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‘You…you were very impetuous, but very brave,’ she murmured. ‘You must be freezing.’
He turned to look at her, eyes steely blue through dripping dark hair. ‘You can’t be too warm yourself. Look at you—you’re shivering despite that heat blanket.’ Someone had handed him a towel from the practice and he put it round her head, rubbing her hair to dry it. ‘You must get those wet things off. Go inside like the paramedic said,’ he remarked.
Of course she should go inside, thought Sally, but for a few seconds she stood absolutely still, bowing her head as Jack’s strong hands massaged her head and neck with the towel. God, that felt good. She almost forgot she was out on the pavement on a cold and windy day. It was wonderfully relaxing after the tension of the last quarter of an hour. Her body still shook slightly. Perhaps it was a reactive response to the situation they’d been through; perhaps it was because he’d pulled her against his shoulders, hugging her comfortingly.
For a brief second time went backwards and she was supported against Jack’s familiar hard-muscled body once again. A funny mixture of longing mixed with loss went fleetingly through her. This was how it had once been between them—she leaning against his chest, solid and dependable. She bit her lip, reminding herself that he hadn’t been dependable at all. He’d told her he loved her, but that had been a lie. She pulled roughly back from him in embarrassment, flicking her damp hair back from her face. Why the hell had she allowed herself to loll against him in that ridiculous manner? she thought angrily. He mustn’t get the impression that he still had any place in her heart. That was in the past now, and her life had turned in a different direction with Tim.
Jack put his hands on her shoulders and smiled down at her. ‘Go inside and get warm,’ he said gently, not giving any sign he was aware of her reaction.
‘Of course,’ she said lightly. ‘We should both go and get ready to start seeing patients.’
They made their way through the small crowd of people that had gathered curiously at the scene of the rescue and went into the surgery. It had begun to fill up, a murmur of conversation floating across to them as patients discussed the recent excitement. Joyce looked up at they went into the office.
‘You two ought to get changed,’ she said bluntly. ‘You’ll catch your deaths. By the way, your fiancé‧s in your room, Sally. I told him you’d been involved in this rescue incident and might be some time but he insisted on waiting. Something to do with his work and the wedding.’
Joyce’s tone was slightly caustic. Sally could imagine that she would disapprove of anything she considered ‘frivolous’ being discussed in surgery hours—one’s private life should be kept until after hours was her belief! Briefly Sally also wished that Tim had waited until the evening—at the moment she was cold, wet and tired, with a roomful of patients waiting to be seen. However, that was typical of her fiancé. He was full of pent-up energy, and if he wanted to do something he was impatient to do it immediately. He wasn’t the sort of man who could defer anything or wait until a more suitable time—but that was part of his charm, Sally thought fondly: he was always filled with enthusiasm for whatever project he’d got on at the time.
He was on his mobile phone as they came into Sally’s room, talking rapidly, but he wheeled round when he heard the door open. ‘I’ll ring you back—but keep that deal on hold,’ he said briskly to the person at the other end of the line, then he snapped the phone shut and put it back in his pocket.
‘Ah! Here you are, sweetie!’ he exclaimed. ‘I’ve been trying to get hold of you for ages. Finally I got Joyce. She told me there’d been an emergency outside the practice… what happened?’
He leant forward to kiss her then drew back in a startled fashion, taking in her attire and general dampness. ‘Good God, you’re all wet, and why are you wearing this blanket? Don’t tell me you jumped into the sea as well!’ He looked at Jack standing silently by Sally, also muffled in a blanket, and raised his brows. ‘Have you both been in the water? What the hell happened?’
Sally laughed. It was typical of her fiancé to turn up unexpectedly and forget that she might be in the middle of work herself!
‘It’s a long story, Tim, but let me introduce you to Jack McLennan—my new colleague. Jack, this is my fiancé, Tim Langley.’
The two men shook hands and Sally explained rather shakily, ‘It’s been mayhem here. A man jumped into the water to rescue his dog and got into difficulties. If it hadn’t been for Jack leaping in after him, I don’t know what would have happened.’
Tim raised his brows, impressed. ‘Wow! Did he indeed? Quite a superman! You must be a strong swimmer to help someone in rough seas like this.’ He frowned, as if trying to remember something. ‘Jack McLennan, eh? Sounds rather familiar. Where have I heard that name before?’
‘Jack and I worked together at St. Mary’s many years ago…I might have mentioned it,’ she said lightly. ‘But I thought you were in Glasgow. What are you doing here at this time of the morning?’
‘I tried to get here from Glasgow early before you went to work—I wanted to surprise you.’ He looked full of suppressed excitement. ‘I’ve been up all night brokering a deal and I think I’ve managed to swing it. That means mega-bucks in the piggy bank—I couldn’t wait to tell you!’
Sally laughed. ‘That sounds exciting—we could do with mega-bucks I dare say.’
‘I want to tell you all about it of course, but there’s another thing that’s equally exciting! You won’t believe this! I’ve found a fantastic new venue for our wedding!’
Sally stared at him. ‘You’ve what? But we’ve already got a lovely place—the Old Hall just by Loch Martin. And we’ve had all the invitations printed!’
Tim laughed jovially. ‘That doesn’t matter. It won’t take long to get new ones done—and this place is much bigger than the Old Hall. I’ve thought of several other people it would be politic to invite, especially thinking of your father’s position in Glasgow. Fortunately I can get a good deal on it as the premises are owned by a guy I know.’
Sally compressed her lips. Sometimes she felt that Tim was far too impetuous, and although doing things from the best of generous motives, it was slightly unnerving and, she had to admit, rather irritating. Now she suddenly felt unutterably tired and certainly not in the mood to discuss her wedding arrangements in front of Jack.
‘I’m sorry, Tim,’ she said firmly. ‘I need to show Jack the flat above the surgery first of all. He can change there now if he wants. And of course I’ve got to put on dry clothes—we’re both really wet and cold. As you can see, there’s a big surgery to get through, and it’s Jack’s first day here. Why don’t we talk about all this tonight?’
Tim pulled a comical face of disappointment. ‘Can’t you spare ten minutes, Sally? I’ve been up all night, I’m dead beat, but I’ve been dying to talk to you about everything.’
Sally bit her lip. Surely Tim could see that it would take her at least a quarter of an hour to change her clothes and she still hadn’t put Jack in the picture regarding the computer system. As for Tim being tired, she and Jack were cold and exhausted too! But that was Tim all over, so enthusiastic and buoyed up about everything—he was like a puppy with a new toy.
She tried to mask the impatience in her voice. ‘Sorry, Tim, it’ll have to wait until later. I’ll see you back at the house this evening.’
He shrugged and smiled. ‘OK, then—of course I can see you haven’t really time for me now. I suppose we’ll just have to discuss everything when I see you later.’ He turned to Jack and said breezily, ‘Well done with the rescue.’
Then a loud jazzy tune from his jacket pocket indicated that his mobile was ringing. He put up a hand of apology and turned away to listen and answer in staccato sentences.
‘Ah, Rita! Yes. Fine, I’ll be there right away.’ He turned back to Sally and Jack. ‘Sorry about that! My secretary’s very much on the ball and when she says something needs doing, I have to take notice! I must get back to Glasgow pronto, so I’ll see you soon—ciao!’
Tim strode out, kissing Sally almost on the run, and Jack watched him through the window as he drove off. He turned round to Sally, one eyebrow raised slightly.
‘So that was your fiancé. He sounds a very busy chap. A successful businessman, I guess…’
Sally flicked a look at Jack. His expression was bland, but there was something about his tone… ‘What is it?’ she asked sharply. ‘Don’t you like him?’
Jack smiled and shrugged. ‘I don’t know him at all. He seems…very pleasant. I suppose he’s not quite the type of man I would have imagined you marrying.’
Sudden irritation flashed through Sally. How dared Jack, of all people, voice his opinion of Tim?
‘Really?’ she said sarcastically. ‘And what’s wrong with him?’
‘Nothing that I know of—it’s just that you’re more a country girl, and he seems very focussed on…well, the world of business, the city.’
Jack didn’t actually spell out the words ‘You seem ill-matched’, but that was what he’d meant, thought Sally furiously. Talk about instant assumptions!
‘So he’s focussed. I like to see enthusiasm in one’s work,’ she snapped, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at him. ‘Just what are you implying?’
Steady eyes looked at her. ‘I’m not implying anything, Sally, but will he settle down in this small community?’
‘You don’t know him. He’s an extremely generous man, quite happy to live in the country when we’re married.’
Her cheeks were flushed, large grey eyes sparking with anger, her hair damp and tousled as she raked her hand through it crossly. She looks gorgeous when she’s angry, reflected Jack wistfully. It reminded him of times past when they would have a minor tiff and then make it up passionately later. He pushed that thought away savagely—that damn Tim Langley didn’t know how lucky he was.
He put up his hands as if in surrender, and said lightly, ‘I’m sure he’s everything you say he is. You did ask me if I liked him and I’m only voicing my opinion, Sally. No criticism implied, just that he’s not what I expected. Perhaps I thought you’d go for someone more—’
‘Well, that’s neither here nor there, is it?’ she cut in bitingly. ‘It’s nothing to do with you who I marry.’
There was an unreadable expression in Jack’s eyes as his glance met hers. He murmured, ‘I suppose you think I’ve forfeited any right to be interested in your future?’
‘As a matter of fact, yes, I do think that,’ said Sally forcefully. What right had an ex-boyfriend to tell her the sort of man she should be marrying? She bit her lip. Perhaps she was being over-aggressive about the matter—after all, she didn’t give a damn what Jack thought of Tim, did she? But the warm feelings she’d had for Jack since he’d rescued Callum Brody faded, and she glanced pointedly at her watch.
‘We’d better get on,’ she said coldly. ‘Joyce will show you the flat and you can get dressed there. I’ll run through some of the procedures in twenty minutes when I’m changed. Luckily, I’ve got some spare clothes I keep in the cupboard here.’
Half an hour later Sally sat down at her desk with a steaming cup of coffee and one of Joyce’s home-made biscuits in front of her. Joyce had managed to get hold of Callum Brody’s wife to come and pick up their little granddaughter Susy and the dog so it seemed as if the dramatic episode at the start of the day had been resolved satisfactorily. And yet, instead of feeling relieved, Sally was unsettled, and Jack’s words about Tim seemed to repeat themselves in her mind.
She had to admit that on the face of it she and Tim didn’t have much in common. To be honest, there had been niggling doubts when he’d first asked her to marry him. His world was so different from hers—a commercial world with hard-headed executives who lived and played hard. Although her father worked in Glasgow, they had always lived in the countryside outside the city and hers had been a privileged childhood where she’d ridden ponies, kept dogs and even sheep as pets.
But the dazzling and glamorous life Tim offered her was such a complete contrast to the past lonely six years, so full of fun—theatre first nights and dances, even flying off to France for two days. It was hard to resist such a generous and lively man. So what if neither of them felt dizzy with passion when they saw each other? They were great friends, weren’t they, and that was a very important thing in relationships, wasn’t it?
Tim hadn’t given Sally much time to ponder on their differences. After a whirlwind courtship, they had become engaged and he’d agreed quite happily to start off their married life in Crannoch. After all, he felt he’d got a prize with Sally—he wasn’t going to let a beautiful young doctor slip out of his hands!
Sally sipped her coffee absent-mindedly. A thought crossed her mind—would Tim have another spur-of-the-moment decision like he had done with the wedding venue and decide he wanted to move somewhere more cosmopolitan? She shrugged her shoulders irritably and put her mug down so firmly on the desk that coffee spilt over onto some papers. Damn Jack McLennan and his observations for putting such a thought into her head!
She cared very much about Tim and, of course, he cared equally for her. That was all that mattered. The main thing in married life was to be together, to support each other…and if occasionally she missed the fireworks and heart-stopping thrill of attraction she’d once felt for Jack, that didn’t matter, did it?
She clicked one of the icons on the screen, bringing up the list for the morning’s surgery. She would not discuss her fiancé with Jack again—he had lost the right to comment on her private life a long time ago.
CHAPTER THREE
JACK tapped his pencil morosely on the desk, scowling unseeingly at the screen showing the list of patients he was to see that morning. What the hell did Sally see in Tim Langley? How could she have become engaged to him? Oh, he was probably a decent man, but he was at heart obviously someone mainly interested in business and commercial deals—did Sally really want to live in that sort of city world, where her husband’s consuming interest was financial matters? Someone whose first concern was the deal he’d just pulled off and not concern for his fiancée’s physical well-being after getting soaking wet in freezing waters?
A rueful grin lifted Jack’s expression for a second. He’d certainly hit a nerve with Sally when he’d dared to hint that Tim Langley was less than perfect! He’d quite enjoyed doing that! But he realised that that sort of little episode wasn’t going to make for a good working relationship with Sally, and whatever he felt about her fiancé he ought to keep his mouth shut in future. It was, Jack reflected wryly, the little green monster of jealousy that was getting to him. Sally had every right to choose who she wanted to get married to.
He sighed. This job was going to be a bitter-sweet experience, for even if they had no future together, being near Sally made him feel more vitally alive than he had for six years.
He pressed the button to admit the first patient. If he was going to do this job properly he had to bury his personal feelings. He couldn’t start his first day at the practice fulminating over a man like Tim Langley.
‘Mr Angus Knightley?’ he said pleasantly to the man who came in. ‘I’m the locum here for a few weeks—Jack McLennan.’
Mr Knightley walked over slowly to the desk. He would have looked quite imposing but for his stooping gait and a general fragility marked by his grey complexion and dark shadows under his eyes.
He lowered himself gingerly onto the chair in front of the desk, and remarked, ‘Oh, I know all about you, Doctor, and what happened this morning—saving Callum Brody from a watery grave! You’re a celebrity around here now!’
‘News travels fast,’ remarked Jack with amusement. ‘How did you know all that?’
‘My daughter told me.’
‘Your daughter?’ asked Jack, puzzled.
Angus Knightley smiled proudly. ‘The lass at Reception—Sharon. She helps that dragon of a woman, Joyce. The practice couldn’t do without Sharon! She told me the other day that a man was going to do a locum job here, so I thought it would be an opportunity to have myself looked at. It’s about time they had a man in the practice at last—much more satisfactory!’ Then he added hastily, ‘Not that I’ve anything against women doctors, of course!’
Jack raised a quizzical brow. ‘Of course not! I hope I can help. Tell me what the trouble is.’
He waited patiently as Mr Knightley cleared his throat and took a deep breath, as if psyching himself up to explain his symptoms. ‘The…the thing is…’ He stuttered a little and then said in a rush, ‘It’s very embarrassing, Doctor. I couldn’t have let Dr Cornwell or Dr Lawson examine me…’
How often does that happen? thought Jack wryly. So many people put their embarrassment and fear before their health and then suffered the consequences of a late diagnosis. He was well used to patients’ diffidence.
‘Now you’ve managed to get yourself here, don’t miss the opportunity to tell me,’ he prompted gently.
Another silence as Angus grappled with the need to explain his problem and the indignity of revealing it, then he said awkwardly, ‘Trouble with the…er, rear end, you know. It’s damned painful.’
‘You mean haemorrhoids?’ Jack asked sympathetically. No wonder the man looked terrible. Although piles were the subject of much cruel humour, they were amongst the most painful of common conditions. ‘How long have you been suffering with them?’
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