Читать книгу The Taming of Dr Alex Draycott - Joanna Neil, Joanna Neil - Страница 7

‘IT CAN never be easy, can it, seeing your loved ones this way…even if you’re a doctor?’ The nurse was sympathetic, sensing Alex’s distress. ‘All I can say is that your brother’s condition is stable at the moment. I hope that might be some comfort to you.’

‘It is. Thank you.’ Alex dragged her gaze away from the hospital bed. It was heart-rending to see her younger brother lying there, looking so fragile. He was deathly pale, his hair dark against his pillow, various tubes and drains coming from his body, and there were cables linking him to monitors. Ross, who had always been so vigorous and who could be relied on to brighten any room with his presence, was just a shadow of his former self.

‘It was a nasty accident,’ the nurse added, ‘and there was a considerable amount of lung damage because of the broken ribs he suffered. That’s why he’s still on the ventilator, but he’s receiving pain medication, so at least he should be fairly comfortable.’

Alex nodded. ‘I know you’re all doing everything you can for him.’

The nurse made a note of Ross’s heart rate and blood-oxygen levels. ‘Have you been to see his wife? I know she was badly injured, too.’

‘Yes, I make a point of looking in on her every day. The doctors are treating her for a laceration to her liver, but they found there was some damage to her kidney as well. She’s been through surgery, and she’s in much the same situation as Ross, reliant on tubes and drips and monitors. Even so, she’s fretting over the children.’

‘I’m sorry.’ The nurse laid a hand on Alex’s arm. ‘It must be very worrying for you, especially with the youngsters to consider. I think it’s good that you’ve been bringing them in to see their parents, though.’

Alex sucked in a deep breath. ‘Better for them to see what’s happening, I thought. Otherwise their imaginations might cause them to worry even more. Their grandparents will be coming over at the weekend, so that should help to cheer them up a little.’ Her mouth flattened. ‘My parents have found it hard, being so far away when it happened. But they’ve worked out a schedule so that one or other of them will be over here to spend time with Ross for a good part of the week.’

‘You said they were working abroad, is that right?’

Alex nodded. ‘My father works for an oil company. It’s a really difficult time for him right now, but all he can think about is Ross.’

‘That’s understandable.’

Alex spent a few more minutes by her brother’s bedside until she finally had to acknowledge that time was getting on. She had taken a late lunch, but now she needed to go back to work. Reluctantly, she made her way to the ground floor of the hospital, heading for A and E.

Things were no easier in that department, either. Her work colleagues were uneasy, doubtful about her intentions in her role as manager, and worried regarding their job security.

Alex tried not to let it unsettle her. She would try to put their minds at ease, and she would do the best she could for the department. After all, she was her father’s daughter, wasn’t she, strong, determined, willing to put in every effort for a cause she felt to be worthwhile? And in these difficult times keeping the A and E department viable and open for business was surely the best outcome for everyone?

Today, though, she was here in her role as doctor, and now she glanced at the whiteboard as she walked over to the main desk. ‘Katie, I’ll take the three-year-old with fever in treatment room two.’

‘Okay.’ The triage nurse handed her the child’s admission notes.

Alex headed for the treatment room. As she had told Callum, landing this job had given her the best of both worlds—management took up fifty per cent of her time, and working as a consultant emergency paediatrician took up the rest.

She glanced at the triage nurse once more as she passed by the desk. ‘Is Dr Brooksby about?’ She’d been on the lookout for him all morning.

Katie hesitated, tucking a strand of glossy black hair behind one ear. ‘Um…last I saw of him he was in Resus.’

‘Hmm.’ Alex had already checked, and he certainly wasn’t there now. ‘Thanks, Katie. I’m sure I’ll manage to hunt him out.’

She found him a minute or two later in the treatment room next to hers. He was checking an ECG printout, while at the same time assuring his patient that he was in safe hands.

‘You’ve had a minor heart attack,’ he told the middle-aged man lying on the bed, ‘but we have things under control now. The medication should help to open up your blood vessels, and things should soon start to feel a lot easier. Just keep pulling on the oxygen.’

He glanced across the room as Alex put her head round the door. ‘So there you are,’ she said. ‘I’m glad I’ve run into you at last. I’ve been searching everywhere for you.’

‘What it is to be popular,’ he murmured, winking at his patient. He adjusted the settings on the medication pump and checked the drip. ‘What could be better than having a gorgeous young woman seeking you out?’

Alex pulled a face. He obviously knew how to charm the birds out of the trees. ‘I know you’ve a lot on,’ she murmured, ‘but I really need you to go over the drug expenditure figures with me some time soon—and I noticed your casualty cards aren’t up to date. We need to get them filled in so that we can check waiting times.’

‘Yes, of course.’ He nodded agreeably. ‘I’ve been working on it. We always try to fill these things in on time, you know, but it can get pretty frantic around here, and it isn’t always easy to keep up with the admin paperwork.’ He sent her an engaging smile, inviting her to agree with him, his blue gaze shimmering over her so that she found herself unwillingly caught up in his masculine magnetism and his easygoing manner.

‘Yes, well…um…’ She blinked. It was thoroughly disconcerting, the way he managed to tip her off balance. What was she thinking? She made an effort to pull herself together. ‘Maybe we could get together for a few minutes as soon as you’ve finished here and go through a few of the items we need to get to grips with? I’ll be next door in the paediatric bay, working with a patient.’

‘Sounds like a good idea. I’ll see what I can do.’ He was totally relaxed, completely unfazed by her request.

‘Good. That’s encouraging.’ She slanted him a brief, searching glance. ‘See you in a few minutes, then,’ she murmured.

She left the room, with a friendly nod to the patient, who was looking much better than he had done a short time ago, and went to see the toddler next door.

The infant was lying on a trolley bed, clearly feeling too wretched and uncomfortable to be held in his mother’s arms. A nurse was cooling him by holding a damp cloth to his forehead, but as Alex entered, she went to step aside.

‘That’s all right, Charlotte,’ Alex said. ‘You go on with what you’re doing. I’m sure he’ll feel much better for it.’

Alex smiled at the boy’s mother. ‘Mrs Stanhope, I understand Tom has been poorly for several days?’

The woman nodded. ‘It’s horrible to see him like this. He won’t eat, he keeps being sick, and now he has a temperature. I’m really worried about him.’

‘Of course you are.’ She looked at Tom. ‘The poor little chap looks really miserable.’ She spoke gently to the boy. ‘I’m going to try to make you feel a bit more comfortable, Tom,’ she murmured, ‘but I need to listen to your chest first…and maybe look at your tummy. Is that all right?’

The toddler looked uncertain, his lower lip trembling, and the nurse attempted to distract him by producing a teddy bear from a basket at the side of the bed. ‘Look,’ she said, ‘Teddy’s feeling poorly, too. His tummy hurts.’

Tom’s eyes widened and he gazed at the toy, putting out a hand to feel his silky fur. Alex sent the nurse a grateful glance and gently began her examination. When she had finished, she said softly, ‘That’s all done now, Tom. You were very brave.’

The boy clutched the teddy to him. ‘Teddy hurting,’ he said. ‘He feels sick.’ Suddenly all the colour left his face and the nurse promptly moved forward with a kidney dish, holding it in place as he began to retch.

Alex went to sit next to the child’s mother. ‘We tested Tom’s urine earlier,’ she told her, ‘and it looks as though he has a urinary infection of some kind. It’s quite possible that his kidneys are inflamed, so I’m going to start him on a course of antibiotics. I’ll give him the first dose by injection so that it will start to act quicker, but the rest we’ll give by mouth.’ She glanced at Charlotte and gave instructions about the medications. ‘And that includes something to ease the pain and bring down his temperature.’

‘Thank you.’ Mrs Stanhope seemed anxious. ‘How long will it be before he’s better?’

‘It could be two or three weeks. I feel we should admit him to hospital so that we can keep an eye on him—I know that’s probably worrying for you, but we have to make sure we deal with this properly, right from the start, and of course that way he’ll be on hand when we get the results of his urine culture back from the lab.’

Mrs Stanhope nodded. ‘It’s all right. I just want what’s best for him.’

‘That’s good. I’ll make the arrangements.’ Alex stood up and went back to her small patient. ‘Just a tiny jab,’ she told him, preparing the antibiotic injection. ‘It will all be over in a second or two.’

A few minutes later, she left the infant and his mother in Charlotte’s capable hands, and went to look for Callum. He was nowhere to be found, not in any of the treatment rooms, or in Resus, or even out by the ambulance bay. She checked the quadrangle where staff sometimes took a breath of fresh air between seeing patients, but he wasn’t there either.

She frowned. ‘Any sign of Dr Brooksby?’ she asked Katie as the nurse walked towards the reception area.

‘None at all.’ Katie shrugged lightly. ‘I expect he’s gone back to Resus.’

Alex suppressed a sigh. ‘Not to worry,’ she said. ‘I dare say I’ll catch up with him sooner or later.’

Katie nodded. ‘That’s how it is down here, unfortunately. Everyone’s so busy.’

Alex’s mouth made a flat line. Busy or not, they all had to work together to help streamline the department, or before too long the trust board would be calling for closures. One way or another they had to find time to cooperate with her. ‘If anyone needs me, I’m heading over to Pathology,’ she said.

She would take Tom’s sample over to the lab herself for culture, and ask if the results could be hurried up. Once they knew the bacterial culprit, they could choose the most appropriate treatment for the child. The wide-spectrum antibiotic she had used was a catch-all for the most likely bacteria, but given the severity of the infection it was possible that they needed to use something more specific to counteract it.

She walked into the lab a few minutes later, shooting a quick glance around the room. Over to one side, by the workbenches, she saw a by-now familiar figure huddled over a rack of test tubes.

‘So here you are,’ she murmured, after handing over the specimen to the lab technician. ‘I never would have thought to find you here, Dr Brooksby.’

He straightened, turning to look at her. ‘I’m checking on some samples I sent for testing. I want to see how things are coming along, you know.’

‘Really?’ She inspected the label of the sample he was studying. ‘Since when were you working with the staff on the geriatric ward? Was your patient sent there from A and E?’

He frowned. ‘It’s the wrong sample,’ he said. ‘My patient’s elderly, but not geriatric.’

She sent him a cautious look, her grey eyes doubtful. ‘You wouldn’t be deliberately trying to avoid me, would you, Dr Brooksby?’

‘Callum, please. Now, why on earth would I want to do that?’

‘That’s what I’m wondering. Only I was under the impression we were going to meet up in the treatment room a while ago. Didn’t you agree to that?’

‘Of course—though I believe what I actually said was that it was a good idea, which is not necessarily the same thing as saying I’d be there. You can’t guarantee anything in the hectic atmosphere of the A and E department.’ He searched among the papers in a wire tray and grasped one in triumph. ‘Found it,’ he said. He held it up to her. ‘My patient’s results.’

She stared at him in frustration. ‘Why is it that I have the feeling you’re playing games with me?’ she asked. ‘You haven’t actually completed the drug lists, have you? Or tried to catch up on filling in the waiting times on your casualty cards?’

He leaned back against the workbench, his long legs crossed at the ankles. ‘Actually.uh.no, you’re right. I haven’t.’ His mouth made a rueful shape. ‘As I said before, I’m much more of a hands-on medic than someone who concentrates on keeping his paperwork up to date.’

His gaze ran over her, appreciation lighting his eyes as he took in the shapeliness of her figure outlined by her classically styled dress. ‘I know you want to get on with updating your numbers and counting the financial cost of everything, but is it so essential that it’s done right this minute? You’ve only been here a short time. Surely you need to take some time to settle in? And how about giving everyone a bit of leeway? Give them a chance to get used to the idea of you being around. That way people would be so much more on your side.’

She sighed. ‘That would be so satisfying, wouldn’t it…just to let everything hang easy for a while, gain a little popularity and then sit back and enjoy the ride?’ There was amusement in her tone. ‘I hardly think that’s going to happen.’ Her grey glance meshed with his.

‘You don’t?’ He frowned.

‘I don’t. Why do you imagine I was brought in here? The executives were hardly going to appoint a pussycat to monitor things, were they?’ She didn’t wait for an answer. ‘The hospital budget is badly overdrawn and the trust has to make drastic cuts if the services the public want and expect are to survive.’ She drew in a deep breath. ‘So that’s where I come in. I have the task of auditing the department to find out where savings can be made…and if I don’t come up with the right answers, the whole emergency unit is at risk—so it’s not just my job on the line, but those of everyone who works here.’ She studied him. ‘You do understand that, don’t you?’

He lifted his shoulders. ‘Of course I do…it’s just that I don’t see why you can’t hold fire for a while. The trust has been overspending for years—a few weeks isn’t going to make much difference to the grand scheme of things, is it?’

She shook her head, causing her chestnut curls to swirl and shimmer under the overhead lights. ‘That’s where you’re wrong, I’m afraid. I have to report back to the board at the end of each month. They aren’t going to look kindly on me or the department if I show them an empty file.’

He watched the cloud of burnished hair drift and settle. ‘You realise, don’t you,’ he countered, ‘that the board will do what it wants, no matter what facts and figures you manage to produce? If they’re set on closing the department, then ultimately that’s what they’ll do. They just need you to give them the firepower.’

She regarded him steadily. ‘Well, I don’t think that way about it at all. I believe that I can make a difference. I believe we can make savings in lots of ways. In fact, going on my experience with a young patient this morning, I’ve decided I want to start a separate audit into the treatment of children with urinary infections…let’s see if we can’t cut down on the number of ultrasound scans, and choose our drugs more wisely, so that we’re not prescribing expensive ones where generic drugs will do better.’

She warmed to her theme. ‘It’s just a question of devising the forms for people to fill in whenever they treat a child—and at the end we’ll collate all the information and see what savings we can come up with.’

He looked at her, aghast. ‘Good grief, woman…don’t you have enough to do without getting started on audits that aren’t even part of your remit?’

‘But it all comes down to the same thing in the end, don’t you see? Savings are at the heart of everything.’

He relaxed, beginning to smile at her. ‘I can see why you got the job…and I have to admire your persistence. You’re so full of energy and enthusiasm—but there’s more to life than work, you know. Where do you find time in all that for a social life—that thing called ‘fun’—boyfriends, and so on?’

His glance drifted over her. ‘You’re a very attractive woman, and I’d have thought men would be queuing up to ask you out. Yet from what I’ve heard you don’t have a significant other, you don’t join the staff at the local pub—or even share lunch breaks with them. Isn’t there something missing from your life?’ His gaze became thoughtful. ‘Or perhaps you’ve been hurt…’ he said softly. ‘Maybe someone let you down?’

She stared at him blankly for a moment or two. So he thought she was attractive? He’d said it before, but even so, it gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling, hearing him say it again. But as to the rest, when did she have time to socialise? Any spare time she had at work was spent on visiting her brother and his wife, and after work she needed to take care of the children.

‘I see the hospital grapevine has been busy,’ she murmured. ‘Is nobody’s life private around here?’ She frowned. ‘Though I could say the same for you. Snatches of gossip I’ve heard tell me you don’t ever settle to a relationship—fear of commitment is how they put it, I think.’

He laughed. ‘I don’t see fear coming into it. Life’s too short, and I’m having a good time just as I am—being footloose and fancy-free. Why would I want to change things?’

‘Why indeed?’ She smiled wryly. ‘And much the same goes for me. I’m far too busy to even contemplate getting involved with anyone right now. Let the gossipmongers make of it what they will.’

‘And they will, believe me.’ He studied her. ‘Why don’t we fox them all and make a date for dinner—this evening, maybe? You should take time out, let yourself unwind a little.’

Unwind, with him? The thought had a dizzying effect on her. ‘Thanks, but I really can’t do that right now.’ All the same, she conjured up a vision of the two of them together, taking a walk in the moonlight after a romantic meal at a restaurant, and all at once heat began to pool in her abdomen.

She couldn’t let the idea take hold. It was impossible. She wasn’t about to get involved with anyone, especially him, a man who seemed so laid back he made it seem as though she was positively racing through life in contrast. Anyway, she had far too much on her plate. The children relied on her to be there for them, her family life was chaotic, and, besides, he was simply trying to divert her, possibly even disarm her into the bargain, wasn’t he?

His gaze flicked over her. ‘That’s a shame. Maybe some other time, then? I’m sure you’ll feel all the better for a little rest and relaxation.’

She had the idea this was something he wouldn’t give up on easily. ‘I’ll feel a whole lot better when I have your drug expenditure forms laid out on my desk,’ she retorted swiftly. ‘Along with a list of agency staff employed by the department over the last three months.’

She ignored his muffled groan as she made her way to the door. ‘Any time in the next twenty-four hours will be fine.’

She was still debating how best to deal with Callum Brooksby when she made her way home later that day at the end of her shift. He was a thorn in her side, a devious, happy-go-lucky, aggravating man who gave the impression of being as difficult to catch as thistledown. Every time she had him within her sights, he somehow managed to whisk himself away, out of reach.

‘Look what we’ve found,’ Sarah said excitedly, greeting Alex as she went to collect the children from her neighbour’s house later that day. Sarah led the way into the kitchen. ‘Auntie Jane showed us how to collect honey from the beehives in the orchard. We’ve been putting it into jars. It smells of flowers.’

Alex sniffed at the glass pot Sarah thrust under her nose. ‘So it does,’ she said. ‘I expect the bees have been visiting the apple blossom and the bramble bushes. That should make for good fruit later on in the season.’

She looked at Jane, who was standing by the fridge, looking pale and tired. ‘You’ve been busy. Are you sure you should be taking on all this work? I feel bad enough that I’m asking you to watch the children for me.’

‘Oh, I like having them around. Anyway, I volunteered to have them after school, and it’s no trouble to collect a bit of honey.’ Jane smiled. ‘I expect you had no idea what a wealth of treasures you were gaining when you bought the property next door. Of course, I didn’t let the children go near the hives when I collected the honeycombs, but they loved seeing the end result. They were fascinated.’

‘It tastes funny,’ James said, screwing up his nose. ‘Yuk.’

‘I like it,’ Sarah said happily. ‘We had some on pancakes and they were scrumptious.’

‘It sounds as though you had a lot of fun.’ Alex watched the children as they carefully spooned the golden honey into scrupulously clean jars. Jane sat down by the table and let them get on with it for a while.

‘How have you been feeling, Jane?’ Alex asked, giving her a long, thoughtful look. ‘Have you been back to see your doctor?’

‘Not yet.’ Jane shook her head, and at Alex’s small murmur of protestation she added, ‘I know…I keep putting it off, and I shouldn’t, but what’s he going to do for me but give me more tablets? Nothing’s working, so I might as well put up with things as they are.’ As she spoke, she absently rubbed her back. ‘The only that really gets to me is this pain, but I suppose I can take painkillers for that.’ She sighed. ‘But I guess that’s old age creeping up on me.’

‘I don’t think so, Jane. I think it’s something that needs to be investigated.’

She might have said more, but there was a brief tap on the kitchen door just then, and a moment later it opened, as a visitor stepped into the kitchen.

Alex pulled in a sharp breath.

‘Hi, Aunt Jane,’ Callum Brooksby said, going over to Jane and giving her a hug. ‘How’s my favourite aunt?’

‘Oh, it’s so good to see you,’ Jane said, smiling. She looked at him with genuine affection. ‘I was hoping you’d come round.’

He nodded. ‘I know I’ve left it a little bit longer than usual. It’s been a busy time lately, what with work and overseeing the builders at home.’ Then he straightened and looked around, interested in seeing who had come to take tea with her.

His gaze met Alex’s and they both stared at one another in shock.

‘Alex?’

‘Callum?’ She blinked.

Callum frowned, his dark brows drawing together in a straight line. ‘What on earth are you doing here?’

‘I…I bought the house next door,’ she said, stumbling a little over the words, still in shock. ‘That’s how I came to know your aunt—she’s been good to me, looking after the children while I’m at work.’

‘Children?’ His expression became incredulous as he turned his attention to James and Sarah, happily spilling honey over the scrubbed pine table and the assembled jars. ‘Good grief.’ He looked back at Alex. ‘I don’t know you at all, do I?’

Jane looked from one to the other, a puzzled expression on her face. ‘So you two have met before this?’ She frowned. ‘Of course, it must be the hospital—it didn’t occur to me. I knew you were in Paediatrics, Alex, and, Callum, you’re in Emergency, but of course you must meet up on occasion.’

‘All the while, Aunt Jane,’ Callum agreed, a look of wonder coming over his face. ‘We work in the same department.’

Alex was still trying to get over the shock. She studied him carefully. ‘So you’re the nephew?’

His head went back. ‘Nephew? Why, who’s been talking about me?’ He looked at Jane, a glimmer of amusement coming into his eyes. ‘It has to be you, doesn’t it? You’ve only told her good things, I hope?’

‘As if I’d do anything else,’ Jane answered cheerfully.

Callum put an arm around her in a gesture of affection. ‘She practically brought me up,’ he told Alex. ‘She’s been like a mother to me.’

Jane patted his hand.

‘Auntie Jane, can we go and play in the garden?’ James asked, coming over to her and beginning to tug on her skirt.

‘Yes, of course.’ Jane’s glance ran over him, and a line indented her brow. ‘Perhaps we’d better get you cleaned up a bit first, though.’

James looked down at the honey trails that streaked his T-shirt. ‘It’s all right,’ he said. ‘I can do that.’ He pulled his shirt up to his mouth and began to lick the sticky patches.

Sarah pulled a face. ‘You are so gross,’ she said in disgust.

‘Why?’ James responded, astonished. ‘Am not.’

Callum began to laugh. ‘Was I ever like that?’ he asked his aunt, and she nodded. ‘All the time.’ She turned her attention back to the boy. ‘I’ll get a cloth.’

‘No, don’t do that. I’ll see to everything,’ Alex said, intervening when Jane would have stood up. ‘You stay there and rest. You’ve done enough for one day.’ She helped the children to wash their hands, before sending them outside, and then she began to clear up the mess on the kitchen table.

Jane tried to lend a hand, gathering up spoons and honeycombs, but Alex gently took them from her. ‘You’re already hurting,’ she remonstrated softly. ‘Let me do it.’

Callum frowned, looking at his aunt. ‘What’s this about you hurting? Is it your back again?’

Jane nodded. ‘It’s nothing for you to worry about,’ she said. ‘I’ll be fine.’

‘Hmm. Why don’t you go and sit down in the living room, and I’ll bring you a cup of tea? I’m sure you’ll be much more comfortable in there.’

His aunt smiled. ‘You’re probably right. What a good idea.’ She looked from one to the other. ‘Anyway, I expect you young things have plenty to say to one another.’

She left the room, and a moment later, still frowning, Callum began to help with the clearing up. He placed sticky jars on the drainer, and flicked the switch on the kettle.

‘I still can’t get over seeing you here,’ he said, looking at Alex. ‘It’s a small world, isn’t it?’

‘It certainly seems that way.’

He began to prepare a tray, setting out a cup and saucer, along with a plate of home-made biscuits. He smiled as he peered into the cookie jar. ‘She’s always loved baking,’ he said, helping himself to an oat biscuit. He offered the jar to Alex. ‘She let me help her when I was a child, but I’m not sure my efforts were all that brilliant. They tended to be misshapen, and a bit cracked around the edges.’

‘Much like mine, then,’ Alex said, helping herself to a biscuit, and they both chuckled. She looked at him, trying to imagine him as a child, mixing cookie dough or playing outside in the long garden. ‘You said she was like a mother to you…does that mean you lived here with her?’

He nodded. ‘For a good deal of the time, anyway.’ He looked around. ‘I love this house. It feels like home to me. In fact, I love the whole area.’

‘And your parents? Where were they?’

‘Mostly abroad, either in Africa or South America. I didn’t see a lot of them in my teen years because they were off working on projects to improve the health of the underprivileged children out there. Things are much the same nowadays.’

‘That must have been difficult for you.’ Her grey eyes were sympathetic. She remembered how sad he’d been when he’d first mentioned his parents. ‘You must have missed them.’

‘I suppose so.’ He frowned. ‘But my aunt and uncle made up for it. They gave me a decent home life and showed me what it was like to be part of a loving family. Until then, nothing had ever been stable. My parents were always busy, working all hours, and we moved around constantly. There was no chance of putting down any roots.’

Alex was sad for him. He’d obviously not known what a loving family was like in his earlier years.

‘You were lucky, then, that your aunt was able to take you in.’

‘Yes, I was.’ He poured tea into the cup. ‘I’d better go and check on her, and take her the tea.’

Alex glanced at him and hesitated a second or two before saying, ‘You know she’s having problems with her blood pressure, don’t you?’

He nodded. ‘It was diagnosed some time ago. She’s been prescribed a number of different medications over the past year or so.’

‘Yes, that’s what she said. But it seems to me that whatever her GP’s giving her isn’t working, and I suspect that’s because he hasn’t yet found the root cause of her problem. I’m wondering if she ought to have some tests done at the hospital. She’s suffering from a number of symptoms that need to be investigated…headaches, dizziness, pain in her back.’

A line etched itself into his brow. ‘Her doctor’s been taking care of her for years, though. She trusts him, and it’s no easy thing to get her to go along to see anyone else.’

Alex’s mouth flattened. ‘Even so…I don’t see how she can go on this way. She doesn’t look at all well. Something needs to be done. In fact, I feel really guilty that I took her up on her offer to look after the children. It worries me that I’m putting too much on her.’ She pulled in a deep breath. ‘And I don’t believe she’s coping too well with the house and garden either. The weeds are beginning to overtake the borders, and it’s all much more than she can manage.’

Callum gave Alex a perplexed stare. ‘I mended the fence and tidied up the rockery a couple of weeks ago.’

Alex finished wiping the table with a flourish. ‘I’m sure the stress of keeping up with the maintenance is taking a toll of her. Is there any chance you could arrange a more regular schedule? Find a local gardener who will come along and tidy things up, perhaps?’

He didn’t say a word for a moment or two, but simply studied her as though he was deep in thought.

‘You’re very good at this sort of thing, aren’t you?’ he said at last, a note of wonder in his voice.

‘This sort of thing?’ She frowned. ‘I’m afraid I’m not following you.’

‘Organising people…deciding what needs to be done. I get the strongest feeling that not only am I being audited at work, but now you’re taking stock of how I conduct my personal life as well.’ He turned his blue gaze on her. ‘I’m obviously done for. Maybe I should give in, here and now?’

Alex felt warm colour fill her cheeks. ‘Well, that would be a good idea,’ she said, giving a self-conscious laugh. ‘That would make things easier all round, wouldn’t it?’

He gave a wry smile. ‘You’ll find I don’t surrender that easily.’