Scarlet Wilson - Healing The Single Dad's Heart / Just Friends To Just Married?

There was a noise in the stairwell beneath them, and Mai Ahn rushed back up towards them with a stricken expression on her face. She muttered something to Lien, whose face became serious.

She turned swiftly. ‘Other way,’ she said quietly, pointing to the stairwell at the opposite end of the passage.

‘Something wrong?’ he asked, as the women hurried ahead of him.

Lien’s expression was a mixture of worry and anger. ‘You’ve made us a target, Joe. A Western doctor—rumoured to be carrying drugs in a poor area of town—is always going to cause problems.’

A cold shiver ran over his body. He hadn’t thought about this at all. He tried to relate this to back home. Would he have gone out alone to one of the worst areas in Glasgow? He didn’t even want to answer that question in his head, because the truth was that he had done it before, and would probably do it again. Some parts of Hanoi didn’t seem that different from Glasgow. But he hadn’t meant to put either of his new colleagues at risk. Anything he could say right now would just seem like a poor excuse. He followed them both, turning rapidly down a maze of side streets until they were back on one of the main roads.

Lien didn’t say another word to him until they reached the hospital again. A reminder sounded on his phone and he pulled it from his pocket.

‘Apologies, Lien, I need to collect Regan.’ He hesitated for a second, knowing that things couldn’t be ignored. ‘Can we talk about this later?’

Lien’s face remained stony. She gave a nod to Mai Ahn. ‘Thanks so much, I’ll see you tomorrow. Sorry about the extra work today.’

The words felt pointed. Part of him was cringing and the other part was annoyed.

Lien turned back to face him. ‘I’ll walk with you,’ she said firmly.

It was clear he was about to be told off. First day on the job and he was already in her bad books. It wasn’t the best start. He could easily defend his position, but did he really want to get onto the wrong side of his work colleague, who was also his next-door neighbour?

He decided to be direct, since Lien seemed to like that approach herself. ‘I’m sorry about today. I wasn’t aware there are areas in Hanoi that aren’t particularly safe. I shouldn’t have taken Mai Ahn with me. I’ll get a better grasp of the language soon.’

He could see her grip tightening on the handle of her shoulder bag. ‘You shouldn’t have gone at all, Dr Lennox.’ Her voice was clipped.

He took a deep breath, resisting the urge to snap back. ‘You should let me know now—since we’ll be working together for the next six months—are you always going to call me Dr Lennox when you’re mad at me, and Joe all the other times?’

She must have been expecting some kind of argument, because his response made her stumble for just a second. She stopped walking and looked him in the eye. ‘Why do you do that?’

‘Do what?’

People were stepping around them in the busy street.

‘Try and interrupt my train of thought.’

He gave a half-smile. ‘Because your train of thought was going down an angry rail. Can we pause at a station and back up a bit?’

She shook her head at his analogy.

He shrugged and held up his hands. ‘What can I say? I’m the father of a four-year-old. Train and spaceship examples are the ones that usually work.’

She closed her eyes for a second. Her grip on the bag was becoming less pinched. When she opened her eyes again, her pupils were wide. ‘You don’t get it,’ she sighed. ‘The staff and patients at the hospital are my responsibility. Mine.’ She put her hand on her chest. ‘Can you imagine if I had to phone Khiem and Hoa and tell them that our new doctor had been attacked on his first real day of work and now wanted to head back home to Scotland?’

His hands went to his hips. ‘Do you really think I’m the kind of guy to leave at the first hurdle?’

Her gaze was steady but sympathetic, and he could tell from that glance alone that she did think that about him. Disappointment swelled in his chest. Her voice was hushed on the crowded street. ‘What if that first hurdle results in Regan having no parents?’

He flinched as if she’d just thrown something at him. The words were harsh. They were also something that he hadn’t even considered.

Ever. He’d spent the first year after Esther had died wrapping his son in cotton wool, worrying about every minor accident, rash or childhood sniffle. In every thought his worst-case scenario had always been about something happening to Regan—not about something happening to him .

He stood for a second, not quite sure how to respond, and then he just started walking, lengthening his strides as he hurried to reach the nursery.

All of a sudden he had to set eyes on his son again. He’d already paid a quick visit at lunchtime, spending his break time with his son and making sure he was settled and happy in his new nursery school. But that had been five hours ago.

Lien walked in short, brisk steps alongside him. If she was struggling to keep up she didn’t complain.

‘I’m sorry,’ she muttered. ‘That came out a bit…’

‘Wrong?’ He raised his eyebrows.

‘Direct,’ she countered.

‘Is crime around here really that bad?’ he asked. His brain was whirring. He’d read a lot about Vietnam before coming here—although most of what he’d read had been health related. He couldn’t remember reading anything about crime.

‘No,’ she admitted. ‘Hanoi isn’t any worse than any other major city. But home visits by doctors are just not done here. Particularly when the doctor might be taking out medicines to patients. Surely you can see that if word got about, it could be dangerous for you, and for anyone around you.’

He wasn’t happy. ‘So you exaggerated?’

She pressed her lips together. ‘I protected my staff,’ she said.

‘Then who was at the bottom of the stairs?’

‘Some members of a local gang. Mai Ahn and I know them, they’ve attended the hospital before—usually for emergency treatment, you know, stitches for fighting or stab wounds.’

The flare of anger abated. Maybe she hadn’t been exaggerating after all. ‘Surely they wouldn’t hurt you, then?’ he asked carefully.

Her gaze met his. ‘But they would probably hurt you,’ was her reply.

He swallowed. It seemed he’d need to get to know this city a little better. In Glasgow even the worst kind of people would generally leave a doctor alone. Most people had a moral code when it came to healthcare professionals, knowing that they would likely need help from them one day. But there had been attacks. One of his good friends had been assaulted and his bag stolen when he’d been visiting a terminally ill patient, so it did happen.

She sighed and put her hand up, tugging her ponytail band from her hair and shaking it out. ‘Sorry, headache,’ she explained. ‘They probably wouldn’t hurt you. But the truth is I do know them, and they drink. Heavily. They’re all fairly young, and some of them think they have something to prove.’

‘So you were erring on the side of caution?’

She gave him the first smile he’d seen since she’d come looking for him. ‘That’s the polite way to say it.’ She shook her head again as they approached the international school. ‘I’m not trying to scare you off. This is a fantastic city. But like all cities, there is good and bad, and until you familiarise yourself a little better, or at least get a hang of the language, can you try not to get into trouble? Believe me, I’ve got enough to worry about without having to check on you.’

She was trying to pretend the words were light-hearted but he could sense the sincerity behind them. They reached the door of the school. ‘Can you give me five minutes?’ he asked.