if Bob spends the day with the ambulance it’d mean the mail would be really late—if it arrived at all—and it’s so near Christmas that it’d be a disaster,’ Harriet chirped in, and Blake could only stare.
‘But…’
‘But what, Dr Sutherland?’ Nell smiled. ‘We haven’t set in motion anything that you can’t rescind. The air ambulance doesn’t arrive until midday. But Harriet and I agree that you have quite enough on your plate without trying to implant a pacemaker before Christmas.’
‘Harriet’s agreed to this?’
‘If Matt thinks it’s necessary. Harriet wants to hang around for the long term. She’s agreed to help me set my house in order—oh, and knit me one of her famous capes. She knitted one for my grandmother once and I did so want one.’
‘If I’d known,’ Harriet said darkly, and Nell shook her head.
‘No. How could you know? But now you do and you’ve agreed to make it for me so I’ll have the wool ready as soon as you’re transferred back. And I’ll also ring Sonia, Matt’s wife. She’ll bring her latest set of twins in to see you and I’ll bet she has you knitting for them before you can blink.’
Nell was fantastic, Blake thought reluctantly. Absolutely fantastic. In one fell swoop she’d persuaded Harriet to go to Sydney, she’d organised her company while she was there, she’d taken the depersonalisation out of Harriet’s medical process—when Harriet met Matt she wouldn’t think of him as a cardiologist but as the father of two sets of twins and one dopey dog—and Nell had given her something to look forward to on her return.
Whew!
‘I probably need to go now,’ Nell told Harriet, smiling down at her like a co-conspirator. ‘I’m just about ready for a cup of coffee, and I’ll bet Dr Sutherland wants to examine you.’
‘There’s probably no need,’ Harriet said, but her eyes twinkled up at Nell. ‘Oh, very well. We don’t want to put his nose out of joint, I suppose.’
‘Of course we don’t.’ Nell stooped and kissed her. ‘That would be perfectly appalling.’
He found Nell fifteen minutes later. She was sitting in the hospital kitchen, tucking into an enormous plate of eggs and bacon. As soon as he arrived she waved to the stove.
‘Yours is there. Cook made it for you. I told her you were coming. If you’re quick the eggs will still be runny.’
‘I don’t have time to eat.’
‘Of course you have time to eat,’ she said firmly. ‘It’s one of life’s imperatives. Mrs Condie will be back in a few minutes and if she finds you haven’t eaten it she’ll be very hurt—especially when I told her how hungry you were.’
Was there no end to this woman’s interference? ‘How did you know I was hungry? I could have had breakfast at home.’
‘I saw what was in your refrigerator,’ she said darkly. ‘Green bread, and bacon to match. Even Ernest would turn up his nose at that.’
The smell was delicious. She was infuriating—but she was also right. OK, he’d eat. To refuse would be petty. ‘Ernest eats fillet steak, does he?’ he muttered, scooping bacon and eggs onto a plate.
‘If he can get it. Why wouldn’t he?’
‘Why indeed?’
Her green eyes widened. ‘You don’t like my dog?’
‘Your dog,’ he said with a glower, hunkering down in a chair on the other side of the table, ‘is currently sleeping in my bed. My bed!’
‘Whoops,’ she said contritely. ‘I couldn’t have pulled the door fully shut when I switched off your alarm.’
‘Now, about that—’
‘Eat your breakfast before it gets cold,’ she told him, popping another bacon rasher between her teeth. ‘This is yummy.’
Blake ate a bacon rasher. And then another. And he glowered all the time.
‘The wind’ll change,’ she said kindly.
‘Excuse me?’
‘If you keep that horrid expression on your face you could be in real trouble. I’m sure you don’t mean to look bad-tempered, but if the wind changes while you look that way then you’re stuck with it for life.’
‘That’s superstitious nonsense.’
‘Oh, no. My best friend told me that when I was five so I’m sure it must be right.’
‘Dr McKenzie—’
‘Nell.’
‘Dr McKenzie,’ he repeated through clenched teeth.
‘I suppose it’s better than Miss McKenzie.’ She sighed. ‘What?’
‘You had no business turning off my alarm clock.’
‘But you were tired and I’m your Christmas present.’ She said it as if it made everything fine.
‘You still had no business interfering, and as for taking my calls in the night…’
‘That’s what I’m here for—and they’re not your calls. They’re our calls. The hospital board’s employing me, so you have no right to act as if everything medical is yours. Now, this morning—’
‘You’ve done enough already. This morning you can take yourself off.’
‘Nope. I’ve organised it all with Marion.’
‘You’ve what?’
‘Organised with our receptionist,’ she told him sweetly. ‘She’s pulled out all the patient files and I thought I’d run through them with you now. Before I see patients.’
‘But I’ll be seeing patients.’
‘You’ll see patients this afternoon.’ She smiled again. ‘I expect I’ll be feeling a bit weary by this afternoon so I imagine I might take an afternoon nap, so you can take over all you want. Then.’
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