Annie Claydon - Re-Awakening His Shy Nurse

It doesn’t seem ten minutes since I first sat down to write one of these letters for my first book, and now I’m on number five it’s becoming a regular pleasure.

It’s often said that true courage is doing something despite your fear. If that’s so then we are all heroes and heroines, because everyone’s done something which has frightened them. And sometimes fear can be a good thing. It warns us of danger, helps to keep us safe. But when fear ceases to be a reaction to present danger and becomes a way of living it’s exhausting and overwhelming.

Katya has lived through a terrible experience, and although her physical wounds have healed she has every reason to feel fearful still. Meeting gentle, handsome Luke might be one of the best things she’s ever done, but it turns out to be one of the most difficult as well, when she is forced to confront her fears head-on.

Some of my own fears are in this book—both rational and irrational—and if writing about them was at times demanding, it was also a voyage of discovery for me.

I hope you enjoy Luke and Katya’s story. I’m always delighted to hear from readers and you can e-mail me via my website at: www.annieclaydon.com

Annie

Annie Claydon

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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To all the staff and carers at the Sir Thomas Lipton Memorial Home, who prove daily that no kindness is too great to attempt or too small to bother with.

Cover

Title Page Re-awakening His Shy Nurse Annie Claydon www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dedication DEDICATION To all the staff and carers at the Sir Thomas Lipton Memorial Home, who prove daily that no kindness is too great to attempt or too small to bother with.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Epilogue

Copyright

SOMETIMES IT WAS the little things that mattered. A decent cup of coffee to start the day. A woman’s smile.

The days when Luke Kennedy opened his eyes to coffee and a smile were long gone and he’d got to the point where he hardly missed them. As he swung the door to the coffee shop open, he revised that sentiment slightly. He didn’t miss his ex-wife any more. But there was something about the smile of the latest recruit to the ranks of early-morning coffee-makers that made him regret his resolve to do without those moments of simple pleasure until he was up and dressed and had driven to the high street.

‘Hey, there.’ Her head popped up from beneath the counter. ‘Usual?’

‘Thanks. Two shots.’

‘I know.’ She gave him a lopsided grin that told him he would be mistaken if he chose to underestimate her. ‘You’re early this morning, I’ve only just opened up.’

Luke shrugged. It would be way too much information to tell her that it was the thought of her iridescent green eyes that had jolted him into wakefulness this morning. ‘Yeah.’

‘Right.’ The little quirk of her lips was far too knowing. As if she somehow understood that he’d made a decision not to get too close, and she didn’t blame him. Or maybe he was just looking for meanings where there were none.

She set the coffee to brew and poured the milk, twisting the controller for the steam nozzle. The significance of the slight popping sound that came from the coffee machine registered too late, and by the time it did, her startled yelp had already jolted Luke out of his reverie and into action.

‘Hey.’ He rounded the end of the counter and she stumbled another couple of steps backwards, obviously panicking. ‘Are you hurt?’

She was nursing one hand against her chest, still backing away from the steam that was issuing from the coffee machine. Luke turned, twisting the knob and shutting it off. ‘Did you burn yourself?’

She jumped as her back hit the far end of the counter, but it seemed to bring her to her senses. ‘I’m okay. I’m fine. Thanks.’

‘No, you’re not. Let me see.’ He took a step forward, holding out his hand, and she seemed to flinch even further back, like a frightened animal caught in a trap.

The look in her eyes wasn’t shock or pain. It was him that she was backing away from. Luke froze, instinctively spreading his hands, palms forward, in a sign that he would do her no harm. ‘Why don’t you put your hand into some cold water?’ He reached slowly for the small sink behind the counter and turned the tap on.

She hesitated. ‘Yes. Yes, I will. Thanks.’ It was obvious that she wasn’t going to come out of her corner yet and he had two choices. March over there, take hold of her and pull her over to the sink, if necessary, was the quickest, but something told him that if he tried that she’d only start to panic even more. Luke went for the second option and gave her some space.

By the time he’d made it back to the other side of the counter, she had her hand in the sink. And she was blushing. ‘I’m sorry. I overreacted.’

Luke could let that go. Right now, with the flush spreading from her cheeks to the nape of her neck, he could let just about anything go. ‘Are you all right? I didn’t mean to scare you.’

‘You didn’t.’ The answer was too defensive to be anything other than an excuse. ‘I … I just got a bit of a shock. Someone must have forgotten to clean the steam nozzle properly last night and when I switched it on …’ She tailed off. The tips of her ears were bright pink now and she was clutching at straws, trying to pretend that she hadn’t panicked and tried to run when he’d only tried to help her.

‘Made me jump, too.’ Not entirely true, but he got a nervous smile in return. ‘How’s your hand now?’

He expected her to evade the enquiry, but instead she withdrew her hand from the water, squinted at it and then plunged it back into the sink. ‘It looks fine. A little red, but it doesn’t feel too bad.’

She couldn’t have piqued his curiosity more if she’d tried. That sudden, perplexing reaction, followed by what seemed like a decision of sorts to trust him. ‘Best to keep it in the water a little while longer.’ She seemed far more comfortable now that the counter was separating them, and Luke planted his hands down on it, in a sign that he didn’t intend to again invade what she so obviously considered was her territory.

She nodded, abstractedly. She clearly had something on her mind, but it was impossible to tell what. Perhaps doing something practical would reassure her. ‘Have you got a first-aid kit behind there?’