Luke’s heart thumped in his chest. Most people wouldn’t have bothered to think about what this was doing to him. How hard it was to have someone shy away from him when he knew that he could never do her any harm. But Katya wasn’t most people. She wanted to reassure him.
‘Thank you for saying that.’ He held his hand out to her and she took it, squeezing it slightly before letting it drop. ‘I wish I could own my fears as well as you do.’
He respected her for that. When Tanya had left, he’d carried on as if nothing had happened. Let the emotions eat away at him, without ever speaking of them or letting anyone know that he was broken. Maybe that was why it seemed inconceivable now that he would ever mend.
Katya was smiling at him. Her eyes never quite lost their troubled look, but there were times when she hid it well. ‘I don’t know about that. I hope you’re not regretting taking me on already.’
Luke gave that comment the contempt it deserved. ‘I’m lucky to have you.’ He reached out and removed a piece of green stuff from the river, which had transferred itself from his shirt to hers. ‘I don’t suppose you have a clean top to wear for this afternoon? We’re due at the hospital at half-three for a short meeting with the administrator.’
‘I’ve got the reserve tops I ordered in the car. The guy dropped them off on Saturday.’
‘That’ll be fine.’ He grinned at her. ‘Show them that we mean business.’
Luke was already late for his morning surgery by the time they got back to the barn, and he went to his cabin to change his clothes, then left almost immediately. Just pointed her towards her desk in the corner of the vast office space, impressed on her the need for keeping the doors locked while he was gone, and asked if Bruno could keep her company for the rest of the morning.
When he returned, he seemed in no less of a hurry. Katya and Bruno were hustled towards his car, and they were already out onto the main road before she got a chance to ask the obvious question.
‘I thought we weren’t due at the hospital until three-thirty. We’re a little early, aren’t we?’
‘I thought you might like a chance to have a look around before our meeting.’
‘Yes, I would. Thanks.’ Katya swallowed hard. So what if she hadn’t been back to a hospital since she’d been discharged after the attack? She’d had no particular reason to, other than her follow-up appointment, and a home visit from the district nurse had been a perfectly good substitute.
He didn’t utter another word until they drove in through the hospital gates, and neither did Katya. Luke was obviously on a mission, and she already knew better than to try and divert him. The place was quite different from the hospital that Katya still thought of as hers, sprawling outwards instead of upwards, with grass, trees and flower-beds in between an assortment of buildings that looked as if they ranged in age between a hundred years old to only just finished.
‘This looks like a nice place.’ It did. Apart from the fact that her heart was thumping so loudly that Katya was surprised it didn’t drown out the car radio.
‘Yeah. There are a lot of good people here. The new paediatric unit is intended to serve the whole county.’ He waved his hand towards the large, modern block.
‘Looks big enough.’
‘Yeah.’ He stopped the car at a pedestrian crossing and shot her a glance. ‘You okay?’
‘Why wouldn’t I be?’ Katya bit her tongue. A smile and confirmation would have been perfectly adequate.
‘You tell me.’ He motioned with a grin towards a small group of nurses crossing the road in front of him. ‘Do you miss it?’
Yes, she missed it. Being able to go home, feeling that she’d done something that mattered at work that day. Meeting the challenges. ‘On my first day of a new job, the tactful answer would be no.’
He nodded. ‘And on the second day?’
‘Wait and see.’ At least she’d have twenty-four hours to think up something that approximated to an answer. ‘So the dogs are initially going to be visiting one of the hospital gardens?’
‘Oh. Yeah.’ Luke seemed to focus back onto the real purpose of their visit with some difficulty. ‘One of them, there are three. The one they’re proposing is down there, that’s where the hospital administrator says she’ll meet us.’ He pointed past the main building to a group of newer buildings, arranged in a U-shape around a pretty garden. ‘I’ll park the car and we can take Bruno for a walk around the place. Give him some exercise so he’ll settle when we meet Laura.’
That was an excuse if ever she’d heard one. Bruno was a consummate professional, and he didn’t need a walk to settle down, just one gesture from Luke. Katya, on the other hand, did need to calm her nerves. ‘Good idea. I’d like to have a look around, too.’
‘Good.’ His smile broadened. ‘Will you get Bruno’s lead? It’s in the glove compartment.’
Luke and Bruno were clearly working together, and seamlessly fell into maximum protective mode, Luke strolling on one side of her with Bruno so close on the other that Katya’s hand brushed against his collar as she walked. Luke took a circular path around the site, pointing out the various departments as they went and stopping some yards from the entrance to the A and E department.
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