The Taming of Dr Alex Draycott

Joanna Neil

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

About the Author

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Copyright

Dear Reader

It takes all sorts to make a world, doesn’t it? Some people are driven to make a success of their careers to the point where they lose sight of what really matters. Others are serene and laid-back, taking life as it comes and never getting overly concerned about anything.

This set me to thinking. What if two such people met and struck sparks off one another? How could a relationship ever work between them—especially if neither of them was looking for anything permanent?

And that was exactly the problem that confounded Callum and Alex when they met and clashed in the A&E department.

Alex had so much to cope with after adversity had struck her family, so she wasn’t in any mood to tread softly around anyone who didn’t agree with her attempts to reorganise the department, despite the fact that she was trying to save it from closure.

Would Callum be the one to break the ice and show her what it was to be a warm, loving woman?

With best wishes

Joanna Neil

About the Author

When JOANNA NEIL discovered Mills & Boon®, her lifelong addiction to reading crystallised into an exciting new career writing 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.

CHAPTER ONE

‘LOOK how many strawberries I picked,’ seven-year-old Sarah announced, coming into the kitchen. She placed a wicker basket on the table, filled to the brim with fruit. ‘There’s loads,’ she said, her blue eyes bright with excitement. ‘Can we have some for breakfast?’

Alex looked at the lush fruit. ‘Yes,’ she murmured, ‘of course…and as there’s such a lot, perhaps we ought to take some round to Mrs Marchant next door? I’ve noticed she’s usually up and about at this time of the morning.’

Sarah nodded. ‘I’ll go, if you like.’ She smiled. ‘I like Mrs Marchant. She’s kind…but I think she must be quite old, you know, or poorly? She always looks a bit tired and sometimes she says she has to go and sit down for a while…but she’s always nice. She gave me some toffees when I took the magazine round there yesterday.’

‘I want to take the strawberries,’ five-year-old James chimed in, his eyes lighting up at the mention of toffees. ‘You went last time.’ He glared at his sister and began to tug at the basket.

Sensing impending disaster, Alex intervened. ‘We’ll all go,’ she said, taking hold of the basket and moving it from harm’s way. ‘Now, finish your breakfast, both of you. We don’t have much time before we have to leave for school. And you need to go back upstairs to your bedroom and find your PE kit, James.’

‘I don’t like that bedroom,’ James complained, scowling at Alex across the kitchen table, a lock of brown hair falling across his forehead. ‘It’s too small. Why can’t I have the room with the window seat?’

‘Because we talked about this…’ Alex murmured. ‘And you chose the one that looked out over the orchard.’ She inspected the contents of his lunch box and then clipped the lid in place.

‘So?’ He hunched his shoulders. ‘That doesn’t matter, does it? I changed my mind. I can swap with Sarah.’

‘No, you can’t.’ His sister batted that one away before the idea could take root, her fair hair quivering with indignation. ‘I want the one where I can see the garden…I chose it…and I picked the colours and Auntie Alex has already started painting the walls for me. So it’s mine.’

‘Perhaps we can rearrange the furniture in your room to make it better for you,’ Alex said, glancing at James. She pushed his lunch box into his school bag and closed the zipper. ‘I made you egg mayonnaise sandwiches, and there are cracker biscuits with ham and cheese. And don’t forget to screw the lid tight on your drink bottle when you use it, or we’ll have another mess in your bag like the one we had last week.’

‘I don’t like egg maynaze.’ James’s chin jutted and his grey eyes took on a mutinous glint.

Alex held back the sigh that had started to build up in her chest. She raised dark brows. ‘You told me it was your favourite.’

He gave her a disdainful glance. ‘That was yesterday. Today I like peanut butter.’

‘Well, I’m sorry about that, James, but I really don’t have time to start over.’ Alex flicked back her long chestnut hair so that it settled in a gentle flurry across her shoulders, and handed him the bag. ‘We have to get you and Sarah to school, and I have to go to work.’ She checked her watch. ‘Do you remember what I told you? This is my first day in the new job, and I need to be at the hospital on time.’

‘Will you be in trouble if you’re late?’ Sarah’s anxiety sounded in her voice. ‘Mummy said she always got an ear bending from the boss if she wasn’t at work for nine o’clock.’ She frowned. ‘I think that must hurt a lot. I wouldn’t like it if it anyone pulled my ears.’

‘How could that happen to Auntie Alex?’ James said in a scornful tone. ‘She’s the boss. She can do what she likes.’

Alex smiled. ‘Not exactly, James. There are several bosses in my department…but the fact is, if you’re in charge you need to lead by example…show people the right way of doing things…so it’s even more important that I get there on time.’

Sarah’s face still bore a worried expression, so she added gently, ‘Ear bending just means the boss would talk to your mother about where she was going wrong.’

‘Really?’ Sarah’s blue eyes brightened. ‘Well, I think he must be sorry, anyway, ‘cos he sent Mummy some flowers. There was a card, and it said, Get well soon.’

She frowned again, and Alex gave her a hug. ‘We all hope for that, Sarah. At least your mum and dad are in good hands. They’re being looked after by the very best doctors.’

For once, James had nothing to say, and Alex sent him a quick, thoughtful glance. He seemed to be coping well enough in the aftermath of his parents’ accident, but she suspected his newfound belligerence was all tied up with what had been going on in his life this last few weeks. She would have to keep a keen eye on both children for the foreseeable future.

A few minutes later they left the house and went next door. It was a minute or so before Jane Marchant answered Alex’s knock, but when she did her smile was welcoming and she invited them inside.

‘We can only stop for a minute or two,’ Alex said, following her neighbour into the neat, pine kitchen. ‘We just wanted to bring you these strawberries, and to make sure that you’re all right.’

Jane stared at the fruit, her mouth dropping open in awe. ‘Just look at that fruit—so ripe and juicy.’ Her eyes glimmered with appreciation. ‘I’ll enjoy those with my tea—and I could make a lovely strawberry sponge cake. You’ll have to come and share it with me.’ She looked at the children, who nodded with enthusiasm at the suggestion. ‘Thank you for this,’ she said, embracing all three of them with her smile. ‘It was very thoughtful of you.’

‘Just don’t go overdoing it,’ Alex warned her. ‘I know what you’re like when you get started with the baking. I’ve been worried about you just lately, especially after that dizzy spell you had the other day. Are you still getting the headaches?’

Jane nodded. ‘But you don’t need to worry yourself over me, love. I’ll be fine. Like I said, the doctor’s been trying me with different tablets to see if we can calm things down. I probably just need to take things more slowly, that’s all. I’ve perhaps done too much in the garden. I’ve been trying to tackle the weeds—you know yourself what a job that can be when you have an acre or so to look after.’

‘I do.’ Alex’s lips made a downward curve. ‘I’m still wondering what possessed me to take on that rundown house next door, with its dilapidated orchard and all those outbuildings.’ Her mouth flattened. ‘It just seemed like a good idea at the time.’

‘I love it,’ Sarah said. ‘The garden’s all wild and raggedy, and there’s lots of fruit bushes all tangled up. And there’s masses of strawberries…’ she made a wide circle with her arms ‘.just spreading out all over the place.’

‘It’s like a jungle,’ James put in, ignoring Alex’s faintly amused groan. ‘We can play explorers, hunting the bad people.’ He began to make swashbuckling moves with an imaginary sword.

Sarah looked at Jane once more. ‘I can help you with the garden,’ she offered. ‘Any time you like.’

‘Thank you, sweetheart.’ Jane beamed at the little girl. ‘You’re a treasure. Alex must be so happy to have you with her.’

‘It’s true,’ Alex agreed. ‘Both she and James have been good as gold, helping with the move.’ She frowned. ‘But as far as your tablets are concerned, I’m not so sure that they’re doing the job.’ She glanced at Jane. Her neighbour was in her early sixties, a slender woman with brown, wavy hair and pale features. As Sarah had pointed out in her innocent way, she didn’t look at all well. ‘I really think you ought to go back to your doctor and ask him to do some tests to find out if there’s a specific cause of the high blood pressure that might have been overlooked—especially since you’re having other symptoms, like the back pain and the muscle spasms.’

Jane looked doubtful. ‘I really don’t like to bother the doctor any more. I’ve already been back several times and he’s doing what he can to keep everything in check.’

‘Even so,’ Alex commented, ‘as a doctor myself, I think your symptoms need to be looked into a bit more. I worry about leaving you on your own during the day while I’m at work. Is there no one in the family who can come and look out for you?’

Jane shook her head. ‘There’s only my nephew. We’re very close—in fact, he’s more like a son to me. His parents, my brother and his wife, are out of the country, working on various projects.’ Her features softened. ‘He’s such a lovely young man. I think the world of him…and he comes to visit whenever he’s able. We often talk on the phone. I’m sure he’d do anything for me, but I know he’s busy and I don’t want to burden him with my problems.’

Alex’s brows drew together. ‘Maybe you should think twice about that—after all, he’d want to know if you were ill, wouldn’t he?’

‘Of course, but it won’t come to that. I’ll be fine. Besides, he has enough troubles of his own to deal with right now…’ She pulled a face ‘There’s to be some kind of audit at work, apparently, and he has to figure out how to keep the chiefs off his back. He says they’ve appointed a new manager to whip the department into shape, and the last thing he needs is some busybody poking his nose into all the corners to see how they do things and then use it against him to turn all his carefully organised systems upside down.’

Alex’s eyes widened a fraction, and she let out a small breath. Managers were never popular. ‘I see what you mean…he does seem to have a lot on his plate at the moment, doesn’t he? But I think you’re more important than any of that. I wonder if he could find time to help occasionally…with the garden, maybe?’

‘Oh, he does what he can.’

James was beginning to show signs of restlessness, wandering about the room, peering at all the fine porcelain plates and glassware on display. He ran his fingers over the smooth lines of a ceramic cookie jar and then began to reach for a chicken-shaped timer, intent on examining its flamboyant red comb and wattles.

‘I think it’s time we made tracks,’ Alex murmured, stopping to give Jane a quick hug. She’d only known this woman for a couple of weeks, but already it was as though they’d been friends for a lifetime.

‘Let’s go,’ she said, handing Sarah her school bag. ‘With any luck we’ll get to school before the first whistle goes.’

Jane went with them into the hall. ‘See you later,’ she said.

‘I don’t like school,’ James began as Alex shepherded them out through the front door. ‘Mrs Coleman won’t let me do painting. She made me sit in the reading corner instead. I don’t like reading…’

He was still complaining as Alex bundled them into the car. ‘It’s a shame you’re not happy, James, but it’s nearly the end of term, you know, and you’ll be able to look forward to the summer holidays.’ She glanced at him. ‘Fasten your seat belt. You know, if you want to paint, you have to remember to keep your brushes to yourself and resist the temptation to daub the other children. Mrs Coleman said she’d explained it to you. Perhaps you could tell her that you’ll be sensible if she’ll let you have another go.’

‘Yes—well, I don’t like her, either.’ James clamped his lips together and squinted at the road ahead through narrowed eyes.

Alex checked that Sarah was safely installed in the back seat with a good space between her and her brother, and then drove towards the school. It was about a mile away from the house, along a winding country lane, and the drive was a pleasant one, though even that was not enough to calm her increasingly stretched nerves.

Had she taken on too much, making the decision to look after her brother’s children? In itself, it shouldn’t have been too difficult, but alongside the new job at Oakdale Hospital, and adding in the fact that she’d had to move to Somerset to be close to where they used to live, the stress was beginning to pile up. Her once calm and orderly life had been turned upside down. Everything was chaotic.

Not that there was much she could do about any of it. The car accident that had injured her brother and his wife had wreaked havoc with all their lives.

‘Bye,’ she said when they arrived at the school. ‘Take care. Be good.’ She kissed the children and hugged them and then watched for a minute or two as they met up with friends and went to stand in line for their teachers.

Then she headed back along the main road to town and her new place of work. The hospital was a few miles inland from the sea, and she drove towards it now, past the soft, rolling hills of the Quantocks, their slopes richly carpeted with heather and occasional dark oases of green woodland.

At the hospital, she parked in her designated place, and then made her way to the A and E department. She pulled in a deep breath, straightened her shoulders and walked into the main reception area. This was a new challenge, a difficult task that she’d been assigned, and she would need to have her wits about her. She was a little apprehensive about what lay in store, but she was determined to make the best effort she could.

Her first impression of the unit was a pleasant one. Everything seemed relatively calm in there. The treatment rooms were occupied, with patients being tended by medical staff, and the whiteboard showed the status of admissions and stage of treatment.

Across the room, a doctor was standing by the desk, chatting to nurses, until, after a moment or two, he noticed Alex and came over to her. He was good looking, long and lean, immaculately dressed in dark trousers and a white, self-striped shirt, finished off with a muted tie in a pale shade of blue.

‘Hi, there,’ he said. ‘Can I help you? I guess you’re not a patient, or you’d have been directed to the waiting room.’ His voice was easy on the ear, deep and well modulated, and there was a warmth about him that made it seem as though he was genuinely interested in her. He had black hair, cut short to frame his angular features, and his eyes were a vivid blue, alert and enquiring.

‘That’s right. Yes, thank you, I’m looking for…’ she checked his name badge ‘.Dr Brooksby.’ She smiled. ‘I believe I’ve found the very man I want.’

He laughed. ‘Well, that’s not something I get to hear every day…but more than welcome, all the same, coming from someone who looks as good as you.’ His glance shimmered over her, taking in the tailored, dove-grey suit she was wearing, with the pencil-slim skirt and the jacket that nipped in at her slender waist. His gaze came to rest on the burnished, silky swathe of her hair, lingering there for a while longer than was absolutely necessary.

‘Anything I can do for you, you only have to say.’ His manner was open and friendly, his blue eyes quizzical, inviting her to offload any worries or problems she might have.

‘That’s very kind of you.’ She let her glance roam fleetingly around the department. ‘I must say, it’s good to come to an A and E unit and find the atmosphere so relaxed and easygoing. That must be quite unusual, or perhaps I’ve come at a particularly quiet time? Either way, I imagine your bosses must be pleased with the way you run things around here.’

‘You’d think so, but actually they’re bringing in new management. And as to being quiet, it only appears that way—we’ve just finished dealing with the aftermath of a road accident, and now we’re taking a breather and making the most of things…before the new manager comes along to sort us out and tell us where we’ve been going wrong.’ His mouth made a rueful slant. ‘Sorry to offload that way. It’s a sore point. He’s supposed to put in an appearance some time today so we’re all on tenterhooks.’

A small ripple of dismay ran through her. This was definitely not going to be an easy ride, judging by his comments. ‘Oh, I see.’ She reflected on what he’d said for a second or two, before venturing, ‘Maybe he’ll find that everything’s perfectly in order?’

‘What a refreshing idea.’ He gave a wry smile. ‘Unfortunately, I very much doubt it. He’s a bean-counter, sent to trim us to the bone. This is the NHS, after all.’ He pressed his well-shaped lips together briefly. ‘Enough of my problems, though. What can I do for you, Miss…?’

‘It’s Dr,’ she answered carefully. ‘Dr Draycott. Alex.’

He stared at her, his mouth dropping open a little until he recovered himself. ‘Alex Draycott?’ he repeated, cautiously.

She nodded. ‘That’s right.’ She studied him. ‘You look as though you’re taken aback by that. Is something wrong?’

Slowly, he shook his head. ‘No, not at all. It’s just that…well…you’re a woman.’

She smiled. ‘That’s very observant of you.’

He was still staring, and she prompted gently, ‘Is that likely to be a problem for you?’

‘Uh…No, of course not. It’s just that, well, Alex is a man’s name, isn’t it? We were expecting a man.’ He frowned, looking at her in a slightly accusatory fashion. ‘And I thought you were maybe a relative concerned about one of our patients.’

‘I’m not.’

‘No, I see that now.’ His frown deepened. ‘So you’re the new doctor/manager who’s come to join the unit?’

She hesitated. ‘Um…bean-counter was how you put it, I think.’ She gave him a wryly amused look, her grey eyes taking in his obvious unease. ‘It’s odd how defensive people become whenever managers arrive on the scene, isn’t it? And it’s totally unnecessary, you know—after all, we’re all in this together, aren’t we, working for the greater good of the hospital? I have a job to do, but it doesn’t have to put us at odds with one another.’

‘Doesn’t it?’ He appeared sceptical. ‘Perhaps you aren’t aware that your reputation has gone before you? We’ve all heard how you wielded the axe at your last hospital. There were job cuts and ward closures.’

She sent him a quick look, her grey eyes troubled. ‘Sometimes, no matter how you try to preserve what’s already in place, it becomes impossible in the end, if budget restrictions are too tight. But in all fairness to me, I did manage to keep the department open, I kept the job losses down to natural wastage, and I put new measures in place so that some patients could be tended to elsewhere.’

‘You didn’t stay around, though, did you, once your job was done?’ His blue gaze was flint sharp. ‘Was that because you found the atmosphere suddenly less friendly?’

The attack was swift and unexpected and Alex felt a knot tighten in her stomach. ‘I left for personal reasons,’ she said, a catch in her voice. ‘It was nothing to do with the job. My circumstances changed, and my contract had come to an end anyway. I chose not to renew it.’ Even the memory of that time, when she had first heard about her brother’s accident, was enough to make the blood drain from her face.

He studied her thoughtfully, and perhaps he realised that he had touched a nerve, because he said softly, ‘I’m sorry. That was uncalled-for on my part. Put it down to tension, if you will. We’re all a little on edge here, uncertain about what the future holds for us and for the department. Of course, you were just doing your job.’

He laid a hand lightly on her elbow. ‘Perhaps I should take you along to the doctors’ lounge and offer you a cup of coffee? It was thoughtless of me not to suggest it before. It’s just that your arrival threw me off balance for a minute or two. We weren’t expecting you until later this morning.’

‘No, I realise that…but I thought it would be as well to come in early and get the feel of the place.’

‘I expect I would have done the same,’ he said, leading the way along the corridor to the lounge. ‘I think you’ll like it here. Everyone’s very friendly, and we work well together for the most part. The only real problem is the one that faces all hospital trusts. We’re struggling with budget deficits and the department is under threat of being closed down. Dr Langton, the chief executive, has been warning us that it’s a possibility.’

Alex frowned as they entered the room. ‘I was appointed by the board to try to make sure that doesn’t happen.’

His mouth made a wry twist. ‘Well, let’s hope you can work wonders. It’s a difficult job you’ve taken on, and in some ways management can turn out to be a poisoned chalice. Not many would want to do it.’

‘I suppose not.’ She was thoughtful for a moment or two. ‘But in all the years I’ve worked as a doctor, I’ve come across things that aren’t working as well as they should, and over time I began to think that perhaps if I went into management, I might be able to make a difference.’

‘You’ve obviously put a lot of thought into it. For myself, I prefer hands-on medicine one hundred per cent of the time.’

‘And I’m sure that must be the reason you’ve done so well for yourself. I’ve heard nothing but good things about you, from the occasional article in the press and the medical journals, as well as from Dr Langton. You’ve been at Oakdale for some time, haven’t you?’

‘Yes, for several years. I came here originally as a registrar and then I was offered the post of consultant. I love it here…it’s like a home from home for me.’ He grinned. ‘Mind you, I think medicine’s in my blood. It’s been there ever since I was a child, pretending to be an army surgeon to my wounded toy soldiers.’

She laughed softly, trying to imagine him as a youngster. ‘I can see you in my mind’s eye,’ she said, ‘bandaging your action figures. Though I expect most boys wouldn’t bother too much with those who’d been invalided out.’ Still, even James had made a crutch for a toy soldier that had lost its plastic leg, painstakingly taping the wooden stick to its hand.

He made a wry smile. ‘Maybe not.’ He went over to the coffee machine to one side of the room and poured hot liquid into two mugs. ‘Do you take milk and sugar?’ he asked, and she nodded.

‘Both, thanks.’ She sniffed the air appreciatively. ‘That smells good.’

He nodded. ‘It’s one thing I look forward to around here. Decent coffee.’ He waved her to a chair. ‘Have a seat and make yourself comfortable.’ He came to sit close to her and swallowed his coffee, savouring the taste and taking a moment to relax. ‘So, tell me about yourself,’ he said quietly, his glance moving over her and coming to rest briefly on the smooth shapeliness of her long legs. ‘From what I heard, you’ve moved here from Herefordshire? I suppose that means this job must have had some special appeal for you?’

‘I thought it would give me the best of both worlds, the chance to work in paediatric emergency, which is what I like doing best—it’s what I specialised in—and at the same time it allows me to take on a managerial role.’ She clasped her cup in both hands, feeling the comforting warmth spread slowly through her. ‘But the main reason I’m here is because I have family who have settled in Somerset.’

‘Your parents?’

She shook her head. ‘My brother and his family. My parents do have a home here, but they’re away at the moment, because of my father’s job. He’s a troubleshooter for an oil company, so he tends to travel a lot.’

He gave a brief smile. ‘That’s something we have in common, then. My parents have always travelled far and wide, as far back as I can remember.’ A fleeting sadness came into his eyes and she studied him thoughtfully for a moment or two. Had that been a problem for him?

‘Perhaps I’ve been lucky,’ she murmured. ‘My parents were always there for me while I was growing up. It was only when I started work as a doctor that they began to travel further afield.’ She would have liked to ask him about his family, but something warned her that this might be the wrong time to do that. She didn’t want to blunder into areas that might cause problems, especially on her first day. Perhaps when she knew him a little better.

‘It must have been difficult for you, uprooting yourself,’ he said. ‘Did you manage to find a place of your own, or are you renting while you look around?’

‘I thought about renting. Back in Herefordshire I’d taken out a lease on a flat, but it ran out—another reason why it seemed feasible to make the move to Somerset. I planned to do the same down here, but then I saw this big, old house on the market, going for a song, and I decided to snap it up. It was purely an impulsive action—not like me at all, but something about it appealed to me. Of course, the reason it was going so cheap is because it needs a lot of work…’ She pulled a face. ‘And the owner wanted a quick sale.’

‘But things are working out fairly well for you, overall?’

She nodded. ‘I think so. I hope so.’ She drank her coffee and looked around. ‘As I see it right now, though, my biggest challenge is going to be this job. According to Dr Langton, the hospital is deep in debt and the accident and emergency department is at risk. I want to do all I can to keep it safe, but it means taking some measures that might not be all that popular.’

She braced herself. ‘In fact, I think I ought to make a start on getting to grips with the job right now—it’s been good to spend a few minutes in here, and I appreciate you taking a break and having coffee with me, but perhaps now I should start to familiarise myself with the way things work around here.’ She glanced at him. ‘Mr Langton suggested you might be available this morning to give me an insight into the way you run things—where and when you use agency staff, for instance—and perhaps you could let me see your drugs list, so I can gain some idea of expenditure in that area?’

He frowned. ‘Are you sure you want to do that on your first day? Wouldn’t you prefer to take a general look around and get to know some of the staff? I’m sure they’re all anxious to meet their new colleague.’

She nodded. ‘Of course, and I want to meet them, but I don’t want to intrude on them while they’re busy. I’ll definitely make time to introduce myself to them through the course of the day. For the moment, though, I think it would be better if I were to spend time with you…going through the workings of the department.’

‘Hmm…yes…’ He seemed to be distracted all at once, and glanced at the watch on his wrist. ‘Unfortunately, I have an emergency to attend,’ he said, getting to his feet. ‘So I’m afraid you’ll have to forgive me. Maybe we could get together some other time?’

She frowned. ‘But I understood that you would be free from clinical duties this morning for a couple of hours. Is that not so?’

He nodded. ‘But then this emergency came up…a thoracic injury, flail chest. He should be coming back from Radiology any time now.’

Alex stood up. ‘But I was really hoping to make a start…’

‘Of course. I appreciate that, but, you know, I don’t actually have the figures you want right at this moment…you’ve caught me on the hop a bit there, and I really do have to go and check on my patient.’ He gave her an encouraging smile. ‘Perhaps it would be best if you go and find our registrar. He’ll help guide you around the department. Ask him anything you want to know. He’ll be only too happy to help you.’

‘But I…’ Alex gazed at him in confusion.

‘I’m sure you’ll soon have all the information you want.’ He laid his hands on her shoulders, his grasp gentle, his fingers warm and strong, causing a ripple of heat to flow through her. It was odd, but all at once, as he held her, she became strangely conscious of her femininity. It was confusing. She was so used to taking charge, of being in control, and yet with just one simple act he had made her overwhelmingly conscious of his powerful masculinity.

‘Take time to ease yourself into the job,’ he said. ‘It will all work out, you’ll see.’ Then he smiled, his blue eyes homing in on her face, taking in the faint line that creased her brow and the look of uncertainty that hovered around her eyes and mouth. ‘You’ll be fine, Alex,’ he murmured. ‘It’s good to have you here.’

Then he released her and strode briskly away, leaving Alex to stare after him in a bewildered fashion. Somehow, she couldn’t help thinking he was fobbing her off, albeit in a kind and gentle manner, and if he was an example of what she might expect from the staff here, it was clear she was in for a tricky time from the outset. His easy charm had befuddled her senses and she was finding it hard to come to terms with that. It knocked her off track, and she wasn’t used to that at all.

CHAPTER TWO

‘IT CAN never be easy, can it, seeing your loved ones this way…even if you’re a doctor?’ The nurse was sympathetic, sensing Alex’s distress. ‘All I can say is that your brother’s condition is stable at the moment. I hope that might be some comfort to you.’

‘It is. Thank you.’ Alex dragged her gaze away from the hospital bed. It was heart-rending to see her younger brother lying there, looking so fragile. He was deathly pale, his hair dark against his pillow, various tubes and drains coming from his body, and there were cables linking him to monitors. Ross, who had always been so vigorous and who could be relied on to brighten any room with his presence, was just a shadow of his former self.

‘It was a nasty accident,’ the nurse added, ‘and there was a considerable amount of lung damage because of the broken ribs he suffered. That’s why he’s still on the ventilator, but he’s receiving pain medication, so at least he should be fairly comfortable.’

Alex nodded. ‘I know you’re all doing everything you can for him.’

The nurse made a note of Ross’s heart rate and blood-oxygen levels. ‘Have you been to see his wife? I know she was badly injured, too.’

‘Yes, I make a point of looking in on her every day. The doctors are treating her for a laceration to her liver, but they found there was some damage to her kidney as well. She’s been through surgery, and she’s in much the same situation as Ross, reliant on tubes and drips and monitors. Even so, she’s fretting over the children.’

‘I’m sorry.’ The nurse laid a hand on Alex’s arm. ‘It must be very worrying for you, especially with the youngsters to consider. I think it’s good that you’ve been bringing them in to see their parents, though.’

Alex sucked in a deep breath. ‘Better for them to see what’s happening, I thought. Otherwise their imaginations might cause them to worry even more. Their grandparents will be coming over at the weekend, so that should help to cheer them up a little.’ Her mouth flattened. ‘My parents have found it hard, being so far away when it happened. But they’ve worked out a schedule so that one or other of them will be over here to spend time with Ross for a good part of the week.’

‘You said they were working abroad, is that right?’

Alex nodded. ‘My father works for an oil company. It’s a really difficult time for him right now, but all he can think about is Ross.’

‘That’s understandable.’

Alex spent a few more minutes by her brother’s bedside until she finally had to acknowledge that time was getting on. She had taken a late lunch, but now she needed to go back to work. Reluctantly, she made her way to the ground floor of the hospital, heading for A and E.

Things were no easier in that department, either. Her work colleagues were uneasy, doubtful about her intentions in her role as manager, and worried regarding their job security.

Alex tried not to let it unsettle her. She would try to put their minds at ease, and she would do the best she could for the department. After all, she was her father’s daughter, wasn’t she, strong, determined, willing to put in every effort for a cause she felt to be worthwhile? And in these difficult times keeping the A and E department viable and open for business was surely the best outcome for everyone?

Today, though, she was here in her role as doctor, and now she glanced at the whiteboard as she walked over to the main desk. ‘Katie, I’ll take the three-year-old with fever in treatment room two.’

‘Okay.’ The triage nurse handed her the child’s admission notes.

Alex headed for the treatment room. As she had told Callum, landing this job had given her the best of both worlds—management took up fifty per cent of her time, and working as a consultant emergency paediatrician took up the rest.

She glanced at the triage nurse once more as she passed by the desk. ‘Is Dr Brooksby about?’ She’d been on the lookout for him all morning.

Katie hesitated, tucking a strand of glossy black hair behind one ear. ‘Um…last I saw of him he was in Resus.’

‘Hmm.’ Alex had already checked, and he certainly wasn’t there now. ‘Thanks, Katie. I’m sure I’ll manage to hunt him out.’

She found him a minute or two later in the treatment room next to hers. He was checking an ECG printout, while at the same time assuring his patient that he was in safe hands.

‘You’ve had a minor heart attack,’ he told the middle-aged man lying on the bed, ‘but we have things under control now. The medication should help to open up your blood vessels, and things should soon start to feel a lot easier. Just keep pulling on the oxygen.’

He glanced across the room as Alex put her head round the door. ‘So there you are,’ she said. ‘I’m glad I’ve run into you at last. I’ve been searching everywhere for you.’

‘What it is to be popular,’ he murmured, winking at his patient. He adjusted the settings on the medication pump and checked the drip. ‘What could be better than having a gorgeous young woman seeking you out?’

Alex pulled a face. He obviously knew how to charm the birds out of the trees. ‘I know you’ve a lot on,’ she murmured, ‘but I really need you to go over the drug expenditure figures with me some time soon—and I noticed your casualty cards aren’t up to date. We need to get them filled in so that we can check waiting times.’

‘Yes, of course.’ He nodded agreeably. ‘I’ve been working on it. We always try to fill these things in on time, you know, but it can get pretty frantic around here, and it isn’t always easy to keep up with the admin paperwork.’ He sent her an engaging smile, inviting her to agree with him, his blue gaze shimmering over her so that she found herself unwillingly caught up in his masculine magnetism and his easygoing manner.

‘Yes, well…um…’ She blinked. It was thoroughly disconcerting, the way he managed to tip her off balance. What was she thinking? She made an effort to pull herself together. ‘Maybe we could get together for a few minutes as soon as you’ve finished here and go through a few of the items we need to get to grips with? I’ll be next door in the paediatric bay, working with a patient.’

‘Sounds like a good idea. I’ll see what I can do.’ He was totally relaxed, completely unfazed by her request.

‘Good. That’s encouraging.’ She slanted him a brief, searching glance. ‘See you in a few minutes, then,’ she murmured.

She left the room, with a friendly nod to the patient, who was looking much better than he had done a short time ago, and went to see the toddler next door.

The infant was lying on a trolley bed, clearly feeling too wretched and uncomfortable to be held in his mother’s arms. A nurse was cooling him by holding a damp cloth to his forehead, but as Alex entered, she went to step aside.

‘That’s all right, Charlotte,’ Alex said. ‘You go on with what you’re doing. I’m sure he’ll feel much better for it.’

Alex smiled at the boy’s mother. ‘Mrs Stanhope, I understand Tom has been poorly for several days?’

The woman nodded. ‘It’s horrible to see him like this. He won’t eat, he keeps being sick, and now he has a temperature. I’m really worried about him.’

‘Of course you are.’ She looked at Tom. ‘The poor little chap looks really miserable.’ She spoke gently to the boy. ‘I’m going to try to make you feel a bit more comfortable, Tom,’ she murmured, ‘but I need to listen to your chest first…and maybe look at your tummy. Is that all right?’

The toddler looked uncertain, his lower lip trembling, and the nurse attempted to distract him by producing a teddy bear from a basket at the side of the bed. ‘Look,’ she said, ‘Teddy’s feeling poorly, too. His tummy hurts.’

Tom’s eyes widened and he gazed at the toy, putting out a hand to feel his silky fur. Alex sent the nurse a grateful glance and gently began her examination. When she had finished, she said softly, ‘That’s all done now, Tom. You were very brave.’

The boy clutched the teddy to him. ‘Teddy hurting,’ he said. ‘He feels sick.’ Suddenly all the colour left his face and the nurse promptly moved forward with a kidney dish, holding it in place as he began to retch.

Alex went to sit next to the child’s mother. ‘We tested Tom’s urine earlier,’ she told her, ‘and it looks as though he has a urinary infection of some kind. It’s quite possible that his kidneys are inflamed, so I’m going to start him on a course of antibiotics. I’ll give him the first dose by injection so that it will start to act quicker, but the rest we’ll give by mouth.’ She glanced at Charlotte and gave instructions about the medications. ‘And that includes something to ease the pain and bring down his temperature.’

‘Thank you.’ Mrs Stanhope seemed anxious. ‘How long will it be before he’s better?’

‘It could be two or three weeks. I feel we should admit him to hospital so that we can keep an eye on him—I know that’s probably worrying for you, but we have to make sure we deal with this properly, right from the start, and of course that way he’ll be on hand when we get the results of his urine culture back from the lab.’

Mrs Stanhope nodded. ‘It’s all right. I just want what’s best for him.’

‘That’s good. I’ll make the arrangements.’ Alex stood up and went back to her small patient. ‘Just a tiny jab,’ she told him, preparing the antibiotic injection. ‘It will all be over in a second or two.’

A few minutes later, she left the infant and his mother in Charlotte’s capable hands, and went to look for Callum. He was nowhere to be found, not in any of the treatment rooms, or in Resus, or even out by the ambulance bay. She checked the quadrangle where staff sometimes took a breath of fresh air between seeing patients, but he wasn’t there either.

She frowned. ‘Any sign of Dr Brooksby?’ she asked Katie as the nurse walked towards the reception area.

‘None at all.’ Katie shrugged lightly. ‘I expect he’s gone back to Resus.’

Alex suppressed a sigh. ‘Not to worry,’ she said. ‘I dare say I’ll catch up with him sooner or later.’

Katie nodded. ‘That’s how it is down here, unfortunately. Everyone’s so busy.’

Alex’s mouth made a flat line. Busy or not, they all had to work together to help streamline the department, or before too long the trust board would be calling for closures. One way or another they had to find time to cooperate with her. ‘If anyone needs me, I’m heading over to Pathology,’ she said.

She would take Tom’s sample over to the lab herself for culture, and ask if the results could be hurried up. Once they knew the bacterial culprit, they could choose the most appropriate treatment for the child. The wide-spectrum antibiotic she had used was a catch-all for the most likely bacteria, but given the severity of the infection it was possible that they needed to use something more specific to counteract it.

She walked into the lab a few minutes later, shooting a quick glance around the room. Over to one side, by the workbenches, she saw a by-now familiar figure huddled over a rack of test tubes.

‘So here you are,’ she murmured, after handing over the specimen to the lab technician. ‘I never would have thought to find you here, Dr Brooksby.’

He straightened, turning to look at her. ‘I’m checking on some samples I sent for testing. I want to see how things are coming along, you know.’

‘Really?’ She inspected the label of the sample he was studying. ‘Since when were you working with the staff on the geriatric ward? Was your patient sent there from A and E?’

He frowned. ‘It’s the wrong sample,’ he said. ‘My patient’s elderly, but not geriatric.’

She sent him a cautious look, her grey eyes doubtful. ‘You wouldn’t be deliberately trying to avoid me, would you, Dr Brooksby?’

‘Callum, please. Now, why on earth would I want to do that?’

‘That’s what I’m wondering. Only I was under the impression we were going to meet up in the treatment room a while ago. Didn’t you agree to that?’

‘Of course—though I believe what I actually said was that it was a good idea, which is not necessarily the same thing as saying I’d be there. You can’t guarantee anything in the hectic atmosphere of the A and E department.’ He searched among the papers in a wire tray and grasped one in triumph. ‘Found it,’ he said. He held it up to her. ‘My patient’s results.’

She stared at him in frustration. ‘Why is it that I have the feeling you’re playing games with me?’ she asked. ‘You haven’t actually completed the drug lists, have you? Or tried to catch up on filling in the waiting times on your casualty cards?’

He leaned back against the workbench, his long legs crossed at the ankles. ‘Actually.uh.no, you’re right. I haven’t.’ His mouth made a rueful shape. ‘As I said before, I’m much more of a hands-on medic than someone who concentrates on keeping his paperwork up to date.’

His gaze ran over her, appreciation lighting his eyes as he took in the shapeliness of her figure outlined by her classically styled dress. ‘I know you want to get on with updating your numbers and counting the financial cost of everything, but is it so essential that it’s done right this minute? You’ve only been here a short time. Surely you need to take some time to settle in? And how about giving everyone a bit of leeway? Give them a chance to get used to the idea of you being around. That way people would be so much more on your side.’

She sighed. ‘That would be so satisfying, wouldn’t it…just to let everything hang easy for a while, gain a little popularity and then sit back and enjoy the ride?’ There was amusement in her tone. ‘I hardly think that’s going to happen.’ Her grey glance meshed with his.

‘You don’t?’ He frowned.

‘I don’t. Why do you imagine I was brought in here? The executives were hardly going to appoint a pussycat to monitor things, were they?’ She didn’t wait for an answer. ‘The hospital budget is badly overdrawn and the trust has to make drastic cuts if the services the public want and expect are to survive.’ She drew in a deep breath. ‘So that’s where I come in. I have the task of auditing the department to find out where savings can be made…and if I don’t come up with the right answers, the whole emergency unit is at risk—so it’s not just my job on the line, but those of everyone who works here.’ She studied him. ‘You do understand that, don’t you?’

He lifted his shoulders. ‘Of course I do…it’s just that I don’t see why you can’t hold fire for a while. The trust has been overspending for years—a few weeks isn’t going to make much difference to the grand scheme of things, is it?’

She shook her head, causing her chestnut curls to swirl and shimmer under the overhead lights. ‘That’s where you’re wrong, I’m afraid. I have to report back to the board at the end of each month. They aren’t going to look kindly on me or the department if I show them an empty file.’

He watched the cloud of burnished hair drift and settle. ‘You realise, don’t you,’ he countered, ‘that the board will do what it wants, no matter what facts and figures you manage to produce? If they’re set on closing the department, then ultimately that’s what they’ll do. They just need you to give them the firepower.’

She regarded him steadily. ‘Well, I don’t think that way about it at all. I believe that I can make a difference. I believe we can make savings in lots of ways. In fact, going on my experience with a young patient this morning, I’ve decided I want to start a separate audit into the treatment of children with urinary infections…let’s see if we can’t cut down on the number of ultrasound scans, and choose our drugs more wisely, so that we’re not prescribing expensive ones where generic drugs will do better.’

She warmed to her theme. ‘It’s just a question of devising the forms for people to fill in whenever they treat a child—and at the end we’ll collate all the information and see what savings we can come up with.’

He looked at her, aghast. ‘Good grief, woman…don’t you have enough to do without getting started on audits that aren’t even part of your remit?’

‘But it all comes down to the same thing in the end, don’t you see? Savings are at the heart of everything.’

He relaxed, beginning to smile at her. ‘I can see why you got the job…and I have to admire your persistence. You’re so full of energy and enthusiasm—but there’s more to life than work, you know. Where do you find time in all that for a social life—that thing called ‘fun’—boyfriends, and so on?’

His glance drifted over her. ‘You’re a very attractive woman, and I’d have thought men would be queuing up to ask you out. Yet from what I’ve heard you don’t have a significant other, you don’t join the staff at the local pub—or even share lunch breaks with them. Isn’t there something missing from your life?’ His gaze became thoughtful. ‘Or perhaps you’ve been hurt…’ he said softly. ‘Maybe someone let you down?’

She stared at him blankly for a moment or two. So he thought she was attractive? He’d said it before, but even so, it gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling, hearing him say it again. But as to the rest, when did she have time to socialise? Any spare time she had at work was spent on visiting her brother and his wife, and after work she needed to take care of the children.

‘I see the hospital grapevine has been busy,’ she murmured. ‘Is nobody’s life private around here?’ She frowned. ‘Though I could say the same for you. Snatches of gossip I’ve heard tell me you don’t ever settle to a relationship—fear of commitment is how they put it, I think.’

He laughed. ‘I don’t see fear coming into it. Life’s too short, and I’m having a good time just as I am—being footloose and fancy-free. Why would I want to change things?’

‘Why indeed?’ She smiled wryly. ‘And much the same goes for me. I’m far too busy to even contemplate getting involved with anyone right now. Let the gossipmongers make of it what they will.’

‘And they will, believe me.’ He studied her. ‘Why don’t we fox them all and make a date for dinner—this evening, maybe? You should take time out, let yourself unwind a little.’

Unwind, with him? The thought had a dizzying effect on her. ‘Thanks, but I really can’t do that right now.’ All the same, she conjured up a vision of the two of them together, taking a walk in the moonlight after a romantic meal at a restaurant, and all at once heat began to pool in her abdomen.

She couldn’t let the idea take hold. It was impossible. She wasn’t about to get involved with anyone, especially him, a man who seemed so laid back he made it seem as though she was positively racing through life in contrast. Anyway, she had far too much on her plate. The children relied on her to be there for them, her family life was chaotic, and, besides, he was simply trying to divert her, possibly even disarm her into the bargain, wasn’t he?

His gaze flicked over her. ‘That’s a shame. Maybe some other time, then? I’m sure you’ll feel all the better for a little rest and relaxation.’

She had the idea this was something he wouldn’t give up on easily. ‘I’ll feel a whole lot better when I have your drug expenditure forms laid out on my desk,’ she retorted swiftly. ‘Along with a list of agency staff employed by the department over the last three months.’

She ignored his muffled groan as she made her way to the door. ‘Any time in the next twenty-four hours will be fine.’

She was still debating how best to deal with Callum Brooksby when she made her way home later that day at the end of her shift. He was a thorn in her side, a devious, happy-go-lucky, aggravating man who gave the impression of being as difficult to catch as thistledown. Every time she had him within her sights, he somehow managed to whisk himself away, out of reach.

‘Look what we’ve found,’ Sarah said excitedly, greeting Alex as she went to collect the children from her neighbour’s house later that day. Sarah led the way into the kitchen. ‘Auntie Jane showed us how to collect honey from the beehives in the orchard. We’ve been putting it into jars. It smells of flowers.’

Alex sniffed at the glass pot Sarah thrust under her nose. ‘So it does,’ she said. ‘I expect the bees have been visiting the apple blossom and the bramble bushes. That should make for good fruit later on in the season.’

She looked at Jane, who was standing by the fridge, looking pale and tired. ‘You’ve been busy. Are you sure you should be taking on all this work? I feel bad enough that I’m asking you to watch the children for me.’

‘Oh, I like having them around. Anyway, I volunteered to have them after school, and it’s no trouble to collect a bit of honey.’ Jane smiled. ‘I expect you had no idea what a wealth of treasures you were gaining when you bought the property next door. Of course, I didn’t let the children go near the hives when I collected the honeycombs, but they loved seeing the end result. They were fascinated.’

‘It tastes funny,’ James said, screwing up his nose. ‘Yuk.’

‘I like it,’ Sarah said happily. ‘We had some on pancakes and they were scrumptious.’

‘It sounds as though you had a lot of fun.’ Alex watched the children as they carefully spooned the golden honey into scrupulously clean jars. Jane sat down by the table and let them get on with it for a while.

‘How have you been feeling, Jane?’ Alex asked, giving her a long, thoughtful look. ‘Have you been back to see your doctor?’

‘Not yet.’ Jane shook her head, and at Alex’s small murmur of protestation she added, ‘I know…I keep putting it off, and I shouldn’t, but what’s he going to do for me but give me more tablets? Nothing’s working, so I might as well put up with things as they are.’ As she spoke, she absently rubbed her back. ‘The only that really gets to me is this pain, but I suppose I can take painkillers for that.’ She sighed. ‘But I guess that’s old age creeping up on me.’

‘I don’t think so, Jane. I think it’s something that needs to be investigated.’

She might have said more, but there was a brief tap on the kitchen door just then, and a moment later it opened, as a visitor stepped into the kitchen.

Alex pulled in a sharp breath.

‘Hi, Aunt Jane,’ Callum Brooksby said, going over to Jane and giving her a hug. ‘How’s my favourite aunt?’

‘Oh, it’s so good to see you,’ Jane said, smiling. She looked at him with genuine affection. ‘I was hoping you’d come round.’

He nodded. ‘I know I’ve left it a little bit longer than usual. It’s been a busy time lately, what with work and overseeing the builders at home.’ Then he straightened and looked around, interested in seeing who had come to take tea with her.

His gaze met Alex’s and they both stared at one another in shock.

‘Alex?’

‘Callum?’ She blinked.

Callum frowned, his dark brows drawing together in a straight line. ‘What on earth are you doing here?’

‘I…I bought the house next door,’ she said, stumbling a little over the words, still in shock. ‘That’s how I came to know your aunt—she’s been good to me, looking after the children while I’m at work.’

‘Children?’ His expression became incredulous as he turned his attention to James and Sarah, happily spilling honey over the scrubbed pine table and the assembled jars. ‘Good grief.’ He looked back at Alex. ‘I don’t know you at all, do I?’

Jane looked from one to the other, a puzzled expression on her face. ‘So you two have met before this?’ She frowned. ‘Of course, it must be the hospital—it didn’t occur to me. I knew you were in Paediatrics, Alex, and, Callum, you’re in Emergency, but of course you must meet up on occasion.’

‘All the while, Aunt Jane,’ Callum agreed, a look of wonder coming over his face. ‘We work in the same department.’

Alex was still trying to get over the shock. She studied him carefully. ‘So you’re the nephew?’

His head went back. ‘Nephew? Why, who’s been talking about me?’ He looked at Jane, a glimmer of amusement coming into his eyes. ‘It has to be you, doesn’t it? You’ve only told her good things, I hope?’

‘As if I’d do anything else,’ Jane answered cheerfully.

Callum put an arm around her in a gesture of affection. ‘She practically brought me up,’ he told Alex. ‘She’s been like a mother to me.’

Jane patted his hand.

‘Auntie Jane, can we go and play in the garden?’ James asked, coming over to her and beginning to tug on her skirt.

‘Yes, of course.’ Jane’s glance ran over him, and a line indented her brow. ‘Perhaps we’d better get you cleaned up a bit first, though.’

James looked down at the honey trails that streaked his T-shirt. ‘It’s all right,’ he said. ‘I can do that.’ He pulled his shirt up to his mouth and began to lick the sticky patches.

Sarah pulled a face. ‘You are so gross,’ she said in disgust.

‘Why?’ James responded, astonished. ‘Am not.’

Callum began to laugh. ‘Was I ever like that?’ he asked his aunt, and she nodded. ‘All the time.’ She turned her attention back to the boy. ‘I’ll get a cloth.’

‘No, don’t do that. I’ll see to everything,’ Alex said, intervening when Jane would have stood up. ‘You stay there and rest. You’ve done enough for one day.’ She helped the children to wash their hands, before sending them outside, and then she began to clear up the mess on the kitchen table.

Jane tried to lend a hand, gathering up spoons and honeycombs, but Alex gently took them from her. ‘You’re already hurting,’ she remonstrated softly. ‘Let me do it.’

Callum frowned, looking at his aunt. ‘What’s this about you hurting? Is it your back again?’

Jane nodded. ‘It’s nothing for you to worry about,’ she said. ‘I’ll be fine.’

‘Hmm. Why don’t you go and sit down in the living room, and I’ll bring you a cup of tea? I’m sure you’ll be much more comfortable in there.’

His aunt smiled. ‘You’re probably right. What a good idea.’ She looked from one to the other. ‘Anyway, I expect you young things have plenty to say to one another.’

She left the room, and a moment later, still frowning, Callum began to help with the clearing up. He placed sticky jars on the drainer, and flicked the switch on the kettle.

‘I still can’t get over seeing you here,’ he said, looking at Alex. ‘It’s a small world, isn’t it?’

‘It certainly seems that way.’

He began to prepare a tray, setting out a cup and saucer, along with a plate of home-made biscuits. He smiled as he peered into the cookie jar. ‘She’s always loved baking,’ he said, helping himself to an oat biscuit. He offered the jar to Alex. ‘She let me help her when I was a child, but I’m not sure my efforts were all that brilliant. They tended to be misshapen, and a bit cracked around the edges.’

‘Much like mine, then,’ Alex said, helping herself to a biscuit, and they both chuckled. She looked at him, trying to imagine him as a child, mixing cookie dough or playing outside in the long garden. ‘You said she was like a mother to you…does that mean you lived here with her?’

He nodded. ‘For a good deal of the time, anyway.’ He looked around. ‘I love this house. It feels like home to me. In fact, I love the whole area.’

‘And your parents? Where were they?’

‘Mostly abroad, either in Africa or South America. I didn’t see a lot of them in my teen years because they were off working on projects to improve the health of the underprivileged children out there. Things are much the same nowadays.’

‘That must have been difficult for you.’ Her grey eyes were sympathetic. She remembered how sad he’d been when he’d first mentioned his parents. ‘You must have missed them.’

‘I suppose so.’ He frowned. ‘But my aunt and uncle made up for it. They gave me a decent home life and showed me what it was like to be part of a loving family. Until then, nothing had ever been stable. My parents were always busy, working all hours, and we moved around constantly. There was no chance of putting down any roots.’

Alex was sad for him. He’d obviously not known what a loving family was like in his earlier years.

‘You were lucky, then, that your aunt was able to take you in.’

‘Yes, I was.’ He poured tea into the cup. ‘I’d better go and check on her, and take her the tea.’

Alex glanced at him and hesitated a second or two before saying, ‘You know she’s having problems with her blood pressure, don’t you?’

He nodded. ‘It was diagnosed some time ago. She’s been prescribed a number of different medications over the past year or so.’

‘Yes, that’s what she said. But it seems to me that whatever her GP’s giving her isn’t working, and I suspect that’s because he hasn’t yet found the root cause of her problem. I’m wondering if she ought to have some tests done at the hospital. She’s suffering from a number of symptoms that need to be investigated…headaches, dizziness, pain in her back.’

A line etched itself into his brow. ‘Her doctor’s been taking care of her for years, though. She trusts him, and it’s no easy thing to get her to go along to see anyone else.’

Alex’s mouth flattened. ‘Even so…I don’t see how she can go on this way. She doesn’t look at all well. Something needs to be done. In fact, I feel really guilty that I took her up on her offer to look after the children. It worries me that I’m putting too much on her.’ She pulled in a deep breath. ‘And I don’t believe she’s coping too well with the house and garden either. The weeds are beginning to overtake the borders, and it’s all much more than she can manage.’

Callum gave Alex a perplexed stare. ‘I mended the fence and tidied up the rockery a couple of weeks ago.’

Alex finished wiping the table with a flourish. ‘I’m sure the stress of keeping up with the maintenance is taking a toll of her. Is there any chance you could arrange a more regular schedule? Find a local gardener who will come along and tidy things up, perhaps?’

He didn’t say a word for a moment or two, but simply studied her as though he was deep in thought.

‘You’re very good at this sort of thing, aren’t you?’ he said at last, a note of wonder in his voice.

‘This sort of thing?’ She frowned. ‘I’m afraid I’m not following you.’

‘Organising people…deciding what needs to be done. I get the strongest feeling that not only am I being audited at work, but now you’re taking stock of how I conduct my personal life as well.’ He turned his blue gaze on her. ‘I’m obviously done for. Maybe I should give in, here and now?’

Alex felt warm colour fill her cheeks. ‘Well, that would be a good idea,’ she said, giving a self-conscious laugh. ‘That would make things easier all round, wouldn’t it?’

He gave a wry smile. ‘You’ll find I don’t surrender that easily.’

CHAPTER THREE

‘I’M ALL done disturbing you, angel,’ Callum murmured as the two-year-old girl fretted and tossed restlessly on the bed. ‘No more horrible needles and stethoscopes and all that palaver.’ He adjusted the medication drip, and then drew an ink line around the perimeter of the reddened area on the infant’s leg. ‘Let’s hope that rash starts to shrink very soon,’ he commented to the nurse who was assisting him. ‘We’ll make arrangements to admit her.’

He gave his attention back to the child. ‘I think you’ll be feeling a lot better before too long. I’m going to come back later to take a look at you, and I hope I’ll find that nasty red area is beginning to disappear.’ He carefully adjusted the bedcovers around the child, and gently brushed away the flaxen curls that massed around her hot cheeks. ‘Just you go to sleep and let the medicine do its work. We’ll have you right as rain in no time at all.’

Alex stood in the doorway of the treatment room, following his movements as he briefly checked the monitors. She had slipped into the room quietly, not wanting to disturb him, so he hadn’t realised she was there, and for a moment or two she was able to watch him at work, undisturbed. It gave her a fascinating glimpse of the man behind the professional mask, and though she felt guilty at not announcing her presence, the compulsion to feast her gaze on him somehow overcame everything else.

He might well be a constant source of frustration to her where her budget schedule was concerned, but there was no doubting his commitment to the patients in his care. And even though paediatrics wasn’t his specialty, she could see he had a sure instinct for dealing with children. This wasn’t the first time she’d seen him tending to a youngster in A and E. It was clear that he had a genuine concern for his young charges, and the tenderness that she saw in him as he leaned over the cot brought an unexpected lump to her throat.

It made it all the more difficult that she had to confront him right now, but she had a job to do, regardless, and so she stiffened her shoulders and quietly claimed his attention. ‘Might I have a word with you, please, Callum?’ she said.

‘Uh-oh…’ Callum glanced at her, and then moved away from his young patient’s bedside, giving final instructions to the nurse before walking towards the door where Alex waited, chart in hand. ‘I’ve heard you use that tone of voice before…’ he said under his breath, as he went out into the corridor. ‘Quiet but insistent.’ He frowned. ‘It generally means I’m in trouble of some kind.’

‘Not at all,’ Alex murmured, following him and adding sweetly, ‘You’re obviously developing a persecution complex of some sort.’

He nodded, a faint grin tugging at his mouth. ‘True. Funnily enough, it seemed to happen right about the time you joined the department.’

She tilted her head to one side. ‘Guilty conscience, perhaps?’

He shook his head. ‘Not true. I’m innocent as the day…at least, I think I am.’ He glanced at the chart she was carrying. ‘I expect that’s one of mine, or you wouldn’t be here. So what have I done this time?’

‘It isn’t just you,’ Alex said in a sympathetic tone. ‘I’m not singling you out. Please don’t think that. I’m checking everyone’s lab work to see if we can cut down on unnecessary testing…and here, looking at yours, I find you’ve ordered blood cultures, urine samples, swabs, to name just a few, for one small patient. Are you sure all these are really needed? Apart from the cost, we’re laying a great strain on the laboratory facilities.’

He put on a stern face. ‘If I hadn’t needed them, I wouldn’t have ordered them.’

‘For a simple fever?’

‘For a not-so-simple fever. The child was burning up, there was the beginning of a rash, and I suspect an insect bite of some sort that has led to a generalised infection which could lead to septicaemia.’ He studied her. ‘Do you really expect me to treat my patients without the proper diagnostic tools in place?’

‘Of course not.’ She smiled. ‘I’m just checking, that’s all. There’s nothing wrong in making sure everyone keeps efficiency and cost awareness in the forefront of their mind, is there?’

He gave her a sour look. ‘I’d appreciate it if you would take your checks elsewhere. I’m a consultant, remember, like yourself. I didn’t get to this position by not knowing what I’m doing.’

‘And I’m not suggesting otherwise. I see no reason why you should be so uptight about the situation,’ she commented in a soothing tone, trying to placate him. ‘We all want to do our best for our patients, and all I’m saying is that it’s only natural that sometimes we might be a little over-zealous in our efforts.’

‘I was not being over-zealous…I was being thorough. The child needs admission to hospital and treatment with an intravenous antibiotic. And if that doesn’t meet with your approval, then I’m afraid it’s too bad. That’s how it’s going to be.’

She put up a hand as though to ward him off. ‘I’m not stopping you from doing anything. All I’m saying is that we all have to be responsible and think carefully about the tests we order. It’s easy to slip into lax ways when you’re not the one counting the cost. Unfortunately, that’s down to me, and ultimately I have the job of making sure everyone complies with the new, stringent measures.’

He gave her a long look. ‘It never ceases to amaze me how very single-minded you are. Don’t you ever relax and watch the world go by without wanting to leap on its back and wrestle it into shape?’

She gave him a bewildered glance. ‘I’ve a job to do. What do you expect?’

‘I expect you to take a breather every once in a while.’ He checked the gold watch on his wrist, and as he moved she noticed the sprinkling of dark hairs that ran along his bare forearm. His shirtsleeves were rolled back, to show an expanse of skin that was lightly bronzed. His arms were muscular, his wrists strong, giving the impression of overwhelming masculinity, and for a second or two she felt a sudden tide of awareness that surged throughout her body and left her momentarily breathless.

He began to speak again, his voice cutting into her thoughts, and she reluctantly dragged her gaze away. It was strange, these weird sensations of being out of control that had afflicted her of late. She wasn’t used to feeling this way. Perhaps she was overworked, stressed, and the sheer amount of changes that were taking place in her life right now was making her unduly sensitive.

‘It’s getting late,’ he said, ‘and I don’t suppose you’ve had a break since lunchtime. I certainly haven’t. Why don’t we take a few minutes to go and get a cup of coffee—in my office, perhaps?’

She shook her head. ‘I’m sorry,’ she answered abruptly, struggling to get a grip on herself, ‘but I don’t have time. I have to finish this data chart by the end of my shift, and I’m already running late.’

‘We could use the time to go over the budget cuts you had in mind,’ he suggested silkily, a glint coming into his blue eyes. ‘Of course, if you’d rather leave it until another day, that’s fine by me.’ He started to turn away.

Alex was suspicious of his sudden apparent willingness to work with her, but his offer was one she could hardly refuse, was it? ‘Uh…maybe I was a little hasty. I dare say I could spare a few minutes, since you appear to have had a change of heart.’

‘Change of heart? Me? I’ve always been happy to go along with your suggestions.’

She gave him a withering look. ‘Let’s not push it, shall we?’

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