A Consultant Beyond Compare

by Joanna Neil

  ‘I’m round the back,’ she called to him from the side gate. ‘I’ll just finish off seeing to these flowers and then I’ll be ready to go.’ She grinned at him. ‘I can’t say the same for Jessica—she’s been straightening her hair for the last hour.’

  He gave her an answering smile as he came into the garden. ‘I don’t suppose you even think about doing that with yours. You’d be fighting a losing battle from the first, wouldn’t you?’ His gaze went to the mass of tawny curls that rioted around her temples and skimmed the delicate slope of her shoulders. ‘You look good,’ he said, his mouth tilting as his glance trailed over the smooth outline of her clinging cotton top and moved to caress the gently curving line of her hips. ‘I haven’t seen you in jeans for years, but I can definitely say that you fill them out well these days.’

  Her cheeks filled with faint warmth. He looked spectacular, she thought. He was wearing a casual shirt that matched the colour of his eyes, and was open at the neck to reveal the bronzed column of his throat. His chinos were dark, drawing her attention to the long line of his legs and the leanness of his flat stomach, so that she had to make herself take slow, even breaths to calm the quick tempo of her heartbeat.

  It wouldn’t do for her to get herself into a tizzy over him. He was being a good friend, spending time with her for old times’ sake, but she shouldn’t read anything more into it than that, should she? Neither of them was the same person they had been all those years ago. They had gone their separate ways, and life had changed each of them, so that now heading up a unit was his driving force and a yearning for family stability was hers. The childish part of them that had looked for mutual companionship had gone for ever.

  ‘I’ll just finish off here,’ she said, ‘and with any luck, Jessica will be ready to go.’ She emptied the dwindling contents of the watering can over the flower border that she was trying to nurture. ‘The garden’s a mess, and I really need to tackle it before the weeds take over, but other things keep getting in the way. I told myself I would make a start by planting this section and I’m hoping at least this part will be full of colour by mid summer.’

  ‘I expect it will all come together in the end,’ he said, looking around. ‘Actually, it’s not so bad. You’ve a lovely rockery in that corner, and a pleasant shrub garden over by the wall. I shouldn’t imagine it would take too much work to get it in order.’

  ‘Do you have a place of your own? You said that you lived not too far away from here, didn’t you?’

  ‘I have a house a few miles away. It’s stone built, the same as this one, but it’s more compact, a bit like a stable block with an upper storey. I quite like living there. The house is on a slope, looking out over the fells. It’s great in the summer, but not so good in the winter when there’s snow about. I have to dig my way out of the drive then,’ he said drily. ‘The garden’s a good size, and I can look out over the fields from there.’

  ‘It sounds lovely,’ she said. ‘We’re both a long way from the children’s home, aren’t we? I remember you said that you used to live in an old terraced house with your parents, and mine was much the same kind of property. My dad was struggling to make his way in a boat-building business, and there wasn’t much money to spare.’

  ‘I don’t recall much about my early years,’ he said. ‘Perhaps I’ve tried to blot them out.’

  She nodded. ‘I don’t suppose it mattered very much what kind of house we lived in as long as we had family around, but it didn’t work out that way for you, did it?’

  He shook his head, and Katie looked into his eyes, but his expression was unreadable. She shook the last drops of water over the plants and stared down at them for a moment or two, lost in thought.

  ‘I’ll put this away in the shed, and then we’ll go into the house and see how Jessica’s doing, shall we?’

  Thankfully, Jessica was ready at last, so they gathered up bags and jackets and hurried out to Alex’s car.

  ‘How long will this boat trip last?’ Jessica wanted to know when they were nearly at their destination. ‘Do we get to go up on deck?’

  ‘It depends whether we go on the full round trip or whether we stop off somewhere along the way,’ Alex answered. ‘We can always get back on another boat and continue the journey. You please yourself whether you go up on deck or spend some time in the cabin, whatever you want to do. They have a catering service on board, so we can have drinks and a meal while we watch the scenery go by.’

  ‘That’s cool,’ Jessica said. ‘I vote we go the whole round trip. That way I get to spend a lot of time on deck as well as having something to eat. Do they serve ice-cream desserts? I love ice cream, especially with fresh fruit.’

  ‘I imagine so.’ Alex gave her a quick glance in the rear-view mirror. ‘It sounds as though you’re looking forward to this trip. Have you never been out on the lake before?’

  ‘No, never. Do you think I’ll be seasick?’ Her mouth turned downwards as she pondered the possibility.

  ‘Let’s hope not.’ He teased. ‘I suppose that will depend on how much ice cream you scoff.’

  The boat was already moored by the side of the lake when they arrived at the dock, and they went on board and chose a prime position on the open deck.

  ‘Just look at that view,’ Jessica said, scanning the horizon and taking in the sweep of the landscape from Waterhead over the length of Lake Windermere. ‘It’s awesome.’

  Katie went to join her at the boat rail. ‘I should have brought my camera,’ she murmured. ‘You’re right, it’s beautiful…all those meandering swirls of water, and the wooded hillsides…and the houses tucked away in the valleys.’

  ‘You can use my camera, if you like.’ Alex handed it to her. ‘Whatever you take I’ll print out for you once we get back home. It’s a hobby of mine. I love collecting landscapes. They make me feel peaceful when everything else is chaotic.’

  ‘I can understand that. Thank you.’ Katie accepted his offer with a grateful smile as Jessica moved away to go and look out over the water from another vantage point. ‘How do I operate it?’

  ‘Like this.’ He came to stand behind her, the length of his body against hers, his arms coming around her to set the angle of the camera. ‘Look at the display screen or use the viewfinder, whichever you want. Then press this button. See?’

  ‘Yes. I see.’ Katie’s voice came out as a breathy whisper. She hadn’t been expecting the sudden closeness, and the fact that his arms were wrapped around her and his cheek was nestled close to hers made her senses soar in rippling disarray.

  She took several shots, thankful that she managed to keep her fingers steady, and then she handed the camera back to him.

  ‘I expect you have pictures from all around the world,’ she said. ‘You always said that you wanted to travel.’

  ‘Yes. But I’ve discovered that I actually love this part of England most of all.’ He looked over towards the houses that nestled among the trees on the distant shore. ‘I think my dream would be to live somewhere like that, in a perfect green setting, with a view that spanned the water and the mountains beyond.’

  ‘Me, too.’ She sent him an oblique glance. ‘You talked about the Lake District when we were young. Had you already visited this area?’

  ‘I had an aunt who lived around here when she was first married. She sent us pictures from time to time. My mother talked about her occasionally when she was in one of her better states, but we never came over here for a visit, and I think my aunt went to live abroad after a while, so we lost touch. My mother had thrown the photos into a drawer and forgotten about them, but I rescued them and put them into a folder.’

  ‘Do you see your parents at all? Are they still around?’

  ‘My father died of a drug overdose, and my mother went into rehab.’ He grimaced. ‘She was always in or out of rehab. I don’t think she could face up to life. I don’t know what went wrong, but her own family were never there for her and she just seemed to waft about, like driftwood be
ing tossed about on a beach. Having a child to look after was one problem too many, and I think she gave up. I do go and see her quite often, but it doesn’t always work out too well. She doesn’t seem to have the wherewithal to lift herself out of her cycle of drink and depression.’

  ‘I’m sorry. That must be hard for you.’

  ‘No, it isn’t. I knew a long while ago that I wasn’t going to be able to rely on my parents. I learned how to cope and I’m happy with the way my life is. I’m stronger for it, and my philosophy is that what you never have you never miss.’

  He laid a hand on the deck rail and turned his face towards the oncoming warm breeze, so that it ruffled his hair lightly. ‘It was because of my parents that I decided to take up medicine. I thought there had to be a way to help people and prevent them from getting into that state. I’m not sure that it’s always possible to do that, but I do what I can, and I found, in the end, that working in emergency medicine is the best place for me. It makes me feel good about myself.’

  His gaze drifted over her. ‘Strange, isn’t it, that you should make the same career move?’

  ‘Perhaps it is. I suppose, deep down, we must be two of a kind.’

  He smiled. ‘I think maybe we are.’ He moved closer to her, his head bending a little so that she could feel the warmth of his skin next to hers. His gaze was concentrated on the softness of her lips, and before she had time to guess his intent he was kissing her, a delicate brush of his mouth on hers, one that sent tremors of sweet sensation coursing through her entire body.

  His arm slid around her waist. ‘You know,’ he said in a roughened voice, ‘I’ve been wanting to do that ever since we met up at the hospital. I don’t know quite what came over me, but you looked so lost and distracted when you came away from your interview for the rehab post, and I wanted to gather you up and tell you that it didn’t matter.’

  ‘Did you?’ She gazed up at him. Try as she may, she couldn’t get her mind to function on a normal level. Her head was off in the clouds somewhere, waiting for her nervous system to realign itself, and it wasn’t going to do that any time soon, while he was holding her to him.

  Then he kissed her again and she was done for, because his lips pressured hers and the foundations of her world began to rock.

  ‘What are you two doing?’ Jessica’s voice came to her ears and the mist of heat that had wrapped itself around Katie and enveloped her in an enchanted bubble dissolved in a blast of cold air. ‘You’re not actually kissing, are you?’ She scowled. ‘And people have the nerve to tell me how to behave…This is a public place, you know.’

  Alex cautiously let his arm drop away from her and Katie looked dazedly at her sister. ‘I…We…It was just…’

  ‘We were getting to know one another all over again, that’s all.’ Alex said. ‘We used to be friends years ago.’

  ‘Oh, that’s a new one, I must say.’ Jessica’s tone was full of mockery. ‘You should watch out for him,’ she said, turning back to look at Katie. ‘All the nurses have a thing for him, you know. I heard them talking when I was in your restroom at the hospital. It seems to me you have a lot of competition there.’

  Alex lifted a brow at that. ‘It was just a kiss, Jessica.’

  Jessica pulled a face. ‘Well, it’s a good job nobody but me was looking.’

  Katie sent Alex a guarded look. She had to acknowledge that for all her innocence Jessica was probably right about the competition. Hadn’t he been cosying up to Sarah only yesterday? She tried to gather herself together.

  ‘It was nothing,’ she murmured. ‘Like Alex said, we knew each other a long time ago. Put it down to nostalgia.’

  ‘What’s that when it’s about?’ Jessica wrinkled her nose.

  ‘It means it’s time for us to go and get you some ice cream,’ Alex said. ‘Shall we go below deck?’

  ‘Oh, yes,’ Jessica said, brightening. ‘I’m up for that.’

  Katie gave a soft, shuddery sigh. It just went to show that a clear blue sky and a beautiful landscape could cloud her mind with the romance of the moment and banish her inhibitions into the mist. But Alex wasn’t the staying kind, was he? From now on she would have to keep a much tighter hold on her emotions where he was concerned.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  ‘YOU’RE looking very pleased with yourself.’ Katie’s glance flicked over Alex as she met him in the hospital cafeteria the next day. There was a spring in his step and he exuded energy from every pore.

  She scanned the display of desserts and paused to add a fruit salad to her tray, moving her curry and rice to one side to make room for it.

  ‘Yes, I think I am.’ He chose a roast dinner with a selection of vegetables and then moved further along the counter to pick out apple pie and cream for afterwards. ‘I’ve just come from a meeting with management, and things went a lot better than I expected.’

  Together they moved towards the cash desk to pay for their food, and then he began to look around for somewhere to sit. ‘Shall we go outside on to the terrace? It’s quiet out there and it’ll probably be more pleasant than staying indoors to eat. I yearn for fresh air after I’ve been cooped up inside for a while.’

  Katie could well imagine how he would do that. On the lake yesterday he had been in his element, standing by the boat’s rail gazing over the water and surrounding hills.

  ‘All right.’ She followed him outside to a table in a sunny corner of the enclosed paved square. There were tubs of brightly coloured flowers set out at intervals, petunias, pink diaschia and trails of delicate white bacopa. White-painted, trellised screens were positioned here and there to provide protection from any slight breeze, lending a touch of privacy to the diners.

  ‘I sometimes think it would be nice to get away from here and drive down to the coast,’ he said. ‘I love the smell of the sea breeze and the feel of the wind in my hair. I suppose that’s why I like being out on the lake. It gives me a feel of being at one with nature.’

  ‘Me, too. I used to love the trips we would go on to the seaside, especially when Jessica was little. She was like a water nymph whenever we got down to the sea.’

  They sat down and began to eat. ‘So what was it about your meeting that put a smile on your face?’ Katie asked. ‘Have they offered you the promotion?’

  ‘No, they won’t be making that decision for a week or so yet.’ He speared a roast potato and began to cut a section from it. ‘I went to tackle them about the changes to the nurses’ shift patterns, and they’ve agreed to let the present schedules stand.’

  Katie raised her brows. ‘How did you manage that?’

  ‘I pointed out how important it was to keep the goodwill of the nurses. Bringing in agency people would work out well enough in the short term, but it wouldn’t be sustainable. A lot of nurses do agency work because the irregular hours suit them and they don’t want to work on a permanent basis. Management would be exchanging long-term staff for people who are less likely to stick with the department. That way you might lose some nurses who like a fixed routine, and ultimately the temporary staff might decide to move on. There would have been an awful lot of disruption.’

  Katie dipped her fork into her curry. ‘Even so, I can’t see management being happy to see their plans overturned. Will any of this interfere with your chances of promotion?’

  He shook his head. ‘No, because I came up with a plan of action for the new unit, ways of making things run smoothly. They seemed to be quite taken with the ideas that I suggested. For one thing, I’ve worked out a more effective triage system and put forward some strategies for bringing in nursing assistants.’

  ‘That’s good. Sarah will be pleased that you managed to sort it out.’

  ‘Yes, I imagine she will.’ He scooped up carrots and peas and then sent her a quick glance. ‘How about you? Do you feel better for your day off? You looked as though you were enjoying being out on the lake.’

  ‘I do. I had a fantastic time. I’m glad that you persuaded me to go with
you.’ She smiled at him across the table. ‘I’d forgotten how good it can be to relax and enjoy the scenery.’ It had been all the more thrilling because he had been standing alongside her, pointing out various landmarks along the way and filling her with a sense of exhilaration. As to that kiss…it had stayed with her for a long, long time afterwards. It was a day she would never forget.

  ‘Me, too. It’s been a while since I’ve taken time out to explore the countryside.’ He laid down his knife and fork. ‘Do you think Jessica had a good time? It was hard to know what she was thinking. One minute she was fine and the next she appeared to be a little subdued.’

  ‘Yes, I noticed that as well.’ Katie frowned. ‘She was a bit offhand about some parts of the trip, especially afterwards when we came off the boat and walked through the fields. I thought she would enjoy looking at the watermill and then taking a wander through the woods, but she was definitely quieter than usual. On the whole, though, I’d say she was happy to be out there.’

  Katie had loved that leisurely stroll through the woods. With Alex by her side everything had been perfect. Sunlight had dappled the leaves as they had followed the paths through the trees, while Jessica had walked across the fallen logs and scrambled up rocky outcrops. Bluebells grew in profusion over the grassy slopes and in little pockets by the side of the brook or under broken branches, and around the margins of the wood Katie had been thrilled to discover the daisy-like white flowers of stitchwort and clusters of pretty red campion.

  Later, they had all walked around the perimeter while Jessica had taken photos of the landscape. Alex had taken Katie’s hand in his and they had looked out over sweeping yellow fields of oilseed and wide green meadows. Just being with him had been everything she might have hoped for.

  ‘She likes being able to spend time with you,’ Alex murmured. ‘You’re her big sister after all, and I noticed that when you gave her your undivided attention she was fine.’

  ‘Yes, I suppose that’s true. Sometimes I think she feels that I’m all she has. At least she’s begun to make friends with people of her own age now that she goes to the activity centre. She has friends back home, but I think a couple of them moved away and that made her feel even more unsettled.’