St Piran's: Daredevil, Doctor...Dad!

St Piran's: Daredevil, Doctor...Dad!
Anne Fraser

The Playboy of St Piran! Air rescue doc William ‘Mac’ MacNeil is St Piran’s resident daredevil…and playboy! He’s used to women falling at his feet – everyone except new nurse Abby Stevens!Mac’s roguish charm gives Abby butterflies – but are they in anticipation of his delicious kisses…or of the bombshell she’s about to drop that will turn his life upside down?St Piran’s Hospital Where every drama has a dreamy doctor… and a happy ending

Welcome to the world of St Piran’s Hospital—

Next to the rugged shores of Penhally Bay lies the picturesque Cornish town of St Piran, where you’ll find a bustling hospital famed for the dedication, talent and passion of its staff—on and off the wards!

Under the warmth of the Cornish sun, Italian doctors, heart surgeons and playboy princes discover that romance blossoms in the most unlikely of places …

You’ll also meet the devilishly handsome Dr Josh O’Hara and the beautiful, fragile Megan Phillips … and discover the secret that tore these star-crossed lovers apart.

Turn the page to step into St Piran’s—where every drama has a dreamy doctor … and a happy ending.

Dear Reader

Having written SPANISH DOCTOR, PREGNANT MIDWIFE, based in Penhally Bay, I was delighted to be asked to contribute to the new series set in and around St Piran’s Hospital.

I was especially pleased to spend some time with the characters on the rugged coast of Cornwall, a part of the world I love, and which is very similar to the West Coast of Scotland where I live now.

This is the story of extreme sport fanatic Mac, who is a doctor with the Royal Cornwall Air Ambulance Service, and Abby, single mum and air ambulance paramedic.

When committed bachelor Mac meets Abby he is immediately attracted to her. Soon after he finds out that Abby has a secret that is about to turn his life upside down, and he learns that loving involves taking risks too.

I hope you enjoy reading Mac and Abby’s story, and would love to hear from you—my blog is on the eHarlequin website: www.eharlequin.com

Anne Fraser

ST PIRAN’S HOSPITALWhere every drama has a dreamy doctor… and a happy ending.

In December we gave you the first two St Piran’s stories in one month!

Nick Tremayne and Kate Althorp finally got their happy-ever-after in: ST PIRAN’S: THE WEDDING OF THE YEAR by Caroline Anderson

Dr Izzy Bailey was swept off her feet by sexy Spaniard Diego Ramirez: ST PIRAN’S: RESCUING PREGNANT CINDERELLA by Carol Marinelli

In January the arrival of sizzlingly hot Italian neurosurgeon Giovanni Corezzi was enough to make any woman forget the cold! ST PIRAN’S: ITALIAN SURGEON, FORBIDDEN BRIDE by Margaret McDonagh

This month daredevil doc William MacNeil unexpectedly discovers that he’s a father in: ST PIRAN’S: DAREDEVIL, DOCTOR … DAD! by Anne Fraser

The new heart surgeon has everyone’s pulses racing in March ST PIRAN’S: THE BROODING HEART SURGEON by Alison Roberts

Fireman Tom Nicholson steals Flora Loveday’s heart in April ST PIRAN’S: THE FIREMAN AND NURSE LOVEDAY by Kate Hardy

Newborn twins could just bring a May marriage miracle for Brianna and Connor Taylor ST PIRAN’S: TINY MIRACLE TWINS by Maggie Kingsley

And playboy Prince Alessandro Cavalieri honours St Piran’s with a visit in June ST PIRAN’S: PRINCE ON THE CHILDREN’S WARD by Sarah Morgan

About the Author

ANNE FRASER was born in Scotland, but brought up in South Africa. After she left school she returned to the birthplace of her parents, the remote Western Islands of Scotland. She left there to train as a nurse, before going on to university to study English Literature. After the birth of her first child she and her doctor husband travelled the world, working in rural Africa, Australia and Northern Canada. Anne still works in the health sector. To relax, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, walking and travelling.

Recent titles by the same author:

PRINCE CHARMING OF HARLEY STREET

RESCUED: MOTHER AND BABY

MIRACLE: MARRIAGE REUNITED

SPANISH DOCTOR, PREGNANT MIDWIFE*

* The Brides of Penhally Bay

ST PIRAN’S: DAREDEVIL, DOCTOR … DAD!

ANNE FRASER

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

CHAPTER ONE

ABBY sank onto the sofa transfixed by what was happening on the TV screen. At the end of a rope, a man was being lowered out of a Royal Navy helicopter. Abby held her breath as the figure swirled precariously in the buffeting wind. She had put on the TV to catch the weather report but now she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the drama unfolding in front of her.

Beneath the helicopter a boat was listing dangerously to one side, obviously in serious trouble. The reporter covering the story was telling the viewers that the Royal Navy rescue service had been called out to the stricken vessel. ‘The family of four were on a sailing trip when they got into trouble off the Cornish coast. Heavy seas pushed their boat onto rocks and it is now taking on water rapidly. We have heard that the helmsman took a heavy blow to his head and is unconscious. His wife, who radioed for help, and their two young children, are still on board.’

Although the newscaster’s expression was calm, Abby could detect suppressed tension in her voice. ‘The helicopter crew has only a short time to get everyone off before the boat sinks. We understand that there is a doctor helping from the Royal Cornwall Air Ambulance Service.’

The man at the end of the winch dropped onto the listing boat, unhooked himself from the line and slithered his way across the deck. Within minutes he was being lifted back on board the helicopter, with two small figures attached to him like clams.

He swiftly dropped down to the boat again, retrieving another person from the stricken yacht. Heart in her mouth, Abby leaned forward. The injured skipper was still on the boat! Could he be rescued before the yacht sank, taking him and his rescuer along with it? If he had a head injury, as the newscaster was suggesting, then it would be dangerous to move him. But what other option was there? To leave him would be unthinkable.

The downdraught from the helicopter whipped the sea into a frenzy. Nearby, a coastguard rescue boat was making valiant attempts to approach the yacht but the heavy waves were preventing it from getting anywhere close. Abby squeezed her eyes closed. She could hardly bear to watch.

‘A second man is being lowered onto the boat.’ The newscaster’s voice dropped to a whisper. ‘We understand he’s a doctor.’

Abby opened her eyes. Sure enough, she could just make out the letters on the fluorescent jacket of the second man.

The line attached to the helicopter was swinging wildly as the pilot struggled to keep the aircraft level. The small boat rose up to meet the man on the end of the winch then dropped away again. The figure swung first to the right then to the left as the deck kept veering away. Abby knew there was a real possibility that the rescuers might lose their own lives in the attempt to reach the injured skipper.

Suddenly the doctor was on the deck. Quickly he released himself from the harness and the line was reeled back into the helicopter.

Almost unable to breathe, Abby watched him pick his way across the slippery deck, almost losing his balance as the boat shifted wildly in the heavy seas. Moments later another man dropped down from the helicopter, this one with a stretcher. Abby lost sight of the first man as he disappeared from view. Had he slipped overboard?

While she’d been watching, Emma had come into the room. Seeing Abby staring at the screen, she unplugged herself from her MP3 player and sat down next to her.

‘Is that what you’re going to be doing?’ Emma asked. ‘In your new job?’

‘Sometimes,’ Abby admitted. Although she hoped to hell she wouldn’t be involved in anything quite as dangerous as what was going on in front of her. It was one thing being trained to be winched up and down from a helicopter in calm conditions—this was something altogether different.