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‘Who told you that?’ Ally sipped her tea and mentally ran through everything she had to do before surgery. Mornings were always such a rush.
‘Uncle Jack.’ The little girl pushed her arm into the cereal packet and removed a fistful of cornflakes.
‘Charlotte McGuire, that’s disgusting!’ Ally removed the packet with a frown and pushed a piece of toast towards her daughter. ‘If you’re still hungry eat some toast.’
Blue eyes clashed with hers. ‘Toast is yuck.’
Ally took a deep breath, reminding herself that mealtimes should never be a battleground. ‘You liked toast yesterday.’
‘Well, I hate it today.’ Charlie scowled and then shrugged, obviously deciding that the toast looked quite tempting. ‘OK. One piece. If you shape it like a house. Why didn’t they die?’
Calmly Ally buttered the toast and cut out windows and a door. ‘Why didn’t who die?’
‘Those boys.’ Charlie munched happily, obviously forgetting that toast was supposed to be ‘yuck’. ‘Uncle Jack told Grandma that they were lucky you happened to be there because if you hadn’t they might have died.’
‘Well, they certainly shouldn’t have been walking without the right equipment.’ Making a mental note to talk to Jack about being so graphic in front of five-year-olds, Ally picked up the rest of the breakfast things and stacked them in the sink.
‘How would they have died?’
Ally gritted her teeth. Thanks, Jack. Thanks a bunch. ‘Well, it was very cold, sweetheart, and people can die of being too cold. But they’re fine now, so why don’t you just forget about them and get ready for school?’
Charlie didn’t want to forget it. ‘Karen doesn’t always wear her coat in the playground so does that mean she could die?’
‘No, it doesn’t,’ Ally said quickly, wiping her hands on the towel. ‘It isn’t the same thing at all. The boys on the mountain were wet through from a waterfall and that made them even colder. And up in the mountains is much colder than the playground. Now then, if you don’t hurry up and clean your teeth you’re going to be late.’
Charlie slipped off the stool, skipping through the kitchen to the stairs.
Ally breathed a sigh of relief. Having a five-year-old with an enquiring mind was a mixed blessing.
She grabbed both coats and Charlie’s schoolbag, and they climbed into Ally’s little car to drive the short distance to her friend Karen’s house.
They were met at the door by Tina, Karen’s mother.
‘Hi, there!’ She gave them a bright smile and ruffled Charlie’s hair as the little girl darted past her to join her friend who was finishing breakfast in the kitchen.
Ally bit her lip and looked at her gratefully. ‘Thanks, Tina. I don’t know what I’d do without—’
‘Forget it! You know we love having her.’ Tina gave her a friendly push. ‘Get going or you’ll be late for surgery. Don’t forget our Hallowe’en party on Saturday. Are you coming?’
Ally shook her head. ‘I’m working, but Mum will bring her.’
She gave her friend a quick hug and sprinted back to her car, thinking how fortunate she was to have a good friend who was prepared to have Charlie to play every morning for the short time before school so that she herself was able to make morning surgery without being late. Her parents collected Charlie after school and looked after her until Ally finished evening surgery. Fortunately the senior partner, Will Carter, restricted her on-call responsibilities so she rarely worked evenings or weekends. All in all, the arrangements worked well, although she would have liked to be at home for Charlie more.
A feeling of sadness shot through her and she pushed it away. She had no choice about the way things were and she never had. She did the best she could in the circumstances.
She pulled into the surgery at the same time as Will.
‘Morning, beautiful! How’s that girl of yours?’
Ally rolled her eyes. ‘Too inquisitive for her own good.’
Will laughed. ‘You wait. It gets worse.’
‘Don’t tell me that!’ Ally threw him a grin. She adored Will. Nearing retirement age, he had developed a practice that the whole of Cumbria admired. Without Will she would never have survived the trauma that had surrounded Charlie’s arrival. ‘Karen Butler is having a Hallowe’en party on Saturday and they’re all dying of excitement.’
Will frowned and pushed open the health centre door for her. ‘Aren’t you working on Saturday?’
‘Yes, but it’s not a problem.’ Ally tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. ‘My mum is taking her and that’s fine by Charlie.’
‘Sure?’
Ally nodded as they walked through to the spacious reception area. ‘Quite sure, Will, but thanks for the thought.’
She knew that Will would have taken over at the drop of a hat and she didn’t want that happening. He already picked up more than enough of her workload so that she could spend as much time as possible with Charlie.
Will greeted the reception staff in his usual cheery manner and strode through to the staffroom, still talking to Ally.
‘Talking about Saturday, Tony Masters is having a dinner party and I thought—’
‘The answer’s no, Will!’ Ally interrupted immediately, knowing what was coming. The same thing that happened every time they were on their own together. Will trying to play Cupid. With the best of intentions, admittedly. ‘I know what you’re going to say, and not only do I hate dinner parties where I’m the available woman but I’m quite happy as I am. I don’t need you matchmaking.’
Will scowled and flicked the switch on the kettle. ‘Ally, you’re young and beautiful and you shouldn’t bury yourself because of Charlie.’
‘Charlie and I are fine.’ Ally shrugged off her coat and hung it up, before filling her mug and standing by the door ready to make her escape into her consulting room.
Will’s mouth tightened. ‘You’re far from fine! You don’t have a social life, apart from Charlie’s friends, I know you struggle financially because that louse—’
‘I’m independent, Will, and that’s what matters to me.’ Ally gave him a gentle smile. ‘It’s love and constancy that matter to a child, not luxuries. Charlie and I are happy. You’re much more upset about it than I am!’
‘Too right I’m upset about it,’ Will growled. ‘You should have someone to look after you.’
‘Oh, yes?’ Ally’s gentle blue eyes hardened. ‘Well, the men I meet aren’t very good at that if you remember, so now I look after both of us by myself. On my own.’
Will looked sad. ‘You deserve so much more…’
Ally’s face softened and on impulse she walked over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. ‘You’re a lovely man, Will, but there aren’t too many like you around.’
Will stared down at her. ‘But if I knew someone—’
‘Will! Drop the subject, will you?’ She gave him an exasperated look and made for the door. Didn’t he ever take no for an answer? ‘I’m happy. Charlie is happy. Now, if you’ll excuse me I’ve got a surgery to take.’
‘OK, OK, I’m sorry.’ Will raised his hands in a gesture of surrender and smiled ruefully. ‘You can’t blame me for trying. Consider the subject dropped. Don’t go yet—I need a quick word about a patient before we start surgery.’
Ally raised an eyebrow and paused with her hand on the doorhandle. ‘One of yours or one of mine?’
‘One of yours.’ Will pulled a face. ‘I was called out to little Kelly Watson last night. She had a dreadful asthma attack.’
‘Again?’ Ally sighed and closed the door again. ‘This is the second time this month. Was she admitted?’
Will nodded and dragged a hand through his greying hair. ‘Too right she was! Her mother was in a state of total panic, which didn’t help. I spoke to the hospital today and they’re going to increase the dose of inhaled corticosteroids before they discharge her.’
Ally frowned. ‘She was on a reasonable dose—’
‘If she was taking it.’ Will stared at her, all traces of humour gone from his craggy features. ‘I don’t think she was.’
‘But why?’ Ally looked astounded. Why would a nine-year-old girl not take her medication when she knew what the complications were of not taking it? ‘She’s not exactly at the age of teenage rebellion.’
Will’s mouth twisted. ‘I don’t know. I just think that the dose she was taking should have prevented that sort of attack. Have a chat to Lucy, will you?’
Lucy Griffiths, the practice nurse, ran an asthma clinic and knew all the patients better than anyone in the practice.
Ally nodded. ‘Yes, of course. We obviously need to check her inhaler technique.’
‘Thanks, Ally. Any news on young Pete Williams, by the way?’
Ally’s eyes widened. Did everyone know? ‘How did you know about Pete?’
‘Never try and keep a secret from Uncle Will.’ Will waggled his finger and then grinned. ‘Actually, I met Jack in the Hare and Hounds last night. Sounded a pretty dramatic rescue.’
‘Yes.’ For a moment Ally’s thoughts flew to Sean Nicholson and then she frowned. Why on earth had the man got to her so badly? ‘Anyway, in answer to your question, I was planning to phone before I start surgery. I did try last night but he was still in Theatre.’
Will’s face was suddenly serious. ‘He’s a good lad.’
Ally nodded, her voice soft. ‘I know that. I’ll have a long talk with him once he’s up and about.’
‘Do that. Oh, by the way…’ He stopped her as she was about to leave, not quite meeting her eyes, ‘Join me for lunch, will you? There’s some practice business we need to discuss.’
Practice business? Ally gave a mental shrug and let the door swing closed behind her. Time enough for that later. What was happening to little Kelly Watson?
She found Lucy in the treatment room, preparing for the asthma clinic.
‘I hear we’ve got problems with Kelly.’
Lucy nodded, her pretty face serious. ‘Too right. I spoke to the registrar and he wants to increase her inhaled steroids, but I don’t think that’s the best approach, do you?’
Ally propped herself against the wall and frowned thoughtfully. ‘When did we last check her inhaler technique?’
‘Last time she had an attack.’ Lucy flipped through her records. ‘And we checked her peak flow. In fact, we went through her entire management plan. I was totally satisfied that both she and Mum understood what she had to do.’
‘Well, something’s badly wrong,’ Ally murmured, ferreting around in her mind for a solution. ‘Any ideas?’
Lucy understood the problems of the asthma patients better than anyone. ‘Well, if I had to hazard a guess I’d say it was something to do with her mother.’
‘Her mother?’ Ally’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘Surely she wants her to be well?’
Lucy frowned and tapped her pen on the desk. ‘You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But she doesn’t seem very keen on increasing Kelly’s drugs.’
‘Well, that’s understandable, I suppose. No one likes taking drugs.’
‘No.’ Lucy stared at her thoughtfully and then shrugged. ‘Well, anyway, I’ll get them in and then let you know how I get on.’
‘Brilliant.’ Ally straightened and smiled. ‘Thanks, Lucy. See you later.’
Her surgery was busy, a constant stream of coughs, colds and ear infections, and halfway through she snatched a moment to phone the hospital about Pete. Hearing that his condition was now stable, she breathed a sigh of relief. She’d have a thing or two to say to him when he was discharged! In the meantime, she made a mental note to visit him and take him something to cheer him up.
Her next patient was a young woman, thirty years of age, whom Ally remembered from her recent pregnancy.
‘Hello, Jenny, how are the twins?’
Jenny Monroe smiled and rolled her eyes. ‘Hard work and getting harder. They can’t crawl yet but they’ve discovered that they can roll everywhere so I can’t leave them alone for a minute.’
‘I remember it well.’ Ally sat back in her chair and laughed, her mind scooting back to when Charlie had been that age. ‘Nightmare!’ Only it hadn’t been a nightmare. Not really. In many ways it had been wonderful, except for all the other traumas…
‘My mother’s got them for me for a few hours…’ Jenny fidgeted slightly. ‘I’ve got this thing on my leg and I’ve read so much lately about skin cancer it’s been worrying me.’
‘Let me have a look.’
Ally waited while Jenny pulled down her leggings, and then bent to examine the mole on her patient’s leg. Alarm bells rang instantly in her mind. It had a jagged, uneven edge and was a mixture of black and brown, both signs highly suggestive of malignant melanoma.
‘Are you a sunbather, Jenny?’ She rummaged in her drawer for a ruler and measured the mole carefully.
Jenny looked sheepish. ‘Well, not regularly, Dr McGuire, but I love the sun and I love to be tanned. It makes you feel better, doesn’t it?’
It depended on your skin type, Ally thought wryly. When you were very fair, as she was, it was better to stay out of the sun altogether and settle for looking pale and interesting.
Ally frowned. ‘Remind me where you work.’
‘I’m a bank clerk.’
‘And you holiday abroad?’
‘Oh, yes!’ Jenny smiled. ‘Mike and I live for our two weeks of sunshine!’
An indoor job all year round and two weeks a year sunbathing—the very worst combination.
Jenny watched her curiously. ‘Why are you measuring it?’
Ally hesitated and made a note on her pad. ‘You were quite right to come and see me, Jenny, because suspicious moles do need to be checked out.’
‘And this is suspicious?’
‘It certainly needs to come off.’
Jenny swallowed. ‘Do you think it’s cancer?’
Ally hesitated. ‘It’s impossible to say, without removing it and examining the cells under a microscope.’
‘But you think it might be, don’t you?’ Jenny probed, her eyes wide and anxious.
