The Doctor's Rebel Knight

by MELANIE MILBURNE

  ‘Dr Nin?’ a female voice called out to her from the pavement.

  Fran opened her eyes and vaguely registered a middle-aged woman looking at her with wide-eyed concern. ‘I—I’m sorry,’ she said, swallowing back nausea. ‘I…I have the most appalling headache. I…I won’t be able to do the clinic…I’m so sorry…’

  She stumbled back to the car and got behind the wheel in a tangle of limbs that was as ungainly as it was painful.

  The clinic receptionist—or at least that was who Fran assumed it was by the uniform and name badge the woman was wearing—rushed to the driver’s door. ‘Do you really think you should be driving, Dr Nin?’ she asked, frowning. ‘I can get someone to take you home if you like.’

  ‘No…Please,’ Fran insisted, pulling down the seat belt, strangely comforted by the security it offered in her disordered state. ‘I’m fine. It’s not far. I wouldn’t have driven at all except…well…I’m sorry…I have to go…‘

  ‘You take care of yourself, dear,’ Linda Brew said, patting the window panel. ‘The patients will understand. I’ll make another booking for another day. How about tomorrow, is that all right?’

  Fran was beyond thinking of going through all this again and mumbled something in reply as she started the car. She backed out and drove back to Caro’s house as slowly as she could without drawing too much attention to herself.

  Rufus greeted her with a puzzled look when she came through the door. Fran gave his ears a ruffle with a hand that was still clammy and trembling.

  And then she crawled like an injured child into her darkened bedroom, huddling up into the foetal position, rocking and rocking until the sobs that racked her chest slowly subsided.

  Chapter Five

  WHEN Fran woke up it was still light, the afternoon sun slanting in through a gap in the curtains. Rufus was standing by her bed, wagging his tail, his brown marble-like eyes beseeching.

  ‘I suppose you would like a walk, right?’ she asked, hauling herself upright and shoving the bird’s nest of her hair away from her face.

  Rufus barked and wagged his tail so hard he knocked off the newly framed photo of the twins she had put on the bedside table. ‘Come on, then,’ she said, putting her shoes on, wincing as her leg protested after being still for so long.

  As she walked along the beach with Rufus, she found herself going the extra distance to the rock pools, rationalising that it was purely for Rufus’s sake as he had been locked up in the house for most of the day. Of course, it wasn’t exactly for Rufus’s sake that she covertly peered up the cliff to make out Jacob’s home.

  The house was certainly well hidden by the bush surrounding it, but she could just make out the bank of windows that overlooked the bay. She shielded her eyes with one hand and angled her gaze to see if she could see anyone moving about. The trees were swaying in the slight breeze, giving her an occasional glimpse of the timber frame of the house but nothing else.

  ‘Are you looking for me?’ a deep male voice said from behind her.

  Fran’s heart jumped. She spun around but because of the weakness in her leg she lost her balance. She felt herself teetering but the iron brace of Jacob’s hands on her upper arms steadied her, holding her as he looked down at her, his body so close to hers she could feel his warmth.

  ‘Y-you gave me such a fright,’ she said, breathing heavily from residual panic. Of course, it had nothing to do with the fact he was wearing nothing but his running shorts and shoes, neither did it have anything to do with the steely grip of his fingers on her arms and how close she was standing to him.

  ‘Sorry,’ he said, releasing her, ‘but you were looking rather intently up there. I was sure you must have wanted to see me about something.’

  Fran rubbed at her arms for a moment but the skin still tingled where his hands had pressed. ‘No, I was…er…just going for a walk.’

  He gave her a long and probing look. ‘Headache all gone?’

  Fran compressed her lips, forcing herself to hold his gaze. ‘How do you know I had a headache?’

  ‘Linda Brew at the clinic told me,’ he said. ‘I called in there on my way past to find you had cancelled a full list of patients. That must have been some headache.’

  Fran tightened her mouth even further. ‘It was.’

  ‘You know,’ he said, still looking at her in that penetrating way of his, ‘if you really would prefer to sun yourself on the beach, maybe you should go somewhere else where no one knows you’re a doctor. If you pull that sort of stunt once too often around here, you’re going to tick off a lot of people.’

  ‘Maybe I will go somewhere else,’ Fran said stiffly, and turned to look for Rufus but there was no sign of him.

  ‘Rufus?’ she called, and began to scan the beach, her heart starting to move from a canter to a gallop when there was response. ‘Where can he have got to? He was here just a minute or two ago.’

  ‘He won’t be far away. He’s probably picked up a scent and gone after it.’

  ‘I hope you’re right,’ she said, frowning in worry. ‘Caro will kill me if anything happens to that dog.’

  Jacob gave a whistle, waited and then repeated it.

  Fran strained her ears to listen above the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. ‘Did you hear that?’ she asked as she picked up the faint sound of a bark.

  ‘Yeah,’ Jacob said, reaching for her hand. ‘Come on, I think I know where he is.’

  Fran hesitated for a second before she slipped her hand into his, her stomach dropping another two floors as his fingers wrapped around hers. She had held hands with her last boyfriend for weeks and not once had her arm fizzed like it was doing now. It wasn’t the first time she had thought it, and she was almost certain it wasn’t going to be the last, but if that was what Jacob’s touch felt like, what on earth would it be like to be kissed by him?

  ‘There’s a small cave behind that rockfall over there,’ Jacob said as he helped Fran over the rocks. ‘The main network of caves was cut off when that part of the cliff came down just after the Second World War. There’s been no restoration work conducted as the caves were never considered all that safe for public use.’

  Fran was glad of the strength of his grip as she navigated the rough terrain. ‘Do you think that’s where Rufus has gone?’ she asked once she was back on level ground.

  Jacob released her hand and pointed to the grassy fringe at the base of the cliff. ‘You can see where the rabbits have been around here,’ he said. ‘My guess is he’s chased one into the cave.’

  She looked at the tiny opening of the cave, barely visible through the scrubby growth. ‘How will we get him out?’

  He gave her a brief unreadable glance before he looked back at the opening. ‘Good question.’

  Fran tucked her windswept hair behind one shoulder. ‘I guess you’ve probably already guessed he’s not the most obedient dog.’

  ‘It might not be a matter of obedience, getting him out,’ he said, crouching down to separate the overgrown scrub. ‘If he’s gone in too far he might have become trapped. God knows what the condition of the other caves is like in there after all these years. Give him another call and let’s see if he responds.’

  Fran called Rufus a couple of times, giving Jacob a what-do-we-do-now look when there was no response, not even a scuffle or a whine. ‘Maybe he’s not in there after all,’ she said hopefully.

  Jacob picked a piece of rust-coloured shaggy dog hair off one of the bushes and held it up to her to inspect.

  Her shoulders went down. ‘Oh…’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ he said, working at the entrance again. ‘He might just be out of hearing. I’ll give him another whistle.’

  Fran watched as he cleared away the scrub, the muscles of his back and shoulders contracting under his tanned skin. He was in superb condition, not a gram of fat on him anywhere. It made her want to slide the palms of her hands over him to see if he felt as good as he looked.

  ‘Did you hear that?’ h
e asked.

  She looked at him blankly for a moment, her hands still mentally exploring his taut buttocks. ‘Um…no…I didn’t…‘

  ‘He’s definitely in there,’ Jacob said, springing to his feet with the sort of agility Fran could only envy. ‘Will you be all right here for a few minutes? I’m going to run up to the house to get a torch and some gear.’

  ‘Yes, of course.’

  She watched him jog back up the beach to the pathway leading to his house until he disappeared. She turned back to the cave’s entrance and bent down to peer into the blackness. ‘Rufus?’ she called out. ‘Rufus?’

  She heard it this time, a muffled bark of distress that made her stomach curdle with fear. ‘Are you all right?’ she asked even as she thought, What a stupid question. The poor mutt could hardly answer her but somehow she felt he would like to know there was someone there to help him.

  It seemed no time at all before Jacob was back. Fran turned as he rock-hopped his way to her, carrying a hard hat, torch, a pair of overalls and a rope.

  ‘Let me guess,’ she said. ‘You’ve done this sort of search and rescue before.’

  He gave her a ghost of a smile, making her ache to see more. ‘Yeah, you could say that.’ He stepped into the overalls and did up the press-lock buttons up the front, before placing the hard hat on his head.

  He uncoiled the rope with a clip attached to the end and, moving past Fran, tied it securely to a tree a few feet away, tugging on it to check it held.

  ‘You’re going in?’ she asked, wincing as she thought of the spiders and sticky cobwebs.

  ‘I won’t be able to go very far,’ he said, and clipped the other end of the rope to the belt on his overalls. ‘It’ll be a bit of a squeeze but I should be able to see far enough inside to work out where Rufus is.’

  Fran was embarrassed at the trouble her sister’s dog had caused, but was also secretly pleased to watch Jacob in action. There was something incredibly attractive about a man’s man, the sort of man who was not afraid of a bit of dirt and dust, not afraid of the unknown, just determined to get the job done, whatever it took. She supposed it was part of his training as a cop. He had that aura of command about him. Cool under pressure, calm in the face of adversity. Dependable, dedicated…deliciously male and—

  Fran had to shake herself out of her reverie when Jacob backed out of the cave entrance, asking for Rufus’s lead. She crouched down beside his long legs and passed it to him. ‘Can you see him?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes,’ he said as he moved back into the cave. ‘It looks like he’s dropped down a crevice.’

  Fran felt her insides clench. ‘Is he hurt?’

  ‘It’s hard to tell,’ he answered. ‘Ah…I can see him better now. No, he looks fine. Just a bit shocked, I think. Hey, boy. What are you doing down there?’

  Fran let out a breath of relief when she heard an answering whine. She watched as Jacob wriggled some more, this time leaving just his ankles and feet out of the cave as he reached down into the crevice and clipped on Rufus’s lead.

  Within a few dusty seconds both man and dog were outside, Rufus looking distinctly cowed after his adventure and Jacob looking…well…gorgeous, Fran decided. He had a cobweb draped on each broad shoulder and a smear of dust over his right cheek, and the graze above his cheekbone had started bleeding again from being scratched by something.

  She had never seen a more heart-stopping sight.

  ‘I don’t know how to thank you,’ she said as she took Rufus’s lead.

  Jacob used his forearm to mop the sweat from his brow. ‘No problem.’

  Fran’s eyes were automatically drawn to a mark on his arm. ‘Your arm…’ She peered closer. ‘It looks like it’s been burnt.’

  ‘Yeah, I got that when I was out helping at the fire in the valley. Old Jack McBride was doing some brush-cutting and a spark lit a scrub fire. A branch came down and I wasn’t quick enough to get out of the way.’

  ‘But it needs dressing,’ she said, frowning up at him. ‘Burns are notorious for getting infected and you’ve just been crawling around in a dusty cave.’

  He gave her a wry look. ‘Yeah, well, I would have if there had been a doctor on duty at the clinic. I called past but Linda told me you had shot through with a headache.’

  Fran bit her lip, shifting her weight from foot to foot. The way he had said the word ‘headache’ felt like he had lifted his fingers in quotation marks for emphasis. That he didn’t believe her story about the headache was as clear as the cobwebs hanging from his shoulders.

  For the want of something to fill the awkward silence she said, ‘Um…you have cobwebs on your shoulders…’

  He gave them a quick brush off his overalls and took off his hat. ‘I felt something go down the back of my neck but it might have just been a bit of dust.’

  Fran watched as he stepped out of the overalls, her stomach giving a little flutter of awareness as his bronzed flesh came into view. He had a light dusting of chest hair, covering both pectoral muscles, narrowing down the flat plane of his stomach, finally disappearing below the waistband of his shorts. Her imagination did the rest and it made her heart race as a result.

  ‘Anything there?’ he asked, turning his back to her to inspect.

  Fran swept her gaze over his taut frame, marvelling again at the breadth of his shoulders and the narrowness of his waist and hips. ‘Er…no…there’s nothing there…‘ she said over a ridge in her throat.

  He turned back to face her. ‘Do you think you could manage the pathway up to my place?’ he asked.

  Fran would never have admitted it even if she couldn’t. ‘Sure, but there’s no need to—’

  ‘Hey, I saved your sister’s dog,’ he said with that almost-there smile. ‘Doesn’t that mean you owe me in some way? Besides, you can dress my burn for me as you were indisposed earlier.’

  She pursed her lips, even though her stomach gave that little flutter of excitement again at being with him—alone. ‘I guess I do owe you something for Rufus’s sake…‘

  He scooped up his gear and, tucking it under one arm, reached for Rufus’s lead with the other. ‘Let me take him,’ he said. ‘You go first and then if you lose your footing I’ll be able to stop you from slipping all the way down.’

  ‘You make it sound quite perilous,’ Fran said as she made her way carefully over the rocks.

  He kept a few paces back, keeping Rufus well out of her way. ‘It’s just a bit rough and overgrown in spots but I don’t want to cut it back as it keeps trespassers away.’

  Fran was conscious of her limp as she started on the path, conscious, too, of the fact that Jacob had a clear and uninterrupted view of her behind all the way to the top. It was a little unnerving to think about a full-blooded man’s gaze on her, especiallyJacob’s. Something about him made her aware of her body in a way she hadn’t been in months. She had seen the way his eyes had swept over her on the beach, taking in her light skirt and close-fitting top. Her skin had felt as if he had touched her with those long calloused fingers, making every fine hair on her body stand up erect, like soldiers at drill practice.

  Lost in her thoughts, Fran planted her foot between two rocks but somehow caught the edge of one. She wobbled for a moment and just as she thought she was going to go down, Jacob’s hands settled on her waist.

  ‘Whoa there,’ he said, the warmth of his body behind her like a protective shield. ‘Take it easy.’

  Fran breathed in the scent of him, the earthy male scent that made the blood start to race in her veins. She had only to lean back and she would feel every hard plane of his body against hers. The temptation to do so was almost overwhelming, and if it hadn’t been for the steep incline and the presence of Rufus, Fran knew she might very well have given into it. ‘I—I’m fine…‘ she said a little breathlessly.

  His hands slowly released her. ‘It’s a bit clearer up ahead, not so many rocks.’

  Fran continued on, stopping at one point to look at a gecko that was making
the most of the afternoon sun. ‘Have you seen any snakes along here?’ she asked.

  ‘One or two,’ he said. ‘More see you than you see them, of course. They can get pretty aggressive during the mating season in February, but only if you disturb them.’

  The bush opened up in front of them and Fran got her first full glimpse of Jacob’s house. It was a simple design, large windows and a wrap-around deck that would be perfect for lazy afternoons, sipping tea, relaxing and taking in the view.

  ‘Have you bought this or are you renting?’ she asked as he led the way inside.

  ‘I bought it,’ Jacob said. ‘Even if I move on at some point I figured it was too good a location to miss out on. My parents honeymooned in Pelican Bay thirty-five years ago. Back then there wasn’t even a general store. I think if my father hadn’t been killed they would have moved here to live in their retirement. My mother loved sitting out on the deck, listening to the birds. She even tamed a magpie while she was here last.’

  ‘I can see why she loved it so much,’ Fran said, looking at the view. ‘It’s so…so peaceful.’

  ‘I’ve been doing a bit of work on it here and there. It needed a new kitchen and the floors needed sanding. All I have to do now is paint the spare bedroom and I’m done.’

  Fran looked around in awe. Even her do-it-yourself-expert father would have been impressed with the handiwork. The timber floors were smooth and shiny, covered here and there with woven rugs. The open-plan kitchen was decked out in stainless-steel appliances with glass splashbacks along the benches. It led to a dining and family room area that was expansive, the sweeping view of the ocean below making her stop and stare.

  ‘You can see right along the beach from here,’ she said. ‘It’s beautiful.’

  He came to stand beside her. ‘There’s a sea eagle’s nest up in those trees over there.’

  Fran could feel her senses spring to attention at his closeness. ‘Where?’ Her voice came out husky and soft.

  His shoulder brushed hers as he lifted his arm to point to a scraggly nest at the top of a gumtree. ‘There,’ he said. ‘Can you see that crooked branch up there? It’s just to the right of that.’