скачать книгу бесплатно
‘Ah, Kyla. We all miss her. It’s not good when islanders leave. It’s not good for Glenmore.’
Swift and sure, Conner slipped the needle into the vein. ‘Depends on the islander, Mrs Ellis. There are some people that Glenmore is pleased to see the back of.’ He released the tourniquet and watched as the blood flowed. ‘I’m checking your thyroid function, by the way.’
‘Oh. Why?’
‘Because I think hypothyroidism is a possible explanation for your symptoms.’ Having collected the blood he needed, he withdrew the needle and covered the area with a pad. ‘Press on that for a moment, would you? If you leave here with bruises, that will be another black mark against me.’
She looked down at her arm. ‘That’s it? You’ve finished? You’re good at that. I barely felt it.’ The expression in her eyes cooled. ‘I suppose you have a lot of experience with needles.’
Conner picked up a pen and labelled the bottles. ‘I’m the first to admit that my list of vices is deplorably long, Mrs Ellis, but I’ve never done drugs.’
Her shoulders relaxed. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said softly. ‘That was uncalled for. If I’ve offended you…’
‘You haven’t offended me.’ He dropped the blood samples into a bag, wondering what had possessed him to take the job on Glenmore. He could have come in on the ferry, sorted out his business and left again.
‘Hypothyroidism, you say?’
‘There are numerous alternative explanations, of course, but this is a good place to start.’
‘I don’t know whether to be relieved or alarmed. I was expecting you to tell me it was nothing. Should I be worried?’
‘Worrying doesn’t achieve anything. If we find a problem, we’ll look for a solution.’ He completed the necessary form and then washed his hands again. ‘I’m going to wait for those results before we look at anything else because I have a strong feeling that we’ve found the culprit.’
‘You’re confident.’
‘Would you prefer me to fumble and dither?’
She laughed. ‘You always were a bright boy, Conner MacNeil. Too bright, some would say. Bright and a rebel. A dangerous combination.’
Conner sat back down in his chair. ‘Call the surgery in three days for the result and then make another appointment to see me. We can talk about what to do next.’
‘All right, I’ll do that. Thank you.’ Susan picked up her bag, rose to her feet and walked to the door. Then she turned. ‘I always regretted it, you know.’
Conner looked up. ‘Regretted what?’
‘Calling the police.’ Her voice was soft. ‘At the time I thought you needed a fright. I thought a bit of discipline might sort you out. But I was wrong. You were wild. Out of control. But what you needed was a bit of love. People to believe in you. I see that now. What with everything that was happening at home—your mum and dad. Of course, none of us knew the details at the time, but—’
‘You did the right thing calling the police, Mrs Ellis,’ Conner said in a cool tone. ‘In your position I would have called them, too.’
‘At the time I was angry that they didn’t charge you.’
‘I’m sure you were.’
It was her turn to smile. ‘Now I’m pleased they didn’t. Can I ask you something?’
‘You can ask. I don’t promise to answer.’
‘There was a spate of minor shoplifting at that time but everyone else was taking sweets and crisps. You took the oddest assortment of things. What did you want it all for?’
Conner leaned back and smiled. ‘I was making a bomb.’
‘He blew up the science lab!’ Flora stood in front of Logan, trying to make him to see reason.
‘Funny.’ Logan scanned the lab result in front of him. ‘Conner said that you’d bring that up.’
‘Of course I’m bringing it up. It says everything about the type of person he is.’
‘Was.’Logan lifted his eyes to hers. ‘It tells you who he was. Not who he is.’
‘You really think he’s changed?’
‘Are you the same person you were at fifteen?’
Agonisingly shy, barely able to string a sentence together in public. Flora flushed. ‘No,’ she said huskily. ‘Of course not.’
Logan shrugged. ‘Perhaps he’s changed, too.’
‘And what if he hasn’t? What sort of doctor is he going to make?’
‘An extremely clever one. Most people wouldn’t have had such a good understanding of the reactivity series to cause that explosion. Anyway, I thought you were relieved that I’d found another doctor.’
‘I was, but I never thought for a moment it would be—I mean, Conner?’ Flora’s expression was troubled. ‘He’s right, you know. The locals won’t be happy. What if they make life difficult for him?’
‘They always did. He’ll cope. Conner is as tough as they come.’
‘I can’t believe he’s a doctor. How did you find out? I mean, he vanished without trace.’
‘I stayed in touch with him.’ Logan lifted his gaze to hers. ‘He’s my cousin, Flora. Family. I knew he was a doctor. When I knew I needed help, he seemed the obvious choice.’
‘Are you sure? He used to be very unstable. Unreliable. Rebellious. Disruptive.’ Attractive, compelling, addictive.
‘You’re describing the teenager.’
‘He created havoc.’ she looked at him, wondering why she had to remind him of something that he must know himself. ‘He was suspended from school three times. If there’d been an alternative place for him to go, I’m sure he would have been expelled. Not only did he blow up the science lab, he set off a firework in the library, he burned down the MacDonalds’ barn—the list of things he did is endless. He was wild, Logan. Totally out of control.’ And impossibly, hopelessly attractive. There hadn’t been a woman on Glenmore who hadn’t dreamed of taming him. Herself included.
She’d wanted to help.
She’d wanted…
She pushed the thought away quickly. She’d been a dreamy teenager but she was an adult now, a grown woman and far too sensible to see Conner as anything other than a liability.
‘His parents were going through a particularly acrimonious divorce at the time. There were lots of rumours about that household. My aunt—his mother—left when he was eleven. That’s tough on any child.’ Logan turned his attention back to the pile in his in-tray. ‘Enough to shake the roots of any family. It’s not surprising he was disruptive.’
‘He isn’t interested in authority.’
Logan threw the pen down on his desk. ‘Perhaps he thinks that those in authority let him down.’
Flora bit her lip. ‘Perhaps they did. But if that’s the case then it makes even less sense that he’s back. He couldn’t wait to get away from Glenmore the first time around and he stayed away for twelve years.’
‘Is it that long?’ Logan studied her face thoughtfully. ‘I haven’t been counting, but obviously you have.’
‘It was a wild guess,’ Flora muttered quickly, ‘but either way, it’s been a long time. And the question is, why has he picked this particular moment to come back?’
‘Why does it matter? If he turns out to be a lousy doctor, I’m the one who will pay the price. Or is there more to this than your concern for the reputation of Glenmore Medical Centre? Is this personal, Flora?’ Logan’s voice was gentle. ‘Is there something going on that I should know about?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ Flora rose to her feet swiftly, her heart pounding. ‘And I think it’s obvious to everyone that I’m not his type. I’ve never been attracted to unsuitable men.’ A painful lump sat in the pit of her stomach. He’d never looked at her. Not once.
‘Then you’re probably the only woman on the island who wasn’t,’ Logan said mildly, ‘if I recall correctly, Conner had quite a following, and the more reprehensible his behaviour, the bigger the following.’
‘I suppose some of the girls found him attractive because he was forbidden territory.’ Flora wished her heart would slow down. ‘I still can’t believe he’s a doctor.’
‘I know you can’t. You didn’t exactly hide your astonishment,’ Logan said dryly and Flora felt a twinge of guilt.
‘I didn’t mean to be rude but weren’t you surprised when you found out?’
‘No.’ Logan rolled his shoulders to ease the stiffness of sitting. ‘Conner always was ferociously clever.’
‘He hated school. He was barely ever there.’
‘And he still managed straight As in every subject. As I said—we all let him down. He was too clever to be trapped behind a desk and forced to learn in a prescribed pattern. People were too conventional to notice the brain behind the behavioural problems.’
Flora gave a puzzled frown. She’d never thought of it that way before. ‘Well, he obviously learned to study at some point. Where did he train, anyway?’
‘In the army.’
‘In the—’ Stunned, Flora swallowed. ‘He was in the army?’
‘Army medic.’ Logan flipped through a pile of papers on his desk and removed a file. ‘Read.’ He handed it to her. ‘It’s impressive stuff. Perhaps it will set your mind at rest about his ability and dedication.’
‘But the army requires discipline. All the things Conner doesn’t—’
‘Read,’ Logan said firmly. ‘The patients might doubt him to begin with, but I don’t want the practice staff making the same mistake. The man’s qualifications and experience are better than mine. Read, Flora.’
Flora opened the file reluctantly. After a moment, she looked up. ‘He’s a surgeon?’
‘Among other things. I did tell you that the man was clever.’
Her eyes flickered back to the page. ‘Afghanistan? That doesn’t sound very safe.’
‘No.’ Logan’s voice was dry. ‘But it sounds very Conner. I don’t suppose anything safe would hold his interest for long.’
‘Which brings me back to my original question.’ She dropped the file back on his desk. ‘What’s he doing back on Glenmore? He hates Glenmore and if he still needs adrenaline and excitement in his life, he’s going to last five minutes on this island.’
‘I don’t think it’s any of my business.’ Logan leaned back in his chair. ‘He’s back, that’s all I need to know.’
‘It’s going to be like putting a match to a powder keg. And I’m just worried he’ll let you down in the middle of the summer tourist season. You and all the islanders.’
Logan’s gaze followed her. ‘They let him down. This is his chance to even the score or prove himself. Either way, he’s family, Flora, and I’m giving him this opportunity. It’s up to him what he chooses to do with it.’
Flora bit her lip. Family. On Glenmore family and community was everything. It was what made the island what it was. But Conner had rejected everything that Glenmore stood for. He’d walked away from it.
So why was he back?
CHAPTER THREE
CONNER WATCHED as Flora entered the room. Her eyes were down and she was clutching a bunch of forms that he assumed were for him.
Probably from Logan, he thought, finding an excuse to engineer peace.
The fact that she seemed reluctant to look in his direction amused him. As a teenager she’d been impossibly shy. He remembered her sitting on her own in the corner of the playground, her nose stuck in a book. What he didn’t remember was her ever stringing more than two words together. But today, in Logan’s surgery, she’d been surprisingly articulate.
He gave a cynical smile.
It seemed his presence was enough to encourage even the mute to speak.
‘The lamb enters the wolf’s den unprotected,’ he drawled softly, and watched as the heat built in her cheeks. ‘I never saw you as a risk-taker, Flora. Aren’t you afraid I might do something evil to you now we’re on our own?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ She adjusted her glasses and put the forms on his desk. ‘Logan wanted you to have these.’
No, Conner thought to himself. Logan wanted us to have a moment together because he doesn’t want his staff at odds with each other.
He heard her take a deep breath and then she looked at him.
As if she’d been plucking up courage.
‘So…’ She cleared her throat. ‘How is it going? Any problems so far?’
‘No problems at all. The locals are refusing to see me, which means I don’t have to spend my time listening to the boring detail of people’s minor ailments.’ He studied the slight fullness of her lower lip and the smooth curve of her cheeks. She was pretty, he realised with a stab of shock. She was also wonderfully, deliciously serious and he couldn’t resist having a little fun with her. ‘And it’s really interesting to make contact with all the girls I…grew up with.’
As he’d anticipated, she flushed. What he hadn’t expected was the sudden flash of concern in her eyes. The kindness. ‘The patients are refusing to see you?’ She sounded affronted. ‘That’s awful.’
‘Don’t worry about it. I’m allergic to hard work and it gives me more time to spend on the internet.’
‘You’re just saying that, but you must feel terrible about it.’
‘I don’t give a damn.’
She gave a faint gasp and blinked several times. ‘You don’t need to pretend with me. I’m sure you’re upset. How could you not be?’
‘Flora,’ he interrupted her, amused by her misinterpretation of the facts, ‘don’t endow me with qualities that I don’t possess. To feel terrible I’d have to care, and I think we both know that my relationship with the islanders is hardly one of lasting affection.’
‘You’re very hard on them and perhaps that’s justified, but you need to see it from their point of view. Everyone’s a bit shocked, that’s all. No one was expecting you because Logan didn’t say anything to anyone.’
‘Given that this is Glenmore, I expect he’ll be struck off for respecting confidentiality.’
Her sudden smile caught him by surprise. ‘They do gossip, don’t they? Everything takes three times as long here because of the conversation. I can’t get used to it.’ Her smile faded. ‘Logan told me about what you’ve done—your training. That’s amazing. I had no idea.’
Conner sat in silence and she spread her hands, visibly uncomfortable with the situation.
