by Anne Fraser
No, he had never forgotten her, or their first kiss. She’d been sweet and pure and unimaginably exciting. He hadn’t meant things to get so out of hand but he’d been mad at the way she was always picked on and, yes, damn it, he had longed to kiss her. He just hadn’t anticipated it would be quite so thorough and consuming and arousing. Until they’d been caught and he’d been cast as the evil wrong-doer.
The dogs bounded around them, snapping him from his thoughts and back to the present. It was time to head back but not before he had explained something to Francesca.
‘After the kiss, I was ordered to stay away from you at school. Outside it I could never get close to you because of your mother. The day I finished my final exam I got home to find my father starting on my mother. I hit back. It felt good to do it, to protect Ma, to not let him get away scot-free, but it meant I had to leave there and then or goodness knows what would have happened—to her or to me. I was hurt and bleeding. I grabbed my stuff, made my promise to Ma and headed south to London. I hated leaving her. And you. But I had no choice that day, Chessie. I feared what he would have done had I stayed.’
‘Luke…’
Overwhelmed by powerful emotions, Francesca didn’t know what to say, but she recognised the truth of his words. Inside she cried for what he had been through. The woman she was now was proud of him for all he had achieved. The girl she had been still felt hurt and confused and abandoned.
‘As soon as I had established myself in London, I sent for Ma,’ he told her, taking her hand again as they headed into the woods, taking the path that wound back down the hill towards the castle. ‘She lived with me until my father died. With the threat from him gone, and with Jon and Pete having left town to follow their own paths to self-destruction or redemption, Ma was determined to move back to Strathlochan. I helped her buy the town house, and I bought a place for myself in case circumstances changed and I ever came back. It was a good investment, and it was rented out until recently. Now I’ve moved in.’
Luke’s explanation surprised her—not that he had helped his mother but that he had owned a house here all that time. ‘I had no idea.’
‘I know.’ He halted at the gate, turning to face her. ‘Until two weeks ago I’d only come back to Strathlochan twice before in ten years. The first time I was twenty-one and I hadn’t been able to forget you or stop worrying about you. I needed to see you, Chessie, to know you were all right, but Ma and I discovered you had left the previous year and no one knew where you or your mother had gone. I couldn’t find you.’
He’d thought of her? Come back for her? Tried to find her? Francesca found it difficult to breathe as she considered the implications of Luke’s admission. Before she could form any thoughts, let alone words, Luke opened the gate and they walked back down through the castle grounds towards the main entrance. As they neared the road, Luke let go of her hand so that they could call the dogs to them and put them back on their leads. She was uncomfortable to realise just how much she missed his touch and the contact between them. Murphy and Harry bounded up to them and she watched Luke make a fuss of them, warmed by the way in which he had befriended both the dogs. It meant a lot to her. Quite why it should matter increased her unease and confusion.
They made their way back to the rescue centre on the outskirts of town in silence. Francesca found her thoughts centred on Luke, not only on the meaning of all he had admitted to her but on the undeniable bond between them. She was drawn to him in a way she couldn’t explain. He had always been a loner, just like her. In his teens he’d had a touch-me-not shield in which he had seemed to cloak himself, letting few people in. Except his mother. And, Francesca now realised with a sense of awe and uncertainty, herself. The past, the effects his father had had on him, still remained, scarring him, shaping him, but he’d broken free, had made something of himself, as she had instinctively known he would.
Talking to Luke made her aware of how much the years of her mother’s control still affected her. True, she had made her own escape, but she had stepped out into the world alone…angry, scared, betrayed, and determined never to allow anyone else to gain control of her or her life again. Maybe that explained why she held something back from the friendships she had made since she had been back in Strathlochan. She was closest to Annie, but she had never told her anything about her past, her mother, her athletics, or allowed Annie to see the real person inside her. Only with Luke did she feel safe enough to be herself. That was both comforting and frightening.
Back at the rescue centre, she gave Murphy and Harry a hug, hating to see such social, people-loving dogs shut away in their run. She finished up her chores and then went to meet Luke, surprised to find him talking to the centre manager by the office. With a shock of white hair, Sally Hislop, now in her sixties, had devoted her life to animals. She had extraordinary energy and drive, and she was very much a maverick who didn’t suffer fools gladly. Luke, it seemed, had passed Sally’s test of acceptance.
‘He’s all right, this one,’ Sally remarked as Francesca joined them. ‘You can bring him back any time.’
High praise from Sally, Francesca knew. ‘If he wants to,’ she murmured, embarrassed and unsure how to respond.
‘I definitely want to,’ Luke admitted, sharing what looked like a conspiratorial smile with Sally.
Puzzled, Francesca said her goodbyes and led the way outside, glancing up at the darkening clouds moving in over the distant hills. ‘It looks like rain.’
‘Sure does,’ Luke agreed, unlocking the doors to his four-by-four. ‘Hop in.’
Having promised herself she would spend some time away from Luke, she felt contrarily let down when the short drive to her flat was completed and he showed no sign of getting out of the car.
‘Thanks for today,’ she said, masking her unwanted disappointment as she unfastened her seat belt and opened the door.
‘Thank you, Chessie. I had a lovely time.’ Luke’s hand on her arm prevented her leaving. ‘Have you thought any more about tomorrow?’
She had, despite trying not to. She’d been shocked over breakfast when Luke had asked her to go with him to Glentown-on-Firth, a village to the west of Strathlochan. He had to deliver something on behalf of his former boss, Professor James Fielding-Smythe, he’d said, and had been asked to lunch with local GPs Conor and Kate Anderson. She’d never met the Andersons, having avoided the twice-yearly, fundraising get-togethers arranged for all the region’s health, fire, police and rescue services, but their names were familiar from request forms referring patients for X-rays, scans and other investigations.
‘Um…’ she hedged, undecided. Not only did the thought of meeting strangers daunt her, but she knew she should say no and keep some distance between Luke and herself. The trouble was, a traitorous part of her yearned to be with him. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Please, Chessie. I’d really like you to come and keep me company. It would mean a lot to me.’
Oh, hell! How could she resist him when he used that low husky voice and turned that seductive, sultry green gaze on her? ‘OK.’ Her whispered agreement was out before she could halt it.
‘Great!’ Luke’s smile sucked all the air from her lungs and turned her insides to mush. ‘You’re a star.’
He leaned across and pressed a chaste, all-too-brief kiss on her lips before moving away. Bemused, she slipped out of the car, finding her legs decidedly shaky.
‘I’ll pick you up at eleven in the morning,’ Luke promised, restarting the engine. ‘Bye, Chessie.’
‘Bye.’
She closed the car door and headed up the path, turning to wave when she realised Luke was waiting to see her safely inside. He waved back. Even across the distance separating them she felt the potent touch of his gaze. Then he was pulling away from the kerb and she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
The flat felt empty and unwelcoming as she walked restlessly around, changing her clothes and heading to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. There
were still traces of Luke—the empty bakery bag left on the kitchen counter, the remains of the delicious local honey, the mug he had used for his coffee, washed and upturned on the drainer to dry.
A shiver rippled through her and Francesca wrapped her arms around herself. She wasn’t cold. She was scared… scared that Luke was becoming far too important a fixture in her life.
Now she had agreed to spend the day with him tomorrow.
What was she doing?
And where was it all going to end?
CHAPTER SIX
FRANCESCA was no closer to answering any of her questions the next day. She sat beside Luke as he drove west towards Glentown-on-Firth, unable to make sense of her own warring feelings.
Telling herself that she wanted nothing more from Luke than friendship hadn’t stopped her feeling horribly disappointed that he hadn’t kissed her again. No more than a brief brush of his lips across hers as he had greeted her on arrival before he had introduced her to their unexpected travelling companion—an enormous cuddly elephant, who took up much of the backseat. The soft toy was the reason for their trip, she discovered, being Professor James Fielding-Smythe’s present for Conor and Kate Anderson’s daughter, Rebecca, whose third birthday was in a few days’ time.
‘Why an elephant?’ she had asked, unable to help smiling.
‘Apparently Conor and Kate were given sponsorship of an orphaned baby elephant in Kenya as a wedding present. They visited the elephant orphanage on their honeymoon and have continued to foster ever since,’ Luke had explained, surprising her with the story. ‘I gather Rebecca has always been fascinated with “their” baby, and elephants in general, and the prof knew she would love this toy.’
‘It’ll be bigger than she is!’
Luke’s chuckle had filled her with warmth and a secret longing she had tried hard to ignore. ‘More than likely.’
Overnight rain had left things fresh but after a cool start the April day was turning warm and sunny. As they left Strathlochan behind, Francesca sat back and enjoyed the countryside, acknowledging that Luke had been right…it was good to get out and have a change of scenery. She glanced back at the fluffy elephant and smiled again. The toy was going to swamp a three-year-old. Luke, ever thoughtful, had bought a card and a couple of storybooks for Rebecca’s birthday and had invited Francesca to sign the card. It had felt strangely intimate to put her name next to his. He had also picked up a bottle of wine and some flowers for Conor and Kate.
They talked of neutral topics for most of the journey but Francesca found herself becoming more tense the closer they came to their destination. She knew little about the Andersons, so she asked Luke to fill her in before they arrived.
‘I’ve only met them once myself.’ His admission surprised her. ‘They were in London for some reason a year or two ago, and stopped by the hospital to see the prof,’ he continued. ‘Kate Fisher, as she was when once a trainee on his team, left to follow her first love—general practice. He was very disappointed that she gave up surgery and, much to Kate’s embarrassment, she was introduced to those of us working for him as the ideal we could never hope to emulate!’
‘So how did she end up here—and still in touch with the professor?’
Luke glanced across and smiled. ‘Now, there’s a tale.’
‘Go on,’ she invited, intrigued.
‘Kate volunteered for aid work in Africa. On her last stint she was caught up in some kind of civil war. Her brother was a freelance photojournalist working over there, too. I don’t know all the details,’ Luke admitted, his tone reflecting the seriousness of the situation, ‘but Kate was alone and having to deal with unimaginable casualties. Her brother was killed. And then Kate was hurt herself but kept working. By the time she was found and evacuated, she was in bad shape.’
Shocked, Francesca was silent for a moment, wondering how on earth Kate had coped in such dreadful and frightening circumstances. ‘What happened then?’
‘I think Kate went through a crisis of confidence, unsure if she could still be a doctor.’ Luke paused at a crossroads, checking the directions before making the turn down a quiet country lane. ‘The prof has an old friend in Glentown-on-Firth and he comes up here once a year to see Fred. The pair of them go salmon fishing,’ he continued with affectionate amusement. ‘Anyway, he arranged with Fred for Kate to come here and do some locum work to ease her back in and give her a quiet environment in which to recover.’
‘And it worked, obviously.’
‘Absolutely.’ Again Luke chuckled. ‘Conor was—is—Fred’s partner in the practice. He and Kate fell in love. It took time, but Conor helped Kate conquer her demons and regain her confidence. They married not long afterwards and Kate settled here as another partner, allowing Fred to reduce his hours.’
It was a heart-warming story and Francesca couldn’t help but be moved by it. Whilst she was interested in meeting the couple, she felt intimidated, too. She really wasn’t good with people on a social level. She glanced down at what she was wearing, still uncertain about her outfit. It wasn’t often that she wore dresses or skirts, but she had wanted to make an effort for the Andersons—and for Luke. From her eclectic wardrobe she had chosen a floaty patterned skirt in a mix of greens and blues, teaming it with a long-sleeved white top and flat shoes because of her height. She had tied her hair back in a loose ponytail, her wayward bouncy curls fanning down her back to her waist. From the appreciation in Luke’s eyes when he had seen her—the memory of which still made her tingle—she looked OK.
Without the shield of her work persona, however, Francesca felt nervous. ‘Conor and Kate won’t mind me coming with you, will they?’ she fretted, her fingers fiddling with the catch of her bag which rested in her lap.
‘Of course not. Don’t worry, Chessie. They’re looking forward to meeting you.’
Luke’s comments did nothing to calm the flight of butterflies conducting aerobatic manoeuvres in her stomach. He surprised her then, reaching out to take one of her hands in his, holding it against the firmness of his thigh so she could feel the heat of him and the play of muscle through the cotton of his chinos. He gave her fingers a squeeze before returning his hand to the steering-wheel and it was a moment before she realised she had allowed her own fingers to linger on his thigh. Hastily, she snatched her hand back, disturbed by how much she wanted to touch him. All over.
‘They’ll love you,’ he reassured her, voice low and husky. ‘How can they not?’
She felt both warmed and unsettled by his words but she had no more time to dwell on them—or on her own salacious thoughts—because they were pulling into the gravelled drive of Conor and Kate’s house. On the edge of the village and hidden from view by a high hedge, it was set back from the road and on a slight rise, allowing great views over the Solway Firth to the south and the Galloway hills to the north. Built of granite, the house was mostly long and low with a white-painted, two-storey addition at one end with a pitched slate roof and two chimneys. It was a gorgeous place, and even as she climbed out of the car she was admiring the large verdant garden stretching away from the house.
Before Francesca had time to catch her breath, Luke had taken her hand and was leading her forward. The front door opened before they reached it and a smiling woman, wearing a mulberry-coloured jersey dress, stepped out to greet them. In her mid-thirties, Francesca judged, Kate Anderson was beautiful. Her glossy walnut brown hair fell to her shoulders, while her dark brown eyes were warm with welcome.
‘Luke, it’s lovely to see you again.’
‘You, too, Kate.’
Francesca felt a knot in her stomach as Kate kissed Luke on both cheeks and then turned to her with a smile, the unexpected hug taking her by surprise. ‘And you must be Francesca. I’m so delighted to meet you and put a face to the name after all this time. Our patients always come back from the hospital after scans and X-rays saying how marvellous you have been and we appreciate that you take such good care of them.’
‘Th
ank you,’ Francesca managed, feeling overwhelmed, conscious of Luke stepping closer and resting a reassuring hand at the small of her back, as if he was aware how nervous she felt.
‘Conor will be back shortly…he was called to see a patient. We were out late last night seeing friends—Kyle and Alexandra Sinclair. You might know of them, they work at the Rigtownbrae practice,’ Kate added as an aside, and Francesca nodded, again recognising Kyle’s name from hospital paperwork. Kate smiled and continued. ‘Rebecca stayed with her grandparents. My dad retired up here and married Aileen, our practice manager. Conor is collecting Rebecca on his way home.’
‘I’ll sneak her present in now, then,’ Luke decided, returning to the car and manoeuvring the huge plush elephant out after a bit of a struggle.
‘Oh, my! It’s twice the size of Rebecca!’ Kate exclaimed. ‘Where on earth are we going to hide it? The prof is an idiot!’
‘It was his last act of revenge because he couldn’t talk me out of leaving. Can you imagine how I felt, carrying this through the hospital from his office? I was teased mercilessly,’ Luke moaned, pulling a face and making them both laugh.
‘You poor thing! Still, Rebecca is going to adore it,’ Kate admitted, giving the squishy trunk a squeeze. ‘The trouble is she’ll want to take it everywhere!’
Carrying the wine, flowers and present for Rebecca, Francesca followed Luke and Kate into the house. As she waited while a hiding place was found for the jumbo-sized jumbo, Luke’s remark reminded her that she still hadn’t discovered his third reason for giving up his promising career in London to return to Scotland.
Inside, the house proved to be just as lovely as the outside suggested, with a warm, welcoming feel. Kate, open and friendly, took them through to the large farmhouse kitchen and while their hostess, delighted with the gifts, put the flowers in a vase, both Francesca and Luke made a fuss of the Andersons’ two beautiful grey cats, Smoky and Willow.