by Annie O'Neil
“I am sticking to the plan. My patient? My plan.” She pressed the heels of her trainers into the floor and pushed herself up as straight as she could. Her eyeline hit his shoulders. They were all big and broad and strong and ridiculously distracting when she was trying to make a proper, professional point. Not everyone took to her “free range” approach at first, but she found it delivered results.
“Look, Maggie, I am not trying to rain on your parade.”
Yes, you are.
Alex tightened his lips as if he’d read her mind. Whoops.
“I am merely trying to maintain the highest level of treatment and I’m not ready to send someone running off to the barns with you on their first appointment.”
“How about...” Maggie smiled and half turned toward Mark’s door “...instead of this being a session where I shadow you, you shadow me?”
“Hang on a minute.”
Maggie frowned as he held up a hand to stop her.
She stared at it hard.
He dropped it.
“I’ve spent the last few days being a good little shadow, right? I get it. I needed to learn how things work here and now that I’ve seen your bells and whistles and have a pretty solid hand on them...”
He gave an incredulous snort.
She chose to ignore it. “...it’s time to show you some of my bells and whistles.”
He arched an eyebrow.
“As it were.” She smirked then went dead serious. “Listen, Mark is going to be my patient, right?”
Alex nodded.
“You know as well as I do that the first appointment is critical for establishing rapport. If I go in there using someone else’s treatment plan I’m going to seem awkward. Uncomfortable. Your way is amazing. For you. My way works great, too. For me. I spent all of yesterday afternoon in the barns and the horses you have are amazing. Here’s your chance to see them in action.” She took a step back as if to give him physical space to consider what she’d said.
He scrubbed at his jaw and shook his head. “We understood you were going to do some equine therapy but that the bulk of your practice would be indoors, in the labs, the pool. That sort of thing.”
She grimaced. “Who gave you that impression?”
Alex was just about to say Cody had when he remembered all Cody had mentioned to him about Maggie was that he was hiring her. He’d filled in all of the blanks he’d wanted to. If he was going to treat her like any of their other staff, he’d hear her out. Do as she suggested.
“Fine.” He held out an arm as if ushering her into Mark’s room...like a butler. “I’d be delighted to observe.”
* * *
An hour later he genuinely was. He knew exactly what Maggie had been talking about when she’d quoted Winston Churchill at the pair of them when Mark had pulled one of the horse’s big heads toward his own and they’d stood there in silence for several moments, forehead to forehead, as if they were healing one another.
“‘There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man,’” Maggie had quoted, steady and low. She knew her crowd. It took a military man to know one. And, it seemed, a Maggie.
Mark had enjoyed the session, too, which was more to the point. For the first time since he’d entered the clinic over two weeks ago, Mark Segal had finished a session with a smile.
They’d even saluted one another and agreed to meet at the walking lab at the crack of dawn the next day.
Irritation that he hadn’t been able to achieve the same results pulsed through him until he remembered there were multiple ways to skin a cat. His just happened to be the version one could publish in medical journals.
An urge to kick something—namely himself—took hold of him something fierce. Since when had he become so damned stuffy?
Since his world had been knocked off its very boring axis by her.
“Right!” Maggie turned to him, an element of bravura to her posture as she faced him directly. “What did you make of that?”
“I thought it was terrific.”
Surprise charged all her features, quickly followed by disbelief. “You did?”
“Absolutely. Walking to the barn with him was an excellent way to diagnose where he stood in terms of motor skills, balance, co-ordination. The way you described to him how riding a horse would help synchronize his neurological and motor skills was concise, clear. It set a goal I don’t think he’d seen as possible before.”
“I’m glad you were there to see it.” If he wasn’t mistaken, a hit of pride pinked up her cheeks. “Horses are prey animals. And so are humans. We have to feel each other out, see whether or not it’s safe to approach.” She glanced up at him then quickly looked away.
“Is that—?” He realized he was treading on personal territory here. Vastly uncomfortable terrain. He took the step anyway. “Is that how you thought of people after you had meningitis?”
“After I had the double amputation, you mean?”
He nodded. Impressed. She didn’t dance around things as he had a tendency to do when he wasn’t discussing things professionally.
She considered the question for a minute, eyes up, brows raised, a solitary finger tracing the outline of her lips...
Her eyes flicked to his and he knew in an instant that she saw he wasn’t thinking about the finer points of emotional recovery from a double amputation.
She shrugged, her go-to move to lighten the atmosphere. Make his question less of a thing. “I don’t think I went that deep and heavy in my thought process. I was drawn to the fact that horses instinctually know who to trust. I guess I wish I had that skill too.”
He was about to say she could trust him but when he saw dark memories skate across her eyes like shadows, he bit it back.
Someone had hurt her straight through to the heart. Someone she hadn’t realized couldn’t be trusted.
She pulled her tablet out and began tabbing through it.
A desire rose in him to be the man who changed that. Who showed her that being able to trust someone was possible. That she didn’t always have to be bright and smiley and optimistic. That it was okay to let other people see she was human. That someone would be there for her when feelings roared up from the darker side of the emotional spectrum. Fear. Pain. Grief.
Was that someone him?
He shook his head.
He didn’t know. These were all things he probably could’ve done with hearing when Amy had died. A surge of protectiveness for Maggie washed through him like a healing balm. Maybe this was why she had come into his life. Why it felt like she was yanking him out of his emotional comfort zone. She had an instinct that it was time for him to let go of his rigid attachment to protocol. Something he’d convinced himself he needed in order to give his son a good life. A happy life.
Maggie looked up from her tablet. “Shall we alternate now? You take the lead on one, I take the next?”
“That sounds acceptable.”
She smirked at him, gave a quick salute and mouthed, “Okay, Jeeves!” before scanning through her newly assigned tablet to find their next patient.
This time her teasing pleased him. Bringing a smile to her face was far better than raising those worry lines across her forehead. He vowed then and there to be someone Maggie could trust. Implicitly.
Even if it did come at the cost of his own dignity. And once again, as he turned to follow in Maggie’s energetic wake, he found himself whistling as he worked.
* * *
“I think three stitches should do the trick.”
The young mother covered her face in horror. “I only turned away for a second.”
“Sometimes it only takes a second, Annabelle. Best to keep an eye on an energetic little boy like this at all times, or remove anything that could cause injury.”
Don’t sound so sharp. Accidents
happen.
Alex gave the knee of the toddler on the exam table a little rub, doing his best to ignore Maggie’s horrified expression. He knew his bedside manner appalled her. She was all sunshine and possibility and he was all about making sure his patients knew how to avoid another incident in the future. Safety first. Sunshine later. As long as you had the proper SPF.
“Not too long now, Jim.”
“It’s Stefan,” Annabelle corrected him.
“Of course.” Alex shook his head. He normally wasn’t this awful. This stiff. Having Maggie shadow him the last few days had him on edge. When she looked at him, he could almost feel her physically teasing apart everything that made him tick. He was perfectly happy with how he had been ticking for the past few years, thank you very much.
He fixed Stefan with a tight smile. He knew he could be more jocular with the patients. More buddy-buddy. But it simply wasn’t his style.
The odd smile and “There, there” was the best he could rustle up with Maggie staring at him like she was. All wide-eyed and Okay, boss.
She’s not like that, you idiot. She’s just better at talking to people than you are.
“I need to get the suture kit out and I’ll do my best to patch you up like a little pirate.” Stefan began to cry.
He had a boy of his own, for heaven’s sake! He knew how to talk to children. What was wrong with him?
Annabelle settled her son then turned to Maggie. “I was making his sandwich. Peanut butter and jelly. His favorite. He walked into the one little bit of the counter I hadn’t managed to toddler-proof.”
“It’s like they have magnets drawing them straight to the danger zone, isn’t it?” Maggie gave Annabelle a quick sideways hug. “He’ll be fine. Alex is an amazing whizz with stitches. Aren’t you, Alex?” She shot him a grin and just like that he felt his pride stir again.
How did she do that?
“And then...” She crossed to the exam table while Alex was getting the suture kit in order and walked a couple of her fingers up Stefan’s legs then gave him a little tickle, which he adored—obviously. “Dr. Alex is going to get your face all gorgeous, and you and your mom can both rest easy.”
And just like that, harmony was restored.
He gave his head a little shake and smiled. Maggie Green was clearly an asset to the team. To his sanity? Probably not. But patients came first here. He’d just have to find a way to cope with all these fresh stirrings he was feeling when she was about, otherwise Dr. Protocol would become known as Dr. Pain-in-the-Posterior, and for the first time in a long time he cared about making a good impression.
* * *
Maggie stopped and listened as they came out of the exam room once they’d tidied up.
“Is that...? Are those...? Have we gone to war?”
“It’s the Boston Harbor helicopter.” Alex nodded toward the front of the clinic. “There was a window in the weather so Dr. Valdez has flown in to check on the twins.”
“Rafael Valdez? He’s such an incredible surgeon. I love him. You guys should totally hire him. Offer him anything. Give him my barn apartment if you have to!” Maggie enthused, then immediately regretted it. From the look on Alex’s face, one didn’t gush about other surgeons here. Or suggest they give up apartments that meant she’d be totally reliant on the room in her boss’s home. “Or not.” She gave her head a scratch. “Obviously, you’ll do what you think is best.”
“Obviously.”
She hid her smile behind her hand. If Alex didn’t have that slow southern drawl going on, she would’ve sworn he was actually British. All proper and concise and, now that she’d seem him work with quite a few patients, incredibly good at his job.
A few minutes later she was even more impressed by him. She’d already had to duck into the twins’ bathroom three times to hide her tears.
Dr. Valdez hadn’t just brought himself. He’d brought the twins’ parents and the reunion was the kind of thing that brought immediate tears to her eyes. But Alex? He kept his grip on reality just as he always seemed to.
“You should be proud of the twins,” she heard him saying as she stemmed her sniffles and returned to the main room. “They’ve both been healing well. Listening to doctor’s orders.”
“I listen to them better,” Connor said. “Because I’m older,” he added before Peyton could protest.
“I can hear just as well as you can,” Peyton shot back. “I just have to do different exercises. Maggie said the way I wiggled my toes was amazing.”
“She said the way I wiggled my toes was brilliant!”
Maggie giggled and gave the twins’ parents an apologetic shrug. “We had a toe-wiggling contest. It was pretty incredible.” She wagged her finger at the twins. “The two of you are forgetting I said you were both the winners.”
“I’m going to be the first one to ride a horse,” Connor told his father.
“I’m going to be the first one to swim in the pool.” Peyton cut in.
“Hush, you two! The doctors will think we raised you like wolves!” Katie, their mother, gently admonished them.
“A healthy spirit of competition is a huge help as far as I’m concerned.”
Maggie bit down on the inside of her cheek when Alex shot her a dubious look.
“It just means they’ll work harder. Doesn’t it, kids?”
They both cheered then started singing, “We Are the Champions.”
Aaron and Katie Walsh beamed at their children. They were clearly so relieved they’d passed the immediate danger of the accident. Listening to their children bicker was actually the beautiful sound of life. Of recovery. All of which made Maggie tear up again. She turned away, swiped at her cheeks then glanced at her watch.
“Ooh! Is that the time?”
Alex gave her a curious look.
“I told Jake I would make my super-duper stir-fry tonight. If that’s okay with you.”
* * *
Alex did a quick scan around the room to check everyone’s response. Maggie wasn’t being very discreet about their housing arrangements. It wasn’t like it was a secret, but...had the woman never heard the saying, “Be discreet in all things”? The Duke of Wellington had said it. Or something like it.
In truth, no one seemed all that bothered about what Maggie had said except for him.
Dr. Valdez hadn’t even noticed and was asking Maggie about her rehab plans whilst the Walshes were busy talking with the twins about how long they would be staying—just for the day this time—when they would come back—as soon as possible—and whether they could stay for a long time then—they thought so, but they’d have to ask Alex about housing arrangements.
He shook his head and silently admonished himself. Lighten up, man. The whole world won’t change if a woman goes into your kitchen and makes a stir-fry.
It will if you walk into the shower with her again.
Precisely why he’d started setting his alarm an hour early. He was downstairs, making porridge, when she showered. No chance of walking in, pulling her into his arms and kissing her stupid again.
He gave a solid nod. See? Calm. Controlled. Totally able to put the past behind him. Perfect.
* * *
An hour later, Alex and Rafael were giving the Walshes a bit of alone time with the twins before they headed off. They stood in the glass breezeway that looked out over the central courtyard.
“So, you’ll consider joining us, then?” Alex had had a quick chat with Cody, who had agreed they should green-light an offer for Rafael to join them at the clinic.
Rafael nodded. “Absolutely. The daycare situation would really help me.” He ran a hand through his hair. A gesture Alex knew well. The worried dad head scrub. “Gracie needs special care. For her condition.”
“Autism, isn’t it?” Alex asked. He gave Rafael a sympathetic clap on the shoulder. It was alrea
dy tough, being a single parent. Doing it when your child required extra care made it even more difficult.
Rafael put his hand up and tipped it back and forth. “On the spectrum. She’s only three, so...”
Alex rocked back on his heels. He knew that pause as well. The one that said, Only time will tell and I wish like hell I had more of it. More for my kid and more for the work I love. He would do anything in the world for Jake, but his love for medicine came a close second. Those two elements of his life had kept him from drowning in a world of pain after Amy’s death. He saw it as his duty to make sure he gave each of them the respect and attention they deserved.
“I’d still be able to do the odd surgery at Boston Harbor?” Rafael looked in the direction of Boston, though they couldn’t see it from here on the east side of the island.
“Absolutely. Cody and I both go over on a pretty regular basis, but prefer to live here.”
“He’s told me about his place and yours—”
“Yes, I’ve got the old farmhouse here on the clinic property.”
“And what about Maggie?”
Alex nearly choked. Rafael had clearly heard Maggie’s comment about the stir-fry after all but he feigned an air of nonchalance and pretended they were still talking about medicine. “Maggie Green? She’s a physio, not a surgeon.”
“Yes, of course. I met her at Boston Harbor. A real star in her field. I was actually asking something that probably isn’t any of my business.”
“What’s that?” The way his heart pounded just that little bit faster every time he laid his eyes on her? Surely he hadn’t been that obvious?
“You two are a couple, no?”
Alex gave a short, sharp laugh, “No! I mean, obviously she would be a lovely girlfriend for someone. Anyone, really. She’s fantastic. Just...” Dig. Dig. Dig. “She’s not my girlfriend.”
Rafael gave him a sideways glance and shrugged the moment away. “Ah. My mistake. You just seemed to have...”
Sexual chemistry like there was no tomorrow?
