Joanna Neil - Return of the Rebel Doctor

Jessie tried to do the same, but her nature was such that she often gave in to impulsive behaviour and only thought about the consequences afterwards.

‘I’ve missed you,’ Ross said, breaking into her thoughts. ‘Whenever I’ve been in bother, or about to do something mad, I’ve had the image of your sweet, calm face before me, with your green eyes warning me not to be such a harebrained fool.’ His mouth indented. ‘You’ve a lot to answer for.’

‘Oh, yes?’ She gave him a doubtful look. ‘I’m not sure I believe that. Since when did you ever bother about my opinion? I can’t imagine you’ve given me much thought at all—out of sight, out of mind, isn’t that what they say?’

‘Such scepticism…I can see I have my work cut out with you.’ There was a gleam in his eyes as he looked at her. ‘Definitely a challenge.’

He led the way to the bar, still keeping his hand splayed out over the curve of her hip, sending small ripples of excitement coursing through her body, and she had to steel herself not to give in to the warm, confusing tide of emotion that ran through her at his touch.

She had mixed feelings when he left her at a table by the window to go and fetch their drinks. Part of her was relieved that she was no longer under siege to that intensely intimate and sensual onslaught, and yet another, perverse part longed once again for that delight.

‘There you are,’ he said a moment later, sliding a brandy glass across the table towards her. ‘Drink up. You’ll soon feel it warm you.’

‘Thank you.’ She did as he suggested, and instantly felt the heat of the alcohol suffuse her body. Idly, she looked at him over the rim of her glass, and it seemed in that moment that the intervening years fell away. He still had that youthful look about him, all that boyish charm that had melted her heart when she’d been just a teenager.

Today he was wearing dark trousers and a navy-blue shirt beneath his open jacket. The first few buttons of his shirt were undone, showing his lightly tanned throat, and she watched, as though mesmerised, as he swallowed his drink. His larynx moved, and she felt a sudden, disconcertingly intense urge to reach up and run her fingers lightly over his golden skin.

She dragged her gaze away from him. ‘Do you ever look back and regret that you left the island?’ she asked.

He thought about her question for a moment or two. ‘In some ways, yes, for the family I left behind, but I think if I had that time all over again, I’d do the same thing. I was under a lot of pressure back then.’ His eyes darkened. ‘As you know, things weren’t going well for me, and my father was angry and clamping down on me more than ever.’

‘I know.’ She took another sip of brandy, feeling the amber liquid scald the back of her throat. ‘But you were badly injured, after all, and when all the hoo-hah died down after the accident, and the fire, your father might have had a change of heart. Perhaps you didn’t give him the chance to see things in a different light?’

He shook his head. ‘He was worried about me, I knew that, deep down, of course. But he was a stickler for doing things right and the fact was he was disappointed in me. I always seemed to be in trouble, and I guess the incident at the Old Brewery was the last straw.’

Katie nodded, understanding how things had gone so badly wrong. She didn’t know the full details—only what people had said at the time, and she suspected those stories had been embellished and exaggerated. The fire had scandalised everyone, but their feelings had been tinged with sorrow because when Ross had come down from the upper storey of the old building, the rotten timbers of the staircase had given way and he had fallen to the floor below. Quite why he had gone back up there after starting the fire wasn’t clear, but Katie suspected he’d gone to retrieve Jessie’s jacket. She’d said she’d left it behind, and that must have added to her guilt.

Ross and Jessie had been tight-lipped about that night ever since, and neither of them wanted to talk about what had happened.

‘I shouldn’t have been there,’ he admitted now, ‘but you don’t think about these things too deeply when you’re young. We’d all been warned to keep away because it was abandoned and dangerous, but it drew teenagers like a magnet, and I was no exception.

‘The way my father saw it, if I hadn’t been there, if I hadn’t acted the way I did, the accident wouldn’t have happened. He was right to be angry. It was my fault for being reckless, and the fire was the last straw.’

He gave a rueful smile. ‘They blamed me, and I suppose that was because my reputation for skirting the law went before me. I was unconscious, and I have no memory of it. But as far as my father was concerned it was one of a long line of misdemeanours, and I guess he was torn between anger and sorrow.’

She frowned. ‘Jessie was adamant that you didn’t do it.’

He nodded. ‘Yes, but no one was prepared to believe her.’

It was Jessie’s role that bothered Katie. She must have gone there in the first instance knowing full well her parents had forbidden it. It was a dangerous place and there were signs all around warning people to keep away, but perhaps she had simply decided to throw caution to the wind.

‘You were very badly injured. It was lucky for you that Jessie was there. She must have saved your life by ringing for the emergency services.’ Even now Katie tensed, thinking about what might have happened if the paramedics and fire service hadn’t arrived within a few minutes of her call.

‘Yes, she did.’

‘You were so ill. A fractured skull—I was so worried about you. We all were.’

He reached across the table and covered her hand with his. ‘I remember you came to visit me in hospital. That was like a ray of light shining down on me. It meant a lot to me, you being there, but I felt wretched knowing that you thought badly of me.’

She was startled. ‘You knew I was there? But I thought…I didn’t realise. I know I talked to you, but you didn’t answer. You’d been in a coma. It was awful, I felt so wretched, seeing you like that, not being able to do anything.’ Her voice trailed away. ‘There was a time when we didn’t think you would recover.’

‘Well, all I can say is I must have the luck of the devil. Thanks to the surgeons I was up and about after some extensive physio and ready to do battle.’ His mouth flattened. ‘I knew I had to make some changes in my life after that.’

She nodded, finishing her drink. ‘So did I. That’s when I decided I had to study medicine. I was so impressed by the way everyone handled things, from the paramedics, the nurses, through to the doctors. It had a huge impact on me.’

He grinned. ‘I’m glad I had some influence on your life in a good way. But as for myself, I knew I had to get away, to start afresh where no one had any preconceived ideas about me.’

She raised her brows. ‘It was a bit drastic, though, going off and joining the army, don’t you think?’

He laughed. ‘Maybe.’ He picked up her glass. ‘Will you have another?’

‘Yes, thanks. It’s certainly done the trick.’ While he was at the bar, she undid her jacket and slipped it off, placing it over the back of her chair. She was wearing a crocheted top over a cotton shirt blouse, and when Ross came back he gave her an admiring glance.

‘You’re a sight for sore eyes.’

Her mouth twitched. ‘I bet you say that to all the girls.’

‘Yeah. Especially those who give me the run-around. A bit of flattery goes a long way, I find.’

She laughed. ‘I expect it does. You’ll go far.’

‘I’ll drink to that.’ He raised his glass and she answered the toast with hers, clinking their glasses together.