Proposing to the Children's Doctor

‘Were you?’ Puzzled, Rebecca pulled the door almost closed behind her in an effort to shut out some of the noise. She studied him guardedly. Why would he be trying to catch up with her? She didn’t know him, or anything about him, except what she had managed to glean last night in the few moments when their paths had crossed. ‘You’re not here to complain about the noise, then? I’ve been trying to keep it down.’

‘Have you?’ His mouth made a wry twist. ‘I suppose it all depends how you interpret keeping it down.’

She slowly absorbed the implied criticism and pushed it into the background. ‘You know how it is… People get to drinking and then they want to dance, and before you know it they’re tuned in to the beat and it all gets a bit crazy.’

‘Yes. Anyway, that’s not actually what I’m here about.’

‘Oh…I see.’ She frowned. Why on earth would he be seeking her out? He was a stranger to her. The only thing they had in common was that they both kept late hours.

Perhaps he read her thoughts because he said, ‘I’m Craig, by the way. Craig Braemar.’

‘I’m Rebecca.’ She acknowledged the introduction with a faint inclination of her head. When all was said and done, she didn’t want to appear unfriendly, even if he was there to complain about something else. It wasn’t her way, no matter how distracted she might be. ‘Of course, you could always join us, if you’d like to?’ After all, it could be a better move to pull in the opposition rather than have him create problems for her.

‘Thanks, it’s tempting, but I actually need to grab some more sleep and I want to keep a clear head for the morning. I’m expecting a call.’

‘That’s OK. It was just a thought. I wouldn’t like you to feel that we were leaving you out.’

She studied him surreptitiously. Maybe he’d been out on the town last night and was still recovering. Whatever the circumstances, he was definitely more presentable today than he had appeared to her then, and she had to admit to herself that his voice surprised her, too. There was a vibrant, deep quality to it, and it somehow managed to wrap itself around her senses in a most unexpected way.

Today he was clean-shaven, and the clothes he was wearing were considerably more respectable than those of the night before, a fresh dove-grey cotton shirt beneath a black leather jacket and black denims that followed the line of long, strong-looking legs. His hair was a crisp, midnight black, cut in a short, cropped style, and his jaw was square, as though he brooked no nonsense from anyone. His eyes were a subtle mix of blue and grey, and right now his gaze homed in on her, returning her stare with laser-like precision, making her shift uneasily.

His glance shimmered over her, taking in the feminine curves outlined by the soft fabric of the strapless dress that clung where it touched and ended in a swirl of silk that draped itself around her knees.

His gaze was dark and brooding. She had no idea what he was thinking and for some reason that she couldn’t define, that bothered her. Was he dismissing her as a feckless airhead who went in for wild shindigs and a chaotic lifestyle?

Why should his impression of her rankle, anyway? He was nothing to her, and she didn’t want to acknowledge that he had tweaked her interest in any way. She was off men. They were trouble, big time, and most likely he would prove to be no exception.

Even so, she kept up an appearance of civility. ‘Is there a problem?’ she asked. ‘I know it can’t be easy moving into a new place. If there’s anything I can do to help, you only have to ask.’

‘It’s nothing like that, but thanks all the same.’ His tone was faintly dismissive, and she stiffened, returning his look with a questioning, watchful expression.

‘It’s about a phone message that was left for you just after you went out this morning,’ he said. ‘It was obviously someone who doesn’t know you too well, because she rang the number of the communal phone. It was only by chance that I heard it as I was crossing the lobby.’

Rebecca’s eyes widened a fraction. Who would be calling her here? All her friends and family had her mobile number. Unless something had happened to—

‘It was someone who lives near to your aunt, I believe,’ he murmured. ‘At least, she said she was a neighbour, Margaret, and she told me that your aunt was unwell. Nothing too serious, she thinks, but she’s not quite herself, and she’s been feeling a little dizzy lately. She said she would keep an eye on her over the next week or so, but she wondered if you might manage to get over there to see her some time soon.’

‘Oh, I see.’ Rebecca tried to absorb the information that confirmed her worst fears. Aunt Heather was ill? That was deeply distressing news, all the more so because her aunt had been like a mother to her. She had taken Rebecca and her sister under her wing and given them all the love and care that it had been possible for her to give through a good part of their young lives. It was unthinkable that she should be virtually alone in her island home while her family was so far away.

She glanced up at the man. ‘Well, thank you for letting me know. That’s a message I definitely needed to get.’

He nodded. ‘That’s what I thought. It’s difficult when elderly relatives are left to fend for themselves.’

Was that a hint of censure she detected in his voice? Rebecca drew herself up, a spark of resentment flaring to life in her smoke-grey eyes. What did he know about the way she lived her life? Who was he to stand in judgement of her?

She opened her mouth to say something, but then clamped it shut as he went on, ‘Actually, there was something else—I found a letter addressed to you this morning.’ He reached into his inside jacket pocket and drew out an envelope, holding it out to her. ‘This is you, right—Rebecca McIntyre?’

Rebecca nodded, and he said shortly, ‘I thought so. I heard your flatmate calling out after you, this morning as you left the house. I would have given it to her to pass on to you, but I was having a bit of a lie-in, and after that I was out for some of the day, so I haven’t had the chance to catch up with either of you.’

Her glance flicked over him. Nice that he was able to grab a leisurely day for himself. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been able to do that. Her job was one of constant pressure, with lifesaving decisions to be made about her small patients and long hours when she was on call.

Still, to be fair to him, maybe he was taking a day or so to acclimatise himself to his new surroundings. At any rate, it didn’t sound as though he had anything pressing he needed to attend to right away, no job to keep him occupied.

He gave her a grimace. ‘I don’t know who picked up the letter originally, but it might be that it slipped from a pile on the hall table and somehow became wedged between the table and the wall. I caught a glimpse of the corner of the envelope. The postmark is a few days old, so I hope it wasn’t anything important.’

He handed her the envelope and she stared down at the black, handwritten address and winced. The writing style was familiar enough. She would recognise her sister Alison’s neat lettering anywhere, but why would she write and not phone? There was an overseas postmark, and that could only mean that there had been some kind of setback to her plans and she wasn’t able to come back to the UK as planned.

She released a faint sigh. All her plans for a joyful reunion were falling apart. This day was getting worse with every moment that passed, and on top of that her new neighbour must be thinking that she was careless and irresponsible along with everything else.

‘Thanks again,’ she murmured, sending the man a quick glance. ‘I do appreciate the trouble you’ve taken.’

‘You’re very welcome.’ He frowned. ‘Though I take it from your expression that it’s not likely to be good news in there?’

She gave a reluctant smile. ‘Don’t worry. I won’t shoot the messenger. All in all, it’s been a bad day for me, but things can only get better, can’t they?’

‘Let’s hope so.’ He made as though to move away from her, but in that instant a crashing sound erupted from inside the flat, followed by a loud scream.

He turned around to face her once more, his expression rueful. ‘I think perhaps you might have spoken too soon,’ he murmured.

Rebecca felt her heart sink. ‘Oh, dear. I’d better go and see what’s going on in there. Thanks again for passing on the message.’

She turned away from him and pushed open the door to the flat, standing in the doorway and scanning the room briefly. It was clear at a glance what had happened.

The heavy, glass-fronted display cabinet had fallen over, probably aided by some drunken partygoer stumbling about, and she could see that some of the contents, once beautiful glassware and delicate ornaments, were scattered in fragments about the floor.

Far worse than that, though, a man’s arm was sticking out from underneath the cabinet, and a pool of his blood was slowly seeping across the carpet. People were standing about, some in shock, some confused and most the worse for wear through drink.

‘Help me get the cabinet off him,’ she said in an urgent tone, rushing over to where the man lay and directing her words at her friends. ‘Angie, can you grab one end? Connie, will you go around the other side?’

Angie’s new flatmate hurried to position herself at a point where she could assist. ‘It’s too heavy,’ Connie said. ‘We’re not going to be able to do this on our own.’

‘You girls get ready to pull him out from underneath.’ Craig’s voice cut into their conversation, his tone clipped and decisive, and Rebecca stared up at him in shock. He must have followed her into the room. ‘I’ll ease it up from him. Just watch out for falling glass.’

‘Perhaps we should find something that we can wedge in between him and the glass doors when you lift it?’ Angie’s expression was stricken. ‘He’s already badly cut, from the look of things. Wait just a second while I go and grab something from the kitchen.’

She hurried away and came back just a moment or two later, armed with a couple of large trays. ‘I’ll try to slide these over him as you move him out of the way.’

Rebecca nodded, and glanced at Connie. ‘We need to keep his head and neck as steady as possible while we drag him out from underneath.’ She looked around for more volunteers,and a trio of men came forward. One of them went to help with the cabinet.

‘Are you ready?’ Craig asked. ‘Is everyone in position?’

‘We’re ready.’ Rebecca signalled to the others, and in a team effort they pulled the young man clear of the cabinet while Craig and his helper stood it back on its feet.

‘He’s losing an awful lot of blood,’ Angie said. ‘There are cuts to his arm and wrist. He’ll need to go to hospital.’

Rebecca nodded. ‘There’s a puncture wound to a main blood vessel. Ring for an ambulance while I try to stop the bleeding, will you?’

‘I’ve already called emergency services,’ Craig said. ‘Do you have anything you can use as a pressure pad?’