any help in the home?’
‘We’ve never needed any,’ Alice said proudly, clutching her handbag with her good hand. ‘I shop and cook and Vera manages a bit of housework around the place. We’re a good team. And if we get stuck then someone in the village will always help. That’s the good thing about living in a small community. Everyone looks out for everyone.’
Louisa smiled. ‘Well, you might need some help with the shopping and cooking with that wrist out of action.’ She tucked her pen back in her pocket. ‘I’m going to get a doctor to take a look at your wrist so that we can get you sorted out.’
‘You need a doctor?’ Mac’s deep drawl came from right behind her and she felt her heart jump in her chest. She turned quickly, feeling colour touch her cheeks as she met his cool gaze. Whenever she laid eyes on him she found it difficult to breathe.
Which was ridiculous, because Mac Sullivan was not a man who encouraged the attentions of women, even though he clearly attracted them.
He was brooding, gorgeous and too remote for his own good, she decided. Why did he insist on keeping people at a distance? Resolving to peel away the layers until she revealed the man underneath, Louisa turned her attention back to her patient.
‘Poor Alice had a bit of a fall,’ she said huskily, giving the old lady with a reassuring smile. ‘I’ve filled out the X-ray forms but she hasn’t been seen yet.’
Mac pulled out a chair and sat down so that he was at eye level with his patient. ‘Pavements icy out there today, Mrs Ford?’
‘Yes, and you’re probably thinking that it was stupid of me to go out,’ Alice fretted, glancing helplessly at Louisa. ‘I should have stayed indoors but I needed some last-minute presents. The annoying thing is that I didn’t even get round to buying them.’
‘Don’t worry about the presents,’ Mac said calmly, examining the wrist with gentle fingers. ‘Are you tender here?’ He moved his fingers. ‘What about here?’
‘No, not particularly.’ Alice watched as he checked her pulses and finished his examination.
‘All right. That’s fine for now.’ He reached for the X-ray form that Louisa had already started filling in and signed it. ‘We’ll check your X-rays and then take it from there.’
‘I can’t stay in hospital,’ Alice said firmly. ‘I’ve got my sister to look after. She can’t manage without me.’
Mac frowned slightly and stood up. ‘Let’s see what the X-rays tell us and then we’ll worry about that.’ He looked at Louisa. ‘Give me a shout when the films are back.’
She nodded and watched as he strolled away, the bright lights of the A and E department glinting off his dark hair, his shoulders impossibly broad.
He wasn’t her type, she told herself firmly.
He might be shockingly handsome but he was remote and distant and not at all tactile.
When she finally fell in love, it was going to be with a real family man. Someone who wanted a noisy, crowded home, just as she did, with hordes of children and several dogs.
Not someone like Mac who was self-contained and kept himself apart from others.
Did he even like children? she wondered.
‘We’ve all worried about him since his wife died,’ Alice said wistfully. ‘Such a tragedy. We’ve been longing for him to find someone else but he only has time for his work. After she died we all mucked in, you know—made him food, tried to get him out and about, but he wasn’t having any of it. Spends time with his surfboard and that playboy brother of his with the wicked smile.’ She made a clucking sound with her tongue. ‘What a waste. He’s such a handsome boy.’
Louisa chuckled. ‘He’s the senior consultant and in his mid-thirties at a guess. I don’t think he’s a boy, Alice.’
As far as she was concerned, he was all man. Every delicious, intimidating inch of him.
‘When you’re ninety, he’s a boy,’ Alice said dryly. ‘Now, shall we take that trip to X-Ray?’
Louisa smiled. ‘Good idea. Let’s get a closer look at those bones of yours.’
* * *
‘Well, it’s not displaced so she can just go to the fracture clinic and have a back slab,’ Mac muttered, studying the X-rays carefully, his broad shoulders brushing against Louisa, who stood next to him.
This close he could smell her perfume and it played havoc with his senses. He wasn’t even sure if it was perfume. It could have been shampoo or just Louisa. But whatever it was, she smelt amazing.
He sighed and closed his eyes briefly, reminding himself that he wasn’t interested in women. Once or twice he’d tried to rekindle that part of himself after Melissa had died, but women always wanted more than he was willing or able to give. He wasn’t interested in a relationship. He was better off on his own.
‘I expect we ought to write to her GP. This sort of fracture is very common in women with osteoporosis. He ought to arrange a DEXA scan.’ Louisa frowned at the light box, oblivious to his scrutiny. This close he noticed that her nose turned up slightly and was dusted with freckles. She never seemed to stop smiling. She turned to look at him. ‘Don’t you think?’ Didn’t he think what?’
He searched his mind for the last thing she’d said. ‘DEXA scan. Good idea. I’ll write to the GP.’
‘I gather she lives down the road from you.’ Louisa handed him the notes and he took them, wondering what his response was supposed to be. ‘With her sister.’
‘That’s right.’
‘She told me she used to cook for you sometimes.’
Mac looked at her. ‘The two of them kept checking up on me after my wife died. Every time I came home one of them would be on my doorstep with a cake or a casserole.’
She smiled. ‘How kind.’
Mac inhaled sharply. ‘I prefer my privacy.’
‘That’s what I heard.’ There was a hint of reproach in her voice and he bit back an impatient remark.
‘Living in a village comes with disadvantages, Louisa,’ he said grimly as they walked back towards the treatment room. ‘One of those is a total lack of privacy. Not everyone wants to be surrounded by people discussing their business all the time, and I’m one of them. I’m better off on my own.’
‘Why?’ Her gaze was clear and direct. ‘What’s wrong with knowing your neighbours, Dr Sullivan, and allowing them to know you?’
He sighed. Somehow she managed to make him feel in the wrong. Which was ridiculous, because he gave enough of himself to his patients. He had a right to privacy. ‘In case it’s escaped your notice, I have a busy job. I give everything I have to the hospital. I don’t have time for anything else.’
She nodded slowly. ‘That’s what I thought. But what about you, Mac? Who gives to you?’
He
