Resisting Her Rebel Doc (5 page)

Smiling, he filled a blender with slices of apple and watermelon and added ice cubes to the mix. He topped that with the juice of a lime and then whizzed it up. ‘That looks ready to me,’ he said, eyeing the resulting juice with satisfaction. ‘We’ll take this outside, shall we?’

She nodded and followed him through the open French doors on to a paved terrace where they sat at a white wrought-iron table looking out on to a sweeping lawn. This was part of the garden that he had tended to, with established borders crowded out with flowering perennials, gorgeous pink blossoms of thrift with spiky green leaves alongside purple astilbe and bearded yellow iris.

He poured juice into a tall glass and handed it to her. ‘I hope you still like this as much as you used to.’

She put the glass to her lips and sipped. ‘Mmm... It’s delicious,’ she said. ‘Thanks. I needed that.’

‘So, what’s been happening with you over the last few years?’ he asked, leaning back in his chair and stretching out his long legs. He glanced at her ringless left hand. ‘I heard you were dating my friend, Matt, until recently.’

She pulled a face, bracing herself to answer him. ‘Yes, that’s right. We were going to get engaged,’ she said ruefully. ‘But then things went wrong. Disastrously wrong.’

It was still difficult for her to talk about it but at the hospital where she had worked with Matt everyone knew the situation and it had been virtually impossible to escape from the questions and the sympathy.

He frowned. ‘I’m sorry. Do you want to tell me what happened? Do you mind talking about it?’

‘It still upsets me, yes.’ She hesitated. ‘He met someone else.’

Brodie studied her, his eyes darkening. ‘I knew about that but I never understood how it came about. Matt and I haven’t seen each other for quite a while. Was he looking to get out of the relationship?’

‘No...at least, I don’t think so.’ She thought about it and then took a deep breath. ‘It started about a year and a half ago. My cousin Jenny’s car broke down one day and when Matt heard about it he offered to go and pick her up. Apparently she was in a bit of a state—she’d missed an appointment, everything had gone wrong and she was feeling pretty desperate. So he took her along to the nearest pub for a meal and a drink to give her time to calm down. Things just went on from there—he was hooked from that meeting. It was what you might call a whirlwind courtship.’ She frowned. ‘You knew Matt from school, didn’t you? I suppose you know they’re getting married soon?’

He sent her a cautious glance. ‘I received an invitation to their wedding this morning.’

‘Yes, so did I.’

‘It was short notice, I thought. They must be in a hurry.’ A line creased his brow. ‘How do you feel about it?’

She exhaled slowly. ‘Pretty awful, all things considered.’ She picked up her glass and took a long swallow. The cold liquid was soothing, and she pressed the glass to her forehead to cool her down even more. ‘They wanted to get married before the summer ends and the vicar managed to fit them in.’

He was thoughtful for a while. ‘How are you going to cope with the wedding? Will you go to it? Yours has always been a tight-knit family, hasn’t it? So I can see there might be problems if you stay away.’

‘I don’t know what to do. I feel hurt and upset. The thought of it makes me angry but, like you say, my family has always been close and if I don’t go there could be all sorts of repercussions. I keep thinking maybe I’ll develop a convenient stomach bug or something on the day.’

He winced. ‘I doubt you’ll get away with that.’

‘No.’ She pulled a face. ‘You’re probably right.’ She sighed. ‘My mother’s already upset because she might not be well enough to attend. Jenny’s her sister’s child. My mother and my aunt have always been very close. I suppose it all depends how well her recovery goes.’

‘Let’s hope it all goes smoothly for her.’ On a cautious note, he asked quietly, ‘Did Jenny know about you and Matt—about you being a couple? If she did, she must have known it would cause problems with your family.’

She shook her head. ‘Not until it was too late. I was upset, devastated, but I tried to keep the peace for my aunt’s sake and my mother’s. But it’s been hard, keeping up a pretence. I’m not sure how I’ll get through the wedding without breaking down.’

She didn’t know why she was opening up to him this way. It was embarrassing; she’d been humiliated and her pride had taken a huge blow. But Brodie was a good listener. He seemed to understand how she felt and she was pretty sure he wouldn’t judge her and find her wanting.

‘We could go to the wedding together,’ he said unexpectedly. ‘I’d be there to support you and we can put up a united front—show them that you don’t care, that you’re doing fine without him.’

‘Do you think so? That would be good if it worked,’ she said, giving him a faint smile. ‘I’m not sure I could pull it off, though.’

‘Sure you can. I’ll help you. We’ll make a good team, you and I, you’ll see.’

She might have answered him, but just then a noise disturbed the quiet of the afternoon—the sound of footsteps on pavement—and a moment later Brodie’s brother appeared around the back of the house.

‘Hey there. I’ve been ringing the front doorbell but no one answered. I felt sure you were around somewhere because I saw the car.’ He glanced at Caitlin and did a double take. ‘Hi, babe,’ he said, his voice brimming over with enthusiasm. ‘It’s good to see you, Caitlin. It’s been a long time.’

‘Yes, it has.’ She was almost glad of the interruption. Anything and anyone that could take her mind off Matt was welcome. ‘Hi, David. How are you doing?’

He was a good-looking young man in his late twenties with dark hair, brown eyes and a lively expression. ‘I didn’t know you were living in our part of the world,’ she said. ‘I thought you were settled in London.’

‘I am, mostly, but we’re doing some filming down here for the latest episode in the TV drama series
Murder Mysteries
—I’ll bet you’ve seen it, haven’t you? It’s been on the screens for over a year. It’s turned out to be really popular, much more so than we expected.’

She nodded. ‘I’ve seen it. It’s good—you’ve certainly found yourselves a winner there.’ She studied him briefly. He too had come a long way in just a few years. ‘I see your name on the credits quite often. So, am I right in thinking you write the screenplay?’

‘I do.’

Brodie pulled out a chair for him and David sat down. ‘Do you want a drink?’ Brodie asked, lifting the jug of juice.

‘Sure.’ He glanced at the pink liquid in the jug. ‘It looks great, but is there a drop of something stronger you could put in it?’

‘I can get you something from the bar if that’s what you want.’ Brodie sent him a thoughtful glance. ‘Do I take it you’re not planning on driving anywhere after this, then?’

David shook his head and sent Brodie a hopeful look. ‘I was wondering if I might be able to stay here for the duration—while the research and the filming is going on.’ He frowned, thinking it through. ‘It could take several weeks, depending on what properties we need to rent, though the actual filming won’t take more than a few days. Would that be all right?’

‘Of course.’ Brodie sent him a fleeting glance. ‘You don’t want to stay with Dad, then, at the Mill House?’

David sobered. ‘Well, you know how it is. I love the old fellow but he’s not much fun to be around lately. At least, not since...’ He trailed off, his voice dwindling away as he thought better of what he was going to say.

‘Not since he heard I was back in the village...is that what you were going to say?’ Brodie made a wry smile. ‘It’s okay. I know how it is.’ He pressed his lips together in a flat line. ‘Things are still not right with us after all this time...’ He shrugged. ‘What can I do?’ It was a rhetorical question. Caitlin sensed he didn’t expect an answer. ‘I’ve tried making my peace with him over the years, and again these last few weeks, but he doesn’t seem to want to know. That’s okay; I accept things as they are.’

Caitlin watched the emotions play across his face. Things had gone badly wrong between Brodie and his father and no one had ever known why. It had been the start of Brodie’s resentment and rebellion; nothing had gone right for him for a long time after that.

‘I’m sorry, Brodie,’ David said. ‘I’m sure he’ll come around eventually.’

‘Do you really think that’s going to happen after all these years?’ Brodie gave a short laugh. ‘I wouldn’t bet on it.’

‘Maybe he’ll get a knock on the head and develop amnesia. You’ll be able to start over.’ David grinned and Brodie’s mouth curved at the absurdity of the situation.

‘I guess we can see how you came to be a screenwriter, brother. You have a vivid imagination.’

David chuckled and turned his attention back to Caitlin. ‘I’m sorry about that. You don’t want to have to listen to our family goings-on. I can’t tell you how great it is to see you again.’ He looked her over appreciatively. ‘You’re absolutely gorgeous, even more so than I remember, and you were stunning back then. Are you going to be staying around here for long? That’s your mother’s place next door, isn’t it?’

She nodded. ‘I’m coming back to the village permanently. I’ll be living with Mum until I can find a place of my own...for a few months, at least. That should give me time to find somewhere suitable.’

‘Wow, that’s fantastic.’ He moved his chair closer to hers. ‘We could perhaps get together, you and I—go for a meal, have a drink, drive out to a nightclub in town. It’ll be fun; what do you say—?’

‘Don’t even think about it, David,’ Brodie cut in sharply, perhaps with more force than he’d intended. His eyes narrowed on his brother. ‘I saw her first—way back when we were teenagers and now since she’s come back to the village. Besides, she deserves someone with more integrity and staying power than you possess.’

‘Oh yeah?’ David’s dark brows shot up. ‘And since when were you the man to offer those things? You—the man who never settles with one woman for more than a few months at a time. I don’t think so, bro. Get ready to move aside, man. Brother or no brother, this is a fair fight and Caity’s a jewel worth fighting for. This is war.’

‘Uh...do you two mind? Have you quite finished?’ Caitlin looked from one to the other, deciding it was time to butt in before things got out of hand. ‘I’ll decide what happens where I’m concerned, and right now neither of you is in the running. From my point of view, you’re probably both as bad as each other. So back off, both of you!’

David stared at her, looking reasonably chastened. ‘Sorry, Caity.’

He soon recovered, shaking himself down and saying cheerfully, ‘I think I’ll go and hunt out a bottle of something from Brodie’s bar, if that’s okay?’ He glanced enquiringly at his brother.

‘That’s fine.’

David left them, taking himself off into the house. Brodie looked back at Caitlin, a trace of amusement in his expression.

‘You were always one to speak your mind,’ he said. ‘I like that about you, Caitlin. It’s the barn incident all over again. You’ve never been prepared to put up with things you’re not happy about.’

His smile was crooked as he added softly, ‘Years ago, you told me we were a pair of hooligans on the rampage, David and me, not to be trusted. You weren’t ever going to date either one of us...me especially, you said.’ His face took on a sober expression. ‘No matter how hard I tried, you’d never let me persuade you otherwise.’

‘So the message was received and understood.’ She smiled at him as she took a long swallow of her drink.

‘Perfectly.’ He returned her gaze, his blue eyes glinting. ‘Of course, it’s always been out there between us as something of a challenge. I know you like me and there were times when you might have been tempted to go against your better judgement. You do realise, don’t you, that my feelings towards you have never changed?’

‘Oh, you can’t be sure about that,’ she said. Even as she tried to make less of it, a tingle of excitement ran through her. ‘It’s been a long time... Perhaps you only want what you can’t have.’

‘I don’t know, Caity. Perhaps you’re right. Things happened when I was a teenager, things that made me question who I am and what I could expect out of life. I always wanted you, that’s for sure. I just wasn’t certain that I deserved you. I still have doubts, but seeing you again has brought all those feelings back to the surface.’

The breath caught in her throat but she ran her finger idly around the rim of her glass to give herself time to think. Why would he feel he didn’t deserve her? Was it because of his behaviour back then, because it had been out of control?

Surely now, more than ever, she had to guard her heart against being hurt?

She said slowly, cautiously, ‘It isn’t going to happen, I’m afraid. I think we both know that. I’m totally off men right now. They’re far too fickle for my liking.’

‘Hmm.’ He studied her, taking in the faint droop of her soft, pink lips. ‘We’ll have to see about that.’

CHAPTER THREE

‘
I
KNOW
IT
’
S
going to be terribly difficult for you this afternoon,’ Caitlin’s mother said worriedly. She was sitting in a chair by her hospital bed; now she shifted uncomfortably, wincing at a twinge of pain in her hip.

‘Yes.’ Caitlin’s answer was brief. The day of the wedding had come around all too soon for her liking. Her emotions were all churned up inside her, though it wasn’t only the forthcoming nuptials that bothered her. A fortnight had gone by since her mother had first come into hospital and after a brief spell at home she had been readmitted. It was distressing.

‘Your aunt’s desperate for everything to go off smoothly. She’s been stressed about one thing and another for some time now.’ Her mother’s grey-blue eyes were troubled. She winced again, moving carefully as she tried to get comfortable. Small beads of perspiration had formed on her brow. ‘She keeps saying how you and Jenny used to be so close.’ She frowned. ‘I wish I could be there to give you some support.’

Caitlin nodded, acknowledging her anxieties. ‘I know.’ Soothingly, she dabbed her mother’s brow with a damp cloth. There was no way she could leave hospital, let alone go to her niece’s wedding.

Instead of making good progress in the last couple of weeks, a nasty infection had set in around the site of the surgical incision, causing her mother a lot of pain and discomfort. Caitlin was worried about her. The consultant had inserted tubes in the wound to try to drain away the infected matter but it was turning out to be a slow process. No one knew how the infection had started but Caitlin suspected it had crept in when the dressing was changed.

‘I’m pretty sure Jenny hasn’t told her family that Matt and I were already a couple when they met,’ she commented softly.

Her mother’s brows rose in startled disbelief. ‘Oh, you don’t think so? Heavens, that hadn’t occurred to me. It’s probably the general stress of the wedding that’s getting to her.’

Of course, if Caitlin didn’t turn up for the celebrations this afternoon, her aunt would soon realise something was badly amiss and would want to know what was going on, wouldn’t she? Caitlin felt more despondent than ever. Even more reason why she should go along to the event—yet all her instincts were clamouring for her to stay away.

She pushed her own problems to one side and sent her mother a quick, sympathetic look. ‘It’s rotten for you to be stuck in hospital today of all days. I know you were looking forward to seeing Aunty Anne and having a good chat—but she did say she would come and see you as soon as she could get away.’

‘Yes, I’ll look forward to that.’ Distracted momentarily, her mother patted the magazines that littered the bed. ‘At least I have plenty of reading material to keep me occupied in the meantime. Thank you for these.’ She smiled. ‘So how’s the new job going? It was good of Brodie to set you on, wasn’t it?’

‘It was...’ He’d been nothing but kind and helpful so far, but Caitlin couldn’t help but think he had an ulterior motive. Hadn’t he more or less said so that afternoon in his garden? He wanted to change her mind about men—and about him in particular. Could he do that? A tingle of alarm ran through her at the prospect. Of course he couldn’t. That would be unthinkable. Talk about jumping from the frying pan into the fire. When he’d left the village years ago, she’d tried to forget about him, put him from her mind. It had been far too upsetting to dwell on what might have been.

‘It’s going all right so far, I think,’ she said. ‘The unit runs very smoothly—everyone knows their job and we all seem to work well together. I’m sure a lot of it’s down to Brodie being in charge. He’s very organised and efficient, and extremely good with people. Somehow, he always manages to get them to do what he wants.’ It was remarkable how people responded to his innate charm.

Her mother nodded agreement. ‘I’m amazed how well he’s doing. Whoever would have guessed he’d turn his life around like that? I mean, I always liked him, but when he went so completely off the rails as a teenager it was upsetting. His poor mother didn’t know where to turn.’

‘Hmm.’ Brodie’s problems had started some time before his mother’s death and Caitlin had never been able to find out the root cause. ‘Maybe leaving the village was the making of him. He had no choice but to fend for himself, and I suppose that was bound to make a man of him. Of course,’ she added with a wry inflection, ‘Discovering he had an inheritance must have been a huge boost.’

Her mother nodded. ‘True, but he could have gone the other way, you know, and squandered it. Instead, he put it to good use. I think he turned out all right. He seems to be a good man, now, anyway.’ She frowned. ‘Though I have heard he’s still restless, still can’t settle.’ She sighed then hesitated, sending Caitlin a quick look. ‘Does he mind that you keep coming up here to see me in the middle of your work?’

Caitlin shook her head. ‘No, not at all...in fact, he’s encouraged me to come to see you. He wants to know how you are. He’s very fond of you. Anyway, I use my break times to slip away from the unit, so there’s no real problem.’ She glanced at her watch and gave her mother a rueful smile. ‘In fact, I should be heading back there right now. I’ve a couple of small patients I need to see before I can go home.’

‘All right, love. You take care. I’ll see you later.’

‘Yes. Try to get some rest.’ Caitlin gave her a hug and hurriedly left the room.

Brodie was checking X-ray films on the computer when she returned to the children’s unit a few minutes later. He shot her a quick glance as she came over to the desk to pick up her patient’s file. ‘How is your mother?’

‘She’s not feeling too good at the moment, I’m afraid...though she’ll never complain.’ She pulled a face. ‘The site of the incision’s still infected and she’s feverish. The doctor’s prescribed a different course of antibiotics and some stronger painkillers, so all we can do now is wait and see how she goes on. This setback isn’t helping with her rehabilitation.’ She sighed. ‘It’s all been a bit of a blow. We were hoping she’d be able to come home in a couple of days’ time but that’s definitely not on the cards now.’

‘I imagine she’s upset about missing the wedding?’

‘Oh yes, that too.’ Her mouth made a crooked line. ‘I think she’s secretly hoping I’ll be her eyes and ears there. I imagine she’ll want to see a video of the highlights on my phone—though she won’t come out and ask.’

He smiled. ‘It would probably help her to feel better about not being there, but I’m sure she’s more concerned about your feelings.’

‘Mmm. Maybe.’ Even at this late stage Caitlin was desperately looking for a way out. Perhaps she could manufacture a sudden headache that would incapacitate her? Or maybe her car would develop an imaginary mechanical fault at the last minute?

Matt and Jenny were being married mid-afternoon, so as to accommodate relatives who were travelling from some distance away, and Caitlin was becoming more and more twitchy as the morning wore on. In a way, she was glad she’d chosen to come into work for a few hours to keep her from thinking too deeply about the situation. From when she’d woken earlier today, her whole body had been in a state of nervous tension.

She skim-read the notes in her four-year-old patient’s file. ‘I have to go and look in on the little boy who has pneumonia,’ she told Brodie. ‘I sent him for an X-ray before I went to see Mum and I’m hoping the results are back by now. He’s not at all well: breathing fast, high temperature... He’s on antibiotics and supplemental oxygen as well as steroid medication. Hopefully, it should all start to have an effect soon.’

‘You’re talking about Jason Miles?’ Brodie brought up the boy’s details on the computer. ‘Here we are. Radiology have sent the films through.’

Laying the file down on the table, she studied the images on screen and frowned. ‘That looks like an air-filled cyst on his lung, doesn’t it? No wonder he’s uncomfortable, poor little thing.’

‘It does. What do you plan to do?’

‘I’ll leave it alone for now—it’s best to avoid surgical intervention, I think. I’ll put him on intravenous cefuroxime and see if that will do the trick. As the pneumonia improves, the cyst should start to disappear.’

He nodded. ‘Good. I think you’re right. That’s probably the best course for now.’ He sent her a sideways glance. ‘Is he your last patient for today?’

‘I just want to look in on Sammy to see how his fractured bone is healing. He went home for a while, didn’t he, with a social worker overseeing things...but he’s back in today for a check-up?’ She frowned. ‘Do you still think the other earlier fractures are suspicious? I know the social worker pushed for police action and Sammy’s parents are distraught... They’re overwhelmed by all the accusations being laid at their door. They’re due to appear in court soon —he could be taken into foster care. Yet they do seem to be a genuine couple to me.’

He was silent for a moment or two, thinking it through. ‘You could be right about the parents. I’ve spoken to them about taking extra precautions with him, though they insisted they were already being really careful.’ His brow creased. ‘I’m beginning to wonder if we aren’t dealing with some underlying disease that could cause the bones to fracture more easily than most. I think we should get a blood sample for DNA testing along with a small skin biopsy and send them off to the lab. We’ll need to keep an eye on the boy in the meantime—have him seen in the clinic on a regular basis.’

‘Okay. I can set that up before I leave.’

‘Good.’ He leaned back in his chair and studied her. ‘So, I’ll come and pick you up after lunch, shall I—around two-thirty? Then we’ll head off to the church?’

‘Um...’ She ought to have been expecting it but the reminder still caught her off guard. ‘I...um...well, you know, I was thinking... It might be embarrassing for Jenny to have me there. I know her mother dealt with a lot of the invitations, so I’m not necessarily Jenny’s choice as a guest.’

She wriggled her shoulders slightly. ‘Perhaps it would be for the best if I were to send a message to say something’s cropped up—an emergency at the hospital or some such. I mean, it’s true, isn’t it? Jason’s very poorly—maybe I should come back here to keep an eye on him?’

He shook his head, his mouth quirking a fraction. ‘You know that won’t work, Caitlin, don’t you? You’re not an emergency doctor and we have people here who will take excellent care of him. You’re trying to find excuses, when instead perhaps you should be facing up to things. You need to deal with this, once and for all, instead of running away.’

Her grey eyes narrowed on him. Coming on top of all her worry and apprehension, his comment seemed a bit like a reprimand.

‘Are you saying I’m a coward?’ After everything she’d been through, the thought irritated her, and she reacted in self-defence. ‘Why should I be the one who has to suffer?
They’re
in the wrong. Why do
I
have to pay the price for what
they
did?’

‘Because you won’t be able to live with yourself if you don’t,’ he said in a matter-of-fact tone. ‘Sooner or later, you have to face up to the fact that it’s over between you and Matt. He’s in love with someone else. See it and believe it. Isn’t that what you’re running away from? The truth?’

‘How can you be so heartless?’ Her voice broke and she stared at him, frustration welling up inside her. ‘Do you have no feelings? Is that all relationships are to you—off with the old and on with the new?’ A muscle flicked in his jaw but he remained silent and she went on. ‘What about the aftermath? It’s so easy for you to shrug things off, isn’t it?’

Resentment grew in her and all her past dealings with him came bubbling up to the surface. ‘No wonder Beth was so hurt when you finished things with her. You didn’t care too much, though, did you? Not deep down. As far as you were concerned it was just one of those things that happened from time to time. You changed your mind about her, didn’t like getting in too deep, and decided to call a halt. It didn’t matter to you how she felt, did it? You were ready to move on and you weren’t about to look back.’ She stared at him. ‘How could I ever have believed you might have changed?’

‘So this is all about me, now, is it?’ His dark brows lifted. ‘I don’t think you can get out of it that easily, Caitlin, by turning everything around. You’re the one who has the problem and the best way you can deal with it is to put on a brave face and go to the wedding.’ His voice softened a little. ‘I’ll be there with you,’ he said coaxingly. ‘Show Matt you’ve found someone else, that it doesn’t matter what he’s done—that you and I are a couple, if that will make you feel any better.’

She looked at him aghast. ‘You think I can do that with you—pretend that we’re together, that we care about each other?’ She gritted the words out between her teeth. ‘I don’t think so, Brodie. I’m not that much of an actress.’

To her surprise, he flinched, his head going back a fraction at her sharp retort. Obviously her dart had struck home.

‘Is it such an alien concept? I’m sorry you feel that way,’ he said quietly. ‘Finding you after all this time, I was hoping we might be able to put the past behind us and move on, get to know one another all over again. I’ve always had feelings for you, Caitlin, and I thought this might be a chance for us to get together.’

Still upset, she said tautly, ‘Did you? That’s unfortunate, because it isn’t very likely to happen. We’re all out of fairy godmothers right now.’

She picked up Jason’s file from the table and walked away from him. For her own peace of mind, she needed to put some distance between them. Her nerves were stretched to the limit. Deep down, though, she knew she’d gone too far, knew she’d said too much.

As she drove home some time later, she warred with herself over the way she’d behaved, over what she ought to do. Through it all she was still trying to find ways out of the mess she was in. How could she get out of going to this wretched wedding?

Back at home, it was some time before she could bring herself to admit that maybe Brodie was right. She couldn’t keep running forever, could she?

She fed the hens and tried to think things through as she scattered corn and dropped a couple of carrots into the rabbit’s run. By now the geese had learned to accept her and were grateful for a bucket of greens and a bowl of food pellets.