The Taming of Dr. Alex Draycott (16 page)

Callum’s glance meshed with hers. His expression mirrored her thoughts, saying, ‘That’s it for now. There’s nothing more we can do.’

She looked for something extra in his eyes, something that would show her a hidden message, perhaps, a hint that he wanted to be with her…but there was nothing. He simply turned away as one of the executives began to speak to him, and a few minutes later the video link was cut.

A
LEX
wandered aimlessly about the house next day, trying to decide which job she ought to do next. Nothing appealed to her or filled her with enthusiasm. The trouble was, she didn’t feel inclined to do anything. All she really wanted was to talk to Callum, to hear his voice. Better still, she would have liked to be with him.

She reached for the phone before she could change her mind. ‘Hi, Callum,’ she said. ‘I hope you don’t mind me disturbing you at work. Are you busy?’

‘Alex…’ She could hear the smile in his voice. ‘You can call me at any time. In fact, I was about to call you myself. It’s quiet here just now…no major accidents, just a waiting room full of the walking wounded. Of course, we’re all waiting for news of the board meeting, but we won’t get that until a little later.’ Then he added on a concerned note, ‘Anyway, how are you? Are you all right?’

‘Yes, I’m fine. I just…’ She let the words trail off. Perhaps it had been a mistake to call him—she never made the first move with any man, and she was acting completely out of character—but for once she had thrown caution to the wind. ‘I’m on my own here,’ she said, ‘and I just wanted to talk to you for a while…not about anything in particular.’

‘You’re on your own? How did that come about?’

‘My parents came over just before lunch and took the children out for the afternoon.’

‘That’s brilliant,’ Callum said. ‘You must be glad of the break.’

‘Yes, it’s lovely for the children to be able to go out with their grandparents. The thing is, Mum and Dad are back here to stay now, in Somerset, and they say they’ll be around to help out from now on…which is great news. I just wasn’t expecting it and, to be honest, I’m not used to having the place to myself. I’m feeling a little strange…a bit lost, somehow. I know that must sound odd.’

‘It doesn’t sound odd at all to me. You’ve been through a difficult time lately, and you’re used to working at full stretch.’ He chuckled. ‘It isn’t every day you get the chance to play hooky.’

‘No.’ She smiled. ‘I suppose not.’

He sobered. ‘Is there any news about Ross?’

‘Yes,’ she said brightly. ‘They say they’re cautiously optimistic. His oxygen levels are better and his breathing is a little easier. Actually, I was thinking of going in to see him in a while.’

‘That’s a good idea. It will cheer you up to see him looking better.’ The smile was back in his voice. ‘Maybe I could go with you? I could come and pick you up, and then we can play hooky together?’

She laughed. ‘But you’re at work…are you saying you’re going to take time off? That isn’t like you.’

‘No, it isn’t,’ he agreed. ‘But I have a half-day owing to me, and it seems to me that this is as good a time as any to take it. Besides, I want to make sure that you’re all right.’

‘I am, thanks.’

‘Good. Well, perhaps after you’ve been to see Ross, we could go out for the afternoon and make the most of the sunshine. What do you say?’

‘I’d like that…if you’re sure you can get away.’

‘I can. I’ll come and pick you up in half an hour.’

She was glowing inside when she cut the call a second or two later. She looked around. It was only just dawning on her that everything she’d done, all the loving care she’d poured into this place was for nothing if she didn’t have Callum by her side. And now her dreams were coming true because he was on his way home to her.

The doorbell rang some half an hour later, and she hurried to answer it.

‘Hi,’ Callum said, as she pulled open the door. He rested a hand against the doorpost and gave her an engaging grin.

She couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face. ‘I was half-afraid you would change your mind,’ she said. ‘I thought if an emergency cropped up you’d have to stay at the hospital.’

He shook his head. ‘We’ve enough people on duty to cover this afternoon.’ He sniffed the air. ‘Is that coffee I can smell?’

‘Yes, come in, and I’ll get it for you.’

He followed her into the kitchen. He looked like perfection to her, long and lean and totally masculine, wearing dark trousers that moulded his long legs and a cotton shirt that was open at the neck to give a glimpse of lightly bronzed skin.

She passed him a mug, and he sipped the hot liquid as he glanced around. ‘It’s very quiet in here without the children. I don’t know whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I think I could get used to the sound of their banter.’

‘Me, too. I’ve loved having them around.’

‘Still, it gives us the chance to slip away, doesn’t it? After we’ve called in at the hospital, I thought we might take a trip to Cheddar Gorge and see the sights if you want?’

She nodded, her spirits soaring. ‘I’d like that.’

‘Good. Maybe we’ll have lunch when we get there, and then take a wander around the place? I don’t know how you feel about exploring the caves, but the whole area is beautiful.’

‘So I’ve heard.’ It didn’t really matter to her where they went. Just being with him was enough for now.

They called in at the hospital a short time later. Ross was still being given supplemental oxygen, and he was breathing faster than normal, but he was propped up against his pillows and he was able to talk to them, which filled Alex with hope.

‘It’s good to see you, Alex,’ Ross said, taking his time with the words. His grey eyes were filled with warmth. ‘I feel we owe you so much, Beth and I.’

‘No, you don’t.’ She glanced at the monitors, glad to see that the readings were coming down to a more normal level. She could hardly believe that this was the man who had been so near to death a couple of days ago. ‘I’m just so happy to see you looking so much better than before. Has Dr Allingham been in to see you today?’

‘Yes, he came just about an hour ago. He seemed pleased.’ He rested for a few moments, leaning his head back against his pillows, a lock of brown hair falling across his brow. Alex looked at him with affection. ‘He said there was a chance I might go home in a couple of weeks if I go on making progress. I’ll have to carry on with the medication for a few months, but he thinks I’ll be able to build up my strength better at home.’

‘That’s brilliant news.’ Alex gave him a hug. ‘I told Beth you could all stay at my house until you find a place of your own. You haven’t seen it yet, but I know you’ll like it. There’s plenty of room. It’s an old farmhouse I bought, with extensions that have been added on over the years.’

‘Thanks for that, Alex. You’re a treasure.’ He glanced at Callum, who was standing quietly by her side. ‘I don’t think I’ve seen you before, have I? You must be someone special… Alex is very cautious about who she lets into her life.’

Callum smiled. ‘Yes, I’ve begun to realise that over this last couple of months. It hasn’t been easy, getting to know her as well as I’d like.’

‘Well, just as long as you do right by her. I love my sister. I don’t want to see her hurt.’

‘I’ll take good care of her, you have my word,’ Callum said.

Alex sent him an uncertain look. That sounded as though he meant it. Did it mean he was planning on staying around, being part of her life?

They left her brother a few minutes later so that he could get some rest. ‘Sarah will be so happy when she hears the news,’ Alex said as they walked out to the car park.

Callum nodded, laying a reassuring palm on the small of her back. ‘You must be relieved. Perhaps now that your mind’s at ease you’ll be able to relax and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.’

‘Definitely,’ she said, looking up at him and drinking in his features. For the first time in ages she felt as though life held some very real promise.

Suddenly, the quiet was disturbed by the bleeping of Callum’s phone. His mouth flattened. ‘Sorry about this,’ he said, gently releasing her so that he could answer the call.

He spoke to the person on the other end of the line for a minute or two. ‘Thanks, Katie,’ he said after a while, and Alex looked at him curiously. Why would Katie be phoning him?

‘It’s good news,’ he said, cutting the call and putting his phone back into his pocket. ‘The board has posted its decision—the A and E unit is safe. They’re going to follow some of your suggestions to bring in money from outside. And it looks as though my mini-stroke unit is a go, as well.’ He grinned. ‘You realise, don’t you, Miss Bean Counter, this means I’ll probably get my Doppler ultrasound machine after all?’

‘Oh, Callum, that’s great news.’ She flung her arms around him. ‘I hardly dared hope they’d go for it.’ Then she leaned back a fraction and looked him in the eyes. ‘Bean Counter?’ she said, lifting a brow. ‘Is that going to be my title for evermore?’

‘Hmm. I’ll have to think about that. Maybe we could change it for something else.’

‘I should hope so.’

He smiled. ‘Perhaps we should be on our way. I’m starving, so I think we should find a place to eat first of all.’ He pulled open the car door for her. ‘I know this great place just as you come into Cheddar.’

‘Another one? How come I don’t know these places?’

‘Probably because you’ve had your nose to the grindstone for way too long. It’s high time you learned how to loosen up and enjoy life.’

‘And you’ll show me how to do that?’

‘Oh, yes.’ His blue gaze travelled over her, his eyes filled with promise. ‘I’m making it my very next project.’

He set the car in motion, and headed for the main road that would take them towards the Mendip Hills and on to Cheddar. Alex watched as the landscape changed from gentle slopes to rugged hills and deep gorges. It felt strangely as though she was travelling towards some new destiny, but perhaps that was due to the sheer excitement of being with him on this glorious afternoon, free as a bird for once. She wasn’t going to think about the future, she decided. She was just going to take life as it came.

They stopped at a pretty, stone-built inn, made colourful with window-boxes full of flowers and hanging baskets spilling over with bright surfinias and trailing silver-leaved ivy.

‘We could sit outside, if you like,’ Callum said, leading the way through the inn and showing her the gardens through the open glass doors. There were bench tables set out in a courtyard that had been decorated with foliage plants and tubs of scarlet begonias. Beyond that were landscaped gardens, where flowering shrubs bordered a wide sweep of lawn.

‘Yes, please, that would be lovely.’ She could feel the sun warm on her bare arms, and on her legs where her light cotton skirt flowed delicately and skimmed her calves.

For his meal, Callum chose fillets of sea bass, served on a bed of roasted vegetables, whilst Alex went for a pork steak, topped with an apple-and-cider relish, and finished off under the grill with Cheddar cheese.

‘They make the cheese just along the road from here,’ Callum murmured, as he watched her spear the topping with her fork. ‘Have you heard the legend about how it came to be made?’

‘No, I haven’t.’

‘Well, apparently a milkmaid left a pail of milk in one of the Cheddar caves, and returned some time later to find that it had turned into a tasty cheese. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know, but even today they mature the cheeses in Gough’s Cave, wrapped in muslin cheesecloth. They say the tangy taste is due to the rich grazing pastures around here.’

‘So if we visit Gough’s Cave, we’ll see them?’ She thought about that. ‘And probably smell them.’

He chuckled and lifted his fork to taste the succulent fish. ‘Among other things, yes.’

Some time later, full up and satisfied after a meal that had been finished off with fresh fruit salad and liqueur coffees, they set off in the car once again. Alex was relaxed and happy. Her only niggling desire was that Callum should put his arms around her, but of course he wouldn’t do that. They were in a public place…and she couldn’t help wishing that they could be somewhere else where they could be totally, utterly alone.

He sent her an oblique glance as they drove along the road towards Cheddar. ‘You’re very quiet. Is everything okay? You’re not worried about your brother, are you?’

‘No, I’m fine. I’m sure he’s going to be okay. I’m having a great time. It’s just good to be out here under a perfect blue sky, and it’s taking me a while to get used to it.’ It wasn’t like her to be this way…hung up on getting close to a man…but Callum was different. He was gentle and thoughtful, and it was totally restful, being with him.

They were opposites, though. He was good for her, but was she good for him? She’d always been ambitious, following her career, and by all accounts that was the kind of woman he would rather steer clear of in the long term.

It was some half an hour later when they reached Cheddar Gorge. The scenery was spectacular, and Alex marvelled at the ravine, and its sheer-sided cliffs, cut out of ancient limestone. The banks were rich with greenery, and there was the occasional crop of wildflowers here and there, adding tiny patches of colour.

‘Have you been here before?’ Callum asked as he parked the car.

She shook her head. ‘I’ve heard all about it, though. They say it was formed by a river some three million years ago, and then the Ice Age came, and after that the meltwater carved out the gorge.’

‘I think that’s probably right. Shall we go and take a look at Gough’s Cave? It’s the biggest one, and it’s well worth seeing.’

‘It would be a shame not to, while we’re here.’

‘Good.’ He clasped her hand in his and she felt the thrill of his touch glide along her arm like a ripple of warm silk. They walked to the cave and went inside, and before long Alex was marvelling at the weird and wonderful formations that had been brought about by water dripping through the limestone over millions of years.

It was awe-inspiring. In one chamber, impressive stalactites were reflected in a pool below, giving an impression of a village perched on a mountain top. In another chamber, huge stalagmites reached high up into the roof and water droplets were reflected in the cavern’s lights so that they sparkled like crystal.

Alex shivered slightly in the cool atmosphere, and Callum immediately took off his light jacket and wrapped it around her, drawing her close. ‘We can’t have you getting cold,’ he said. ‘We don’t want you ending up like the man they found in here, do we?’