‘The first year will be the worst.’ He frowned. ‘I’m sure your friends will be keen to invite you to their places, though. After all, it’s a time when you should be with other people.’
‘Maybe. Or I could go and help out at a refuge, or somewhere.’
‘You have a while yet to think it through.’ He sprinkled cheese over his baked potato and dug in a fork. ‘In the meantime, maybe you should think of bringing in some help around the farm.’
She nodded, causing her honey-blonde hair to glide silkily over her shoulders. ‘I thought of asking around in the village. I put an advert in the local paper, but so far no one’s answered. There might be some teenagers looking for part-time work, though. I suppose I could put a notice in the newsagent’s shop. I already have people to help with the other crops—we grow vegetables and corn, but they aren’t really a problem. It’s just the animals that I worry about.’ She helped herself to salad, enjoying the crisp flavours and the sweet tang of mayonnaise.
She glanced at him. ‘You said that your parents have a farm. I suppose you must have been brought up there?’
‘Not exactly. It’s something they took up after they opted for early retirement, but they’ve taken to it surprisingly well. I suppose it’s what prompted me to move to the area. My sister and her family came over here to be near them, and I decided to follow suit. We’ve always been close as a family, and this part of the Cotswolds appealed to me—it’s really lovely. I worked at one of the hospitals in the surrounding area for a time, and then this post came up, exactly what I wanted, so I grabbed it with both hands.’ He swallowed a mouthful of coffee. ‘As to the farm, it’s more the kind of place where people can visit—children come to see the animals or play in the hay barn. And then there are trailer rides and a play area.’
Her mouth curved. ‘It sounds wonderful. What did your parents do before they retired?’
He added salad to his plate. ‘My father was a GP and my mother worked as a health visitor. Even my sister, Ella, joined the profession. She was a nurse, but she gave it up when she and her husband started a family.’ He grinned. ‘It’s something she seems to be good at—she’s pregnant again. This will be her third child.’
Sophie thought about that for a moment. ‘I think it would have been good to be part of a family like that. I was an only child, but I often wished I had a brother or a sister.’ She lifted her shoulders briefly. ‘It wasn’t to be.’
‘It happens that way, sometimes. I was fortunate.’ He helped himself to a spiced fruit bun. ‘So how did you come to study medicine?’
She took a sip of coffee before she answered him. ‘I’m not sure when it began, but I’ve always known that I wanted to work with children. Perhaps it was because I had no brothers and sisters. I was around eleven years old when our neighbours’ children were taken ill with meningitis, and that had a profound effect on me. They were my friends and I was scared they might not get better, but our GP rushed them into hospital and when they came home a few weeks later, they were fine. I was impressed. I thought hospital work was something I might do later on.’
‘I think you chose the right career. You were very good with James earlier—tender, caring and professional at the same time. His parents are reassured that he’s in good hands.’
‘I’m glad they feel that way.’ She finished off her coffee. ‘He settled into the ward well enough, and he’s sleeping now, which is probably a good thing. I doubt he had much rest last night with all his breathing difficulties.’
He nodded, and then gave her a musing glance. ‘Does it ever bother you, working with children?’
‘Oh, yes.’ It was a heartfelt statement. ‘All the time. I’d defy anyone to be blasé about it. But it’s rewarding, too.’ She thought about young Marcus, with his engaging smile, and brightened. ‘Children take life as it comes and grab it with both hands. It’s lovely to see what a wonderland it is for them. Everything is new and exciting, and sometimes it’s refreshing to look at the world through their eyes.’
His gaze trailed over her. ‘I’m sure they love having you as their doctor.’
‘I hope so. I do my best.’ She wiped her hands on a serviette and surveyed the remains of their lunch. ‘We seem to have polished that off between us with no trouble at all. Thank you for that,’ she said, returning his gaze with real appreciation.
It was hard to imagine why he was going to so much trouble to feed her and get to know her, but it would have been churlish of her not to acknowledge his efforts. Perhaps he was more concerned about her fainting on him than she had realised, and that was the real reason he was keeping an eye on her.
There was a knock on the door, and Hannah looked into the room. ‘Sorry to interrupt,’ she said, ‘but Mr Burnley’s looking for you, Sophie. He wants a word with you before he goes off on his rounds.’
‘Thanks, Hannah.’ Sophie stood up. ‘I’ll go and find him.’ She glanced at Lucas. ‘I’m sorry to cut this short,’ she said, ‘but Mr Burnley’s our cardiac surgeon, and I wouldn’t want to keep him waiting.’
‘That’s all right, I understand.’ Lucas began to clear away the remains of their feast. ‘I’ll take the opportunity to go and look in on young James while I’m here, if I may.’ He gave the nurse a look that would have set fire to steel. ‘Perhaps Hannah would show me where he is?’
Flustered, Hannah stared at him, her mouth dropping open a little. ‘You want me to take you to him? Um … yes … yes, of course. I can do that.’ She pulled herself together, as though she realised she was babbling. ‘I was forgetting you’re new around here. He’s in the bay along the corridor. If you want to follow me, I’ll lead the way.’
‘Thank you.’ Lucas’s smile had an even more devastating effect on Hannah’s composure. He walked to the door, holding it open so that she could retreat into the corridor, and for just a second their fingers touched. Hannah looked as though her senses were in a whirl, and Sophie could see that she was trying desperately to get a hold on herself.
A wry smile edged Sophie’s lips. It was just as well she’d made up her mind to steer clear of Lucas. He was obviously pure dynamite, and she’d no intention of becoming his next conquest.
CHAPTER THREE
‘HOW is our little patient doing?’ Lucas was frowning as he walked towards the bed in the paediatric bay of the emergency unit. It was some days later, and Sophie was getting used to seeing him about the place.
‘Not so badly now,’ Hannah said on a heartfelt sigh, ‘but I can tell you, that was a worrying hour or so.’ She glanced at Sophie. ‘For a while there, I thought we were going to lose her.’
Sophie nodded. ‘Me, too.’ She stretched, easing the ache in her lower back. It was mid-afternoon and she had been working full out all day, first with her charges on the paediatric ward and now with this small child who had been rushed to hospital by ambulance.
‘Her parents had no idea she would have such a bad reaction to nuts,’ Lucas commented. ‘They’ll have to be extra careful from now on.’ He gazed down at the small child, whose fair curls tumbled over the pillow. The five-year-old’s face was drained of colour so that she was almost as pale as the sheets. ‘Still, she seems to be a lot more comfortable now.’
‘Yes, she does. It was lucky you managed to get in an airway before the swelling in her throat became too severe.’ Sophie glanced at him. Her respect for Lucas had grown by leaps and bounds over the last hour or so. By all accounts, he had worked desperately to save this little girl before calling Sophie down for a consultation, and as soon as she had set foot in A and E she had been able to see for herself how capable he was, and how gentle and caring he had been with the child.
Hannah was right. It had been touch and go for a while, but after all Lucas’s efforts and a further shot of adrenalin,