Tamed by her Brooding Boss

CHAPTER TWO

‘YOU look as though you could do with a break. Has it been a tough week?’ Murray laid a manila folder down on a corner of the pine kitchen table, avoiding the clutter of pastry boards and rolling pins. ‘I brought the colour charts I promised you,’ he added, tapping the folder. He stared at her, looking her up and down. ‘You’re not your usual jaunty self today. What’s up?’

‘Nothing’s up.’ Sarah smiled at her spiky-haired neighbour and waved him towards a chair. Perhaps she was a bit pale from being cooped up in the house, and since she was cooking with the children today there were probably traces of flour in her hair where she’d pushed it off her face with the back of her hand. ‘If I look less than on top of the world, I guess it’s because I was up till all hours last night, painting the walls in the living room. Sit down and I’ll pour you some tea. We were just about to have a cup.’

‘Sarah’s going to paint our bedrooms next,’ Sam put in eagerly. He was using a cutter to make gingerbread shapes, and he paused now to assess his handiwork. ‘She said we can choose the colours—’cept for black. She won’t let me have that.’ His bottom lip jutted and he frowned as he thought about that for a second or two. Then his eyes lit up. ‘Purple would be good, though—or bright red.’

‘We helped Sarah with the living room,’ Rosie put in. ‘Well, I did. Sam kept going off and playing on his game machine.’ She looked at her older brother and shook her head.

‘You were both a great help, all the same,’ Sarah said, her eyes crinkling at the corners. ‘It’s going to be a long job, though,’ she admitted, glancing at Murray as she went over to the worktop at the side of the room. She lifted up the sunshine-yellow teapot. ‘I knew there would be a lot of work when we moved in here a fortnight ago. This place was in a pretty wretched state when I bought it.’

Murray pulled a face. ‘I guessed it was bad—the old man who used to live here wasn’t able to do much in the way of maintenance—but I knew he was looking for a quick sale once he’d decided to go and live with his son and his family in Somerset. I did what I could to help him out with things, but there was a limit to what I could do, with company business getting in the way. There were orders for goods coming in thick and fast and supplies from the warehouses were delayed and so on. There’s been a lot to sort out over the last few months.’ He frowned. ‘Perhaps I shouldn’t have pointed the house out to you,’ he finished on a thoughtful note.

She poured his tea and came towards him once more, placing the mug in front of him. ‘You did the right thing,’ she told him, laying a hand on his shoulder and squeezing gently. ‘I’m really glad you told me about this place. I don’t know what I’d have done otherwise. It was exactly what I needed.’

‘Hmm … Well, I suppose a lick of paint here and there will work wonders.’ He glanced at the children, busy laying out gingerbread men on a baking tray. Rosie’s were perfectly symmetrical, with raisins placed in exactly the right place to represent eyes. Sam, on the other hand, was far more slapdash in his approach, and his men looked like cross-eyed vagabonds, with bits missing here and there. Sarah suspected he’d been surreptitiously tasting the uncooked mixture every now and again—the greasy smears around his mouth were a dead give-away.

Murray looked at Sarah once more as she placed the first batch of gingerbread men in the hot oven. ‘How’s the job going? Is it working out for you?’

She sat in a chair opposite him, leaving it to the children to finish rolling out the remains of the gingerbread mix on a pastry board.

‘I think so. It’s early days yet. My boss is watching my every move.’ She gave a wry smile. ‘I think he’s worried I might slip up and inadvertently kill off one of our patients.’

James had not made it obvious that he was concerned about her ability to make the grade, but for the last week he’d checked everything she did, going over her charts and medication logs with a keen eye. Every now and again she would be aware of him assessing her actions, scrutinising the way she handled various procedures. She’d no idea why he was concerned about her abilities as a doctor, but in the past she’d always been headstrong and haphazard in her actions, and maybe he thought she’d breezed her way through medical school on a wing and a prayer.

Murray laughed. ‘As if!’ Then he sobered, glancing at the children, and added in an undertone, ‘Seriously, though, are you finding it all a bit much? You have a whole lot on your plate these days.’

‘It’s okay. I’m beginning to get used to the new routine. It’s just that …’ She broke off, her expression rueful. ‘I don’t know,’ she said, after a moment or two. ‘I don’t seem to have time to sit and think at the moment. Everything seems to be going at a breakneck pace—moving in here, the new job, finding a school for the children, taking on the internet work. It’s all come about in a short space of time.’ She straightened up and sipped at her tea. ‘I’m sure things will sort themselves out, though. Like I said, these are early days.’

‘Maybe it would help if I took the kids out for a while. That would give you some time to yourself—unless you’d like to come with us?’ He gave her a thoughtful look. ‘I need to head into town to pick up some hardware for my computer and I thought about dropping into the pizza place while I’m in the area.’

Sam’s ears pricked up at the mention of pizza. ‘When are you going? Can I go with you?’

‘Sure.’ Murray laughed. ‘If Sarah thinks it’s okay, that is.’ He glanced at her and she nodded. She’d known Murray for years, ever since they’d both taken part in a rock-climbing course at an outdoor pursuits centre. He ran his own internet company, working from home most of the time, selling sports equipment and accessories, advising people on how to keep fit, and setting up weekend sporting activities. She’d always found him to be reliable and trustworthy. The children would be safe with him, that was for sure.

‘That’s fine with me. I think I’ll give it a miss, though, if you don’t mind. I think I need some time to get myself together.’ It had been a stressful week, one way and another, and being with James every day had been harder to handle than she’d expected. She’d always known she should keep her distance from him, but now that she’d taken the job that was never going to happen. Every instinct warned her that whatever way she became involved with him, she might end up being hurt. He alone had the power to affect her that way. Emotionally he could leave her bereft.

She dragged her mind back to Murray’s offer. ‘I have to go and buy some groceries from the village store, and I could do with a walk along the clifftop and maybe even along the beach.’ She smiled. ‘Rosie and Sam never seem quite as keen on doing that as I am.’

Murray nodded and turned to look at Rosie. ‘How does pizza sound to you, Rosie? Are you in?’

‘Yes, please.’ She looked at Sarah and said hesitantly, ‘I don’t mind going for walks … not really … It’s just that …’ She broke off, her shoulders wriggling. ‘Mum used to take us along the seafront in Devon. Now … I get. I get all sad now when we go to the beach.’ Her eyes were downcast, and her lower lip was beginning to tremble.

‘Oh, Rosie …’ Sarah’s heart swelled with compassion, and she quickly stood up and went over to her. ‘I know how you must be feeling, pumpkin.’ She put her arms around the little girl and held her close. ‘I do understand. It’s hard … but you’ll see, it’ll get easier with time.’

‘We used to play football on the beach with Dad sometimes,’ Sam said, a wistful, far-away look in his blue-grey eyes. ‘He used to dive for the ball and then he’d fall over and we’d wrestle him for it.’

Sarah reached out and gently stroked his hair. She didn’t remember her father ever playing rough-and-tumble games like that with her when she’d been younger, but obviously he had changed, grasping a second chance of happiness after he had found her stepmother and started his new family. She felt for Rosie and Sam. They were going through something that no child should ever have to bear, but she was doing whatever she could to make life easier for them. It was difficult, though, because memories would come flooding in at unexpected moments, like this, putting her on the spot.

‘Sounds as though you could all do with a bit of cheering up,’ Murray said, coming to her rescue. ‘I think pizza with all the toppings will probably do the trick—and we could take some of your game DVDs into the store and swap them for those you were telling me about, Sam, if you like?’

‘Oh, yeah … that’d be great.’ Sam’s mood changed in mercurial fashion.

‘Rosie, you might like to check out some of the dance games,’ Sarah suggested, following Murray’s lead. ‘You have some pocket money saved up, don’t you?’

Rosie brightened and nodded, causing her soft brown curls to flutter and gleam in the sunlight that poured in through the kitchen window.

‘That’s settled, then,’ Murray said. ‘As soon as you’re ready, we’ll be off.’

After they had gone, Sarah cleared away and set out the cooked gingerbread men on racks to cool. A few were missing already, since Murray and the children had decided they smelled too good to leave until later. Sam’s pockets had been bulging as he’d left the house.

She looked around, suddenly feeling the need to go out and get away from all the jobs that were crying out for attention. Sam and Rosie would be gone for much of the afternoon, according to Murray, so maybe she would make the most of things and go and get some fresh air. The walk into the centre of the village would do her good and she could pick up some fresh supplies from the grocery store while she was there.

It was a beautiful spring day, with a blue sky overhead and patchy white clouds moving in from the coast. As she walked down the hill towards the seafront, past colour-washed cottages and narrow, cobbled side streets, she could feel the light breeze lifting her hair and billowing gently round the hem of her skirt. In the distance, boats were moored in the harbour, and closer to home fishermen tended their nets, laying them out on the smooth sand as they looked them over and prepared for the next trip out to sea.

Instead of going directly down to the beach, she took a path that led to a raised terrace overlooking the cove, and from there she gazed out across the bay towards the craggy promontory she had once explored as a teenager. It was some distance away, but she could see the waves dashing against the rocks, sending up fountains of spray to splash into the crevices. She’d gone there once with friends, and James had joined them. He had been on one of his brief visits home from medical school. He’d walked with her along the shore as she’d looked for shells buried in the warm sand. It had been a magical day, with the sun high in the sky and James by her side, a day that had almost made her dreams come true.

There was a movement beside her and it was almost as though by thinking of him she’d conjured him up. ‘It must seem a long time ago since you spent your days searching for crabs in those rock pools,’ James said, coming out of the blue to stand alongside her. He followed her gaze to the boulder-strewn beach some half a mile away.

She gave a startled jump, taking a step backwards as he went to place a hand on the metal railing in front of them. He quickly put his arm out to steady her, and then when she’d recovered her balance he let his hand rest on the curve of her hip.

‘Are you all right? I’m sorry if I surprised you.’ He sounded concerned and his glance moved over her to gauge her reaction. ‘I didn’t mean to creep up on you like that. I thought you’d be aware of me, but you must have been miles away in your head.’

‘Yes … I’m okay.’ She rested her fingers against her chest, on the soft cotton of her top, as though that might somehow calm the staccato beat of her heart. Where had he come from? She couldn’t think straight while he was so close, with his hand spreading fire along her skin, sending heated ripples of sensation to spread through her hips and along the length of her spine. ‘What … what are you doing here? Where did you come from?’

‘I was on my way home from the hospital and I decided to stop and pick up something to snack on from the village shop. Then I saw you standing here.’

‘Oh, I see.’ She frowned. ‘I thought this was your weekend off.’

He removed his hand and stepped closer to the rail, turning so that he could look at her properly. That ought to have made things easier for her, but instead her mind went blank for a moment or two as she unexpectedly felt the loss of his warm, intimate touch. Perversely, she wanted him to go on holding her.

‘Yes, it is, but one of the junior doctors was anxious about a patient and phoned me to ask what he should do. Apparently the consultant in charge was busy dealing with another emergency.’

‘Were you all right with that?’ She’d watched him work hard all week, putting in long hours, staying on to make sure his patients pulled through and were definitely stabilised or on the road to recovery before he would leave. He seemed reluctant to hand over responsibility until he had done everything humanly possible to make sure they were safe. It must have taken a toll on him, but it didn’t show. Despite all that supreme effort, he still managed to look fit and energetic, on top form.

Weekends were precious for everyone, but some senior medical staff guarded them as sacrosanct, a time to recuperate and recharge their batteries, something they’d earned after years of study and acquiring specialist qualifications. From what she’d heard, one or two consultants took a very dim view of things if juniors called them in to work out of hours. Of course, things tended to operate differently in the emergency department.

‘I was fine with it,’ James said. ‘I’d sooner I was there to see a patient if there are any worries about his or her condition. Junior doctors do their best, but they need support, and I try to give it as much as possible. Sometimes you can do it over the phone, but other times there’s nothing for it but to go in.’

‘Yes, of course.’ She had finished her foundation years, but she wasn’t much more than a junior doctor herself—James was far more experienced than she was. He’d started his training while she’d been about to begin her worrisome teens, and he’d always put his heart and soul into medicine. ‘What was the problem with the patient?’ She might be in the same boat herself one day, in a quandary as to whether she should call him out, and it would be helpful to know what kind of things she ought to bring to his attention.

‘A woman collapsed while she was being treated for an abdominal injury. The doctor followed all the protocols but she wasn’t responding, so in the end he called me to ask for advice. The senior staff were all too busy with other emergencies. There was obviously something more going on than the problems with her injury, but her medical records weren’t available. Her liver was damaged, nothing too major—at least, not enough to cause her total collapse. I’ve ordered a batch of tests, so we’ll know better what’s going on as soon as they come back from the lab. She’s being given supportive treatment in the meantime.’

His glance wandered over her, taking in the pale-coloured cotton top that faithfully followed her curves, and the gently flowing skirt that skimmed her hips, drifting and settling around her calves as she moved. His grey eyes seemed to glimmer as he studied her, though of course it might simply have been a trick of the light. ‘You’re looking very summery … just right for this warm sunshine,’ he said.

A wave of heat surged through her. She hadn’t expected him to comment or even notice how she looked, but perhaps it was the contrast between how she looked now and the way she dressed at work that had sparked his interest. One day a week when she went out with the air ambulance, when she wore a flight suit, and the rest of the time at work she dressed in scrubs, the basic A and E outfit.

She gave a wry smile. ‘It beats wearing scrubs, anyway, or even jeans. Just lately, when I’m at home I’ve been trying to get on with some decorating any chance I get, so it makes a change to be out of jeans for a while.’

‘Ah … of course, you only moved back here a couple of weeks ago, didn’t you? I imagine there’s a lot to do, settling into a new place.’

‘Yes, you’re right there. My back certainly knows all about it.’ She laughed, rubbing a hand over muscles that had only recently made themselves known to her.

‘Perhaps it’s just as well you’re having the afternoon off, then. Are you taking some time off from the decorating to explore the village? I expect you want to get to know the place all over again.’ He leaned back against the rail, at ease, his long body thoroughly relaxed as he watched her.

‘Yes, I thought I’d wander around for a while. Though, like you, I need to get some supplies from the store. I did a big shop when we arrived but now I’m running out of a few things.’

She glanced at him. He was smartly dressed, in dark, clean-cut trousers and a deep blue shirt, the kind of thing he usually wore for work in the emergency unit when he wasn’t in scrubs. Perhaps he’d left his jacket in his car, along with his tie. His shirt was open at the neck, exposing an area of smooth, suntanned throat. She looked away. ‘Did you park up somewhere around here?’ she asked.

He nodded. ‘By the quayside. I don’t live too far away from here, but it’s more than a short walk and it’s uphill all the way.’ He pointed to the steps that were built into the hillside, with a protective rail to help along the way.

Sarah glanced at the steep, green slopes, covered with a rich array of grasses and shrubs. At intervals there were houses dotted about, overlooking the sea. ‘Do you live in one of those?’ she asked.

‘No. You can’t see my house from here. It’s further back, about a mile inland. I walk to the village sometimes to stretch my legs and take in the scenery.’

‘It must be a big change for you after all those years of living on your parents’ country estate.’

‘Yes, it is. But I like having my own space.’ He looked out to sea for a while, and they both watched a sailing vessel move across the horizon. ‘I wondered if you’d ever come back to Cornwall,’ he said. ‘You were in Devon for several years, weren’t you? Did you stay with your father there? He’d remarried before you left here, hadn’t he?’

‘Yes, he had … and Sam was already a year old by then. I did stay with my father in Devon for a short time.’ She moved restlessly, uncomfortable with memories that crowded her brain, and he followed as she began to walk along the cliff path.