She makes him feel alive again

But can he heal her heart too?

Single dad GP Joe Thompson’s priorities are his daughter and his patients. It might’ve earned him a brooding reputation, but since losing his wife romance has been off-limits…until he meets locum nurse Rose McIntyre! Her warm smile and live-for-the-moment attitude soothe a pain Joe believed would never fade. But can Joe stop Rose running from her own secrets…and find comfort in his arms?

“I liked the hero immediately…. However, it was from the moment the hero and heroine come face-to-face for the first time that had me reading quickly, determined to discover more….”

—Harlequin Junkie on Reunited by Their Secret Son

“This was a beautiful, emotional story filled with exciting medical drama… plenty of light-hearted moments to give relief to the more emotional aspects of the story, it was perfectly balanced and a joy to read.”

—Goodreads on The Nurse’s Special Delivery

Having tried a variety of careers in retail, marketing and nursing, LOUISA GEORGE is thrilled that her dream job of writing for Mills & Boon means she gets to go to work in her pyjamas. Louisa lives in Auckland, New Zealand, with her husband, two sons and two male cats. When not writing or reading Louisa loves to spend time with her family, enjoys travelling, and adores eating great food.

Also by Louisa George

The War Hero’s Locked-Away Heart

The Last Doctor She Should Ever Date

How to Resist a Heartbreaker

200 Harley Street: The Shameless Maverick

A Baby on Her Christmas List

Tempted by Her Italian Surgeon

Her Doctor’s Christmas Proposal

Tempted by Hollywood’s Top Doc

The Nurse’s Special Delivery

Reunited by Their Secret Son

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

A Nurse to Heal His Heart

Louisa George

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08967-8

A NURSE TO HEAL HIS HEART

© 2018 Louisa George

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To my amazing editor, Flo Nicoll, who shares

my love of the wild and wonderful Lake District.

Thank you for saying yes when I came up with

the idea for this story, and for all your wise words

and support over the years. (And, most importantly,

for conjuring up famous celebrities

at opportune moments!)

I’m so lucky to have you xx

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Extract

About the Publisher

CHAPTER ONE

THERE SHE WAS AGAIN.

The third day in a row she’d marched past his house, rattled through the farm gate bordering his property and walked up onto the hill path. He wouldn’t have noticed—Joe generally took little interest in the steady stream of day-trippers and hikers walking past his foothills cottage—only for the bright multi-coloured hat and lipstick-red knitted knee-length coat more suitable for shopping than hiking.

It was the hat that had first caught his attention. Oranges and yellows and something he was sure his sister would call umber or something. Like a sunburst, or sunrise. A fresh vibrancy in the Lake District early autumnal grey they’d been having for the last few weeks. But wearing a wool coat and no decent wet weather gear? Downright foolish. She was probably one of those ill-equipped flakes he heard about too regularly, that had Search and Mountain Rescue out in the dark, risking their own lives.

Should he tell her about today’s forecast? Run after her like a busybody and tell her to wrap up warmly and get back down before dark and the threatened downpour?

Like hell. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t get so involved these days—live and let live. Get Katy ready for school, then go to work, come home. That was his life now: rinse and repeat.

But there was something about the brightness that compelled him to watch her. She’d stopped along the path and was looking out over the hotchpotch of grey stone and whitewashed buildings in the village. From this vantage point at the kitchen sink he had a closer view of her profile. Fresh pink cheeks. Long white-blonde hair cascading down her back as she shook her head from side to side and stretched her arms out wide, raised a leg. Such joy and energy in her movements, she waved her arms in the air and breathed deeply, maintaining her single leg balance. A yoga position?

She was doing yoga on a mountainside in sleepy Oakdale.

Yeah, it took all sorts.

As if she knew he was looking, she turned to him and smiled. Something about the openness of her face, of the soft yet bright eyes, had him instinctively smiling back. Enough of a rarity these days that it made the muscles around his mouth feel stretched and strange.

He made a snap decision—hell, he was just doing his civic duty—and found himself on the path running towards her. It hadn’t started raining yet, but the wind was cruel and cold. He liked it that way. It bit through his skin, reminding him that he had once been a man who felt things instead of just numbly going through the motions.

‘Hey.’ He caught up with her. Close up, she was…well, she was beautiful. English rose complexion, pretty smile and that long hair moving round her shoulders like a languid river as she turned to look at him. Beautiful indeed. It had been a very long time since he’d been struck enough to think something like that about a woman. He cleared his throat, raised his voice above the wild whip of wind. ‘It’s going to rain.’

‘I know. I checked the forecast.’ Her voice was soft, like velvet. A purr. Her eyes a curious amber colour. Something he’d never seen before. Or at least hadn’t noticed. A hint of an accent, definitely southern. Not from around here, so no understanding of how quickly bad weather could creep up.

‘But still no raincoat? No waterproof trousers? Gaiters?’ She didn’t even have a rucksack and he’d take bets on her not having a drink or snack in those cosy pockets in case of emergency. Wool? In the rain? Hypothermia would hit her before she had the chance to call the Oakdale team out. Didn’t she know how stupid that was? ‘I hope you’re not going to be out for long—it’s dangerous to be dressed like that out here. The weather changes very quickly at the top of those mountains and you could get caught out. People would have to risk their lives trying to find you if you got lost or hurt—imagine that. Imagine if someone got hurt because you didn’t plan your hike properly. You’re not remotely prepared for the conditions. Any conditions, to be honest.’

Her sunny smile fell as she looked at his collared cotton shirt then down at his leather work shoes. ‘Neither are you, but I wouldn’t dream of being so rude to a stranger.’

‘Rude? I was trying to help.’ Thanks for nothing.

Her eyebrows rose and she looked at her legs then back at him. ‘Do I look as if I need help?’

Anything but. She looked vibrant and strong. Long limbs encased in black Lycra tights. Pink-cheeked. Well, actually red-faced now. He shrugged. ‘Okay. Suit yourself. Get wet.’

She tipped her head and looked at the blackening clouds. ‘I like rain.’

She really was a flake, then. Rain might have been good for crops, but it wasn’t good for ill-prepared hikers. Or car drivers… He pushed that memory away, along with the accompanying ache in his heart. ‘Good, because you’re going to get a soaking today. Fill your boots.’

‘I intend to.’ At least she had sturdy shoes on. That was something. Gold eyes flashed with irritation. Warm-coloured pupils with a cold fleck of anger. She held his gaze.

And he held it right back. So much for being the Good Samaritan. He’d know better next time.

‘Daddy? Dad! What are you doing out here? What’s for breakfast? Can we have pancakes today?’

His daughter’s voice jolted him back to reality. Behind him, Katy was shivering on the path, dressed only in her pyjamas. Nothing on her feet.

‘Quick, inside—you’ll get cold out here.’ He ran back to the house, cursing to himself. Idiot. That was the last time he’d try to be helpful. ‘Sorry, darling. No pancakes on a school day. I’m making porridge and there’s a banana for afterwards.’

‘Aww. Not fair.’

‘Keep complaining and it’ll be two bowls of porridge,’ he quipped, trying to make her smile while making a deal.

Katy’s bottom lip protruded in her well-worn, years-old way of appealing to his soft side. ‘Granny makes pancakes every day when I’m there. Why can’t we have them every day too?’

Joe bit back the healthy eating lecture that seemed to form the basis of their communication these days. His beautiful, playful toddler had turned into a demanding little Miss recently and he wasn’t sure why. Growing pains? Not for the first time—and definitely not the last—he wondered how different things might have been if Katy had had two parents around to bring her up. And with that thought he slopped the porridge into a bowl, the altercation with the woman still infiltrating his mood. Thank God he’d never need to speak to her again. Tomorrow, if she went past, he’d keep his mouth shut. Good luck to her.

He slid the bowl over to his eight-going-on-eighteen-year-old. ‘Hey, you’ll thank me when you still have lots of energy to run around at playtime.’

‘Ugh. But I don’t like it.’ Katy really did look dismayed and Joe’s heart pinged. Guilt lingered around the edges. Work was too damned busy at the moment; two staff down had made them all fraught, working extra hours to keep up with demand. Which meant less time with Katy. But now, as she watched his reaction, she grinned so easily, turning from heartbroken to heartbreaker with the simple upturn of her lips. ‘I have lots of energy. All the time. And I really, really like pancakes. They’re the best thing ever and if I have them I’ll smile all day. For ever.’

For ever. He wished he could somehow stop time and preserve her like this, so innocent and so easily pleased by little things.

‘Okay, we can set the alarm for earlier tomorrow and try making some pancakes. But you remember what happened last time?’

‘You just threw it too high. We know better now. Granny’s shown me how to flip them properly.’ His daughter looked up at the sticky patch on the ceiling that he hadn’t quite managed to remove with normal detergent and water. ‘I’ll show you.’

‘Okay. Pancakes tomorrow. Now, eat up the porridge.’ And there. He’d given in to her again. How could he not? She was the light of his life, the reason he got up in the morning. Things could have been so different…

As he tipped the rest of the sludgy breakfast into his own bowl his gaze drifted outside again. Thick clouds darkened the sky as heavy raindrops pelted the windows. See? She’d be getting soaked right about now. Rude? No, sensible. Unlike sunburst hat woman, who had disappeared and taken what little was left of his good mood with her.

The irritation lingered with him for the rest of the morning. His sister would have told him he had a choice and that he could choose to be jovial. But now he was running forty minutes late and was choosing to be quietly efficient and, okay, he might well have come across as gruff to the patient who complained about being kept waiting. Jovial and work-smart didn’t figure in his picture right now. He was a man, after all; he couldn’t multi-task.

And as if he needed more proof of his inability to focus, every time he tried writing up his notes he stared at the screen and the image of sunburst hat woman filled his head. Gah. He’d been rude and she’d called him on it, rightly. But it had been for her own good. At least that was what he kept trying to convince himself. And those eyes… The memory of that unusual colour had lingered as long as his bad mood. Why had he gone outside to talk to her when women were off his agenda these days?

‘You want a cuppa?’ Maxine, his trusty receptionist, called through his open office door.

‘Brilliant. Yes, please, in my takeaway cup though, because I’m just heading out on the home visits.’

Maxine hobbled in on her arthritic legs. One day, too soon, she’d retire and he’d never find someone to truly replace her. She wasn’t just the face of Oakdale Medical, she was it, heart and soul. ‘You’ll come through to the staffroom first, though, Joey? The new locum nurse has popped in for a walk-through before she starts properly tomorrow and I want you to say hello.’

There was a glint in her eye that made him nervous. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe, because Maxine hadn’t had a glint in her eye for a long time. ‘Oh?’

‘We’ve got her for a month so we’ve got some breathing space to fill the vacancy. Be nice—I don’t want you scaring her off.’

‘I’m always nice.’

‘Hmm… No comment.’ She smiled and he remembered his sister saying Maxine needed a medal for putting up with him these last few years. No doubt she was right. He hadn’t exactly been a bundle of laughs recently. ‘Come and say hello at least.’

He probably should, and be thankful someone had turned up at all, given the scarcity of people wanting to work here in the middle of nowhere, but he had patients who needed him to visit them. ‘Would it be rude if I said no, and that I’ll meet her tomorrow? I’ve got too much to do before the afternoon clinic.’

‘Right you are. I’ll tell her. She’s lovely, so I’m sure she’ll understand. Actually, there’s something about her that seems…’ As she shook her head her nose crinkled. ‘Oh, nothing really. Just me being silly.’

‘Seems what?’ He didn’t want anyone upsetting his staff. But there he was, jumping to conclusions before he’d set eyes on the woman.

‘I don’t know…familiar, I suppose, although I’ve never met her before. She’s nice. Got a nice manner. Friendly.’ As she turned to leave she stopped short and inhaled sharply. ‘Oh. Oh.’

His gut clenched. ‘Everything okay, Maxine?’

She hunched forward and rubbed at her chest. Frowned. ‘Nothing. Don’t fuss. Just indigestion. I told David not to put onions in my sandwiches, but did he listen? No. And I ate them anyway, too quickly for my own good.’

‘You sure you’re okay?’ Pulse prickling with concern, Joe was halfway across the room, assessing her pallor and breathing rate. ‘What kind of pain is it? Come and sit down; let me look you over.’

She threw him the same look she’d been giving him for the last five years or so. ‘Since that accident you’ve been on a mission to save the world, Joseph Thompson. And you can’t. You’ve got to stop worrying about everyone and everything.’

‘I care about you, so sue me. Let me check you over. Sit down.’ He didn’t want to be reminded about the accident and his overwhelming need to protect those he cared about. ‘Please, Maxine. It won’t take a minute.’

But, woefully stubborn as usual, she straightened and waved him back to his seat. ‘I’m fine, Joey. Don’t go bothering about me. I’ll pop the kettle on. The closed sign’s up, Jenny’s out on calls, Alex is still on annual leave and the nurses are at a vaccination update over at the community hub in Ambleside, so it’s tea for two. Oh…three if we count Rose.’

‘Rose?’

Maxine’s voice wafted down the corridor and he could picture her rolling her eyes, just so. ‘The new nurse.’

The one he was choosing not to see. Right. Too bad. She’d understand once she saw his task list and inbox. He checked the clock on his computer screen as he finished writing up the last patient’s notes. Five minutes before he was due at his first house call—a fifteen-minute drive away. Today, he was destined to run late for everything. Maybe he’d take a raincheck on that cup of—

‘Quick! Someone? Dr…er…er…?’ The woman’s voice, assertive but breathy, came from Reception. ‘Someone? Hello? Er… Crash call! Now.’

Crash call? Damn.

It took him less than five seconds to run up the corridor, but his heart rate trebled as he saw Maxine lying on the floor and a woman with white-blonde hair in a messy ponytail tilting his lovely receptionist’s chin back…about to breathe for her?

What the hell? ‘Maxine?’

‘She collapsed. Cardiac, I’m sure. She was clutching her chest.’ Amber eyes turned to him, then narrowed. ‘Oh. It’s you.’

‘Joe Thompson. Dr Joe Thompson.’ He nodded, then knelt next to Maxine with no hint of recognition or memory of their altercation this morning.

‘And I’m Rose.’ Great. He was the doctor she’d come to work with? The guy from the hill? The kind of pompous man she’d left behind, along with her old life. Still, if he was a stickler for the right walking gear he’d be picky about getting CPR technique right too. She just hoped they wouldn’t need it. ‘Faint carotid pulse. Dyspnoea. I caught her as she fell and lowered her to the floor, so no head or other bony injury.’

She looked down at the sweet woman who’d been showing her round the medical centre only a few minutes ago. They’d been getting on so well before this; Rose had been looking forward to working with her. She had a nice nature Rose had been instantly drawn to, and she also knew her way round the medical centre like an old hand. Maxine’s eyes flickered open and she winced. ‘Pain. Arm. Chest.’

‘Okay, Maxi. We’ll sort you out. Don’t worry; we’ve got you. It’ll be fine.’ The doctor’s face softened with affection and concern as he examined their unexpected patient. ‘Those damned onions, right? I’ll have to have a word with David.’

Onions? No. Rose blinked up at him and shook her head. It was some sort of cardiac problem. Clearly. What the hell kind of doctor was he? It was obviously cardiac and if anyone knew what that meant she did. She felt her own chest constrict and the long scar down her ribcage prickle in sympathy. ‘Er…the pain is central chest and radiating to the left and down her arm. She’s short of breath and has a weak pulse. It’s not gastric—’

He looked at her as if she’d spoken out of turn. ‘I am well aware of the symptoms.’

Yeah. Pompous was one thing, but misguided? Wrong, actually. ‘You alluded to it being gastric, and it’s not—’

Ignoring the rest of Rose’s input, he pointed down the corridor, his voice all business as he spoke. ‘ECG machine, portable oxygen and defibrillator are on a trolley in the treatment room. Down there. Second right. Bring it all here then call 999. Our full address is by the phone behind you, but shouldn’t be necessary as they know where we are.’

She gritted her teeth and did as requested as efficiently as she could, given she’d only had a brief whip round the place in preparation for a full induction tomorrow. But it gave her enough time to ruminate on her impression of her new colleague and boss. Bad enough that he’d taken umbrage at her clothing choices this morning, but he was also one hell of a grumpy dude at work too.

It was just a shame he was so damned good-looking and she would have to endure looking at those soulful blue eyes for the duration of her stay. Never mind the impressive height and shock of blond hair—had Vikings ever made it this far west? If so, here was their long-lost son. Dr Joe Thor Thompson.

Tall. Pompous. Sexy eyes. A tick list to avoid if ever there was one. Been there, done that. Not happening again.

By the time she got off the phone the doctor had managed to assist Maxine onto a gurney Rose had dragged up from the treatment room along with the resus trolley, assessed her blood pressure and oxygen saturation, fitted an oxygen mask over her face and was attaching a twelve lead ECG to her chest. ‘Breathing any better?’

Maxine shifted the mask so she could speak. ‘Bit.’

Thor leant in and spoke gently. Which seemed incongruous on such a gruff big man. ‘Your oxygen levels are a bit low, but once they come up we can take the mask off. How’s the pain? Out of ten?’

‘Eight.’

He nodded. ‘Then I’ll give you some pain relief. Nurse? Can you attach the leads while I do the needles?’

‘Sure.’ But then she wished she hadn’t agreed, because it was always difficult doing something for the first time in a new environment and her hands shook as she peeled back the sticky paper and placed the pads onto Maxine’s chest. She willed her own heart rate to slow and the trembling to stop, but no dice. Her body was betraying her today, and all the time she felt Thor’s eyes on her, assessing. Why was sticky paper so damned sticky? It wouldn’t drop from her fingers as she shook them. It attached itself to the wires and got in the way of…everything. She looked up and caught his gaze. ‘I’m sorry, it’s—’

‘Sticky. Yes.’ He didn’t move, didn’t blink, barely breathed as he waited. But she felt his irritation swaddle her like a cloying cloak and she wished the ground would open up and swallow her. Finally, she managed to get everything in place and she felt him sigh.

Clamping down her own frustration, she closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. She would not let another man make her feel…less…ever again. She was good at her job. She was a great person, actually. She knew that, and it had been a long, hard journey to finally believe it.

But none of that was important right now; she had to work with this man regardless, and Maxine needed them both to get along if they were going to successfully care for her.

Their patient reached for Joe’s hand as the last lead was clipped on. The ECG machine bleeped and whirred, then traced her heart rhythm onto an LED display. Not good news: Maxine was in the middle of an acute cardiac event and needed urgent treatment and admission to hospital.

Joe nodded as he looked at the read-out. ‘Okay, sweetheart, it looks like you’re going to have to make a trip to Lancaster General because your heart isn’t doing what it should do. So, I need to get a drip in your arm so we can start the treatment here and some aspirin will help make the blood flow a bit easier. But first, pop this tablet under your tongue. Bad news is, I don’t think it was the onions after all.’

Maxine seemed to have diminished a little. ‘Me neither. But I didn’t want to bother you.’ She pulled the mask away again and let Joe place the tablet under her tongue. Wincing, the older lady looked up at him and choked back a sob. ‘I don’t want to die, Joey.’

‘Shh. Let the tablet dissolve. You’re not dying here, that’s for sure, not on my watch.’ Once he’d secured intravenous access into her arm, as if it was the easiest thing in the world to do on an anxious woman with poor cardiac output and refusenik veins, he squeezed Maxine’s other hand, his voice an altogether different tone to the one he’d used with Rose. ‘We’re going to make you comfortable.’

‘But, what if I do die—?’

‘No, Maxine. Do not even go there. Save your energy for getting better, not thinking the worst.’ He drew up some morphine with very steady hands, handed the ampoule to Rose to check with barely a second glance at her, then he injected the painkiller into their patient.

When he’d finished Maxine struggled to sit up. ‘Call David.’

Joe nodded. ‘I will. And I’ll tell him to meet you at the hospital. Now lie back and start getting better.’

But she tried to sit up again, her hand trembling as she grabbed his arm. ‘I’m sorry. We’re short-staffed as it is.’

He gently eased her back against the pillow and stroked her hair. ‘Please, relax. Stop talking, stop thinking about everyone else and save your energy.’

‘Tell Katy I love her.’ Her voice was strained and thick with emotion, which seemed to take Joe aback.

‘Of course, but she knows it well enough.’ His eyes filled, but he shook his head, determined. One thing Rose realised now was that she’d grossly underestimated him. Yes, he was grumpy, but he had more than enough affection and compassion for this woman. ‘Don’t go talking like that. You hear me?’

‘And find someone to make you happy. Please. You need that in your life, Joey.’

What? A zillion questions fired in Rose’s brain. That was an odd thing for his receptionist to say.

He blinked. Shook his head again, his gaze sliding quickly to Rose and then back to Maxine. Clearly he hadn’t wanted her to overhear this conversation. ‘Right. I think I can hear sirens. Any minute now we’ll have the Lake District’s finest bursting through the door.’

And they did. And when they saw who the patient was there was a flurry of activity and a very quick turnaround with a promise of having her back behind the reception desk—as she was demanding—in no time. Joe wanted to accompany her in the ambulance but Maxine flatly refused, saying he was needed here and to just phone her husband. So he did, breaking the news in that soft, concerned voice he seemed to reserve for friends and not for new staff—but then, why should he?

And then there was just the two of them left to clear up the mess of syringes and sticky papers, and tidy up the reception area, which they did in silence because Rose didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t receive a terse reply.

Thank goodness the medical centre had been closed for lunch and the incident hadn’t played out in front of a clinic full of patients. She looked at the empty chair behind the desk and felt a chill shudder through her. They’d played the scenario down, but acute heart attacks were dangerous. Fatal in lots of cases, even if the patient survived the first bout of treatment. Hearts were tricky things and needed lots of looking after—physically and emotionally.

That was why she was here, after all, to make hers better.

Eventually, Rose couldn’t cope with the oppressive silence any more. She wanted to talk about Maxine, even if he didn’t. Talking about stressful things was a good thing, so the counsellor had told her. ‘She’s so sweet. I hope she’ll be okay.’

Thor turned and looked up from the desktop computer, as if suddenly remembering she was there. Steely blue eyes narrowed. ‘Yes.’

‘You’re going to miss her.’

‘Yes.’ He paused, looking as if he was working out what to say. ‘She’s my receptionist, but she’s also my mother-in-law.’

Oh. No wonder he was so concerned. Oakdale was a small community, so of course there’d be family members all working together, unlike at the big London hospital she’d trained at. People there were from all over the world, strangers working with strangers, mostly. She’d come here because the small community had appealed. That, and a weird comforting feeling she’d had when she’d read the description of the place. It had sounded magical, idyllic and just the thing for a broken heart. A new start, fresh air and lots of exercise to exorcise her past.

But why was his mother-in-law telling him to find someone to make him happy? That made no sense at all.

As if he could read her mind, he shook his head. ‘People say things they don’t mean when they’re in a panic.’

‘She was scared. It’s understandable. You think you’re going to live for ever, then something like this hits you out of the blue. It makes you rethink everything.’

‘Right, yes.’ He was nodding, but there was little emotion there. She expected a big sigh, at least. A rub of those skilled hands through his blond hair. A raised eyebrow or some sort of shared agreement that it had been really hard working on a friend. A discussion, maybe…some sort of virtual group hug that they’d done the right things in the emergency. Anything they could have done differently, better, things to be worked on for next time. But, no, nothing.

It was like talking to an automaton. But he was only like this with her, Rose noticed. With Maxine he’d been soft and sweet. Maybe she just needed to get to know him…or he needed to get to know her, before they could have cordial work relations. Maybe she just needed to hightail it back to the agency and demand to be placed somewhere else.

Instead, she took a deep breath. Because he must have been shocked by what had just happened; what else could explain his gruff manner? ‘Hey, why don’t you take a few minutes to debrief? Have a cup of tea or something? It’s okay to feel blindsided by this.’

He looked at her as if she had two heads. ‘I’m not blindsided. I’m short-staffed. And I’m running very late for my home visits. Again.’

And with that he was gone.

CHAPTER TWO

THE NEW NURSE was still there when he got back from his home visits, despite her not being due to start work until tomorrow. And every time he came into the waiting area throughout the afternoon to call a patient into his room, there she was, sitting on Maxine’s chair, chatting to the patients and other nurses as if she belonged there.

Her blonde ponytail bobbed as she laughed with Dennis Blakely, making the dour old man smile for the first time in living memory, those amber eyes sparkling as she shushed a crying newborn to sleep like some sort of baby whisperer. No longer wearing the orange hat or the red coat, she was dressed for work in a high-necked top and slim black trousers. Smart. Professional.

He wished she was still in the hat and coat…inappropriate for walking or work, but they matched her vibrancy.

As he watched her, Joe had the same feeling he’d had when he’d seen her on the mountain—as if something inside him was starting to wake up after a very long hibernation—he noticed her. And that in itself was the strangest thing, because he hadn’t noticed much these last few years. He’d been swimming through a fog of survival and grief so deep he’d barely managed to function, drowning really, spending all his energy on making sure Katy got through this well-adjusted and, above all, happy. As happy as she could be. As happy as he could make her.

So did noticing a pretty woman mean he’d moved on?

Panic hit him with force, like bullets pelting his body—his heart, his gut, his throat. He wasn’t sure he wanted to move on. Mostly, he didn’t want to forget.

But, regardless of what noticing her meant, he needed to apologise for being rude. Twice. Probably more. Maxine would have a fit if he didn’t and word got round he’d scared the new staff nurse away.

‘You still here?’ he asked her as he dropped blood forms and paperwork onto the large uncluttered desk, the last of the patients having just left. ‘I thought you didn’t start until tomorrow?’

‘After Maxine’s incident I wasn’t going to leave you so short-staffed, was I? I just helped out, learning the ropes.’ She looked up at him, her tone defensive, with little warmth in the amber gaze. ‘Dr Jenny said it was all right for me to stay on. Apparently, they’ll have someone to man the desk in the morning.’

‘Yes, of course.’ Good old Jenny—if it hadn’t been for her, Maxine and Alex, the place would have buckled under Joe’s flagging leadership and the mire of fog engulfing him. But the fog was lifting now, apparently, if noticing lovely eyes was anything to go by. Which was interesting and very inconvenient because he didn’t want to find her—or any woman for that matter—attractive. Especially one who was here on a temporary contract and destined to leave when her time was up. He’d already had his world blown apart by the loss of one woman and he had no inclination to open himself up to that again. ‘It’s fine by me.’

‘Good, because I’m not sure how you’d have got on with no one to cover the front desk during a busy afternoon clinic.’ She nodded. ‘Actually, it’s worked out well, because now I know how the place runs.’

‘I’m glad someone does.’

It was meant to be a joke, but it had been so long since he’d made one he wasn’t sure it hit the mark. It shocked him that he wanted to see her face light up the way it had this morning as she’d stretched her arms out wide and breathed in the fresh morning air on his mountain.

But she just nodded, all business. ‘It’s actually very straightforward. Maxine’s got systems in place for everything.’

‘I know. She’s a star and runs a very tight ship. I was…er…joking.’

‘Oh. I didn’t realise you knew how.’ This time she did smile, although it was a little hesitant and didn’t warm her eyes and he knew it was because all she knew about him was that he was bad company.

So now was his chance to make amends. ‘Look, can we start over? I’m sorry about this morning.’

‘Which bit?’

‘What do you mean?’ Wasn’t a blanket apology enough?

Clearly not. She started to count his misdemeanours off on her fingers. ‘The comments about my clothing choice for a super quick walk up the hill.’ Forefinger. ‘The dismissal of my input with a very sick patient.’ Middle finger. ‘Outright rudeness when I tried to be compassionate to you…’ Ring finger. Which, he noted, didn’t have a ring, but it did have a barely discernible white line which meant…which meant he was noticing more than he should. Her terse voice made him focus. ‘Which are you apologising for, Doctor?’

Those lovely eyes settled on his face. A little warmer. Drifted to his mouth, back to his eyes, and he had the distinct feeling she was sizing him up.

That made him stand taller. So, she wasn’t going to pussyfoot around him. This was new, and he wasn’t sure what he thought about it. But he definitely deserved it. Maybe he’d been too protected by his staff, who’d all taken the reins when he’d begun to sink, and probably let him get away with too much self-absorption in the process.

‘Good point. I’m sorry for everything. Absolutely everything I did, and pretty much everything I didn’t do too… The fact that the Tooth Fairy isn’t real, the extinction of the dinosaurs, and mostly for The Birdie Song.’

Her eyes twinkled at that and she started to laugh. Which made him notice her even more.

She put her hand up, signalling that he’d said enough. ‘Okay. Don’t get carried away. But…oh, my poor heart…the Tooth Fairy? Not real?’

‘I know. I took it hard too. For God’s sake, don’t tell my daughter; she’d never forgive me.’

‘My lips are sealed.’ She did a zipping action with her forefinger and thumb across her mouth. Pouting it a little. It was a nice mouth. Full lips. The kind of smile that made you feel as if you had a pool of light in your chest. Seemed it wasn’t just his head but his heart noticed her too. Something in his blood started to fizz.

It had no right fizzing. He cleared his throat. ‘So, let’s start again. I’m Joe Thompson. The patients know me as Dr Joe. Maxine calls me Joey. But I also answer to hey you, oi and a whole lot of things I can’t say in polite company…and that you’ve probably muttered under your breath more than once today.’

A wry lift of her eyebrow. ‘I stopped counting when I got to fifty-seven.’

‘That bad, eh? I’m sorry and even though I didn’t show it I’m very grateful you’re here, particularly today.’

‘You’re forgiven, but only just, and you’re now on a caution.’ She nodded, satisfied. The smile stayed in place, hinting he was on the right track with being civil. ‘Any more of that grumpy nonsense and you’ll be in a lot of trouble. Life’s too short to be a huge pain in the ars—’

‘Indeed.’ As he knew, well enough. But he’d been stewing in his bad mood for five years and he’d thought he might be stuck there.

‘Anyway, I’m Rose McIntyre. Locum nurse extraordinaire.’ She stuck out her hand, long feminine fingers.

Which he took and shook, trying to ignore more fizzing, this time over his skin as her fingers slipped from his. He caught her gaze and wondered whether she’d felt it too.

No. No hint of any kind of fizzing on her side. Why on earth would she? He dragged his eyes from hers and tried to be more professional. ‘So, from somewhere down south, judging by the accent?’

She nodded and two small dots of pink bloomed on her cheeks. ‘Born and bred in London.’

‘But…?’

‘But what?’ The pink intensified.

‘There must be a but if you’ve moved away from your home to little old Oakdale in the middle of nowhere.’

‘It’s so beautiful here.’ But her demeanour changed, the openness in her eyes shuttered down. ‘I just needed…wanted a change.’

‘Bright lights and big city getting too much?’

‘Something like that.’ Her gaze slid away from him and she picked up her handbag, signalling the conversation about her was over. She wasn’t going to tell him anything personal, that was for sure. He didn’t even know why he wanted to know. They’d had other locums and he’d never asked about their reasons for coming here. She shook her head as if brushing off a thought and the smile was back on her face. ‘So, anyway, how were the pancakes? Laced with arsenic? No? Too bad.’

‘I wouldn’t blame you if you slipped some into my sandwiches tomorrow. I’ll make sure I don’t label them so you won’t know which are mine.’ He laughed. Actually laughed. It felt strange, muscles working in his belly that were usually only taxed by exercise. ‘No pancakes today. I made her eat porridge, but I was bribed to do pancakes tomorrow. Don’t be surprised if I come in covered in batter. That happens.’

She smiled. ‘Bribery or batter?’

‘Both. Too often.’

‘Kids, eh?’ The way she said it gave him pause. Wistful? Sad? There was a gentle raise of her eyebrows, a shrug. That’s life. But she’d already closed down enough at the remotest hint of a conversation about anything too personal, so he left it.

Suddenly serious, she closed down the computer and stood up. ‘Hey, did you check on Maxine? Have you heard how she’s doing? I mean… I know I’m not a relative or anything and I barely know her, so I hope you don’t think I’m prying, but—’

‘But you probably saved her life and for that I can’t thank you enough.’ If Rose hadn’t been here God knew what might have happened. ‘I just spoke with the cardiologist at Lancaster; she’s comfortable enough and they confirmed a myocardial infarction. She’s going to be in for a while.’

‘Next time you speak to her, give her my regards, please.’

‘I’m going over to the hospital tonight, so will do.’ He checked his watch. Time was marching. He really shouldn’t be standing here doing this, no matter how much he was enjoying trying to make amends. Thank God the rain had stopped a few hours ago. The roads would be dry and clear so…he steered his mind from where it usually went when he thought about rain and driving, and reframed things…so it wouldn’t take too long to get there and back. An easy drive of fifty minutes each way.

She frowned at her watch. ‘Really? All that way? It’s getting late.’

‘I’ll take Katy, my daughter; we’ll just pop in for a quick visit.’ It would have to be a very quick visit if he didn’t move soon. But his mouth started to run away on a different tangent. ‘You enjoyed your walk this morning? Except the part where a bad-tempered bloke bawled you out?’

She brushed her hand along her hair, smoothing some wayward wisps, and nodded, an ironic smile at the memory. ‘Well, yes, apart from grumpy men commenting on my inappropriate, but very lovely, cardigan it is beautiful up there. I can see why you live in that house—the view’s amazing and it’s such a quaint cottage.’

Pippa had loved it too, the second she’d set foot on the land. More than enough bedrooms, the perfect garden, a kitchen with the best view in the county. He’d bought it for her, for their future and the big family they were going to have…

And just like that his dead wife slipped so easily back into his brain. A familiar tight ache settled under his ribcage. Maybe he hadn’t moved on as much as he’d thought. ‘Yes. On a clear day you can see as far as Morecambe.’ His voice was tighter, as if his throat had been rubbed with sandpaper.

If Rose noticed she didn’t make it obvious. ‘Someone told me you could see all the way to Ireland, but I think they were pulling my leg. I only walked up to Craggy Gill and back this morning. Just a quick stretch of my legs before I came in here.’

Fifteen minutes from his house. ‘I should have asked you where you were headed then. Lesson learnt.’ But the thought of Pippa reminded him of everything he should be doing instead of standing here trying to make a pretty woman smile. ‘Right. I have to go.’

He didn’t want to. Something about her made him want to hang around and chat. But… Katy. Maxine. Pip. Sweet Pip. The hollow in his chest expanded.

Was he moving on? Could he? There was that panic again, deep inside.

Rose headed towards the door. ‘Great, I’ll come with you.’

‘No.’ He had to get his head sorted. And collect his daughter, then drive to Lancaster Hospital.

‘Just outside. That’s all.’ Rose blinked. Twice. ‘I don’t know how to lock up.’ She wiggled her fingers. ‘No keys?’

‘Right. Yes.’ What had he been thinking? That she’d somehow want to come with him? Home? To the hospital? Anywhere? What a ridiculous idea. Almost as ridiculous as wanting to make her smile, instead of reminding himself how futile that would be.

‘Are you taking your medications?’

‘Of course. Not something I’m about to forget, right? They keep me alive.’ Rose sighed inwardly and shook her head. It was lovely that her mother was so concerned, but really…sometimes the concern was beyond suffocating.

‘Why are you so breathless? What’s the matter? Are you ill? Have you got an infection?’

‘I’m climbing a mountain, Mum.’ Despite the pride at being able to achieve something she’d never imagined possible a few years ago, Rose felt her mother’s anxiety shimmering down the phone all the way from London. It didn’t matter how many miles she put between them, there was no escape when she was only a phone call away. Still, she couldn’t pop round unannounced like she used to do, not without a lot of planning. Rose tried to steady her breathing, but that wasn’t easy on the uphill. ‘Please don’t worry about me. It’ll make you sick again. I’m fine. Really.’

‘You’re climbing a mountain? In the dark? Why on earth would you do that?’

Good question. Rose stopped for a minute to catch her breath and take in the view. A cloudless sky, lit by a silvery moon, more stars than she’d ever imagined there could be above her. And then, below that, a horizon of dark shadows of the mountains surrounding the village, and the orange lights in the Oakdale houses illuminating the foothills like glow-worms.

Magical. Breathtaking. Peaceful. So peaceful. No one to challenge her, to compare her to how she used to be, no one to tell her how much she’d changed. No one to nag her, to fuss. No one to trouble her.

Except for a certain grumpy doctor she couldn’t stop thinking about… That was troubling. She’d only spent one day in his company but he intrigued her, probably a lot more than he should. From that whole Nordic vibe he had going on to the full body tingle she’d had when they shook hands.

Tingling wasn’t on her agenda. She’d come to lick her wounds and start afresh, have an adventure with a big emphasis on not getting involved with another man for a very long time. She’d had enough of being told what to do and how to act…and, after being in hospital for so long, everyone had been an expert on how she should behave.

Not any more!

Besides, Dr Thor had a mother-in-law, ergo he was married. He had a child. He was so off-limits he might as well have been in Outer Mongolia or… Norway.

Breathing in the cold fresh air, she tried to still her mind the way she’d been taught. In. Out. In. Out. Feet on the earth. Breathe the scents of wildflowers and grass. Listen. Up here it was completely silent, apart from the wheeze in her chest at the unusual exertion. And the palpable panic from her mother. ‘Rose? Are you still there? Why are you up a mountain?’

‘Oh. Yes, sorry. I’m just dropping something off at someone’s house.’

‘Whose house?’

Thor’s. She smiled to herself. He really did have nice eyes and a smile that transformed his face, when he remembered to do it. When he allowed himself… There was something locked up inside him; she could see that. Something had happened to make him so tetchy and reserved. She just didn’t know what. Didn’t want to know, really. Because everyone had something, right? ‘Just the boss’s house.’

‘What kind of boss brings you out at night in the dark? Walking up a hill? Does he know about your heart—?’

‘No.’ Rose cut her mother off. At some point she’d realise her daughter wasn’t an invalid any more, but it hadn’t hit home yet. ‘There’s no reason to tell him, okay? Why would I? The job agency only ask if there are any medical issues that interfere with my ability to do the job. And I don’t have any. I’m healthy. Healthier than a lot of people my age. I get lots of exercise, I eat well. I take my tablets and I get regular check-ups.’

Mostly, she didn’t want all the questions, the Oh, I’m so sorry or… You’re so lucky and, worst of all, What happened to the person who died? Once upon a time she’d loved being the party girl and centre of attention, but not now. She hated all the interrogation and prying into her life.

Unfortunately her mother hadn’t got that particular memo. ‘I’m worried about you, Rose. I still don’t understand why you went into nursing…all those infections in hospitals. You could catch something, or worse…’

‘Please, Mum, we’ve talked about this so many times. I’m fine. Dr Lee said nursing would be fine as long as I was careful.’

‘You had a lovely job at Red Public Relations. They were nice people. Our kind of people.’

Your kind of people. Not mine. Not any more. ‘Not this again, please. I love nursing.’

‘And I don’t know why you had to move so far away from everyone who loves you.’

Because of conversations like this. ‘I’m just trying to make my own way, Mum. It’s so lovely here; you should come and visit.’

‘I just might.’

Give me three years’ notice to prepare myself mentally. ‘I’ve rented a place with two bedrooms, so come any time. Just give me some advance warning so I can get time off to show you round. We could go to Beatrix Potter’s house; you’d love it.’

‘What about Toby?’

‘What about him? I don’t think he’s interested in Jemima Puddleduck. Far too boring for Toby.’

The terrain had evened out a little now as she got closer to Thor’s house, but her heart was hammering at the exertion. And at the mention of her ex-boyfriend. ‘Please don’t bring him with you.’

Her mother sighed. ‘I’m sure if you came home and talked to him he’d take you back.’

Rose stopped outside the doctor’s house. No car. Which meant they were still out. Good—she’d just leave the food here then head back home. Stupid idea in the first place; God knew why she’d suddenly decided to bring it. Or why they had to talk about her pathetic love life and ruin this lovely evening.

‘Toby dumped me, if you remember. Because I’m not the fun-loving girl I used to be, apparently. Because I decided to do something to give back.’

And mainly—although she hadn’t had the heart to tell her mum this—because he couldn’t cope with the fact that there was still a good chance Rose’s life would be cut short. He didn’t want to back a lame horse when he could marry a perfectly normal woman with all her own body parts and an uncomplicated life expectancy.

‘You could give back in lots of other ways, darling. A little charity work or something.’ She cleared her throat and Rose waited for the Don’t let your one chance slip through your fingers talk. ‘Don’t miss out on your chance with Toby Fletcher just because you’re stubborn. He said he didn’t mind that children were out of the picture.’

‘He didn’t want them in the first place, Mum.’ Rose had been the devastated one when they’d been told that.

‘That’s good then, isn’t it? And he’d look after you, financially at least.’

‘For God’s sake, Mum, he didn’t want me, okay? Besides, are you saying I should marry a man just because he’s rich? Do what he says? Fit in with who he wants me to be? Try to be someone who I’m not?’

‘Rose?’ A man’s voice behind her. Gruff.

‘Oh!’ Her poor heart damned near thumped out of her chest. ‘Joe! You’re home? I didn’t realise. Got to go, Mum. Bye.’ Flicking her phone into her pocket, she turned to meet steady and distinctly unamused blue eyes. ‘No car here…’

His mouth twitched. A little wary. ‘It’s in the garage.’

Of course it was. She looked over at the dark shadow of a building on the left-hand side of the house. There was the garage. A faint smell of petrol in the air. She looked down at the plastic container in her hand and shrugged. Now she just felt stupid, like a kid trying to be teacher’s pet or something. She’d just planned to leave the container and a note and then go back to her cottage, not have an actual conversation.

And now there were tingles again and she was pretty sure her heart should have stopped bumping after he’d made her jump, but it was still rattling away. ‘I wasn’t expecting you back so soon. How is Maxine?’

He shrugged. ‘As I expected. Tired and still very poorly, so we literally just popped our heads round the door for a brief chat and then came home. The doctors are doing more tests but she’s scheduled for a bypass once she’s stable. Katy’s just happy to have seen her.’

‘It’s a long journey; you must be tired.’ Clearly they were all very close.

He nodded. ‘Worth it, though. She said to say thank you and that she owes you a lot.’

‘Seriously, she doesn’t owe me anything. Anyone would have done the same.’

‘Ah, but you get the Maxine tick of approval. That’s usually hard-earned. But you’ll see, if she takes you under her wing you’ll have the whole village eating out of your hand.’

He stood aside and indicated for her to walk into his house. Exhaustion etched his eyes and she ached to press her hand to his face and get him to lean against her. To take some of his stress away. But why? She couldn’t understand what this weird feeling inside her was…unsettled, yet excited.

‘So, did you want something other than to talk outside my window about marrying rich men?’

‘I—er…’ He’d heard? Her stomach twisted into a tight knot. Marrying anyone was the last thing on her bucket list.

‘Don’t, by the way. Don’t ever try to be someone you’re not.’ A small smile that tugged at her gut. He was trying to be nice. ‘Just be you.’

‘God, I’m sorry you heard that.’ She was still working out who she was. For her, time was split into before she got sick and after the operation. With a blur of pain and panic and dread, and a zillion promises that if she survived she’d do some good in between. But somewhere along the line she’d lost herself, and it was only now she was finding out what she wanted out of life and who she truly was. Today, it appeared to be blithering idiot with a dash of good neighbour. She held out the still-warm container. ‘I’m just dropping off something for you to eat.’

His eyes narrowed. ‘Why?’

‘Because you probably didn’t get the chance to cook anything before you dashed to Lancaster. Unless Mrs Thompson’s cooked for you…but I assumed she’d go with you to see her mum. So, just in case you were all starving, I thought I’d—’

‘There is no Mrs Thompson.’ He cut her off, jaw tightening as he looked at his feet. An awkward silence dropped, heavy and thick, around them.

Oh. What to say now? His abruptness was disconcerting. Was it just with her? It seemed to be. With everyone else he was soft and friendly.

And what the hell had happened to his wife?

‘What’s that?’ The girl from this morning skipped into view, eyes zeroing in on the plastic container. Hair in messy lopsided pigtails and with gaps in her teeth and a very sunny smile, she was adorable. ‘Is that for us? I’m starving. Daddy said we’re not allowed takeaway ’cos it’s unhealthy.’

And Rose could have kissed her for breaking the uncomfortable atmosphere. Joe looked over at his daughter and his whole demeanour transformed: his eyes softened, his hiked-up shoulders dropped. Love for her was stamped in every gaze, every movement.

Rose smiled at the girl. ‘Kale and chicken pasta bake.’

‘What’s kale?’

‘The devil’s work.’ Brighter now, or putting on a show for his daughter, Joe lifted the lid and sniffed. ‘But it smells delicious. It is very late so I was going to do beans on toast, but this is much better. Go get some plates out, Katy. And say thank you to Rose.’

‘Okay, Daddy. Thank you, Rose. You’re nice.’

The kid’s smile tugged at Rose’s heart and she had a sudden urge to run her hand over the top of those messy bunches. Weird. Not something she’d ever wanted to do to a child before. Maybe the fresh air was going to her head?

She followed Joe through to the large kitchen/dining room. ‘Cute kid.’

‘Yes. Too cute for her own good sometimes. Or maybe I’m just a pushover.’

That was the last thing Rose imagined him to be, judging by his general manner. He frowned and leaned a little closer. The air around her filled with a scent that was light and fresh and yet very masculine.

She had to stop herself leaning into it as he whispered, ‘Kale?’

‘It’s healthy if that’s what you mean.’

‘In which case you’ll want to join us?’

Did she?

She looked round at the comfortable farmhouse kitchen. There was warmth here in the scrubbed, well-used pine table, the overflowing toy box, a cushion-filled window seat that, she imagined, looked out over the village. There was a sense of calm, a familiar smoky smell of wood-burning stove and coffee. A sense of family and love. Scuffed skirting boards and the faint bruises of handprints on the walls…the perfect family house.

On an old wooden dresser leaning against one wall stood myriad framed photos of Joe and a small baby—she imagined to be Katy—and a woman who looked like a younger version of Maxine. The same laughing eyes. Same corkscrew curls that made up Katy’s lopsided bunches.

No Mrs Thompson. Rose’s heart began to thud. Because the photos were all from when Katy was little. Not of now. Not of the intervening years. Divorce?

She doubted it. Joe and the woman were staring into each other’s eyes, obviously deeply in love with each other and with their child. Rose’s heart jerked uncomfortably—she wasn’t destined to have that. No children for her…no happy little family.

She had no idea, but she doubted a mother/son-in-law relationship would be so strong after divorce. Toby’s mum had distanced herself from Rose the minute they’d split up…or before…when it became apparent that Rose wasn’t headed on the path they’d all thought she would.

So…did Mrs Thompson die?

That didn’t bear thinking about. A woman so young and clearly full of life and love. And yet it happened, as Rose knew well, through illness or disease or pure bad luck. There was no woman here. No mention of Maxine’s daughter going with them to visit her in hospital.

Rose shivered, a strange panicky sensation prickling over her chest. And a sudden deep sadness.

What the hell was she doing here? Intruding on this family?

She found her voice. ‘No. Thank you. It’s late and I really need to go.’

CHAPTER THREE

THE OFFICIAL FIRST day in her new job wasn’t going well.

‘I’m so sorry; Maisie doesn’t usually act like this.’ Janice, the very red-faced mum, apologised, looking in horror at the mess of plaster and water oozing over the trolley edges and glooping onto the floor. Rose’s four-year-old patient had stopped screaming and was now all but smiling at the chaos she’d created by kicking over the plaster bowl the second Rose attempted to bandage the broken ankle. ‘But she’s in pain and the long wait to be seen didn’t help.’

Dabbing the floor with paper towels, Rose dug deep for a smile. Because she knew how frustrating long waits were and how hard it was to be nice when pain blurred your edges. ‘I’m so sorry for that. The appointment template went down on the computer and it took a while to get sorted out, which meant we had no idea who we were supposed to be seeing next. And in the meantime Maisie’s appointment got moved round.’ She looked at the water dripping from the trolley and tried to wipe it up, but ended up smearing plaster-infused mess over everything instead. ‘And it’s fine; it really is. I’ll just clear this up. Maybe Maisie’s ticklish? Maybe that’s why her leg jerked out. I’ll be careful. No toe touching. I promise, poppet.’

Janice made soothing noises to her daughter but Maisie started to whimper in such a way Rose knew it would turn into a replay of the roar the child had emitted a few times in the waiting room. ‘Okay, new plan. I’ll sort the floor in a minute. Let’s get that leg in plaster first. That should help with the pain.’

‘Thanks.’ Janice nodded and started to walk round the end of the gurney. ‘And I’ll come round that side and hold her good leg down.’

Rose spied a puddle of water that she’d missed on the woman’s path. Damn. ‘Be careful—the floor’s wet—’

‘Whoa!’ Janice jerked forward and disappeared with a thud behind the other side of the gurney. ‘Ouch.’

Things were going from bad to worse. Rose pushed the trolley out of her way with more force than she’d intended, sending it hurtling into the door with a crash, and dashed over to help the woman up. ‘Are you okay? Oh, my goodness. Let me help you.’

‘I’m fine, really. Just a wet bottom.’ She laughed as she rubbed her jeans. ‘Ouch, though. I damaged my ego more than anything else.’

‘It’s always a shock. I’m so sorry.’ The last thing she needed was another casualty.

‘Mummy! It still hurts!’ Maisie’s promised roar was on the up. And Rose’s optimism was taking an uncharacteristic downturn. What had happened to her usual calm? She had a bad feeling she’d left it behind at a certain doctor’s house on the hill.

‘What the heck is going on here?’ Joe stood in the doorway, stethoscope hanging round his neck, frown deep over his eyes.

Just great.

Rose’s heart thrummed. She hoped it was out of embarrassment for the chaos happening in the room, and not for any other reason. But every time she saw him her heart did a funny thing. Maybe she should see her specialist and get checked over? Maybe. Maybe she should just admit she had a sneaky crush on Dr Thor, despite all her reasons not to get involved with anyone…especially a family-orientated one, no matter how good-looking. Or how downright grumpy.

‘It’s my fault. We spilled some water and Janice slipped in it.’

‘I am so sorry this happened. Are you okay?’ He helped Janice into a chair and did a quick triage assessment. As always, his manner with his patients was impeccable.

‘I’m fine, honestly. It’s fine. Just get Maisie’s cast on and we’ll get out of your hair.’

‘Yes, definitely.’ Rose rolled her sleeves up, took the bowl to the sink to fill it with water but felt the pressure of Joe’s gaze on her the whole time. Seemed things were destined never to run smoothly between them, no matter how many times they started over. She turned and gave him a What do you want? glare.

Steely blue eyes glowered back at her. His humourless mouth ground out, ‘Can we talk?’

She nodded curtly towards Maisie. ‘When I’m done here.’

‘When will that be?’

She checked the wall clock. ‘I have a blood pressure check that was due at eleven.’

‘It’s now eleven forty-five.’

‘I am aware of the time, Dr Thompson.’ Trying to soften her voice so as not to alarm her patients, she turned away from them. ‘After that I have a diabetes check and a wound dressing. I’m working as fast as I can.’

His nod was sharp. ‘When you’re free then. Whenever that’s likely to be.’

‘Yes. Of course.’ She felt as if she was supposed to snap her heels together and salute. Sir! Which was exactly what she’d been trying to leave behind. Oh, what had happened to the friendly community practice she’d been promised? Still, she’d only committed for a month to see whether she liked the locum life or whether she needed to retreat to the comfort of home. At this rate, the month could easily turn into a matter of days.

But then, Rose wasn’t a quitter.

She was also not afraid to stand up for herself.

For the next hour she worked hard and efficiently and caught up without rushing her patients. But unfortunately that meant all too soon she had to go and face Joe and no doubt the reprimand he’d been planning.

She found him in his clinic room. In contrast to his lovely home, this space was clinical, bare, apart from a copy of a photo in his house: him, Katy and that pretty woman she assumed was Katy’s mum.

It was entirely his space. Masculine. She ignored the little skip in her heart as she walked into his room and breathed in his scent. Saw the rash of blond hair, strong hands typing hard on the computer. And, for a brief moment, she wondered how they’d feel around her waist, tugging her towards him. Or on her face.

Ridiculous. Her cheeks heated at the thought. This fresh north country air was making her feel strange. Altitude sickness? Did that make you a little crazy? Hormonal? She made a mental note to look it up later in one of her medical books. She swallowed. ‘Er… You wanted to see me?’

‘Rose.’ He swivelled to face her. ‘About earlier—’

‘I know, I know. It was a health and safety issue. The floor was wet—there should have been a sign up.’ She sighed. She’d learnt over the years that it was better to hold her hands up and accept there could be room for improvement—that usually took the wind out of the other person’s sails. She’d so wanted to give a good impression and it was all going wrong. ‘Things have been off all morning.’

His eyebrows rose above those bluest of blue eyes. ‘Usually, Maxine—’

‘Well, she isn’t here and I think everyone’s in a bad mood because of it. I get that, I really do.’ Rose softened her voice. Of course he knew Maxine wasn’t here and how wonderful she was. He was related to her. ‘So, we’re all trying to do our best out there. Beth’s a great stand-in receptionist and she worked hard to get the system up and running as soon as possible but—’

His hand went up. ‘Please, stop. Stop talking.’

‘Oh.’ She clamped her mouth shut, well aware she had a habit of talking rapid-fire when she was embarrassed. ‘Sorry.’

‘I was going to say, usually Maxine has a welcome lunch for our new staff…but I’ve been too snowed under to organise it today and now it’s almost time for the afternoon clinic to start. Can we do it tomorrow?’

‘Oh.’ No telling-off. No stern words. Now it was her turn to have the wind taken out of her sails. He’d wanted to make her welcome. Heat radiated from her, she was sure. ‘I have sandwiches; it’s fine.’

‘No, it isn’t. We try to make our new staff feel at home and I know that hasn’t happened for you. And I was also going to ask you how it’s all going. I think I caught you at a bad moment earlier?’

‘Yes. I don’t usually try to redecorate treatment rooms with plaster-of-Paris…or drum up extra work by injuring patients’ relatives—that’s a first, even for me.’ That drew a very small smile from him. Go on. A little more—smiling is easy. It won’t break your face. ‘I’m getting to know the ropes but I haven’t got a locker or a computer log-on; I’m still using Maxine’s.’

‘Okay. My fault. Human resources is under my jurisdiction. We share the partner load—Dr Jenny, Dr Alex and I—it’s easier if we all take responsibility for one or two things each. So, I’ll sort you out a locker and a log-on. Maxine would usually do it, but leave it with me. I’ll work it out. I’ll just have to get the system to talk to me.’ His mouth twitched up. ‘Judging by this morning’s performance, it could be interesting.’

What was interesting was his smile. Such a rarity, but a thing of beauty when it happened. It made his whole face brighter, smoothing away those shadows under his eyes and lightening the blue pupils to a mesmerising colour, like the sky that first day at the top of the mountain. Dazzling. Clear. Endless.

She dragged her gaze from his, all the better to concentrate. ‘Do computer glitches happen a lot?’

He shook his head. ‘Not for a long time.’

‘So maybe it’s just me then. I’ve jinxed the place, clearly.’ She laughed; it could be true. ‘First Maxine getting sick, then the computers going down and then the water on the floor.’

He laughed too. A deep rumble that had just the faintest smidgeon of joy in it… Then it was gone and she wondered whether she’d imagined it. But he shook his head. ‘I don’t believe in jinxes.’

‘Then perhaps it’s pure bad luck, not a jinx.’

‘I don’t believe in luck either. You do things and they have consequences. Cause and effect.’

‘What about magic, make-believe, romance, coincidence? I like to think things happen for a reason.’ How else could she explain what had happened to her seven years ago? Getting sick had been overwhelming and near fatal, but it had opened her eyes to how shallow her life had been. That experience had been life-changing in so many ways, she refused to believe it was just something dull like simple maths: one plus one equals two.

‘I’m a doctor, Rose. We do science, not romance.’ Joe shook his head again. ‘And fate? No. I don’t believe in that either.’

She sighed; he was a lost cause. ‘You don’t believe in much.’

‘I believe in working hard and making the best of what we’ve got.’

‘Sounds a bit depressing, if you ask me.’

He pushed his chair back from the desk and stood up, sorting through his doctor’s bag, stuffing in a wad of notes. He looked directly at her and his eyes darkened. ‘It’s real, Rose. That’s all.’

Something bad must have happened to him, because surely everyone had a space in their hearts and lives for a little whimsy? Mystique. Fantasy. That was what movies and novels were about, right? Taking you away from the mundane. Escapism—everyone needed that. And to dream big.

‘Sometimes real can be fun too. I refuse to spend the rest of my life just working hard and surviving. Living…that’s where it’s at. Taking notice of things.’

‘Like doing yoga on a mountain…right?’ He smiled at the memory.

‘Absolutely. Why not? Why not throw caution to the wind? Do the unexpected.’

He smiled when he thought of her up there, with her hair wild like Medusa and her skin being nipped by arctic wind? That was unexpected. She hadn’t even realised he’d seen her doing it, and she wasn’t sure she liked the way her body was reacting to that information, with heat and giddiness in her stomach.

Joe’s head tilted a little to the side as he asked, ‘So what have you done that’s unexpected?’

Weird thoughts and sensations when being in the same room as Thor Thompson—did they count? ‘I came here, for a start.’

‘Oh?’

‘I was expected to take a job in London, marry the ex and settle down.’ Thoughts of Toby had irritation skittering down her spine, pouring metaphoric cold water on the adrenalin rush.

‘And you didn’t do any of that because…?’

Yes, why had she left everything she knew? Come here, of all places? Because the village name sounded nice? Because there was something about it that had piqued her interest…? She couldn’t explain it; it just felt…right. Fate, perhaps. The roll of a dice, maybe. Whatever that meant.

Although, judging by the way her body was reacting to Thor, she was starting to wonder whether she’d made a mistake coming here at all. One of the promises she’d made as she’d lain in that hospital bed contemplating her death was that, if she was lucky enough to get a chance at a new life, she would live the kind of life befitting two people—a huge life filled with joy and fun and care for others. Training to be a nurse was the start. Oakdale was the next step. After this, who knew? There was a big world out there. Falling for some guy in a tiny village in her own country wasn’t on her plan. Falling for a guy at all wasn’t. The last thing she wanted was to find someone and then fall sick again.

‘I needed to get out of my comfort zone and challenge myself. Plus, you do a good advert selling the place. You know, you should live a bit more dangerously Dr Joe…try some yoga at the top of your hill as the sun comes up. It’s good for your soul. So is laughing. You need to do it more. A lot more.’

‘Laugh?’ Immediately his smile dropped as if he couldn’t find a single thing to laugh about.

Okay, she knew she’d overstepped. But she wanted to shake him up and make him take notice of the wonderful things he could be doing, feeling, seeing instead of being blinkered by whatever it was that haunted him and stopped him believing in fantasies and dreams.

‘Right. Note to self: smile more. Great.’ He blinked. Shook his head. Taken aback by her words, he started to walk towards the door.

‘Sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.’

‘Actually, you’re the first person to call me out on it. Things have been a bit rough these last few years and everyone’s tiptoeing around me. I’ve got used to getting my own way, I suppose, but when you’re deep in it you don’t have the time or energy to drag yourself out.’

There was something about the way he was explaining it to her, so matter of fact and devoid of emotion, that made her want to wrap her arms around him and hold him tight. ‘Sounds like it’s been tough.’

‘And then some. Things got intense…’ He shook his head but smiled. ‘I’m out the other side now.’ He blew out a big breath, as if he’d been holding it for all those years he was talking about. And something shifted in his eyes. Like a cloud edging away from the sun and letting more light in. His shoulders dipped, relaxing as he reached past her to push the door open. ‘Too much information?’

Not at all. Not enough. Nowhere near. So many questions zipped into her head, but asking would probably push him back behind that armoured wall he hid behind. ‘No. Honestly. We’ve all got backstory.’

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