Sarah Morgan - Worth The Risk

‘My mother’s got them for me for a few hours…’ Jenny fidgeted slightly. ‘I’ve got this thing on my leg and I’ve read so much lately about skin cancer it’s been worrying me.’

‘Let me have a look.’

Ally waited while Jenny pulled down her leggings, and then bent to examine the mole on her patient’s leg. Alarm bells rang instantly in her mind. It had a jagged, uneven edge and was a mixture of black and brown, both signs highly suggestive of malignant melanoma.

‘Are you a sunbather, Jenny?’ She rummaged in her drawer for a ruler and measured the mole carefully.

Jenny looked sheepish. ‘Well, not regularly, Dr McGuire, but I love the sun and I love to be tanned. It makes you feel better, doesn’t it?’

It depended on your skin type, Ally thought wryly. When you were very fair, as she was, it was better to stay out of the sun altogether and settle for looking pale and interesting.

Ally frowned. ‘Remind me where you work.’

‘I’m a bank clerk.’

‘And you holiday abroad?’

‘Oh, yes!’ Jenny smiled. ‘Mike and I live for our two weeks of sunshine!’

An indoor job all year round and two weeks a year sunbathing—the very worst combination.

Jenny watched her curiously. ‘Why are you measuring it?’

Ally hesitated and made a note on her pad. ‘You were quite right to come and see me, Jenny, because suspicious moles do need to be checked out.’

‘And this is suspicious?’

‘It certainly needs to come off.’

Jenny swallowed. ‘Do you think it’s cancer?’

Ally hesitated. ‘It’s impossible to say, without removing it and examining the cells under a microscope.’

‘But you think it might be, don’t you?’ Jenny probed, her eyes wide and anxious.

‘It’s possible,’ Ally admitted, ‘but we need to arrange for a specialist to remove the mole and have a proper look at it.’

‘And if it is?’ Jenny swallowed. ‘What then?’

Ally reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. ‘Jenny, it may be nothing. Why don’t we wait for the results before we discuss the options?’

Jenny took a deep breath. ‘OK. How long will I have to wait for an appointment? I won’t sleep a wink until I know…’

‘They’re very quick,’ Ally assured her, reaching for her hospital phone directory. ‘I’ll phone Mr Gordon, the plastic surgeon, today and he should see you this week.’

‘Plastic surgeon? I thought it would be a dermatologist.’

‘When it comes to removing moles it can be either. Mr Gordon is very good.’

Jenny gave her a shaky smile. ‘Well, at least I won’t have to wait long. Will I have to stay in hospital?’

Ally shook her head. ‘No. They’ll remove it under local anaesthetic as a day case and then ask you to go back for the results.’

Jenny nodded and stood up. ‘Oh, well! Nothing to do but wait, then. Thanks, Dr McGuire.’

Ally watched her go and felt suddenly depressed. She was sure the mole would turn out to be malignant, and Jenny was a young woman with two small children…

Forcing those thoughts away, she phoned Mr Gordon’s secretary and arranged for an urgent referral. Then she glanced at her watch, gasping as she saw the time. She was late for Will’s meeting.

She flicked off her computer and hurried to the staffroom, stroking her wayward blonde curls back out of her eyes. Her hair hated being tied up for work and rebelled by gradually escaping from the tidy plait she started the day with. Maybe she should have replaited it before the meeting—but, then, it was only Will and the other partners and she was already late.

‘Sorry, Will! I had two extras and—’ She broke off and froze, her eyes fixed on the man lounging in one of the easy chairs. It was Sean Nicholson, freshly shaved and wearing stylish trousers and a jacket, a look of amused satisfaction pulling at the corners of his mouth as he watched her stunned reaction.

Will was looking as pleased as Punch with himself, although he didn’t quite meet her eyes. ‘There you are, Ally! I wanted to introduce you to our new locum.’

For a moment her heart flipped and words failed her.

With a slight smile Sean intervened, his voice that same deep, lazy drawl she remembered so well. ‘We’ve met. Hello again, Ally.’

Had he known? Was that why he hadn’t pressed her for her address? Because he’d somehow known he’d be working here with her? Had Jack said something? Suddenly she felt a shaft of panic. She didn’t want to work with this man! He made her feel—feel—

‘I didn’t know you’d met—that’s excellent.’ Will was still smiling, gesturing for Ally to sit down. Her legs wouldn’t move. ‘Where did you meet?’

Ally didn’t trust the innocent look on Will’s face. And then she remembered that he’d met Jack for a drink, so he must have known about Sean…

‘We met on the fells.’ Sean was watching her closely, his dark eyes slightly narrowed. ‘She was giving me advice on my abseiling.’

Will chuckled and placed a tray of coffee on the low table. ‘I hadn’t considered how much the pair of you have in common. That’s excellent. It will make for a good working relationship.’

Good working relationship? Ally couldn’t see herself having a good relationship with this man if she lived to be a hundred. He was everything she avoided in a man. Arrogant, handsome, chauvinistic—and totally compelling. She suppressed a groan. Work with him? Never! He made her too aware of herself and the feelings she’d squashed down for so long.

Sean was still watching her closely, his eyes intent. ‘Have a sandwich, Ally.’

A sandwich? It would choke her!

‘I thought you didn’t approve of female doctors.’ Ally found her voice at last and took refuge in sarcasm as she sat down in the nearest chair with a thump. Her legs were threatening to go on strike. It was sit down or fall down. ‘Especially blonde ones.’

His appraisal was disconcertingly male. ‘On the contrary, I totally approve of female doctors, especially if they’re blonde.’

Ally ground her teeth and then caught the gleam of laughter in his eyes. Damn the man! He was winding her up again. Well, this time he wasn’t going to succeed. Determined to look relaxed, she reached for a sandwich and concentrated her attention on Will instead.

‘Sean’s agreed to help us out until we can find a replacement for Tim,’ Will said, looking more and more pleased with himself. ‘He’s just what we need in the team.’

‘Dr McGuire may disagree.’ Sean smiled slightly. ‘She thinks I’m a chauvinist pig.’

‘Well, I dare say you are a bit,’ Will said calmly. ‘All those years in the army, I suppose. But deep down women like a man to be a man.’

Ally ignored that bit. ‘In the army? You did your medicine in the army?’

‘No.’ Sean shook his head. ‘I trained after I left the army.’

She could see him in the army. Short, cropped hair and a slightly wonky nose which had obviously been on the receiving end of someone’s fist—although, from what she’d seen of Sean, the other guy would have come off worse.

‘So what’s your special interest?’

‘Trauma.’

Stupid question, Ally thought wryly, remembering his skill with Pete. That explained why he’d been so skilled and confident. And now she knew why Will wanted him.

‘He’s going to run our minor accident clinic?’

Will beamed. ‘Absolutely.’

Ally’s heart sank and then she gave a philosophical shrug. They did need someone badly and it wasn’t as if she’d have to work that closely with him.

‘Well, your trauma experience will be useful,’ she said briskly, proud of how matter-of-fact and calm she sounded. ‘We’ve been getting very busy since we agreed to see minor accidents here, instead of sending them all the way to the infirmary.’