Emergency Response: Escape to the Country, #2

By Nicki Edwards

Running away didn't solve anything ... at least, not the first time.

Intensive care nurse Mackenzie Jones is no stranger to running. As a teenager she fled her family home, leaving tragedy and loss in her wake. Now, after fifteen years alone in Sydney, with the strain of working in a city hospital wearing her thin, she's tempted to run again.

Mackenzie jumps at the chance to work in a mining town in the Western Australian desert - anything to lift her spirits. Though she barely dares to hope, she wonders if she might find the kind of love that can ease her loneliness.

In the outback, Nathan Kennedy is at a loose end. He's been making money in the mines for years, and pressure from his family to return to the east coast, settle down and get married is reaching fever pitch. The problem is, he hasn't met the right woman.

When Mackenzie turns up in town, there's an instant attraction between her and Nathan, maybe even true love. But tragedy's not done with Mackenzie Jones - the past is about to catch up with her in more ways than one.

Can Nathan convince Mackenzie to stop running, or is this just another tragedy in the making?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nicki Edwards
• Release date: Sep 23, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393967897

Nicki Edwards

Nicki Edwards : AUTHOR OF CONTEMPORARY, HEARTWARMING ROMANCE : Sweet stories set in small towns, filled with life, love and medical dramas. Nicki Edwards is a city girl with a country heart. Growing up on a small family acreage outside Geelong, she spent her formative years riding horses, hand rearing lambs and pretending the neighbour’s farm was her own. After spending three years in a regional city in New South Wales in her 20’s, her love of small country towns and rural life was further developed. ​For years Nicki dreamed of one day escaping to the country with her husband Tim where they would live on land surrounded by horses, dogs, cows and sheep. Unfortunately, that's not likely to happen, so instead Nicki continues to live vicariously through the lives of the characters in the books she loves to read and write. Nicki also dreams of living in Canada, but as that's also unlikely, she keeps visiting and setting some of her books in the country that stole her heart 30 years ago. A voracious reader, Nicki always wanted to be an author. After returning to university as a mature aged student in her mid-30’s to study nursing, she juggled full time study, part time work and raising four small children to achieve her dream of becoming a nurse in 2011. But her other dream - the dream to write - never left. In January 2014 Nicki wrote her first book and was published by Momentum, the digital imprint of Pan Macmillan Australia. Nicki now divides her time between working as a Critical Care Nurse in the Emergency Department or Intensive Care Unit at Epworth Hospital in Geelong or in a busy local General Practice where she works as a Practice Nurse. These are the places where many of Nicki’s stories and characters are imagined. Nicki and her husband Tim live in Geelong, Victoria. They have four young adult children, two spoiled border collies and a Burmese cat. Life is always busy, always fun and definitely exhausting, but Nicki wouldn’t change it for anything. Nicki loves to hear from readers and can be contacted via her website www.nickiedwardsauthor.com

Book preview

Chapter 1

Mackenzie Jones wanted nothing more than to lay her head on the desk, close her eyes, and sink into blissful oblivion. She stared at her patient in the bed in the semi-darkened room. The rhythmic sound of his laboured breathing was lulling her to sleep. The clock on the wall read two forty-five. Less than five hours to go. Hours earlier, when a colleague called in sick, Mackenzie had willingly agreed to do a double shift and work the night duty. Although she needed the extra cash, she was now regretting her decision.

The intensive care unit at the hospital in Sydney where Mackenzie worked was one large, open space, overfilled with all manner of equipment. The original design of the thundercloud grey windowless room was for eight patients at a time. Now, twelve beds squeezed side by side in the room, all of them occupied. Tonight, five intubated patients filled the unit – tubes down their throats, ventilators breathing on their behalf. The room was softly lit and calm and would have been hypnotically relaxing except for the constant whooshing of the respirators, chiming of alarms, and the nauseating sound of suctioning every hour or so.

‘How are you doing?’ Sarah asked in a hushed voice.

Swivelling on her stool, Mackenzie stretched her arms above her head and stifled another yawn. ‘I am so tired.’

Mackenzie’s colleague Sarah was looking after the patient in the next bed – Maddy, a sixteen-year-old girl who had decided life wasn’t worth living anymore. She’d overdosed on a mixture of her mother’s blood pressure medication, her father’s sleeping tablets and a handful of her own anti-depressants. For good measure, she’d also swallowed half a box of paracetamol. The day before, paramedics had brought her into the emergency department, comatose, and within hours, she was in the unit.

She would remain tubed for the next few days while her parents kept an almost constant bedside vigil praying for her physical and emotional recovery. Mackenzie was glad Maddy wasn’t her patient.

Tugging at the band that held her brown hair into a high ponytail, Mackenzie allowed it to fall loose around her shoulders. She dragged her fingers through the knots before scraping it back up again. She was plagued with misgivings. Or was it just over-tiredness causing her to worry about her own patient.

She recalled the brief handover from the afternoon shift: Noah Michaels. Thirty-one. End-stage bowel cancer. No other past medical history. Six months earlier Noah had felt unwell after returning from his honeymoon but had put off going to see the doctor until it was too late. An open and shut surgery found his body riddled with cancer. He was now in a semi-coma with all his major organs shutting down. The disease had spread throughout his entire body and everyone expected this to be his last admission.

Mackenzie pulled out Noah’s file and opened it. At the top was a single sheet of paper. An alert sheet. On it were the letters ‘NFR.’ Not For Resuscitation. The medical world’s way of saying if a patient went into either respiratory or cardiac arrest they were not for resuscitation. It was Noah’s way of wanting to die in peace.

Mackenzie checked the drug chart next. Written up were two medications. Morphine and Diazepam. One for pain. One for sedation. Both ‘PRN.’ As required. Mackenzie just had to keep him comfortable. She flipped through the history some more and read the doctor’s notes. They all said the same thing. Noah’s prognosis was nil.

‘At least you have an easy patient to look after.’

Mackenzie raised her eyebrows at Sarah. An easy patient? Mackenzie wasn’t so sure. ‘I hope you’re right. I’m not even sure why he’s still in ICU to be honest. I only have to do hourly obs and keep him comfortable. For his sake I’m glad he’s settled, but it’s making the night drag. Lucky I brought a book to read.’ Mackenzie waved the fat romance novel in the air. A bookmark punctuated her place towards the end. ‘At least it’s quiet. Kick me if I nod off to sleep okay?’

Sarah chuckled softly. ‘You know better than to say that.’

Sarah turned back to Maddy and Mackenzie glanced at Noah. Except for the thin sheen of sweat across his brow and his pasty pallor, Noah was a good-looking man. Tall and dark haired, his skin was unblemished and smooth. He played footy in winter and cricket in summer and ran his own landscaping business. He had the whole package – a gorgeous wife, two parents who loved him and a devoted sister. Had he been single, he was the kind of man Mackenzie would have fallen for in a heartbeat.

She glanced to the large photo of him and his wife taken on their wedding day. Sophie had Blu-Tacked it to the wall where everyone could see it. In the photo they stared at one another with looks of pure devotion. Sophie had left at midnight to go home to shower and change and wasn’t expected back until seven. She had slept the night before beside Noah’s bed on the uncomfortable recliner they brought in for her, but tonight Mackenzie had convinced her to go home and get some sleep in her own bed. She promised to call Sophie immediately if Noah’s condition deteriorated or changed in any way.

An alarm pinged and Sarah got up from the desk at the foot of the bed and hit the silence button. Mackenzie glanced at the monitor above Maddy’s bed. Her blood pressure reading was low.

‘Everything okay?’ Mackenzie asked.

‘Yeah all good. The arterial line is positional.’ Sarah sat back down and crossed one leg over the other. ‘What have you got planned for the long weekend?’

‘I’m going to Birrangulla for Kate Kennedy’s wedding.’

Kate was a friend and former work colleague who had given up city life the year before and fled to the country after a long-term relationship disintegrated. She’d fallen in love with Joel O’Connor, an Irish barista, and after a whirlwind romance they were getting married. It was like something straight from the pages of the romance books she loved to read – the stuff of Mackenzie’s dreams.

Sarah smiled. ‘That’s right. I’d forgotten it was this weekend. Give her my love, won’t you?’

‘I will.’

Mackenzie opened her book and became so engrossed in it she jumped when an alarm sounded. She glanced at the screen. Noah’s oxygen saturation levels were only ninety percent. That couldn’t be right. They were one hundred last time she’d looked. Mackenzie checked the probe, but it was still attached to his finger. Noah’s heart rate was slow too. Mackenzie felt his pulse. It was thready and weak. She hit the button to inflate the automatic blood pressure cuff and thirty seconds later the machine alarmed, alerting her to a low blood pressure. She frowned and silenced the monitor so it didn’t drive everyone else in the unit crazy.

‘What’s up?’ Sarah asked.

‘Hmm, not sure. Heart rate and sats are both down. BP’s down too according to the machine, but it can’t be right. I’ll check it manually.’

Mackenzie tugged the cuff from the wall and wrapped it around Noah’s upper arm. The heat coming off his skin startled her. Jamming her stethoscope in her ears, she inflated the cuff and listened carefully as she deflated it, watching the needle on the gauge closely. Blood pressure was definitely down. Seventy systolic. It was sitting at a hundred and ten an hour earlier.

Noah moaned.

‘Noah?’ Mackenzie paused for one beat. ‘Noah?’ Another beat. ‘Noah!’

No response.

She squeezed the muscle that ran from his neck down to his shoulder and he groaned and briefly opened his eyes. She caught a glimpse of dark brown irises before they rolled back in his head.

‘Do you need help?’ Sarah asked.

Mackenzie tried to hold back the panic. ‘Can you flick the light on for me?’

A second later, the overhead light came on and Mackenzie’s heart sped up. The skin around Noah’s mouth was ash grey. His eyes remained closed, but he groaned, moving his head from side to side. He was obviously in pain. His hair was damp, and the pillow drenched from sweat. His legs moved restlessly beneath the crisp white sheet.

Mackenzie swore under her breath.

‘What?’ Sarah asked.

‘He’s in pain.’

‘Give him some morphine.’

‘I gave him some a couple of hours ago.’

‘How much has he gotten written up?’

Mackenzie checked the drug chart. ‘Five to ten milligrams IV every hour. PRN.’

‘How much did you give him last time?’

‘Five.’

‘That’s probably not even touching the sides,’ Sarah said.

Mackenzie let out a frustrated sound. ‘You’re right, but if I give him too much, he won’t clear it from his system. His kidneys have almost shut down completely. The morph will just build up and suppress his resps even further.’

‘So?’ Sarah asked.

‘So. I don’t want to be the one that causes him to stop breathing.’ Mackenzie kept her voice low. ‘I know he’s in pain, but his BP is already low. I’m afraid if I give him more morphine it’ll drop his pressure all the way out. And I’m not doing that. Not while his wife and family aren’t here.’

She rechecked his blood pressure. Still low. His respirations were shallow, his breathing ragged. The machine beeped loudly again.

‘You need any help Mackenzie?’ The nurse in charge called out from the other side of the room. Greg. Older, wiser, always calm.

Mackenzie twirled her ponytail around her index finger and watched Noah struggle to breathe.

Greg approached the bed. ‘What’s up?’

Mackenzie rubbed her eyes. She was so tired her brain was fuzzy. She explained her dilemma to Greg.

‘You need to call Sophie and his parents,’ Greg said evenly. He handed her the phone from his pocket. ‘Now.’

She sucked in a deep breath and exhaled, wishing again she hadn’t agreed to work overtime.

While waiting for the family to arrive, she gave Noah a quick freshen up. He was damp and had been incontinent. Mackenzie grabbed gloves from the box on the wall and removed his gown, covering his body with a towel. Greg returned with hot wipes and together they sponged him down. Rolling him to one side, Mackenzie washed his back and buttocks before spreading out the fresh linen on her side of the bed. They rolled him back over the bump of old linen and wet towels and Greg finished making up his side of the bed. Noah’s low moaning changed to a deep guttural groan as they moved him around in the bed.

‘He needs more pain relief,’ Greg said.

Mackenzie clenched and unclenched her teeth. ‘I know. But –’

‘Don’t let him die in pain.’

‘I don’t want him to die at all, Greg. I don’t want him to suffer, but I also don’t want to be the one who gives him the last dose of morphine that causes him to –’

Greg interrupted. ‘Helping patients get better is the easy part of nursing, Mackenzie, but we also have to help them die too. When death is inevitable, we need to make sure it’s as smooth and dignified as possible. For the patient and for their family.’

Mackenzie looked away and dashed the tears from her eyes with the back of her gloved hand. When she looked back at Greg on the other side of the bed, she saw the sadness crinkling his eyes.

‘He’s going to die anyway, Mackenzie,’ he said softly.

‘Not on my shift he’s not.’

Mackenzie yanked off her gloves and balled them together. Aiming at the rubbish bin, she wasn’t surprised when she missed, and they landed on the floor. She scooped them up, washed and dried her hands and looked again at Noah. He was suffering. Why was life so unfair?

She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes and willed herself not to cry. Was she tired, or was something else going on? She didn’t usually get so emotional over dying patients. Maybe it was because Noah was so young and still in love. Or maybe after fifteen years of nursing the emotional toll of her job was wearing her down.

Noah groaned again. He was in too much pain, and whether Mackenzie like it or not, she would have to give him more morphine.

Mackenzie followed Greg to the medication room. She didn’t want to do this, but there was no choice. Her hands shook slightly as she drew up the ampoule of morphine then the normal saline in the syringe. Moments after administering the entire ten milligrams into his IV line Noah’s breathing settled and his restless movements ceased. By the time Sophie arrived with his parents fifteen minutes later, he was comfortable. It wouldn’t be much longer.

‘They don’t put this into the nursing textbooks, do they?’ Sarah asked with a kind smile.

Mackenzie’s chest tightened. She turned to Sarah and allowed the unchecked tears to spill down her cheeks. ‘I can’t do this anymore,’ she whispered.

Chapter 2

Three days later Mackenzie sat beneath the shade of a large market umbrella at Eagle’s Ridge, the organic paddock-to-plate farm and café Kate and Joel had recently opened. The sun shone and clouds floated by. Every now and then an eagle swooped and soared, searching for food, and in the distance a horse whinnied. It was the perfect setting for Kate and Joel’s pre-wedding celebration.

Small groups of family and friends talked and laughed together as they stood in clusters on the lush green lawn with wine glasses in hand and smiles on their faces, but Mackenzie didn’t join them. She hardly knew anyone, and being an introvert, she was keeping to herself. From beneath the wide brim of her sunhat she studied Kate’s parents Michael and Elizabeth as they mingled and chatted with guests. The pride they displayed for their daughter caused a familiar stab of envy through Mackenzie’s heart. What would it feel like to be loved like that?

Over the sounds of chatter, Mackenzie heard a man’s distinctive laughter ring out. It was Nathan, Kate’s very attractive older brother.

‘My sister reckons she won’t be late,’ he declared.

Mackenzie laughed quietly. Yeah, right.

She had been in the bridal party for each of her sisters’ weddings, and in her experience, nuptials never went according to plan. Her super organised friend liked to be in control, but Mackenzie had no doubt Kate would be late to her own wedding. It was inevitable with brides.

Nathan stood with a group of people, beer bottle in hand, and her stomach flipped. He was gorgeous. The casual jeans and shirt fitted his body perfectly, and she gazed with appreciation at his long lean legs and cute backside. At thirty-five, he was the same age as she was, but his face showed no evidence of the years other than a few laughter lines around his brown eyes. Clean-shaven with neatly trimmed dark brown hair, he carried off the Aussie boy-next-door look to perfection. A man like that was exactly Mackenzie’s type.

He chatted with a group of women, looking relaxed and at ease in their company. One of them hung off his every word, peppering the conversation with head tosses and little touches on his arm. Probably batting her eyelashes too. Mackenzie groaned, feeling sorry for Nathan and all the other men who had to put up with the woman’s silly antics. Mackenzie hated the whole flirting thing, but what did she know? Maybe that’s why she was still single.

So why was he single? Earlier that day when Kate had told Mackenzie her brother was waiting for the right girl to come along, Mackenzie’s over-active imagination had run wild. Perhaps she could be the right girl for Nathan Kennedy.

She stared longingly at him again before her daydream came to a screeching halt. A little voice screamed at her, What would he see in you? and she filed her dream away with all the others. What did it matter if her heart sped up every time she looked at him? It wasn’t as though he would take any notice of her – she was just one of his sister’s friends. Besides, she wasn’t pretty enough for a guy like him, so there was no point getting her hopes up. After this weekend it was unlikely they’d ever see each other again.

On the other side of the garden Joel whispered something in Kate’s ear, causing her to blush and giggle. He then leaned over and kissed her full on the lips. Mackenzie smiled dreamily. If only someone would kiss her like that one day.

‘Penny for your thoughts?’

Mackenzie did a double take and her pulse quickened. She’d forgotten about Joel’s twin brother. What was his name? Luke? Lachie?

‘I’m Liam,’ he said, sitting down beside her. ‘Joel’s better-looking half. We haven’t met.’

The Irish accent caught her off guard. ‘Mackenzie Jones.’

She stuck out her hand, startled when he grasped it and brought it to his lips.

‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mackenzie Jones.’

Mackenzie extracted her hand. ‘Likewise.’

‘Do you mind if I join you?’

‘No, not at all.’

He pulled his chair closer and sat, crossing his long legs at the ankles. He held his beer bottle to his lips and took a long pull, watching her through partially closed eyelids. This man was sexy and dangerous, the opposite of his easy-going brother, Joel.

‘You say you’re the better-looking half, but I thought you were identical twins,’ Mackenzie said.

He grinned, showing off deep dimples. ‘Ah, we might be identical, but you have to admit, I’m the better-looking one.’

She smiled. ‘I don’t think I’ll answer that.’

‘Mackenzie.’ His blue-grey eyes fixed on hers. ‘That’s an interesting name.’

Was he flirting with her? If he leaned any closer, she’d be wearing his overpowering aftershave. Her throat tightened and she tried to swallow but her mouth was dry. Good-looking men never hit on her.

‘My father named me. I know it’s usually a boys’ name, but all of us have names which can be either boys’ or girls’ names.’ She was talking too much, stumbling over her words, making no sense.

‘Well I think it suits you... Mackenzie...’

He said her name again and his cute Irish accent caused a shiver to zip down her spine. Flustered, she ran her damp hands down the front of her dress. Maybe it was simply the sun and the alcohol making her feel strange, not Liam. She needed to move the attention away from herself.

‘They look perfect together don’t they?’ she said, motioning towards Kate and Joel.

‘Yes, they do. Kate is perfect for my brother.’ He leaned forwards in his seat and rested his elbows on his thighs. ‘But you’re changing the subject, Mackenzie. You didn’t tell me what you were thinking about.’

‘Oh,’ Mackenzie said, with a small laugh. She took a sip of her wine. ‘You definitely don’t want to know what I was thinking.’

‘Maybe I do.’

She was glad her hat covered much of her face – she was blushing.

‘It was nothing.’

‘Aw, come on, you can tell me.’

Whether it was the romance of the day, the glass of white wine warming her insides, or the man with the adorable accent beside her, Mackenzie’s resolve broke.

‘All right,’ she said. ‘I was wishing someone would kiss me the way Joel kisses Kate.’

There. She’d said it.

Liam’s eyes widened. ‘Seriously? No one has ever kissed you like that?’

Mackenzie opened her mouth to give him a sarcastic reply but never got the chance. In one swift movement, he placed his hand behind her head and pulled her towards him and she fell, almost landing in his lap. His lips met hers, and before she had time to react, he pushed his tongue into her mouth.

Planting her hands on his chest, she shoved him away. ‘What was that for?’

Liam smirked. ‘You wanted to be kissed.’

‘No, I didn’t!’

‘You told me you were sitting here wishing someone would kiss you the way Joel kisses Kate. You asked me to kiss you.’

Mackenzie pushed back her chair and stood, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. ‘I didn’t mean I wanted to be kissed by you! I meant I want someone who loves me to kiss me the way Joel kisses Kate.’

Liam stood the same time as she did and stared down at her. ‘What’s one little kiss between friends?’

‘Friends?’ Mackenzie spluttered. She planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. ‘I just met you.’

He laughed. ‘Relax Mackenzie. You’re so uptight. That’s why you needed to be kissed.’

She opened her mouth then closed it again. Uptight? The nerve of the guy. He was probably drunk.

‘I’ve been watching you all day, Mackenzie,’ he continued, ignoring the daggers she was giving him. ‘You’re insecure. You don’t think you’re as beautiful as the other women here. I can see it written across your face, but you’re wrong. You’re one sexy woman and I wanted to show you that by giving you a little kiss.’ He shrugged and swayed a little. ‘What else can I say?’

Yep, definitely drunk.

‘What else can you say? How about nothing.’ She picked up her bag and slung it across her shoulder. ‘I think you’ve said more than enough.’ She turned on her heel and marched towards the house, hoping no one had seen their little exchange. Nor the tears of humiliation forming in her eyes.

How was she going to get through the wedding tomorrow?

Chapter 3

Kate was late.

Mackenzie stepped out of the small red brick church and shaded her eyes with one hand. She stared down the hill towards the main road but there was still no sign of the cars. Kate was over half an hour behind schedule and Joel was getting nervous.

The pungent smell of pine needles filled Mackenzie’s nostrils and she looked up, grateful for the shady canopy overhead providing much needed relief from the relentless sun. When it was obvious the bridal party was running late, the crowd of guests and onlookers had moved inside to the cool recess of the church to escape the scorching temperatures outside. Mackenzie didn’t mind the heat and had volunteered to remain on lookout duty.

She peered towards the main road again. Squinting in the bright sunlight, she smiled with relief. In the distance a cloud of dust hovered low on the horizon. That had to be them.

Minutes later two four-wheel drives pulled off the gravel road into the church grounds, bumping their way slowly over the dry grass and twisted pine tree roots towards her. The bride was here.

Mackenzie ducked back into the church and gave the thumbs-up sign to the minister who was squinting expectantly in her direction. He gave a tiny nod and the gathered guests took a deep breath and released it almost in unison. The groom wasn’t about to be left standing at the altar.

Mackenzie glanced at the three men who stood impatiently at the front of the church. Nathan was shifting from one foot to the other, looking worried. She caught his eye and gave him a quick smile. Relief washed over his face and he returned the smile. Again, it struck Mackenzie how handsome he was. Today in his dark suit and white shirt, he looked like a model. She refused to look at Liam.

Back outside, Emma O’Connor, Joel and Liam’s younger sister, was the first to step out of the car. At twenty-two she was naturally blonde, thin and stunning. Emma looked down, carefully placing her feet on the narrow strip of red carpet outside the front of the church so her high heels didn’t touch the dirt. Mackenzie didn’t know why she bothered – by the end of the day everything would be covered in a thin layer of yellow dust. Turning back to the car, Emma accepted two bouquets of flowers from Melissa Bennett. Like Emma, Melissa was also blonde and petite. As well as being one of Kate’s closest friends, Melissa was also the unit manager where Mackenzie worked in Sydney – the place where Mackenzie, Melissa and Kate had become friends years earlier.

If Emma or Melissa were surprised Mackenzie was the only one waiting to greet them outside the church, they didn’t show it. They looked towards the church in anticipation, smiling the way all bridesmaids do as the music floated through the open doors. Behind them, their car inched forward, leaving them standing side by side to wait for Kate.

A late model Range Rover pulled up beside them seconds later. Across the polished bonnet, white ribbons fluttered in the hot wind. The bright afternoon sun bounced off the windscreen. Inside, behind tinted windows and sitting in air-conditioned comfort was Kate and her father Michael.

When the car came to a standstill Michael opened the rear passenger door for Kate and Mackenzie gasped. All brides were beautiful, but Kate looked incredible. Her backside was getter than Pippa Middleton’s. Mackenzie sighed, half in pleasure and half in envy. She always felt like this at weddings.

‘Hope you’re prepared for the heat,’ Mackenzie called out as Kate’s head emerged from the car’s cool interior.

Mackenzie couldn’t even guess what the temperature had climbed to, but figured it had to be much hotter than the thirty-six degrees predicted. It was two weeks since the seasons had changed and summer was officially over, but someone had forgotten to let God know. Just as well Kate and Joel had opted for an indoor wedding. At least it would be cool inside the century-old brick church and the reception venue would be air-conditioned.

‘You did remember to put on sunscreen, didn’t you?’ Melissa asked, looking at Kate’s bare shoulders.

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and Mackenzie’s own skin tingled even though she’d lathered on sunscreen earlier that morning.

A hot northerly wind whipped across the paddocks and gusted through the pine trees, bringing with it a cloud of dust. Boughs creaked and branches swayed. Mackenzie touched the back of her neck. Wispy pieces of her dark brown hair had already fallen out of the elaborate up-do and clung to her skin, forming little curls