The Doctor's Engagement

She must have been mad to agree to it!

But it was too late to change her mind now.

Reluctantly she climbed out of the car and walked across the car park, pinning a smile on her face as she pushed open the door that led to the reception area.

‘Yes?’ The blonde woman behind the desk gave her a cool look and Holly paused uncertainly. Hardly the most effusive welcome she’d ever received.

‘I’m here to see Dr Logan.’

‘Dr Logan has been called out on an emergency,’ the receptionist told her briskly, ‘and in any case you can’t see him without an appointment.’

‘I’m not asking for an appointment.’ Holly took a deep breath as she tried to get past that icy fa;alcade. ‘I’m—’

‘He has a space next Thursday at four o’clock.’

Next Thursday? Holly frowned. And what happened if one of his patients was desperate to see him before that?

‘As I said before, I don’t need an appointment,’ she told the woman, her voice still friendly. After all, they were obviously going to be colleagues and she didn’t want to alienate her. ‘I’m not a patient. I’m Holly Foster, the new practice nurse. I’m Dr Logan’s—’

‘Fiancée.’ The blonde woman stared at her for a moment and Holly saw her mouth tighten. ‘Of course. I should have guessed.’

Holly swallowed and managed a smile. ‘Why should you have guessed?’

‘You match his description perfectly,’ the receptionist said, frowning slightly as her eyes drifted to Holly’s left hand, ‘although you’re not wearing his ring.’

His ring? Oh, help! Neither of them had thought of that.

‘I never wear a ring at work,’ Holly said quickly. ‘It’s unhygienic and my last practice wouldn’t allow it. I thought I might have to start work straight away so I put it on my chain.’

She patted her blouse, hinting that it was hidden under her clothing, a practice common among nurses. Fortunately for her, at that moment the doors of the health centre crashed open and the ring was forgotten as the reception area was filled with screams.

‘Help me! Someone help my daughter. She needs a doctor.’ A woman struggled towards them, clutching a small girl who was shrieking hysterically. ‘She’s been bitten by a dog.’

‘We don’t have a doctor on the premises,’ the receptionist told her briskly. ‘They’re all out on calls. You’ll have to drive to the Infirmary.’

Holly gaped at her and took charge.

‘Let me have a look,’ she said to the woman, smoothing the little girl’s hair with a gentle hand. ‘You poor thing! What a scary thing to happen. I’m Holly, what’s your name?’

The little girl continued to sob hysterically and peered at Holly with scared eyes.

‘It bit me,’ she wailed, and Holly nodded.

‘I know. And I’d like to try and make it better. What’s your name, sweetheart?’

‘Helen,’ the little girl sobbed jerkily, and Holly’s smile widened.

‘Well, isn’t that funny? You’re a Helen and I’m a Holly. Both our names begin with H. Where did the dog bite you, Helen?’

The little girl took a shuddering breath. ‘Arm.’ She shrank away from Holly who nodded sympathetically.

‘I won’t touch it, sweetheart, not until you’re ready. What we need to do is make it nice and clean and have a good look at it. There’s a special room here for that sort of thing. And there are some lovely toys...’

She crossed her fingers that her predecessor had kept toys in the nurse’s consulting room. Surely she did. Everyone did.

Holly turned to the receptionist, her smile friendly. ‘If I could just use the treatment room, we don’t have to make these poor people travel all the way to the Infirmary.’ She turned to give Helen’s mother an explanation. ‘I’m the new practice nurse and technically I haven’t started yet, but I can’t see anyone minding if we sort Helen out.’

The set of the receptionist’s mouth indicated that she minded a great deal. ‘We’re not an accident and emergency department.’

‘No,’ Holly agreed quietly, her voice firm, ‘but if we’re capable of giving the care required, without the patient having to make a long trip to hospital, we should give it. I’ll assess the bite and clean it up, and hopefully by then one of the doctors will have arrived back from their calls and they can write up some antibiotics. Is there a white coat I could borrow, please? My uniform is still in my suitcase.’

Her shoulders stiff with disapproval, the surly woman marched out from behind the desk and walked down a carpeted corridor. Making a mental note to have a word with Mark about the attitude of his receptionist, Holly gestured to Helen’s mother to follow her.

‘This is the room you’ll be using.’ The receptionist flung open the door and turned to leave. ‘I’ll phone the senior partner to let him know that you’re here.’

And try and make trouble, no doubt, Holly thought uneasily, watching the woman leave. Oh, bother. She didn’t need that sort of aggravation in a new job.

‘Take no notice of Caroline Duncan,’ Helen’s mother said, rolling her eyes. ‘Her bark is worse than her bite.’

Holly wasn’t convinced, but she gave the woman a smile. ‘I do apologise for the fact I’m not in uniform, Mrs...?’

‘Brown. But call me Alison, and I don’t care what you’re wearing as long as you can sort my Helen out.’

‘Well, I’m just going to dig out a white coat and then I’ll have a look at it,’ Holly promised, glancing round as the door opened sharply and Caroline entered, carrying a white coat.

Holly thanked her warmly. ‘Oh, and, Caroline, presumably I can access the notes on the computer?’

Caroline frowned as she turned to leave. ‘Our computer system is very complicated. I expect you’ll need to be trained before you can use it.’

Holly, who had been using computer systems all her working life, smiled easily, still doing her best to be friends with the woman. ‘I’m sure I’ll be able to muddle through. Thanks, Caroline.’

She slipped on the white coat and then spotted a basket of toys under the examination couch. ‘Oh, look at these, Helen!’ She dived under the couch and retrieved the basket. ‘Have a little look at those for me and tell me what there is because I’ve never seen them before.’

The little girl delved into the basket and finally a small smile appeared as she pulled out a bright yellow helicopter with blades that spun round. ‘There’s a helicopter! I love helicopters.’

‘I had one like that when I was small,’ Holly chatted away, calming and distracting the little girl until she felt the time was right to look at the damage. ‘Can I just take a look at that arm now, sweetheart?’

Helen nodded, still intent on playing with the helicopter.

‘Is it awful?’ Alison Brown bit her lip as Holly unwrapped the makeshift bandage she’d used to stop the bleeding. ‘It bled such a lot.’

‘I’ll just take a look. How did it happen? Did the dog have an owner?’

Alison sighed. ‘Yes, it belongs to Mrs Ellis, the librarian. It was Helen’s fault really. I’ve warned her not to touch dogs she doesn’t know, but she will go up to them and make a fuss—you know children.’

‘I do indeed,’ Holly agreed sympathetically. ‘Don’t tell me—this wasn’t a cuddly type of dog.’

‘Not at all,’ Alison shuddered. ‘It was tied up outside the supermarket and Helen was over there and patting it before I could stop her. To be honest, I didn’t think about stopping to have words with Mrs Ellis after it happened. I just sprinted over here in a panic.’

Holly dropped the bloodstained bandage in the bin and examined Helen’s arm carefully.

‘Actually, it isn’t very deep at all,’ she said finally, walking across the room and rummaging through the cupboards until she found a dressing pack. ‘The biggest risk from animal bites is infection, so what we need to do is clean it really carefully and then give Helen some antibiotics. How old is she?’

‘She’s five,’ came the reply and Holly nodded as she ripped open the dressing pack.

‘And is she fully immunised? Did she have all her childhood jabs?’

‘Oh, yes.’ Alison nodded vigorously. ‘I really believe in immunisations. She had everything going.’

‘Good. Then she won’t need a tetanus injection. Helen, I’m just going to clean your arm. It might sting a little bit. Fancy you liking helicopters. Do you know that in one of the hospitals I worked at, we had our own helicopter?’ Holly chatted away as she cleaned the wound, knowing that thorough cleaning was as important in the prevention of infection as the antibiotics.

‘A hospital had a helicopter?’ As she’d planned, the little girl was so interested in her story that she virtually ignored the pain in her arm.

‘That’s right. I worked in London, and as it’s such a big place with lots of traffic, they have a helicopter to go and collect people who need to see the doctor in a hurry.’ Satisfied that the wound was as clean as it was going to get, Holly inspected the edges, deciding that it was better left to heal on its own without sutures. ‘I’m not going to stitch this, Alison, because it would be distressing for Helen and, to be honest, after a bite like this it’s better, if possible, to leave the wound open so that any infection can drain away.’

‘I know this sounds like a stupid question...’ Alison blushed and pulled a face ‘...but there’s no risk of rabies, is there?’

‘No.’ Holly shook her head. ‘Rabies isn’t endemic in this country. We’d only consider taking preventative measures against rabies if she was bitten abroad or if the dog was imported. But seeing as you know the owner—’

‘Yes, I do.’ Alison’s mouth tightened. ‘And I’ll be having words with her, believe me. Helen was wrong to have touched it, but Mrs Ellis shouldn’t be leaving an animal like that in a place where children are tempted to touch him.’

Holly taped a sterile dressing in place and helped the little girl put her T-shirt back on.

‘Did you go on the helicopter?’ Helen’s eyes were like saucers and Holly smiled at her.

‘Not usually. I worked in the accident and emergency department, so we used to take care of the people after the helicopter had given them a lift. But I did go out on it a few times.’

‘Wow!’ The little girl hardly noticed as Holly carefully dressed the bite. ‘Was it very high up?’

‘Oh, very!’ Holly’s green eyes twinkled as she secured the dressing firmly. ‘The people looked like dots and I could see into everyone’s gardens. Now then, I’ll just check your notes on the computer. What’s your address, Alison, and who’s your GP?’

‘We’re with Dr Logan.’ Suddenly Alison’s eyes brightened mischievously. ‘And he’s so gorgeous it takes your breath away! But perhaps you haven’t met him yet, have you?’

Holly gave a wry smile. ‘Actually, I have. I’ve been acquainted with Dr Logan’s fatal charm since I was two years old. We were at school together and we trained at the same hospital so our paths are always crossing.’

And now they were engaged, albeit fictitiously.

‘Well, all the women in Cornwall are totally besotted with him,’ Alison told her with a laugh. ‘He’s lovely with the patients. Never makes you feel small and always acts as though he’s got plenty of time.’

Holly smiled. ‘He’s certainly a good doctor.’ She tapped away at the keyboard with sure fingers until she brought the right information up onto the screen. ‘Oh, here we are. Tell me—’ she kept her voice casual ‘—do you normally have to wait a long time to see him?’

She wanted to find out whether Caroline’s comment was typical of the time it took to get an appointment with Mark.

‘Well, that depends on the receptionist.’ Alison gave a wry smile. ‘Caroline works on the principle that if she makes you wait long enough you’ll either be dead or better by the time your appointment comes round. The others are really nice and if it’s an emergency they always seem to manage to squeeze you in.’

‘That’s good to hear,’ Holly said lightly, checking in the records that Helen had no recorded allergies or any other relevant medical history. ‘Is she allergic to any drugs, Alison?’

‘No.’ Alison shook her head. ‘Nothing.’

‘Right. I’m going to ask one of the doctors to write her a prescription.’ Holly tapped away again. ‘Can you wait for a few minutes while I find out when one of the partners is likely to be back?’

Just then the door opened and Mark strode in, a frown touching his dark brows. ‘Holl?’

‘Good afternoon, Dr Logan,’ Holly said, her voice formal in case he hadn’t realised she was with a patient. ‘Helen had a bit of an accident with a dog but we’ve sorted it out.’

Mark grinned at the little girl and for a brief moment Holly saw him as other women must see him. Tall and athletic, with broad, muscular shoulders and laughing dark eyes. With his cropped dark hair and permanently shadowed jaw he was wickedly handsome, and Holly wondered what the staid old ladies of Cornwall thought of him. Then she gave a chuckle. They probably loved him. The ones on the ward always had. She watched him curiously. Alison was right, he was gorgeous. Gorgeous and sexy. It was just that she didn’t usually see that when she looked at him. She just saw the Mark she’d known all her life.

‘Hello, tiger.’ His attention was focused on his young patient. ‘Have you come to play with my toys again?’

‘Holly rides on helicopters,’ Helen said breathlessly, and Mark laughed.

‘I know she does. Always has her head in the clouds does Holly. And what have you been doing to your arm?’

Helen’s lip wobbled. ‘Dog bit me.’

‘You poor sausage.’ Mark squatted down so that he was on her level, his dark eyes gentle as they locked with the little girl’s. ‘Did you bite it back?’

‘Of course not, silly.’ Helen giggled in spite of herself. ‘It was furry.’

Mark pulled a face. ‘Yuck! And how does that arm feel now?’

Helen stared thoughtfully at her new bandage. ‘Better,’ she said finally, and Mark smiled and ruffled her hair.

‘Good.’ He looked at Holly and raised an eyebrow. ‘Stitches?’

She shook her head. ‘I thought it was best to avoid them. I cleaned it thoroughly, though. She’s covered for tetanus but she’ll need some antibiotics as it was a puncture wound. I thought co-amoxiclav—she’s not allergic to anything, I’ve checked.’

Mark blinked and then gave a crooked smile. ‘I’d forgotten what it was like working with someone as efficient as you.’

Holly pressed the right keys on the computer and the prescription came out with a whizzing noise.

‘The wonders of technology,’ Mark murmured, signing it with a flourish. ‘Here you are, Alison. We’ll need to see that wound again—when do you think, Holly?’

Holly laughed. ‘Well, seeing as I haven’t even got my uniform on yet, I don’t really know the setup here. Is there a dressing clinic or do I just do a general session?’

Mark frowned and thought for a moment. ‘Routine dressing checks usually just get booked into your general sessions. Meg, our practice manager, will fill you in on when they are. Most mornings, I think, and then special clinics—asthma, immunisation and things in the afternoon.’

Alison scooped Helen up in her arms. ‘Gosh, you’re a lump! Too big for Mummy to carry around like this.’ She gave the child a squeeze and lowered her gently to the floor, glancing at Mark while she did so. ‘So what happened to Sister Hill? I thought the baby wasn’t due for another two months?’

‘It wasn’t, but I’m afraid her blood pressure shot up and she was advised to rest so she decided to leave earlier than expected.’

Alison picked up her bag. ‘Which left you in the lurch, I would have thought.’

‘You can say that again.’ Mark gave a wry smile and raked long fingers through his dark hair. ‘But fortunately Holly has kindly agreed to step into the breach so we should be fine now.’

‘Come back in three days and I’ll check that wound,’ Holly said. ‘Sooner if it becomes inflamed or swollen, but it shouldn’t because the antibiotics should prevent any infection.’

Alison nodded and thanked her again before ushering the little girl out and closing the door behind them.

‘Thanks for dealing with them,’ Mark said, and Holly grinned at him.

‘To be honest, I was quite relieved. I was so afraid that our first meeting was going to be in front of the practice staff and we hadn’t discussed what I was meant to do.’

‘Do?’ Mark leaned broad shoulders against the wall and started to laugh. ‘What do you mean, “do”?’

‘Well, you know...’ Holly shifted uncomfortably. ‘I wasn’t sure if I was expected to—to...’

She started to blush, which felt ridiculous. Why should she blush in front of Mark when she’d known him for ever?

‘To what?’ Mark was still laughing, his dark eyes teasing. ‘To rip my clothes off in Reception in front of the patients?’

‘It’s all right for you to laugh!’ She put her hands on her slim hips and glared at him. ‘Mark Logan, you’d better watch your step or I won’t do this for you!’

He stifled the laughter. ‘Sorry, Holl. It’s just that I had this vision of you—’

‘I don’t want to know,’ Holly said primly, switching off the computer and clearing up the mess left from the dressing. ‘As it is, we have now been reunited in private, so we can avoid touching public reunions.’

‘Shame.’ Mark gave her a wicked grin, his eyes dancing. ‘We could have run towards each other in slow motion like they do in the movies.’

Her eyes twinkled in return. ‘With the sound of the sea in the background.’

‘Something like that.’ His smile was warm. ‘It’s really good to see you, Holly.’

‘It’s good to see you, too. Even if that handsome face of yours has got you into trouble again.’

‘Don’t!’ He gave a sigh and held out his arms. ‘Hug?’

She crossed the room and hugged him just as the door opened and Caroline Duncan entered.

Guiltily Holly tried to pull away, but to her surprise Mark held her tightly for a moment before releasing her with apparent reluctance.

‘Sorry, Caroline.’ His tone was easy and friendly. ‘You must excuse us but we haven’t seen each other for a while and we thought we were in private.’

It was a gentle reprimand for the fact that she hadn’t knocked, but Caroline was far from apologetic. In fact, if anything she looked angry. Her colour was high and she seemed flustered.

‘There’s a man in Reception who came off a jet ski in the bay,’ she said crisply. ‘I was going to send him to the Infirmary, but—’

‘Oh, I’ll see him as I’m here,’ Mark said, his tone pleasant but firm. ‘I’ve finished my calls so it’s only lunch he’s disturbing and I don’t usually get that anyway. Send him through to my room. Holly can give me a hand—we used to work in A and E together.’

Holly rolled her eyes. ‘Perhaps I’d better get my suitcase out of the boot and unpack my uniform,’ she said dryly. ‘I seem to have started work immediately.’

Mark pulled a face and looked guilty. ‘I wanted to give you the weekend to make yourself at home in Cornwall. Do you mind starting straight away?’

‘Of course I don’t.’ Holly smiled and followed him down corridor to his consulting room, gasping as she saw the view. ‘Oh, Mark! No wonder this is your dream job. How on earth can you concentrate on the patients with a view like that out of the window?’

The yachts and fishing boats bobbed in the bay and the coast path stretched enticingly into the distance.

‘Nice, isn’t it?’ Mark dropped his bag by his desk and switched on his computer. ‘Oh, well, I suppose we’d better see this patient now.’

Holly lifted an eyebrow. ‘Do you do anything except minor accidents in this practice?’

‘That’s what happens in a holiday resort,’ Mark told her ruefully. ‘We get plenty of the ordinary routine stuff, too, but we’ll tell you about that over dinner. We’re meeting Ian Hughes, the senior partner, this evening.’

‘Oh, yes, I met him in London. I really liked him.’ Holly stared out across the bay. ‘Where’s your house?’

When she had helped Mark move five months earlier he had rented a small flat until he’d found somewhere more permanent. Now she was dying to see the house he’d chosen.

‘You can’t see it from here. I wanted you to come down before I bought it but you didn’t answer the phone for about two weeks...’ Mark looked at her quizzically and Holly coloured and turned away, avoiding that penetrating gaze. Mark saw too much.

‘I—I had a lot on...’

‘Right.’

She knew from his tone that he didn’t believe her but, good friend that he was, he didn’t push her.

‘So, is it far?’

‘No, not really.’ Mark walked across and stood next to her. ‘My surgery finishes at five-thirty and I’m off then until tomorrow so if you can wait that long you can follow me home.’

‘Well, if I’m going to be here all afternoon I might as well unpack my suitcase and see some patients,’ Holly suggested.

Mark hesitated and then gave a shrug. ‘If you’re sure you don’t mind, that would be great.’

Holly frowned. ‘Just one thing—I think Caroline’s taken an instant dislike to me.’

‘Yes.’ Mark’s tone was guarded. ‘She probably would.’

‘She would?’ Holly lifted her eyebrows. ‘Why would she? What have I done?’

‘Done?’ Mark dragged his long fingers through his dark hair and sighed. ‘You haven’t done anything. The reason Caroline doesn’t like you is because you are my fiancée, and she’s the woman I was telling you about.’

CHAPTER TWO

‘OH, MARK, it’s stunning!’

Holly stared at the house which was perched on the clifftop with views across the estuary and out to sea.

‘Great, isn’t it?’ Mark helped drag her cases out of the boot. ‘Wait until you see inside.’

Holly slammed the car door and followed Mark through the front door of the house and into a huge, glass-walled living room.

‘Oh, my goodness.’ She strolled over to the windows that hugged all three sides of the living room, giving an almost panoramic view. ‘This is fabulous. How on earth did you manage to get your hands on this?’

‘Right place, right time, as they say. Come and see my deck. The view’s fantastic. If I crane my neck I can see my boat.’ He gave her a smug grin and unlocked the French windows, opening up one side of the living room so that she could step onto the bleached wooden decking that curved around the house.

He was right. The view was breathtaking. She closed her eyes and breathed in the air, enjoying its salty freshness.

‘Have you done lots of sailing?’

‘Masses.’ Mark dropped onto one of the solid wooden chairs that surrounded a large table. ‘There’s a GP in the neighbouring practice who’s keen and he’s been crewing for me.’

‘Poor man!’ Holly rolled her eyes and smiled. ‘I remember sailing with you in our teens. It was a nightmare!’

Mark lifted an eyebrow. ‘I thought you loved our sailing.’

‘You yelled at me, Mark.’ Holly paced along the deck and looked at the view in the other direction. ‘This is fantastic.’

‘Did I yell?’ Mark sounded astonished and Holly turned and leaned against the balcony, wisps of blonde hair flying across her face as the wind gusted gently.

‘Never mind that. Tell me about Caroline.’

‘Later.’ Mark stretched out long legs and his dark eyes narrowed as they fixed on her face. ‘I want to know what’s been happening to you. I haven’t seen you for five months and phone calls aren’t the same. Bring me up to date. How’s your love life?’

‘Oh, you know.’ Holly gave a careless shrug. ‘Still kissing frogs.’

Mark threw back his head and laughed. ‘And not one of them has turned into a handsome prince?’

‘Not that I noticed,’ Holly quipped lightly, trying to skirt over the fact that her love life was totally non-existent.

‘So you still haven’t lost your virginity?’ Mark gave her a gentle wink and she blushed prettily.

‘Why on earth was I stupid enough to tell you that?’ she muttered crossly, and Mark chuckled.

‘Because we’ve always told each other everything.’ He shook his head slowly, his face alight with amusement and incredulity as he looked at her. ‘I can’t believe some lucky man hasn’t swept you off your feet.’