27. Mai
Mai
Mai’s eyes darted between the members of the band and their manager, but she couldn’t help it; they kept drifting back to Ford. He was standing so close to her and being possessive of her.
It made her hope, which was a dangerous thing.
“We take a vote now,” Donnie said. “It has to be all of you. If all three of you want to terminate his contract, it’ll be done.”
She nearly fell off her stool when he said that. The band was getting rid of Ryan? Was it because of her? She hoped it wasn’t; she didn’t want that on her conscience.
None of the others objected to what Donnie said, all nodding.
“Okay, anyone in favour of removing Ryan from Midnight Thunder, lift your hand,” Donnie said, making eye contact with each of the band members in turn.
Ford immediately lifted his, glancing over at Mai, who stared at him unblinking.
Joel slowly raised his, and all the eyes turned to Scotty, who sipped furiously on his beer.
“If I vote yes, we still get to play music and tour?” Scotty confirmed.
“Yeah. I love you guys. I can’t stand Ryan. He stole any joy music had from me. But without him, I’ve found it again,” Ford said to Scotty.
“He’s worked with us for sixteen years,” Scotty said. “He’s led us to some fun times.”
Joel spoke up, “Are they still fun? Is it fun when he nearly wrecks the show because he’s taken fuck knows what drug?”
“It was probably fentanyl,” Mai stated.
“What? How did you know that?” Joel asked. Then, realisation washed over him. “You were the blonde doctor?”
“Yeah,” Mai answered. She'd forgotten that Joel and Scotty might not have been told it was her in the dressing room.
“Fuck. Why didn’t you say anything then? You were right there!” Joel demanded.
Mai sighed. “I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t exactly say, ‘hi guys, it’s been a long time. Sorry I ran away and hid from you.’”
“I mean, that would have been a start,” Joel replied.
Donnie interjected, “That’s not what we’re talking about. Obviously, Sie still has a lot of questions to answer. But right now, we need to make some decisions on the future of Midnight Thunder. We’ve got two votes to remove Ryan. Scotty, what’s your decision?”
All their eyes swung to Scotty, who took another long pull on his beer. “I’ve had a lot of fun with Ryan. But if I want Sonia to agree to go out with me. I can’t do the things I used to do.”
“Sonia Andrews. With a law degree from Harvard? Who works in my office?” Donnie questioned.
When Scotty nodded, he whistled. “Yeah. You’ve got your work cut out for you with her.
She doesn’t even drink alcohol as she’s so serious about her marathon running.
I’m not sure a hard-partying rockstar is really her type. ”
Scotty grinned. “She was my type at your office Christmas Party.”
“That’s where you disappeared to?” Ford exclaimed. “We couldn’t do our last two songs as you’d vanished.”
Mai put her hand over her mouth to stop herself from giggling at the self-satisfied smile on the drummer’s face.
“What can I say? I’m very charming, and I’ve always told you that the band is nothing without their drummer; it seems I was proved right, as you couldn’t play without me.” Scotty chuckled and swigged his beer again.
“And now she won’t talk to you?” Ford guessed.
“She claims that as I’m in a band, I’m unreliable.” A frown pulled at Scotty’s face.
“You’re not!” Joel said.
At the same time, Ford asked, “Did she not know who you were at the party?”
“Who the fuck knows what the drummer in a band looks like! She had no idea.” Scotty grinned smugly, then his face fell. “Although now she won’t agree to go on another date with me. She claims I have too much baggage.”
“And if the band cleans up their image?” Donnie prompted.
“Maybe she will,” Scotty murmured.
“So how do you vote?” Donnie said.
“I feel bad,” Scotty said hesitantly.
“Your vote?” Donnie asked again.
“Fuck. He’s not going to be happy.” Scotty finished his beer.
A grin broke over Ford’s face when Scotty said that. “You’re making the right decision.”
“I vote to revoke Ryan’s contract,” Scotty said quietly, hitting the final nail into Ryan’s coffin. He would no longer be playing with Midnight Thunder.
Mai’s hand shot to her mouth again, this time to cover the gasp. She hadn’t really thought they would vote out one of their members, well, long-term session musician.
For a second, she wondered if they would offer her the spot; it had felt sublime to play with them again. Then she remembered her stage fright.
She'd spent years seeing a psychologist about it, but performing in front of a small group, like at Clara’s baby shower, was one thing. She didn’t think she could play for a big crowd, however much work she’d done.
“Great, I’ll call Sonia and get her to handle the contract side, then I’ll phone Ryan.” Donnie’s smile was unmistakable. This conversation had led to exactly what he wanted.
“Can I phone her?” Scotty asked.
“No!” Donnie rolled his eyes.
Mai’s gaze locked with Ford, and her heart skipped a beat. The gravity between them increased.
“Sie,” he said and reached out for her hand.
Mai watched as his fingers inched towards her, almost in slow motion.
Then her phone rang.
That was weird. No one ever phoned her when she wasn’t on-call.
Dropping her gaze from Ford, but still aware that he was standing very close to her, she snatched her phone out of her bag.
The screen showed it was Sadie calling. Mai was immediately worried; her new friends always texted, unless it was an emergency—or they wanted her to go to a Midnight Thunder concert.
“Hi, Sadie. Is everything okay?”
“Are you in town?” Sadie demanded.
“Yeah, I’m just outside Burra Creek. What’s up?”
“Clara’s in labour.”
“She’s only thirty-four weeks.” Mai leapt off her stool and grabbed hold of her handbag.
“Yeah. I know. There’s a locum on for paediatrics this weekend, and they’re trying to transfer her to Sydney. He says they can’t look after a thirty-four-weeker in Burra. The CTG looks crap. We need to deliver her here. The baby won’t survive retrieval in utero.”
The information from Sadie had her striding toward the door. “I’m on my way. Do NOT let them transfer her. How long have I got?”
“Hang on. I’ve got Lily with me. She’s on for Obstetrics.”
“Thanks.” While Mai waited for the phone to be handed over, she made eye contact with Ford, who had picked up his own phone and car keys.
“Hi, Mai. How long until you can get here? I need to take Clara to theatre now; the baby is getting massive decelerations, and the lactate is sky-high. The locum paeds is being obstructive and telling me he can’t care for the baby.”
Mai nodded to Ford, who held the door open for her, and whispered to her, “I’ll drive you.”
“I can be there in twenty minutes. Get her to theatre, I’ll be there by the time the baby’s born. Tell the locum I’m coming.”
“Thanks, Mai. I’ll see you soon.” Lily’s voice was full of relief.
“No problems. I’ll be there.” Mai hung up the call, then stopped and snapped a quick photo of the licence plate of Ford’s car and dashed to the passenger side, climbing in.
Ford was already in the driver’s seat with the engine running.
“Do you still like to drive fast?” Mai asked him, remembering all the times she’d gripped the seat with white knuckles while he gleefully took the corners far too quickly for her liking.
“Yeah.” He pulled away down the drive, his wheels spinning before they gained traction.
“Great. The hospital is thirty minutes away. Clara’s in labour, and it’s not looking good for the baby. I need you to get me there in twenty.”
Ford pushed his foot further to the floor. “No problems.”
Mai dialled another number and put her phone to her ear again.
“Do you require police, fire or ambulance?” the operator asked.
“Police, please.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ford’s gaze swing to her for a moment, then back to the road. Putting a hand over the receiver, she explained, “It’s a small town. I’ll let the police know that we’ll be speeding. If they’re free, they’ll come and escort us to the hospital.”
She had only needed to do it once before, when she got stuck on the wrong side of town and received an emergency call.
“This is the police. How may we help?”
“Hi. My name is Doctor Maisie Jones. I’m a Consultant Paediatrician at Burra Base Hospital.
I’ve just received an emergency call to the hospital, and I’m thirty minutes out.
I’m in a black Mercedes SUV with the licence plate BE4AD.
We’re about to turn onto Walnut Road, about ten kilometres out of town.
If any police cars are available, I’m requesting an escort to the hospital. ”
“Thank you, Doctor Jones. Give me one moment; I’m looking for available vehicles.”
Ford slowed when they approached the end of the drive, checking for traffic before he screeched the tyres around the corner and pulled onto the road. Pushing his foot down further, the car smoothly accelerated.
Mai closed her eyes, not enjoying the sight of the gum trees flying past, but she needed to ignore her discomfort for Clara and her baby’s sake.
It would take them ten minutes or so to get Clara to theatre.
Maybe another ten for Sadie to get the spinal in ready for the caesarean.
If they made the drive in twenty minutes, she would have time to get to theatre ready to resuscitate Clara and Taylor’s baby if it was required.
“I have a police unit en route to you. They’ll intercept you when you reach Coachwood Road. Please drop in behind them, and they’ll take you to the hospital.”
“Thanks,” Mai said gratefully, then hung up.
Mai looked over at Ford, who was laser-focused on the road in front of them. “The police will be waiting for us in four kilometres. Then we can follow them to the hospital.”
“Sure,” Ford said.
Mai shivered. Even in such a serious situation, she couldn’t suppress the effect Ford had on her, and her fingers twitched to reach out to him, to close the gap between them.
Her phone rang again, cutting off her train of thought.
“Mai speaking,” she answered efficiently.
“This is Officer Bradford. We’ve had a call from dispatch that you need an escort to the hospital.”
“That’s correct,” Mai confirmed.
“We’re in position at Walnut Road. Go past us, and we’ll drop in behind you, then overtake. We’re going to lights and sirens you to the hospital.”
“That’s great. We’re about one minute from you.” Even as she said that, she was forced slightly further back into the seat as Ford accelerated more.
“I’ll see you soon. Phone me on this number if you have any issues.”
“Thanks.” Mai hung up, keeping her eyes locked ahead, looking for the police car.
“That was our escort?” Ford questioned her, but didn’t take his gaze off the road.
“Yeah, they said keep driving, they’ll catch up, then overtake.” Mai grabbed hold of the seat, her knuckles going white as they took a corner far faster than she ever wanted to while in a car. She tried not to, but couldn’t help the gasp that came out of her mouth, “Ford!”
“Yeah?” His concentration on the road didn’t break.
“I know you’ve always liked to drive fast, but please get us there alive,” Mai ground out through her clenched teeth.
The car slowed slightly at her strained words.
“Sorry. I’ve done a lot of work on my driving since you left. I know this feels fast, but I wouldn’t do anything to put you in danger,” Ford reassured her.
His voice held such tenderness that Mai could only squeak out, “Right.”
“Here they are.” Ford nodded as they flew past a police car parked on the side of the road.
Mai twisted in her seat and saw it pull out behind them, lights and sirens starting the second it began to accelerate. Their car slowed a little as Ford eased off the accelerator to let them overtake.
As the police car overtook, the officer in the passenger seat waved, and Mai waved back.
They chased the police car through the middle of town, and when they pulled up at the front door of the hospital, Mai was sure her heart rate had been a steady one hundred and twenty beats a minute for the whole ride.
“Thanks, Ford.” Mai wasn’t surprised when her voice came out shaky, and she just hoped he thought it was due to the high-speed drive.
“I’ll wait for you,” he said as she flung the car door open.
Hesitating, Mai turned back to face him. “What? No, you don’t need to. I could be hours. You get back home.”
“I’ll wait for you,” he said again.
Mai didn’t have time to argue, so she nodded and said, “Thanks.”
Climbing out of the car, her mind was already on what she was about to find up in theatre, and she wasn’t entirely sure if she heard Ford’s next words correctly.
“I’ll always wait for you.”