Fred moved to his desk and sat down, his expression benevolent but curious. ‘Kate, I’m not going to pry but James mentioned that you wanted to come here because you needed to think about some changes in your life and to decide on the direction of your career.’
‘Something like that, yes,’ she managed, uncomfortable under the gentle regard.
‘I hope you will come to think of us as your friends. If there is ever a time you would like to talk, about anything at all, I hope you will feel you can come to me. Or Conor—most of you young women seem to gravitate to him!’
Kate closed her eyes, ignoring his final words. ‘Thank you, Fred.’
Emotion threatened to choke her at the feeling she was there under false presences and was taking advantage of this man’s kindness.
CHAPTER FOUR
LOCKING up the surgery on Sunday morning, Conor slipped the keys in his pocket and walked round to the flat. Out on calls on Friday and in the staffroom later, he had felt closer to Kate than at any time during the week and he was frustrated that Jenny had interrupted them. He had not seen Kate since but when he had phoned her a while ago to tell her he was downstairs, she had been tense, her voice distant.
He hesitated at the front door, pondering the wisdom of his actions. Kate had not given him the slightest encouragement but he couldn’t keep away from her. Before he could change his mind, he rang the bell, his pulse rate increasing when he heard footsteps on the stairs, his breath burning in his lungs when she opened the door looking soft, cuddly and vulnerable. It was the first time he had seen her out of the smart suits she wore to work, and the figure-hugging jeans teamed with a white shirt that offset the olive tones of her skin had the ever-present desire tightening inside him.
‘Hi.’ He smiled, resisting the urge to touch her. ‘May I come in?’
Wary indecision shadowed her dark brown eyes. After several moments she stepped back, turning and heading up the stairs, leaving him to close the door and follow in her wake, puzzled by her renewed defensiveness. He had a great relationship with his colleagues, friends and patients. And he loved women. All women. He enjoyed their company but he was very choosy about who he became involved with. It sounded corny but he was looking for the one woman he could spend the rest of his life with and with whom he could have the family he craved. His social life was active but he rarely took things further than friendship.
The scars of the past had deep roots and after the disaster of his parents’ marriage and their subsequent succession of partners and failed relationships he was determined not to settle for second best, not to repeat their mistakes. He’d thought he’d found his ideal woman once, at med school, but fed up with the long hours and his desire to be a rural GP his girlfriend had dumped him for someone richer and more upwardly mobile. He’d learned the lesson. And the padlock round his heart had never been opened again. He had planned it would stay locked until the one came along. If she didn’t, he would bitterly regret not having children but better that than raise them in the kind of broken and unhappy home he had endured.
It was amazing, inconvenient and unsettling, but he had known from the first second he’d met her that Kate was the one. Disapproval and distrust registered in her soulful brown eyes whenever she looked at him—which wasn’t often as her gaze was usually fixed on some point behind his shoulder or down at the floor. It would be easy to retreat from that touch-me-not front, but he was intrigued by her and sensed that, like an iceberg, much more of her lay below the surface than she ever allowed the world to see. Concerned for her well-being, he was determined to find the real Kate. He knew she was worth fighting for. Whether he could ever win her round was another matter entirely. Filled with nervous uncertainty, he watched her now, arms folded across her chest, every atom of her being tense, the shadow of pain dulling her lonely brown eyes. Everything about her drew him like a moth to a flame.
‘What do you want?’
He swallowed down an inappropriate chuckle. Better not tell her how badly he wanted to take her to bed. ‘I’m sorry I disturbed you earlier, but I didn’t want you to worry if you heard noises downstairs.’
‘That was thoughtful, thank you,’ she allowed, unbending a little. ‘Was everything all right?’
‘Allan Mountford, a farmer from outside the village, cut himself on some machinery and his leg needed stitching. It’s such a long drive to A and E so it makes sense to take care of it here. Easier and quicker for everyone.’
‘Except for you.’ A slight frown creased the smoothness of her brow. ‘I thought the service handled out-of-hours work.’
‘Officially it does,’ he admitted, looking away from her, embarrassed to admit how he couldn’t let go. ‘Fred needed to cut back his hours so I went along with his choice to sign on with the service, but I like to keep up with my own patients. I tend to take some evening and weekend calls.’
‘I see.’
He could tell from her tone that the information didn’t square with her image of him. He walked across to the window and admired the view. ‘Are you all right here alone?’ he murmured, hating to think of her by herself. Lonely.
‘Some people like being alone,’ she pointed out coolly. ‘Not everyone has to have company all the time or needs to be the centre of attention.’
‘Ouch!’ He turned to face her, his smile rueful. ‘You don’t approve of me, do you?’
‘I don’t know you.’
He captured her unwilling gaze. ‘So why not reserve judgement until you do?’
‘Conor—’
‘You’re an excellent doctor, Kate. Why do you doubt yourself?’
She looked scared, her eyes widening with alarm. ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she riposted in that stiff, cool tone he was coming to know so well, the one she used when she wanted to keep people at bay or avoid something…or when she was lying. At the moment she was doing all three.
‘I think you do.’
‘I—I was thinking about Charlie.’ Panic brought an edge to her voice and a desperation to her eyes, her fingers nervously tucking a few silken strands of hair behind her ear as she changed the subject. ‘Your farmer.’
Aching for whatever was eating her up inside, he moved closer, taking her trembling hand in his, feeling the rapid and uneven beat of the pulse at her wrist. ‘I know who Charlie is, Kate.’
‘You mentioned his dog.’ Her voice was husky as she slipped her fingers from his and stepped away.
‘Yes.’ Disappointed, he allowed her retreat. ‘Max had been Charlie’s constant companion for fourteen years. Losing him at Christmas was the final straw.’
‘Perhaps it’s time he had a new dog, a new life to worry about. So he feels needed.’
He thrust his hands into his pockets to stop himself reaching for her again. ‘It’s not something he’ll talk about.’
‘But if he was faced with it, if someone presented him with a dog that has had a bad start or been rescued from something and needs someone special to give it a home and care and…’
Her words trailed off, her troubled gaze flicking to his then away again, and he had the sudden knowledge there was a resonance here, maybe one she had not intended but which had hit her too—a damaged life that needed healing. Just like Kate. Kate, who so clearly needed some loving care but was unable to reach out and take what he so desperately wanted to give her. Sensing her unease, he forced himself to focus on Charlie, realising that it was not only an excellent plan but was a way he could involve Kate and spend time with her outside work.
‘You’re brilliant!’ He smiled at the surprise on her face. ‘It’s definitely worth a try. And I know just the person who can help us.’
Aware of her watching him, wary but interested, he took out his mobile phone and brought up a number from the memory, waiting several moments until the call was answered.
‘Is that the Lochanrig home for waifs and strays?’
‘Conor?’ The voice registered a mix of harassment, welcome and laughter.
‘Nic thought he’d found somewhere a couple of weeks ago but it fell through,’ Hannah informed him. ‘I wish we could keep him but he’s causing havoc with Wallace!’
Knowing what a character their ginger cat was, Conor laughed. ‘I think I might have the perfect home for the puppy if you are interested.’
‘That would be fantastic. Have you really?’
‘It’s all thanks to Kate, our new doctor,’ he continued, winking at her as he explained Charlie’s situation. ‘Is the puppy ready to home?’
‘The sooner the better!’ Hannah laughed, sounding frazzled again.
‘Would it be OK if we came over and collected him today?’
‘Sure. Come to lunch, Conor. We’d love to see you. And meet your Kate!’
‘Unfortunately not. Yet.’
‘Oh, dear!’ Hannah sounded knowing and amused. ‘Like that, is it?’
His looked at Kate and the customary wave of longing swamped him. One week and his entire life had been turned upside down. ‘Yeah, it is. See you in a while, Hannah.’
Kate shifted under the heat of desire in Conor’s green eyes as he looked at her before ending his call. It was hard enough coping with her own confused feelings for him, the physical want warring with emotional doubt, knowing he was the last man on earth she should let close to her because she would find herself back in the painful place she had been before. Conor had the power to hurt her. And at the moment she was too vulnerable, her life too shaky, to take the temporary pleasure he would offer.
She was taken by surprise as he hugged her and dropped a brief kiss on her cheek before letting her go, his touch leaving her skin tingling.
‘You’re a star, Kate. Come on, grab your things, we can go now.’
‘What? But—’
‘You have to come,’ he protested before she could summon an excuse. ‘It was your idea and I’ll need some help with the puppy on the drive back.’
Bemused, Kate found herself railroaded into accompanying him, with time only to pull on a knee-length cardigan, ankle boots and collect her bag. She had to be mad, spending more time with Conor, she fretted, confused by him, thrown by his insight and probing questions, alarmed by her unwanted physical reaction to him. As they drove east out of Glentown-on-Firth towards the larger town of Rigtownbrae some miles away, she felt tongue-tied, unable to think of any subject outside their work environment that was safe. Impatient and annoyed with herself, she looked out of the window at the impressive landscape.
‘I didn’t get a chance to catch up with you on Friday.’ Conor’s voice drew her from her thoughts. ‘I was going to ask you to come with me in the evening.’
Shocked, she stared at him. He’d planned on taking her out on his date? She opened her mouth to speak but could think of nothing appropriate and closed it again. The man had some nerve! How could he be so brazen about it?
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing,’ she murmured, unable to keep the terseness from her voice. ‘Why would I have wanted to go with you?’
A laugh rumbled from inside him. ‘You certainly know how to deflate an ego!’
‘Conor…’ She sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes. The man was impossible.
‘Anyway,’ he continued, undaunted by her manner, ‘I went over to the county infirmary to visit Lizzie.’
Kate opened her eyes and stared at him in amazement. ‘You went to see Lizzie?’
‘Of course. That’s what I was trying to tell you in the staffroom.’
‘On Friday?’
He glanced at her with a puzzled frown. ‘That’s right. I thought you might be interested.’
‘I am.’ She struggled to find her voice, confused by the feelings churning inside her: shame that she had misjudged him again; pleasure that he had not only taken time to see the elderly lady but that he had considered taking her with him; stupid relief that he had not been out smooching with one of his women. ‘How is she?’
‘Holding her own and in good spirits.’
‘I’m so pleased. She’s a lovely lady,’ Kate enthused, not wanting to examine why her own spirits had suddenly lifted.
‘She is.’ Pulling up to negotiate a road junction, he glanced at her and smiled. ‘It’s too soon to know what the long-term prognosis will be but I was pleased to find her coping so well. I’ll let you know next time I’m going over and if you want to come, you’d be welcome.’
A warm feeling settled inside her. ‘Thanks. So what is this place we’re going to today?’ she ventured after a few moments, trying to steer things on to safer ground.
‘Lochanrig is a village about eight miles north-east of Rigtownbrae. Hannah Frost has been GP there for some years—her grandfather founded the practice and her father carried it on. Nic di Angelis is Italian and he arrived about eighteen months ago as a locum and swept reserved, workaholic Hannah off her feet! They’ve been married about nine months now, although Hannah keeps Frost as her working name to avoid confusion.’
‘I see.’ Kate tried to absorb all the information. ‘So what do they have to do with this puppy?’
Conor chuckled again. ‘They are always taking in waifs and strays. Nic rescued the first one not long after he arrived, the only survivor of a litter of kittens he found dumped in a sack by the road.’
‘How awful.’
‘Wallace is a real character! They’ve acquired various other animals in the intervening months and they told me about this puppy recently. He’ll be about four or five months old now,’ he explained, negotiating the main street of Rigtownbrae, nearly deserted on a sleepy Sunday, before taking the rural lanes towards Lochanrig. ‘I thought of it when you had your brainwave about Charlie. This may well be just what he needs.’
When they arrived at a large stone-built house set in its own grounds on the edge of Lochanrig village, the front door was open, an adapted child gate covered in wire mesh blocking the gap. Conor rang the bell and a disembodied voice greeted them from inside, vying with the distant barking of a dog.
‘Conor, if that’s you, I’m in the kitchen. Please, shut the gate after you!’
Stepping back to let her through ahead of him, Conor guided her inside, closing the inner door and the gate behind them. Kate was conscious of his hand at the small of her back, steering her towards a door that led to a large, airy country kitchen where an attractive woman with long chestnut hair, tied back in a loose ponytail, was sitting at a rustic table, a cloth draped over one shoulder, a tiny scrap of tabby fur cradled in her hands.
‘Hi. Nearly finished.’ She smiled as the kitten took the last of its milk.
Kate watched, fascinated, as the woman gently wiped the kitten’s face then rose to her feet and set it back inside a large pen that already contained a bundle of assorted-coloured kittens, and she tried to count how many there were in the tangle of legs. Five. As Hannah moved to wash her hands, Kate edged across to take a closer look at the tiny bodies. They were so gorgeous. She turned round to ask Hannah about them, in time to see the woman laugh as Conor swept her into his arms for a hug. The insidious curl of jealousy that clenched inside her was dismaying. She didn’t want to feel anything. It was ridiculous. Conor was of no interest to her beyond work and Hannah was happily married to someone else.
‘It’s good to see you, Conor,’ Hannah said. ‘Sorry about the muddle.’
Keeping his arm around the woman’s waist and cuddling her close, Conor peered into the pen. ‘Are you going to keep any of them?’
‘Would you believe me if I said no?’
‘Nope!’
Hannah pushed a fall of escaped chestnut waves back from her face. ‘I thought not. I get so attached but I know we can’t keep them all. It’s not possible. It’s only been eighteen months and we’ve already got Wallace, Hoppity, Sparky, the puppy and now these kittens. Someone rescued them from being drowned and brough
t them to us because we’ve earned a reputation for not turning anything away. I dread to think what Nic’s going to bring home next! Speaking of whom, he had to pop out to see a patient—he’ll be back soon.’
‘I’m already here,’ an accented voice announced from behind them, and Kate looked round to see a stunningly good-looking man approach, recognising him from one of the photos with Conor on the pinboard in the staffroom back at Glentown.
Conor sighed in mock disappointment. ‘I suppose you want your wife back?’
‘When you can spare her,’ the dark-haired man agreed wryly.
As Conor released Hannah, Kate was surprised when the men shared a brief, manly hug before the sexy Italian took Hannah in his arms and kissed her.
‘Kate, come and meet Nic and Hannah,’ Conor invited, drawing her closer, reigniting her awareness as he rested a hand at her waist. ‘This is Kate Fisher, our new doctor.’
‘Welcome to the madhouse, Kate.’ Hannah laughed.
The couple were friendly and fun, but Kate couldn’t halt the lingering envy at how clearly they loved each other, how tactile they were, always touching, sharing private glances.
‘How were the Pattersons?’ Hannah asked, moving to the oven to check on the delicious-smelling chicken that was roasting.
‘Sandy is deteriorating,’ Nic admitted sadly. ‘Alexandra is coping as only she can.’
Hannah drew her hair back from her face and retied the rough ponytail. ‘Alex is amazing. She gave up her job as a district nurse in the south of England to come home and care for her dad and keep their small farm going,’ she explained to them as Nic left the room. ‘I’ve no idea how she manages everything. We don’t know how long Sandy has, but Alex will be there to the last. I don’t suppose you have any nurse vacancies coming up, do you?’
Conor shook his head. ‘Not right now. Why?’
‘As and when the time comes, Alex is going to need a job. We’d take her ourselves, she’s terrific, but we’re not likely to have any places either. If it comes to it I’ll have a word with Kyle and see if there’s anything going in Rigtownbrae. Not that I’d wish anyone on poison Penny. She’s a district nurse there,’ Hannah explained at Kate’s murmur of curiosity, the accompanying grimace implying that easygoing Hannah had a problem with the nurse. Before she could question her, Hannah turned to Conor and moved on. ‘Have you seen Kyle lately?’
A Doctor Worth Waiting For Page 5
