‘Yes. We worked together in London, way back. We were good friends at one time, too. I’m Adam Knight, by the way. Maybe she mentioned me?’
‘Yes, she did.’ Beth could feel the ground tilting beneath her feet and knew that she had to get away before she disgraced herself. ‘I’d better get back to work. I’ve still got patients to see.’
‘And I’d better let Chris know that I’m here. I’d have been here earlier only I wanted to stop by the hospital to see how uncle Jonathan was doing,’ he replied easily, but she could see the puzzlement in his eyes and knew that he had been surprised by her brusqueness.
‘Dr Wright is your uncle?’ she asked hollowly. That Adam Knight was not only here in Winton but actually about to start work at the surgery was too much to take in. She felt as though she had woken in the middle of some sort of crazy dream.
‘Yes. Funnily enough, that’s how Claire and I met. She overheard me saying that I had an uncle in Winton and told me that she had grown up not far from here.’ Adam sighed. ‘It’s strange how these things happen. I’m not sure if you can call it coincidence or fate.’
Neither was she!
Beth murmured something, although she couldn’t recall what she’d said a moment later. She hurried back to her room and closed the door, needing a few minutes to compose herself before calling in her next patient. But how easy was it going to be to deal with this situation?
Discovering that Adam Knight had links with the surgery changed everything. How could she risk asking him for help now when she had no idea how he might react? Maybe she was doing him an injustice, but she had always suspected that he must have known why Claire had wanted to see him, and that was why he hadn’t replied to her letter.
He hadn’t wanted to face up to his responsibilities, that was what it had boiled down to. In the circumstances, she’d known all along that asking him for help was a long shot. However, it was one thing to approach a stranger with the request but another entirely to broach it to a colleague. Frankly, the situation could become intolerable if he refused. This job was important to her and she didn’t want to risk losing it…
More important to her than Hannah was? a small voice whispered.
She took a deep breath.
Nothing was more important than Hannah. Neither her job nor Adam Knight’s feelings were of any consequence weighed against that. It was Hannah who mattered. Nobody else!
Somehow Beth got through the rest of her appointments with an outward show of calm which only she knew was a sham. She cleared up after her last patient had left then took the record cards through to the office for filing.
Eileen was getting ready to go home for lunch and she smiled cheerfully at her. ‘Just leave them in the tray, dear, and I’ll do them later. It didn’t go too badly, all things considered, and now that Adam’s back, we should cope until poor Dr Wright is better.’
Beth smiled and nodded in all the right places but she wasn’t really listening. Her ears had picked up the sound of a surprisingly familiar voice. She had already prepared herself by the time Adam Knight and Chris Andrews appeared.
‘I’m going to make a start on the house calls,’ Chris informed them, poking his head round the door. ‘Adam tells me that you two have introduced yourselves, Beth, so I don’t need to go through the formalities. He’s going to take this afternoon’s antenatal clinic to save me having to race back. I might even get some lunch today so things must be looking up!’
He turned to the other man without waiting for her to answer. ‘Thanks, Adam. It’s great to have you here. I’ll leave you in Beth’s very capable hands.’
A small silence fell after Chris and Eileen left. Beth knew that Adam was still standing in the doorway but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. Should she tell him now why she had been trying to contact him or should she wait until later? They had to work together that afternoon and it could make the situation extremely difficult…
‘Did Claire ever talk about me?’
She jumped when he spoke, feeling the colour rush to her cheeks when she looked round and found him staring at her. ‘Not really,’ she replied, glad that she could be truthful because she doubted that she could have lied.
‘Then she didn’t say anything bad about me?’ He must have seen her surprise because he smiled thinly. ‘I got the distinct impression earlier that you were upset when you found out who I was. I just wondered if Claire might have said something.’
‘Should she have done?’ she countered.
‘I’ve no idea.’ He leant against the doorjamb and regarded her thoughtfully. ‘We certainly didn’t part on bad terms, not so far as I was concerned, anyway.’
‘Then you have nothing to worry about, have you?’ Beth gave him a tight little smile and went to the door, pausing when he made no attempt to get out of her way.
‘How much did your sister tell you about our relationship?’ he asked bluntly.
‘Enough.’ She met his gaze squarely, refusing to let him think that she was embarrassed in any way. ‘Naturally, she didn’t go into any detail but I know that you and Claire were lovers at one time, if that’s what you mean.’
‘I see. And how do you feel about the idea? Does it bother you?’ he replied smoothly.
‘No. How about you? Does it worry you that I know about you and Claire?’ she shot back.
‘Not at all.’ He shrugged but his gaze was intent. ‘It all happened a long time ago and it has little bearing on the present situation. There’s no reason that I know of why my relationship with your sister should get in the way of us working together. However, I have a feeling that something is troubling you, despite what you’ve just said.’
Beth looked away because she simply couldn’t stand there and meet that forceful stare any longer. Part of her wanted to tell him the truth and get it over with, whilst another part urged her to be cautious. Maybe it would be better to tread carefully until she had a better idea how he might react to her request.
‘I was just surprised when you turned up here,’ she said, choosing her words with care. ‘Claire never told me much about you so I had no idea that you were related to Dr Wright.’
‘I see. It must have been a shock for you, then,’ he said quietly.
‘It was.’ He must have heard the ring of truth in her voice because he visibly relaxed. Beth felt a flurry race along her nerves when he suddenly smiled at her. She had noticed how attractive he was when they had first met but he was devastating when he smiled like that.
‘And I’m not helping the situation by cross-examining you. Sorry. My excuse is that it was a surprise for me, too, to meet you here. Claire spoke about you many times. She was very fond of you, Beth.’
‘I was very fond of her,’ she admitted, feeling the ready tears welling into her eyes.
‘Now I’ve upset you and that was the last thing I wanted to do.’ His tone was so gentle that she had to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat before she could speak.
‘It’s not your fault. It’s been a difficult year, what with Claire’s death and…’ She stopped as she realised what she had been about to say, feeling her heart racing when she saw the way Adam was looking at her again.
‘And what? What were you going to say before you thought better of it?’ he asked in a silky tone that made her shiver with apprehension. ‘Why do I get the feeling that I’m missing something, Beth?’
‘I…I don’t know what you mean,’ she murmured, avoiding his eyes.
‘Don’t you?’ He paused, obviously giving her the chance to explain, but she knew that she wasn’t ready to do that just yet. It was too important that she didn’t make any mistakes. So much hinged on him agreeing…
Did she really think that he would agree, though? Everything she knew about him pointed to the fact that he might very well refuse. After all he hadn’t bothered to answer Claire’s letter, neither had he made any attempt to contact her in the last seven years. Were those the actions of a man who would be prepared
to help?
She bit her lip in a quandary of indecision and heard him sigh. ‘I’m doing it again, aren’t I? Interrogating you?’
He smiled apologetically when she glanced at him but she could tell that he was still curious about the way she had been behaving, and was merely trying to smooth over an awkward moment.
‘It’s a rather strange situation for both of us,’ she suggested diffidently.
‘I suppose it is.’ He frowned as though he was considering that idea. ‘Neither of us could have imagined this happening in our wildest dreams.’
Amen to that! she silently endorsed then realised that he had carried on speaking.
‘My problems?’ she queried, her heart turning over as she wondered what he had meant by that. Had she been right all along? Had he guessed what Claire had wanted to tell him seven years ago? The thought suddenly made her feel sick, even though she had no idea why it should matter so much.
‘Having to work with a doctor about whom you know absolutely zilch. It’s no wonder you’re on edge. You’re probably worried stiff in case I make a complete hash of things this afternoon.’
He glanced down at his crumpled clothes and grimaced. ‘I admit that I don’t look the part of a bona fide GP, but I swear that I have all the necessary certificates to prove it somewhere around!’
She laughed shakily, not sure why she felt so relieved that he wasn’t about to confess to such unscrupulous behaviour. ‘You don’t have to prove anything to me. I’m willing to take your word for it that you’re suitably qualified.’
‘Thank you. I appreciate it.’ He treated her to a smile and once again Beth felt her pulse skip a beat. It had been such a long time since she’d reacted like that to a man’s smile that it confused her, and it was a moment before she realised what Adam had said.
‘The airline lost your luggage?’ she repeated.
‘That’s right. I couldn’t get a direct flight back to the UK so I had to make a couple of stop-overs en route. Somewhere between Tangiers and Düsseldorf my cases went AWOL. Fortunately, I had a holdall with me containing a change of clothes so at least I was able to wear something clean to come here today.’
He gave a deep chuckle. ‘Aunt Mary is going to hunt out some of the stuff I left with her the last time I was in England, but I’m not sure if it will do much more to improve my image. I have never been known for my sartorial elegance, shall we say.’
He paused when the phone on the reception desk suddenly rang. ‘I expect you want to go for lunch so I’ll get that. Anything I need to know before this afternoon?’
‘No, it’s all quite straightforward—routine antenatal check-ups with, hopefully, few problems,’ she assured him.
‘Fine. I’ll see you later, then.’
Adam hurried away and a moment later Beth heard the rumble of his voice as he picked up the receiver. However, she didn’t wait around. Apart from the fact that she didn’t want to have to answer any more awkward questions, she didn’t have the time to hang around if she wanted to see Hannah before she was due back at work.
She sighed sadly.
Everything came back to Hannah. She just hadn’t realised how difficult it was going to be to tell Adam about her niece.
CHAPTER TWO
‘RIGHT, Mrs Graham. If you could pop up onto the couch then I can see how junior is doing.’
Adam smiled at the young woman. ‘This baby certainly isn’t in a rush to make his appearance in the world. You’re what…three days overdue now?’
‘That’s right, Doctor,’ Elaine Graham replied as Beth helped her get comfortable.
Elaine had looked extremely tense when she’d arrived. However, Beth couldn’t help noticing how much more relaxed she now appeared to be. It was obvious that Adam’s easygoing manner had had a positive effect on Elaine, as it had had on all the other expectant mums they had seen that afternoon. Beth had to admit that she was impressed.
‘I was hoping this one would be early, unlike his brothers,’ Elaine explained. ‘My youngest is having a birthday party the day after tomorrow and I was hoping that I’d have had the baby by then.’
‘Well, there’s still time,’ Adam assured her, gently feeling the position the baby was lying in. ‘The baby’s head is engaged so in theory it should be all systems go very soon.’
‘I wish you’d tell that to the baby,’ Elaine retorted. ‘I’ve had three children so far, and each time I’ve been told that the birth is imminent and nothing has happened!’
‘We don’t get it right every time, Mrs Graham!’ he admitted ruefully. He finished his examination then helped her to sit up. ‘I just want to take your blood pressure again. The reading seemed to be a little on the high side when Sister Campbell took it earlier.’
‘Probably because I’d been rushing round,’ Elaine admitted, offering her arm so that he could wrap the cuff of the sphygmomanometer around it. ‘There’s always something that needs doing when you’ve got three lively boys.’
‘I’m sure there is.’ Adam quickly inflated the cuff then paused while he took the new reading. ‘I don’t know how you mums cope with everything. It’s no wonder that there don’t seem to be enough hours in a day. But will you promise me that you’ll try to rest more until the baby arrives? It will help to keep your blood pressure down and that’s very important at this stage.’
‘I’ll try, Dr Knight,’ Elaine agreed readily, so readily, in fact, that Beth had to hide her amazement. She knew that Dr Wright had tried—and failed!—to make Elaine see how important it was that she rested during the latter stages of her pregnancy. Obviously, Adam’s charm had garnered better results than Dr Wright’s kindly paternalism had done.
It was unsettling to realise it. The image she had built up over the years of Adam Knight just didn’t gel with what she had seen that afternoon. He had been kind and caring towards the patients, deeply sympathetic to any problems they’d had. She simply couldn’t reconcile the cold professional of her imagination with the warmly attentive man she had been working with. It struck her that she could easily grow to like him, only she wasn’t sure that would be a good thing. There wasn’t room to start worrying about his feelings when she had Hannah to consider.
The thought of her niece made her sigh and she saw Adam glance at her. She forced herself to concentrate as he saw Elaine Graham out, not wanting to give him an opening to start questioning her again. He’d made no mention of their earlier conversation but she’d noticed him watching her several times and knew that he hadn’t forgotten what had happened. Until she’d decided how she intended to handle this situation it seemed safer to err on the side of caution.
Beth set about packing up the blood samples that needed to be sent to the lab for testing. There were no more patients to be seen so once everywhere was tidy she would be free until evening surgery. Adam had come back into the room and she looked at him in surprise when he started stripping the paper sheets off the couch.
‘I’ll do that in a minute. You don’t need to bother.’
‘It’ll be quicker if we both do it.’ He bundled the sheets into a ball and shoved them into a plastic refuse sack then picked up the spray bottle of disinfectant and began wiping down the work surfaces.
Beth was more than a little startled by his actions and it must have showed.
‘Old habits die hard, I’m afraid. I’m so used to having to clear up after myself that I feel positively embarrassed by the idea of anyone else doing it for me.’ He squirted some of the disinfectant onto the couch then began vigorously rubbing the leather. ‘Just ignore me. With a bit of luck I’ll have worked it out of my system in a week or two.’
‘By that time I might have got used to you performing such lowly tasks,’ she replied, trying to inject a little levity into her voice. However, the sight of him working away like that was having the strangest effect on her.
She swallowed hard as she watched the muscles in his arms flex each time he rubbed the cloth over the couch. He had rolled up the sle
eves of his shirt so that she had a perfect view of his tanned forearms. When he reached across to the far side of the couch and his shirt suddenly parted company from the waistband of his trousers to reveal a couple of inches of muscular back, she had to bite her lip. Yet why should the sight of an inch or two of exposed flesh make her feel as though her insides had turned to mush? she wondered.
‘What else needs doing? Ah, yes. Those files need to go to the office.’ He stowed the cloth away in the cupboard under the sink and turned. His eyes narrowed when he saw the guilty start she gave. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘No, of course not!’ She gave a tinkly laugh, which wouldn’t have convinced anyone that she was telling the truth, and hurried on. ‘Are you here for evening surgery?’
‘I offered to split the list with Chris but he said that he could manage. I think he was worried that I might keel over from jet lag,’ he explained, although she could tell that she hadn’t completely allayed his curiosity. ‘I’ll be in first thing in the morning, though.’
‘Chris must be very relieved. It’s been hectic here these past few days. Mind you, it’s always busy,’ she replied, keeping the conversation flowing in the hope that it would distract him.
‘So Chris was saying. From what I could gather, they were having problems keeping up even before Jonathan was taken ill,’ he said levelly.
‘Dr Wright told me that the lists have doubled since that new housing estate was built on the outskirts of town,’ Beth explained, feeling easier now that the conversation was firmly centred on the practice.
‘And that’s probably been a contributing factor to why he’s in hospital,’ Adam said darkly. ‘It appears that Jonathan has been having chest pains for some time, only he was too busy to go for a check-up. He self-diagnosed angina and has been treating himself for it.’
‘I had no idea,’ she exclaimed.
‘Nobody had. Jonathan didn’t want anyone to know because he was afraid that he might be forced to cut down the amount of work that he does. Aunt Mary only found out because he confessed to the specialist.’
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