As Mike entered the shed, Strop at his heels, he found her squatting beside the piglets, deep in conversation with Doris.
‘I don’t know how you can tell them apart because I can’t,’ she was telling the sow. ‘You need hospital wristbands. Trotter bands. Though this little one…he’s fatter than the rest. Let’s call this one Mike, shall we?’
‘Why? Because I’m fatter than the rest?’
‘Oh…’ Tess swung around to face him, and her face flushed scarlet. ‘Whoops. I didn’t know.’ She scrambled to her feet, and then she smiled and there was no disguising her pure, unmitigated pleasure that he’d come. Mike felt himself warm from the toes up at her welcome. ‘I didn’t dare hope you’d come,’ she told him.
‘So this is a private name-calling ceremony?’
‘It’s a family affair,’ she agreed. ‘Just me and Doris and the kids.’
‘Are we intruding?’
‘No, not at all,’ she said cordially. ‘Unless Strop is interested in piglet.’
‘Only roasted. That old idea of catching and killing your own meal was bred out of Strop’s remaining brain cell generations ago.’
Tess grinned as Strop wandered outside to see if roast pork was somewhere else. ‘Then Doris and I are really pleased to see you,’ she said.
The warmth grew warmer-and Mike struggled to keep his face straight.
‘So…why are we calling the fat pig Mike?’
‘Well…’ Tess had her equilibrium back now. She picked up the proposed Mike piglet and surveyed him, nose to nose. Unbothered, Doris suckled on. Some sows took umbrage to having their family handled, but as far as Doris was concerned Tess, it seemed, could do anything she liked.
‘Is it just because he’s fat?’ Mike enquired again, inspecting the piglet closely.
‘Well, there is that,’ Tess agreed. She grinned and checked Mike out. It was all Mike could do not to blush as her assessing gaze raked him from the toes up. ‘But you’re not really fat,’ she added kindly. ‘You’re just…well, just sort of muscled.’
And then Tessa’s grin deepened and she swung the little piglet around so his tail was in the air. ‘But there’s another resemblance. Look at this. He does look like you, Mike Llewellyn. He has the cutest butt!’
‘Gee, thanks!’ The girl was incorrigible. Hell, he was blushing.
She chuckled, unabashed, and gently laid Mike Piglet down on the straw with his brothers and sisters. Mike Piglet headed teat-ward, seemingly at the speed of light, and Tess chuckled again, before turning back to Mike Person.
‘You know, you look really appealing when you’re embarrassed,’ she told him kindly. ‘You’re almost as cute as little Mike and his brothers and sisters-Oinks One to Seven.’
And then she really looked at him. Her smile died and her eyes became searching.
‘Mike, what’s wrong?’
‘There’s nothing-’
She took a step forward. ‘Oh, God… Is it Grandpa?’ The colour drained from Tessa’s face and he spoke quickly to reassure her
‘Henry’s fine.’
‘Then why do your eyes look like that?’ And then Tessa’s face cleared as she figured it out. ‘Oh, Mike. I forgot. I know what it is. The dental records arrived last night. You’ve been identifying Sam.’
She could read him like a book! He took a step back, as though putting distance between himself and Tess, but Tess wasn’t having it. She walked over and gave him a king-sized hug, and it was all he could do not to hug her back.
‘I should have come with you,’ she said softly. ‘I could have helped. It must have been awful.’
‘No.’
‘Oh, no,’ she jeered. ‘Not awful. Don’t forget, I saw him, Mike. It was awful. And you were his friend.’
‘Tess…’ He stopped, unable to go on. For the life of him he didn’t know what to say, or how on earth to respond. Since his mother had died all those years ago, nothing and no one had been allowed close. To have this girl know intuitively what was wrong…and to hug him like this…and to care…
The sensation was insidious in its sweetness.
‘It’s OK. You can admit it was awful, but at least now it’s done. And the end for Sam must have been fast.’ She gave him another hug and stepped back so she could see him again while he was still figuring out how to respond. But he didn’t need to respond.
‘Come in and see what I’ve done to the house,’ she begged, and she took his hand and dragged him out of the barn before he could protest. Her hand held his in a grip which warmed him from the fingers up and which wouldn’t be denied. There was nothing for Mike to do but be propelled forward.
She didn’t stop until she reached the kitchen, and he stopped, stunned, as he walked in the door. What she’d done here…
The place had been transformed.
It was clean for a start. The house in Henry Westcott’s care had been left to deteriorate. Henry’s wife had been house-proud, but after she’d died Henry had simply not cared. He’d kept it clean enough basically, but that had been all.
The last time Mike had been in here-the night they’d found Henry-the place had been dark and smoke-stained and dreary. But now…
‘How long have you been here?’ Mike asked faintly, staring around at the transformation.
‘Since about seven. I couldn’t sleep. Louise’s mum snores and Louise was due on duty early, so we had breakfast together and talked about how wonderful Harvey Begg is. She even loves his Volvo.’ Tessa’s voice sounded awed. She smiled and kept on.
‘I left her stargazing and hiked in to the hospital, said hi to Grandpa, who was snoring as loudly as Louise’s mum, and then borrowed a pile of cleaning stuff from the store. I needed more but Mr Harcourt, the man who owns the hardware shop, was picking up his newspaper from his front lawn as I drove past. I know him from yesterday when I treated his cough. I was very kind about his smoking habits-apart from telling him he’d be dead in two years if he didn’t cut down, I wasn’t threatening or anything.’
Tess paused to catch her breath, and then she kept right on going.
‘Anyway, Mr Harcourt was embarrassed about being caught in his pyjamas. They have yellow ducks all over them! They were a gift from his wife, he says, though I don’t know whether I believe him. I think he likes them. And he was smoking again this morning! Honestly, I think the man smokes in his sleep. So I gave him another lecture and asked if I could get some whitewash and some stove black. And he was so nice-he gave me the key to the shop.’
She meant he was so flummoxed, Mike thought blankly. Anyone would be.
And William Harcourt… It couldn’t have happened to a nicer man. Yellow ducks, eh? Mike’s lips gave an involuntary twitch.
‘So then I scrubbed and scrubbed. This place looked dingy but, in fact, it’s just the smoke stains all over the stone walls from the fire stove. I’m sure Grandpa doesn’t keep the vents open like he should and it’s so bad for his health. I cleared everything out and whitewashed the walls, and I blacked the stove and then I hauled everything back in here-hasn’t it made a difference?’
It certainly had. Mike could only stare.
‘I need help to hang the curtains again,’ she told him, not giving him time to comment. ‘I washed them early and I was just going out to see if they were dry when I got sidetracked with Doris and the kids. I’ll go and get them now. Isn’t it lucky you came?’
And she flew out of the kitchen, leaving Mike staring after her.
She was like a whirlwind, a crazy, wonderful tornado that picked everything up and whirled it around and set it down…different.
And he didn’t know how to stop himself whirling.
They worked steadily on. He wasn’t allowed to protest. He simply obeyed orders and the experience was totally novel.
Mike was an undomesticated animal, but Tess didn’t seem to notice. She had him hauling down the upstairs curtains, beating rugs over the clothesline, hauling sheets off beds and making them up with clean linen, and sw
eeping out rooms that hadn’t been used for years. Strop followed behind, interested and nosing his way into everything.
‘You and Henry are only going to use two bedrooms,’ he protested. ‘The place has five. Why do we have to clean them all out?’
His protest was met by scorn.
‘If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well,’ she said piously. ‘Didn’t your mother teach you anything?’
And then she looked sideways at him as his face closed-and he knew she was busy adding two and two together and making heaven only knew what out of her thoughts. He didn’t have the faintest idea what she was thinking.
He’d never met anyone like this woman in his life.
She called a halt at two. Miraculously the phone at Mike’s hip hadn’t sounded once. He almost wished it had.
Tess laid out fresh bread and cheese, and hauled a bottle of wine from her grandfather’s cellar. She produced a hambone for Strop-how the hell had she guessed Strop might be here? Then she spread a rug out under the gums, settled herself down in the sunshine and she smiled up at him…
Then again, maybe he didn’t want his phone to ring at all.
‘Come on. You’ve earned this,’ she ordered, patting the blanket.
‘Where did you get all this from?’
‘I begged the cheese from Louise’s mom, the hambone came from the hospital kitchen and the baker was baking early this morning. I was his first customer. I told him I really hoped you might be sharing my lunch and he said he hoped so, too, and he said rye bread was your favourite.’
They’d be the talk of the town, Mike thought faintly. If Tess was breezing down the main street at dawn, chatting to solid citizens in their duck-covered pyjamas and discussing Mike’s likes and dislikes in the bread department…
How had she known he would think of coming?
Miraculously, Tess was silent the whole time she ate. She lay stretched out like a lazy cat, soaking up the warmth and the fresh bread and cheese and the smell of the eucalyptus above them. He was left alone with his thoughts.
Not for long. Never for long with Tess around.
The bread and cheese finished, Tess disappeared inside the house and came back with two steaming mugs of coffee. She handed him one, settled down with hers and then hit him with both barrels.
‘Tell me about your mother.’
‘What…?’
‘Louise says your dad lit out when you were tiny. She says your mother raised you alone and then, when you were sixteen, your mom died. How did she die?’
‘Tess…’
‘I know,’ she said softly. ‘It’s none of my business. But tell me anyway.’
‘Why?’
‘Mike, I really want to know.’
He sighed and stirred and stretched out, lying on his back with his hands behind his head as he gazed up through the canopy of gum leaves. Why tell this girl? Why be here at all?
It seemed there was no choice.
‘My mother died of a diabetic coma,’ he said heavily, his voice sounding as if he’d been goaded. ‘Her diabetes was unstable. She got an infection which ran out of control. One Saturday afternoon she just collapsed. In retrospect she needed intravenous antibiotics and she needed insulin. But she’d never let me touch her diabetic medical kit. She hated me even thinking she was ill, so I didn’t know what to give her or how much-even if I’d known how to give an injection.’
His voice grew incredibly weary as he thought it through. How many times had he gone over and over what had happened? He was tired of it in his mind; infinitely tired, but he couldn’t let it go.
‘So…’ Somehow he made himself continue. ‘So there was no hospital here then and no nurses. There was just a doctor. Just a doctor who didn’t come. Mum was in a coma when I found her, otherwise maybe she could have told me what to do. But there was no one.’
‘You blame the doctor?’
‘He should have come.’
‘So you’re going to be on call, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, for the rest of your life?’
‘Something like that.’ He grimaced, then shrugged and gave a rueful smile. ‘No. I’m not that stupid. I know I’m not God. I pay locums once a year so I get a break.’
‘Locums?’
‘Two locums.’
‘Two locums to provide the same service you provide?’
‘That’s right.’
‘Because no other single doctor would be stupid enough to take on what you take on.’ Tessa’s voice was gentle, but insistent.
‘That’s your point of view.’
‘Well…’ She’d been sitting on the rug, staring down at him. Now she flopped backwards so she was lying full length beside him and she put her hands behind her head as well. She stared up into Mike’s gum tree as if she was trying to see what he was seeing. By their side, Strop gnawed peacefully on, supremely content with his lot.
‘It’s just as well I’ve come, then,’ she said decisively. ‘You need me, Mike Llewellyn.’
‘I-’
‘Admit it,’ she said, still staring upwards. ‘You need another doctor.’
‘If you stay, it’ll mean I don’t need to have so many holidays.’
‘It’ll mean you don’t run yourself into the ground so much.’ Tessa nodded decisively. She’d kicked her shoes off. Now she raised one bare foot and examined her toes, with the gum-tree canopy acting as a background for her painted toenails. It was as if she was admiring a work of art. Which, in fact, they were. ‘So you admit it, Mike? You need me?’
‘OK.’ He stirred uneasily. She was too damned close for comfort-too damned close by far-and the sight of her bare toes… Hell, he’d never realised bare toes could be so sexy! ‘I do need another doctor,’ he said grudgingly. ‘If you stay then I’ll be grateful.’
‘Oh, I’ll stay.’ She hauled herself up so she was supporting herself on her arms and staring straight down at him. Her face was now right in his line of sight-between him and his canopy. She was about four inches from his nose.
‘And what about the rest of you, Dr Llewellyn?’ she demanded.
‘The rest?’
‘The doctor part of you needs me as a doctor. Does the personal side of you need me as a woman?’
‘Tess…’
‘You’re not saying there’s no personal side?’
‘Of course there’s a personal side.’
‘But not one that lets anything interfere with your medicine. Is that right?’ she demanded. ‘Because of what happened to your mother in the past you’ve blocked off your personal needs. And…’ Her green eyes grew thoughtful. ‘You think if you let yourself fall for me, I’ll distract you.’
And then, as he stared up at her in baffled silence, Tessa’s mouth creased into a smile. ‘Hey, you might be right at that. Distraction sounds fun.’ She put a teasing finger on his nose and her touch was electric. ‘But I wouldn’t distract you all that much, Dr Llewellyn. If duty calls I’ll be right there beside you, beavering away like mad and being just as devoted a doctor as you. To suggest anything else is insulting.’
He stared up at her and she smiled straight back. Hell! Her curls tumbled down around her shoulders, just brushing his face. Her green eyes smiled down at him. Her face was so near…
Women weren’t supposed to do this, he thought dazedly. Women weren’t supposed to throw themselves at men.
This wasn’t just a woman. This was Tessa.
‘I wouldn’t want to insult you,’ he said faintly, and her smile grew.
‘Now that’s really wise.’
‘Why is it wise?’
‘Because I have friends in high places. Or low places. Insult me and I’ll set Doris onto you.’
‘Perish the thought.’
‘She’d squash you to death in two seconds flat.’
‘She’d do that on command?’
‘She’s a very amenable pig.’ Tessa’s voice softened and her nose lowered a notch or two. So there was about two inches clearance. �
�Almost as well trained as your Strop. So…’
Mike could hardly breathe. His lungs were hurting. The sheer effort of not taking this girl in his arms was almost killing him.
But he didn’t need to. Tessa had no need of assistance. She had things in hand here, and she knew very clearly what she intended.
‘So just shut up, lie back and let me introduce you to a lady who intends to be the love of your life, Mike Llewellyn,’ she whispered. ‘And in case you hadn’t guessed-that’s me.’
Her nose descended a further two inches and Mike found himself being solidly kissed-and for the life of him he couldn’t put up one skerrick of resistance. Somewhere inside him a weight was being lifted which had been almost too heavy to bear, and he hadn’t known he was carrying it. He had sworn he’d never love, but he hadn’t known what love was. He had sworn off commitment, but he hadn’t known that commitment could be as sweet as this.
That a woman could feel like this in his arms… She felt as if she belonged right where she was-as if she were part of him. As if she were the completeness of his whole.
The last of his resistance crumbled. He held Tess to him and her body moulded itself to his in the soft autumn sunlight. At the touch of her body against his, Mike felt his vows slip away as if they’d never been.
Vows? What vows? They must have been unimportant things, made on the mistaken premise that he couldn’t be committed to his medicine if he loved a woman.
He could be. This woman was his partner. He still could be committed, he told himself fiercely, because he had to be. Because, like it or not, he was wholly and wonderfully committed to the woman in his arms.
His Tessa.
CHAPTER NINE
THE next weeks passed like a dream, with Mike feeling as if a whole new world had opened up for him. Life was brighter, clearer-fantastic!
Everywhere he moved, there was Tessa.
Tessa’s registration came through incredibly speedily. Her medical credentials, it seemed, were impeccable. The medical registration board thought so, and, on reflection, so did Mike.
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