The Doctor's Double Trouble

by Lucy Clark

  Every night before Abbey went to sleep she would stand at the window in her front room, looking over at Joshua’s house, at the twinkle of fairy lights still strung beautifully around the front.

  It looked as though another world was just beyond those eaves—another world where Joshua and his children lived…children who had become as much a part of her heart as their father.

  Abbey would blow three kisses towards the house, one for each occupant, and then she’d head to her bedroom, lying beneath the ceiling fan, dreaming of a time when she might also be included in the gorgeous family who made her feel so incredibly happy.

  She loved Joshua, she loved the twins, and she so desperately wanted to be a part of their life.

  Would they let her merge? Let their lives intermingle? She knew the twins wouldn’t mind, but would Joshua? Would he be able to trust himself enough to enter into the world of marriage once more?

  The Doctor’s Double Trouble

  By

  Lucy Clark

  www.millsandboon.co.uk

  About the Author

  LUCY CLARK is a husband-and-wife writing team. They enjoy taking holidays with their two children, during which they discuss and develop new ideas for their books using the fantastic Australian scenery. They use their daily walks to talk over characterisation and fine details of the wonderful stories they produce, and are avid movie buffs. They live on the edge of a popular wine district in South Australia, and enjoy spending family time together at weekends.

  Recent titles by the same author:

  A BABY FOR THE FLYING DOCTOR

  A BABY TO CARE FOR

  NEW BOSS, NEW-YEAR BRIDE

  BRIDE ON THE CHILDREN’S WARD

  For Peter K—redeemed at last!

  Ps 19:14

  Chapter One

  FOR one brief moment, Abigail Bateman wasn’t at all sure she’d made the right decision. She’d joined Pacific Medical Aid because she’d needed a change. A change of scenery, a change of pace and a change in her life. Yet as she looked around at the blend of reds, greens and oranges of the outback, she wondered if she hadn’t made a huge mistake.

  PMA was a good company; she had many friends who worked for them and she’d thought it had been an answer to her prayers. It was an organisation that provided medical support to various countries around the world but also to the outback of Australia, where medical support was difficult to come by.

  However, until now she had failed to fully comprehend that she would literally be stuck out in the middle of nowhere. As the small Cessna had circled over the township of Yawonnadeere Creek in the northern part of South Australia, Abbey had felt a tightening in her stomach. Had she done the right thing?

  She was travelling alone, just the pilot and herself, and as the wheels of the plane touched the ochre dirt beneath them, she let out the breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding.

  ‘Told ya you’d be fine,’ the dark-skinned pilot said, his white teeth straight and bright as he laughed at her anxiety. ‘You was flying with the best, Doc. Besides that, Josh would have pounded me one if I’d have let anythin’ happen to ya. Yawonnadeere needs another doc and you’re it, dearie.’

  He brought the small plane to a stop but Abbey didn’t move, mainly because she had no idea how to open the door. What had the pilot said his name was? Marden? Morgan? Now her mounting anxiety was starting to affect her memory! She was too busy trying to take in the expanse of the sparse landscape.

  A few hardy Australian bushes and gumtrees were littered here and there, their green leaves stark in contrast to the reddish-brown dirt. Over to her left was a large tin shed, which she presumed was the hangar or airport lounge. Ah…some where cool. At least, she hoped it was cool in there.

  She smiled at the thought and started to feel a little better as her pilot opened the door, helping her to alight from the aircraft. Being alone at times like these, times of apprehension and concern, was something she’d learned to avoid because her mind often took her to a place where she ended up in tears. Controlling her emotions was far easier when she was working. Being in control was vitally important to her. Even more so in the past three years, ever since her life had come crashing down in a crumbling mess around her feet. Rebuilding was never easy but she knew for a fact that she was stronger now than she’d been before the diagnos—Well, now was hardly the time to think about the past.

  She stood on the airstrip and looked around, while her pilot reached into the cargo hold for her luggage. Two suitcases. That’s all she’d brought with her to survive the next six months out here in the middle of nowhere. When she’d originally signed with PMA, she’d wanted to get out there into the big wide world, helping others, making a difference rather than focusing on her own problems. She’d expected to go overseas, to a developing country, but when they’d told her she’d be heading to the outback, that there was just as big a need for doctors to work in her own country as there were overseas, she’d begun to wonder if she’d made the right decision.

  ‘Too late now,’ she murmured to herself, and was surprised when a rich, deep chuckle of laughter sounded from behind her.

  ‘You’ve got that right, Doctor.’

  Abbey turned around, her jaw almost dropping to the dirt as she came face to face with the last person she’d ever expected to see again. Tall, about six feet four, he had short brown hair hidden beneath a bush hat. Blue eyes naked to the sun and a mouth curved in derision, it could be none other than her medical-school nemesis.

  ‘Joshua Ackles?’ Great. He was the last person she needed right now.

  ‘Abigail?’

  Both of them were momentarily stunned but as they stood there Abbey could feel the tension building in her neck.

  ‘I only got told a Dr A. Bateman was coming.’ Joshua was the first to recover, trying to ignore the way his gut tightened at the sight of her petite frame. But he knew of old not to underestimate her. Abigail Bateman had been a thorn in his side for the last two years of medical school. They’d had most of their classes together and had often vied for the top spot. That was when the rivalry between them had started. Although, he had to admit, their rivalry had helped him to reject any appreciation of her prettiness. Back then, she’d had long, rich, chocolaty-brown hair, which he’d often wanted to touch, to sift his fingers through the silky strands. Then she’d had those big expressive brown eyes, which had been able to twist his gut in both pain and pleasure at the same time. He leaned against the plane and crossed his arms over his chest, noting to his annoyance that she was still very pretty indeed. ‘So I take it you actually passed medical school.’

  His words helped to break the stunned-fish look that she was sure was on her face, her earlier apprehension at her new adventure rising as she removed her sunglasses and glared at him. ‘Oh, that is just so typical of you.’

  ‘Here ya go, Doc,’ the pilot said, putting her two suitcases beside her. ‘G’day, Josh.’

  ‘Morgan.’ Joshua nodded a greeting to his mate but didn’t take his eyes off Abbey. ‘And what do you mean, that’s just so typical of me?’

  Abbey spread her arms wide, swatting flies as she did so. ‘It’s been, what, sixteen years since med school, Joshua, and this is how you react?’

  ‘How I react?’ He waved a fly away.

  ‘The first thing you say to me is negative. One would hope that after so many years you would have acquired a sense of decorum. Obviously not.’

  ‘Decorum?’ He ground the word between his teeth, clenching his hands at his sides in order to stop himself from following through on the childish wish of knocking her brand-spanking-new, wide-brimmed hat from her pretty little head.

  Morgan laughed at both of them. ‘You t
wo sound like my kiddies.’

  ‘See?’ Abbey pointed out, before putting her sunglasses back on, steadying her shoulder bag and hefting up her two suitcases, one in each hand. ‘I presume this is the way to town?’ She didn’t wait for an answer but headed towards the tin shed. ‘Thank you for a safe flight, Morgan,’ she called over her shoulder, determined that the sight of Joshua Ackles wouldn’t let her forget her manners.

  How was it at all possible that a man she hadn’t seen for sixteen years could rile her within seconds of meeting again? It was ridiculous. The last time she’d seen Joshua had been when they’d come out of their final medical exams, exams that they had both hoped would get them the points they needed to get into their chosen specialities.

  They’d had nearly all of their classes together and had even been lab partners for one term. That had been like a volatile roller-coaster, but at least they had both been committed to working hard and achieving an excellent result. Unfortunately, that had also been the term when two of their close friends had started dating, which meant they’d not only had to put up with each other during the day but go out with their friends at the weekend. Still, Abbey had hoped that the passing of sixteen years might have tamed his arrogance. Apparently she was wrong.

  ‘You’re still as stubborn as ever,’ he growled as he came up beside her, wrenching first one then the other suitcase from her grasp.’ Jeepers. What did you pack in here? The kitchen sink?’

  Abbey’s eyes widened in annoyance and she tried to grab her luggage back from him but he was far stronger and much faster than her. ‘What business is it of yours what I packed? I’m here for six months and I had no idea what I might need.’

  ‘So you packed everything? Water may be scarce out here, Abigail, but we do have a fairly adequate supply. You didn’t need to bring your own.’

  Abbey fumed. Morgan chuckled and Joshua disappeared into the tin shed before she could say another word, her suitcases disappearing with him. Miserably, Abbey trailed after him.

  ‘You guys know each other?’ Morgan asked.

  ‘We went to the same medical school,’ Abbey supplied.

  ‘We were fierce competitors, both wanting the top mark,’ Joshua added, and nodded. ‘It was good. Forced me to work harder.’

  Abbey stopped and stared at him for a moment, confusion marring her features. It was the last thing she would have expected him to admit. While Joshua had most certainly bugged her to the point where she’d wanted to deck him, the way they’d fed off each other, the need to outdo each other had provided her own motivation for working harder.

  ‘I never did find out your final score,’ he continued as he walked out of the opposite door of the shed from the one they’d come in through, her suitcases still firmly in his grasp.

  ‘Whatever it was, I’m sure it was higher than yours.’

  ‘You didn’t attend graduation,’ he pointed out.

  ‘My father died,’ she returned, as calm as a cucumber, hoping the news would make him feel bad for even mentioning it.

  He stopped then and turned to look at her. ‘Oh, Abigail. I’m sorry. I didn’t know.’ His words were deep and heart-felt and for some strange reason his sympathy made her eyes well with tears. It was ridiculous. Her father had died years ago and while she still missed him, she’d come to terms with his death. To feel this way, to have Joshua’s words mean so much to her, made her incredibly uncomfortable.

  ‘Well, it was a long time ago,’ she remarked, unable to look at him. She started walking again, heading through the shed and back out into the late morning sunshine. Even though it was just after eleven o’clock in the morning, out here in Yawonnadeere the sun was well and truly up. The flies were all around them, buzzing and being a general nuisance. There were insect sounds coming from the surrounding bushes and a kookaburra sitting in a gum tree laughing at her. It was completely different from the hustle and bustle of Sydney, where she’d been this time yesterday.

  Last night, after flying to Adelaide and staying in a hotel close to the airport, she’d been slightly apprehensive about what she’d find in her new place of residence. She knew in her heart of hearts that joining PMA had been the right thing to do. Helping people was what she had to do, using her medical skills in a more prominent way rather than just being another faceless doctor in a large city hospital. Cancer had a way of making you re-evaluate your life and that was how Abbey felt it best to deal with her own. She’d expected the next six months to be different, she’d expected the next six months to be a big adjustment, but what she hadn’t expected was to be joined at the hip with Joshua Ackles!

  ‘How long have you been here?’ she asked after they’d been walking for a few minutes. From the air, the town hadn’t seemed that far away from the airstrip but as there were no cars in sight, it appeared she was going to have to walk. It also sank in that as the other doctor in town, Joshua was her only welcoming committee.

  ‘In Yawonnadeere?’

  ‘No, standing on this stretch of dirt path,’ she muttered sarcastically, but he heard.

  ‘I see that sarcasm of yours is still in full swing.’

  ‘Perhaps it’s a form of protection?’

  He stopped under a patch of shade provided by an overhanging gumtree, putting her suitcases down. How had this woman managed to get firmly back beneath his skin in such a very short time? He felt the old hackles rising and turned to face her. ‘Protection? From what?’

  ‘From people asking me stupid questions.’ She pulled her sunglasses off in order to pierce him with her stare. ‘From people making me feel as though I’m back in school when in reality I’m a full-grown woman, coming to an outback community to help people who need it.’ Her voice had risen as she’d spoken and she’d stepped closer to Joshua, almost coming up into his face. The fact that she was only five feet four made it difficult to actually intimidate him but she’d done it before and she could do it again. ‘You always brought out the worst in me. I hate that.’ Her voice was still loud and abrasive.

  ‘You always brought out the worst in me,’ he countered, shifting so that he was looking down directly into her face. ‘And I hate it, too.’

  ‘You’re not allowed to hate it. I’m the newcomer here. I’m hot. I’m tired. I have no idea where I really am or what I’m supposed to be doing for the next six months. I’ve been through a terrible couple of years and now, when I come into town, completely out of my comfort zone, I’m confronted with you.‘ Abbey came even closer, poking Joshua in the chest. ‘Back off, buddy, cos I don’t need this.’

  ‘Neither do I. You think you’re the only one in the world that’s had a tough couple of years? Get in line, honey. The world didn’t revolve around you back in medical school and it doesn’t revolve around you now.’ Joshua’s words were vehement and it was only after he’d finished speaking that he realised just how close he was to Abigail, his chest almost knocking her hat from her head.

  He looked down into her upturned face, her brown eyes wide with exasperation, her lips together in a firm line, hands planted firmly on her hips. She was a pint-sized dynamo and while she had thoroughly wound him up in the past, he’d always felt a veiled thread of admiration for her.

  The fact that she was as beautiful now, with her hat pulled down covering her rich brown locks, as she’d been back in medical school was exactly what he’d expected. The heat, the anger, the pulse that was thundering through both of them now started to change. Josh felt it, the awareness, the powerful animalistic attraction that had simmered between them right through final year. Back then they’d been young enough and dedicated enough to their studies to ignore it, even though they’d perhaps, unknowingly, used it to spur each other on.

  Now, they were both adults who were no longer competing for first place. Instead, they were standing beneath the shade of a coolabah tree, in the middle of a dirt track somewhere in the northern part of South Australia, allowing past emotions to overwhelm them. It was utterly ridiculous to allow Joshua Ackles
to rile her the way he had all those years ago. She’d just turned forty and was astounded that in the sixteen years since she’d seen him, he was exactly the same.

  Exactly. Right down to the way the muscles in his neck seemed to strain and tense whenever she was around. It wasn’t the first time they’d yelled at each other and she supposed it wouldn’t be the last. What she hadn’t expected was the way her body seemed to be reacting to his nearness. He was all but standing over her, glaring down at her with those ice-blue eyes of his, blue eyes that had haunted her back in their final year. The fact that there had been repressed feelings between them was something she was now beginning to understand. Opposites had been known to attract before and she knew that while he’d always infuriated her to the nth degree, she also knew that if he’d kissed her, she wouldn’t have slapped his face for taking such liberties.

  Would she slap his face now? Abbey swallowed, her anger starting to dissipate as her gaze flicked to encompass his firm mouth. His face was still all hard angles, gorgeous to the point where she wanted to caress it, to feel the roughness of the morning growth of whiskers tingle the tips of her fingers, to touch him…just as she’d wanted to all those years ago.

  She swallowed again, this time her lips parting as she allowed the pent-up air to escape. They were both angry, just as they had been all those years ago when they’d come out of the final exam.

  They’d sat at opposite sides of the exam hall, they’d walked out different doors, they’d stood on opposite sides of the steps of the old building, their gazes locking across the crowd of students between them. Abbey had squared her shoulders and lifted her head proudly, letting him know she was certain she’d beaten him. Joshua had raised his chin, piercing her with one of his steel-blue looks before turning away, letting her know he didn’t really care what her score was because he was certain he’d done better.