Her Hot Highland Doc

by Annie O'Neil

“Aye, well...” Mr. Fairways’s brow crinkled with concern.

  “Let’s make you an appointment with the audiologists next time they’re on the island. Unless you usually go to the mainland for this sort of thing?”

  “Oh, no. I stay here. I’m the honorary mayor of Dunregan, and it wouldn’t do for me to be leaving willy-nilly. I’m happy here. On the island,” he qualified, as if that weren’t obvious.

  “Right, then, so I’ll check with Dr. McClellan about the audiologists and we’ll get in touch.”

  “Fine.” Mr. Fairways gave a satisfied nod, but made no move to leave.

  “Is there anything else you want to talk about?”

  “No, no...not really—it’s just that...”

  “Mmm...?” Kali nodded that he should feel free to speak.

  “I just noticed Brodie doesnae have a proper base set up for his A-frames. He won’t be getting the right sort of balance on the skiff if he’s doing it that way.”

  Kali’s grin widened. “Mr. Fairways, I am afraid everything you just said flew straight over my head. I’m about as landlubbery as a girl can get!”

  “Well, if you could let Brodie know—”

  Kali put up a hand. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to stop you there. I am quite certain anything you tell me would be lost in translation. How about you tell him yourself on your way out?”

  She watched him consider the idea. Neutral territory... A way to tease away the groundless fears...

  “Oh, I wouldnae want to get in his way or anything.”

  “You wouldn’t be,” she assured him. “I think he’d quite like it. Especially since you’d be doing him a double favor.”

  “How’s that, then?”

  “Well...” She leaned forward conspiratorially. “So many people don’t seem to understand he’s been given the all clear as far as his health and his time in Africa are concerned.”

  “Oh?” Mr. Fairways’ fingers twiddled with the end of his handlebar mustache. “Is that right?”

  “Absolutely.” She crossed her heart and held up two fingers. “Girl Scouts’ honor.”

  “Aye...there was some talk about it at the Eagle and Ram.”

  Kali checked a broad grin. That was where she’d seen him before. The pub!

  “Given that you’re the mayor of the island—”

  “Oh...” Mr. Fairways tutted, a modest smile on his lips. “Only honorary, dear. We don’t go for too much pomp and ceremony up here.”

  “Well, even so, it seems to me you have the islanders’ respect, so if you were to be seen speaking with Brodie...you know, just giving him a few pointers...it might put a lot of people’s minds at ease.” She paused while he took in the information. “I’ve seen Brodie’s medical paperwork myself. If you like, I can show you.”

  “No, dear, no. That won’t be necessary. I saw him at his father’s funeral. Didn’t want to interfere, is all.” He pushed himself up to stand. “I think I might head on out and have a word with Brodie now. No need to take up any more of your time.”

  “It was my pleasure, Mr. Fairways.”

  He gave her a nod and a smile as he tugged on his overcoat. “You’ll do well here, lassie—with a smile like that. And sensible, too. Who knows? We might make an islander of you yet?”

  From your lips, Mr. Fairways...

  * * *

  “You take care of yourself, then, Mr. Fairways.” Brodie gave a wave as the sprightly fellow headed off down the road toward the pub for his evening pint, flat cap firmly in place.

  Would wonders never cease?

  Mr. Fairways...standing right out there in the middle of the street...chatting with him about boat mechanics. He’d been the first one to cancel his appointment when Brodie had returned to Dunregan. It had felt like being struck by a battering ram. Only to be hit again and again as one by one his patients had dropped off the appointment list like flies.

  Had it been the Ebola or had it been an unofficial mourning period?

  It had been easier to blame the nonexistent contagion rather than face up to years of pushing people away. With his father gone, he might have finally succeeded in pushing near enough everyone away.

  Except his auntie. Stoic Ailsa. Unflappable at the worst of times. She was the only one who could tease Callum out of the mountains. Something he needed to put a bit more energy into, with all this unexpected free time.

  “Did you get your advice, then?”

  “Kali!” Brodie turned abruptly. “Sorry, I was miles away. What was that?”

  “Mr. Fairways was saying something about props or frames—”

  “Kali O’Shea...” He took a step toward her. “You didn’t have anything to do with Mr. Fairways suddenly turning into a chatterbox, did you?”

  “Oh, no. Nothing like that. He was just interested in your project, and I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about, so I thought—”

  “Kali,” Brodie interrupted with a knowing smile, “you are about as transparent as a glass of water.”

  She grinned, the smile lighting up her eyes. Was that a dimple on her cheek?

  “Well, whatever you did or didn’t say...thank you.” He pulled a tarp over the pile of wood and began to organize his tools into some newly purchased boxes. “I’m not going to hold my breath for everyone to come back tomorrow demanding an appointment with me, though.”

  “Well, isn’t that the mad thing about life? You just never know.” She raised her eyebrows and tacked on, “Do you?” for added emphasis.

  “I suppose.”

  If he could get back to work at the clinic then the ticker would start on his promise to his father, he could wipe his hands clean of his past, move on with the future and...and Kali would be gone.

  He wasn’t quite ready to give her up just yet.

  “Don’t you worry, Kali. Things work at a glacial pace up here. Besides, what would you do if I were hogging all the patients? Your contract is for a month, and if you weren’t busy at the clinic—”

  “I’m sure I could think of a load of things to keep me occupied.”

  “In Dunregan? You must be joking!” Then again...he could think of a number of things to do with Kali to keep her occupied.

  Uh...where did that come from?

  “Of course Dunregan,” Kali replied emphatically, blissfully unaware of his internal monologue.

  What would she want with someone who hauled around baggage as oversized as his anyway?

  “There’s this Polar Bear Club I still have to find out about,” Kali continued enthusiastically, “and I’ve discovered there’s no need to go to the tourist office. The patients have told me about so much more. There’s the cake-baking club, hiking up in the mountains, fell running—”

  “You’re a runner?”

  Kali nodded, his question jolting her back to another time and place. She’d never give up running. It was her escape.

  “Good call.” Brodie interrupted her silent musings. “Running is one thing I missed about being here. The mountain tracks are out of this world. Just the views alone are worth the burn.”

  “Finally!” She forced on a cheery smile. “Something you like about the island.”

  “Ach...” He waved away her playful gibe. “There’s plenty I like about the old lump of rock. Doesn’t mean I have to stay here till my bones are creaking, does it?” He gave her a sly grin. “So...given that we’ve established neither of us are going to be here forever...maybe you and I could go for a run sometime before you go back?”

  “That’d be great!” Her smile faltered a bit.

  “Or not. If you prefer running alone.”

  “No, no. A run together would be great.”

  There was something in her response Brodie couldn’t put a finger on. She wanted to stay? She didn
’t like running with other people? She didn’t like being with him? None of the puzzle pieces fit quite right.

  She leaned her bicycle on her hip and rubbed her hands together, blowing on them even though they were kitted out in a new pair of mittens.

  “I see you’ve been to the shops for a bit of warm-weather gear.”

  “Yes!” She nodded with a self-effacing laugh. “I think I must’ve spent my entire month’s salary on a Dunregan wardrobe, but I’ll finally be warm tonight.”

  “You’re joking, right?”

  She shook her head.

  “Doesn’t the heating work where you are?”

  “Um...not really. But it’s fine. Although my fire-making skills could do with a bit of improvement.”

  “I could show you. I’m all wrapped up here.” Brodie gave the shed a final scan and flicked off the overhead lighting. “Where is it you’re staying again?”

  “Oh, it’s fine. Honestly. It’s just a small cottage, and I’ve got loads of warm clothes now. As long as I wear all of them I’m cozy as a teapot.”

  “Kali. Which cottage?” he pressed.

  “It’s fine—honestly.”

  He wagged a finger at her. “I think you’ve been in Dunregan long enough to know it doesn’t take a man long to figure out every single thing there is to know about a person if he sets his mind to it. I can have a word with your landlord, if you like. Who is it you’re renting your cottage from?”

  “Seriously...” Her voice went up a notch. “I’m absolutely fine!”

  Kali looked anything but fine. There was near panic in her voice, and even through the descending murk of the early evening it was more than apparent that any happiness had drained away from her eyes. A need to protect her overrode his instinct to back away.

  “Hey, you’re all right,” he said gently.

  He checked an impulse to pull her in for a hug when her body language all but shouted, Back off!

  “I’m not trying to pry, Kali. I’m just trying to help you. Make sure you don’t freeze to death while you’re busy covering my back.”

  “So which is it, then? I’m covering your back or taking over?”

  “Easy there, tiger! What’s going on? This isn’t just about dodgy heating, is it?”

  “Sorry, sorry. It’s just been...” Her voice trailed off.

  “A long day. I know. A long week. And you’ve done well.” Again he fought an impulse to tug her in for a protective hug.

  She grabbed the handlebars of her bicycle. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

  “No, sorry... Kali, I can’t let you go back to a house with no heating. Let’s get your bike atop the four-by-four, then I’ll get you home and we’ll build you a fire.”

  Kali eyed him warily, then shook her head. “Sorry, I don’t mean to make such a fuss.” She held her bike out for him to put on top of the four-by-four.

  “Too many boyfriends chasing you round London?”

  “Something like that.”

  Even in the dark he saw her lips tighten. There had been something. He was sure of that now. Something that made her wary of letting people know where she lived. Letting a man know where she lived?

  Whatever it was, he wasn’t going to pry it out of her tonight. He’d build her a fire and leave her to it. He, of all people, should understand a person’s desire to keep things close to their chest.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “SO IT’S NOT just me, is it?” Kali was almost pleased to see Brodie struggling as much as she had with getting the fire to light.

  No. Pleased wasn’t the right word. Relieved was more like it. Proof she wasn’t useless at looking after herself.

  Not that it covered over all the fuss she’d made about him knowing where she lived. Behaving like she had only drawn attention to the fact she had something to hide. And the whole point of coming up here had been because it had seemed safe. A place where she could finally stop the relentless need to check over her shoulder.

  Years of medical school in Ireland had felt safer...but her mother had an Irish connection. One she had always been terrified her father would investigate. Perhaps the passage of time had softened his anger.

  “It appears not, Dr. O’Shea,” Brodie replied, leaning back on the heels of his work boots. “I’ve got a guess as to why it isn’t working, though.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “This is a summer cottage.”

  “Why would that mean the fireplace wouldn’t work? It’s not like summer is tropical up here.”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  “Well, it isn’t.”

  Brodie turned his focus back to the fire. “It could be loads of reasons, but my guess is the top cap was knocked off the chimney and your flue has been stuffed with leaves, or a birds’ nest, so you’ve no longer got a draw. Easy enough to fix, but only with the right tools. We can get Jimmy Crieff to take a look tomorrow, but tonight...” Brodie’s tone changed from informational to nonnegotiable. “You’re coming home with me.”

  “I’m sorry?” she protested, but just as suddenly realized there was a part of her that felt relief. Someone to look after her. And not just anyone. Someone who made her feel safe.

  “I’m not going to let you stay here in the freezing cold, am I? What sort of man would I be, leaving you here all alone to catch pneumonia?” He put on a jaunty grin. “Then we’d have to get another locum in to cover for the locum, who is covering for the doctor, who would have to learn how to make chicken soup.”

  Kali felt herself relaxing. “So would it be a good idea for me to offer to make dinner tonight in thanks?”

  “Throw a few things in a bag,” Brodie ordered before she could rescind. “I’ll get the car warmed up while you get your things together.”

  She went to her bedroom, a bit astonished at how easy it was to go along with the plan. As if her trust in Brodie was innate. The first person in—years, really. Years.

  Her mother had been right. “Have faith,” she had whispered, pressing some money into Kali’s hand before hugging her one last time. “One day you will find a man you love and trust, and your lives together will be good.”

  Kali pressed her eyes shut tight, too late to prevent a couple of tears from popping out. Maybe that was what linked her to Brodie. Two pseudo-orphans, hoping for a safe harbor from all that had passed before.

  * * *

  “You grew up here?” Kali could hardly believe her eyes.

  Even in the darkness it was easy to see the McClellan family house had a substantial footprint. When Brodie flicked on the lights as they entered what she saw took her breath away.

  The design was a stunning combination of modern with a healthy nod of respect to the traditional stone buildings speckled across the island. The house was almost Scandinavian in design, with an equal division of glass, wood and stone. Thick oak beams soared up to the roof, supporting vast floor-to-ceiling windows. The central wall of thick stone gave the house a solid grounding.

  While the view wasn’t visible now, Kali imagined being in the house, particularly in the summer, would feel like being part of the environment that surrounded it. Wild. Protective. Free.

  She was so caught up in absorbing all the details of the house she barely heard Brodie when he answered her.

  “I was born in one of the cottages you might’ve seen on the seafront, near the ferry docks, but when my parents found out my brother was coming along a few years later—he was a surprise—they put an unexpected inheritance toward building this place.”

  “Tell me about your brother.”

  The subject brought a light to her eyes that it had never brought to his own.

  “The wayward McClellan! Never met a mountain he didn’t like.” He tried to affect a comic voice to cover up how he really felt. His
kid brother—Callum. The brother constantly disappearing off, only to be returned hours later by a friend or a neighbor, twigs in his hair, moss on his jumper, an unapologetic grin on his face. The brother he could have looked out for a whole lot better than he had.

  “He sounds interesting.”

  “He is that,” Brodie agreed. And he meant it. “He’s on the mountain rescue squad...does test rides for off-road cycle companies all over Europe. First-class nutter.”

  “He sounds like fun.”

  That was one way to put it.

  “He doesn’t live here with you?”

  “No. Well...sort of. He comes down when he needs things. A twenty-seven-year-old man trapped in the habits of a teenager. But mostly he stays in his but ‘n’ ben up in the mountains.”

  “His what?”

  “A cottage. It’s basically two rooms. One for sleeping in and one for all the rest. Kind of like the one you’re staying in, but with a working fireplace and all his mountain bikes. He comes down every now and again to stay. And steal.” He jiggled his eyebrows up and down.

  * * *

  Brodie’s show of brotherly consternation couldn’t mask the obvious love he had for Callum. What Kali wouldn’t give for just one day with her sister. To make sure she was safe. Ensure her father’s fury hadn’t shifted to her when Kali had fled.

  She forced herself to focus on the house. Wood. Stone. Glass. Deep-cushioned sofas inviting a person to come in and stay awhile. A huge hide on the flagstones in front of a large open fireplace. Highland cow? It was certainly hairy enough.

  “It’s so different from all of the other houses here.” She lowered her voice, speaking in the hushed tones one used in a church. “It’s absolutely beautiful.”

  “Aye, well...”

  Kali giggled. Spell broken. She could see in Brodie’s eyes there was an untold story nestling there amongst the throwaway line. “Is that something all of you Scots say—or just the islanders?”

  “I think you’ll find it’s most Scots. Our rich and varied dialect hard at work! Now, then...” Brodie rubbed his hands together. “Let’s get you a room, shall we? And then we’ll see about getting something rustled up for tea.”