Once Upon a Christmas (24 page)

T
HE
practice was light and airy, set in a modern building with a huge glass atrium that allowed spectacular views of the mountains.

Helen stared in awe out of the window of the consulting room that she’d been allocated. ‘It’s so beautiful. How am I ever expected to get any work done?’

‘You keep your back to the window,’ Oliver advised, flinging open some cupboards to show her where everything was kept. ‘We’ve got everything you’re likely to need. If you can’t find something, press two on your telephone and that puts you straight through to Pam on Reception. Hit this button on your computer …’ he tapped with a long finger ‘… and you can access your list for the day and the patient records.’

Helen was surprised. ‘It’s all very high tech.’

‘We may be rural but we’re not backward.’ Oliver’s gaze slid down over her figure and a faint frown touched his dark brows. ‘That uniform is loose on you,’ he said softly,
his eyes lifting to hers. ‘Ellie is pretty small so I think that means you’ve lost weight.’

Helen straightened the uniform self-consciously, knowing that he was right. The uniform
was
loose.

‘Maybe I could advertise it as a new diet,’ she joked feebly. ‘The Break-Up Diet. Lose half a stone in two weeks.’

He didn’t laugh. ‘I’m going to tell Pam to make sure you eat lunch. I’d force-feed you myself but I have a meeting that I can’t get out of. But I’ll see you tonight at dinner. And I’m cooking.’

With that he left the room, returning moments later with his two partners who both greeted her warmly and thanked her for helping out.

‘Maggie does an asthma clinic on a Monday morning,’ Ally Nicholson told her. ‘Are you OK with that?’

‘Definitely.’ Helen nodded immediately. ‘Asthma was a real problem in the inner-city practice where I worked. I’ve done the training course and I’m used to running clinics. If I have any worries, I’ll call one of you.’

Obviously satisfied that she was going to be able to cope, the other two GPs hurried off to start their morning surgeries and Oliver gave a satisfied nod.

‘You’re going to be fine,’ he said softly. ‘Just don’t forget to eat.’

Halfway through her asthma clinic Oliver stuck his head around her door. ‘I’ve got a patient I need some help with. I need a different perspective.’

‘Go on.’

Having established that she didn’t have anyone with her, he walked into the room and closed the door behind him.

‘She’s another one of my big worries.’

‘Oliver, you worry about all your patients,’ Helen pointed out calmly, and he grinned.

‘I know. But I really worry about this one. She’s seventeen and she has asthma but refuses to acknowledge it. The registrar at the hospital just called me. Apparently she was admitted on Friday after a nasty attack but even that wasn’t enough to motivate her to do something about her disease. They sounded pretty infuriated with her.’

‘That’s not very helpful.’ Helen looked at him thoughtfully. ‘Teenagers have very special needs. Does she have a management plan?’

‘In theory. I suspect in practice her management plan involves ignoring her asthma until it’s time to call the ambulance.’

Helen sighed. ‘I’ll talk to her. Is she outside now?’

Oliver nodded. ‘With her mother, who is wringing her hands and clearly hasn’t slept for two days.’

‘Oh, dear.’ Helen looked at the list on her computer. ‘Well, my next patient hasn’t arrived so I could see her now. But can we leave the mother in the waiting room? If we’re having a proper conversation about things that matter to teenagers, I suspect it won’t be helpful to have her mother in the room.’

‘I’ll deal with it. Thanks.’

Oliver vanished and then reappeared moments later. Behind him loitered a slim girl with an extremely sulky expression on her pretty face.

‘Anna, this is Helen.’ Oliver nudged the girl gently into the consulting room. ‘She’s from London.’

‘London?’ The girl looked at Helen with an envious expression
on her face. ‘You lucky thing. I’d do anything to go and live in London. Actually, I’d do anything to live anywhere but here.’

Oliver looked at Helen helplessly and she smiled. ‘I expect you have patients to see, Dr Hunter.’

‘I do.’ He gave her a grateful smile and left the room.

‘That man is seriously cool. He could give me the kiss of life any day.’ Anna stared after Oliver with a wistful expression on her face and then turned back to Helen. ‘I suppose you’re going to lecture me, so you might as well make a start.’

‘Is that what you think people do?’

‘All the time.’ Anna slouched in her chair, her expression defiant. ‘It’s always, “Anna have you done your peak flow?” or, “Anna have you got your inhaler?” just before I go clubbing. And it’s always while my friends are standing there.’

‘And how does that make you feel?’ Helen asked casually.

‘Embarrassed. Different. Like some sort of freak.’

‘Why don’t you tell me what happened on Friday?’

Anna shrugged and picked some imaginary fluff off her sleeve. ‘It was hockey. I’m good at hockey. We were winning and then suddenly I couldn’t breathe.’ She broke off and her eyes filled with tears. ‘And the next thing I knew they’d driven an ambulance onto the school field. It was the most humiliating experience of my life.’

‘Do you like hockey?’

‘Yes, and now I suppose you’re going to tell me I can’t do it because of my asthma.’

‘Not at all.’ Helen opened her door and reached for a pad
and pen. ‘In fact, you shouldn’t have to limit your physical activity at all providing your asthma is controlled—but yours obviously isn’t. I like your shoes, by the way.’

Anna glanced down at her feet, obviously taken aback. ‘You do?’

‘They’re great. Everyone is wearing them in London.’

Anna looked at her suspiciously. ‘You’re different from the usual nurse. She was at school with my mother. You don’t look much older than me.’

‘I’m twenty-five,’ Helen told her, ‘so it isn’t that long since I was a teenager.’

Anna stared at her for a long moment. ‘It isn’t just the exercise that gets me.’

‘What else?’

‘There’s this boy.’ She bit her lip, her cheeks suddenly flushed. ‘He’s asked me out a few times but I keep saying no. He’s so cool,’ Anna breathed, ‘but how can I go out with him? He doesn’t know I have asthma. Where do I put an inhaler on a date?’

‘Well, it depends on the date,’ Helen said practically. ‘Let’s take it one step at a time. Why don’t you want him to know you have asthma?’

‘He’ll think I’m pathetic.’

‘Then he’s probably not that cool,’ Helen said gently. ‘And as for where you put the inhaler on a date, what’s wrong with your handbag?’

‘I don’t want anyone to see.’

‘The better controlled your asthma, the less likely you are to have an attack like the one last Friday.’

Anna breathed out heavily. ‘All right, then. What does it take?’

‘We can look at a few things together. We need to monitor your asthma. Do you think you could keep a diary for a couple of weeks? Monitor your peak flow and your symptoms?’

Helen used the pad and paper to illustrate what she was suggesting and talked to Anna about her peak-flow technique.

‘And you reckon if I do all that, I can play hockey without dying on the field.’

Helen smiled. ‘I would certainly hope so. Why don’t we give it a go? Come back and see me again next week. In the meantime, make a note of everything that’s worrying you and we’ll chat about it.’

Anna stood up. ‘And you think I should say yes to that date?’

‘If he’s that cool, definitely,’ Helen said firmly, and Anna grinned.

‘I’ll keep you posted.’

‘You do that.’

Helen waited until Anna had left the room and then went to find Oliver.

‘She basically doesn’t seem to use her inhalers at all,’ she told him, ‘because she’s so busy hiding them.’

‘So how do we get around that?’

Helen smiled. ‘We show her she’s going to have a much better life if she isn’t breathless.’

Oliver’s eyes narrowed. ‘You think that will work?’

‘It’s worth a try. Oh, and, Dr Hunter—’ Helen turned with her hand on his door, her eyes twinkling ‘—you probably ought to know that Anna thinks you’re seriously cool.’

Oliver grinned and folded his arms across his chest.
‘I
am
seriously cool, Nurse Forrester. Have you only just discovered that?’

Helen laughed and went back to her own consulting room, suddenly glad that she’d agreed to take the job.

She hadn’t had time to think about David all morning.

By the end of the week Helen had decided that it was more a question of finding time to eat than remembering.

She was extremely busy, and with such a range of problems that she was constantly challenged.

But, as good as his word, Oliver had given her the four-wheel drive, together with a quick driving lesson, and in her lunch breaks she explored the local area, by car and on foot.

And by the end of the week she’d found a wonderful block of flats which she thought might appeal to Hilda.

‘There’s a warden,’ she told Oliver that night over dinner, ‘but she’d be as independent as she wanted to be. And although the view over the lake is amazing, she’s still only two minutes’ walk from town.’

‘I’m not sure if she’d want to live in a flat,’ Oliver mused. ‘She lives in a house at the moment.’

‘And she’s really struggling with the stairs,’ Helen told him, recalling the conversation she’d had with Hilda earlier that week when she’d come in to have her peak flow and blood pressure checked. ‘The house has been her home all her married life and it would be easy to assume that she doesn’t want to leave it, but I think she does want to leave it.’

Oliver put down his fork and looked at her. ‘Go on.’

‘Well, she misses Barry dreadfully.’ Helen shrugged
helplessly. ‘And everything about that house reminds her of him. Obviously, for some people that’s a good thing, but for Hilda I don’t think that’s the case. She doesn’t want the constant reminders. She wants to move on.’

‘You sound as though you’ve had quite a chat with her.’

Helen flushed. ‘She came in to have her blood pressure checked earlier in the week. She was the last appointment before lunch so I gave her a lift home instead of calling a taxi. She gave me lunch.’

Oliver smiled. ‘I’m glad someone is feeding you.’ He stifled a yawn. ‘I wanted to feed you myself, but it’s been a bit of a hairy week. Michelle has been discharged, by the way, and she’s doing fine. I popped in to see her at home today. She said to say thank you and she’d love to see your strappy shoes sometime.’

Helen laughed. ‘I’ll remember to keep them in my boot so that I can show her the next time I’m passing. And, Oliver …’ Her smile faded. ‘You don’t have to feed me. I’m fine.’

He leaned back in his chair, his blue eyes narrowed as they searched her face. ‘You’re still looking tired and peaky. What you need is fresh air. This weekend I’m taking you into the mountains.’

Helen looked at him with no small degree of consternation. ‘Oliver, I’m a town person, remember?’

‘But you’ll be walking with your own personal guide,’ he reminded her, a smug expression on his handsome face. ‘I will be responsible for every step you take.’

She bit her lip, wondering if she should admit the truth to him. ‘Oliver …’

‘What?’

‘I’m afraid of heights. I mean, seriously afraid of heights.’ She broke off and braced herself for his laughter, but instead he reached across the table and slid his hand over hers. It felt warm, strong and very comforting.

‘Will you trust me to take you somewhere you won’t feel scared?’ His gaze warmed her. ‘I promise not to leave you stranded on a ledge or make you walk over anything remotely scary.’

Feeling thoroughly embarrassed by her own inadequacy, Helen looked at him uncertainly. ‘I don’t know why you would want to take me for a walk. There must be lots of people who would keep you company who aren’t afraid of heights.’

‘The trouble is,’ he said slowly, his expression enigmatic, ‘I don’t want lots of people. I want you.’

His last sentence was ambiguous and her eyes locked on his. ‘Oliver …’ Her voice was a croak and he gave a lopsided smile and locked fingers with her.

‘Stop worrying, little town mouse. You’re going to have a good time.’

And suddenly she found that she wasn’t thinking about her fear of heights. She was thinking about spending the weekend with Oliver.

They set out early, but only after Oliver had checked every single item of her clothing.

‘If you use a layering system when you dress, it will keep you warmer,’ he told her, zipping her into his sister’s fleece jacket and then handing her an outer shell. ‘This is the waterproof, windproof bit. How are those boots?’

Helen wiggled her toes and stamped on the spot. ‘They feel fine.’

‘We’re lucky that they fit you. If they start to rub let me know but Bryony has them pretty well worn in.’

‘I feel like Michelin Man.’

‘You look great.’ He handed her a hat. ‘Put this on.’

She pulled a face. ‘I don’t look that great in hats.’

‘Helen.’ His tone was patient. ‘You are not going shopping in the King’s Road. You are about to brave the elements. Wear the hat.’

She took it from him with a sigh and pulled it onto her head.

He looked at her, his gaze assessing. ‘Actually, I disagree. I think you do look great in hats.’ He lowered his head and kissed her gently and then turned and picked up a rucksack that looked ridiculously heavy.

Helen stared after him, frozen into stillness by that kiss.

Her whole body tingled even though the contact had been relatively brief.

What had he meant by it?

Why had he kissed her?

And why did she feel so bitterly disappointed that he’d stopped?

Stunned by the thoughts she was having, Helen shook herself. It was natural that she should enjoy the company of an attractive man when her confidence in herself had been so badly rocked. It didn’t mean anything. She would have felt the same about anyone who paid her attention.

Why the hell had he kissed her?