A Courageous Doctor

Hugo suspected he had spent the last three hours or so trying to do something about his lack of involvement in the relationship. Trying to let Joan know that he hadn’t been simply stringing her along for reasons of personal convenience. He had even kissed her with more enthusiasm than usual, too, but the lack of any overwhelming ambition to take her to bed still hadn’t changed. It had been Joan who had decreed that they take things slowly but a year was a bit ridiculous in anyone’s book, wasn’t it? And why hadn’t he felt inspired to do something about it?

He was too tired to worry about it now and it was irritating to feel like he had something else he would need to make amends for when he went into his own home. Maggie had probably felt unwelcome, arriving to an empty house with an impersonal note taped to the door. But she wasn’t welcome, was she? Maggie Johnston carried with her too many reminders of things Hugo had done his best to move on from. The thought of stirring parts of his soul best left to lie in peace was disturbing. It had been tough enough telling Joan the bare facts. Hugo realised then that that was the reason he had spent so long in Joan’s company tonight. He would have denied it strongly but he had been nervous about going home.

What was he going to find? A Mack truck filling the woolshed? An older but still stroppy female who might make demands on the strength of their past association? Trouble had always followed Maggie like a boisterous puppy, ready to leap unexpectedly and over-enthusiastically into prominence but never causing major damage. At least, not until that ill-fated trip overseas. Hugo shook his head. There was no point revisiting any of that again until he had to.

And maybe Maggie had changed. There was no vast truck parked in his woolshed. Just a very ordinary, small Toyota hatchback. And his house looked perfectly peaceful. Quiet. Too quiet, maybe. Where were the dogs? Had Maggie given up waiting for him to come home and taken herself off to bed? Hugo let himself into the house carefully so as not to disturb his guest if she was asleep. He clicked the front door shut quietly and trod softly across the short hallway to enter the living room. Then, two steps into the room, he stopped.

Maggie was asleep. Curled up in his big, leather chair. Two dogs lay guarding her feet, including Tuck—the dog who accepted no stranger but now had his nose resting on the chair’s cushion. And Lass, who was so shy it had taken Hugo weeks to win her trust, was actually on the chair with Maggie, coiled into a ball that fitted neatly behind Maggie’s knees. The gaze she bestowed on Hugo was frankly guilty and the white-tipped tail waved apologetically.

It was the movement of the dog that woke Maggie. She blinked in confusion for a long moment as Hugo stared back at her but then her face came alive, the smile extending to a delighted grin as she scrambled to her feet, scattering reluctant dogs.

‘Hugo!’

And with the sound of her voice myriad memories rushed at him. He could hear two voices. Young girls of about eight or nine. Teasing him as he arrived home from school.

‘Hugo!’

‘No, you go!’

‘No! Hugo!’

He could hear the echo of giggles but he could also remember the welcome that had lain beneath the teasing. Who else had ever been that pleased to see him? Had lain in wait to tease him unmercifully but had also sought him out to share something new and exciting or seek assistance when, once again, they had landed themselves in some kind of trouble?

Only Maggie and Felicity, that was who. And now it was just Maggie, but the pleasure of seeing him was there in her eyes and it was just the same. Hugo had to breathe in past the painful constriction his throat was experiencing.

‘Oh, Maggie,’ he said quietly. ‘It’s so good to see you again.’ And to his astonishment, he found the words were true.

He held out his arms and then, to his consternation, Maggie’s grin faded and gold-flecked hazel eyes sparkled with gathering tears. But then Maggie was in his arms and Hugo was being hugged with breathtaking enthusiasm and he was aware of nothing but the feeling that a huge chunk of his life that he had believed had gone for ever had just—miraculously—been given back to him.

CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_9aa8f9fc-0332-53fd-996e-37d891dbe11f)

‘SHE’S gorgeous.’

‘Hmm.’ Hugo was trying not to allow his attention to waver but it was proving difficult.

‘What did you say her name was?’

‘Maggie Johnston.’ Hugo raised his gaze from the patient file on the desk in front of him with a small sigh.

‘And she’s a paramedic?’

‘That’s right.’ Hugo found himself smiling as he remembered Maggie’s delight in discovering that he had expected her to arrive driving a truck.

‘It was probably my mother’s fault that she got it wrong. She still calls me an ambulance driver despite me explaining in great detail that ambulance officers actually do a lot more than just drive.’ Hugo had forgotten that half thoughtful, half mischievous gleam that Maggie’s eyes were so good at producing. ‘I wouldn’t mind trying a big truck one day, mind you. Could be fun!’

Maggie was having fun now by the sound of it. Unfortunately, the area used to wash ambulances down was right outside the window of the office that Hugo and his companion, visiting cardiology specialist Donald Hamilton, were using. Maggie had just missed soaking Jason Locke with the high-pressure hose she was holding. Probably intentionally, judging by her shriek of laughter as Jason threatened to retaliate with a soggy mop.

Donald was grinning now, or was it more of a leer? ‘Looks like she’s having fun.’

‘Maggie always has fun.’ Hugo was unaware of his proprietorial tone or the faint edge of envy. Why was it that he had never discovered that happy knack of fitting in so well and so instantly somewhere new? Of making friends that easily? Of finding things, no matter how trivial, to be amused by? He’d never been distracted from a consultation before by people who were enjoying a chore like cleaning a vehicle, for heaven’s sake.

‘Does she now?’ Donald’s expression was definitely in the leer category now and his obvious interest in Maggie was suddenly irritating. Hugo cleared his throat.

‘Charlie Barker,’ he reminded Donald somewhat curtly.

‘Ah…yes. I saw him today, didn’t I? Nice chap.’

‘Seventy-two-year-old,’ Hugo nodded. ‘Triple vessel disease. First infarct three years ago.’ He opened the file. ‘I think you did his cardiac catheter investigation and the angioplasty yourself.’

Donald glanced at the report, a map of the major arteries of the heart with shaded segments showing the abnormalities discovered and treated. ‘Yep. The LAD and circumflex were quite markedly narrowed, although the infarct was relatively minor.’ He turned a page. ‘Three stents altogether. I ballooned this segment on the right coronary as well. He did very well. Almost normal cardiac output and he was pain-free on follow-up for…let’s see…’ Pages fluttered as Donald looked for the outpatient clinic notes.

‘He was free of angina for eighteen months,’ Hugo agreed. Charlie had, in fact, had a great year after recovering from the scare the heart attack had given him. One of Hugo’s first patients after starting work in the area, the semi-retired builder had quickly become a favourite. When Hugo had bought his property, Charlie had insisted on helping him plan and then carry out his conversion of the old shearers’ quarters. He had come to know Charlie, and his wife Betty, very well over the course of that year and he was very fond of them both. After nearly fifty years together, the couple were still virtually inseparable and the Barkers confirmed Hugo’s faith that marriage could be a wonderful institution if you were lucky enough to find the right person.

‘His blood pressure’s under good control. The lipid profile still looks good and the rhythm’s stable.’

‘His angina isn’t. He’s getting pain more often with less provocation and the GTN is less effective.’

‘He’s on the waiting list for bypass surgery.’

‘He’s been on the list for nearly two years now. His condition’s deteriorating.’

‘I know.’ Donald sighed wearily. ‘And I’m sorry but there’s not much I can do about that. The waiting list keeps growing. Every time we get another acute patient it cuts the numbers we can take from the list. It’s an ongoing battle. We’re doing our best to increase funding so we can put more cases through. Can he afford to go private?’

‘No.’

‘I’ll put his score up and see if we can move him up the list. I can’t promise anything, though, Hugo. You know that.’

Hugo nodded. Both men were silent for a moment and Donald’s gaze travelled back to the window. The ambulance was moving back into the garage now but Hugo knew the cardiologist’s attention had returned to one of its crew. He closed Charlie’s file.

‘Have you got time for a coffee before your flight back to Dunedin?’

Donald checked his watch. ‘No. I’d better head back across the road to the airport.’

‘I’ll walk over with you.’ Hugo stood up as well. ‘I could do with some fresh air.’

An opportunity to put in another plug on Charlie Barker’s behalf would also be welcome but Hugo was distracted by the route Donald chose. Had it been intentional to pass so close to the ambulance station garage? The glance he gave Hugo as their path coincided with that of Maggie and Jason confirmed that the opportunity had definitely been on Donald’s agenda. Hugo found himself forced to oblige by providing introductions.

‘Maggie? This is Donald Hamilton, one of our visiting specialists. He’s a cardiologist from Dunedin. Donald, meet Maggie Johnston, our new paramedic.’

‘Hi.’ Maggie’s smile was genuinely friendly and she didn’t hesitate in holding her hand out to be shaken. Hugo’s eyes narrowed slightly. Had it been Donald’s idea to extend the handshake quite that long? And did he have to look at Maggie with such blatant admiration? He took a look at Dr Hamilton from an entirely new perspective. The cardiologist was probably in his early forties. Far too old for Maggie.

‘Nice to see a new face around here,’ Donald was saying warmly. ‘How are you enjoying Central?’

‘I’ve only been here for a few days,’ Maggie responded. ‘This was my first day at work, in fact, but I love it so far. How often do you get here?’

‘Once a month, officially.’ Donald’s tone suggested it was not nearly often enough. ‘I try and get down for a long weekend occasionally as well and luckily Queenstown is a popular venue for conferences and suchlike.’

‘I’m not surprised. There’s so much to do here. It’s going to take me years to try everything that’s on offer.’