‘BASICALLY, WHAT I’D like you to do, Beth, is help her settle in. Every practice has its own way of doing things and I think it would help if Eleanor was shown the ropes rather than simply being thrown in at the deep end.’
Daniel leant back in his chair, wondering if his partner had any idea how important it was to him that Eleanor wasn’t put under any pressure. Even though he couldn’t understand why he felt this way, he knew that he wanted to make the move to The Larches as stress-free as possible for her. Maybe she had appeared supremely confident at the start of her interview but it had soon become clear that it wasn’t the case. There was a vulnerability about Eleanor Munroe that had aroused all his protective instincts.
‘Of course.’ Beth Andrews smiled at him. ‘It will be a big change for her, working here. Just basics, like the fact that we’re almost an hour’s drive from the nearest hospital, will be a challenge for her. We’re far more hands-on when it comes to our patients than a lot of practices.’
‘Exactly.’ Daniel breathed a little easier when Beth gave no sign that she considered his request strange. Maybe it wasn’t either, he mused. After all, if Eleanor was unable to do the job she had been hired for then it would impact on him. The last thing he wanted was to have to put in more hours at the surgery when Nathan was in his final year at sixth form college.
When Camille had died four years ago, his son had gone completely off the rails. He had dropped out of school and fallen in with a bad crowd too. Daniel had been afraid that Nathan would never get his act together but, after a lot of heartache, he’d come through. However, if Nathan was to achieve the grades he needed for university, he had to stay focused, and to do that he needed to be there to support him. Little wonder that he had been so worried about his new locum, was it? The thought reassured him, helped to settle his mind. If he was honest he had felt more than a little concerned that Eleanor Munroe had occupied his thoughts so much lately. He had lost count of the times she had popped into his head and it was good to know why it had been happening.
‘Thanks, Beth.’ Daniel smiled as he pushed back his chair and stood up. ‘I really appreciate it.’
‘No problem.’
Beth grimaced as she levered herself up off the chair. She was eight months pregnant and Daniel guessed that she was finding it difficult to get around. He remembered how tired Camille had been when she had been expecting Nathan and she had stopped work well before this stage. However, as a soon-to-be single mother, Beth didn’t have the luxury of leaving work early. She had opted instead to continue working and take the bulk of her maternity leave after her baby was born. Nevertheless, Daniel made a note to ask Marie, their head receptionist, to redirect as many of Beth’s patients as possible to him. He didn’t want Beth pushing herself too hard during her final week, neither did he want Eleanor being placed under too much pressure. It would be better if he took up the slack for now.
Once again Daniel found himself worrying how his new employee would fare. Oh, there was no doubt about her ability—her CV was proof of that. However, would she be able to deal with whatever had led her to leave her previous post? he found himself wondering as he made his way to Reception. Although he knew nothing about Eleanor on a personal level, instinct told him she had suffered some kind of major blow and recently too. Had she been let down in love, perhaps? Treated badly by some man?
Daniel was surprised by how angry the idea made him feel. Bearing in mind that he had met her only the once, and that it hadn’t been the most auspicious of meetings either, it shouldn’t have had this effect on him. Nonetheless, the thought of some guy hurting her made him feel extremely angry and it was completely out of character for him to react that way. His expression must have been unusually grim as he stopped at the reception desk because Marie looked at him in surprise.
‘What’s wrong?’ she demanded. In her forties, with two grown-up sons, Marie had worked at The Larches ever since Daniel had taken over the practice and didn’t believe in standing on ceremony. ‘Has something upset you? Because I have to say that you could turn the milk sour with a face like that!’
‘Sorry.’ Daniel dredged up a smile. Admitting that he was upset at the thought of their new locum being unlucky in love would have caused no end of questions, most of which he couldn’t have answered even if he’d wanted to. He swiftly changed the subject because he really and truly didn’t want to start searching for explanations at that moment. ‘I know it’s short notice, but can you redirect as many of Beth’s patients as possible to me? I don’t want her tiring herself out by doing too much in her last week.’
‘Of course. But what about the new doctor? What’s her name again? I wrote it down somewhere...’
‘Eleanor Munroe,’ Daniel said promptly, and felt a little thrill course through him as her name rippled off his tongue. He glanced at the clock above the desk, needing a moment to collect himself. The last thing he wanted was Marie suspecting how he felt. ‘She should be here any minute...’
‘Good morning.’
Daniel swung round when he recognised Eleanor’s voice. In a fast sweep his eyes ran over her from the severely styled hair to the sensible shoes on her narrow feet and he felt his nerves start to tingle. What was it about this woman that affected him so much? he wondered dizzily. As an eligible widower, he’d had his share of women pursuing him over the past four years. However, he had never taken them up on their invitations to lunch and dinner, or whatever else had been on offer. The fact was that he hadn’t been interested in them.
Not once had he felt that spark, that flicker of desire ignite inside him, yet as he looked at Eleanor, he felt it now. And in a big way too. Why it was happening was a mystery but he couldn’t lie to himself, couldn’t pretend that he didn’t feel it. He was attracted to her and it couldn’t have come at a worst time either. If she had been let down, as he suspected, the last thing she needed was to embark on another relationship, especially with him. He didn’t have time for a relationship. He needed to focus on Nathan: his son’s future had to take priority over everything else.
Daniel took a deep breath, clamping down on the surge of disappointment that rose inside him. There was no question about what he was going to do. He was going to ignore all these crazy feelings and be there for Nathan.
* * *
Ellie could feel her tension mounting as Daniel continued to stare at her without uttering a word. Was he having second thoughts? she wondered anxiously. Regretting whatever impulse had led him to offer her this job?
She bit her lip, unsure what she was going to do if that proved to be the case. She had given up the lease on the flat in Kent, sold all her furniture, and got rid of everything that reminded her of Michael. One of the main attractions about this job was the fact that it came with accommodation. There was a furnished flat above the surgery, which had seemed like a godsend. However, if she lost the job then it was going to be extremely difficult to start all over again. She had been living off her savings for the past months but they certainly wouldn’t stretch to cover the costs of renting a flat and furnishing it. The prospect of not only having to find herself another job but somewhere to live as well was daunting to say the least.
Ellie breathed in deeply when she felt her eyes prickle with tears. Since her interview, she had found herself breaking down all too often. It was as though Daniel’s kindness that day had opened the floodgates and all the hurt she had held at bay kept flooding out. However, there was no way that she intended to break down again in front of him. He might think she was playing the sympathy card and that was the last thing she wanted.
