The Rebel Doctor's Bride

‘Ah, Kyla. We all miss her. It’s not good when islanders leave. It’s not good for Glenmore.’

Swift and sure, Conner slipped the needle into the vein. ‘Depends on the islander, Mrs Ellis. There are some people that Glenmore is pleased to see the back of.’ He released the tourniquet and watched as the blood flowed. ‘I’m checking your thyroid function, by the way.’

‘Oh. Why?’

‘Because I think hypothyroidism is a possible explanation for your symptoms.’ Having collected the blood he needed, he withdrew the needle and covered the area with a pad. ‘Press on that for a moment, would you? If you leave here with bruises, that will be another black mark against me.’

She looked down at her arm. ‘That’s it? You’ve finished? You’re good at that. I barely felt it.’ The expression in her eyes cooled. ‘I suppose you have a lot of experience with needles.’

Conner picked up a pen and labelled the bottles. ‘I’m the first to admit that my list of vices is deplorably long, Mrs Ellis, but I’ve never done drugs.’

Her shoulders relaxed. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said softly. ‘That was uncalled for. If I’ve offended you…’

‘You haven’t offended me.’ He dropped the blood samples into a bag, wondering what had possessed him to take the job on Glenmore. He could have come in on the ferry, sorted out his business and left again.

‘Hypothyroidism, you say?’

‘There are numerous alternative explanations, of course, but this is a good place to start.’

‘I don’t know whether to be relieved or alarmed. I was expecting you to tell me it was nothing. Should I be worried?’

‘Worrying doesn’t achieve anything. If we find a problem, we’ll look for a solution.’ He completed the necessary form and then washed his hands again. ‘I’m going to wait for those results before we look at anything else because I have a strong feeling that we’ve found the culprit.’

‘You’re confident.’

‘Would you prefer me to fumble and dither?’

She laughed. ‘You always were a bright boy, Conner MacNeil. Too bright, some would say. Bright and a rebel. A dangerous combination.’

Conner sat back down in his chair. ‘Call the surgery in three days for the result and then make another appointment to see me. We can talk about what to do next.’

‘All right, I’ll do that. Thank you.’ Susan picked up her bag, rose to her feet and walked to the door. Then she turned. ‘I always regretted it, you know.’

Conner looked up. ‘Regretted what?’

‘Calling the police.’ Her voice was soft. ‘At the time I thought you needed a fright. I thought a bit of discipline might sort you out. But I was wrong. You were wild. Out of control. But what you needed was a bit of love. People to believe in you. I see that now. What with everything that was happening at home—your mum and dad. Of course, none of us knew the details at the time, but—’

‘You did the right thing calling the police, Mrs Ellis,’ Conner said in a cool tone. ‘In your position I would have called them, too.’

‘At the time I was angry that they didn’t charge you.’

‘I’m sure you were.’

It was her turn to smile. ‘Now I’m pleased they didn’t. Can I ask you something?’

‘You can ask. I don’t promise to answer.’

‘There was a spate of minor shoplifting at that time but everyone else was taking sweets and crisps. You took the oddest assortment of things. What did you want it all for?’

Conner leaned back and smiled. ‘I was making a bomb.’

‘He blew up the science lab!’ Flora stood in front of Logan, trying to make him to see reason.

‘Funny.’ Logan scanned the lab result in front of him. ‘Conner said that you’d bring that up.’

‘Of course I’m bringing it up. It says everything about the type of person he is.’

‘Was.’Logan lifted his eyes to hers. ‘It tells you who he was. Not who he is.’

‘You really think he’s changed?’

‘Are you the same person you were at fifteen?’

Agonisingly shy, barely able to string a sentence together in public. Flora flushed. ‘No,’ she said huskily. ‘Of course not.’

Logan shrugged. ‘Perhaps he’s changed, too.’

‘And what if he hasn’t? What sort of doctor is he going to make?’

‘An extremely clever one. Most people wouldn’t have had such a good understanding of the reactivity series to cause that explosion. Anyway, I thought you were relieved that I’d found another doctor.’

‘I was, but I never thought for a moment it would be—I mean, Conner?’ Flora’s expression was troubled. ‘He’s right, you know. The locals won’t be happy. What if they make life difficult for him?’

‘They always did. He’ll cope. Conner is as tough as they come.’

‘I can’t believe he’s a doctor. How did you find out? I mean, he vanished without trace.’

‘I stayed in touch with him.’ Logan lifted his gaze to hers. ‘He’s my cousin, Flora. Family. I knew he was a doctor. When I knew I needed help, he seemed the obvious choice.’

‘Are you sure? He used to be very unstable. Unreliable. Rebellious. Disruptive.’ Attractive, compelling, addictive.

‘You’re describing the teenager.’

‘He created havoc.’ she looked at him, wondering why she had to remind him of something that he must know himself. ‘He was suspended from school three times. If there’d been an alternative place for him to go, I’m sure he would have been expelled. Not only did he blow up the science lab, he set off a firework in the library, he burned down the MacDonalds’ barn—the list of things he did is endless. He was wild, Logan. Totally out of control.’ And impossibly, hopelessly attractive. There hadn’t been a woman on Glenmore who hadn’t dreamed of taming him. Herself included.

She’d wanted to help.

She’d wanted…

She pushed the thought away quickly. She’d been a dreamy teenager but she was an adult now, a grown woman and far too sensible to see Conner as anything other than a liability.

‘His parents were going through a particularly acrimonious divorce at the time. There were lots of rumours about that household. My aunt—his mother—left when he was eleven. That’s tough on any child.’ Logan turned his attention back to the pile in his in-tray. ‘Enough to shake the roots of any family. It’s not surprising he was disruptive.’

‘He isn’t interested in authority.’

Logan threw the pen down on his desk. ‘Perhaps he thinks that those in authority let him down.’

Flora bit her lip. ‘Perhaps they did. But if that’s the case then it makes even less sense that he’s back. He couldn’t wait to get away from Glenmore the first time around and he stayed away for twelve years.’