When they’d finished their lunch and left the pub, Tom took his arm, allowing the two women to walk on ahead. ‘A quiet word?’
‘Of course. Is something wrong?’ Conor asked, seeing worry cloud the older man’s eyes.
‘I can see you care about my daughter,’ Tom murmured, his gaze following Kate as she talked with Aileen. ‘Conor, look after Kate for me.’
‘I plan to,’ he said, his own concern for her increasing with her father’s obvious anxiety.
The man nodded, understanding in his eyes. Conor wanted to ask more about what was going on and why Tom was worried but Kate turned at that moment, looking nervous when she saw them talking together. Saying no more, Tom moved across to join her and, as the pair set off to the Isle of Whithorn to explore the historic site of St Ninian’s Cave, Conor walked Aileen home.
‘You really care about Kate, don’t you?’
Surprised and alarmed at Aileen’s perception, Conor glanced at her, about to deny it, then changed his mind. ‘Yes, I do.’
‘There’ll be mourning across the county when you settle down,’ Aileen predicted with an affectionate smile, slipping her arm through his. ‘I think Kate needs you, Conor. You’d be good together. I hope it works out.’
‘Thanks, Aileen. So do I. You seem taken with Tom, if I may say so,’ he teased, laughing as Aileen’s cheeks flushed with warmth again.
‘Isn’t it foolish, at my age?’
‘Age has nothing to do with it and you have a lot of living ahead of you. You deserve to be happy—Craig would have wanted that.’ He had spent many hours helping Aileen through her grief after her husband had been lost at sea while out on a hazardous RNLI rescue five years previously. ‘It’s time you had someone new in your life. And Tom’s a really nice man.’
Aileen looked up at him with a watery smile. ‘He is, isn’t he? Like father, like daughter, it seems. I’ll have to get my matchmaking hat on and give you and Kate a helping hand!’
‘You don’t think I’m capable of winning her round?’ The joking tone hid his inner concern that Kate would never return his feelings.
‘If anyone can, it’s you.’ Aileen’s smile was rueful. ‘I was thinking that if Kate stayed on here, there would be more chance of Tom visiting.’
‘An ulterior motive if ever I heard one!’ He waited while she found her front door key and unlocked the door, bending to drop a kiss on her cheek. ‘I’d be delighted if things developed for you and Tom, Aileen, but I’ll do my own wooing, thanks.’
As Conor headed home, he reflected on the impact the Fisher family had made on the inhabitants of Glentown-on-Firth. He only hoped, despite his nervousness and misgivings, that the outcome for them all would be a happy one.
Monday morning arrived too soon. Kate felt bereft with her father gone, although their final talk before his flight had left her unsettled. The conversation replayed itself in her head as she prepared for work.
‘It’s been wonderful spending this time with you, Kate.’
‘Come up whenever you can,’ she said with a smile, hoping to see him often.
Uncertainty shadowed his eyes. ‘Would you mind if I kept in touch with Aileen?’
‘Of course not.’ Her smile widened to a grin. ‘I thought you were getting on well!’
‘She’s a delightful lady. I’ve left a little something, if you wouldn’t mind delivering it.’
‘No problem!’
‘Your Conor seems a lovely young man,’ her father teased.
Kate tensed, her smile fading. ‘He’s not “my” Conor.’
‘I’m sure he’d like to be! He’s very smitten with you.’
‘I don’t think so, Dad.’ She cursed the warmth that flushed her cheeks. ‘We work together. That’s all. He’s a good doctor but he’s just like Darren, stringing along half the women in the district.’
Her father frowned, the look in his eyes speculative as he watched her. ‘Conor didn’t strike me as being remotely like Darren. Far from it. I found Conor sincere and caring. Are you not using that as an excuse to prevent him getting close to you?’
Her blush deepened. ‘I’m only here for a short time. It wouldn’t work.’
‘Nonsense. The change in you this last month has been remarkable. You’ve lost that pallor and you’ve put some weight back on. What we need now is something to put a sparkle back in your eyes.’
‘I’m fine.’
His smile was sad but resigned. ‘We both know that isn’t true, darling. You’ve never talked about what happened—and you told me on Saturday not to mention it, that no one here knows anything, not even about Wesley. Do you think that’s healthy?’
‘There’s no need for them to know anything.’ She sucked in a deep breath. ‘I’m here because I need to know if I can still be a doctor.’
‘You’re an excellent doctor. Remember the lives you saved, Kate.’
For a moment she closed her eyes, but the mental images of those lives she had not saved were too vivid and she opened them again. ‘But it wasn’t enough. And now I’m running away.’
‘You’re not running,’ her father scolded, his frown deepening.
She shook her head, denying the comfort. ‘What would you call it?’
‘Recovering. Moving on. Being human.’ His hand cupped her cheek, lingering sadness in his eyes and pain in his voice. ‘Don’t let this rule the rest of your life, Kate. I don’t want to lose you, too.’
‘I’m sorry, Dad.’
‘It’s not your fault, darling. None of it is. Please, believe that.’ He drew her into his arms, hugging her tight. ‘I love you.’
She hugged him back. ‘I love you, too.’
All her life he had been there for her, picking her up when she had fallen or when she had broken up with a boyfriend. But a sticking plaster and some soothing words wouldn’t help fix this.
‘James was right—this place is good for you. Open yourself up, Kate, let people get close to you. There’s nothing to say you couldn’t stay here if you wanted to.’ Hugging her one last time, he stepped back. ‘Whatever you choose, I’ll always be here for you.’
By ‘people’ her father had meant Conor, she knew, and his parting advice nagged at her. Was he right? Was she making excuses to keep Conor at bay? She was uncertain of him and his motives, and she was too fragile for a temporary fling, unable to handle the inevitable pain that would follow. She had enough worries, getting her career back on track and facing all the demons she held so tightly inside. Frowning, she left the flat and walked round to the surgery, finding Aileen at Reception.
‘Oh, my goodness!’ The older woman flushed as Kate handed her the plant and card from her father. ‘How sweet of him.’
‘Dad was very taken with you.’ She smiled, wondering if anything would come of the friendship.
‘Would it be all right…? I mean, would you mind if I sent a note to thank him?’
Amused that the efficient practice manager looked as flustered as a teenager, Kate shook her head. ‘Of course not. Dad devoted himself to family and work after my mother died. He has many hobbies and friends, but he’s never been interested in another woman before. I’d be delighted for him if he found happiness—and for you.’
‘Thank you. You’re a lovely lassie.’ Aileen’s eyes glittered. ‘I’ll put the plant in the staffroom before the rush starts.’
Left alone, Kate was checking some mail when Jenny took her place at Reception, her face pale, her eyes redrimmed. Concerned, Kate was wondering whether to intervene when Conor arrived, his green gaze meeting hers.
‘Hi.’
‘Morning,’ she managed, wondering how one word delivered in that husky tone and soft accent could make her shiver with awareness.
‘Good weekend?’
‘Lovely.’
He nodded, his attention switching to Jenny. ‘All right, sweetie?’
‘I’m OK.’ Jenny found a semblance of a smile for him.
Leaning over the desk, he stroked her cheek wi
th his fingers. ‘Good girl. I’ll see you later.’
‘Eleven-thirty?’
‘No problem.’
Picking up his note tray, he headed to his room. Disturbed, Kate collected her own notes and as patients began arriving she followed down the corridor, pausing at Conor’s open door.
‘Everything all right?’
He glanced up, his green eyes cool. ‘Fine, thanks. You?’
‘I suppose. I…’
‘What?’
She sucked in a breath, nervous about confronting him. ‘About Jenny.’
‘What about her?’ He leaned back in his chair and linked his hands behind his head, the action tightening his T-shirt across the muscled contours of his chest.
‘I just wondered if it was…appropriate,’ she murmured, feeling foolish.
‘Appropriate?’
He sounded more amused than annoyed. ‘Do you always—?’ She broke off. ‘Manhandle’ was a bit too strong a word and she searched in vain for something else to say.
‘Do I always what, Kate?’ he challenged, the amusement fading. ‘Jenny is a valued member of staff and a friend.’
‘And that’s how you behave with your staff?’
‘If they are upset and in need of a cuddle, yes.’ He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his desk. ‘You have some problem with that?’
Kate bit her lip, wishing she had never started this appalling conversation. Why should she care a jot what the wretched man did and with whom he did it? ‘No, no problem,’ she lied.
‘Good.’ He paused, enigmatic green eyes darkening, holding her captive. ‘Perhaps you’d like to try it some time.’
It was clear what he meant and the suggestiveness in his voice made a knot of longing tighten in her stomach. ‘No, thanks.’
Her hackles rose as she heard him chuckle and she continued down the corridor, slamming her bag and notes on her desk. Damn the man. He thought far too much of himself. And she was still unsettled about the Jenny thing. Was it perfectly innocent? Was she just over-sensitive about anything that smacked of impropriety because of Darren?
Throughout a long and varied morning surgery, Conor refused to let his preoccupation detract from his care of his patients, but he was concerned and puzzled about Kate, as well as anxious about his eleven-thirty appointment. He hadn’t received the phone call he had been expecting when, his consultations having overrun by thirty minutes, his final patient arrived.
‘I’ve decided to come in on my own if that’s all right,’ the blond-haired young man commented, closing the door behind him.
‘Of course, Mark.’ Conor smiled, gesturing towards a chair. ‘I’ve not heard from the hospital yet but I’ll ring now you are here. They promised your results would be ready this morning. How have things been this last week?’
‘A bit gruesome, to be honest,’ he admitted with a grimace, his hands clenched.
Conor nodded sympathetically. ‘It must be difficult. Let’s hope we can put your worries to rest now.’
Waiting to be connected to the right department at the hospital, he tried to imagine how he would have felt at twenty-four, his whole life ahead of him, moving in with his childhood sweetheart and suddenly finding a testicular lump, immediately thinking the worst. He hadn’t wanted to give Mark false hope but, having examined him before fasttracking him to the hospital, he was as confident as he could be that it was not cancer. The ultrasound could confirm his hunch that Mark had either an inguinoscrotal hernia or an epididymal cyst. Smiling his encouragement as the call was answered, he prayed his instinct was right.
‘I don’t believe it,’ Mark murmured for the hundredth time, and Conor smiled as he walked him to the door.
‘I’m going to the staffroom to have a drink before my house calls. Come and get me if you want me to explain anything again.’
Looking bemused, Mark nodded. ‘Thanks, Conor.’
Relieved the confirmation had come through and Mark’s diagnosis was an inguinal hernia in the scrotum, Conor headed for the staffroom, finding Kate and a couple of the nurses there.
‘Hi.’ He noted how Kate’s wary brown gaze skittered away from him. ‘Busy morning?’
‘The usual. You?’ she asked after a pause, looking even more restless as Kristen and Sandra pulled on their coats and headed out for lunch, leaving them alone.
‘Busy but good.’ He prepared his hot chocolate and turned to watch her. ‘Kate, I want to—’
‘Conor?’
He saw Kate tense as Jenny’s voice reached them. ‘In here,’ he answered, setting his mug aside just in time as the young receptionist rushed into the room and flung herself into his arms. Delighted for Jenny but frustrated at yet another interruption when he had hoped to talk with Kate, he smiled as Mark appeared in the staffroom doorway.
‘We can’t thank you enough, Conor.’ Jenny smiled through her tears as she hugged him.
‘I told you it would be all right.’ He let her go and glanced at Kate, who was watching in confusion as Jenny moved back to Mark and wrapped her arms around him. ‘I’m delighted for you both.’
‘It’s definitely not a tumour?’ Jenny said, her anxious gaze flicking between them.
Conor was swift to reassure her. ‘Definitely not. Mark will need an operation to surgically repair the hernia but that’s all.’
‘You’ve been brilliant,’ Mark said as Jenny sagged against him. ‘It’s been a hellish week. Jenny’s told me what a support you have been to her.’
Conor risked another glance at Kate who had risen to her feet and was quietly slipping on her coat. ‘That’s what friends are for.’
‘Finding the lump gave us such a scare and I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t helped. It’s made us realise how short time could be and what is important.’ Blushing, Jenny smiled up at him. ‘Mark and I have decided to get married in the summer and start a family as soon as possible.’
‘Just be happy—you both deserve it.’
His enjoyment in his friends’ news was dampened when Kate slipped out of the room. He wanted to follow her, talk to her, discover what was hurting her, ask why she’d misjudged him, but rudeness prevented him deserting Jenny and Mark, who still had questions for him. But some time soon he was determined to engineer time alone with Kate to try and get closer to her. Her father’s words came back to him, the request he take care of Kate. He planned to, but he wished he knew what it was that she needed protecting from, what had happened to cause her such inner hurt and turmoil.
CHAPTER SEVEN
WITH Fred taking a few days off, the rest of the week was frantic. Kate was relieved as it helped her avoid Conor and allowed little time for him to continue his habit of lounging in her consulting room at the end of the day for a chat. She felt guilty about the Jenny situation, having allowed her own past experience and the rumours she had heard about Conor to mistrust him and wrongly judge him. She had been touched by the scene she had witnessed in the staffroom. There were many more depths to Conor than she would have expected. His care of his patients, staff and friends was beyond compare and he gave selflessly of himself. The more she came to know him the less like Darren he seemed, both as a doctor and a person, but that only made her more edgy because it was becoming harder to keep up her barriers and hold Conor at a distance.
As her final patient of Friday morning arrived, Kate noticed that the large young woman who entered the room and closed the door appeared exceptionally nervous and was shaking with fright. Short platinum curls framed a round, attractive face but her skin was very pale and her dove-grey eyes were wide with anxiety. She sat down with obvious reluctance and Kate glanced at the notes. Louise Kerr was twenty-two and rarely visited the surgery. The last notation was from two years ago, written by a Dr Myers, and Kate felt anger burning inside her at the comment written in a tight, neat hand. ‘Told patient she was disgustingly obese and not to come back until she lost weight.’ Smothering a curse, she pushed aside her fury and disbelief, focusing o
n the trembling young woman.
‘Hi,’ she said with a smile, keeping things friendly. ‘May I call you Louise?’
‘F-fine.’
‘Good to see you, Louise. I’m Kate. How can I help you today?’
The young woman shredded a paper tissue in her fingers. ‘I didn’t want to come, only my friend Julie MacIntyre—you saw her little boy Dominic recently—said how nice you were. I’m sorry to bother you but the pain is getting worse,’ she confided after a long pause, the whispered words so soft Kate had to strain to hear her.
‘You are not being a bother, Louise,’ she said reassuringly, although if the single line in the notes from her previous visit was any indication of the reception the poor girl had received last time she had sought help, it was not surprising she was so scared. ‘You are as valuable and deserving as any other patient and I’m here to do all I can to help.’
Fearful grey eyes widened in surprise. ‘I—The last doctor I saw here…’ Her fingers resumed the shredding as her words trailed off.
‘Go on,’ Kate encouraged.
‘Dr Myers. She said all that was the matter with me was that I was so fat and I was just wasting her time.’
Kate wanted to hit something. Preferably Dr Myers. She sucked in a breath and tried to cool her temper. ‘I’m very sorry that Dr Myers failed you, Louise, it must have been a horrible experience being treated so badly and not taken seriously. Did you not feel able to talk to Dr Murdoch or Dr Anderson?’
‘Oh, no! Dr Murdoch is a friend of my parents, I’ve known him all my life, and I couldn’t possibly see Conor—Dr Anderson.’
A flush stained Louise’s cheeks and Kate frowned again. From all she had discovered of his skills as a doctor she couldn’t believe Conor had been lacking in tact and understanding, too. Before she could voice her concern, Louise continued.
‘I mean, Conor’s always so wonderfully kind but I’d be far too embarrassed to let him see me. He’s so gorgeous,’ she confided, displaying all the signs of a smitten female. ‘I couldn’t talk to him about that sort of thing and definitely never take my clothes off and let him see how revolting I am.’
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