Loe raamatut: «Gift of a Family»

CHAPTER ONE

‘JUST look at that girl.’

Josh Sullivan strolled casually along the beach with his brother, his eyes fixed intently on a female surfer, balanced on her board.

His brother shot him an impatient glance. ‘Look where you’re going, will you? You’re worse than the dog and, believe me, that’s saying something.’ He whistled to his dog who bounded happily off into the distance, barking with excitement while Mac watched in exasperation. ‘I swear that dog needs a psychiatrist.’

‘What a babe.’ Josh ignored his brother, his eyes fixed on the girl who was standing steadily on her board as she swept down the waves with effortless ease, arms outstretched, her long hair streaming down her back. Even from the shore he could see her lush curves, clearly outlined by the black wetsuit. And he admired her style. She was good with the board. And she looked amazing.

‘It should be against the law,’ he muttered, stumbling over an elaborate construction that had been left in the sand by an enthusiastic group of children.

This time his brother’s remonstration was stronger. ‘Will you look where you’re going? Some poor kid spent hours building that.’ Mac shook his head and then followed his brother’s gaze with a concerned frown. ‘She shouldn’t be surfing on that part of the beach, anyway. The currents are lethal. Hasn’t she read any of the notices? She should be further over.’

Josh glanced at his brother and wondered if he knew how much he’d changed since he’d married Louisa. ‘She’s good. And the surf is fantastic.’

For a moment he was tempted to sprint back to his house, pick up a board and catch a few waves himself, but then he remembered his plans. After a busy week at the hospital he’d promised his stomach a decent lunch and himself an entire afternoon working on the boat. He looked at the foaming surf and wished there were more hours in the day.

Mac squinted out to sea. ‘There are some pretty young kids out there. What the hell are they playing at?’

Josh yawned. ‘Having a good time, I should think. Loosen up, will you? You used to do dangerous things, too. Before your wife tamed you, you would have been out in those waves, flirting with death and danger.’

As he himself did. He saw enough in the hospital to know that life was to be lived, every moment of every day.

Mac stopped dead. ‘My wife has not tamed me.’

A broad smile spread over Josh’s face as he slapped his brother on the shoulder. ‘She’s got you on a lead, bro’,’ he said, using a sympathetic tone guaranteed to drive his brother mad, ‘and it’s a short one at that.’

It was one of his favourite weekend occupations. Goading his more serious older brother. Seeing just how far he could push and needle before Mac exploded out of that air of mature responsibility.

Judging from the dangerous glint in his brother’s eye, it wasn’t going to take long today.

‘A lead?’ Mac virtually growled the words. ‘Louisa never stops me doing anything…’

Not long now.

Josh gave him a pitying look. ‘You just don’t get it, do you? And that’s the skill of women.’ He spread lean bronzed hands to emphasise his point. ‘They sneak around and tie you up in knots and before you know what’s hit you, your life is over.’

‘In a minute you’re going to know exactly what hit you and it’s going to be me! And your life might well be over.’ Mac’s dark eyes flashed a warning and the muscles in his shoulders bunched. ‘Are you suggesting Louisa stops me from doing things?’

‘Not openly, oh, no, no, no.’ Josh waggled a finger but took a step backwards in readiness. ‘Women are so much cleverer than that. They make it look as though it was your decision. And it’s such a gradual thing you don’t even see it happening. One night you’re joining your mates in the pub for a few beers and the next your feet walk straight past that same pub on your way home for an early dinner. And there’s not a decent beer in sight.’ He looked sorrowful. ‘Just candles, fancy glass and fancy wine. What sort of a life is that?’

‘A pretty good one,’ Mac said dryly, stepping to one side as a child sprinted past clutching a bucket and spade, ‘and do I really need to point out that you love fancy wine almost as much as you love women?’

‘I also love sport and fast cars, and women just don’t get either of those things,’ Josh muttered sadly, rubbing a hand over his rough jaw and noting that he’d forgotten to shave. ‘Take cars. When you’re dating, women pretend they love them, although the truth is they’re always grabbing at their hair and sneaking a look in the mirror when they think you’re not looking just to check the wind hasn’t messed them up in some way. Then you marry them and before you know it you’re driving some bizarre vehicle that looks like a coach and comes with thousands of doors and child-friendly gadgets designed to bring a guy out in a rash.’

‘My car does not look like a coach.’

‘It will do soon.’ Josh threw him a look and gave a dramatic shudder. ‘Look at that enormous bump your wife is carrying around. That baby has got to go somewhere.’

Mac frowned. ‘She’s not enormous.’

‘I never said she was enormous,’ Josh said mildly. ‘I said that her bump is enormous. And so it should be. She’s eight months pregnant.’

‘She’s not enormous.’

There was a flicker of panic in Mac’s eyes and Josh struggled to keep his expression straight. ‘You know—’ he kept his tone casual ‘—I read an interesting report in one of the medical journals last week about this mother who unexpectedly produced twins. Something to do with the lie of the babies—they’d missed one on the scan. Imagine the shock of that.’

Mac opened his mouth, caught something in Josh’s expression and the next thing he knew, Josh was lying on his back on the sand, with his brother glaring down at him.

‘Next time you decide to irritate me, step out of the way first,’ he growled. ‘And if you say anything similar to Louisa and panic her, I won’t be responsible for my actions.’

Helpless with laughter, Josh wondered what it was about fatherhood that turned grown men into gibbering wrecks. Then he saw the anxiety in his brother’s face and his laughter faded. He hadn’t realised that his brother was quite so tense about the whole thing.

‘It was just a joke! I wouldn’t tease Lu, you know I wouldn’t. I love her. Hell, I set the two of you up. What’s the matter with you?’

‘I don’t know. Impending fatherhood, I suppose.’ Mac let out a breath and then reached out a hand and dragged his brother to his feet. ‘Believe me, no matter how many times you reassure patients, it’s different when it’s your own. I’m a wreck, I admit it.’ He raked a hand through his hair and gave a helpless shrug. ‘I worry about her and I worry about the baby. Try having a baby of your own and you’ll find out what I mean.’

‘A baby? Me?’ Josh brushed the sand from his shoulders, appalled by the mere suggestion. ‘Nappies, sleepless nights and goodbye two-seater sports car with the top down? No, thanks. Fatherhood is definitely not for me.’

Mac shot him a curious look. ‘You seriously think you’re immune, don’t you? You think you can carry on dating every woman who takes your fancy and that you’re never going to get emotionally involved?’

Josh gave an easy smile. ‘Hasn’t happened yet,’ he said smugly. ‘Nor is it likely to. Relationships go in stages. The trick is to recognise each stage as it happens so that you don’t get caught.’

‘Stages?’

‘Yeah, first there’s the spark. You see someone, they see you and there’s that special chemistry, something that makes you want to take it further.’ He removed his shades and winked at his brother. ‘So you do—’

‘Well, you do,’ Mac interjected dryly, ‘not everyone does.’

‘Can I help it if women find me irresistible? So you take it further and then you start seeing each other. Then there’s the passion.’ He gave a slow smile. ‘And obviously that’s the best bit.’

Mac rolled his eyes but Josh ignored him.

‘Then at some point, usually somewhere between the first time she leaves her toothbrush at your place and the time she starts staring hopefully into prams, there’s a slight shift in the relationship. Spotting that shift is the key to remaining a happy bachelor. Miss it and before you know it the highlight of your life is buying baby car seats to fit in your people carrier.’

He gave an exaggerated shudder and Mac stared at him in exasperation. ‘You’re thirty-two, Josh. Don’t you ever want to settle down?’

Josh thought of his home, an abandoned lifeboat station that he’d converted himself, slogging away in what little spare time he had to lovingly convert it into a stunning home. He thought of his plasma-screen TV, his high-performance car and the boat he was restoring. He thought of the punishing hours he spent at the hospital in the accident and emergency department and the fact that he lived life to his own timetable. He didn’t want to change a thing. ‘My life works well just as it is.’

‘And does that make you happy? Being on your own…’ For a moment Mac’s tone was serious. ‘Is that really what you want?’

Josh gave a wicked grin that was totally male. ‘I’m not often on my own. And when I am…’ he replaced his shades in a smooth movement ‘…I’m resting.’

Mac laughed and shook his head in exasperation. ‘So who’s the lucky woman at the moment? I haven’t seen anyone around.’

‘There’s currently a vacancy,’ Josh said airily, ‘but I’m considering a few applicants. I always enjoy the interview process.’

‘When are you going to grow up?’

‘When Cornwall runs out of decent-looking women.’ Josh glanced at a girl running towards the waves in a minuscule bikini. ‘Which judging from today isn’t going to be any time soon.’

Mac followed his gaze. ‘You are as shallow as the average rock pool, do you know that?’

‘Me?’ Josh planted a hand in the middle of his chest and looked affronted. ‘I’m just terribly misunderstood. I’m a dedicated doctor who needs an antidote to the stress of daily living. You, on the other hand, have turned so respectable since I sorted out your love life that I’m reluctant to be seen in your company in case you damage my reputation as a heartless playboy.’

‘You don’t choose who you fall in love with,’ Mac said mildly, glancing round for the dog, ‘and one of these days it’s going to happen to you. And I’m going to be there to rub your nose in it.’

Josh turned his gaze back to the waves, wishing he were out there. The sea glistened and sparkled in the summer sunshine and the waves curled and foamed as they hit the beach.

The female surfer was up on her board again and he sucked in a breath as his eyes slid down the girl in masculine appreciation. ‘How the hell does she balance?’

‘Same way you do,’ Mac said wearily, ‘by using her feet and her body.’

‘I haven’t got that body.’ Josh shook his head in wonder. ‘She shouldn’t be able to balance. According to the theory of relativity, she should be tipping forward.’

‘Theory of relativity?’

‘Yeah.’ Josh flashed him a wicked grin. ‘The size of her backside relative to the size of her—’

‘OK, I get the message.’ Mac whistled for the dog, shaking his head in blatant disapproval. ‘With you, it’s all about appearance, isn’t it? She’s probably as thick as a plank.’

Josh narrowed his eyes. ‘With a body like that, who cares?’

Mac rolled his eyes. ‘I can’t understand why some thoroughly modern woman hasn’t blacked your eye before now.’

‘Because I’m irresistible,’ Josh suggested, his eyes darkening as the girl jumped neatly off her board and tucked it under her arm, shaking her wet hair out of her eyes. ‘She’s coming this way. Any moment now she’s going to notice me. Watch and learn, bro’. I think that vacancy of mine is about to be filled.’

He gave a wicked smile and Mac gave a grunt of disgust.

‘I’ll get ready to resuscitate her when she’s knocked flat by the size of your ego. Has it occurred to you that she might not actually be interested in you?’

‘Are you kidding?’ Josh grinned and flexed his muscles. ‘Brain and brawn. What more could a girl possibly want?’

He stood still and watched as the girl turned back into the waves, lay on her board and paddled out to sea again without a glance in his direction.

‘Obviously losing your touch,’ Mac drawled, glancing at his watch. ‘Come on. What you need is some cold water on that libido of yours. Let’s go home. You can take a shower and have some lunch with us before you go back to patching up that boat of yours.’ He whistled for the dog and Josh’s face brightened at the prospect of lunch.

‘Has she cooked Indian? I love it when she cooks Indian.’

‘I’ve no idea. Whatever you think of my sad existence, even I’m not reduced to discussing menus with my wife.’ Mac fended off the dog as it bounded up to them, soaking wet and tail wagging madly. ‘But I doubt it’s Indian, on a Sunday. More likely to be a roast of some sort. She’s very traditional, my Louisa. Hopeful, down! Sit. For goodness sake, sit, you stupid dog!’

Josh wondered whether there was a woman in the world who would have the same effect on him as Louisa had on Mac. Probably not, he decided. He tried to imagine himself in his brother’s position, about to become a father for the first time. He couldn’t think of anything more terrifying. He’d thought about children, of course, but only to dismiss them with a shudder. He just couldn’t work out where they’d fit into his life. And he wasn’t about to give anything up, that was for sure. His job as a consultant in the A and E department didn’t leave much time for anything else, but what little time he had was spent with his boats or windsurfing. He certainly didn’t want to spend that precious time changing nappies. No, his life worked perfectly well the way it was. He could do without the whole family scene, although he had to admit that he enjoyed being with his brother, and his sister-in-law certainly knew how to make a cosy home.

‘Well, whatever she cooks will be delicious.’ He turned and prepared to head off the beach towards the dunes that ran along the bottom of Mac’s garden. A series of shouts stopped him and he turned, staring at a group of surfers in the water with a frown.

‘What’s the matter with them?’

‘Over here!’

Josh narrowed his gaze and watched as several people dragged a man out of the water and onto the beach. Even from that distance he could see the blood. ‘Oops.’ His tone was cool but his blue eyes were sharp and alert. ‘Looks as though someone’s had a knock on the head.’

Mac cursed under his breath. ‘It’s supposed to be my holiday,’ he muttered as they both broke into a run, Hopeful at their heels. ‘But it seems that even on my holiday I have to look at an injured person.’

Josh was ahead of him, his powerful legs eating the distance as they raced across the sand. ‘Relax. I’ll take this one.’ He dropped to his haunches, aware that the girl he’d been watching was already on her knees beside the injured man, her hair trailing down her back.

In one brief glance he saw two things. First, that she was a redhead and, second, that she was stunning.

He flashed her the smile that always guaranteed him female attention whenever he wanted it. ‘Don’t worry. I’m a doctor.’

‘I’m a doctor, too.’ She spoke in cool, clear tones designed to wither a man at a hundred paces, not even wasting a glance in his direction. ‘And you’re in my light.’

Josh ignored the smothered laughter from his brother, too intrigued by the girl to care about the teasing he was going to receive later. The sight of her in a black wetsuit was having an alarming effect on his blood pressure. She had a body straight out of a bad boy’s dreams.

But she wasn’t paying him the slightest bit of attention. She was saving that for the injured man, and as she looked down Josh found himself staring at her thick, dark eyelashes, fascinated by their length.

She was gorgeous.

‘He’s bleeding badly from his arm. Must have caught it on a rock when he came off the board. He was caught by the wave and the board gave him a bash on the head. I saw it happen,’ she said briskly, her fingers gently exploring the man’s head wound before moving to his arm. ‘It’s an artery. He’s cut an artery. Damn.’

As she shifted the man’s wetsuit, blood pumped skywards and she swiftly applied pressure and elevated the limb. ‘It’s a very jagged cut. I need something to use as a pad…’ Glancing around, she spotted the man’s friends hovering. ‘One of you take the laces out of your trainers and give me your T-shirt.’

One of the men took a step backwards, looking decidedly green.

‘It’s just blood,’ the girl said, a hint of impatience in her tone, ‘and the sooner one of you gives me a T-shirt, the sooner I can stop it. Come on!’

Josh watched in fascination as one of the men meekly did as she instructed. Quickly and with the minimum of fuss she bound the wound and turned her attention to the man’s head.

Josh ran a hand over the back of his neck, for the first time in his life feeling totally redundant in a medical situation. He kept waiting for her to do something wrong so that he could intervene, but she was doing everything right and she didn’t even seem to want help doing it.

She leaned closer to the patient, her body a slim curve in the tight wetsuit. ‘Hello? Can you hear me?’ Her voice was brisk and professional. ‘Can you tell me your name?’

The man groaned and screwed up his face. ‘My head…’

‘I know about your head and I know about your arm.’ Her slim fingers were on the man’s scalp, feeling for damage. ‘But now I need you to tell me your name.’

The man closed his eyes and the girl frowned slightly. Then she leaned closer to him and gave a sniff.

‘He’s been drinking.’ Her nose wrinkled in distaste and she glared at his friends who were still lurking close by, looking as though they’d rather be anywhere else. ‘Was he drinking before surfing?’

One of them shifted. ‘Maybe, just a bit.’

‘A bit?’ She gave them a look designed to freeze boiling water. ‘One of you get on the phone and call an ambulance. He’s going to need to go to hospital. I can’t tell what’s the bang on the head and what’s the alcohol. What’s his name?’

‘Dave.’ One of the lads shrugged. ‘He only had a couple of beers.’

‘Before surfing? He should have known better. And so should you lot.’ The girl shot them a look of contempt and then turned her attention back to the patient. ‘Dave, I’m going to put a dressing on your head and then get you to hospital. You’re going to need an X-ray and some stitches, and next time either drink or surf but don’t do both together. I need another T-shirt to bind his head.’

Finally she looked up at Josh and immediately she stilled. Slanting green eyes locked with his and widened as something powerful and indefinable passed between them.

Josh considered himself an expert on all things female but he’d never seen eyes like those in his life before and he couldn’t look away. Neither, it would seem, could she.

Mac cleared his throat. ‘Earth calling all doctors…’

The girl blinked and dragged her eyes away from Josh, but a betraying pink touched her cheeks that had nothing to do with the hot August sunshine and everything to do with powerful chemistry.

‘Have you got anything which we can use as a dressing for his head?’

Josh was having trouble concentrating. ‘I—er…’

‘Take your T-shirt off, Josh,’ Mac suggested kindly. ‘It might cool you down. You look a little hot.’

Josh dragged his gaze away from the girl and glared at his brother. ‘Take your own T-shirt off.’

‘Louisa bought me this for my birthday. And I’m not the one who’s overheating.’

Josh swore softly and dragged his T-shirt over his head, deriving some satisfaction from the fact that the girl stared at his muscular chest for several seconds before grabbing the garment and turning her attention back to the patient.

Josh watched her with masculine speculation. He was experienced enough with women to know when one of them was interested and the girl with the green eyes was definitely interested, despite her pretended indifference.

He’d felt the attraction like a physical force and he knew that she had, too.

She was securing his T-shirt in place when they heard the ambulance siren.

The ambulance drove onto the sand and Mac gave a nod of recognition as the crew hurried towards them.

‘His GCS is twelve,’ the girl told them, and proceeded to give them a fluent account of the patient’s injuries. ‘In view of the blood loss from the artery, I want to get a line in and then we need to ship him off as fast as possible. He’s going to need surgery on that wrist and possibly a CT scan. He’s been drinking. Make sure you tell them that in A and E.’

Josh watched in admiration as she found a vein with apparent ease, strapped the Venflon in place and nodded to the paramedics.

‘All right. He’s all yours.’ She stood up, her damp hair trailing down her back like a blaze of fire.

Anticipating the moment when he could get the girl on her own and swap essential details, Josh paused briefly to chat with one of the paramedics who he knew well, but when he finally glanced up, the girl had vanished.

He frowned and glanced around him but there was no sign of her.

Damn.

Mac gave a grin and slapped him on the shoulder. ‘Well, bro’, that was a first. A woman who didn’t notice you. Think you’ll ever get over it?’

‘She noticed me.’ Josh was still looking around the beach. She had to be somewhere. She couldn’t have just vanished that quickly. ‘She definitely noticed me.’

Where the hell was she?

‘Which is why she hung around to get better acquainted. Face it, brother, she’s the one who got away. I saw her face when you used your “I’m a doctor” chat-up line. She was not impressed. I’m a doctor, too, and you’re in my light.’ Mac was still laughing as he recited her words exactly. ‘And she was bloody good with that patient. Knew exactly what she was doing. I wouldn’t mind having her in our department. That really would be a first. A woman who doesn’t notice you.’

Josh narrowed his eyes, remembering that one, intense moment when their eyes had locked. ‘She noticed me.’

‘Well, she certainly didn’t hang around to further the acquaintance,’ Mac drawled. ‘And apart from the body, which I have to admit was impressive, she didn’t seem like your usual type. For a start, she could string words into a sentence. And she’s clearly a doctor, and a good one at that. You never date doctors.’

‘Only because I can’t stand the conversation over the dinner table.’ Josh yawned. ‘It’s much more interesting to date someone in a different profession.’

But he would have made an exception for the girl with the green eyes.

Mac shot him a wry look as they strolled back along the beach to the dunes that led to his garden. ‘I never realised you were so interested in conversation. I thought all your relationships were enacted beneath the sheets.’

Josh grinned. ‘Absolutely right. What better place is there?’