A Gentle Giant

She came straight to the point and asked him outright where he suggested she should live during her ‘trial’ period. She found herself thinking of it in inverted commas, because she had decided she was staying. The term ‘trial’ was Rob’s and his alone.

‘I think you’d be best off here, if you’re really serious about doing this properly,’ he said thoughtfully. ‘How else will we manage when you’re on call at night—or weren’t you thinking of doing nights?’ He asked the question quietly and seriously, and Jamie was almost fooled. Then she caught the glimmer of challenge in those amazing eyes of his.

‘Certainly I’m going to do nights,’ she returned, refusing to rise to the bait. ‘Unless you think a mere woman isn’t to be trusted?’

He studied her for a second, his dark blue-grey eyes assessing, and then he smiled wryly. ‘Of course I trust you—medically, I have no qualms at all. Your references were excellent, and I’ve had a stream of calls telling me about the nice young lady doctor and how pleasant you are!’

She smiled. That’s because they’re used to you pretending to be ferocious!’ she teased.

He chuckled. ‘I’m only ferocious with time-wasters who should know better—I got fairly crotchety this morning with an old boy who called me out at four because he’d been to his sister’s and had a heavy meal and was plagued by indigestion! Silly old goat. I didn’t need that in the middle of last night!’ He sighed and stretched, and the old sofa creaked under his weight.

‘Can I do tonight for you?’ Jamie offered.

He shook his head wearily, but he looked seriously tempted. ‘You don’t know your way round yet,’ he said. ‘No, what I suggest is that you come with me this week when I do the calls in the day, and then you can start to take over the daytime calls until you’re used to the area—another week or so. I don’t mind doing the nights for a while, especially if I’ve got help in the day so I can rest if I need to.’

Chloe, bored with her toys, chose that moment to climb out of the toybox and run up to her father. ‘Daddy!’ she said imperiously, and took him by the hand. ‘Come! Play Chloe!’

He let her drag him to the floor, and sat cross-legged against the wall next to the toybox while she piled bricks in his lap.

‘House!’ she demanded.

He built a house, and she knocked it down, and he built another, and then another, and after a while she grew bored and turned to him, scaling his big body like a tiny mountaineer, grabbing fristfuls of clothes to help her ascent. He lifted his arms up and swung her round on to his shoulders, and she sat there, her fingers buried in his hair, and jerked it.