Annie Claydon - Healed By The Single Dad Doc

‘We’ll be fine. Call me if you need someone to wave you in to your space.’

She chuckled, and it occurred to Ethan that parking in a straight line wasn’t much in Kate’s nature. At work, she was thoughtful and methodical, but everything else she did betrayed a deliciously free spirit.

He heard the sound of the front door closing behind her. Then silence, broken only by the faint whisper of a car engine. A dull thud, and then silence again.

‘Better go and see if she needs some help, Jeff.’ Ethan shifted Jeff to one side a little and got to his feet. As he did so, the sound of a scream made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

No... Not so much a scream as a battle cry—the incoherent noise of blind effort and determination. Ethan ran to the front door, cursing as he fumbled with the catch in the darkness.

His eyes strained against the shadows cast by the high hedge which ran around the forecourt. Kate’s car had been backed into a parking space, and a few feet away she was struggling to escape from a dark form which was gripping her arm.

‘Hey! Let go of her!’ Ethan hollered at the top of his lungs and the shadow froze for a moment. That moment was just enough for Kate to land a punch, and as the man’s head snapped around his hood fell from across his face and Ethan saw him.

Young—early twenties, probably. Dark hair cut short. The details registered automatically in the back of Ethan’s mind as he made a charge towards them, a roar escaping from his lips.

The more she fought, the greater danger there was of her being hurt. But instinct had taken over and Kate was fighting. She aimed another punch at the man and he threw her to the ground. Ethan heard Kate yelp as the man aimed a kick at her ribs, before running out of the forecourt and across the road.

‘Kate...’ She was halfway to her feet, scrambling backwards away from him as Ethan slowed his pace, walking towards her. ‘Kate, it’s all right.’

His words weren’t registering. He’d seen this before, someone so frightened that they’d fight anyone off, even the people who came to help them. Ethan held his hands up in a gesture of surrender, his heart pounding.

She was stumbling towards her car, her eyes wide in the darkness, red corkscrew curls of hair escaping from the knot at the back of her head. Ethan tried to head her off, wondering whether she might be about to lock herself in her car and try to drive away, but she seemed more interested in the back of the vehicle than the driver’s door.

‘It’s okay, Kate. He’s gone now.’

‘Gone?’ The one word seemed to penetrate her panic. ‘You’re sure?’

‘Yes, I saw him run across the road and get into a van. They’ve driven away.’ He stepped forward and she practically fell into his arms, hugging him.

He could feel her body shaking against his. Ethan held her tight. This was...

It was almost...good. Almost the best thing he’d done in a long time. He smoothed the dishevelled curls on the back of her head, trying to focus on what he was supposed to be doing. Comfort. That was right.

‘You’ve had a shock.’ Ethan swallowed down the impulse to tell her that everything was all right now. However much he wanted to make it all right, that wasn’t in his power. ‘Are you hurt?’

‘No, I...’ He could feel her hands clutching at his sweater. ‘I don’t think so.’

‘We’ll get you inside and have a look.’ He made to lead her towards the front door of the surgery, but she resisted, suddenly breaking free of him.

‘Sorry...sorry, I’m okay. I have to get my bag.’ Kate looked up at him apologetically, wiping the sleeve of her jacket across her tear-stained face. Flipping the car remote, she opened the boot, pushing a rug back to reveal a boot safe.

She sorted through her keys, pushing out a sharp breath as if to steady herself. But when she tried to open the safe, her hands were shaking too much.

‘Let me.’ Ethan held out his hand and for a moment panic flared in her eyes again and she gripped her keys tightly.

‘Yes... Sorry. Thanks.’ She handed the keys over and he opened the boot safe. Inside, he saw a small zipped bag which obviously held the drugs that she had been carrying.

He wished she’d stop apologising. And that she’d let him take her in his arms again so he could comfort her. He should tackle the first, as the second was a more selfish impulse.

‘This was why you fought him?’ Ethan put the bag into her hands and she clutched it to her chest, nodding.

‘I know I should have just let him take the car but I couldn’t bear to think that these would get into the wrong hands.’

She was twisting her mouth wryly, probably about to apologise again. Ethan cut her short.

‘You might have been a little too brave, but I can’t say I would have done any different. I don’t much like the thought of these getting onto the streets either.’ He’d seen the results of that, more than once. And, if he couldn’t entirely approve of a course of action that might result in Kate being hurt, he could understand her motives.

‘And you shouted for help.’ Ethan decided to concentrate on something that he could recommend entirely.

‘I...was just making a noise. I didn’t expect anyone to come. Thank you.’ She looked up at him and smiled suddenly. Really smiled, as if he were some kind of hero, and not just a man who had a chequered and uncertain history of being there when he was needed.

‘I’m just glad I was here to help.’ Ethan took the risk of putting his arm loosely around her shoulders again, and she nestled against him as he shepherded her slowly towards the main door of the surgery.

* * *

He didn’t seem to think anything of it. It was a big thing, running out of the surgery like that to help her. Ethan Conway was different from other men. Dependable, if ever she wanted to use that word again...

It was just the shock. The feeling that she wanted him to hold her and not let go would wear off, along with the tremor in her hands. He’d become just another guy, nicer to look at than most, but still easy to let go of.

But it seemed he wasn’t letting go of her. He walked with her to the drugs cupboard, waiting while she negotiated the series of locks that kept it secure. Then back into the consulting room, where Jeff was dozing in exactly the same pose as when she’d left Ethan and him.

‘I’ll take a look at Jeff and then I should call the police.’ Getting back to normal was what Kate needed to do now. She didn’t want to think about Ethan’s dark-blue eyes. Or the lilt of his accent, soft as the Yorkshire hills that could be seen from almost every part of this town.

‘No. I’ll make you a cup of tea. Then I’ll call the police.’

His suggestion sounded a lot better. But she’d already spent too much time wanting to lean on him. She didn’t want to compound the problem by showing him that she was hurt.

‘That’s okay, I’ll...’ Kate could feel her arm throbbing, from the elbow to the tip of her thumb. ‘Actually, a cup of tea might be really nice. Thank you.’

He raised his eyebrows at her sudden volte face. ‘Sure you’re all right?’

‘Yes, fine. I’d just really like a cup of tea. There’s a tea station behind the reception area.’ It would take him five minutes to make the tea and that would give Kate some time to inspect the damage. ‘Milk and three sugars, please.’

He nodded. ‘You feel dizzy?’

‘No, I always take three sugars in my tea.’ Kate looked up at him half-apologetically, and he nodded.

She waited until he’d closed the door to the surgery behind him and then carefully slipped her arm out of her jacket, rolling up the sleeve of her shirt. Her forearm was beginning to swell, and although the skin wasn’t broken it was an angry red. Kate turned on the cold tap, wincing as she let the cool water pour over her arm.