‘We don’t know precisely what the injury is yet—and personally I wouldn’t want you to have a quick fix that might mask something serious. If you started to train, thinking it felt better, it might leave you with a lifelong injury.’
‘That’s right, Doctor,’ interjected Mrs Houseman, shooting a belligerent glance at her son. ‘You tell him what to do—he might take it from you. He’s a law unto himself, that one!’
Rosie went back to her seat and regarded the antagonistic mother and son. She could guess that there were stormy times in that household sometimes!
‘I can’t magic it better, Chris—it’ll take time and treatment. Do you remember when the pain first started?’
‘A few days back—while I was doing a five-mile run. It got more and more painful until I could only hobble. I’ve felt it a few times before, but it’s always settled down. Now I couldn’t run from a swarm of bees! But I’ve got to keep up the training, otherwise it’s years of hard work down the tube—and they’ll pick my brother instead of me!’
Rosie raised her eyebrows. ‘You’re competing against each other, then?’
‘It’s like ruddy warfare in our house,’ remarked his mother with resignation. ‘I knew if I didn’t drag Chris here to see you, he wouldn’t come at all. Chris and Roy may be twins, but they’re always trying to be one up on each other!’
‘It may be just a local inflammation of the joint lining—synovitis, or a torn ligament,’ explained Rosie. ‘But it could possibly be haemarthrosis—bleeding into the joint. Whatever, you’re going to have to rest that knee if it’s going to heal.’
‘How long for?’ Chris’s young face looked dismayed ‘The season starts next month—I can’t miss any of the competitions.’
‘If you don’t have it seen to, triathlons could be a distant memory!’ remarked Rosie, typing some notes into her computer. ‘I’m going to send you to the orthopaedic department at Porlstone General. The best way to find out what you’ve done is to have a tiny camera inserted in the knee that can assess the damage, and you may need to have fluid drained from it. You’ll get a letter with the date of the appointment, and in the meantime I’ll give you some anti-inflammatory tablets to try and reduce the swelling. Possibly the consultant may suggest physiotherapy.’
Chris shrugged. ‘Yeah, yeah.’ He stuck his underlip out and gazed mulishly at the ground. ‘I still don’t see why I can’t have some cortisone injections—footballers have them.’
‘I think we’ll just see what kind of injury you’ve incurred,’ said Rosie patiently. ‘Remember, even if it feels better after a few days’ rest, I want you to keep off it till we’ve got an opinion on that.’
‘I’ll keep him to it, Doctor,’ said Mrs Houseman grimly. ‘I’m sick of injuries in our house. Broken noses, arms, black eyes—we’ve had the lot! Casualty’s my second home with my two!’
‘Oh, give it a rest, Mum. Don’t go on about it…’
Chris’s mother raised her eyes to the ceiling. ‘Kids, eh? They were such easy little things when they were young—drive me mad now!’
Rosie chuckled to herself as they went out. It was hard to imagine her little Amy being a moody teenager, but she supposed this was a taste of the future. She appreciated that the teenager was taking out his disappointment to the world in general, but it wasn’t easy for his mother. Getting to know her new patients and their backgrounds was part of the interest of her job, she reflected as she finished writing up Chris’s notes. Some patients were very wary of her, others were keen to meet the new doctor and a few came to her because they thought they had a fresh ear to listen to their woes!
It was a long morning’s surgery—often the case on a Monday when people stored up their illnesses from the weekend. After she’d dealt with several sore throats, a child with a hacking cough and a pregnant woman with a rash, Rosie noted with relief that she’d just got one more patient—and then perhaps the reward of a lovely hot cup of coffee!
Just as she was about to buzz for the patient, the senior partner, Ben Cummings, put his head round the door.
‘Nearly done and dusted?’ he enquired. He came in, looking rather tired and dishevelled. ‘How did the weekend go? Useful, was it?’
‘Yes, rather good, although there was a lot of emphasis on deprived inner city areas. Porlstone doesn’t quite fall into that category.’
‘You’d be surprised. It looks quite prosperous, but there’s a few pockets of real poverty around. Anyway,’ he said briskly, ‘sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to let you know that we’ve had a bit of a hiccup. Unfortunately Roddy had an accident at the weekend—fell off that darned horse he’s always galloping about on, and fractured a bone in his lumbar spine.’
Rosie looked in dismay at Ben. Roddy Turner was the other partner, full of energy and ideas.
‘That’s awful,’ she gasped. ‘It must be agonising. I take it he’s in hospital?’‘Yes, he’s in Porlstone General and will be for some time, I think, until they’re sure the fracture’s healed.’
‘Poor man. I’ll pop in and see him with some magazines when I can—it must be difficult for Kathy with the new baby.’
Kathy was Roddy’s wife and rather isolated as they lived in the country.
‘Good idea. I know he’s champing at the bit to get back, but that’s out of the question, of course, for a few weeks. The only good news is that Roddy’s managed to find a friend he was at medical school with who can fill in here. Apparently this chap’s very experienced and can come immediately—just finished a locum job in a practice near here. He’s due here at lunchtime, so I’ll buzz you when he comes and you can meet him.’
Ben sighed heavily. ‘Poor Roddy. I am sorry for him, but selfishly I was hoping to have some time off myself and go on holiday with the family. Have to put that on the back burner now.’
Rosie looked sympathetically at him. She’d met Ben’s large and boisterous family, and knew he needed a break. ‘Perhaps we could see how this new man measures up,’ she suggested. ‘If he can cope, so can I—and you could get off for a while.’
‘Perhaps,’ said Ben cautiously as he went out.
Rosie bit her lip. This locum had a lot to live up to if he was to fill Roddy Turner’s shoes. Roddy was such a cheery man, always willing to lend a sympathetic ear and be totally supportive, whether it was medical advice or advice on dealing with a difficult patient. As a new girl in the job, she would miss him very much. Ben, although pleasant, had a tendency to be nervous and slightly impatient—she was rather wary of going to him with a problem. It seemed that just as she was starting to feel at home in the practice, she’d have to adjust to another personality.
She sighed. That was just a selfish way of looking at the situation, and surely she’d soon get used to this new guy. She brought up the name of her next patient, Harry Rothwell, a fifty-six-year-old who would normally have seen Roddy Turner.
He was an enormous man with a ruddy complexion. He could have been suffering from myriad illnesses, thought Rosie, from heart disease to diabetes, although none showed up on his notes. There was something intimidating in the way he leaned forward in the chair, fixing her with pale blue eyes, but he sounded affable enough.
‘I need some antibiotics,’ he announced without preamble. ‘My throat’s sore.’
Patients seem very keen on prescribing for themselves, thought Rosie dryly to herself, thinking back to Chris Houseman’s demands for cortisone injections!
‘I’d better look at your throat first, Mr Rothwell,’ she said. ‘It could be viral, in which case antibiotics wouldn’t help at all—they could even hinder your recovery.’
He looked at her suspiciously. ‘It won’t go, you know—not without antibiotics.’
He opened his mouth, however, and Rosie flashed her torch onto the back of his throat, then felt the glands at the side of his neck.
‘It is rather red,’ she confirmed, ‘but there’s no exudate or pus on the tonsils. The spread of inflamed tissue definitely
has a viral look, and your glands are slightly enlarged. I’d rather you took some paracetomol and waited a few days.’Harry Rothwell stood up and looked down at her belligerently. ‘Look here—you’re new, aren’t you? Well, then, I’m telling you Dr Turner always gives me antibiotics when I need them. I’d rather have seen him anyway—where is he? I made my appointment with him. I don’t like being fobbed off with a rookie.’
Rosie held her temper with difficulty and kept her voice even. ‘He’s had an accident and won’t be able to see patients for a while. You said you wanted an urgent appointment and I was able to see you.’ Then she added firmly, ‘And I’m afraid I’m not giving you antibiotics if I don’t think you need them. Come back next week if your throat is still bad—until then I suggest you gargle with antiseptic solution or salt in warm water and have plenty to drink.’
Harry Rothwell glared at her. ‘This is bloody nonsense—call yourself a doctor! I might as well have asked my dog for advice! I’ll tell you something for nothing. Until Dr Turner comes back I’ll go to the other one—he might get me what I need!’
He gave her a final glare and stumped out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Rosie leant back in her chair and puffed out her cheeks. Was this the price of being new to the practice—people trying to bully you to get what you wanted? She shrugged. She loved the variety of the patients that general practice exposed her to, but she hoped there weren’t too many like Harry Rothwell!
Rosie stood up and stretched, getting rid of the tension of the last few minutes. She wasn’t going to let it worry her, although she felt a little shaky, standing up to such an unpleasant man. The thought of a strong and soothing cup of coffee was very appealing!
The buzzer sounded, and the voice of Maria Firman, one of the receptionists, came through.
‘The new locum’s arrived a little early—Dr Cummings asks if you’d like to go through to his room and meet him now if you’re free.’
‘Sure, I’ll come immediately.’
Rosie stood up and smoothed down her skirt, glanced at herself in the little mirror in her drawer and went out. She passed the reception area as she went, where Maria was sorting out correspondence. She looked up at Rosie for a second and grinned at her.
‘You’ve managed to survive the dreaded Mr Rothwell, then? He gives us receptionists hell sometimes!’
So the man had a reputation for awkwardness! Somehow it was rather comforting to feel he treated everyone the same way. ‘He wasn’t the easiest,’ confessed Rosie.
‘Never mind. You’ll cheer up when you see the new locum—talk about drop-dead gorgeous,’ Maria whispered. ‘He’s a complete knockout!’
Rosie raised her eyebrows in mock severity, and said primly, ‘Is he a good doctor, though?’
Maria giggled. ‘I wouldn’t know that—I only know he makes my pulses race!’
Rosie laughed to herself as she went into Ben’s room. She’d seen some of Maria’s boyfriends—they weren’t her idea of hunks, being built on the lines of heavyweight boxers with shaved heads and tight T-shirts that showed bulging muscles. If that was the type that made Maria’s pulse race, it would make interesting viewing!
Rosie gave a quick knock and pushed the door open. Ben was standing at his desk with a man beside him—a tall, rangy man with russet hair and very blue eyes. Quite suddenly Rosie’s throat constricted so that she could hardly breathe. She stared at the man in disbelief, wondering if she was going completely mad. Was she seeing things?
‘Ah,’ said Ben jovially. ‘Can I introduce you to our new locum? Meet Andy Templeton, our knight in shining armour come to rescue us! Andy, this is my colleague, Rosie Loveday. Perhaps we could all sit down and have some coffee and get to know each other a little better!’
There was no disguising the expression of astonishment on both their faces. Andy’s eyes locked with hers in incredulity—even Ben Cummings noticed it. ‘Have you two met before, then?’ he said in surprise.
An amused, quizzical glint replaced the astounded look in Andy’s eyes. ‘We met for the first time this weekend at the conference, didn’t we, Rosie?’ he said lightly. ‘We got to know each other rather well in one day—abseiled and coped with an accident in the afternoon, and then I had the pleasure of escorting her for a very enjoyable evening. Talk about coincidence!’
He’d enjoyed the evening so much he couldn’t even be bothered to keep an appointment with me the next morning, thought Rosie wryly. Her heart began to hammer so hard she was sure both men could see it rattling her chest.
‘Yes,’ she said faintly, ‘Talk about coincidence!’
‘Well, that’s great…no need for introductions, then! I’ll just go and get Maria to set up some decent coffee for us.’
Ben marched out of the room and there was a second’s silence, then Andy stepped towards Rosie, putting his hand on her shoulder.
‘This is extraordinary,’ he said in a low voice. ‘I tried so hard to get in touch with you after I missed you in the morning—I didn’t think our paths would cross so soon.’
An inward mirthless laugh went through Rosie. What a smoothie—she could imagine him saying that to all the women he had liaisons with…
He looked at her earnestly. ‘I’m really sorry I couldn’t get to meet you at breakfast-time. I felt terrible when I realised you’d gone straight after the lecture, but something cropped up…’
Rosie looked up at him coolly and stepped back from his light hold on her shoulder. ‘It’s quite all right—you don’t need to explain, Andy. It was of no consequence…’
He looked at her keenly, his glance taking in her aloof expression. ‘For God’s sake, Rosie, I’d like to explain. I didn’t mean to be rude—’
‘Look, say no more about it—I understand completely,’ she said sharply. ‘We were just ships that passed in the night, weren’t we? And, of course, I knew it was only a loose arrangement that we’d see each other on Sunday morning.’
An unreadable expression flitted across his face, his blue eyes holding hers for a heart-stopping, searching moment. ‘Is that what you thought?’ he said quietly. ‘I imagined it might mean more than that to you.’
Rosie blushed. No way was she going to let him know that she’d thought of nothing but their time together since she’d last seen him, when it had meant so little to him! She wouldn’t hold anything over him in any way, frighten him by assuming some long-term relationship because of their night together. She forced her voice to sound light, inconsequential.‘Look, it was a great weekend, really worthwhile. I enjoyed meeting you, and we had a lot of fun together!’
Andy nodded slowly, one eyebrow raised sardonically. ‘I see. Well, I’m glad I contributed to the fun…’
There was a biting edge to his tone and the atmosphere seemed to drop several degrees. A flood of relief went over Rosie as the door flew open and Ben appeared again, bearing a large tray with coffee and biscuits.
‘Right!’ Ben said briskly. ‘Well, apparently you two know quite a bit about each other already from the weekend, so let’s fill Andy in on the practice.’ He sat down and took a swift gulp of coffee. ‘To be brief, we’re a three-handed practice with about nine thousand patients in the Porlstone area—and we have an agency to deal with most night calls. We do have a Saturday hospital surgery that we share with other practices in the area, so we only get about one in five weeks to do.’
Andy nodded. ‘That’s similar to the practice I’ve just been at. It seems to be a good arrangement.’
Ben looked at him curiously. ‘You never thought of working permanently in practice, then? I’d have thought locum work was a little disjointed—especially at your age.’
Andy shrugged. ‘I have…commitments,’ he said after a short pause. ‘I like to be reasonably free to take off more time than I could working as a partner. If my circumstances change, then I think I’d like something more settled.’
Just what ‘commitments’ did he have? wondered Rosie. Perhaps he had a wife and six children,
or even a business that demanded his attention. Whatever, she would probably only get to know the barest details. She would keep well away from Andy Templeton socially—from now on their relationship would be strictly professional!
She bit her lip. On reflection, it was going to be difficult to think of Andy as purely a colleague—even to be in the same room as him made her senses tingle. How could she work beside the man when every time she looked at his strong face she remembered it hovering a few inches over her own, his blue eyes holding hers, his firm mouth taking her lips, demanding, teasing and incredibly sexy?
Rosie swallowed. She had to stop thinking like this and concentrate on the matter in hand! To her intense relief, the buzzer sounded on Ben’s desk. Maria’s voice floated over the room.
‘Sorry to interrupt, Dr Cummings. There’s a call for Dr Loveday from a Mrs Joan Duthie—she’s concerned about her father, Bert Lavin. Could the doctor give him a home visit? She’s worried about him—he seems rather poorly.’
Rosie nodded and flicked a look at her watch. ‘Tell her I’m on my way, Maria. It’s nearly lunchtime so I’ll go now.’ She turned to the two men and said wryly, ‘Wish me luck! It’s not the patient I dread—it’s his dogs! Mr Lavin has two huge Alsatians and they’re absolutely terrifying! He’s an eighty-seven-year-old with signs of heart failure—and it’s hard to examine someone with two slavering dogs at your elbow!’
To her surprise, Andy stood up. ‘Why don’t I come along? I’ve time on my hands today and, although I say it myself, I’ve a magic touch with dogs! At the very least I could distract them while you look at the patient!’
‘Great idea, Andy,’ said Ben before Rosie could say anything. ‘I don’t want another partner falling by the wayside!’
‘I’ll be fine…don’t worry,’ protested Rosie hastily, the thought of remaining in close proximity with Andy filling her with panic. ‘They aren’t really all that bad…’
‘No arguing,’ said Ben sternly. ‘I’ve visited Bert in the past, and I seem to remember I thought my last hour had come! Andy can go and protect you!’
Tempting Dr. Templeton Page 4