The Rebel and the Baby Doctor (7 page)

He came and stood next to her, laying a hand lightly on her shoulder. ‘It’s very pretty,’ he murmured. He looked at her, his glance drifting over her and settling briefly on her hair, her cheekbones and the curving line of her throat.

She sent him a brief, uncertain look, and he broke the connection, surveying the room and pausing for a while to take it all in.

Phoebe realised that she was holding her breath. With his hand on her shoulder she couldn’t think straight, and his nearness was having a very strange effect on her, causing her heartbeat to change gear from slow and
steady to ultra-fast in the blink of an eye. Somehow in these new surroundings her responses were more intense.

After a moment, though, he took a step back from her and turned away. ‘I’ll take the bags upstairs. Do you want to come and look at the rooms?’

She nodded, pulling in a swift breath as she gave a final glance around before following him.

The upstairs accommodation was finished to the same high standard as the ground floor. The bedrooms had been fitted in under the eaves, but they were spacious and filled with sunshine that poured in through the skylights.

‘That’s something I hadn’t expected,’ he said, looking towards glass doors that took up a good portion of one wall.

She walked over to them and opened them up. ‘Oh, my,’ she said, ‘there’s a balcony out here.’ She stepped out onto it and breathed in the country air. ‘Just look at that view.’

Connor came and looked out, following her gaze. ‘It’s beautiful,’ he said. ‘You can see right out over the valley.’

‘It’s fantastic,’ she agreed. ‘I had no idea there was any accommodation like this. I’ve only ever stayed in the basic self-catering apartments when I’ve been here before.’ She turned to him. ‘You must have picked out the best of the bunch.’

‘Something like that,’ he agreed. ‘It occurred to me that if we had somewhere idyllic to stay, you might give up on going out and about, and we could spend the whole weekend here, just the two of us.’

She sent him a harassed smile. ‘Sure you did,’ she
said. ‘You wouldn’t have spared a thought for the Brannigans being left to their own devices, would you?’

‘Well, maybe just a teeny one.’ He held up his fingers, demonstrating, as though he was taking a pinch of salt.

‘You’re hopeless,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘What am I to do with you?’

‘Throw caution to the wind and elope with me,’ he suggested, a wicked grin curving his mouth. ‘No one will miss us for a while, and I promise to have you back here, safe and sound, at some point. I’m not exactly sure when that would be, but we could think about it eventually.’

‘Think about unpacking your bags and getting ready for the evening meal,’ she told him firmly. ‘As if you’d let anything come between you and a three-course dinner.’

He blinked. ‘True. That’s very true.’ He clapped a hand to his head. ‘What on earth was I thinking?’

‘I could hazard a guess, but on second thoughts I won’t go there. Out of the room, Dr Broughton…this one will do nicely for me. Go play on your own balcony.’

He walked mournfully out of the room, and she could hear his soft mutterings as he went. ‘Cruel, hard-hearted woman. Made of stone…has to be. I’m maltreated and misunderstood. Was there ever anyone dealt as bad a hand as me?’

Phoebe’s mouth curved. All sorts of adjectives came to mind where Connor was concerned…irrepressible, mischievous, wily and conniving, to name just a few.

He may well tease her and test her mettle, but underneath it all was there just a hint of real intent?

Connor had never been one to let chance pass him
by, and for all his artifice and devious ways she couldn’t help but feel a tug of attraction towards him. Was she in danger of losing her heart to him?

She couldn’t let that happen. He would never seriously entertain the idea of love and commitment, yet those were values she prized above all else.

‘O
KAY
,
then. What do we have planned for today?’ Connor looked at Jamie across the breakfast table, inviting him to choose. ‘There’s fishing, canoeing, archery practice or horse riding, to name but a few.’

‘I want to try the zip wire,’ Jamie said, his eyes shining in anticipation. ‘I saw the children whizzing down it last night and I wanted to have a go then, but Mum said no, it was too late, we’d only just got here and we needed to unpack.’

‘I noticed them, too,’ Phoebe said. ‘They looked as though they were having a great time, didn’t they?’

Jamie nodded excitedly and started to talk animatedly to Phoebe about everything he wanted to try while he was at the centre. ‘And I want to take lots of photos—I got a new camera for my birthday.’

‘That’s a good idea. What kind is it?’

Seeing that Jamie was deep in conversation, Connor glanced at Mrs Brannigan. ‘Whizzing down the zip wire sounds like fun…What do you think, Chloe?’

She looked a little doubtful. ‘To be honest,’ she said, keeping her voice low so that Jamie would not hear,
‘I’m not altogether sure what will be okay for him and what won’t.’

Connor nodded. ‘Up to now, you’ve always let him choose his own activities, haven’t you? Generally, children with heart problems are very sensible in knowing their own limitations. I think the same probably applies after surgery. Up to now he’s made a good recovery, so we’re justified in hoping that he’ll become stronger and eventually be able to lead a normal life.’

‘But he collapsed a while ago…I’m afraid that might happen again.’

‘It’s understandable that you’re worried, and certainly we need to keep an eye on his blood pressure. Having the occasional bout of hypertension doesn’t signify that anything major is wrong. It probably just means that he over-extended himself too soon, and he’ll learn to adjust to that.’

Jamie finished telling Phoebe about his new camera, and then turned back to his mother. ‘So can I go on the wire today? It’ll be great. I can’t wait to try it out.’

Chloe hesitated, and Jamie directed his plea towards Connor. ‘Will you tell her it’ll be okay?’

‘I think you’ll be fine.’ He frowned. ‘Mind you, your mother said she might like to do some of these things with you, so we do have to bear her old age and infirmity in mind, don’t we? She might need some help if she’s going to try it with you.’ He winked at the boy, and Jamie laughed, looking at his mother to see her reaction.

‘Cheeky monkey,’ she said, giving Connor a playful punch. ‘We’ll see who can keep up, just you wait and see.’

Connor shook his head, looking back at Jamie.
‘These women are all talk and no substance, don’t you think? There was Phoebe telling me she wouldn’t even contemplate trying out the archery, and just because I pinched her toast she’s getting ready to paint a target on me. You and I will just have to stick together, lad. Men of iron, that’s us.’

Jamie giggled. ‘You’re daft,’ he said.

‘Never a truer word,’ Phoebe put in, glancing up from sipping her orange juice. She looked back at Jamie. ‘Of course, once you’ve had a go on the wire, you might want to try something completely different. We could always go for a wander round the wildlife site. I heard there were some roe deer hiding out among the trees, and all kinds of different birds to see. I know you said you were interested in bird watching. You might like to take some pictures for your photo album.’

Jamie nodded. ‘Perhaps we could do that this afternoon. I really want to have a go on the zip wire first. It looks as though it will be fun, shooting down over the trail and going through the trees.’

Connor looked at Jamie’s mother. ‘Is that okay with you? There’s a lift up to the top of the slope. He’ll be strapped into a harness—one that supports him in a kind of cradle seat, and then once he’s been lifted up to the start point he’ll be able to zoom along the wire in comfort. All the children seem to love it.’

Chloe nodded. ‘If you think he’ll be all right doing that, it’s fine with me.’

Jamie gave her a beaming smile, and Phoebe thought how wonderful it was that this young boy had been given his quality of life back after heart surgery. He had
been born with a defect to his heart that had made it difficult for his blood to circulate effectively, and as a consequence he had been frail, short of breath a lot of the time, and unable to take part in the normal activities that children of his age enjoyed.

Now, though, he was ready to sample the delights of outdoor feats that would have debilitated him before his surgery.

‘Come on, then, soldier. Let’s get moving, shall we?’ Connor said. ‘We’ll possibly need to stop off at the shop, so that your mother can buy her newspaper and a few postcards. That way, your breakfast will have time to settle.’

Jamie frowned. ‘Do we have to, Mum? You’ll be ages in the shop. You always are.’

‘Yes, we do,’ his mother said with a wry smile. ‘Anyway, you can go and talk to some of the other children while you’re waiting for me. Didn’t you say there was a boy you met last night that you were going to hang around with? I thought he said he would be near the photo shop first thing?’

‘Oh, yes…I forgot. That’s okay—take as long as you like in the shop.’

Phoebe smiled. Jamie was a typical boy, wanting to do everything all at once. Connor had been egging him on, but she knew that he had the boy’s welfare at heart. He had a medical bag on hand in case the child’s heart rhythm changed dramatically, and there was oxygen ready if necessary. She hoped it wouldn’t be needed.

‘Are you going to have a go?’ Connor asked her some half an hour later as they watched Jamie and his mother
shoot past them in turn on the wire. Jamie was grinning in delight, and Chloe looked equally thrilled.

‘I’m game if you are,’ Phoebe said, ‘though I have to say this feature is a new addition to the centre and I haven’t ever tried it before.’

‘You’ll be fine. I had a go when I was on holiday in Scotland a couple of years ago, and it’s exhilarating.’

Phoebe reserved judgement on that, but she queued up with Connor to use the wire, and when it came to getting into the harness he was there to lend a hand.

‘Step into it,’ he murmured, ‘and I’ll do the clasps for you.’

Phoebe had never used this type of harness before, and she accepted his offer of help readily enough, without realising how much intimate contact would be involved. He clipped everything into place, and she was conscious of his every movement, aware of his hands brushing her body, gliding over her jeans-clad legs to ensure that the straps were correctly fitted and shifting to adjust the tension of the bands across her back and chest. He checked the belt around her waist and made sure that the straps were secure around her shoulders.

‘Does that feel okay?’ he asked, when he had finished.

‘Um…yes, thanks,’ she managed, keeping her head lowered so that he wouldn’t be able to see the pink flush of her cheeks. What had she let herself in for? The slightest touch of his fingers caused every nerve fibre in her body to flare in heated response. This was just the beginning of her stay here. How was she going to cope with having him this close for the next couple of days? Her body was betraying her at every turn.

Riding the wire, when she finally set off on the downhill run, was a fantastic experience. The speed of the descent gave her an adrenaline rush, and it was good to be out in the open, feeling the soft touch of the breeze on her face and loving the way it rippled through her hair. The scenery all around was breathtakingly beautiful as she swung through the dappled sunlight in the trees and descended into the glorious open space of the valley below.

Connor had gone ahead of her and reached the end of the trail some minutes before she did. As she felt her feet touch the ground he was waiting, ready to steady her and help her to regain her balance just as he had done for Jamie.

‘Whoa,’ he said, catching hold of her as she began to spin round in a dizzying circle. ‘I have hold of you.’

He certainly did. She couldn’t be anything but conscious of the way his arms were wrapped around her, and she was fairly sure that her dizziness had nothing whatever to do with her landing. His warm, sure touch had a lot to answer for.

‘Are you steady now?’

‘I am. Thanks.’ She straightened and pulled in a quick breath, knowing that she ought to put some distance between them and at the same time revelling in their closeness. What on earth was wrong with her that she should be feeling this way?

Throughout the rest of the day they moved from one pursuit to another, letting Jamie choose what he wanted to do.

‘For a boy who started life with a heart problem, Jamie is definitely making up for lost time,’ Phoebe
remarked to his mother. ‘He seems to have packed so much into today.’ They were walking slowly back towards the courtyard shopping area after their evening meal, and Jamie was with another boy, heading for the quad bike circuit just a few yards away.

‘You’re right. I’ve been amazed at how he’s kept going. Mind you, we’ve been careful to have restful periods in between. As Connor said, Jamie’s chosen those for himself, so he’s obviously aware of what he can do and what he can’t. I’m just pleased that he hasn’t needed to have any extra medication.’

‘He might only need this one course of beta blockers to keep the hypertension in check,’ Connor murmured. ‘He’s on a very low dose at the moment. See how he goes over the next day or two. I’ve had a word with the local doctor, and he’ll be on hand to advise you if any problems crop up when we’re not here. In the meantime, it looks as though he’s coping very well. As his strength builds up, so will his stamina.’

Jamie was driving his quad bike around the circuit by now, following in the wake of his new friend.

‘I think I’ll go and sit at a table and watch him for a while,’ Chloe murmured. ‘Thanks for staying with me through today. I’m just planning a quiet evening now, so if you two want to go off and relax, that’s fine. You’ve been more than helpful all day.’

‘You’re very welcome,’ Phoebe said. ‘It’s lovely to see him having so much fun. It’s hard to imagine that he was so poorly before this.’

‘Mr Kirk performed the surgery, didn’t he?’ Connor asked, and Chloe nodded.

‘That’s right. He’s a brilliant man.’

‘That’s true.’ Connor watched Jamie manoeuvre the bike around obstacles on the course. ‘I know he has a long waiting list, especially for the adults on his list, but the advantage of children’s surgery is that it can be planned in advance. It works out well when everyone knows the time scale involved and the details of what needs to be done to put things right.’

‘Yes, we knew exactly what was going to happen, and Jamie was prepared for everything. It was still worrying, of course, but at least we had time to get our heads around it.’

Chloe went to sit at the tables in the viewing area, and Connor turned to Phoebe. ‘Do you have any plans for what you’d like to do this evening? We could wander down by the lake and have a drink at the bar, if you like.’

‘That sounds like a good idea. It’s warm enough for us to be able to relax outside, isn’t it? Perhaps I should go back to the house and change first, though. We’ve been out and about all day and I’d quite like to just sit for a while.’

They watched Jamie and his friend for a few moments longer, at a distance. Connor seemed to be taken with the gleaming bikes, and there was a smile on his face that prompted Phoebe to say, ‘Are you wishing that you could have a go? Quad bikes are the thing these days, aren’t they, for men and boys?’

He smiled ruefully. ‘I think I’ve put my racing days behind me. I did enough of that to last me a lifetime in my teens.’ He turned away from the circuit. ‘Shall we start back to the house? It occurred to me that we could
maybe sit out on the balcony and break open a bottle of wine if you’d prefer to do that? We seem to have been walking amongst crowds of people all day, and it might be nice to be peaceful for a while.’

‘Okay.’

They walked together along the path to the barn conversion, and once inside the front door Phoebe kicked off her shoes and went upstairs to take a shower. It was good to feel the spray of the water on her face and body, and when she emerged some time later she felt refreshed and ready to face the world again.

Connor must have done the same, because when she went out on to her balcony he was next door, standing by the wrought iron rail, looking out at the landscape beyond.

His hair was damp, gleaming in the evening sunlight, and he had changed into a fresh shirt and casual trousers, so that he looked crisp and clean and wonderfully masculine. His shirtsleeves were folded back to reveal strong forearms, his skin a soft shade of gold.

She stood for a moment, watching him, taken aback by the sight of him, tall and dark, his long body beautifully lean and perfect in every detail.

After a moment, he must have become aware of her standing there, because he turned and looked at her, his gaze wandering over her from head to toe, his eyes widening.

‘You look lovely,’ he said. ‘Serene and beautiful, like a golden-haired angel.’

‘Well, thank you. I feel better for freshening up.’ A smile curved her lips. He was looking at her as though he had never seen her before, and that was strange, but
at the same time it was oddly uplifting. She was wearing a summer dress, a floaty creation in pastel shades that were dreamy and ultra-feminine, and she liked the way it draped around her, softly touching her curves and drifting on the air with every movement.

He reached for a bottle of wine from an ice bucket on the table and held it aloft. ‘Shall we sit out here for a while and watch the sun go down over the horizon? The wine has been chilling for a while, and I’ve rustled up some nuts and nibbles. It should be just what the doctor ordered.’

She laughed. ‘That sounds good to me. Bring it on.’

He pulled out a chair for her and then seated himself beside her, pouring wine into fluted glasses and handing one of them to her.

‘I can see why you used to come here,’ he said. ‘It wasn’t anything to do with the children and the activities, was it? It was more to do with the idyllic setting and the sheer pleasure of sitting back and drinking it all in. Being here, you tend to forget how hectic things are at work, and how rushed we are from day to day.’