was I to know that I needed to be?’ His expression was one of bewilderment. ‘I thought the water was about two feet deep. It was only when they brought in a clean-up team a few months later that I learned the river was some eight or nine feet deep.’
She shuddered at the memory. ‘No wonder my parents told me to keep away from you. You were a liability, to yourself and others.’
He laughed. ‘Maybe, but it was exciting, wasn’t it?’
‘For you, perhaps.’ To this day, she remembered the anxiety in the pit of her stomach as she’d watched him tip over into the frothing waters of the weir and come up seconds later, thrashing about and gasping for air. It had only been because he’d managed to grab hold of the canoe and cling on until it washed up against the river-bank that he was here to tell the tale. And yet it hadn’t served to daunt him, had it? Just weeks later he’d been wading out further downstream, trying to catch fish with his bare hands.
‘You never did learn a lesson from that, did you?’ she said. ‘You were back there the next day, bold as brass, showing off to all the youngsters from the village.’
‘You were there, too, weren’t you? I remember waving to you and you shook your head and turned your back on me.’ He frowned. ‘I was devastated.’
‘No, you weren’t. I heard you laughing and fooling about with your friends. You acted like you were the king of the river.’
He chuckled. ‘Maybe. I was an idiot. I craved excitement. I wanted to prove that I could do anything I wanted. Even knowing that I was going to get it in the neck from my father didn’t stop me from testing the boundaries.’ He walked with her over to the lifts.
Phoebe pressed the button on the wall panel. ‘I used to wonder how your poor mother coped. You have a sister, too, don’t you, but at least she was never in any kind of trouble. She had far more sense than to follow in your footsteps.’
‘Olivia was always going to turn out all right. She set her sights on family and children and that’s exactly what she has now. She’s a homemaker. It suits her to let the world pass her by.’
‘But that wouldn’t do for you, would it?’ She studied him briefly as she heard the lift start to make its descent towards the ground floor. ‘You were always a restless spirit, forever on the move. I wasn’t the least bit surprised when you headed off for London. It was only later, when I heard that you had decided to go to medical school, that you did something unexpected with your life.’
His glance trailed over her. ‘You have no faith in me at all, do you? I can see that we have a lot of catching up to do.’ He smiled. ‘Are you free for lunch today? It might be pleasant to take a walk in the woodland close by here. It starts just at the back of the hospital, and we could enjoy the spring sunshine for a while.’
She shook her head. ‘I’m afraid I’m not. I said I would meet up with Alex in the cafeteria at lunchtime, but you’d be welcome to join us if you wanted. My break starts at 1.30. Alex isn’t having too great a time, by all accounts, and I want to give him some moral support. Jessica saw him earlier and said he was a bit down in the mouth.’
Connor made a wry face. ‘That’s a shame—for Alex, and for us. It would have been good to have the chance to talk for longer, just you and me.’ He tilted his head a little to one side. ‘You’re very fond of Alex still, aren’t you? I wasn’t really surprised to find that you two are living together.’
Her mouth flattened. ‘We’re not living together, as you so bluntly put it. We just happen to share the same house. Jessica lives there, too, remember?’
‘I do. But you and Alex go way back, don’t you? I still catch you looking at him with those moon eyes, as though he’s sugar candy wrapped up in exotic packaging.’
She laughed. ‘Jealous, are you? Poor Connor. That must be a very odd experience for you.’ She lightly patted his hand. ‘You’ll get over it, I’m sure. You were never one to worry over lost opportunities. There’s always another one just around the corner.’
‘You’re a cruel woman, and you have me all wrong, you know.’ He made a good attempt at a crestfallen face, but Phoebe was wise to his antics.
The lift doors swished open. ‘I have to go,’ she said, stepping inside. ‘There are several babies who need me much more than you do. Perhaps I’ll see you later, back at the house.’
He nodded and waved a hand in acknowledgement as the lift doors closed on her, and once the lift started to move and he was out of her field of vision she relaxed a little, letting out a long, slow sigh and allowing her shoulders to slump a fraction. Somehow, she hadn’t realised how much the tension had been building up inside her as she had spoken to Connor, or how much she had relied on her senses to help her to stay on alert. He was a threat to her in every way imaginable, and it was sheer relief to be moving out of range.
Alex, on the other hand, was a much easier person to get along with. There were no worries with him. She knew what to expect, and he was always there for her, just as she was there for him.
‘Is the consultant giving you a hard time?’ she asked Alex as they collected their lunch trays in the hospital restaurant a couple of hours later. ‘I was hoping that things would be going smoothly for you.’
‘He’s watching me like a hawk. I think he remembers me from a year or so back. He thinks I have promise, but need a push to live up to it.’
‘So he’s going in hard, right from the beginning? It seems a bit strange to be doing that this early on.’
His mouth twisted. ‘I was supposed to have done some groundwork on a few of the case notes before starting ward rounds with him today. Usually I wouldn’t have had too many problems with that, but someone dropped the files and it was all a bit of a scramble to put things together again in time. I had to think on my feet and hope that everything would be all right. I don’t think the consultant was too impressed.’
Phoebe carried her tray to a table by the window. ‘I can’t help thinking that it’s a bit unfair really, to come down so hard on you right from the outset, but I’m sure you’ll manage to sort things out. You’ve a good, clear head on your shoulders, and you’re brilliant with the patients. Your boss is bound to see that, given time.’
He grimaced. ‘I hope so. I suppose he’s only doing his job, keeping me on my toes. I started off on the wrong foot, wanting to do A and E instead, but things don’t always go according to plan…like you with the neonatal. I wish we could have been working together, Phoebe. I always seem to get along so much better when you’re around. It’s as though everything magically falls into place around you.’
She chuckled at that, and started to eat her lunch, twirling spaghetti around her fork with a deft hand. ‘If only…I could do with a magic touch, up on Neonatal.’
Alex ate a mouthful of steak pie. ‘I think Connor was there when they handed out the pixie dust,’ he said after a moment or two. ‘Everything he touches seems to go his way. Did you see the car he’s driving around in?’
Phoebe shook her head. ‘I came in with Jessica this morning. We set out some fifteen minutes after Connor left, and I guessed he must have parked in the garage block last night.’ She flicked a glance at him. ‘Is it something special?’
‘A midnight-blue convertible. I can’t believe he landed on his feet so well…I know
