Return of the Rebel Doctor

by Joanna Neil

  Jessie nodded. ‘That’s what the consultant told me. It’s just a matter of time and healing.’ She put her cup down on a table and looked around. ‘I thought Ross might be with you. Is he here, at the hospital?’

  Katie’s eyelids stung with unshed tears, and she bent her head so that Jessie wouldn’t see how troubled she was. Her heart ached for Ross. He’d been devastated by her rejection of him.

  ‘I think so. He was talking to the doctor in charge.’ She wasn’t going to tell Jessie what had happened between them. It was far too upsetting to recall. It was as though she’d punched him in the stomach and knocked all the wind out of him. ‘He wants to follow up on Josh’s treatment and make sure everything’s being done to make him comfortable.’

  ‘I thought he might do that.’ Jessie gazed at her unhappily. ‘It was such a shock, Katie. I didn’t realise how much I cared about Josh until this happened. I mean...I’ve always been fond of him, but this...this has shown me just how much he means to me. I hate to think of him being hurt.’

  ‘I know,’ Katie said softly. ‘I understand. At least, I think I do.’ She frowned, taking on board what her sister had said about her feelings for Josh. ‘I’ve always known Josh was a little in love with you, and I thought perhaps you and he might get together some day, but then you reacted so strangely yesterday when you found out there was something between Ross and me and I wasn’t sure what was going on. I thought maybe you had fallen for Ross.’

  ‘Oh, no, Katie. It was nothing like that.’ Jessie pulled a face. ‘I’m so sorry if I gave you that idea.’ She sighed. ‘I know we need to talk about this—I’ve been feeling guilty for so long, and I realise now it’s time everything came out into the open at last.’

  ‘Guilty? What can you possibly feel guilty about?’ Katie was bewildered by this turn of events, but Jessie’s expression was so serious that she knew it was something she needed to hear. She braced herself for what was to come.

  ‘The thing is, it’s about what happened years ago...at the Old Brewery. Nobody knew the truth about what really went on. I was so ashamed I kept it all to myself—only Ross and I knew what went on that night.’

  Katie stared at her. ‘What do you mean, Jessie? I don’t understand. Are you talking about the night of the fire?’

  Jessie nodded, pulling in a deep breath. ‘The truth is, Katie, I met someone. A man named Craig. He was a few years older than me—I was fifteen at the time, very young and foolish, I realise that now. I fell for him completely. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn’t help myself.’ She hesitated, nervously wringing her hands.

  Katie reached behind her for the upholstered bench seat and sat down. ‘Go on. Tell me what happened.’

  Jessie shuddered and came to sit down beside her. ‘We’d been emailing one another for some time. Then, finally, he persuaded me to meet up with him at the Old Brewery.’ She swallowed. ‘I thought he loved me, that shows how gullible I was, doesn’t it?’ She looked at Katie, her eyes wide and full of helpless regret.

  ‘I soon found out that he was only there for one thing, and when I wouldn’t give him what he wanted, he turned nasty. He wouldn’t let me go home.’ She closed her eyes and Katie guessed she was reliving the horror of that night.

  ‘I’m so sorry you had to go through that,’ she said, putting an arm around her. ‘I wish you’d told me what was going on. Perhaps I could have helped, advised you in some way.’

  Jessie nodded. ‘I know. I realise I should have said something back then but I was so besotted. I knew what I was doing was wrong, going against everything Mum and Dad had said, but I couldn’t help myself.’ Her voice trembled and she sat for a moment, looking down at her hands.

  ‘I don’t know what I would have done if Ross hadn’t turned up. He said he’d found out I was there with Craig, and he’d been worried about me so he came to see if I was all right. They fought, and Ross made him go away. He said if he ever came near me again he’d make sure he would regret it.’

  Katie gasped. ‘So Ross was protecting you that night?’ She was overwhelmed by the knowledge that he’d done everything he could to save her sister. ‘But what about the fire? How did that start?’

  ‘I think Craig started it deliberately, knowing that Ross would get the blame. He must have left for the mainland pretty soon afterwards because I never saw him again. Mind you, that was probably because of what Ross said to him.’

  Katie hugged her sister. ‘I’m so sorry, Jessie. But why didn’t you tell anyone? All these years we thought Ross had done it.’

  ‘I know,’ Jessie said in a choked voice. ‘I feel terrible about that, but I was so ashamed and humiliated. I was sure Mum and Dad would be horrified when they found out I’d done everything they warned me against. They’d have been aghast if they’d known I’d met someone through the internet and that I’d gone to meet up with him—they were both things that were forbidden.

  ‘Ross said it would be easier to put the blame on him. People already thought badly of him, and what was one more misdemeanour?’ She looked at Katie, wide-eyed. ‘I know it was wrong of me but I was so scared. If Ross hadn’t come along when he did...’ She started to shake, and Katie drew her close.

  ‘It’s all right, Jessie. You were very young. You need to put it behind you now.’

  Jessie nodded. ‘I’ve made up my mind I’m going to tell Mum and Dad. They need to know, if you and Ross are going to be together. That’s why I was so worried when you came home last night and I saw you kissing each other. I knew I couldn’t let them go on thinking he was bad.’

  She gave Katie a searching look. ‘It’ll be all right now, Katie, won’t it? I talked to Ross about it, and he said it was for me to decide, but I think it’s the right thing to do.’

  ‘Yes, Jessie, it’ll be fine.’ Katie said it to reassure her sister but she wasn’t at all sure things would work out for the best for her and Ross. Was it too late to put things right between them? She’d wounded him deeply. How would he ever forgive her for hurting him that way?

  The door to the waiting room opened and a nurse came to tell them that they could go and see Josh. ‘He’s comfortable now, but bear in mind he needs plenty of rest, and he’ll need to take it easy for a while.’

  ‘Okay. Thank you.’

  They followed the nurse to the side ward where Josh was being treated. Immediately, Jessie went to sit beside him while Katie looked on, pleased to see that he had more colour in his cheeks now and appeared peaceful.

  A few minutes later she left Jessie at the bedside. ‘I’ll come and pick you up later,’ she told her. ‘I guess you’ll be staying here for a while?’

  Jessie nodded. ‘Don’t worry about me. Are you going home?’

  ‘I’m going to see if I can find Ross. I need to talk to him.’

  She didn’t know what she was going to say to him but somehow or other she needed to put things right. He’d been here in the hospital just a short while ago, so perhaps he was still around.

  ‘He went home,’ the nurse told her. ‘He looked in on Josh and then went off, saying he’d be back later.’

  ‘Okay. Thanks.’

  Katie hitched a lift with one of the doctors who was going off duty. ‘I’m going by Loch Sheirach, so I could drop you off there, if you like,’ he said.

  She accepted, wondering if she was doing the right thing, turning up on Ross’s doorstep. What if he didn’t want to talk to her?

  A short time later she stood in front of his house, gazing around and wondering if she was making a big mistake. She knocked on his front door and waited for what seemed like an eternity for him to answer.

  This was her dream home, she reflected, with two magnificent white-painted gables at the front and a long, low extended part to the side. She knew, from her explorations with Ross years ago, that the rooms at the back of the house looked out over t
he loch. Right now it was bathed in evening sunlight as though it was welcoming her and inviting her to go inside.

  ‘Katie?’ Ross had opened the door and looked at her in surprise. ‘I wasn’t expecting to see you. Is everything all right with Josh? Has something happened?’ He looked worried and she hastened to reassure him.

  ‘Oh, no, he’s fine. The doctors think he’ll make a good recovery. He’s strong and fit in every other way.’

  ‘That’s good.’ He hesitated then stood back and waved her into the hallway. ‘Come in,’ he said.

  ‘Thank you.’ She followed him through a wide, light hallway to a large room that faced onto the loch. It was perfect, with tall, wide windows and a big open fire set into a carved fireplace. There were two pristine, pale-coloured, upholstered settees and a glass-topped coffee table, and set against one wall was a shelving unit that housed a music centre and a large, flat-panel television. In a corner there was a beautiful fern, its willowy fronds adding a cool splash of green to contrast with the muted colour scheme.

  ‘There isn’t a lot of furniture as yet,’ he said. ‘I’m going to need some help with choosing other pieces and I’ll probably need to redecorate some of the rooms so that they’re more to my taste, but it’s pretty good on the whole, I think.’ She sensed he was talking to cover the awkwardness of the situation. She had no idea how she was going to explain herself to him and the tension between them was so heavy it tightened her chest and made her throat ache.

  ‘I’ll get us a drink,’ Ross said, and she had the feeling he was restless and uncertain, needing to be on the move. ‘What would you like?’

  ‘A cup of tea would be great.’ She needed something hot and sweet to give her strength to face what was to come. She straightened her shoulders. ‘I know it must seem odd, after what we said to one another, but I had to come here,’ she said. ‘I need to talk to you.’

  ‘Uh, yes. All right.’ His expression was sombre. ‘I guessed there was something on your mind.’ He frowned and started towards the door. ‘Come through to the kitchen.’

  She followed him. The kitchen was magnificent, well fitted out with oak-fronted units and wall cupboards, and dark granite worktops that had a hint of some sparkling crystalline substance throughout.

  ‘Sit down,’ Ross said, inviting her to take a chair by the oak table.

  ‘Okay.’ She did as he suggested, glancing out of the window, and even from here she caught a glimpse of the calm waters of the loch, backed by low mountains. ‘Just seeing that landscape every morning must set you up for the day,’ she murmured.

  He nodded, filling the kettle with water and switching it on. Then his phone started to ring and he frowned. ‘I’ll switch it off,’ he said, pulling it from his pocket. Then he glanced at the caller display and said in an odd voice, ‘It’s Finn.’

  ‘Then you need to answer it.’

  He nodded. ‘Hi, Finn,’ he said a moment later. ‘How are things with you?’

  ‘Just great,’ she heard Finn answer. ‘Everything’s working out brilliantly. They’ve dropped the case against me, did Josh tell you?’

  ‘He did. I’m really pleased for you. It’s a relief.’

  ‘Yeah.’ There was a smile in Finn’s voice as though he could hardly contain his elation. ‘And that’s not all. Dad saw the article in the local paper. He said Baz must be a cracker of a dog to find Jack the way he did. I don’t think he quite believed it, but I took him to see Baz and showed him what he can do, how well behaved he is. He says he can come and live with us at the house. I’m well made up, Ross. I can hardly believe it.’

  ‘That’s wonderful news, Finn. It sounds as though things are looking up all round.’

  ‘They are. When I took Dad round to Katie’s house, we ran into Jack’s dad, and he said that Jack was looking much better. His fever’s down and his blood tests are good, apparently, so they’re thinking he might be coming out of Intensive Care soon. That’s great, isn’t it?’

  ‘It is. It’s the best.’ Ross glanced at Katie, and she gave a faint smile. It was good news.

  ‘I’ll see you later,’ Finn said. ‘Maybe I’ll bring Baz over to the house to see you some time tomorrow.’

  ‘That’s a great idea,’ Ross told him. ‘I’ll see you then.’

  He cut the call and glanced at Katie. ‘Some things are going right, anyway. Did you hear all that?’

  ‘Yes. I’m really glad for him.’

  He switched off his phone and looked at her once more, his expression guarded. ‘Okay, you said you wanted to talk. What’s wrong, Katie?

  ‘Um, yes. Uh, it’s about Jessie.’ Katie floundered for a second or two. ‘She said... I mean...’ She stood up again, suddenly restless. ‘She told me about that night at the Old Brewery. She said you went there to help her.’

  ‘Ah, yes. She told me she wanted to bring it out into the open. That’s right. I went there that night because I was worried about her.’

  ‘But how did you know she’d be there?’

  ‘I was at the pub, drinking, and this man’s friends were there, hinting at some sort of bet that was going on. They’d dared him to take her there, and I just knew deep down that she would be heading for trouble. She was very young, completely innocent, and I had the awful feeling it would end badly. I couldn’t stand by and let her be taken in by him. I had to go and get her out of there.’

  Katie let out a long, slow breath. ‘So she was right. You went there to rescue her?’ She shook her head. ‘I can barely take it in. What happened?’

  He pulled a face. ‘It was exactly as I’d suspected. He went there with an ulterior motive, and when she found out what he really wanted, she was shocked and upset. He wasn’t about to let her go so I saw to it that he had no choice.’ His jaw tightened.

  ‘He took it badly, as you might expect, and I think that was why he set fire to the outhouse, thinking that I would get the blame for it. He was right, wasn’t he? Some other teenagers arrived soon after the blaze started and he had apparently disappeared by then so who else would they look to for the culprit?’

  Katie’s eyes widened. ‘Oh, Ross, all this time people have thought badly of you and you’ve had to bear that, knowing what you do...’ She gave a shuddery sigh. ‘Thank heaven you were there for Jessie that night. Who knows what might have happened otherwise? We owe you so much.’

  He shrugged. ‘It didn’t seem such a big thing at the time. Jessie was afraid of what your parents would think. It was one thing for them to accept she was meeting up with me, that wouldn’t have come as too great a shock after all.

  ‘We weren’t sweethearts, just youngsters getting up to mischief, but it was something altogether different for them to find out she’d been so gullible and to discover that she’d secretly arranged to see a man she barely knew, except for what she’d read about him on the internet. They’d warned her many times about the folly of doing something like that, and she guessed she would be in big trouble.’

  He breathed deeply. ‘And, of course, she was worried about the effect on your father’s health. His angina wasn’t under control at that time, and it could have turned out very badly for him.’

  She gazed up at him, her green eyes troubled. ‘So you’ve taken the blame all this time...and I...I was taken in, along with all the rest.’ She pressed her lips together in anguish. ‘I had my doubts about you starting the fire but I was afraid there might be some truth in it and I couldn’t come to terms with it in my mind. I wanted to believe in you, and open my heart to you, but I was anxious all the while about what my parents would think. Can you ever forgive me for that?’

  ‘There’s nothing to forgive, Katie. I know you said it was over between us, but it doesn’t alter the way I feel about you. You can’t do anything to make me think badly of you.’ He gently stroked her cheek. ‘I love you. That’s the truth of it. And
I think Jessie knows that, which is why she decided to come clean about everything. She didn’t want this hanging over us. I think your parents will understand, don’t you?’

  She nodded. ‘You love me?’ She gazed up at him. ‘You don’t know how I’ve longed to hear you say that. I was so afraid that you could never want me the way I want you.

  ‘I love you, too...but when Jessie found out, she went quiet and she was so troubled I started to worry in case she felt the same way about you. I knew it would tear us apart. She’s my sister, and I couldn’t let that happen...not if you didn’t love me in return.’

  ‘But I do, Katie. And Jessie doesn’t feel that way towards me. There’s never been anything between us.’ He wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close, and she laid her head on his chest, loving the feel of him.

  ‘I love you,’ he said softly. ‘It’s always been you. I was so afraid that you wouldn’t want me, that you didn’t feel the same way, and in the beginning I tried to fight my feelings for you, pretending to myself that I only wanted some light-hearted fun. I had to protect myself from being hurt, but when you told me it was over, it was as though you’d cut me off at the roots. I knew I couldn’t live without you.’

  She gave a small, shuddery sigh, hardly daring to believe he was saying what she’d always longed to hear. Her fingers traced a path over his chest. ‘I hoped that was how you felt but you never actually said the words. I was desperate to hear you say you loved me. But you never did.’

  His arms tightened around her and his blue gaze meshed with hers. ‘No, but I thought you must know how I felt about you. I tried to show you, so many times, when I asked you out, or fixed your roof, even when I came after you when you were stranded. I did those things because I love you.’

  He kissed her tenderly, and all the while his hands caressed her, shaping her curves and bringing her ever closer to him. ‘But at first you tried to keep me at arm’s length, and I was afraid you didn’t care for me.’