by Joanna Neil
‘You know that won’t work.’ Ross’s expression was rueful. ‘It could be some time before I manage to buy a house over here. Several weeks at least.’
Katie’s brows came together in a dark line. Was he so sure that he would get the job?
Ross pulled in a deep breath, and he must have known that his brother wouldn’t like what he had to say. ‘I could ask around and see if anyone will take him in. It’s either that or the RSPCA, I’m afraid. Whatever happens, I’ll make sure he’ll be well looked after.’
Katie watched the puppy as he looked out at the world from Finn’s arms. He was timid, unsure of himself at first, but soon his tail began to thump, and he started to pant in excitement. She smiled. He was adorable, a little lost soul who had no idea his fate was being mulled over this way.
‘I suppose he could stay at my house for a while,’ she heard herself say. The words were out of her mouth before she had time to think of the consequences. ‘Jessie’s staying there with me for a few weeks, and she’ll be there sometimes during the day. Between us, we should be able to look after him.’
Her brows drew together. What had just happened? It wasn’t at all like her to make snap decisions that would alter the tranquil, safe path of her life. Somehow, though, ever since Ross had turned up, her emotions and thought processes had been in chaos.
Perhaps something else was going on here, too. After seeing that tiny baby fighting for his life the other day at the hospital, her maternal instincts were all fired up. Much as she might have liked to have a family of her own, that wasn’t on the cards right now, but for a short time, at any rate, maybe she could turn some of her instincts into caring for this sick little puppy.
She couldn’t totally account for her impetuous action, but this was definitely something she wanted to do. ‘But you will have to look after him most of all in the daytime, Finn,’ she said, ‘and you’ll need to clean up after him and so on while we’re out at work. Do you think you could do that?’
Finn’s face lit up. ‘Wow, yes. Thanks, Katie. That’s a terrific idea. I’ll come in between doing jobs on the farm.’
Ross’s brows shot up as he looked from one to the other. ‘Have you lost your senses?’ he asked, sending a mystified look in her direction. ‘Finn’s a teenager, so I can understand how he might want to give in to his emotions this way, but you?’ He shook his head. ‘You’re a grown woman, a doctor, with big responsibilities. Have you any idea what you’re doing?’
Katie shrugged. ‘I think so. I know it seems a wild thing to do but we always had dogs at home when I was growing up, and I think I’ve been missing that. The house seems empty somehow.’
‘Hmm.’ She guessed he still wasn’t convinced. He was looking at her as though he feared she might be suffering from a fever of some sort. ‘There is the problem of Finn finding work, of course,’ he said. ‘What’s going to happen to the pup if he’s not around to take care of him? Finn’s not going back to school or college next term, so he’s been thinking about what he’s going to do. I’m not sure either of you are thinking this through. A dog needs exercise, fresh air and company.’
‘I realise that but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,’ Katie said, standing her ground. ‘If it comes to the worst, I’ll perhaps ask Jack’s mother if she would mind walking him for me. I think she would like to do that.’ She was on friendly terms with her neighbour, and the little boy, Jack, was often at her house, playing in the garden or eating cookies in the kitchen.
Ross was shaking his head, and she braced her shoulders and faced up to him squarely. ‘Either way, he’s my problem now, so you don’t have to give it any more thought.’
‘If only it were that simple,’ he said on a disbelieving note. ‘My brother’s landed us in this, and I feel duty bound to get involved, whether or not it’s my responsibility.’ He glanced at Finn. ‘You’d better get him settled in the car. We need to find a late-opening pet store so that we can get him set up with all the equipment he needs.’
Finn nodded and hurried over to where the cars were parked. Katie had the feeling he wanted to escape before either of them decided to change the current plan of action.
She slanted Ross a quick look. ‘It won’t be necessary for you to shop around for stuff,’ she said firmly. ‘I’ll see to all that. I’m sure you must have plenty of other things to do with your time. Like working out how Josh is going to keep Finn from going to court, for one thing, or planning out how you’re going to run the A and E department if you get this new job, for another.’
His blue eyes shimmered as he scanned her slender form. ‘Not at all, Katie. You can rest easy, that’s all well in hand. You’re my number-one priority right now, and if there’s any way I can make life easier for you, I’ll do it.’
‘If that’s true, perhaps you should have stayed on the mainland,’ she said under her breath.
He laughed. ‘Anything, excluding that,’ he murmured. ‘After all, I need to keep an eye on you, if only to make sure that Kilburn doesn’t manage to weasel his way into your affections and turn your head.’
Her gaze was steady. ‘Maybe he’s already done that,’ she said, in a flippant tone. It wouldn’t do for Ross to harbour any ideas on that score—any more than he had already, at least. It was all a sham, but perhaps Josh was the one deterrent she could rely on.
Ross didn’t answer, but his expression was brooding as he walked with her to her car, and she felt a tiny, inner smile of satisfaction begin to grow. It may not be much, but her rickety defence shield was settling into place.
CHAPTER SIX
‘I’M SORRY, KATIE. I wanted you for this job, you know I did, but I was simply outvoted. You would have been an excellent choice, but some of the board members were set on having Ross McGregor. He’s had experience in all sorts of hospitals all over the world, and it gave him the edge, but you mustn’t be put off by any of that. You’re a great doctor and you’ll do well in your career. You just need to give it a little more time.’
Mr Haskins delivered the news gently, with a sympathetic smile, but he was only echoing what Katie had known inwardly from the moment she’d heard that Ross had applied for the post. It was galling to think that Ross was now her boss.
‘Thanks for standing by me, anyway,’ Katie murmured. Her disappointment was a dull, leaden feeling in her stomach. ‘I suppose this means he’ll be starting work straight away? Or does he have to give notice at his hospital on the mainland?’
He shook his head. ‘They’ve agreed to let him start here right away, as they owe him quite a bit of time for holidays. I think it suits him to be over here just now, anyway.’
She nodded. That was true enough. Ross would be able to concentrate on dealing with Finn’s troubles with the police, without having to worry about going back to his job over there. And, no doubt, he would already have started looking for a house.
Any thought that he would soon be leaving the island had melted away, and there would be no avoiding him now. She sighed inwardly. Her peace of mind had been well and truly shattered.
She struggled to drag her mind away from thoughts of Ross. Perhaps Finn’s idea of going to live with his brother wasn’t too far-fetched after all. Which meant her time with Baz would turn out to be far more short-lived than she had imagined. That, too, made her feel out of sorts. The vet had put up notices asking for information about anyone who might own the puppy, but as there had been no takers, Finn could now lay claim to him.
Baz had settled in really well at the house, and he’d even grown considerably in the last couple of weeks. He was healthier now, after all the romps in the garden in the sunshine and fresh air, and the cough and the listlessness were virtually a thing of the past. She found herself looking forward to seeing him at the end of the day.
‘I should get back to work.’ She excused herself from her boss’s office
and headed back to the triage area.
‘Would you take a look at the baby in room one first of all?’ Shona asked as Katie went over to the desk and glanced at the white board. ‘She’s six months old, having trouble with her breathing, and has a low-grade fever. I’ve put her on oxygen, but she’s struggling, poor little thing.’
Katie nodded. ‘Okay, I’ll do that right away.’ She glanced at the white board once more, and frowned. ‘It says there that Ross McGregor is overseeing her case—perhaps I would do better looking at other patients?’
Shona shook her head. ‘He’s overseeing all the cases. I think he has it in mind to change the way we do things here. Nothing’s actually been said to that effect, but you know how it is, you get the feeling that’s going to happen.’
‘Yes, I know what you mean.’ He wasn’t one to let the grass grow under his feet, was he?
Katie went in search of the baby, and found her sitting on her mother’s lap, crying fretfully.
Shona had already linked her to the monitors, so that Katie could see straight away that the infant’s blood oxygen level was low and her heart rate was well above normal.
Katie introduced herself to the mother, and after talking to her for a minute or two about the baby’s condition she began to examine the infant. ‘She’ll be fine staying where she is, in your arms,’ she murmured. ‘I just need to listen to her chest, and I’ll check her ears and throat.’
‘She’s not been taking her bottle properly these last few days,’ her mother said. ‘She can’t breathe properly while she’s feeding and she brings it back up again.’
‘Yes, unfortunately that often happens with this kind of illness.’ Katie folded away her stethoscope and pushed it down into her jacket pocket. ‘She’s having quite a bit of trouble with her chest and her blood oxygen level is quite low, so I think we need to admit her for a few days. We’ll keep her on humidified oxygen, and I’ll prescribe medication to ease the problems in her lungs.’ She glanced at the woman, a pretty, dark-haired girl in her twenties. ‘Do you have any questions you’d like to ask me?’
‘Not really—only that I want to stay with her. Will that be okay?’
Katie nodded, and said with a smile, ‘Of course. I’ll ask the nurse to come and talk to you about that.’
‘Thanks.’
The mother adjusted the baby’s clothing, and then cradled her child over her shoulder to try to ease the congestion in her chest. Katie watched them, her mouth curving softly. That maternal tug at her heart was back again in full force, and she realised she was reluctant to move away to go and write up the infant’s chart.
‘Is everything in hand here?’ Ross came into the room a minute or so later, as she finished talking to the nurse who was assisting. Katie stiffened, immediately on edge, but if Ross noticed, he gave no sign of it. He nodded to the mother and then spoke to Katie in a low voice. ‘How is it going? Are you admitting the baby?’
‘Yes. I’ve ordered tests, but I suspect it’s bronchiolitis on top of a viral infection.’ She finished writing up the chart and then looked at him as they walked together to the triage area.
Today he was wearing a dark, beautifully tailored suit, with the jacket undone to reveal a crisp, pale-coloured shirt teamed with a subtly patterned tie. He looked good, as ever, and she wished he didn’t always have this effect on her of making her heart beat that little bit faster and bringing warm colour to her cheeks. She tucked a strand of burnished chestnut hair behind her ear and pulled in a deep breath.
‘I know you’ve been to see Mr Haskins,’ he said, throwing her a quick, cautious look, ‘so you must have heard the news about the job.’
She nodded. ‘Were you expecting me to congratulate you?’ That sounded churlish, she knew, and she regretted the words as soon as they were out. She clamped her mouth shut.
He shook his head and said quietly, ‘I’m sorry it had to come at your expense.’ He sent her an oblique glance. ‘Do you think you’ll be able to come to terms with it?’
Her expression was grim. ‘That might take a while.’ She didn’t want to talk about the effect his promotion had had on her. Instead, she said tautly, ‘It’ll mean a big change for you, won’t it? After all, you’re not used to staying in one place long, are you? Finn said you’d never put down roots anywhere before this. Does that mean you’re planning on using this as a stop-gap? Perhaps you’ll be moving on again in a couple of years or so.’
For her, it would have been the culmination of a long-term ambition, an opportunity to establish herself here, close to the place where she had lived her whole life. She had envisaged the changes she might make, and she knew deep down that she would have stayed here for years to come, doing the job she loved.
‘There’s always that possibility, I suppose, but I must say this job is pretty much everything I’ve been aiming for. I’ll be in overall control of the A and E departments here—adult and paediatric—and I’ll have a say in the administration of the wider region.’ He made a wry smile. ‘I expect that will keep me occupied for quite some time.’
‘So you’ll be buying a house over here? That must be another new experience for you.’ The fact of him being here was something she had to get used to, but as yet she had no idea how she would deal with it.
They reached the main desk, and Katie studied the board for the name of her next patient.
‘It is.’ He nodded. ‘I’m looking forward to it. Actually, I’ve already put in an offer for the Loch Sheirach property. Do you remember how we used to go over there and look at it when we were in our teens? It’s been empty for a few weeks so, if the owner accepts, things could start to move quickly.’
Her heart gave an uncomfortable lurch. He was buying that house, out of all others? What more could he do to turn the knife?
‘I do. It’s a lovely house,’ she said on a wistful note. She passed by the loch occasionally, whenever she took the scenic route home, and she always looked for a glimpse of the white-painted house that nestled in the wooded valley.
It was the sort of house she dreamed about, with two large gables, several chimneys and an extended south side. There were plenty of large windows from which she guessed there would be magnificent views over the loch.
‘I’ve always thought so,’ he agreed. ‘I’m lucky that it’s come on sale just at the right time for me.’
‘Who’d have thought you would ever come back to the island to stay?’ she murmured distractedly. ‘When you left, all those years ago, you hinted that you might not return. There was a lot of bad feeling at the time and no one would ever have imagined you would be keen to settle down here, ever again.’
His mouth slanted. ‘I was very young. I’ve had plenty of time since then to work through my resentment and disillusion, and I’ve learned to put it to one side. Besides, there are other reasons for me to want to be back here.’ He was silent for a moment, his blue eyes brooding as he met her gaze, and for a second or two a flicker of deep-seated emotion burned in her heart. Was he hinting that he wanted to be with her?
She quickly quelled that thought. They might have got close once or twice in the past, and recently there was no denying that an attraction existed between them, but she wasn’t naive enough to believe that Ross was suddenly ready to settle down into a relationship.
‘Other reasons?’ she queried, keeping a level tone.
He straightened, frowning, and she had a horrible feeling that he’d read her mind.
‘Yes,’ he said quietly. He hesitated. ‘Finn, for instance. He’s at a difficult age and he needs guidance, someone who will listen to him and understand his point of view.’
She swallowed hard, struggling to bring her conflicting emotions under control. What had she expected? Did she really think he might want to be here just for her? She said softly, ‘And your father isn’t the one to do that, or his mother?
’
He shook his head. ‘My father is very single-minded, and doesn’t often take note of any point of view if it differs from his own. As to Finn’s mother, she loves him dearly, but she won’t go against my father.’
‘That’s unfortunate.’ She sent him an oblique glance. ‘You’re obviously still not thinking about trying for a reconciliation?’
He gave a short, resigned laugh. ‘I’ve spoken to my father since I’ve been back here, believe me, I’ve tried, but he’s a hard man to deal with. He bottles things up inside, and whatever’s gone on in the past, he’s not prepared to forgive and forget. He didn’t like the fact that I left, or that I joined the army.’ He hesitated and a bleak look of resignation flickered in his dark eyes. ‘There doesn’t seem to be any moving on where he’s concerned.’
Something in his expression tugged at her emotions and a sudden rush of sympathy overrode any self-imposed warnings about not getting involved with him. Beneath his rugged, self-contained exterior she caught a glimpse of the confused young boy who was struggling to understand what lay behind the actions of his remote and unyielding father.
‘It must be really difficult for you.’ She felt an overwhelming urge to put her arms around him and show him that she cared, but that would have been foolhardy in the extreme, so instead she sucked in a quick breath and said cautiously, ‘Have you any idea why you and he find it so difficult to get along? After all, you’re his son, his firstborn. He must surely care for you, deep down. Perhaps he doesn’t know how to show it?’
He frowned. ‘You may be right. I don’t know why we couldn’t sort things out. As you know, I reacted badly after my mother died, but that wasn’t all of it. Perhaps I blamed him for being away on business all the time. Who knows? Maybe he felt guilty about that, too, but he couldn’t show it. He always hid his feelings behind a tough exterior.’
He sighed. ‘Whatever the reason, we never hit it off. We were never really close. And I was the sort of boy who was into everything, exploring, climbing and getting into trouble. The total opposite of him, in fact.’