Drew put his arm around her shoulders. ‘It’s a bad time for you. If there is anything I can do to help, you only have to ask.’

She looked up at him, warmed by his touch, tempted by his nearness. But in that moment she saw that her brother had come through the swing doors and was walking towards her. She was alarmed in case he had witnessed their brief embrace. She couldn't help herself. Her instant reaction was to stiffen and draw back from Drew.

It was hard working with Drew, getting to know him all over again and feeling the tug of her emotions pull her in all directions. How could she allow herself to lean on him and accept his support when her family was so antagonistic towards him…?

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.

Recent titles by the same author:

THE CONSULTANT’S SECRET SON

HER CONSULTANT KNIGHT

CHALLENGING DR CARLISLE

THE DOCTOR’S FAMILY SECRET

A CONSULTANT’S SPECIAL CARE

Emergency at the Royal

Joanna Neil

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

CHAPTER ONE

‘SOMETHING must be really wrong. Do you see that van driver? What’s he doing?’

Oblivious to everything around her, Katie had been sipping her coffee in a peaceful corner of the café, but now, hearing a quiet buzz of conversation, she looked up and glanced around. Who had said that? She couldn’t be sure, but she was conscious of a slight disturbance starting up around her, of a faint hum of distracted chatter passing through the room.

Her mind had been somewhere else—sitting here was the perfect chance to enjoy a few moments of relaxation after her afternoon shopping trip. Would Reece like the wooden train set she had bought for him? Thinking about her brother’s little boy, she smiled. He would be four years old next week, and he loved to play with anything that had wheels, so with luck he would appreciate her birthday gift.

‘Oh, no. Look at him—he’s all over the place.’

Katie was startled into attentiveness once more. Lost in her own thoughts, she had missed what was going on. Now, though, she realised that people were getting up from their tables and going over to the window.

‘What’s he doing? He’s lost control—oh, those poor people.’

Katie put her cup down on its saucer and turned towards the window to see what everyone was looking at, and a nightmare image met her eyes. Across the street, a van was mounting the pavement, and people who had been in its path were scattering in sheer panic. Then the vehicle smashed into a wall and came to an abrupt halt.

Katie didn’t stop to think any longer. She was on her feet in an instant and running out of the café towards the wreck of the van and the devastation of shattered brickwork and damaged people who simply hadn’t managed to escape in time.

Assessing the full horror of what had happened, she pulled in a deep breath and her mind flipped smoothly into professional mode. Her phone was in her handbag, and she reached for it now and called for an ambulance.

As she spoke, her gaze flicked along the street and she saw that a passing car was slowing down. She guessed that the driver was about to pull in at the side of the road. Other drivers seemed to be following suit, and a small crowd was beginning to gather.

As far as Katie could see, there were four casualties—the van driver, who was slumped across his steering-wheel, a man who was sitting crumpled on the pavement and next to him a woman who was crying out in shock and despair. Finally, there was a small child who was lying on the ground to one side of the front of the van.

‘Help us, please,’ the woman said, tears rolling down her cheeks. ‘My little boy—he’s not moving. I don’t know what to do.’ Her voice cracked. ‘How could this be happening to us?’ Her blonde hair was damp and streaked with blood, and she was shaking, her face white with anguish.

‘I’m a doctor,’ Katie said, gently. ‘I’ll do what I can. Try to stay calm while I check everyone out.’

She could see that the woman was bleeding from a head wound and that her arm was grazed, but at least she was breathing and talking, and Katie wasn’t worried about her for the moment. The man was nursing his abdomen, but he, too, was conscious, and Katie turned her attention to the child.

He was about six years old, and he was lying very still, but his eyes were open, and she said softly, ‘Hello. I’m Katie. Can you tell me your name?’

‘Matthew.’ He forced the word out between his lips.

‘Can you tell me where it hurts, Matthew?’

‘It’s my leg.’ His eyes blazed in sudden warning. ‘Don’t you touch it.’

‘All right, Matthew. I’ll be very careful, I promise.’ She examined him briefly, and then said, ‘I’m going to leave you for a moment while I go and take a look at the other people who are hurt. I’ll be back very soon. Your mum will sit with you, and you’re going to be all right, so don’t worry.’

She glanced up at his mother, who was by his side, and the woman reached for his hand and clasped it to her chest. ‘My husband,’ she said in a thready voice. ‘He’s in terrible pain.’

‘I know. I’ll go and look at him now.’

She discovered that the woman’s husband had some broken ribs and an abdominal injury. ‘I’ll come back to you in just a moment,’ she told him. ‘I have to go and see who else is injured.’ Her priority was to treat the person with the most serious injuries first, and she hoped he understood that. He nodded almost imperceptibly.

‘Take care of my little boy. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to him.’

‘I will. I’ll see to him as soon as possible.’

She climbed up into the cab of the van, accessing it from the side that was still intact. The driver made a mumbled, incoherent response when Katie spoke to him, and when she checked him over she discovered that his reflexes were poor and that his limbs were weak on one side. He was in a very bad way and she was concerned about his condition, but she was worried about the others, too. All of these people needed help urgently, but she was only one person, and she had to deal with the most seriously injured first.

As she twisted around in the cab of the van, she saw that a man was approaching. Was he going to be able to help her? From her position, peering downwards, all she could see was a pair of long legs encased in crisp chinos. His stride was brisk and pur poseful, and as she glanced up she saw that he was wearing a dark blue shirt made of good-quality linen.

He said briskly, ‘Can I do anything to help?’ His voice was deep and firm, easy on the senses.

‘I hope so.’ Katie looked at him properly then, and her mouth dropped open a little in sudden recognition. He had night-black hair, cut short in an attractive, stylish manner, and his features were strong and bone-meltingly familiar. His blue-grey eyes met hers steadily, and after a moment she realised that she was staring. She recovered herself quickly, clamping her lips together in an attempt at control.

‘Drew?’

What was he doing here? How many years had it been since she had last seen him? She didn’t stop to voice her thoughts, though. This was no time to start asking questions, and instead she made an effort to pull herself together and concentrate her attention on her patients.

‘Katie. It’s not the best circumstance for us to meet up again, is it?’ His mouth made an odd, rueful shape. ‘I was driving through town and I saw what happened. Have you checked everyone?’

She nodded. ‘I think the driver must have had a stroke of some kind. The ambulance is on its way. He needs oxygen and we need to get him to hospital fast.’

She noticed that Drew had his medical bag with him. He saw her glance and said evenly, ‘I keep it in the car for emergencies, along with other things that I might need. I can grab whatever else we might want from the boot. I’ll start by giving him oxygen and I’ll set up an IV line.’

‘Good. I’ll go and see to the others. I think the little boy has a fractured femur. He’s probably bleeding internally and he’ll need fluids and something for the pain. I’ll secure the leg with tape and padding to make sure there’s no further damage.’

‘Help yourself to whatever you need. What about the man on the pavement? Have you examined him?’

‘Only very briefly. He has an abdominal injury, broken ribs and possibly a ruptured spleen, so I’ll give him replacement fluids, too. We’ll need to notify the surgeon to be prepared. The woman was lucky. She seems to have escaped with cuts and bruises.’

‘Shout if you need me.’ Drew was already turning away to minister to the van driver.

‘I will.’ She hurried away to tend to the child and his father. She was still overwhelmed by the shock of seeing Drew here, out of the blue, and as if the suddenness of the accident hadn’t been enough to make her adrenaline surge, the mere fact of his presence had sent her pulse into overdrive.

She was confused and edgy because of his unexpected arrival, but she was glad that he was by her side in this. He was resourceful and skilled, and the perfect man to have around in a crisis. She just couldn’t get used to the idea that he was here in Devon at all. The last she had heard of him was that he had taken the job of A and E consultant in the north of the country.

The sound of an ambulance siren came to her as she was taping the IV line in place on the little boy. She had covered him with her jacket to keep him warm, and the painkilling injection she had given him was beginning to do its work.

‘Who’s in charge here?’ the paramedic asked, looking from Katie to Drew.

‘I am,’ she answered, and filled him in on details of the condition of each patient. ‘The man on the pavement and the boy will need to be taken to A and E. I think the van driver has suffered a stroke, so the stroke unit should be contacted as soon as possible. As for the woman, she’s in shock, and has a head wound, so she also needs to be looked at more closely. But I believe all but the stroke victim are stable for the moment. Shall I come with you to the hospital?’

He shook his head. ‘You don’t need to do that. It looks as though you’ve done everything possible for them, and we’ll manage the rest. It’s only a few minutes’ drive from here after all. Thanks for your help.’

‘You’re welcome.’ Katie stood back and watched as the patients were transferred to the ambulance. Drew came and positioned himself next to her, his arm accidentally brushing hers, and her body reacted like quicksilver, as though he had lit a fuse in her.

Nothing had changed. She had always responded to him this way, and it seemed as though the intervening years had done nothing to extinguish the instant flame that seared her flesh and made her heart pound whenever he was close.

She had hoped that time would change the way she felt about him, but now she accepted that was a vain hope. All those feelings had come rushing back in full force, along with the memory of how their relationship had abruptly ended. There could never be any going back.

She shifted away from him, just a fraction, so that there was no possibility of him touching her any more, and she tried hard to control her breathing, until it was a little more calm and even and no longer coming in quick spurts.

She remembered the last time she had seen him, when he had been moving on to begin his specialist training. How long ago had that been...seven, eight years? That had been when she had been just eighteen and she had been getting ready to go to medical school to prepare for her own career. It hadn’t been a happy time for her back then. Harsh words had been said on both sides when they had parted, and she knew that things could never be the same between them.

‘You must have qualified as a doctor, then? Are you specialising in A and E?’ he asked, his glance flicking over her.

She nodded.

‘I imagine you would have done very well,’ he murmured, ‘because I thought you handled the situation here with great skill and expertise. It would have been daunting for anyone, but you were exceptionally cool and organised. It was impressive.’

Her smile was strained. ‘I can’t say that I felt that way. I didn’t have time to stop and think or I might have been even less sure of myself. I was worried about the little boy. He looked so helpless lying there, so young and vulnerable, but I knew I had to attend to the driver first. His condition was the worst.’

‘They’re all safe now, thanks to you.’

She made a face. ‘Thanks to your medical equipment, more like. I think I shall have to start carrying emergency supplies with me, just in case.’

‘It helps to be prepared for anything.’ He looked at her thoughtfully. ‘Are you working locally?’

‘Yes. I’ve just finished my senior house officer year, and now I’m working in A and E at the Royal. It’s a bit daunting, because there have been some staff changes lately, with promotions and people moving on, but I’m glad to be able to work in a place that I’m familiar with.’

She sent him a quick glance. ‘I hadn’t expected to see you again. What are you doing in this neck of the woods? I heard on the grapevine that you were working as a consultant up north.’

‘That’s true. I’ve been running my own department for a couple of years now.’

‘That was what you always wanted, wasn’t it?’ Her mouth moved in an odd shape. ‘I thought you would do well for yourself. You worked hard and you were very determined.’

She had never known him to fail at anything. ‘You still haven’t told me what you’re doing down here. You’re a long way from home.’

‘Not really. My family still live hereabouts. In fact, I was passing through on my way to a meeting.’ He grimaced and glanced at his watch, and as he lifted his arm she saw that his wrist was faintly bronzed by the sun and was covered by a smattering of dark hairs. His hands were strong and capable, and now her breath caught in her throat as she remembered the way those hands had once gently caressed her.

She looked away. That was all over now, finished. ‘Will you be too late for your meeting now?’

‘Maybe not. I’ll be a bit late, but that can’t be helped.’ He studied her features. ‘You haven’t changed a bit.’

‘Haven’t I? I feel as though I’m a lot older and wiser.’

He smiled. ‘Maybe, but you still look the same. Your hair is still glorious and untamed and glowing like fire. I always thought there was such a contrast between that fiery auburn and the calmness of your eyes. They’re such a soft, peaceful green.’

‘They don’t necessarily reflect how I feel.’ She watched the ambulance pull away and hoped that the people inside would be all right. There was nothing more that she could do for them.

‘I should go now,’ she said. His words had unsettled her, made her think of things that could not be. He was just passing through, and even if that hadn’t been the case she couldn’t have stayed with him and chatted as though all was well. Things would always be fraught between them. ‘Time’s getting on and there are some things I need to do.’

‘Is your car nearby?’

She nodded, and he said, ‘I’ll walk with you to it.’

‘If you like.’ She was feeling a little shaky after the events of the afternoon, and for all her conflicting emotions it wouldn’t do any harm to have him accompany her for a bit longer, would it? She turned and began to head towards the parking bay.

‘Do you still live with your family in the old farmhouse?’ he asked.

She shook her head. His question troubled her. Didn’t he know that they had been forced to sell the house? ‘I decided that I needed a place of my own. The farm cottage came up for sale a couple of years ago, and it seemed just about the right size for me, so I snapped it up when I had the chance.’

‘The one near to your family home?’

She nodded. ‘That’s right. It isn’t the family home any longer, though. My parents moved away and bought a smaller place near the sea.’

He frowned. ‘I hadn’t realised that. I thought the house had been in your family for some generations. It was a beautiful old place and they loved it, didn’t they? I didn’t think they would ever want to move.’

‘They decided to go for something more manageable.’ It hurt to remember that the family home had been sold. No one had wanted to see it go, and even though it had been put on the market again recently by its new owners, there was no chance that they would be able to buy it back. It would cost far more than they could afford.

There wasn’t any point in telling Drew what had really happened, that they had been left with no choice but to sell. It would only serve to rake up old wounds and it was highly unlikely that she would be seeing see him again after today.

‘How is your father these days?’ he said. ‘I was worried about him. His health was never good, was it? And I know he took a turn for the worse just before I left.’

Her mouth made a bitter line. ‘What did you expect? As you said, he was ill to begin with and what happened came as a complete shock to him. He built his business up from nothing, and then your father came along and took it from him and everything he’d worked for was destroyed. It was bound to make him ill.’

‘I don’t think that’s fair. It wasn’t my father’s fault. By the time he came along your father had already opened his company up to shareholders. They were the ones who made the decision to sell out.’

‘It was your father’s board of directors that voted him out after the new company took over. My dad hadn’t been prepared for that to happen. It was a hos tile take-over from start to finish. He founded the business and in the end he was left with nothing. Everything he’d worked for his whole life was taken from him.’

‘He was well compensated. He didn’t walk away with empty hands.’

She glared at him, her green eyes flashing contempt. ‘Do you think money is all that matters? His health was so bad afterwards that for a long time he couldn’t work. He was a broken man, and it took him a long time to recover, and when he was well enough he had to start again from nothing.’

Drew stopped walking and reached for her, grasping her shoulders in a gentle but firm embrace. He made her look at him and she was so taken aback that she forgot to struggle, and the warmth of his palms seeped through her thin cotton top and heated her flesh and took her breath away.

‘Katie, I’m sure my father didn’t mean for any of that to happen. He acted in the best interests of his company, as any businessman would. He didn’t intend to hurt anyone.’

‘Didn’t he? My father wasn’t the only one to suffer, was he? The workers were laid off, too. They weren’t prepared for the new owners to simply asset-strip and then move on.’

She shrugged off his hands and moved towards her car. Drew could still see nothing wrong in what happened. All those years ago, people had said to her that he was like his father, ruthless and ambitious, but she hadn’t wanted to believe them. Was it true after all? Why couldn’t he see the way her father had been hurt?

He watched her unlock her car door. ‘Katie,’ he said quietly, ‘all of this happened a long time ago, and it was a dispute between our parents, not the two of us. There’s no reason why you and I can’t still be friends, is there?’

‘I have to be loyal to my family,’ she said. ‘I’m surprised that you can’t see that.’

‘Of course I see it. It doesn’t stop me from believing that we can at least try to put all the bad feelings behind us.’

‘I don’t think my family see it that way. Even after all this time they’re still suffering the effects. For us, it doesn’t stop.’

‘I’m sorry. I know it must be difficult for you, but I thought that as we had met up again we could at least spend some time together. I’ll be in the area for a day or two and I wondered if we might have dinner together, or maybe just a coffee.’

‘I don’t think that’s going to be possible. You have your meeting to go to, and I have to work over the next few days.’ She sent him a quick, troubled glance. ‘I am glad that we met up again, though,’ she said in a mollified tone, ‘and I really appreciate all your help this afternoon. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been there.’

He made a wry smile. ‘I’m sure you would have managed very well.’

She pulled open her car door and he rested his hand on the rim of it. ‘Are you sure that I can’t persuade you to change your mind?’

‘I’m sure. I can’t,’ she said, and she was conscious of a tremor in her voice. She hoped he hadn’t noticed it, too. ‘I must go. I have to get to the pharmacy before it closes. I promised that I would collect my father’s prescription since I’m in town.’

‘All right. I’ll let you go.’ He made a rueful smile. ‘Perhaps we’ll meet up again soon.’

‘Perhaps,’ she said, but she knew that they wouldn’t. She put her key in the ignition, and as soon as he had released the door she pulled it shut and started the engine. As she drove away, she glanced in her rear-view mirror and saw that he was still standing there, watching her go.

She completed her errands and then drove to her parents’ home. Letting herself in through the kitchen door, she saw that her brother was there.

‘Katie...you’re here at last. Thank heaven for that. I was beginning to worry.’

Katie looked at her brother and frowned. She hadn’t expected to be pounced on the moment she walked into the room.

‘Why? What’s wrong? I’m not all that late.’ She slipped her jacket over the back of a chair and laid her handbag down on the pine table. ‘I’ve been to the pharmacy for Dad’s medication. Mum asked me to collect it on my way home.’

Luke looked faintly dishevelled, his black hair awry, as though he had been running his fingers through it, and his grey eyes were troubled. She asked quietly, ‘Is something wrong with Dad?’

‘He’s not too well. I wasn’t sure what to do. I wanted to phone for the doctor, but Mum said she was expecting you.’

Katie was anxious all at once. ‘Why didn’t you ring me—you know my mobile number, don’t you?’

‘Yes, but Mum thought you would be driving, and she stopped me.’

‘Where is he?’

‘In the living room. He had a funny turn and couldn’t get his breath.’

Katie was already heading that way. ‘Do you know what started it? What was he doing before he started to be ill?’

‘He wasn’t doing anything. We were talking about the business and I was telling him that I’ve been trying to get some new contracts.’ He sent her a guilty look. ‘I’m probably to blame. I shouldn’t have gone on about things, but it hasn’t been easy lately, trying to keep everything running smoothly, and I think he feels that he should be doing more to help out. He can’t, of course, and that makes him frustrated. That last bout of bronchitis must have taken more out of him than he realised.’

Katie pushed open the living-room door and glanced around. Her father was sitting in an armchair, looking pale and trying to disguise the fact that he was in pain.

Her mother was by his side, but she turned as Katie approached and gave her a swift, weak smile. ‘Katie,’ she said, ‘your dad’s not feeling very well. Can you do anything to help him?’

Katie knelt down beside her father. ‘Luke says you’re a bit breathless,’ she said. ‘Are you having any chest pain?’

Her father patted her hand. ‘Your mum and Luke both worry too much,’ he said in a wheezy voice. ‘I’ll be fine in a little while. I just need to rest for a bit.’

‘Let me just feel your pulse and check you over,’ she murmured, and he gave a faint nod and leaned his head back in the chair.

After a moment or two she said quietly, ‘I think you’re having another of your angina attacks. They seem to be coming on a bit more often these days, don’t they? Have you taken your medication?’

He nodded again, and her mother said quickly, ‘It didn’t seem to work very well. I told him he should go and see his doctor and tell him that he hasn’t been feeling too good lately, but you know how stubborn he is.’

Katie smiled. ‘Yes, I do know that.’ She clasped her father’s hand. ‘I think you need a painkiller, and another one of your tablets, just to calm things down. Mum’s right. You really should go back to your GP and get him to refer you back to the specialist.’

She went and fetched some tablets from the medicine cupboard, and gave them to her father with a glass of water. ‘Do you think you’ll be all right while Mum and I go and make you a cup of tea?’ she asked after a minute or two. ‘It might help to make you feel a bit better.’

‘I’ll be fine. Anyway, Luke’s going to sit and talk to me, aren’t you, Luke?’

Her brother nodded, and Katie gave him and her father a warning look. ‘There’s to be no talk about business. Am I making myself clear?’

Both men nodded, looking sheepish, and Katie went off to the kitchen to put the kettle on.

‘Luke was anxious about him,’ her mother said, following her in there. ‘He was getting quite agitated even though you were just a few minutes late. I think he’s finding it a strain, managing the business on his own.’

Katie helped to set the cups out on a tray. ‘Luke never expected to be running the business and concentrating on administration, did he? He had other things in mind when he left university—he always preferred the design engineering side of things—but he couldn’t just stand by and see Dad struggle. You have to give him his due...he made sure that he did the right thing.’

Her mother made a face. ‘Well, let’s face it, nothing has gone the way it should ever since Jacob Bradley took over Sherbourn Medical Equipment. It doesn’t even have your father’s name any more, and the last I heard, Bradley wasn’t with the company. He just took what he wanted and moved on.’ She was silent for a moment, musing on things. ‘I wonder what happened to him and his family?’

Katie hesitated, wondering if she should say anything about her meeting with Jacob’s son. Perhaps it would be better coming from her than from another source, though. Someone might have seen them together. She poured milk into a jug, and then said cautiously, ‘I saw Drew Bradley this afternoon.’

Amy Sherbourn stopped what she was doing and looked at Katie. She appeared shocked, her face pale against the dark auburn of her hair. ‘How did that come about? I hope that doesn’t mean the family are going to be close by.’

‘I don’t think so, though they still live in the area. I don’t suppose we’ll run into them.’ She couldn’t be sure, though, and it was probably better that it was out in the open. At least this way her mother would be able to prepare her dad for anything unforeseen. ‘We both stopped to help out at the scene of an accident.’ Katie told her mother what had happened that afternoon.

As she was speaking, Luke appeared at the kitchen door. ‘You’re saying that he’s back?’ he said, sounding incredulous. ‘I heard something of what you were saying to Mum. I can hardly believe it.’

Katie swung around to look at him properly. ‘He’s only here for a short time, as far as I know,’ she said, ‘and it doesn’t necessarily mean that his family are going to be moving closer.’ She studied his face briefly. ‘Is Dad all right?’

‘He’s OK. I think the painkiller must have begun to kick in. He asked me to find out what’s happening with the tea.’

‘That sounds as though he’s feeling better.’ She poured the tea and set some biscuits out on a plate on the tray. ‘It’s ready. You can take it in to him.’

Luke’s mouth set in a taut line. ‘Drew was every bit as bad as his father. He wouldn’t hear anything wrong about him. None of them cared that we lost everything, including the house.’

‘I don’t think they realised that happened,’ she said, ‘and you can’t hold Drew responsible for what his father did.’

‘No, but he’s like him in a lot of ways. Not that you could ever see it. You’ve always been ready to stand up for him. He could never do anything wrong in your eyes, could he? You were sweet on him.’

‘That was a long time ago. What happened affected me badly, too, you know. I didn’t like what happened either, and it hurt me as well when we had to sell the house.’

Luke winced. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go on at you. It was just hearing that he’s back that set me off. In my head he’s tarred with the same brush as his father. Anyway, I expect he’ll go away again, like he did before. He didn’t bother to make any contact then, did he? You’d have thought he would if he had cared about you.’

Katie flinched. ‘I’m sure he had his reasons. Anyway, we parted on bad terms after what hap pened. I don’t imagine he would have wanted to meet up with any of us after that.’ Luke’s bitterness stemmed from having to stand in for their father and take over the family business, and it was understandable that he felt the way he did.

As for herself, it had hurt that Drew had gone away, and when she had recovered from the initial sting of bad feeling she had inwardly hoped that he would get in touch. He hadn’t, though, and she had got on with her life and tried to put him out of her mind.

Now, in the space of a few short hours, all those emotions had been stirred up once again, and she felt the heartache every bit as much she had before. The repercussions of the dispute between their families went on and on.

CHAPTER TWO

AT LEAST her father was feeling better by the time Katie left her parents’ house. She was still worrying about him, though, as she made her way to her own cottage.

It was getting late by now, and there were chores she had to finish before her time was her own, but that wasn’t such a bad thing. If she kept busy it would help her to work through her frustrations. So far it had been a peculiar day, one way and another, and she was feeling edgy and distracted.

The house was small and cosy, just right for her, and it wouldn’t take her long to tidy up all the things she hadn’t had time to sort out that morning. As soon as she had done that, she would turn her thoughts to her evening meal. Her mother had offered to cook for her, but she had been too uptight to eat just then. Luke’s bitter recriminations had upset her.

The doorbell suddenly rang, startling her as she was folding away the last few items of clothing in the airing cupboard. Who could that be?

She went downstairs to investigate, and when she opened the door and saw Drew standing in the porch she let out a little gasp of astonishment.

She said awkwardly, ‘I hadn’t expected to see you again...at least, not quite so soon.’

He lifted a dark brow and his mouth made an odd quirk. ‘I hope that doesn’t mean you’re going to turn me away?’

She recovered herself and stood back from the door. ‘No, of course not. I don’t know what I was thinking.’ She couldn’t leave him standing on the doorstep, and so she waved a hand towards the end of the short hallway. ‘Come in. Do you want to come through to the kitchen? I was just about to make a pot of coffee.’

He followed her into the room and glanced around. She said defensively, ‘It’s only tiny, but it does for me. I haven’t been here long, just a few months, and there are still things I need to put right. I’ve done a bit of decorating and changed the floor tiles, but it isn’t quite as I want it yet.’ She was babbling, nervousness getting the better of her, and she clamped her mouth shut. Why was she defending her home to him?

‘I think it’s lovely,’ he murmured. ‘You chose well with the pale yellow for the walls, and everything looks bright and cheerful in here. I like the way you’ve found room for a breakfast bar in the corner.’ He sent her a quick, easy smile. ‘That is one of your touches, isn’t it? I recognise the style.’

She had done something similar in the old family house, renovating the kitchen in an attempt to make it light and cheery. ‘That’s right,’ she said. ‘I’m surprised that you remember.’

She turned away to set up the coffee-percolator. She felt awkward, talking to him as though the years that had gone by had dissolved into nothingness, and she still had no idea what he was doing there.

Perhaps he sensed her discomfort, because he said, ‘I brought your shopping bag. Someone handed it to me when I walked back towards my car this afternoon. You left it in the café apparently, and the woman who gave it to me had seen us talking together and guessed that we knew each other. She asked me if I would pass it on to you.’

‘Oh, heavens...’ She stared at the bag in dismay. ‘I’d forgotten all about it.’ She glanced up at him. ‘Thank you for taking the time to bring it to me.’

‘It was no trouble. With everything that went on, I’m not surprised that you forgot it. I’m just glad that you told me where you were living so that I was able to bring it to you.’ He set the bag down on a clear space on the worktop. ‘I couldn’t get it to you any earlier. My meeting went on for much longer than I expected.’

She glanced at the contents of the bag. ‘Thanks again,’ she said, relieved. ‘I’m so glad to have it back. I was just so worried about those poor people that I wasn’t thinking properly when I rushed out of the café.’ She paused, remembering what had happened. ‘I hope they’re all right.’

‘I rang the A and E department to check up, and the consensus was that they seem to be doing as well as can be expected. The man and the boy both had surgery and came through it all right, and the van driver has been transferred to the stroke unit. He’s lost the movement in an arm and leg, but they’re hoping he’ll regain that in time, after intensive therapy.’

‘That’s good to hear.’ She studied him briefly, her gaze running over his strong features, taking in the straight line of his jaw and his firmly moulded mouth. He was far too good-looking for her peace of mind, and she had to get a grip on herself before she spoke again. ‘It was thoughtful of you to follow it up. I didn’t expect to find out what had happened to them until I got in to work in the morning.’

She might have known he would check up. He wasn’t one to leave loose ends. Even after the row that had erupted between her family and his, he had made his position clear. He had stood by his father, and he believed her father had been well compensated for his loss. She had never been able to come to terms with that, and it had coloured everything between them after that. Now that he had turned up again she was at war with herself, and her emotions were all over the place.

What was she to make of him? Her brother thought he was tough and ambitious, unyielding in his attitude, and yet Drew had shown her a caring side, a concern for the well-being of others. Wasn’t that why he had become a doctor?

She couldn’t make any sense of her feelings towards him. She was confused, drawn to him on the one hand but wary on the other, and all the time she was conscious of the way her brother and her parents felt about him and his family.

She glanced at him once more. He looked weary, a faint shadow of tiredness around his eyes, and she guessed it had been a long day for him. ‘Do you want to sit down?’ she asked. ‘I’ll just finish making the coffee. Have you eaten?’

He shook his head. ‘I didn’t get the chance.’ He pulled out a bar stool and angled himself on it by the breakfast corner. ‘I was hoping to grab some lunch before my meeting, but that all changed, as you know.’

‘I’ll heat some pasties,’ she offered, ‘and I’ve a bowl of salad to go with them. Not the most adventurous of meals, but it might fill a gap.’ He had taken the trouble to bring her shopping bag to her, and it was the least she could do to return the favour.

She watched him guardedly. She still couldn’t get used to the idea that he was here at all, and there was no point in wondering about what was to come of it. He would soon be moving on and out of her life once more.

As they ate, he said lightly, ‘I couldn’t help noticing that your shopping was mainly toys. A wooden train set and some baby things.’ He gave her a quizzical look. ‘Is there something I don’t know about? Are you married now? What have you done with the children? I don’t see them around, or maybe they’re in bed?’

She gave him a brief, taut smile. He didn’t seem at all concerned by the idea that she might be a mother, and for some reason that bothered her.

‘No, I haven’t married...yet. The train set is for my brother’s little boy, Reece, and the baby clothes are for the baby he and his wife are expecting. I thought I would get things in neutral colours since they don’t know whether they’re going to have a boy or a girl. They were in a sale, so I took the opportunity to buy now.’ She gave a small frown. ‘Perhaps I shouldn’t have—I’m way ahead of myself.’

‘Is there a problem with being prepared?’ His blue-grey eyes watched her curiously.

‘No...not really, but Becky hasn’t been feeling too well through this pregnancy. I hope I’m not jumping the gun.’

‘Is there any particular reason why she’s unwell?’

‘I’m not sure.’ She frowned again. ‘Things have been difficult for Becky and Luke this last few months and she might be suffering under the strain. Luke is trying to cope with running Dad’s business, and it’s been quite stressful for him lately. My dad’s been able to do less and less, and Luke’s finding it hard to manage on his own.’

‘Can’t he bring in more people to help out?’

‘I suppose he could, but that would mean training them up, and anyway I’m not sure that the business is doing well enough for them to take on more staff. Drew’s done his best these last few years to make a success of things, but working in management was never part of his plan when he left university.’

‘It’s difficult, I know, but sometimes things don’t go the way we want them to.’ He didn’t look particularly concerned. ‘I’m sorry to hear that your dad is still having problems with his health. Is there anything that can be done to improve things for him?’

‘Possibly. I’ve persuaded him that he needs to go and see the specialist again.’ She glanced at Drew’s plate, and saw that he had finished his food. ‘Can I get anything more for you? I think there’s some more crusty bread if you want it.’

‘No, thanks. That was good, but I must be on my way now.’ He pushed back his chair and stood up. ‘Thanks again for the food,’ he said. ‘It filled me up and made me feel much more human.’ He gave her a fleeting smile. ‘Perhaps we’ll meet up again some time.’

‘Maybe.’ She didn’t believe that was true, but it was easier to say it and to see him out. She went with him to the door and watched him climb into his sleek silver saloon car. Part of her wanted to beg him to stay, but her innate sense of self-preservation held her back. He drove away without looking behind him and she felt as though the lifeblood was draining out of her. She was empty inside.

A few days later, in A and E, she took advantage of a few minutes’ break to wind down. She had been on the go all morning, and when there was a slight lull, she stopped by the desk and chatted to Craig, a senior house officer who had been spending the last six months learning about emergency medicine.

‘How’s things?’ he asked. ‘I didn’t see you at the party last weekend. I was hoping you might be able to pop in for an hour or so.’

‘Something came up,’ she said. ‘I heard that you had a good time. Something about dancing the conga through the park?’

He laughed. ‘We all had a bit too much to drink.’ He leaned a little closer and slid an arm around her waist. ‘It would have been so much better if you had been there.’

She smiled at him. ‘You’re an inveterate flirt,’ she said.

‘You can’t blame a man for trying. One of these days you might agree to come out with me.’

‘In your dreams.’ Craig would have been a catch for any young woman, with his dark good looks and happy-go-lucky attitude, but Katie was steering clear of any kind of commitment. He was far too casual in his relationships for her to take him seriously and, anyway, she was looking for something more in a man, something that remained elusive. There had only been one love of her life, and that had turned to ashes. She wasn’t about to let herself get burned again.

An ambulance siren sounded in the distance, and she readied herself to receive her next patient. Craig went off humming to himself, full of beans, and she heard him call the name of a man who was in the waiting room. She had no idea how he could be so lively at this time of the day. Katie glanced at his patient. He looked as though he was hurting, but she couldn’t see any particular injury.

Her own patient was suffering from a particularly nasty fracture, and she called on Hannah to assist her. Hannah was an A and E nurse, with many years of experience of working in Emergency, and Katie liked working with her.

‘Have you seen the new consultant?’ Hannah asked.

Katie lifted a brow. ‘No—I didn’t know he was about. I’ve been so busy today I’ve been chasing my own shadow. What’s he like?’ She made sure that her patient had a painkilling injection and called for a surgical consultation.

‘He’s incredible.’ Hannah lifted her eyes heavenwards. ‘I don’t know how I’m going to get any work done around here—he’s so good-looking you wouldn’t believe it. I almost fainted at his feet when I saw him. He must have thought I was mad.’

Katie laughed. ‘I expect he was too busy finding his way around the place to notice.’

‘He noticed you.’

‘Did he?’ Katie was surprised. ‘When? How come I didn’t see him?’

‘You were talking to Craig and having a laugh. Neither of you was taking much notice of anything going on around you.’

‘Oh, well...I expect he’ll catch up with me later.’ Katie turned her attention to her patient.

She was writing up her notes at the desk a little later when she saw Craig’s patient walking towards the exit. He didn’t look at all well, and he was squinting a little as though the light hurt him.

He appeared to stagger, and Katie was immediately concerned. She hurried over to him and helped him recover his balance. ‘You don’t look too good,’ she said. ‘Do you need to sit down for a while?’

‘I think I’m going to be sick,’ he muttered, and clutched his stomach. ‘The pain in my head is driving me mad.’

Katie alerted Hannah, who hurried up with a bowl and a cloth. ‘Have you seen the doctor?’ Katie asked.

The man tried to nod and winced as though the effort was too much for him. ‘He gave me a prescription.’

Katie glanced at the paper he held, and saw that it was a prescription for migraine medication. ‘I think perhaps you had better lie down for a while,’ she said. ‘You don’t look well enough to go anywhere just yet. I’ll see if I can get hold of Dr Marshall and let him know what’s happening.’ She was surprised that Craig had sent him on his way in this condition, but perhaps the man’s symptoms had worsened since then. She glanced at Hannah. ‘Would you stay with Mr Framley? Cubicle two is empty. Perhaps he should go in there and lie down.’

Hannah nodded, and Katie turned to hurry away and immediately found herself in collision with someone.

‘Oh, I’m so sorry,’ she began, struggling to right herself, her fingers meshing with a shirtfront and registering the hard wall of a man’s chest. His heartbeat was strong and steady. She took a faltering step backwards and started to lift her gaze. ‘I wasn’t looking where I was going.’

‘I guessed as much.’ The deep voice had a familiar ring to it, and when she stared into the face of the man she gave a startled little jump.

‘Drew? What are you doing here?’

‘I work here. As of today, I’m your new consultant.’ He looked at her assessingly. ‘You seem to be in a bit of a hurry. Is that because of Dr Marshall’s patient?’

She swallowed hard, trying to brace herself against the shock of seeing him here. ‘I just thought I would alert him to the fact that the man wasn’t very steady on his feet. There’s no problem. We can deal with it. I imagine you must have plenty to be getting on with.’

Her mind was racing. She was worried that something wasn’t quite right with the patient, but she didn’t want to get Craig into any trouble. She was also finding it hard to take in what Drew had said. He was working here? How could that be?

She pulled in a deep breath and stared at him. ‘Why didn’t you tell me that you were going to be working here?’

‘Has it come as such a shock to you?’ he said. His mouth was taut, and he must have seen how much it bothered her that he was here. ‘I didn’t tell you because I wasn’t sure how things were going to work out,’ he said, ‘but as it happens they wanted me to start straight away. Mr Johnson, the consultant who was here before me, has had to take some compassionate leave. Family problems, they said, but they don’t think he’ll be coming back.’

Katie had heard that her former consultant was in a bit of a quandary. His son had been involved in an accident, and he had made up his mind to go and stay with him for a while. He had talked of finding work as a consultant near where his son lived. She said quietly, ‘I heard that his son had multiple fractures, but as far as I know he’s going to recover.’

‘That’s what I heard, too.’ He glanced around. ‘As for Dr Marshall’s patient, I was just coming to take a look at him. I’m not satisfied that he’s well enough to be discharged.’

Katie was distracted. From the set of his jaw she guessed that he was unhappy with Craig’s diagnosis. She said flatly, ‘Given the symptoms he presented with, I’m sure Dr Marshall thought he was doing the right thing. Headache and sickness are common symptoms of migraine.’

‘Maybe.’ Drew wasn’t giving anything away. His mouth was set in a straight line and his eyes were dark as though he meant business. ‘I’m going to take a look at him now. If you’re not too busy, perhaps you would ask Dr Marshall to come and join me?’

Katie went and found Craig. She didn’t like the fact that Drew had taken it on himself to intervene, but he was in charge now, and he was ultimately responsible for the actions of his colleagues.

‘What’s wrong?’ Craig asked. He was in a cheerful mood, his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the desk in the middle of the room.

She explained the situation. ‘I think your patient, Mick Framley, is unwell—at least, not well enough to go home just yet.’

‘He was going to call for a taxi. I told him he needed to lie down in a darkened room.’

‘I don’t think he can make it home on his own.’ She frowned. ‘The new consultant, Drew Bradley, wants a word.’

‘Does he?’ Craig grimaced. ‘I don’t think he likes me very much. I’ve already had one run in with him today.’

‘You have?’ Her eyes widened. ‘What was that about?’ They were already walking back towards cubicle two.

‘He seemed to be annoyed that I was talking to you. Apparently he thought my attitude was too casual and he wanted to know if I hadn’t any work to be getting on with. He said I’d left a patient unsupervised.’

Katie frowned. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you into trouble.’

‘It wasn’t your fault. I think he was looking for someone to chew out.’

Was Craig right about that? Her own brother had said Drew could be ruthless, and she had tried to dismiss it, but now she was filled with doubt. It seemed unfair that Craig should fall foul of Drew this first day.

They had almost reached the cubicle by now, and Katie said, ‘I’m a little worried about Mr Framley. He was complaining of neck stiffness, and he was hypertensive, too. Perhaps you should do a CT scan.’

‘He didn’t have any neck stiffness when I examined him,’ Craig said defensively. ‘There were no signs that led me to think of anything other than migraine.’

‘It can be difficult to make an accurate diagnosis,’ Katie said, ‘but when you see the new consultant, be careful.’

‘I will.’ He pulled open the curtain of the cubicle and went in. Katie heard the murmur of voices, and guessed that he was talking to Drew. She hoped that he could put things right. She was beginning to suspect that Mr Framley was showing signs of a condition that was far more serious than Craig had guessed. In Craig’s place, she would be doing a CT scan and blood tests, as well as an ECG and chest X-ray. From the looks of things, Mr Framley could be suffering from a subarachnoid haemorrhage.

A moment later, a worried-looking Craig came out from the cubicle. He looked white-faced, and Katie said anxiously, ‘Can I help?’

He nodded. ‘He’s taken a sudden turn for the worse, and we need to intubate. I’m going to call for a neurosurgeon.’

Katie went to assist, and the team went into action. Drew called for all the tests that she had guessed would be needed, and a short time later Mick went up to Theatre. Katie hoped that the surgeon would be able to save him. A bleed into the brain could kill a man unless it was caught in time.

Drew didn’t comment on what had gone on between him and Craig, but he was tight-lipped whenever he was around him, and Craig was nervous for the rest of the day. Katie met up with him during a break in the afternoon, and he still looked anxious.

She put her hand on his arm. ‘You should try not to worry too much,’ she told him. ‘You’ve only been in emergency medicine for six months. You can’t get everything right all the time.’

His mouth made a bitter line. ‘Try telling that to the new consultant. Mr Bradley doesn’t seem to appreciate that he’s here to support me. He thinks I missed the diagnosis because I didn’t do the proper checks.’

‘I’m sure you did what you thought was right at the time. I expect he’ll get to know you better and see that he’s being too hard on you.’

‘Maybe. I just hope Mick Framley pulls through.’ He moved his shoulders as though he was making an effort to shrug off his despondent mood and glanced at her thoughtfully. ‘When I saw you talking to the new man earlier, I had the feeling that you two knew each other. Is that right? Is he from around here?’

‘Yes, I do know him.’ She pressed her lips together, uncertain how much she should say. ‘He used to live locally, but he moved away some years ago. He was always determined to become a consultant in A and E.’

‘How was it that you got to know him?’

‘We lived in the same neighbourhood at one time. He was always around and about, and sometimes we would find ourselves at the same functions.’

‘Do you like him?’

Katie hesitated. It was a direct question, but she could hardly tell Craig all the ins and outs of the situation, all her doubts and insecurities, and in the end she settled for an edited version of the truth.

‘We used to get along all right. I’ve known him since I was a teenager, and he went to the same school as my brother, but I haven’t heard from him these last few years, and I think things are different now. He’s a consultant and he probably has a position to live up to. You and I are just junior doctors, and we’re worlds apart from him, so we can’t do anything other than make the best of things.’

It seemed so long ago that Drew had been her friend, her soul mate, someone who would step in and intervene between her and her brother whenever they had a falling-out. As a teenager Luke had been irrepressible in teasing and tormenting her, and even when he’d got older, a student at university, he had enjoyed provoking her. Drew had been someone she had been able to look up to and confide in, and now it seemed that all that had changed.

She went back to her patients and later on she attended to a man who had injured his hand at the factory where he worked. ‘I’ll put in a few stitches to hold the edges of the wound together,’ she told him. ‘Then I’ll put a dressing over it and you’ll need to come back to have the stitches removed in a few days. You should have an antibiotic, too, in case there’s an infection.’

As she began to suture the wound, she saw Hannah pass by. ‘Is there any news of Mr Framley?’ she asked. ‘He must be back from surgery by now.’

Hannah nodded. ‘He’s still in Recovery, but by all accounts things went reasonably well. The surgeon managed to deal with the aneurysm and patch him up.’

Drew came to watch as Katie put in the last suture. ‘It’ll be a while before the man is on his feet again,’ he said, catching the end of the conversation. ‘He was lucky that he hadn’t left the hospital, and I guess that was down to you. By stopping him, you saved his life.’

‘It was just fortunate that I happened to see him stagger.’ She looked up at him, her green eyes troubled. ‘It wasn’t an easy diagnosis to make,’ she said, wanting to defend Craig. ‘Initially, he showed all the signs of having a migraine.’

Drew’s gaze was flint sharp. ‘We have to look be yond that. I hope your friend has taken the lesson on board.’

He had placed a slight emphasis on the word ‘friend’, and Katie glanced at him in dismay. His tone was cool, his jaw was set in a hard line, and she reflected that it was going to be difficult for Craig to make up for his lapse.

‘I’m sure he’ll take note, and learn from all the situations he comes across. I don’t believe you can ask for any more.’

‘Can’t I?’ His gaze shimmered over her. ‘Then you don’t know me very well, do you?’

He moved away from her, and Katie felt a small shiver go through her. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps she didn’t know him at all.

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