘It might help you get a routine going, if you do things together on certain days—well, obviously depending on yourshift,’ she said. ‘Maybe your first day off after a shift, you could go swimming together. And putting stickers on a calendar will help him remember what you’re doing and when—that might make him feel a bit more secure with you.’
    ‘I would never have thought of that.’ Tom said. ‘You’re a genius.’
    She shrugged. ‘I’m no genius. I work with children, so I pick things up from the teachers and childminders.’
    Hiding her light under a bushel again, Tom thought. Why did she do that? Why was she so uncomfortable with praise? Had her parents been the sort who were never satisfied and kept pushing? Or was it something else?
    They reached the playground, and Joey made a beeline for the swing.
    ‘Shall I push you?’ Tom asked.
    Joey shook his head, and proved that he could manage on his own.
    Flora was sitting on the bench near the swings where she could watch; feeling useless, Tom joined her.
    ‘OK?’ she asked.
    ‘Sure,’ he lied. Hell. He needed distraction. And Flora was really, really good at being distracting.
    Not that he would ruin things by telling her that there were amber flecks in her brown eyes. Or that her mouth was a