About the Author
Now that her children have left home, DIANNE DRAKE is finally finding the time to do some of the things she adores—gardening, cooking, reading, shopping for antiques. Her absolute passion in life, however, is adopting abandoned and abused animals. Right now Dianne and her husband Joel have a little menagerie of three dogs and two cats, but that’s always subject to change. A former symphony orchestra member, Dianne now attends the symphony as a spectator several times a month and, when time permits, takes in an occasional football, basketball or hockey game.
THE DOCTOR’S LOST-AND-FOUND HEART
NO.1 DAD IN TEXAS THE RUNAWAY NURSE FIREFIGHTER WITH A FROZEN HEART THE DOCTOR’S REASON TO STAY** FROM BROODING BOSS TO ADORING DAD THE BABY WHO STOLE THE DOCTOR’S HEART*
** New York Hospital Heartthrobs * Mountain Village Hospital
These books are also available in eBook format from www.millsandboon.co.uk
Revealing the
Real Dr Robinson
Dianne Drake
Dear Reader
Welcome back to Argentina! I love jungle settings, don’t you? In this series, which started in Texas with THE NO.1 DAD IN TEXAS, then travelled to Argentina in THE DOCTOR’S LOST-AND-FOUND HEART, I’ve decided to let Dr Ben Robinson stay in the country that captured his heart and fall in love. And fall in love is exactly what he does, in spite of fighting it every step of the way. But the heart always triumphs over the obstacles, and in Ben’s case there are devastating obstacles.
Back in the day, when I was a young nurse and not yet the critical care nurse I turned out to be, I was assigned the one duty I always knew I didn’t want: the burns unit. I’d been warned about the kind of suffering I would see there, and it was a given that the work would be difficult. I didn’t fear hard work, but I didn’t know if I’d have the heart to take care of the suffering I would encounter. But I was new, barely out of school, and couldn’t refuse the assignment.
Yes, I did see suffering such as no one could anticipate. What I also saw, though, was the courage and spirit in my patients. In fact for my first few days on duty there my patients were the ones who helped me through, and I truly believe that was the first real lesson I ever had in the nature of human resilience.
My character Ben Robinson has suffered devastating burns in the past, and in REVEALING THE REAL DR ROBINSON you’ll see some of the same resilience I saw in my patients. This story is about the true triumph of heart and soul in spite of overwhelming odds.
I’m on Facebook now, so please come visit me there at: http://www.facebook.com/DianneDrakeAuthor. Or check out my website at: www.DianneDrake.com. E-mails are appreciated, too: [email protected]
As always, wishing you health and happiness!
Dianne
CHAPTER ONE
BEN ROBINSON threw back the peeling wooden shutters, inviting in the crisp morning air. There’d been a dusting of snow in the valley overnight, for which he was glad. New powder on the ski slope, and one more day of skiing left before he returned home—it was perfect. Absolutely perfect.
In fact, everything about this holiday had been perfect. First time off in half a decade, first time in that half decade he’d almost relaxed. Tuscany in winter had been his dream, the one he hadn’t expected to achieve given the way he lived his life. This was the best, though. He’d slept late every morning, then every night dined on his favorite indulgences—pastas and sauces and desserts—all of them sure to add an inch to his waistline. In between his indulgences, he’d explored the fairy-tale villages unchanged over the past two centuries, with all their little shelters for shepherds on the high pastures and the breathtaking succession of age-old churches, hermitages, castles and fortresses.
And he’d met Shanna. She’d shared some of that with him—the late-night dinners, the explorations. All very free and easy, but all very nice.
Ben’s thoughts immediately turned to… well, whatever it was that had developed between them. Friendship? Brief acquaintance? Ships that passed in the night? Whatever it was, it was done. She’d had her plans for the day, he’d had his, and tomorrow he’d be gone. So there it was, come, gone, pleasant memories in its wake.
No, he hadn’t had a holiday fling in the traditional sense. No kisses—not even a farewell kiss other than a peck on the cheek. No sleeping in late with her in bed next to him. Certainly no intimacies shared across the table during a late-night dinner. Then last night it had turned into a simple parting of the ways after a pleasant evening without any promises for his last day. Not even a mention of him leaving. But that was the way he’d framed it, wasn’t it? Keep his distance. Enjoy the companionship, but not too much.
Play it safe.
Admittedly, for a moment or two, he’d wondered what might have happened between them if he’d let it. But he didn’t even let that get past the wondering stage. No reason to because he would go home to Argentina alone. Continue his medical practice alone. Live his life alone.
And Shanna… A wistful sigh escaped him. He hoped she would come to the café this morning, the way she had every morning for the past two weeks. One last look would make his day seem a little better. But he wasn’t counting on anything. He never did.
“Is that seat taken?” a familiar voice asked, twenty minutes later.
“Could be,” he said, without looking up at her, for fear she’d read eagerness in his eyes. “If the right person asks politely.”
“Who would she be?”
“Someone who would change her plans for the day. Ski with me now, shop tomorrow when I’m gone.” Said in a matter-of-fact manner, taking great care not to sound hopeful or anxious.
Shanna Brooks. She was bundled up to the eyes with scarves, hat pulled down that almost covered her eyes and wisps of copper hair escaping their confinement, the way he’d come to count on. Breathtaking however she appeared. As she slid into the chair across from Ben, he couldn’t help himself. He had to look across at her beautiful green eyes so full of life.
“That could be me,” she said as the wraps came off her, layer by layer.
Had he really gotten up and walked to the table at the back of the café that first day she’d approached him? Pure insanity. But in his defense he’d stayed the next day and every day after that, feasting his eyes at the ritual of her revealing, the slow peeling away of scarves and hats and mittens. After all, he wasn’t dead, just alone by choice, or design, or whatever the hell it was that had constructed his life to turn out the way it had. “But the question is, is it you?”
Frowning as she tossed her knit cap on the ledge of the picture window next to their table, she appeared to be thinking about her answer. “Did you ever consider that you could go shopping with me?” she finally asked. “Instead of me skiing with you?”
“No,” he said, sounding too abrupt even to