When JOANNA NEIL discovered Mills & Boon®, her lifelong addiction to reading crystallised into an exciting new career writing Mills & Boon® Medical Romance™. Her characters are probably the outcome of her varied lifestyle, which includes working as a clerk, typist, nurse and infant teacher. She enjoys dressmaking and cooking at her Leicestershire home. Her family includes a husband, son and daughter, an exuberant yellow Labrador and two slightly crazed cockatiels. She currently works with a team of tutors at her local education centre, to provide creative writing workshops for people interested in exploring their own writing ambitions.

Resisting Her Rebel Doc
Joanna Neil

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Table of Contents

Cover

About the Author

Title Page

Dear Reader

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

Copyright

Dear Reader,

First love, young love … such an intense, wonderful experience. Is it possible that it can survive the ravages of time and be a ‘for ever’ kind of love?

Well, the answer to that is maybe. Sometimes it needs to change and mature, to grow into something else before young lovers can reach the fulfilment they long for.

Life in general—along with a broken romance and a troublesome background of family secrets—manages to get in the way and mess things up for Caitlin and Brodie when they meet up again in the beautiful surroundings of rural Buckinghamshire.

I hope you enjoy reading about their skirmishes and triumphs as they find one another once more.

With love

Joanna

CHAPTER ONE

‘WHAT WILL YOU DO?’ Molly stood by the desk at the nursing station, riffling through the papers in a wire tray. ‘Will you go to the wedding?’ She sent Caitlin a sympathetic glance. ‘It must be a really difficult situation for you.’

Caitlin nodded. ‘Yes, it is, to be honest. These last few weeks have been a nightmare. It’s all come as a complete shock to me and right now I’m not sure how I’m going to deal with it.’ She pulled a face, pushing back a couple of chestnut curls that had strayed on to her forehead. Her shoulder-length hair was a mass of wild, natural curls but for her work at the hospital she usually kept it pinned back out of the way. ‘I don’t want to go but I don’t see how I can avoid it—when all’s said and done, Jenny’s my cousin. My family—my aunt, especially—will want me to be there for the celebrations. I don’t want to be the cause of any breakdown in family relationships by not going. It will cause a huge upset if I stay away.’

Yet how could she bear to watch her cousin tie the knot with the man who just a short time ago had been the love of her life? She and Matt had even started to talk about getting engaged and then—wham!—Jenny had come along and suddenly everything had changed.

Her usually mobile mouth flattened into a straight line. When she’d opened the envelope first thing this morning back at the flat and taken out the beautifully embossed invitation card, her spirits had fallen to rock-bottom. She’d had a sick feeling that the day was headed from then on into a downward spiral.

Sure enough, just a few minutes later as she had opened the fridge door and taken out a carton of milk, her prediction was reinforced. She’d shaken the empty carton in disbelief. One of her flatmates must have drained the last drops of milk and then put it back on the shelf. She’d stared at it. No coffee before starting work? It was unthinkable!

‘I can see how awkward it is for you.’ Molly sighed, bringing Caitlin’s thoughts back to the present. ‘Families are everything, aren’t they? Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do in order to keep the peace. I just wish you weren’t leaving us. I know how you feel about working alongside Jenny and Matt but we’ll miss you so much.’

‘I’ll miss you too,’ Caitlin said with feeling. Molly was a children’s nurse, brilliant at her job and a good friend, but now, as Caitlin looked around the ward, she felt sadness growing deep inside her. She’d been working at this hospital for several years, specialising as a children’s doctor, making friends and getting to know the inquisitive and endearing children who had come into her care.

It would be such a wrench to put it all behind her, but she knew she had to make a fresh start. She couldn’t bear to stay while Matt was here. He had betrayed her and hurt her deeply. ‘We’ll keep in touch, won’t we?’ she said, putting on a bright face. ‘I won’t be going too far away—Buckinghamshire’s only about an hour’s drive from here.’

Molly nodded. She was a pretty girl with hazel eyes and dark, almost black hair cut in a neat, silky bob. ‘Are you going to live at home? Didn’t you say your mother needed to have someone close by her these days?’

‘Yes, that’s right. Actually, I thought it would be a good chance for me to keep an eye on her now that she’s getting on a bit and beginning to get a few aches and pains. It’s been worrying me for quite a while that I’m so far away.’ She smiled. ‘I think she’s really quite pleased that I’ll be staying with her for a while, just until I can sort out a place of my own.’

She started to look through the patients’ charts that were neatly stacked on the desk. Her whole world was changing. She loved this job; she’d thought long and hard before giving in her notice, but how could she go on working here as long as Matt was going to be married to her cousin? And, worse, Jenny was going to take up a job here too.

She shuddered inwardly. It was still alien to her to think of him as her ex. They’d been together for eighteen months and it had been a terrible jolt to discover that he’d fallen out of love with her and gone off with another woman.

‘I shall have to look for another job, of course, but there are a couple of hospitals in the area. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find something. I hope not, anyway.’ She straightened up and made an effort to pull herself together. No matter how much she was hurting, she knew instinctively that it was important from now on to make plans and try to look on the positive side. She had to get over this and move on. She glanced at Molly. ‘Perhaps we could meet up from time to time—we could go for a coffee together, or a meal, maybe?’

‘Yeah, that’ll be good.’ Molly cheered up and began to glance through the list of young patients who were waiting to be seen. ‘The test results are back on the little boy with the painful knee,’ she pointed out helpfully. ‘From the looks of things it’s an infection.’

‘Hmm.’ Caitlin quickly scanned the laboratory form. ‘It’s what we thought. I’ll arrange for the orthopaedic surgeon to drain the fluid from the joint and we’ll start him on the specific antibiotic right away.’ She wrote out a prescription and handed it to Molly.

‘Thanks. I’ll see to it.’

‘Good.’ Caitlin frowned. ‘I’d like to follow up on him to see how he’s doing, but I expect Matt will take over my patients when I leave here. I’ll miss my little charges.’

Caitlin phoned the surgeon to set things in motion and then went to check up on a four-year-old patient who’d been admitted with breathing problems the previous day. The small child was sleeping, his breathing coming in short gasps, his cheeks chalky-pale against the white of the hospital pillows. He’d been so poorly when he’d been brought in yesterday and she’d been desperately concerned for him. But now, after she had listened to his chest and checked the monitors, she felt reassured.

‘He seems to be doing much better,’ she told his parents, who were sitting by his bedside, waiting anxiously. ‘The intravenous steroids and nebuliser treatments have opened up his airways and made it easier for him to breathe. We’ll keep him on those and on the oxygen for another day or so and you should gradually begin to see a great improvement. The chest X-ray didn’t show anything untoward, so we can assume it was just flare-up of the asthma. I’ll ask the nurse to talk to you to see if we can find ways of avoiding too many of those in the future.’

‘Thank you, doctor.’ They looked relieved, and after talking with them for a little while longer Caitlin left them, taking one last glance at the child before going back to the central desk to see if any more test results had come in.

‘There’s a phone call for you, Caitlin.’ The clerk at the nurses’ station held the receiver aloft as she approached the desk. ‘Sounds urgent.’

‘Okay, thanks.’ Caitlin took the receiver from her and said in an even tone, ‘Hello, this is Dr Braemar. How may I help?’

‘Hi, Caitlin.’ The deep male voice was warm and compelling in a way that was oddly, bone-meltingly familiar. ‘I don’t know if you remember me—it’s been quite a while. I’m Brodie Driscoll. We used to live near one another in Ashley Vale?’

She drew in a quick breath. Brodie Driscoll! How could she possibly forget him? He was the young man who had haunted her teenage dreams and sent hot thrills rocketing through her bloodstream. Just hearing his name had been enough to fire up all her senses. He had been constantly in her thoughts back then—and to be scrupulously honest even now the sound of his voice brought prickles of awareness shooting from the tips of her toes right up to her temples.

Not that she’d ever let on that he had the power to affect her like this—not then and certainly not now! Heaven forbid she should ever fall for the village bad boy, let alone become involved in any way with him. He was a rebel, through and through, trouble with a capital T … But who could resist him? His roguish smile and his easy charm made him utterly irresistible.

‘Oh, I remember,’ she said softly. She couldn’t imagine why he was calling her like this, out of the blue. Not to talk about old times, surely? Her pulse quickened. Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad idea, after all …?

‘That’s good, I’m glad you haven’t forgotten me.’ There was a smile in his voice but his next words brought her out of her wistful reverie and swiftly back to the here and now. ‘I’m sorry to ring you at work, Caitlin, but something’s happened that I think you need to know about.’

‘Oh? That’s okay … what is it?’ She’d no idea how or why he’d tracked her down, but he sounded serious, and all at once she was anxious to hear what he had to say.

‘It’s about your mother. I’m not sure if you know, but I moved into the house next door to hers a couple of weeks ago, so I see her quite often when she’s out and about on the smallholding.’

She hadn’t known that. Her mother was always busy with the animals and the orchard; knowing how friendly she was with everyone it was easy to see how she and Brodie would pass the time of day with one another. Her mouth curved. It was good that she had someone nearby to take an interest in her.

‘What’s happened?’ she asked. ‘Are the animals escaping on to your property?’ Her mother could never resist taking in strays and wounded creatures and nursing them back to health. ‘I know the fence was looking a bit rickety last time I was there. I made a few running repairs, but if there’s a problem I’ll make sure it’s sorted.’

‘No, it isn’t that.’ There was a sombre edge to his tone and Caitlin tensed, suddenly alert. ‘I’m afraid it’s much more serious,’ he said. ‘Your mother has had an accident, Caitlin. She had a fall and I’m pretty sure she’s broken her hip. I called the ambulance a few minutes ago and the paramedics are transferring her into it right now. I’ll go with her to the hospital, but I thought you should know what’s happening.’

Caitlin’s face paled rapidly. ‘I— Yes, of course. I … Thank you, Brodie. I’ll get over there … I need to be with her.’ She frowned. ‘What makes you think she’s broken her hip?’ She added tentatively, ‘Perhaps it’s not quite as serious as that.’

‘That’s what I was hoping, but she can’t move her leg and it’s at an odd angle—it looks as though it’s become shorter than the other one. I’m afraid she’s in a lot of pain.’

‘Oh, dear.’ Those were typical signs of a broken hip. The day was just going rapidly from bad to worse. ‘Will they be taking her to Thame Valley Hospital?’

‘That’s right. She’ll go straight to A&E for assessment.’ He paused as someone at the other end of the line spoke to him. She guessed the paramedic had approached him to say they were ready to leave.

‘I’m sorry, I have to go,’ he said.

‘All right … and thanks again for ringing me, Brodie.’ She hesitated then said quickly, ‘Give her my love, will you, and tell her I’ll be with her as soon as I can?’

‘I will.’ He cut the call and Caitlin stood for a moment, staring into space, trying to absorb what he’d told her.

‘Are you all right?’ Emerging from one of the patients’ bays, the senior registrar came over to the desk and looked her over briefly. ‘You’re as white as a sheet,’ he commented. ‘What’s happened? Is it something to do with one of the patients?’

She shook her head. ‘My mother’s had an accident—a fall. A neighbour’s going with her to the hospital—it sounds as though she’s broken her hip.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ he said with a frown. ‘I know how worrying that must be for you, especially with her not living close by. You’ll want to go to her.’

‘Yes, I do … But are you sure it’s all right?’ She wanted to jump at the chance to leave but she had patients who needed to be seen.

‘It’s fine. I’ll take over your case load. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure Molly will fill me in on some of the details.’

‘Thanks,’ she said, relieved.

She left the hospital a short time later, walking out into warm sunshine. The balmy weather seemed so at odds with what was happening.

She picked up an overnight bag from her flat. The news was dreadful and she was full of apprehension about what she might find when she caught up with her mother. It was a relief at least to know that Brodie was with her. She must be in shock and in terrible pain but it would be a comfort to her to have someone by her side. Caitlin would be eternally grateful to Brodie for the way he had responded to her mother’s predicament.

Guilt and anxiety washed over her. She should have been there; somehow she should have been able to prevent this from happening … She tried as best she could, but it wasn’t always possible for her to get away every week, with shift changes and staff shortages and so on. It was frustrating.

Her heart was thumping heavily as she drove along the familiar route towards her home town. She had the car window wound down so that she could feel the breeze on her face, but even the heat and the beautiful landscape of the Buckinghamshire countryside couldn’t distract her from her anxiety.

How bad was it? Being a doctor sometimes had its disadvantages—she knew all too well how dangerous a hip fracture could be, the complications involved: perhaps a significant amount of internal bleeding and the possibility of disabling consequences.

She gripped the steering wheel more firmly. Think positively, she reminded herself. Her mother was in good hands and she would be there with her in just a short time.

A few minutes later she slid the car into a parking bay at the Thame Valley Hospital and then hurried into the Accident and Emergency department, anxious to find out how her mother was getting on.

‘They’ve been doing some pre-op procedures, X-rays and blood tests and so on,’ the nurse said. ‘And as soon as those are complete the surgeon will want to talk to her. Mr Driscoll thought maybe you might like to have a cup of coffee with him while you’re waiting. He asked me to tell you he’s in the cafeteria.’ She smiled and added good-naturedly, ‘If you leave me your phone number, I’ll give you a ring when it’s all right for you to see your mother.’

‘Okay, thanks, that’ll be great.’ Caitlin wrote down her number on a slip of paper and then hurried away to find Brodie.

He caught her glance as soon as she entered the cafeteria. ‘Hi there,’ he said with a smile, coming to greet her, his blue gaze moving fleetingly over her slender figure. She had discarded the hospital scrubs she’d been wearing and had on slim, styled black jeans topped with a loose, pin-tucked shirt. ‘It’s good to see you, Caitlin.’

‘You too.’ Her voice was husky, her breath coming in short bursts after her rush to get here. That was the excuse she gave herself, but maybe the truth was that it was a shock to see Brodie in the flesh after all these years.

The good-looking, hot-headed youth she remembered of old was gone and in his place stood a man who simply turned her insides to molten lava. This man was strong, ruggedly hewn, his handsome features carved out of … adversity, she guessed, and … success? There was something about him that said he had fought to get where he was now and he wouldn’t be giving any ground.

He was immaculately dressed in dark trousers that moulded his long legs and he wore a crisp linen shirt, the sleeves rolled back to reveal bronzed forearms. His hair was black, cut in a style that added a hint of devilishness to his chiselled good looks. Tall and broad-shouldered, his whole body was supple with lithe energy, his blue eyes drinking her in, his ready smile welcoming and enveloping her with warmth.

‘Come and sit down,’ he said, laying a hand gently on the small of her back and ushering her to a seat by the window. ‘Let me get you a coffee—you must be ready for one after your journey.’ He sent her a quick glance. ‘I expect you’ve been told that your mother is having tests at the moment? The surgeon’s going to see her soon to advise her about what needs to be done.’

She nodded. ‘The nurse told me.’ She sat down, her body stiff with tension. ‘How is my mother?’

‘She’s okay,’ he said cautiously. ‘She’s been conscious all the while, and the paramedics were with her very quickly after her fall, so that’s all in her favour.’

‘I suppose that’s something, anyway.’

‘Yes. The doctor who’s looking after her gave her a pain-relief injection so she’s comfortable at the moment. She’s had an MRI scan to assess the extent of the injury—it’s definitely a fracture of the hip, I’m afraid.’

She winced. ‘Will the surgeon operate today, do you know?’

He nodded. ‘Yes. I was told it will probably be later this afternoon—the sooner the better, in these cases. Luckily she hadn’t had any breakfast to slow things up. You’ll be able to see her before she goes to Theatre.’

‘That’s good.’ She finally relaxed a little and when he saw that she was a bit more settled he left her momentarily to go and get her a coffee.

Caitlin glanced around the cafeteria. It was a large room, with light coming in from a wall made up entirely of windows. The decor was restful, in pastels of green and cream, and there were ferns placed at intervals, providing a touch of the outdoors.

Brodie came back to the table with a loaded tray and handed her a cup of coffee. It was freshly made, piping hot, and it smelled delicious. ‘I thought you might like to try a flapjack,’ he said, putting a plate in front of her. ‘Something to raise your blood sugar a little—you’re very pale.’ He took a small jug and a bowl from the tray and slid them across the table towards her. ‘Help yourself to cream and sugar.’

‘Thanks.’ She studied him thoughtfully. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like having Brodie as a neighbour. ‘How is it that you came to be living next door to my mother?’ she asked.

He sat down opposite her. ‘I’d been staying in a room at the pub,’ he said, ‘while I looked around for something more permanent. Then the place came on the market as a suitable property for renovation. The old gentleman who owned it found the upkeep too much for him when his health failed. He went into a nursing home.’

‘Lucky for you that the opportunity came your way,’ she murmured.

He nodded. ‘It’s a substantial property—an investment project, possibly—and I thought it would be interesting to do up the house and sort out the land that goes along with it.’

‘An investment project?’ It didn’t sound as though he was planning on staying around for too long once the place was renovated. ‘Does it mean you might not be staying around long enough to make it a home?’

He shrugged negligently. ‘I haven’t really made up my mind. For the moment, I’m fed up with living in rented accommodation and wanted something I could renovate.’

‘I see.’ She picked up one of the golden-brown oatcakes and bit into it, savouring the taste. ‘I didn’t get to eat breakfast this morning,’ she explained after a moment or two. ‘Someone emptied the cupboards of cereals and bread.’ She spooned brown-sugar crystals into her cup and sipped tentatively, all her regrets about missing the first coffee of the morning finally beginning to slip away. He watched her curiously.

‘You were right,’ she murmured at last. ‘I needed that.’ She told him about her flatmate drinking the last of the milk. ‘It had to be Mike who was the culprit. Neither of the girls I share with would do something like that. He probably finished off the cornflakes as well.’

Brodie grinned. ‘I guess he’s down for a tongue lashing at some point.’

Her mouth twitched. ‘Definitely, if only so I can vent … not that he’ll take any notice. He never does—why should he when he leads a charmed life?’ She took another sip of coffee. It was reviving and she savoured it for a moment or two before her thoughts shifted to her mother once more. ‘Can you tell me anything about what happened this morning with my mother? I’m guessing you must have been outside with her when she fell.’

He nodded. ‘I was about to head off for a meeting. Your mother usually feeds the hens first thing, and then checks up on the rabbits, and we say hello and chat for a minute or two. Today she seemed a bit preoccupied—she was worried a fox might have been sniffing around in the night—so she didn’t say very much. She started to pull a few weeds out of the rockery and I went to my car. Then I heard a shout and when I looked around she had fallen on to the crazy paving. I think she must have lost her footing on the rocks and stumbled.’

Caitlin winced. ‘I’ve told her to leave the rockery to me. I see to it whenever I’m over here. This is why I worry about leaving her on her own for too long. She’s not so nimble on her feet these days, but she’s always been independent, and if something needs doing she’ll do it.’

‘You can’t be here all the time. You shouldn’t blame yourself.’

She sighed. ‘I do, though. I can’t help it. I love her to bits and I often think I should never have taken the job in Hertford. It seemed like such a good opportunity at the time.’

He nodded agreement. ‘Jane told me you’re a children’s doctor; she’s always singing your praises. She’s very proud of your achievements, you know.’

Caitlin smiled. ‘She’s always been the same. She sees the best in everyone.’

‘Yeah.’ Brodie gave a wry smile. ‘She was the only one who ever saw any good in me. Of course, she’d been friends with my mother since they were at school together, so that must have helped.’

‘Yes, I expect so.’ Sadly, Brodie’s mother had died in a car accident when he was a teenager. That was probably another reason why Jane Braemar had taken him under her wing. Caitlin had lost her father and there had been an immediate bond between her and Brodie because of their shared circumstances. They had each understood what the other had been going through, and in their own way had tried to comfort one another. It had given them a unique closeness, and it had also been good, a source of consolation, that her mother had looked out for Brodie in his darkest times. She’d stood by him all through his unruly, reckless phase.

She hadn’t been able to do anything to stem the tide of hostility that had grown among the locals with Brodie’s exploits, though.

After a whirlwind period of rebellion—of cocky, arrogant defiance, trespass, petty vandalism, and a ‘love ‘em and leave ‘em’ way with girls—even Brodie must have realised he’d gone too far and that he’d worn out any vestiges of goodwill people might have felt for a motherless boy. He’d finally used up all his chances. On his eighteenth birthday, his father had kicked him out of the family home and Brodie had had to hunt around for somewhere to live. He’d stayed with various friends, Caitlin recalled, before he’d left the village a year or so later. At the time, she’d been broken-hearted. She’d suddenly realised she didn’t want him to leave.

Her phone trilled, breaking into her thoughts and bringing her sharply back to the present day. ‘My mother’s back on the ward,’ she told Brodie after a second or two. ‘The nurse said she’s a bit drowsy from the pain medication but I can go and see her.’

‘That’s good. It might help to put your mind at rest if you can spend some time with her.’

She nodded. ‘Thanks again for looking after her,’ she said softly, her grey eyes filled with gratitude. ‘I owe you.’

‘You’re welcome any time, Caitlin.’ He stood up with her as she prepared to leave. He reached for her overnight bag. ‘Let me help you with that,’ he said.

‘Thank you.’ She watched him lift the heavy bag effortlessly. In it, she’d packed everything she thought she might need over the next few days, including her hairdryer, laptop, make-up bag and several changes of clothes.

‘Have you thought about what will happen when your mother leaves hospital?’ he asked as they set off for the orthopaedic ward. ‘She’ll need a lot of help with mobility. Perhaps she could go to a convalescent home for a few weeks?’

She shook her head. ‘That won’t be necessary. I’d planned on coming back to live in the village in the next week or so—this has just brought it forward, that’s all.’

He frowned. ‘You’re leaving your job?’

‘Yes. I’ll have to find something else, of course, but I’d made up my mind that it was something I needed to do.’

‘Are you doing this for your mother’s sake or for some other reason?’

‘A bit of both, really.’ He was astute—she should have known that he would suspect an ulterior motive. ‘I have some personal reasons for wanting to leave.’

‘There wasn’t a problem with the job, then?’

‘Heavens, no.’ She looked at him wide-eyed. ‘I love my work. I just hope I can find something as satisfying to do here.’

They approached the lift bay. ‘Hmm. Maybe I could help you out there,’ he said. ‘No promises, but I’ve just taken over as head of the children’s unit here and I’m fairly sure I’ll be able to find you a position.’

She stared at him in disbelief. ‘You’re a doctor?’ Not only that, he was in charge of a unit. How could that be?

He nodded, his mouth quirking. ‘I know that must seem strange, with my background, but thankfully I managed to get my head together before it was too late. I used a legacy from my grandfather to put myself through medical school. I didn’t know anything about it until the lawyers contacted me but as far as I was concerned it came in the nick of time.’

She was stunned. ‘I can’t get used to the idea—you were an unruly, out-of-control teenager. You were always playing truant, going off with some friend or other to spend time in the woods.’ She shook her head. ‘Are you making this up?’

He laughed. ‘No, it’s all true. I took stock of myself one day and realised I was going nowhere fast. For all that I missed out on some of my schooling, I managed to get through the exams without too much bother, so when I made up my mind what I wanted to do it wasn’t too difficult for me to get a place at medical school.’

They stepped inside the lift. ‘What made you decide you wanted to be a doctor?’ She still couldn’t get her head around it.

His mouth flattened. ‘I think my mother’s accident had something to do with it, although I didn’t consciously think of it in that way until some years later. I did some work with troubled teenagers and then I spent some time helping out in a children’s home, supervising leisure activities and so on. I suppose that’s what guided me towards a career working with young children. They aren’t at all judgemental and I think that’s what I liked most. They accept you for what you are; I find I can get along with them.’

The lift doors pinged and opened out on to the floor where the orthopaedic ward was housed. Brodie walked with her to the doors of the ward and then handed over her bag. ‘I’ll leave you to go and spend some time with your mother,’ he said. ‘Perhaps you’ll think over what I said about the job? We always need paediatricians and even though I’m fairly new to the hospital I’m sure the bosses will accept my judgement on this.’

‘I will give it some thought, of course—though I can’t help thinking you’re taking a bit of a risk offering me something like that when we’ve only just met up.’

‘I suppose some might think that. Actually, though, I know your boss in Hertford. Jane told me you were part of his team and I knew then you must be good at your job. He’s a decent man; he picks out good people.’

Her mouth curved. ‘It sounds as though my mother has been giving you my life history.’

‘Like I said, she thinks the world of you.’ He scanned her face briefly. ‘In fact, your boss actually mentioned you to me once. He said he had this dedicated young woman, Caity, working with him—though at the time I didn’t realise he was talking about you.’ He was thoughtful for a moment or two, then added, ‘If you like, if you’re stuck for something to do while your mother’s in Theatre, you could maybe come over to the children’s unit? The surgery will take a few hours and rather than you waiting about I could show you around. I’m on duty, but you could tag along with me, if that doesn’t sound too off-putting?’

She nodded cautiously. ‘It sounds fine to me. Perhaps I’ll do that.’

He smiled then turned and walked away down the corridor. She watched him go. He was tall, straight backed and sure of himself. He’d always been that way, but whereas once there had been a brash recklessness about him it seemed to have been replaced with a confident, shrewd perception.

He’d made up his mind quickly about her and decided she would be capable of doing the job. She had accepted his explanation but perhaps his decision also had something to do with knowing her from years before.

She didn’t know what to make of him. He seemed calm, capable, efficient and friendly—all good attributes. But could he really have changed so completely? Were there still vestiges from the past lurking in his character?

He was certainly impulsive. Was he still the same man who had girls clamouring for his attention? He’d enjoyed playing the field back then; he and his younger brother had caused havoc among the village girls.

She remembered one girl in particular, Beth, who’d been upset when Brodie had broken off their relationship.

He’d told her things were getting too heavy between them. He didn’t want to settle down, wasn’t looking for anything serious. He was still young and the world was his oyster. He wanted to get out there and explore what was on offer.

Caitlin frowned as she pushed open the door to the ward. What was she to think? Could she work with a man like that?

His personal life shouldn’t matter to her, but she couldn’t help wondering about him. Was he still the same man at heart—a man who could turn on the charm, make a girl desperate to be with him and then when someone more interesting came along simply cut things dead?

Wasn’t that exactly what Matt had done to her when Jenny had arrived on the scene? It had hurt so badly to be treated that way. She had never thought it possible that he could do such a thing.

The truth was, she simply didn’t trust men any more. From now on, she would keep her independence and wrap herself around in an impermeable, defensive coat to ward off any attempt to break her down and make her vulnerable again. That way, no one could hurt her.

Even so … she thought about what Brodie had said. A job was a job, after all, and that had to be top of her priorities right now, didn’t it? She’d be a fool to turn down his offer, wouldn’t she? Maybe she would talk it through with him in a while.

A small shiver ran through her. Right now, all these years later, he seemed like a good man, someone great to have around in a crisis, but you could never tell, could you? Agreeing to come and work with him would be a bit like making a date with the devil … albeit a devil in disguise, maybe. Would she come to regret it before too long?

CHAPTER TWO

‘HOW ARE YOU FEELING, Mum? Are you in any pain?’ Caitlin sat by the bedside and reached for her mother’s hand, squeezing it gently. It upset her to see how pale and drawn she looked.

‘I’m okay, sweetheart. They gave me something for the pain. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m just so glad to see you, but I’m sorry you were pulled away from your work.’ Her mother tried to stifle a yawn and closed her eyes fleetingly. ‘I don’t know what’s happening to me … I’m so tired.’

Caitlin smiled reassuringly. ‘I expect there was a sedative in the injection you had. The nurse told me it won’t be too long now before you go for your operation. That’s good—they seem to be looking after you really well. I’m very pleased about that.’

Her mother nodded, causing the soft brown waves of her hair to flutter gently. ‘They’ve all been so kind, explaining everything to me, telling me to take it easy and saying how I shouldn’t fret. I can’t help it, though—I keep thinking about the animals back home.’ She frowned and Caitlin could see that she was starting to become agitated. ‘They need to be fed and the crops have to be watered. It hasn’t rained for a couple of days. With this warm, sunny weather everything will dry out.’

‘I’ll see to all of that,’ Caitlin promised. ‘You don’t need to stress yourself about any of it. All you have to do is concentrate on getting better.’

‘Oh, bless you—but there are so many things …’ Her mother’s brow creased with anxiety. ‘You don’t know about Ruffles’ sores. He’s the rabbit—someone brought him to me after they found him wandering in their garden.’ She sighed. ‘He needs a special lotion putting on his back. I should have collected it from the vet—I forgot to bring it home with me the other day. And the quail needs his claws clipping—he’s another one a neighbour brought to me in a bit of a state. I was going to see to the clipping today—’ She broke off, her breathing becoming laboured.

‘It’s all right, Mum,’ Caitlin said in a soothing voice. ‘Don’t worry about it. I’ll see to all of it and if anything else comes up I’ll deal with that too.’ She couldn’t help but respect her mother for the way she coped with the smallholding, seeing to repairs, harvesting the crops and looking after various animals. Her mother had had a lot to cope with since she’d been widowed when Caitlin was a teenager, but she’d accepted the way things were, set to and got on with it. She was an incredible woman. ‘Trust me,’ Caitlin murmured. ‘I just need to know that you’re all right. Everything else will be fine.’

Her mother smiled wearily but she seemed comforted. ‘I’m so glad you’re home, Caity. I mean, I’m sorry for the reason for it—for this trouble with Matt, that must be so hard for you—but it’ll be wonderful to have you close by.’

Caitlin patted her hand. ‘Me too. I’m glad to be with you.’ Even so, a faint shudder passed through her at the mention of Matt’s name. She didn’t want to think about him, and did her best to push him from her mind, but it was difficult.

She watched her mother drift in and out of sleep. It was worrying, not knowing how the surgery would go … It was a big operation … She’d already lost her father to a heart attack and she didn’t want to lose her mother too.

She shook off those unreasonable fears. After the surgery her mother would need physiotherapy and would have to use crutches or a walker for some weeks or months.

‘Oh, is she asleep?’ A young porter came over to the bedside and spoke softly, giving Caitlin a friendly smile.

‘She’s drowsy, I think.’

‘That’s okay. It’s for the best. It’s time to take her to Theatre.’

Caitlin nodded and lightly stroked her mother’s hair. ‘I’ll be here when you wake up,’ she murmured, and the young man carefully wheeled his patient away.

‘The operation could take up to three hours,’ the nurse told her. ‘You might want to take a walk outside, or go and get something to eat, if you don’t want to go home. I can give you a ring when she’s back in the recovery room, if you like?’

‘Oh, thanks, that’s really kind of you. I do appreciate it,’ Caitlin said. She thought for a moment or two. What should she do? There might be time to go home. But perhaps she ought to follow up on Brodie’s invitation … It was important that she found work quickly, though how she would manage her mother’s day-to-day care when she was back home was another problem.

Decision made, she glanced at the nurse once more. ‘Actually, I think I’ll go over to the children’s unit for a while. Dr Driscoll—the man who came in with her—said he’d show me around.’

‘He’s a doctor?’ The girl’s eyes widened. ‘He must be new around here. I thought I knew most of the staff in the hospital. Wow! Things are looking up!’

Caitlin smiled. That was probably a fairly typical reaction from women where Brodie was concerned. He’d always turned heads. Perhaps she’d better get used to seeing that kind of response all over again. Of course, she knew how these women felt. Try as she might to resist him, she wasn’t immune to his seductive charm.

She made her way to the children’s unit, uneasily conscious of the quivering in her stomach now that she was to see him again. It was hard to say why he had this effect on her, but it had always been the same. There was something about him that jolted all her senses, spinning them into high alert the minute she set eyes on him.

The children’s wards were on the ground floor of the hospital, a bright and appealing place with colourful walls, decorative ceiling tiles and amusing animal designs on the floor. There were exciting murals created to distract the children from the scariness of a hospital environment, and she noticed that the nurses were wearing patterned plastic aprons over their uniforms.

‘Hi there.’ The staff nurse came to greet her as she walked up to reception. ‘I saw you admiring our wall paintings. They’re very recent additions—Dr Driscoll brought in artists to do them the first week he started here.’

‘Really?’ Caitlin was astonished by that piece of news. ‘My word, he doesn’t let the grass grow under his feet, does he?’

‘Too right. I heard he’d been talking with designers while he was working out his notice at his previous hospital. We all love the changes he’s made. It’s only been a few weeks and everything’s so different here.’ She paused by the entrance to the observation ward. ‘You must be Caitlin,’ she said with a smile. ‘Am I right?’

‘Well, yes …’ Puzzled, Caitlin frowned. ‘How did you know?’

The nurse’s bright eyes sparkled. ‘Dr Driscoll asked me to look out for you—he said I wouldn’t be able to miss you. You had glorious hair, he said, beautiful auburn curls, and he told me what you were wearing. He’s with a patient in Forest right now but he said to send you along.’ Still smiling, she led the way. All the wards, Caitlin discovered, were divided into bays with names derived from the environment, like Forest, Lakeside, Beechwood.

‘Ah, there you are,’ Brodie murmured, looking across the room, his mouth curving briefly as Caitlin entered the ward. ‘I’m glad you could make it.’

She smiled in acknowledgment. He looked good, and the muscles in her midriff tightened involuntarily in response. He was half sitting on the bed. One long leg extended to the floor, the material of his trousers stretched tautly over his muscular thigh; the other leg was bent beneath him so as not to crowd out his small patient, a thin boy of around two years old.

‘This lady is a doctor like me, Sammy. She’s come to see how we’re doing.’

Sammy didn’t react. Instead, he lowered his head and remained silent, looking at the fresh plaster cast on his leg. Brodie sent him a quizzical glance. He silently indicated to Caitlin to take a seat by the bedside.

‘His mother’s with the nurse at the moment,’ he said quietly. ‘She’s talking to her about the break in his leg bone and advising her on painkillers and so on.’

Caitlin nodded and went to sit down. She felt sorry for the little boy. With that injury perhaps it was no wonder the poor child didn’t feel like responding.

Brodie turned his attention back to Sammy. ‘Do you want to see my stethoscope?’ he asked, showing it to the infant, letting him hold the instrument. ‘If I put the disc on my chest, like this, I can hear noises through these earpieces … see?’ He demonstrated, undoing a couple of buttons on his shirt and slipping the diaphragm through the opening. The little boy watched, his curiosity piqued in spite of his anxieties.

‘Oh,’ Brodie said, feigning surprise, ‘I can hear a bump, bump, bump. Do you want to listen?’

The boy nodded, leaning forward to allow Brodie carefully to place the earpieces in his ears.

His eyes widened. Brodie moved the diaphragm around and said, ‘Squeaks and gurgles, gurgles and squeaks. Do you want to listen to your chest?’

Sammy nodded slowly and, when Brodie carefully placed the disc on the boy’s chest, the child listened, open-mouthed. He still wasn’t talking but clearly he was intrigued.

‘Do you think I could have a listen?’ Brodie asked and he nodded.

Brodie ran the stethoscope over Sammy’s chest once more. ‘Hmm. Just like me, lots of funny squeaks and crackles,’ he said after a while, folding the stethoscope and putting it in his pocket. ‘Thanks, Sammy.’ He picked up the boy’s chart from the end of the bed and wrote something on it, getting to his feet and handing the folder to the nurse who was assisting.

A moment later, he glanced back at the child. ‘The nurse will help you to put your shirt back on and then you can lie back and try to get some rest. Your mummy will be back soon. Okay?’

Sammy nodded.

Caitlin followed as Brodie walked away from the bed and spoke quietly to the nurse. ‘There’s some infection there, I think, so we’ll start him on a broad-spectrum antibiotic and get an X-ray done. He’s very thin and pale,’ he added. ‘I’m a bit concerned about his general health as well as the injury to his leg—I think we’ll keep him in here under observation for a few days.’

‘Okay.’

He left the room with Caitlin but at the door she turned and said quietly, ‘Bye, Sammy.’

The infant looked at her shyly, not answering, and as they walked out into the corridor Brodie commented briefly, ‘He seems to be very withdrawn. No one’s been able to get a natural response from him.’

‘How did he come to break his leg?’

‘His parents said he fell from a climbing frame in the back garden. He’ll be in plaster for a few weeks.’ He frowned. ‘The worry is, there was evidence of earlier fractures when we did X-rays. He was treated at another hospital for those, but the consultant there brought in a social worker.’

She looked at him in shock. ‘Do you think it might be child abuse?’

‘It’s a possibility, and the fact that he’s so quiet and withdrawn doesn’t help. I’d prefer to make some more checks, though, before involving the police.’

She shook her head. ‘I just can’t imagine why anyone would hurt a child. It’s unbearable.’

‘Yes, it is. But Sammy’s parents do seem caring, if a little naive, and at least he’ll be safe here in the meantime.’

They went back to the main reception area and she tried to push the boy’s plight to the back of her mind as Brodie began showing her around the unit. Each ward was set out in a series of small bays that clustered around a central point housing the nursing station. He stopped to check up on various patients as they went along.

‘It’s a beautifully designed children’s unit,’ she remarked some time later as they stopped off at the cafeteria to take a break for coffee.

‘That’s true,’ he agreed, ‘But I think there are things we can do to make it even better for the patients and their families. There are some children—like Sammy, perhaps—who need more than medicine and good nursing care to help them to get well. I want to do what I can to help them feel good about themselves.’

She sent him an oblique glance. ‘That’s a tall order,’ she murmured, but perhaps if anyone could do it he could. He certainly seemed to have the determination to set things in motion. But then, he’d always had boundless energy and drive, even though he might have used it to the wrong ends years ago when he was a teenager.

‘Well, if I’m to be any good at my job, I need to feel I’m making a difference,’ he said. ‘It’s important to me.’

She studied him thoughtfully. He was an enigma—so focused, so different from the restless, cynical young man she had known before. ‘That must be why you’ve come so far in such a short time. Your career obviously means a lot to you.’

‘Yes, it does … very much so. I’ve always aimed at getting as far as I can up the ladder. I try to make all the improvements I can to a place where I work and then move on—at least, that’s how it’s been up to now.’

So he probably wouldn’t be staying around here once he’d made his mark. She frowned. But this time he’d bought a house and he planned to do it up—would that make a difference to his plans? Probably not. Houses could be sold just as easily as they’d been bought.

He finished his coffee and then glanced at the watch on his wrist. ‘I must go and look in on another young patient,’ he murmured in a faintly apologetic tone.

‘That’s okay. I’ve enjoyed shadowing you, seeing how you work.’

He looked at her steadily. ‘So, do you think you might want to work with us?’

She nodded. ‘Yes—but only on a part-time basis to begin with, if that’s possible. I’ll need to be close at hand for my mother when she’s back at home.’

He smiled. ‘I can arrange that.’

‘Good.’ Her phone rang just then, and after listening for a while, she told him, ‘My mother’s in the recovery ward. I need to go and see how she’s doing.’

‘Of course.’ He sent her a concerned glance. ‘I hope she’s all right. I know how worried you must be about her.’ He went with her to the door of the recovery ward. ‘Perhaps I’ll see you later on, back at home?’

‘I expect so.’ She wasn’t planning ahead, just taking one step at a time. It seemed like the best way to proceed at the moment. ‘Thanks for showing me around, Brodie,’ she said. ‘Your children’s unit is a really wonderful place and everyone involved with it is so dedicated. If children have to be in hospital, I think they’re lucky to be here rather than in any other unit.’

‘I’m glad you think so.’ He smiled at her, pressing the buzzer to alert a nurse to release the door lock. ‘It’s been good meeting up with you again, Caitlin.’ Somehow they had ended up standing close together, his arm brushing hers, and her whole body began to tingle in response. She didn’t know how to cope with the strange feelings that suddenly overwhelmed her. It was bewildering, this effect he had on her. She loved Matt. How could she be experiencing these sensations around another man?

As soon as the door swung open she moved away from him, going into the ward. ‘Thanks for coming with me and showing me the way,’ she murmured, sending him a last, quick glance.

At last she could breathe more easily … But she hadn’t been the only one to be affected by their momentary closeness to one another; she was sure of it. His awareness was heightened too. She’d seen it in his slight hesitation, the way his glance had lingered on her, and now she felt his gaze burning into her as she walked away from him.

How was it going to be, having Brodie living nearby? Part of her was apprehensive, worried about how things might turn out. After all, it was one thing to contemplate working with him, but having him as a neighbour could end up being much more than she’d bargained for.

She couldn’t quite get a handle on what it was that bothered her about the situation, exactly. Over the last few weeks her world had been shaken to its foundations by the way Matt had behaved. She was unsettled, off-balance, totally out of sync. In her experience having Brodie close by could only add to her feelings of uncertainty. He was a spanner in the works, an unknown quantity.

She frowned. Perhaps the neighbour dilemma would only last for a short time, while her mother recovered from surgery. After that she could find a place of her own, away from Brodie, but near enough so that she could keep an eye on her mother and at the same time maintain her independence.

The nurse in charge of the recovery ward showed her to her mother’s bedside. ‘She’s very drowsy, and unfortunately she’s feeling nauseous, so it might be best for you to keep the visit short. She’ll probably be more up to talking to you in the morning.’

Caitlin nodded. ‘Okay.’ She asked cautiously, ‘Did the operation go well?’

‘It did. The surgeon placed screws across the site of the fracture to hold everything in place and that all went quite satisfactorily. Your mother will need to stay in hospital for a few days, as you probably know, but we’ll try to get her walking a few steps tomorrow. It seems very soon to get her on her feet, I know, but it’s the best thing to do to get her on the mend.’

‘All right. Thanks.’ It was a relief to know that the major hurdle was over. Now the hard work of rehabilitation would begin.

Caitlin went to sit by her mother’s bedside for a while but, as the nurse had said, she was very sleepy, feeling sick and wasn’t up to saying very much. ‘I’ll leave you to get some rest, Mum,’ Caitlin said after a while. ‘I’ll come back to see you tomorrow.’

She took a deep breath and left the hospital. At least her mother had come through the operation all right. That was a huge relief. She could relax a little, now, knowing that she was being well looked after.

On the way home she called in at the vet’s surgery to pick up the lotion that her mother had mentioned earlier.

‘It’s a mite infection,’ the veterinary nurse told her after looking at the notes on the computer. ‘You can’t see the mites on the rabbit’s skin, they’re so tiny, but you might see dander being moved about.’ She made a wry face. ‘That’s why the condition’s sometimes known as “walking dandruff”.’

Caitlin pulled a comical face at that, accepting the box containing the lotion that the nurse gave her.

‘The vet gave Ruffles an injection,’ the nurse said. ‘But you need to put a few drops of the lotion on the back of his neck to get rid of any mites that are left. I think Mrs Braemar forgot to take it with her when she came here yesterday. He’ll need another injection in eight days’ time. Meanwhile, you could comb him to get rid of any loose fur and dander.’

‘I’ll do that. Thanks.’

Caitlin drove home through lanes lined with hedgerows, eventually passing over the bridge across the lock where brightly painted narrowboats were moored by the water’s edge. Soon after that she came to a sleepy, picturesque village, a cluster of white-painted cottages with russet tiled roofs and adorned with vibrant hanging baskets spilling over with masses of flowers.

Her former family home was about half a mile further on, a rambling old house set back from the road, protected by an ancient low brick wall. There was one neighbouring property—Brodie’s—but otherwise the two houses were surrounded by open countryside, giving them a magnificent view of the rolling hills of the beautiful Chilterns.

Trees and flowering shrubs surrounded the front and sides of her mother’s house, adding glorious touches of colour around a lush, green lawn. Caitlin gave a gentle sigh of satisfaction. She always felt good when she returned home. Here was one place where she felt safe, sheltered.

Her old bedroom was just as she’d left it the last time she’d been here, about three weeks ago, except that her mother had laid a couple of books on her bedside table in readiness for her homecoming. Caitlin’s mouth flattened a little. That had been unexpectedly brought forward by her mother’s fall. She’d talked to her boss about it and he’d said she could take compassionate leave instead of working out her notice. It was a relief to know she had no worries there, at least.

She went into the farmhouse kitchen and made herself a snack of homemade soup from a tureen she found in the fridge, eating it with buttered bread rolls. The soup was made from fresh vegetables that her mother grew in the large kitchen garden out the back, and as she ate it Caitlin was filled with nostalgia. She had loved growing up here, having her friends to stay and her cousins to visit.

It was sad, then, that her cousin Jenny should be the one to steal the man she loved. Her fingers clenched on the handle of her spoon. How could things have turned out this way, leaving all her hopes and dreams cruelly shattered?

She pushed away her soup bowl and started to clear the table. Keeping busy was probably the best thing she could do right now. She made a start on various chores around the house, seeing to the laundry and collecting a few clothes and necessities to take into hospital for her mother. When she had done all she could in the house, she went outside to water the crops, and after that she made a start on the animal feeds.

True to form, as with everything that had happened so far today, she discovered from the outset things weren’t going quite to plan. As she approached the hen house there was a sudden honking sound, an awful shrieking that made her cover her ears and look around to see what on earth was going on.

A trio of buff-coloured geese came rushing towards her, flapping their wings and cackling loudly. The male bird—she assumed he was male, from his aggressive manner—hissed at her and made angry, threatening gestures with his beak, while the other two kept up a noisy squawking.

‘Go away! Shoo!’ Her counter-attack made them stop for a second or two, but then the threats started all over again and she looked around in vain for a stick of some sort that she could wave at them. The way things were going, they weren’t going to let her anywhere near the hen house.

‘Get back! Shoo!’ She tried again, frantically trying to keep them at bay for the next few minutes.

‘Are you having trouble?’ To her relief, she saw Brodie striding rapidly down the path towards her. Perhaps he would know how to stop the birds from attacking. ‘I heard the racket they were making, so I came to see what’s happening.’

‘I don’t think they want me around,’ she said, concentrating her efforts on warding off the gander. ‘In fact, I know they don’t.’

‘They’re protecting their territory. Flap your arms at them and hiss back … You need to show them who’s boss.’

She did as he suggested, waving her arms about and making a lot of noise. Brodie joined in, and to her amazement the geese began to back off. The gander—the male bird—was the last to give way, but eventually he too, saw that she meant business.

‘Well done!’ Brodie said approvingly when the birds had retreated. ‘They’re not usually an aggressive breed, but the males can be bullies sometimes, and you have to show them you’re bigger and more fierce than they are. I’d say you’ve won that one!’

‘Well, let’s hope I don’t have to go through that palaver every time I want to feed the hens. At least I’ll be prepared next time.’ She was breathing fast after her exertions and she was sure her cheeks must have a pink glow to them. ‘I’d no idea Mum had bought some new birds.’

‘She liked the idea of having goose eggs and thought the geese might sound a warning if any foxes came sniffing around.’

‘Ah. I guess they’re doing what she wanted, then. They’re guarding the place.’

Perhaps he saw that she’d had enough of trouble for one day because he came up close to her and gently laid an arm around her shoulders. ‘It hasn’t been the best homecoming for you, has it? How about you finish up here and then come over to my place for a cold drink?’

‘I … I don’t know …’ She was suddenly flustered, very conscious of his long body next to hers, yet at the same time strangely grateful for the warm comfort of his embrace.

He’d changed into casual chinos and a short-sleeved cotton shirt that revealed his strong biceps. The shirt was undone at the neck, giving a glimpse of his tanned throat.

‘I … um … there’s a lot to do; I still have to find the quail and clip his claws.’ She pushed back the curls that clung damply to her forehead and cheek. ‘I’ve never done it before, so it could take me a while to sort things out—once I manage to catch him, that is.’

‘I can do that for you. He’s in with the hens; your mother pointed him out to me a few days ago. She said wherever he came from, he hadn’t been able to run around and scratch to keep his claws down, so that’s why they need doing. It’s not a problem. I know where she keeps the clippers.’

‘Oh.’ That would be a terrific help, one less problem for her to manage. ‘Okay, then, if you’re sure you don’t mind?’ Her excuses obviously weren’t going to pass muster with him. Anyway, a cold drink was really, really tempting right now when she was all hot and bothered. She wiped her brow with the back of her hand.

‘Good, that’s settled, then. I do a great watermelon and apple blend. I remember you used to like that.’ He released her, but her skin flushed with heat all over again at the memory of hot summer days spent with her friends in flower-filled meadows.

Brodie and his brother had often come with them as they’d wandered aimlessly through the fields and by the river. They would stop to share sandwiches and drink juice or pop they’d brought with them. They had been fun days, days of laughter and innocent, stolen kisses in the time before Brodie had unexpectedly, disastrously, gone off the rails.

Together, they finished off the feeding then she watched as Brodie deftly caught the quail and carefully set about trimming the tip of each claw. ‘These little birds get stressed easily,’ he said, ‘So it’s best to get them used to being handled.’ He placed him back down in the pen and the bird scampered off as fast as he could. ‘He’ll be all right now. I doubt he’ll need clipping again now that he has a solid floor to run on and plenty of scratching litter.’

‘Thanks for that.’ Finished with all the chores for now, Caitlin locked up the pen and together they walked over to his house. It was a lovely big old property with a large, white-painted Georgian extension built on to an original Tudor dwelling. The walls were covered with rambling roses and at the side of the house there was an overgrown tree badly in need of pruning. The front lawn was dotted about with daisies and unkempt shrubs sprawled over the borders.

‘I need to get the garden in order,’ Brodie said ruefully, ‘But I’ve had other priorities up to now, at work and back here.’ He led the way along the path to the back of the house. ‘In estate agent jargon, “in need of some renovation”; that can be interpreted in lots of ways,’ he said with a wry smile.

She nodded, sharing the joke. ‘I’ve always loved this house,’ she said, glancing around. ‘I expect it will need a lot of care and attention to restore it to its former glory, but it’ll be worth it in the end.’

He nodded. ‘I think so too. That’s why I was so pleased when it came on to the market. I took to this house from a very early age. When I was about ten my friends and I used to climb over the wall and steal the apples from the orchard, until one day old Mr Martin caught us. We thought we were in big trouble, but he surprised us. He invited us into the house, gave us cookies and milk, then sent us on our way with a basket full of fruit.’

‘He was a kind old man.’

‘Yes, he was.’ He showed her into the kitchen and she looked around in wonder.

‘You’ve obviously been busy in here,’ she said admiringly. ‘This is all new, isn’t it?’

‘It is. It’s the first room I worked on. I looked into different types of kitchen design and decided I wanted one where there was room for a table and chairs along with an island bar. This way, I can sit down for a meal and look out of the window at the garden; or if I’m feeling in a more casual mood, I can sit at the bar over there and have a cold drink or a coffee or whatever.’

She smiled. ‘I like it, especially the cream colour scheme. You have really good taste.’ She studied him afresh, surprised by the understated elegance of the room.

‘Good taste for a rebel whose idea of fun was to spray graffiti on any accessible wall?’ He laughed. ‘I’ll never forget that day you let rip at me for painting fire-breathing dragons on your mother’s old barn. You handed me a brush and a pot of fence paint and told me to clean it up.’

‘And you told me to forget it because the barn was old and rotting and ready to fall down—but later that night you came back and painted the lot.’

His brow lifted in mock incredulity. ‘You mean, you’ve known all along who did it?’

She laughed. ‘I never thought you were as bad as people said. I knew there was a good person struggling to get out from under all that bravado.’ She’d understood him, up to a point, knowing how much it hurt to lose a parent. She’d turned her feelings inwards but back then Brodie had become more confrontational and forcefully masculine.

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