‘Yeah. I’ll take a look…’ There was no point in going through the toing and froing of Hannah denying there was anything wrong, and him telling her that he knew there was. It was only the long route to an outcome that he’d already decided on.

‘It’s nothing. I just twisted it a bit when I fell. Don’t make a fuss, Matt.’

Making a fuss was a tempting prospect at the moment. But his childhood had taught him that conflict was no way to reconcile a disagreement. Matt swallowed his annoyance and tried logic instead.

‘You’re my teammate. I need you in full working order for next week.’

That silenced her. She followed him into the hospital building, and Matt ignored her frown as he took the lift up to the orthopaedic department. A quick enquiry of one of the doctors that he knew elicited access to one of the treatment rooms, and he ushered Hannah inside.

‘This is entirely unnecessary. Do you think I can’t do this for myself?’

‘I’m sure you can. Since you haven’t yet, I’ll do it for you. Like I said, I need you to keep up with me…’

That did it. She sat down on the couch, unlacing her boots and letting them fall to the floor with a clunk. Red socks. Matt studiously ignored the fact that they seemed somehow special and delightful when worn by Hannah. When she swung her legs up onto the couch, he quickly snatched up a pillow and placed it at the other end for her head.

‘Comfortable?’

‘No.’ She glowered at him. Clearly she’d prefer to be somewhere else right now. ‘I’m not your patient, Matt.’

So that was what was bothering her. Hannah was far more comfortable with being invincible, and just taking him along with her for the ride. Irritation started to prickle his skin, and he took a step back, putting his hands into his pockets. The one thing that he could never be, with Hannah, was indifferent. He had to own that, and ignore the impulse to provoke an equal reaction from her. He was a doctor, and acting that way would be good right now.

‘All right.’ He gave her his best doctor-patient smile. ‘Point one. You have hurt yourself and someone needs to take a look at it. Getting yourself in the right position to examine your own knee properly isn’t easy, I’ve tried it.’

She stared at him. Clearly Hannah took the point, and Matt decided to move on.

‘Point two, I’m an orthopaedic surgeon. Which means I’m qualified.’

‘Over-qualified, I’d say.’ Hannah still wasn’t going to give up. Neither was Matt.

‘Point three. I’m your teammate. When are you going to start trusting me?’

He’d hit a nerve. Hannah sat up on the couch, grimacing at him.

‘Are you telling me that our partnership isn’t working for you?’

It worked just fine. He was aware of Hannah watching him carefully from time to time—most of the time actually—but it still worked. ‘It could work a little better.’

He knew that look. It was the wary, thoughtful look of someone who had been hurt.

‘And you think that’s my fault?’

He shook his head. His father had blamed everyone else for his own shortcomings and that was something that Matt didn’t want to emulate.

‘No, it’s our fault. Mine as well. I think that we’re both people who like to manage things on our own, and that we both have difficulty in trusting others. That usually works pretty well for both of us, but the whole point of this competition is to take us out of our comfort zones.’

She was thinking about it. Hannah was either going to roll her trouser leg up and let him take a look at her knee, or she was going to get off the couch, grab her boots and limp off down the corridor.

Her lip curled, and she reached for the leg of her trousers, folding the material carefully as she pulled it up.

‘You’ll be wanting to see the other knee. To compare.’ She reached for the other trouser leg, rolling that up too. Matt wondered if he should congratulate her on anticipating his next move, and decided that she might not take that too well.

‘Thank you.’ He stepped forward, looking at both knees carefully.

‘I don’t see any swelling, I’m going to check the movement… Tell me when it hurts.’

She nodded, and Matt carefully bent her leg, watching her face intently. Maybe he should trust Hannah enough to just tell him when there was any pain…

Or not. He saw it in her face but she said nothing.

‘That hurts?’

‘A little.’

‘Okay, how about that?’ He moved the leg again, checking the ligaments on the other side of her knee.

‘No, that’s fine.’

‘And this…?’ He dug his thumb into the side of her knee, and she shook her head. That was good. Matt moved on to the spot that ought to hurt, and she winced.

‘Yeah. That’s a little tender.’

He nodded. ‘And what’s your diagnosis?’

Hannah smirked. ‘You’re the expert. You tell me.’

Matt gave her a small smile. ‘I’d say it’s an injury to the medial collateral ligament. Grade One so it shouldn’t give you too much trouble. Treatment?’

She gave him an argumentative look. ‘Don’t patronise me. I may not be a doctor, but I’m fully aware that rest, ice, compression and support should sort it. I’ll be okay by next week.’

He rose to the challenge. ‘It should be improved. It’ll be a few weeks before the knee is back up to full strength.’

‘Right. I stand corrected, Mr Lawson.’

‘And I’ll know that I need to compensate for you a bit.’

She didn’t like that one bit. Hannah flashed him a look that left him in no doubt that she was contemplating jumping off the couch and strangling him.

‘Just as you might like to compensate for me,’ Matt added, quickly.

‘Compensate how?’ Hannah had obviously decided to put the strangling on hold for a moment.

‘Getting help from those men with the aerial lift truck was a great idea. But I got the distinct impression that you thought I was jumping the gun…’

She looked at him steadily. ‘And were you?’

He may as well admit it. ‘Yes, I was. I reckoned I’d climb the fence before you had a chance to try it. You were already limping and I’m not sure you would have made it with that knee.’

Hannah grinned suddenly. ‘You’re probably right. But a bit more communication would have been nice.’

‘Point taken. Can I trust you to remind me if I forget that?’

‘Oh, yes, I’ll remind you.’ Hannah thought for a moment. ‘Can I trust you to pick me up if I fall over again?’

Matt chuckled. ‘Yeah. Any time.’

Trust wasn’t something he usually shared with people he didn’t know well. But he and Hannah had to become a team if they were going to win the prize for their hospital. Hannah’s hospital. He might be moving on soon.

Matt dismissed the thought of the job application forms, lying on his desk at home. That was the future, and as ever he was uncertain about where he’d be a few months from now. This was now.

‘Would you like to come back and have dinner with us afterwards?’ Hannah’s question broke his reverie. ‘Sophie’s bringing Sam along to see the results announced, and Mum’s making burgers, she always makes a few extra and puts them in the freezer so there’s plenty to go round. We could talk tactics for next week.’

It wasn’t the kind of invitation he usually accepted. But getting to know Hannah better was the obvious precursor to building trust and teamwork.

‘Thanks. That would be great. I’ll go and see if I can rustle up some ice and a light knee support. Why don’t you stay here?’

She nodded. Then she smiled suddenly. ‘Did you miss something?’

Matt chuckled. ‘You mean did I miss telling you that your knee is just fine, and apart from a slight injury you have good movement and excellent muscle tone? Or the part about the small ganglion cyst on the side of your knee?’

‘So you did find it? What were you thinking, that you wouldn’t mention it?’

‘I didn’t want to sound like a know-all. I reckoned you must be aware of it, and I’m sure you also know that it might well disappear on its own, without any treatment. I don’t imagine it hurts.’

‘No, it doesn’t. It’s nice to know that you caught it, though.’ Hannah gave him a brilliant smile, and Matt smirked back.

‘Now that we have that cleared up, I’ll go and get the ice. Stay put.’

He’d wanted to protect her. Matt had wanted to be nice to Hannah, and not make her feel that he was criticising or second-guessing her, the way his father had with his mother. But he’d been doing it all wrong. A woman like Hannah, and maybe a man like him, thrived on straightforwardness and honesty.

‘All right. Hurry up, we don’t have all day.’

CHAPTER SIX

THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN Hannah and her new teammate had undeniably been growing, and even though she’d tried to ignore it, Hannah had to admit to herself that she enjoyed it. Maybe that, along with a fierce desire to keep up with whatever pace Matt set, was why she’d fought so hard when he’d suggested he examine her knee.

But as soon as he’d walked into the consulting room, he’d changed. No less confronting, but he was cool and professional. Hannah let Matt place the ice on her knee, and sat patiently until he told her that would do for the time being. Then he wrapped a soft support around her leg, checking that it didn’t hamper her movement but that it was tight enough to aid the healing process.

‘I thought I’d go along to the orthopaedic ward and see Mia. You want to come?’

‘Yes. They won’t mind that we’re not their team?’

‘We’re on their team, in every way that counts. There are a lot of ambitions in that ward, and we’re the ones who are working to help them achieve those ambitions.’

It was a nice way of putting it. ‘That’s what makes you want to win?’

‘One of the things.’

He led the way to the ward, and when he and Hannah entered there was a small murmur of excitement. She saw Mia waving from the far end, and when the ward sister nodded in response to Matt’s request that they might spend some time here, she walked over to her.

‘How did you do?’

‘Hmm. Not sure. We did our best.’

‘That’s all you can do.’ Mia spoke with a wisdom beyond her years and Hannah suspected that it was what Matt and the rehab specialists had told her.

‘Would you like to hear about it? We had a rescue situation, a bit like the ones that you can come across, working as ambulance crew. We had to deal with it on our own, though usually an ambulance crew has back-up from the other rescue services.’

‘You bet I want to hear about it.’ Mia’s eyes were shining.

Hannah heard Matt’s quiet chuckle behind her. ‘I’ll leave you to it. Would you ladies like some juice?’

Mia nodded, and Hannah grinned at him. ‘Hey, we’re not ladies. What are we, Mia?’ She turned to Mia, mouthing the answer.

‘We’re ambos!’

‘My mistake. I’ll get you two ambos some juice.’

Matt had left her with Mia while he worked his way around the ward, talking to the other kids. He had a nice way with them, and they were obviously relaxed and confident in his company. Hannah reckoned he must spend a lot more time here on the ward than his job required.

She ended up talking to Mia for over an hour, answering her questions, without being too blunt about the distressing parts of her job. It was clear that this was part of the dream that kept Mia going through all of the pain and the distress of her condition.

‘We have to get going now. Sorry, Mia.’ Matt returned, shooting Mia an apologetic look.

‘That’s okay. Thanks, Hannah.’

‘My pleasure. I’ll pop in again, and let you know what other scrapes Dr Matt has got himself into.’

‘Oh, really?’ Matt feigned outrage and Mia giggled. ‘Next time Hannah gets herself into a scrape, I’ll make sure to take a picture and send it to you…’

They walked out of the ward together, and back down to the area where the outside broadcast trucks were parked. It felt as if it would have been almost natural to take Matt’s hand. As if they were close, in a way they hadn’t been when they’d arrived back here. That wasn’t appropriate, though, or wise. The alternate reality, where she and Matt could be that close, didn’t exist. There was only this world, and in this world Hannah didn’t take chances.

They waited, and Hannah went across to greet Sam when he arrived with Sophie. The crowd grew, along with the obvious tension amongst the contestants, all waiting to see who was going to be the winner.

‘I reckon they dug their way through…’ Matt nudged her, nodding towards the green team, whose T-shirts were covered in grime.

‘Maybe that’s what we were all supposed to do.’ Hannah turned the corners of her mouth down. They’d solved the problem, making use of the resources at their disposal. In the real world you didn’t question your luck, or the presence of the right person at the right time.

‘We’ll see.’ Matt took a deep breath as they were all gestured up onto the podium.

There was the inevitable wait as microphones were tested and the judges got ready to announce their decision. Hannah saw Sam in the crowd and waved to him. Mia was amongst the home supporters, with her mother, talking excitedly.

Then a judge stepped forward. She congratulated all of the teams, going through what had caught the judges’ eyes about each of them. The truck had been put there by the TV company to see if any of the contestants would spot it and ask for help. Hannah waited, trying to keep her face from betraying her thoughts.

‘And now for the winners. For the second time—it’s Matt and Hannah…’

A roar went up from the crowd, drowning out the rest of what she was saying. And suddenly, without thinking, all the pent-up emotion burst through and she was in Matt’s arms.

There was nothing else. Just his arms around her, and the feeling that she wanted to get closer, to touch his skin. Hannah couldn’t help letting out a sigh, as she felt herself melt against him.

‘Way to go, Robin.’ She felt his lips brush her cheek, a thrilling second that should have lasted longer.

‘You too, Flash.’

Then he let her go. They shook hands with the other contestants, and Matt took her hand, leading her up to the judge to receive her medal. Hannah waved to the cheering crowd, unable to look at him but powerless to stop thinking about the feel of his strong body.

Hannah was still limping slightly as she hurried across the grass towards Sophie and Sam, but her knee was clearly less painful than it had been. Matt watched as she hugged Sam, and they did their victory dance. He wanted her so much he could hardly breathe.

Hannah was in conversation with Sam, and it seemed to be about something important. Sam was nodding, and Hannah hugged him, and then stood up as Sophie took his hand to walk towards the ice-cream van that was parked in the car park behind them. Then Hannah began to walk along the line of spectators, looking for someone.

He knew what she was about to do, just as surely as if she’d shouted her intentions over her shoulder at him. Hannah walked along the line of kids who had been brought down from the wards to watch, and Matt jogged across the grass towards her. He wanted to see this.

She knelt down opposite Mia, who was talking excitedly. Then Hannah took off her medal, hanging it carefully around Mia’s neck.

‘Hannah, are you sure…?’ Mia’s mother spoke up.

‘Of course. Mia deserves this.’ She grinned down at Mia, who was clutching the medal to her chest, just in case her mother decided to try and take it away from her. ‘What you’re doing now is hard, Mia. But if you can do all that Dr Matt and the physiotherapist tell you, then you can do anything.’

Matt wanted to hug her again. He wanted to feel her body against his, and this time it wasn’t just a heat of the moment thing. He’d thought about it and he needed to hug her. Instead he smiled at Mia’s mother.

‘What about a photograph?’

‘Oh, yes, of course.’ Mia’s mother began to rummage in her handbag, and Mia produced her own phone from her pocket. ‘Give it to me, darling, and we can take one with Hannah and Dr Matt.’

The photos were taken, and then Matt saw one of the nurses beckoning him over. ‘Will Sam mind if we stay a minute for some more photos?’

‘No, Sophie’s promised him an ice cream and from the looks of the queue they’ll be a little while.’ She smiled. ‘I asked him if he’d mind me giving my medal to a girl who was sick and had been very brave, and he told me that was the right thing to do.’

Matt chuckled. ‘That was kind of him.’

‘He has his moments. He surprises me all the time, though, he’s starting to think about things. I found him tipping the contents of the bin out on the kitchen floor the other day. They’d given them all a talk about recycling at school, and he told me that Grandma wasn’t doing it properly.’

‘Good for him. It’s his future.’ Matt felt a lump form in his throat. Sam didn’t just know what was right, Hannah had taught him. He knew only love, and he understood that other kids weren’t as lucky as he was.

‘Let’s take some photos, then…’ She smiled up at him, striding across to a little boy who was waving to them, telling the child next to him to be patient and he’d get a photo too. Matt joined her, kneeling down next to the boy’s wheelchair and smiling for the camera.

The other teams had seen what they were doing and had joined in, posing for photographs with the children. Hannah was chatting to the last little girl when Matt saw Sophie walking towards them, balancing two ice-cream cones in one hand. Sam was dawdling along next to her, intent on demolishing his own ice cream as quickly as possible before it melted.

‘Hi, Matt. You and Hannah did a great job today. Four points ahead on the leader board.’

‘Thanks. It was mainly Hannah…’ He might have helped things along, but it was Hannah who had inspired him. Who’d made him want to win more than anything.

‘Well, you deserve an ice cream at least.’ Sophie proffered one of the cones she was carrying and when he hesitated she gave an impatient nod. ‘Take it. I’ll share with Hannah.’

The ice cream was cool in his mouth and welcome on a hot summer’s day like today. Matt bent down, squatting on his heels in front of Sam.

‘Hey, little man. I have something for you.’ He took the medal from around his neck, and put it around Sam’s. The little boy regarded it steadily.

‘Look at that! I think Matt deserves a thank-you, don’t you, Sam?’ Sophie nudged Sam’s shoulder.

‘Thank you.’ Sam took Matt by surprise, suddenly flinging his arms around his neck, depositing the last of the ice cream from his cone on the back of Matt’s T-shirt. Then he ran over to Hannah, showing her the medal, and she turned, her eyes bright. Matt would have given anything to receive that one look.

She mouthed a thank-you, and Matt nodded.

‘I think that warrants a photograph.’ Sophie gave the last ice-cream cone to Hannah and took her phone from her pocket. Hannah came to stand next to him, her shoulder touching his, and Sam stood in front, leaning against Matt’s legs. They could almost have been a happy family. Matt longed to put his arm around Hannah.

The moment was captured, but didn’t last long enough. He’d watched Hannah and Sam together, and seen her ice-queen mask slip when she was with her son. And now, for just a little while, he was a part of it all. Matt had told himself that it was impossible to miss what you’d never had, and for the most part he believed it. Right now, the ache of knowing that they were just posing for the camera was almost unbearable.

‘Are we ready to go?’ Hannah bent down towards Sam. ‘It’s burgers tonight, your favourite. Aunt Sophie and Matt are coming with us as well.’

‘Hooray!’ Sam careened around in a circle, and Hannah smiled.

‘Right, then. Hungry mouths to feed…’

Matt followed Sophie’s car to one of the small villages that bordered Hamblewell. The house was set a little way back from the road and surrounded by a neat garden, the russet-coloured bricks blending in with the flowers and climbing plants around the doorway.

There were already two cars parked in the driveway, but Sophie manoeuvred in beside them with only inches to spare, leaving the space outside in the road clear for Matt to park. He saw Hannah lean back, undoing Sam’s seat belt, and he tumbled out of the car, running towards the front door.

‘Grandma… Grandma!’ He shouted through the letter box. ‘Mum and Matt won! They’re ahead of everyone else!’

Hannah’s mother opened the door, and Sam tumbled inside. She greeted Matt, and hugged Hannah, obviously enjoying the sudden influx of noise and laughter. Hannah showed Matt through a large, comfortable sitting room to a shaded patio at the back of the house.

‘Sit down. I’ll go and get some drinks.’ Hannah disappeared through the open door of the kitchen, and the sound of voices erupted. She backed out of the kitchen, holding her hands up in a gesture of surrender, and Matt heard Sam’s voice.

‘Go away, Mum. We’re cooking!’

‘Okay, sweetheart. I’ll leave you to it. I love you,’ Hannah called in through the open door, and turned back towards Matt. ‘Apparently drinks will be brought out to us. The kitchen’s out of bounds.’

Matt sank into the cushions of the wooden patio chairs. ‘That’s nice. I could do with a rest.’

‘Me too.’ Hannah grinned, sitting down and unlacing her boots. She stripped off her socks, wiggling her toes as she stretched her legs out in front of her.

Sophie appeared with two glasses and a jug of iced lemonade, setting them down beside Hannah on the table and producing an ice pack from under her arm. ‘Which one of you needs this?’

‘Me. Thanks.’ Hannah reached up, taking the ice pack and applying it to her knee. ‘It’s okay.’

‘You’re sure? I’ve heard your version of okay before.’

‘Matt took a look at it. Grade One MCL injury.’ Hannah pulled her trouser leg up, unwrapping the knee support. ‘See I’ve even got this…’

Sophie nodded her approval, pulling one of the other chairs around so that Hannah could prop her leg up on it. ‘Don’t let her move, Matt.’

‘Right you are.’ Matt grinned as Sophie disappeared back into the kitchen. This was nice. The rough and tumble of a loving family home.

Hannah leaned forward, pouring the lemonade and handing Matt a glass. She took a couple of mouthfuls of her own drink and then settled back into her seat, obviously tired out.

‘Have you always lived here?’ The sitting room had the quiet air of an established home.

Hannah shook her head. ‘No, my parents lived right out in the sticks. I’d moved into a flat in town to be closer to the hospital while I was training, and then I took a year out to travel. When my dad died, my mum decided that she wanted to move into town so that she was less isolated. I was pregnant, and we decided to get this place together. It suited us both.’

‘It must be great for Sam. To have his grandmother so close.’

‘It’s great for me, too. Sophie and I work the early shift, so Mum gets Sam up and takes him to school and then I’m there to pick him up.’ She smiled lazily. ‘Mum’s joined a book club and the local women’s guild. She’s a busy women these days.’

‘Not so much at first, then? After your father died?’

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