Jack recovered first, although not before he’d cleared his throat a second time. ‘Ahem…I haven’t come to check up on you,’ he bit out.
Meg’s eyebrows seemed to be the only bit of her willing to work at that moment so she used them to full effect. They swooped upwards in silent, sceptical query, saying more clearly than she could ever have done how she felt about that statement.
If anything, Jack’s colour deepened, a dark flush now staining both his face and neck. He uttered what might—or might not—have been an oath and swung round, striding out of the hut without a backward glance.
Meg stared at the empty doorway then blinked a few times, wondering if her poor addled wits had finally thrown in the towel. Had she imagined that he’d been here? Had she conjured up not only his face but his body and his voice this time?
Leah, lying in the bed, giggled. Meg looked at her blankly, seeing the amusement that touched the other woman’s face as Leah gave her a shy smile. ‘Your man was pleased to see you but did not want to show it, I think.’
She sighed as she nestled the hungry baby to her breast. ‘Dr Jack is like Moses. He does not want you to think he is weak by showing how much he has missed you.’
‘Missed me?’ Meg echoed, then shook her head. ‘Oh, no, I don’t think…’
She swallowed hard as the possibility hit her. Jack had missed her? Could it be true? Was that why he’d acted so strangely and been so…so embarrassed?
She wasn’t even aware that she was moving until she found herself outside the hut. It was still early morning but the heat was already intense, the sun a glowing yellow ball beating down on her. Shading her eyes, she looked around but there was no sign of Jack. Surely he hadn’t left?
She hurried across the clearing, uncaring of the curious looks she attracted. There were few places to hide and she knew all of them by now. There was the stream the women used to wash their clothes in and the pool they used to bathe in and that was it. It was a toss-up which to choose but in the end she opted for the latter and hurried along the path that led to it.
She was out of breath by the time the pool came in sight and more than willing to stop even before she saw Jack sitting hunched up on a rock near to where the water gushed from a fissure in the side of the cliff. Her heart started fluttering inside her ribs like a caged bird as she studied him. He looked…well, lost, if that was the right word, and she wasn’t sure that it was. For a moment she wondered if she’d been mad to follow him but the thought of leaving him to sit there on his own was more than she could bear.
‘Mind if I sit down?’
‘Be my guest.’
His voice was level to a fault, the look he gave her equally bland, and her heart sank. This was Dr Jack Trent before her now, not the man who’d stalked out of that hut a few minutes earlier, a man who’d looked as though he might just have a few human emotions left inside him! Missed her? Huh!
She plucked disconsolately at a blade of grass, wishing she could think of an opening, but her mind was blank. It was left to Jack to open the conversation, which he did in his most irritating tone.
‘Before we go any further, I want to make it clear that I didn’t come back to check up on you.’ His face was as animated as a lump of granite as he looked coldly at her. ‘If I hadn’t thought you were up to the job then I wouldn’t have asked you to stay here.’
‘Shall I take that as a compliment?’ Where had that smart-aleck question sprung from? Meg wondered sickly, watching his mouth curl disdainfully.
‘That’s up to you, I imagine,’ he shot back.
‘Thank you.’ Her tongue seemed to be running away with her, out of her control and off on a mission of its own. Meg tried clamping her lips together but there was no stopping it.
‘It’s always nice to be appreciated. It makes one feel valued, doesn’t it?’
‘Meaning what?’ he demanded icily.
‘Meaning anything you want it to mean, of course.’ She just managed to stop herself from actually adding Touché but she knew he’d mentally filled it in anyway. Her toes curled with mortification as she realised how childish it was to sit there, bickering like that. But he’d started it!
Jack suddenly laughed and Meg’s eyes flew to his face, widening in shock when she saw the amusement that was etched into every craggy line. ‘You have an answer for everything, don’t you, Meg Andrews? I don’t recall that fact being on your CV!’
‘Maybe you didn’t check it over clearly enough?’ she suggested, smiling back at him because it was impossible to remain aloof. Did he have any idea how handsome and desirable he looked when he laughed? she wondered, rapidly taking note of those salient points herself. She doubted it, otherwise he would have laughed more often and been snapped up by some discerning woman years ago! Still, that woman’s loss was her gain…
It was definitely time to call a halt to that thought. She frowned when Jack shook his head bemusedly. ‘What?’
‘Nothing. Everything. I don’t know what to say. I can’t recall ever having this trouble with anyone before. How do you manage to make things so bloody complicated, Meg?’
Now there was a question, one she wouldn’t touch with the proverbial bargepole! Did he really think she would be fool enough to hand him ammunition like that?
She smiled sweetly and heard him sigh. ‘Daft question. Forget it. Anyway, to get back to why I’m here—the answer’s simple. I decided that it would be better if I came for you in something more comfortable than that old bone-shaker of a truck.’
He rose to his feet, offering her his hand as he grinned down at her. ‘I thought you deserved better than that after being left here all on your own, so I managed to borrow something a bit more luxurious. Come and see.’
Meg placed her hand in his and let him haul her to her feet, laughing to cover how touched she felt that he should have gone to any trouble on her behalf. ‘The mind boggles at the thought of what you could have found in the middle of the bush! What is it?’
‘You’ll see. Come on.’
Jack led her back to the village, skirting the perimeter as he headed for a thin stand of trees. Meg gasped when she saw a dark green Land Rover parked beneath them.
‘Where on earth did you get it?’ she demanded, turning to him in astonishment.
‘It wasn’t easy. It took a lot of careful negotiating.’ His eyes danced as he watched her run an incredulous hand over the vehicle’s dusty paintwork. It was several years old but in immaculate condition for all that, and she couldn’t for the life of her work out how he’d come by it.
‘Come on, Jack, tell me where you got it,’ she wheedled, and heard him laugh softly. It was odd the kind of effect a laugh could have, she found herself thinking as a frisson flashed down her spine. But that depended on who had actually done the laughing, of course…
‘So Richard immediately offered to let me use it to fetch you. He said it was the least he could do after all we’re doing for him.’
‘Richard?’ she queried huskily, then gave herself a mental shake. Snap out of it, Andrews! Get a grip before he starts thinking you’re a half-wit!
‘The ruler of Oncamba. Oh, his tribal name is something I can’t pronounce, but as he’s happy for us to call him by the name he’s used for the last twenty years, that isn’t a problem.’
Jack’s mouth pursed as he stared reflectively at the dusty vehicle. ‘It must have been a huge adjustment for Richard, coming back to Oncamba to live when he’d left the country as a child. I really admire the way he’s put his heart and soul into improving the quality of life here for the people. He’s a great guy and I’m sure you’ll like him, Meg.’
‘I’m sure I shall. I like him already, in fact. The thought of not having to bounce around in that rust-bucket of a truck is like winning the lottery!’
She grinned, wanting to lighten the mood because she wasn’t ready to handle this situation which seemed to be developing all of a sudden. Was she attracted to Jack? Yes. Physically or mentally? Both
. So how was she going to deal with it? She had no idea.
She rushed on before her mind could toss up any more disturbing questions. ‘So, do I take it that we’re leaving this morning?’
‘If you’re quite happy with Leah’s progress, then yes. It’ll take a few hours before we catch up with the others. We’ve already made two stops and I’ll bring you up to date on what’s happened as we drive. However, the sooner we leave the sooner we’ll get things back on track again…if you’ll excuse the pun!’
Meg rolled her eyes. ‘That was terrible! Still, I’ll let you off, seeing as you’ve gone to all this trouble on my behalf. I’ll just need to sort out my things…Oh, seeing as you’re here, would you take a look at a couple of patients I’ve been treating?’
‘Patients?’ Jack’s brows rose and for a moment she wondered if maybe she’d overstepped her authority. But there was no way that she could have refused to help the villagers—her conscience wouldn’t have let her do that even if Jack wasn’t pleased about it. She had a duty to care for the sick, and nobody—not even Jack Trent—was going to stop her doing that!
‘Yes,’ Meg said firmly. ‘There were people who needed medical attention in the village so I treated them.’
‘Fine. I’ll be happy to give a second opinion, Meg.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘We’ll aim to leave here by eleven, then, if you think that will give us enough time.’
He was actually deferring to her? Meg’s heart swelled as she realised it. It was hard to contain her happiness as she led the way back to the village and asked Moses to round up her ‘patients’. Maybe it was only a small step but added to all the others Jack seemed to have taken already that day it seemed that she was making tremendous progress. When Jack agreed with everything she’d done to treat the various injuries, she felt as though she were floating on air.
It was in that happy frame of mind that she packed up her belongings and said goodbye, although there was a lump in her throat when it came to taking her leave of Leah and her baby son. Meg knew that she would never forget them and hoped that one day she would be able to go back and visit them, a wish reiterated by Moses when he shook her hand.
‘Thank you, Dr Meg. Thank you for everything you have done.’
‘You’re very welcome. Just mind that you take good care of Leah and that beautiful little boy of yours,’ she replied huskily.
All the villagers came out to wave them off. Meg waved until her arm ached before she sank back in her seat as they rounded a bend and the village disappeared from sight. ‘I’ll miss them. Even though we couldn’t really speak to each other, I still feel that we got on well together.’
‘That’s because you have a natural empathy with people.’ Jack shrugged as he set the vehicle into four-wheel-drive while they traversed a partially dried-up river bed. ‘You don’t need a common language to show people that you care about them.’
It seemed that the compliments were coming thick and fast now, and Meg basked in them. Jack seemed to have changed his mind about her and it felt as though a load had been lifted off her shoulders. He kept up an easy conversation as they drove, bringing her up to date with what had happened, treating her as he would have treated any colleague, in fact—as someone he valued for the contribution she was going to make. It all added to the feel-good factor so that by the time they reached the end of their journey several hours later, Meg was barely aware of feeling tired.
Jack drew the Land Rover to a halt on a small rise above the railway track and stopped the engine. There was a note of pride in his deep voice as he pointed to the valley below.
‘Well, there it is. The Oncamba Angel. What do you think?’
‘It’s fantastic!’ Meg couldn’t think of a more suitable word than that. To see the train sitting there in the hot afternoon sun, its deep red paintwork shining, its brass gleaming, was pure fantasy!
Beyond the railway track the land lay in shades of umber and green, offset by the purplish haze of mountains in the distance. The last time she’d seen a train like the Oncamba Angel had been on a television screen when she’d watched a repeat of the film The Railway Children, a childhood favourite of hers. Now she had to pinch herself to prove that she wasn’t dreaming.
She didn’t say anything as Jack started the vehicle again and drove them down the steep incline. Meg climbed out as soon as they’d stopped and headed straight for the train, eager to see inside it. There was a queue of people near one of the doors, patiently waiting to be seen, and she smiled when they moved aside so that she could board the train. It was obvious that surgeries were under way and she paused to get her bearings, not wanting to go barging in and disturbing anyone. Jack had stopped to speak to someone so she decided it would be better to wait for him before she went exploring.
‘Oh, hi! You must be Meg. I’m Alison Graham, the radiologist-cum-lab technician-cum-general dogsbody. Welcome on board!’
Meg swung round at the sound of the cheery greeting and smiled at the plump, little dark-haired woman who had come out of one of the rooms. She opened her mouth to reply when it suddenly hit her that Alison was staring at her as though she’d seen a ghost.
‘Is something wrong?’ Meg asked instead, frowning as she took stock of the other woman’s startled expression.
‘I…um. Sorry. You just reminded me of someone else, that’s all.’ Alison looked embarrassed as she offered Meg her hand.
Meg shook it but she was curious to know what could have prompted such a reaction. ‘Really? Who?’
Alison laughed shortly. ‘Oh, it’s ridiculous, really! I mean she would never have been seen dead in a place like this so I can’t imagine why I thought you were Briony! Must need my eyes checked!’
Meg laughed dutifully but her curiosity was still aroused. ‘Briony? Is she a friend of yours, then?’
‘Well, no, not really. I mean, I’m sure she was very nice but I didn’t really know her all that well…’
She tailed off uncomfortably then took a deep breath and hurried on, ‘Briony was Jack’s wife, you see. You must have heard of her—Briony James, the model? They got divorced a couple of years ago and, to be honest, I think it hit him hard because he was crazy about her, even though she was an absolute bitch to him. Still, that’s the way of the world, isn’t it? It’s no wonder that it’s put him off women, especially beautiful ones…Oh, no offence intended, of course. I’m sure Jack doesn’t let his personal feelings influence him in a work situation.’
Alison looked as though she were choking on hot chestnuts as she tried to undo any damage she might have caused. Meg fixed the smile to her mouth which was in danger of becoming a permanent affliction. It wasn’t poor Alison’s fault if she had, unwittingly, touched on the truth!
‘I’m sure he doesn’t,’ she agreed levelly, while her mind said something entirely different. Did Jack see her in the same light as his ex-wife? Was that the real explanation behind his animosity? She had a horrible feeling that Alison might have got to the crux of the problem.
‘Right. I’ll show you where everything is then you can get settled in.’
Jack came on board and Alison muttered a hasty greeting then hurried away after sending a beseeching look in Meg’s direction. Obviously, the subject of Briony James was a no-go area but Alison needn’t have worried that she would mention it. She wasn’t that silly! However, Meg knew that what she’d learned was going to haunt her. Making Jack change his mind about her was going to be harder than ever if he was set on comparing her to his ex-wife!
CHAPTER FIVE
‘IF YOU would wait in here…thank you.’
Meg ushered the young woman into the coach which had been fitted out as a waiting room. There were already a dozen people in there, waiting to be seen. It had been non-stop since they’d set up shop at a little after seven that morning and, from the look of the queue outside, it was going to be another busy day.
It was a week since she’d boarded the train and each day had been hectic. The sheer number of people w
ho had turned up had amazed Meg at first but she’d soon adapted to the situation. However, it did mean that there wasn’t a minute to spare each day, no bad thing to her mind as it meant she was too busy to start worrying over what she’d learned about Jack’s broken marriage. Work was all she had time for and that was the way she liked it.
‘Give her a number and put her down for a general checkup as well as a cervical examination,’ she instructed the young woman clerk who’d been sent along to help them on this leg of their journey. Her name was Lavinia and she’d proved herself invaluable by acting as interpreter as well as maintaining their records. Now she gave Meg her usual calm smile.
‘Of course, Dr Meg. Is Dr Jack ready for his next patient yet?’
Meg glanced over her shoulder and shook her head when she saw that the consulting-room door was still closed. She’d been surprised when Jack had told her that she would be working with him, because she’d expected him to choose either Lesley or Kate. The cynical thought that maybe he wanted to keep an eye on her had been firmly squashed because she’d known how unproductive it would be to think along those lines. She couldn’t work properly, believing that someone was looking over her shoulder and always checking up on her.
In the event, she’d discovered that she’d been right to dismiss it because there had been no hint that Jack lacked confidence in her. Quite the opposite, in fact, because it had soon become apparent that they worked well together. However, Meg was aware that things could change very quickly and took care always to be on her toes around him. There was no room for complacency where Jack Trent was concerned!
Now she quietly went back to the consulting room, pausing for a moment while her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. Jack had seen a number of patients with serious eye problems since they’d arrived at this location, and the man who’d turned up that morning was yet another one.
Meg made her way quietly to the examination couch, watching intently as Jack tilted the patient’s head to the side and shone a small light into his left eye. She heard him sigh softly and knew that once again he’d found something seriously wrong.
Touched by Angels Page 7