“I—” Words failed her and she stammered to a halt. “Hi.”
“Hi. I hope you don’t mind me dropping by.” The deep, husky voice had its usual effect, setting the blood racing in her veins and bringing a tight knot of desire to her stomach.
“No. No, of course not.” Alex felt ridiculously flustered and uncertain. “What can I do for you?”
Kyle regarded her for a few moments in silence, as if trying himself to remember why he had come. Sighing, he ran the fingers of one hand through his hair, dislodging a couple of wayward locks, which fell across his forehead.
“I wondered…Hell, Alexandra, I don’t really know. I just needed to talk,” he admitted. There was such confusion and loneliness in his voice that her heart melted, and it was all she could do not to fling her arms around him and hug him tight.
Dear Reader,
I have a very soft spot in my heart for gorgeous but troubled Kyle Sinclair—a caring doctor and a good man, but one who has been through the emotional mill in the past couple of years. I was determined to find him a strong and independent woman with a heart of gold. A woman who would see the man he is inside, and who would help him to live and trust and love again. I discovered that woman in Alexandra Patterson, a dedicated, caring nurse who has known loss and disappointment herself.
This is the third linked book set in fictional general practitioners’ offices in close-knit rural communities in beautiful southwest Scotland. It is tough to say goodbye to characters I have come to know so well, but you never know—news of them could turn up in future stories. I may not be able to resist it! It has been lovely catching up with Nic and Hannah and Conor and Kate again, but I hope you will now enjoy the emotional journey Kyle and Alexandra must travel, and that you come to love them as much as I do.
Thank you for your support and interest.
Happy reading,
Margaret McDonagh
His Very Special Nurse
Margaret McDonagh
For Jackie, Lesley, Christine and Irene,
the best district nurses in the world…
thank you for all your kindness and care.
And with thanks to Joanne and Sheila for all their
support and encouragement.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER ONE
‘I HAVE a proposition for you, Alexandra.’
Alex Patterson swallowed. The man’s voice sent shivers of awareness along her spine, and the way he spoke her name raised the hairs on the back of her neck. Deeper than one would expect from looking at him, his voice had an attractive Scottish burr, and sounded like honey drizzling through gravel: rough, husky and temptingly moreish. The kind of voice that should be employed on TV commercials, enticing people to buy things they didn’t need. Her grey gaze met a sultry, midnight-blue one and heat seared through her entire body. She could feel her pulse throbbing in her neck and was grateful to take the chair he indicated, her legs decidedly shaky. The only proposition she could imagine a man like him making was one she should definitely say no to—the kind that would lead a good girl wickedly astray and turn her thoughts to sin. Excitement rippled through her, and she fought the urge to wipe suddenly damp palms on her smart trousers. Hannah hadn’t warned her that Dr Kyle Sinclair was seriously sexy. A fantasy bad boy come to life.
‘A proposition?’ she managed, hoping her voice sounded considerably cooler and more composed than she felt.
As Kyle closed the door and moved round the table in the small meeting room to sit down, Alex continued her assessment of his athletic build…six feet of lean muscle encased in a charcoal suit, the crisp whiteness of his shirt highlighting his bronzed skin. In his early thirties, she judged, his dark hair was short and thick, the couple of stray locks that flopped onto his forehead failing to soften the brooding expression on his far-too-handsome face. The Fates had been more than generous when handing out Kyle’s looks. He was enough to turn any woman’s head and make her forget every scrap of common sense she possessed. A faint dark shadow edged the lean masculinity of his stubborn jaw, and she heard the light rasp as he ran the palm of one hand over his stubbled chin. As for his mouth…Unable to help it, Alex’s gaze lingered there. It was a sensuous mouth, tempting, full of dark promise, the Cupid’s bow that shaped his top lip matched with the fullness of his lower one, giving him a sexy pout that was sinfully distracting.
Aware she was staring, Alex shifted her focus, only to find their gazes locking and holding once more. A fresh wave of heat coursed through her veins. It was hard to decipher the expression in those inscrutable cobalt eyes, impossible to read what he was thinking. She couldn’t explain why, but she had the impression this man was not as he seemed—smooth and efficient on the outside, but full of contradictions, guarding hidden emotions inside. Troubled, hurt, alone. A shiver rippled through her, part awareness, part unease. He lowered his hand from his face and opened the file in front of him before looking up to speak.
‘My understanding is that you are seeking a full-time position as a district nurse.’ Alex nodded when he paused, endeavouring to concentrate on the reason for this meeting, needing to re-establish a sense of purpose and ignore the man’s appeal. ‘Unfortunately, we don’t have such a position available.’
Disappointment clutched at her and she shifted on her chair, wondering why the information could not have been relayed over the phone, saving them both this charade. ‘Then I won’t take up any more of your valuable time.’ Trying to hide how deflated she was, she reached for her bag and began to stand.
‘However…’
Pausing, she glanced up, her throat closing as she looked at him. ‘Yes?’
‘It was suggested that I talk with you first and then, if you are interested, the other partners will meet with us for a more formal discussion.’
‘I see.’ She didn’t see at all, but she was struggling to maintain her composure. Something about being in this man’s presence was managing to fry her brain and disturb her usual calm. Subsiding back on the chair, she set her bag down again and drew in a shaky breath. ‘What do you wish to talk about?’
Steepling his hands, he watched her, the frown making him appear even more serious and unapproachable. ‘I’ve studied your CV, and noted you have experience not only as a district nurse but working within a practice surgery as well.’
‘That is correct.’ Her own hands clenched in her lap as she forced herself to meet and match his expressionless regard. When he glanced away, releasing her from that magnetic dark-blue spell, she sucked air into parched lungs. ‘Although I worked within a hospital for some time first.’
‘In Edinburgh.’
‘Yes. I did my training there, and stayed on the wards for some time before going to work in general practice.’
‘And then you relocated to the south of England?’
Alex nodded, unwilling to divulge the personal reasons for her move and the change of direction in her career. ‘I did some agency nursing for practices at first, and then progressed to the District Nurse Specialist Practitioner Programme.’
‘Why district nursing?’
‘I enjoy following through with patients,’ she explained, more confident now she was on surer ground, sincere about her work. ‘The ongoing care is important to me, rather than just shipping people out of the ward and not knowing what happens to them.’
‘You believe in holistic care?’ Kyle questioned, nothin
g in his tone indicating whether he approved or disapproved of her views.
Once more she made the mistake of looking at him, and fought the fierce inner response that rushed through her the second eye contact was established. She struggled to focus on what she wanted to say. ‘Very much so. To me it’s about caring for the whole person, knowing them and their situation, their carers and families, working as much for prevention as cure, being there to help and advise.’
‘Mmm.’
Alex was unsure whether the brief lift of his brow indicated agreement or whether he was mocking her. Silence stretched, and, nervous, she was compelled to break it. ‘Is there some other vacancy available here, Dr Sinclair?’ she pressed, eager to bring this torturous interview to a conclusion.
‘What we have are two part-time vacancies. We’ve been using agency nurses to cover both positions, but it is not satisfactory on a long term basis.’ He paused a moment, leaning forward and pushing the file containing her CV aside before folding his arms on the table. ‘It isn’t something we had considered before, but with your combined experience and qualifications we thought it might work. How would you feel about taking on both roles? It would add up to the full-time hours you are seeking but would mean some days spent working here in the surgery and some days as a district nurse out in the community.’
The suggestion took Alex by surprise. It was an unusual arrangement, but one that had definite appeal. She desperately wanted to remain in this area of rural south-west Scotland where she had grown up, and to be able to maintain the family home her father had left to her, but to do so she needed a full-time job. Badly. Local vacancies for the work she desired had proved elusive, and although if worst came to worst she could try the district hospital in the main county town, she really didn’t want to go back on the wards. Kyle’s notion of her taking on the dual roles at the Glenside Surgery in Rigtownbrae could be the answer to her prayers.
‘Yes,’ she allowed, her decision made. ‘I would be interested in doubling up—should you and your partners decide I am suitable.’
Alex suppressed a tingle as Kyle took a moment to survey her once more, his slow inspection tightening her insides and speeding up her already racing pulse. ‘It would mean some juggling with the rotas and maybe some irregular shifts. The district nurses have a working arrangement with other local practices for out-of-hours work, so you will have occasional weekend duties.’
‘That won’t be a problem. I’ll be happy to fit in as needed.’ Alex tried a smile, her nerves refusing to abate despite the more hopeful outcome that might lie ahead. ‘May I ask, what out-of-hours cover the practice works as far as the doctors are concerned?’
‘The majority vote was to switch to the deputizing service.’ Kyle’s jaw tightened, and she guessed the subject had been a bone of contention between the partners. Alex tried to prevent her feelings from showing. No doubt as a young doctor Kyle wanted his evenings and weekends free for his social life. It was a common trend now, but one she disapproved of. ‘It’s no secret that I wasn’t keen on the idea,’ he continued, the edge in his voice surprising her as much as his words. ‘I believe we should have followed Lochanrig’s example in maintaining our own service. The patients aren’t keen on the new system—and it’s all about that continuity of care you were talking about, not just fobbing them off with whoever is available, someone who doesn’t know anything about them or their histories.’
Alex held her tongue, glancing at Kyle from under her lashes, rethinking her opinion of him, impressed by his words and the sincerity in his voice. She knew first hand about the special care provided by the neighbouring practice he had mentioned. Her father had been registered with Lochanrig, founded and maintained by the Frost family, and she would always be grateful for the wonderful attention he had received from Drs Hannah Frost and Nic DiAngelis, the married couple who’d run the practice since Hannah’s parents had died.
Alex had come to know them and their team of nurses well over the last year or more. Some of the staff she remembered from her youth, while dedicated, generous Hannah and her attractive Italian husband had become welcome friends. Throughout his illness, her father would have hated some stranger attending him if there was a problem, but fortunately either Nic or Hannah had always been on hand, especially near the end. It had made a big difference to her father and herself to have the continuity of care that Kyle clearly championed as much as she did. However much he was unsettling her on a personal level, that he felt so strongly about the issue pleased her, because it had to mean he cared about his patients.
Her father had lost his long battle against his illness two months ago and, having put her career and her life on hold for more than a year to care for him, Alex knew it was time to venture onward again, no matter how difficult, and how much she still felt the painful loss. There were no vacancies at Lochanrig but everyone had encouraged her to stay local, to follow her dream to keep the family home going, and to revive her career here. It was Hannah who had tipped her off about the possible vacancy in Rigtownbrae, who had encouraged her to send her CV, and who had arranged for her to meet Kyle Sinclair.
Maybe this part district nursing, part working at the surgery role was just what she needed to step back into life again. Although how she would feel having Kyle as a colleague she couldn’t imagine. Hannah and Nic hadn’t told her much about their friend, but Kyle was not what she had expected, and clearly he was not an easy man to know or understand. He had a restless edge, as if something was simmering inside him, and she sensed all was not well in his life, that he had been hurt somehow—and that hurt was festering. Maybe she recognised it because she shared it, was still grieving for her much-loved father…and for the life she had willingly but suddenly left behind to come home and nurse him.
As Kyle flicked through the papers in the file once more, the perpetual frown knotting his brow, Alex bit back a sigh. Her palms still felt clammy, and the butterflies were still conducting acrobatic manoeuvres in her stomach. She didn’t remember ever being this nervous, not because she doubted her qualifications or abilities, but because this meant so much to her and she wanted, needed, this job. It didn’t help that she was so conscious of Kyle Sinclair and his sinful attractiveness. He made her anxious, uncertain, flustered. She might be ready to get back to work, but she wasn’t sure she could handle the thought of being interested in a man again. Not that she was interested in Kyle, she hastened to reassure herself, but her reaction to him had given her a jolt.
It had been a long time since she had even noticed a man. Not since Mitchell. She covered the exclamation that fought to escape by turning the sound into a smothered cough. Now was not the time to think of Mitchell. They had been together for over two years. She had left Scotland and proximity to her father to move down to the south of England to be with him, because of his need to further his career. She had loved him, had believed he felt the same, had trusted him, agreed to marry him, had thought she knew all there was to know about him. Yet it turned out she hadn’t really known him at all. The sense of betrayal still hurt. And she would never forget what he had done, or the words he had spoken.
Unsettled by her thoughts, and on edge at the continuing silence, she looked at Kyle’s bent head, dismayed to find herself wondering if his dark hair would feel as silken to the touch as it looked. Alarmed, she dragged her gaze away and stared out of the window, feeling that if he didn’t speak soon she was going to explode! Just as he snapped the file closed and returned his attention to her, Alex’s mouth opened in shock as she saw an elderly man, who was passing on the pavement across the road from the surgery stumble a moment and then crash to the ground.
‘Alexandra, I—’
‘Oh my goodness!’
‘Excuse me?’
Unmindful of where she was and how important this appointment could be to her future, she thrust back her chair and hurried from the room, blind to the dumbstruck expression on Kyle Sinclair’s face.
‘What the hell?’
<
br /> Bemused, Kyle watched the door bounce back on its hinges as the woman disappeared from view down the corridor. Her bag remained on the table, either left behind in her inexplicable urge to flee, or because she intended to return, he had no idea which. But, then, he had long ago given up trying to understand women. What had just happened to drive cool, composed Alexandra Patterson to urgent action? She’d been looking past him out of the window, he realised, turning to gaze at the rain-washed scene outside. His eyes widened as he saw her dash across the road in front of an oncoming car and fall to her knees on the opposite pavement, beside the prone figure of crusty old Joe Harmon. Swearing under his breath, Kyle sped from his own chair, grabbed some supplies from his consulting room and rushed through Reception, leaving startled staff and patients in his wake.
By the time he joined Alexandra, she’d taken off her jacket, seemingly impervious to the wet, windy autumn afternoon, and she used it to shelter the man’s balding, bloodied head from the worst of the rain. Handing her a pair of surgical gloves, Kyle pulled on his own and forced his attention away from the distracting sight of the increasingly wet shirt clinging to Alexandra’s generous, feminine curves. It was more than time he focused on their patient.
‘What have you been up to, Joe?’ he asked, carrying out a swift but detailed assessment of the pensioner’s injuries, checking for any neck trauma, receiving only a surly grunt in reply.
‘He tripped.’ Kyle glanced up at Alexandra’s intervention, startled anew by her smoky grey eyes. ‘From what I saw, he caught his foot on a paving slab and went right over, banging his head. He seems to have damaged his shoulder and he has a graze on his hand, too.’
Kyle frowned. He had discovered that. He was the doctor after all. Yet he felt surplus to requirements as Alexandra worked competently on the other side of Joe, stemming the bleeding from the nasty head wound, applying pressure on a pad, and talking soothingly to the disoriented, grumpy man.
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