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Er Doc's Forever Gift
Sue MacKay
All she wants for Christmas…Could be right next door!Sienna Burch finally has the stability she’s longed for and a home to call her own. And, as tempting as her new neighbour sexy ER doc Harry Frost is, Sienna knows he’s bad news! Harry never stays anywhere long—he’s the opposite of what she needs. But as passion sizzles between them beneath the Christmas lights everything begins to change…


All she wants for Christmas...
Could be right next door!
Sienna Burch finally has the stability she’s longed for and a home to call her own. And as tempting as her new neighbor, sexy ER Doc Harry Frost, is, Sienna knows he’s bad news! Harry never stays anywhere long – he’s the opposite of what she needs. But as passion sizzles between them, beneath the Christmas lights, everything begins to change...
“Ms. Mackay has delivered a superb medical romance in this book about healing and family; and where the chemistry between this couple was strong from the moment they met....”
—Harlequin Junkie on Surprise Twins for the Surgeon
“Ms. Mackay writes some really good medical romances and this story was such an interesting and riveting read....”
—Harlequin Junkie on Baby Miracle in the ER
SUE MACKAY lives with her husband in New Zealand’s beautiful Marlborough Sounds, with the water on her doorstep and the birds and the trees at her back door. It is the perfect setting to indulge her passions of entertaining friends by cooking them sumptuous meals, drinking fabulous wine, going for hill walks or kayaking around the bay—and, of course, writing stories.
Also by Sue MacKay (#u097dfc34-06d5-5fea-80f0-e933de4426dd)
A December to Remember
Breaking All Their Rules
Dr White’s Baby Wish
The Army Doc’s Baby Bombshell
Resisting Her Army Doc Rival
Pregnant with the Boss’s Baby
Falling for Her Fake Fiancé
Her New Year Baby Surprise
Baby Miracle in the ER
Surprise Twins for the Surgeon
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
ER Doc’s Forever Gift
Sue MacKay


www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-07549-7
ER DOC’S FOREVER GIFT
© 2018 Sue MacKay
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To all those amazing people who fly the rescue
helicopters and to the medical personnel on board,
whether in easy situations or dangerous locations.
You rock.
Contents
Cover (#u1112184f-dd57-5067-8ff2-ce4c4ef7d071)
Back Cover Text (#u3c034028-7a2d-5418-939a-66ad4e7bc03b)
About the Author (#ue7b13211-6e35-5265-9b29-1f6850bd46fa)
Booklist (#ufa5b08b1-bf3e-55a3-8b50-5d051e23fa90)
Title Page (#ude2faf39-13ea-555d-bc36-cf473ba39577)
Copyright (#ufbd433f7-028f-5810-aa47-16a4936f4244)
Dedication (#u120373c7-656e-5fa4-8b6b-ab1699610b26)
CHAPTER ONE (#u1d87ea29-c893-5db9-9cbe-2ad0acd4ca27)
CHAPTER TWO (#u9e11ad83-7ea2-5b07-88e4-561f49e359b7)
CHAPTER THREE (#u022f9f67-dca8-5820-b821-33052fa68deb)
CHAPTER FOUR (#ub72a480a-a1cd-547e-b80e-5930b6ad1f24)
CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#u097dfc34-06d5-5fea-80f0-e933de4426dd)
LIFE COULD BE so damned unfair.
There were days Sienna Burch hated being a paediatrician, today being one of them. Maybe she should bow out at the end of her contract, go buy a patch of land in a sleepy backwater and grow tomatoes and wear a long, billowy skirt.
Like hell.
While colleagues had warned her she’d been on a hiding to nowhere from the moment young Caleb was admitted with meningitis, she also knew parents trusted her to do all she could for their adored child. She always did that. But they also expected her to win, and unfortunately, that outcome wasn’t achievable every single time.
Another yawn pulled at her. It would be too easy to shuffle further down the SUV’s seat and drop into a deep sleep right here in her garage. Far too effortless. Elbowing the door open, she gathered her handbag and jacket up from the passenger seat before staggering upright.
Bed? Or food? She needed both. And a shower. Food took time because she’d have to clean up afterwards. Unless she went for the easy, not so healthy option of a toasted sandwich and only one pan to rinse out. There was ham and cheese in the fridge. Her tongue lapped her lips. Yes, she did allow herself a few semi-healthy treats. Sighing, she headed for the kitchen, flicked on lights, dropped the blind.
Boom, boom, boom.
‘What the—?’ Music loud enough to wake the dead thumped through the walls. ‘Great. Why tonight?’
The new guy next door nearly always had music of some genre on the go when he was at home, but rarely was it loud and intrusive. In the living room she flicked on more lights. Hopefully he’d notice she was home and cut the volume. That was when she heard laughter and voices. ‘He’s having a party. Wonderful.’ How did that happen when he was new in town on a temporary contract at the Rescue Helicopter base, temporarily replacing her real neighbour for three months?
Not that Sienna had met the guy, only caught a couple of glances of a well-honed body filling out jeans in a way that should have him a modelling contract with the manufacturers. Not her type at all. Oh, yeah, then what is? With her crazy schedule she rarely had civilised hours to have fun in.
The guy seldom seemed to be home either. Not unless he liked permanently closed windows and doors. Another blast of music slapped her. If only he had the place shut up tight tonight. How was she going to sleep with that going on?
Forget toasting a sandwich. Bread and cheese while tugging clothes off and getting under the shower was the way to go. Her bed was beckoning with relentless persistence. Only thing was, her mind couldn’t blank out the anguished cries of Caleb’s parents as they’d switched off life support. From past experience she knew there were no shortcuts getting through this anguish, that it took time and looking after herself—which meant getting adequate sleep.
Thump, thump, thump. And she’d thought the volume was at its max. Sliding right down her bed, covers up to her neck, pillow over her head, Sienna closed her eyes and counted sheep. Not that those dumb animals ever helped her out, but she needed to zone out, find oblivion.
Then her dad piped up in the fog filling her head. Of course he did.
‘Relax. Enjoy life and all it’s got to offer. What’s happened to my girl who loved to track butterflies? Who wanted to grow wings and fly?’
His words taunted her whenever she was too tired to fight them.
‘Not tonight, Dad. Please.’
An hour later, Sienna tossed the pillow and covers aside to swing her legs out of bed. The headache pills she’d taken with her bread were not working as the drums in her head were louder and harsher than ever. Those weren’t the worst beats. Next door there had to be a whole band of drummers competing with each other; the noise level was so unbelievably high. The voices had also increased in volume.
All she wanted was eight hours straight being comatose. Hours where Caleb didn’t feature, where his parents’ sobs didn’t break her heart. Hours in which she couldn’t think about her promise to her father to lighten up some by Christmas. She’d settled here, in this city, bought this apartment for a reason and nothing or no one could be allowed to change it. Yet it seemed everyone was trying to.
Click, click. Her vertebrae pulled her straight. Time to confront her neighbour. Her muscles began to soften. She didn’t do conflict, unless she was fighting for a patient’s life. Yes, well, her patients needed her to get some sleep so she could think straight. Click, click. That music was going to shut down. Now.
* * *
Harry sat on the edge of the deck, a warming bottle of beer swinging from his fingers. Midnight had been and gone. If only he could say the same for his visitors. Unfortunately they all seemed intent on burying their raw grief in loud music and lots of shouting and talking.
A tight-knit group, they’d naturally turned to each other today when they heard the news of the loss of their top pilot after the helicopter he was flying back from having the machine serviced went out of control and hit the ground. The cause of the crash was as yet unknown, and likely to be for weeks, if not months, but the mechanics were on high alert. Bet the crews would be too, come tomorrow.
Lights came on in the apartment next door, then the deck was flooded in a yellow glow.
Oh, oh. Trouble on the horizon? Harry shrugged and sipped the beer, not really enjoying it yet reluctant to set it aside. His hands always had to be busy. If only he had something to do to fill in the hours before this lot were ready to head home in the taxis he’d order, and pay for. Being the new boy on the block, he hadn’t known Gavin Bradley well, but the guy was a legend in the emergency air service—his reputation for spot-on retrieval in difficult conditions ran the length of the country. He would be missed very much.
A shadow crossed the end of the drive, turned in his direction. The shadow became human, walking with confidence and yet at the same time almost with caution, like a young girl with little care to burden her. Then she came into the light, making her way up towards him, an opposing grim expression on what might be a beautiful face if she wasn’t carrying the weight of the world on her back. Apparently this was the girl next door. Only he could see now her girl days were long gone, morphed into someone who stole the breath away from him and tightened his groin without any input from his brain.
Harry slowly drew another mouthful of beer—it really was foul—and put the bottle down on the deck beside him. ‘Hello. So we finally get to meet.’
That delicious mouth flattened further. ‘This is not a social call.’ Her voice was husky—and laden with barely contained anger.
‘That’s a shame.’ In more ways than he cared to admit, even to himself. Close up, she was even better looking than he’d first thought. Her flawless skin covered perfect facial bone structure. ‘I’m Harry, by the way.’
That startled her. ‘Sienna Burch,’ she snapped. Hadn’t she expected to be introducing herself?
‘So what can I do for you, Sienna?’ Though he kind of had an idea what was getting her knickers in a twist. It was late on a working night, and the guys inside were a little loud.
‘Could you please turn the music down? Or preferably off? I need to get some sleep.’ Her expression wasn’t softening, but that didn’t quieten his pulse. A bit of a challenge in the making?
Over the past weeks he’d been vaguely aware of her coming and going at all hours, but hadn’t got around to introducing himself. Nothing unusual in that when he was on a short stint in a town he was unlikely to return to. His breath caught. He had to be slipping—because behind whatever was tightening her face this particular woman was a stunner, and he was partial to stunners. Fess up, he liked women, full stop. Especially hot, shapely, downright beautiful ones. If that made him shallow then he could live with that. It suited his mantra: keep moving on.
‘Excuse me. The music?’
‘I’ll give it a go, certainly.’ Now he could hear one of the girls crying behind him. That’d been a while coming. Apart from initial tears everyone had been stoic, but he’d known it was only a matter of time before they showed their grief in the teary form. And he was supposed to charge in and turn the music off and make like everyone should go home?
‘I’d prefer that you actually did it, not make a half-hearted attempt. I’ve had a long, difficult day and I need to sleep.’
Bet your day was a breeze compared to the one these guys are dealing with.
‘I’m sorry about that. I will do my best, but I have to warn you my colleagues are suffering an enormous shock and this is their way of letting off steam.’ It wasn’t as though he had the sound turned up to full volume every night of the week. This was a one-off.
That tight mouth wasn’t giving an inch. ‘I see.’
No, she didn’t. ‘Have you seen the news today?’
‘As if.’ Finally that mouth softened a fraction, and Sienna lifted her chin slightly. Definitely beautiful in a classic way. ‘What did I miss?’
‘One of the rescue helicopters went down this morning.’
She gasped. Now that tightness was taking a backward step. ‘With serious consequences I take it.’
‘The pilot died and the other pilot on board is in a serious condition in the ICU at Auckland Hospital. Fortunately they didn’t have medical crew or a patient on board or there’d be more casualties.’
Another gasp, and Sienna moved closer. ‘I’m sorry. That’s terrible. I didn’t hear about that.’
What did she do for a living? Take gym classes in a cave? That tee shirt and those fitted leggings highlighted a well-formed body with muscles in the right places and soft curves to add a sensuality that teased him. Like he needed this right now. But it seemed certain parts of his body were out of sync with the sadness roiling in his mind. They wanted action. They weren’t getting any.
Then Sienna added, ‘I’m sorry to hear that. Really sorry.’ Another step and she was beside the deck.
‘It’s been a huge shock for everyone. You understand I’m filling in at the helicopter rescue service?’
‘Yes.’ She leaned her tidy butt against the handrail post. ‘I haven’t been very neighbourly, but I’m hardly ever at home.’
‘Don’t worry about it. I’ll be gone in a month.’
Sienna straightened again. ‘Anyway, I do need to get some shut-eye. My day wasn’t a lot better.’
Her frostiness did nothing to detract from her looks, but however much she needed some quiet his loyalties lay with those inside his apartment. ‘Maybe, but I’m giving these people the chance to de-stress before making sure they get home safely. You could join us and wind down from whatever upset you with a wine and some music.’
‘It would take a lot more than that.’
He had to ask. ‘What happened?’ Damn it, why couldn’t he just mind his own business? Now he’d have to listen to some story that barely registered compared to the crash, as well as be sympathetic.
‘I lost a patient. A six-year-old boy.’ Her bottom lip trembled.
Damned if he didn’t want to haul her into his arms and hold her until the trembling stopped. His fingers gripped the beer bottle as if his life depended on it. ‘That’s terrible. You’re a doctor?’ Not a gym instructor, then.
‘A paediatrician. The best, and the worst, job out there.’ Her voice was low and slow.
She’s a doctor?
That explained the hours she was away from home. Who’d have thought it? But then, why not?
We don’t all come with labels on our foreheads proclaiming our medical knowledge. And why can’t doctors be beautiful, and have stunning figures?
Just because he’d never met one quite as attractive as Sienna Burch, didn’t mean they didn’t exist.
Then she yawned.
Which got to him, made him want to soothe her to sleep. ‘The kids are the worst cases. They always get to me, even if only for a greenstick fracture.’
‘And the parents. They’re hurting as bad. They want to take the pain into themselves so their babies don’t have to suffer, and it’s torture when they can’t.’ Sienna lifted her head and stared at him, her own pain obvious.
She took her job seriously, but it was hard to find a good doctor who didn’t. Impossible. Thoughtlessly he reached across with one hand to touch her arm. So much for hanging on to his bottle as a shield. ‘I totally understand.’ Squeezing lightly, he hurriedly pulled away. But it was too late. Warmth trickled from her skin through his fingers and up his arm.
Sienna was upright—and uptight. ‘If you can’t turn the music off then at least lower the decibels.’
Sarah, one of the pilots, appeared on the deck. ‘I think everyone’s ready to head home now.’
Harry stood up and found his neighbour’s head came up to his chin. Not often that happened. ‘There you go. You should be able to get that kip soon.’
‘I appreciate it.’ Sienna turned and stumbled down the path, not so youthful in her movements now.
He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Somehow she’d woven her way under his skin while being the antithesis of the open, cheery women he usually went for. She hadn’t effused sympathy, nor had she been cold about what had happened, just contained. But then, she was used to other people’s pain. ‘See you,’ he called after her, the temptation to goad her just a little way too hard to ignore. If she could shake him up, then he could return the favour. ‘Maybe we’ll both be at home at the same time one night this week.’ Unlikely since he was rarely here and then mostly only to eat and sleep.
There was no reply, just a lengthening of the strides taking her away.
As he was unused to being ignored, his interest was piqued. Had it been entirely her bad day at work putting that exhaustion in her face, her eyes? Or was there more going on in her life causing problems? Harry huffed a bitter breath. Why did he even want to know? He didn’t do getting to know women beyond the obvious, yet within minutes Sienna Burch had got under his skin like a serious itch. Not a good look. Best he didn’t scratch. That was going to take some serious effort, for sure.
‘I’ll start ordering taxis, shall I?’ Sarah nudged his arm with her shoulder. ‘For most of this lot anyway.’
Sarah had been trying to get his attention, as in up close and personal, from the day he’d started at the rescue service, and he’d been putting out the thanks-but-no-thanks signal to no avail. It would do wonders for his tired soul to lose himself in a woman tonight. Which was blatantly on offer, if he was reading Sarah correctly, and he had no reason to think otherwise. But he had a hard and fast rule—no sex with colleagues.
Sienna isn’t a colleague.
His gaze tripped sideways to the other drive leading up to the adjacent apartment and the woman stepping onto an identical front step. Short-tempered, not overly concerned for others needing an outlet for their grief, a different kind of woman. Intriguing. Irritating. To be ignored, forgotten about. If that was possible. It had better be. He turned to his co-worker. ‘Make sure everyone gets a ride home. Everyone,’ he repeated in case his message hadn’t got through. Boy, wouldn’t he like to scratch that itch with Sienna.
His temporary neighbour had ruffled his feathers. He couldn’t remember the last time a female had done that. Probably when he was fifteen and keen for just about any girl willing to join him in a bit of fun. His gaze remained on the neighbouring apartment, noting lights turning off, another going on—in the bedroom. Bedroom, bed, sheets, or not. Go, damn it. Just focus on that temporary bit and he’d be fine, wouldn’t succumb to the sudden craving filling him.
I won’t. I really won’t.
Would he? Could he call her a colleague because they were both doctors? It’d be a stretch but something to hang on to if this itch got too strong.
CHAPTER TWO (#u097dfc34-06d5-5fea-80f0-e933de4426dd)
‘WE’VE LANDED ON the roof of the hospital, Felicity,’ Harry told his young patient. ‘You’ll soon be inside where the doctors can take good care of you.’ He checked the belts holding her on the stretcher.
She pushed the face mask aside. ‘I don’t want to be here. I wanted to stay on the island.’ Petulance didn’t suit her.
Gently putting the mask back in place, he said in his best friendly doctor voice, ‘You need checking out by the specialists.’ He could understand that petulance but she’d nearly drowned. With lungs in the condition of hers because of the cystic fibrosis, that was bad. ‘You coughed up a lot of water.’
The mask was again shoved away. ‘You don’t get it,’ griped the fifteen-year-old. ‘This was the end-of-year trip that all year tens in science have been slogging their guts out for. Me included. And on the first day you bring me back to Auckland. Thanks a bundle.’
His heart softened for this angry girl. People with her condition didn’t get a fair bat at life. But as a doctor there was no way he could’ve left her on Great Barrier Island. They might’ve cleared the water from her lungs, but all of it? Secondary drowning was always a risk, especially with her condition. Close attention was required for the next twenty-four hours.
‘Ready?’ asked Connor, his off-sider, standing on the ground waiting to take one end of the stretcher.
‘Sure am.’ Harry nodded to Felicity. ‘I’m sorry I had to bring you home.’
She blinked and tears spurted out of the corners of her eyes. ‘It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t blame you. If Tony Wilcox hadn’t leapt on my back I wouldn’t have gone under water. I know not to. At least not for as long as I was down there. I got stuck on a rocky ledge for a bit.’
Again he replaced the mask, certain she’d remove it any minute. ‘You give him a hard time when you both get back to school.’ With practised ease he and Connor quickly had the stretcher out and rolling towards the sliding door decorated with red and gold tinsel that gave access to the hospital emergency lift. Staff in scrubs were waiting for them. Presumably a doctor and nurses. Wait. The serious demeanour on one face was familiar. The slam as his stomach hit his toes was not. ‘Sienna? You work at Auckland Central?’ Duh, obviously. It made sense, given that she lived not too far away.
An abrupt nod in his direction as though he was immaterial to this scene had his blood more than heating—it was boiling. Down, boy. Not the time or place. For confrontation, or getting friendly. What was it with her that already his body was reacting so blatantly? She really had worked a number on him. Bet she had no idea either. Damn it.
‘Hi, Fliss. This is a bummer, isn’t it?’ Sienna was focusing on their patient almost as if she hadn’t acknowledged him while everyone prepared to transfer the girl over to the hospital bed and change oxygen supplies.
‘It’s not fair, is what it is,’ grizzled the once again maskless girl. ‘You told me I’d be all right for a few days, Doc Sienna.’
‘I’m sorry, Fliss, I guess I was wrong.’ Nothing but compassion in her voice.
Sienna was taking the blame for something that was totally out of her control? Miss—make that Dr—Frosty? He really had read her all wrong last week. Or was it only in her medical capacity she managed to show warmth towards others? ‘I take it Felicity’s a regular patient of yours?’ Harry looked to Sienna.
‘Yes. We’ve been working towards this stay on the island for weeks now.’
Sympathy radiated out of those eyes he now saw were vivid blue, the colour of Lake Tekapo on a summer’s day. A lake he’d spent a day on trying to catch trout the first time he worked in New Zealand. It had been a fantastic day and despite the lack of fish he’d never forgotten how relaxed the stunning mountainous scenery and the bouncing waters had made him feel. It was a place he intended to revisit, if he ever found himself with a couple of spare days. The lake would be warmer than Sienna was towards him. Why the chill? Could that explain this overreaction to her? She was a challenge? It couldn’t be that he wanted to get to know her better, except maybe physically, and by the steely glint in those eyes that wasn’t happening.
‘Can I have the notes?’ A hand with rose-pink, perfectly manicured nails highlighting long, slim fingers waved in front of him.
Harry shook his head to rid the thoughts his overheated brain conjured up of those nails tripping over his hot skin. This was his unfriendly neighbour. Doc Frosty would never be interested in running her fingers anywhere near him. Not unless she was going to use them to impale him for not turning down the music the moment she’d requested he do so. The following morning she’d barely managed a nod in his direction as she’d left for work when he’d gone out to the four-wheel-drive that came with the apartment.
‘Excuse me, the notes?’
Focus, man. Passing over the required information, he explained, ‘The school first-aid officer managed to get Felicity to bring up a lot of water before we arrived, but she’s still coughing up fluid intermittently.’ A lot of that had to do with the mucus clogging her lungs, but still there was danger in residual salt water wreaking havoc with her breathing.
‘I’m glad the first-aid officer knew what to do.’ The frost melted a little as she studied Felicity.
‘I agree.’ Harry nodded before filling Sienna in on more details. Then he crossed to Felicity. ‘You take care, now; get back on your feet quick smart. Don’t let Tony Wilcox win this one.’ He got a watery smile in return.
‘Who’s Tony Wilcox?’ Doc Frosty asked from right beside him in a not so chilly tone.
‘The guy who caused Felicity to have her head under water too long.’
‘He didn’t mean it,’ their patient interjected, with a red flush going on in her cheeks.
So that was how this went. Young Felicity was keen on Tony and didn’t want to show it. ‘I’m sure he didn’t.’ Harry grinned, then turned to Sienna, his mouth still curved upward. ‘Might see you later, Doctor.’
As in, I could drop in to your place with a bottle of wine.
And probably get thrown out on his butt, because that had to be the dumbest idea he’d had in a long time.
Once again he didn’t get any acknowledgement from Sienna as she headed into the lift, all her attention on their patient. He couldn’t fault her for that. Felicity came first, but it irked that she hadn’t taken a few seconds to give him a nod. Yet the woman had apologised to her young patient for her trip going horribly wrong. The doc did have a heart. She might keep it buried deep, but he certainly couldn’t fault her for that. He did the same. It saved getting too involved and then having to bail when things got too intense. But still, he wouldn’t have minded a smile: a warm, tender one like the smile she had for her patient.
* * *
Sienna held her breath until the door to the lift closed off the view of her neighbour. Her very sexy neighbour. It didn’t make sense. Harry wore red one-size-fits-most overalls and he looked hot beyond belief. There again, she’d been out of the dating circuit for years so could be that a four-foot-nothing, overweight goat would look sexy in the right circumstances.
A hand was tugging at her sleeve. Drawing in air and shutting out Harry, she turned to her patient. ‘Hey, Fliss, I hear you took seawater on board. That won’t make your lungs happy.’
The face mask was snatched away and words spewed out. ‘It’s not fair. I worked so hard to go on the trip. It’s the first time Mum’s let me go away without her and now I’ll be a prisoner in my own home again.’
‘Put this back on.’ As the lift jerked downward Sienna slipped the mask over Felicity’s face.
It was promptly torn off. ‘Why bother? I don’t have a life anyway. Not one I like.’ Tears were tracking down her sallow cheeks as she gasped in tight lungfuls of air. Short, sharp gasps that wouldn’t give her anywhere near enough oxygen. ‘What happens if I don’t get home for Christmas, huh?’
To run with the physical problem, or the real issue behind this? Like other children with cystic fibrosis, Felicity had missed out on a lot over the years. ‘Your mum only wants what’s best for you.’ Sienna drew a breath. Yvonne Little also had a son with the same condition and was raising the children on her own, her husband having thrown in the towel saying he couldn’t cope. As if Yvonne cruised through everything. ‘I know you want more than anything to be doing what your friends are, but we both understand that’s not always possible.’
‘Doesn’t mean I have to like it.’
‘No, it doesn’t. As for Christmas, you’ll be home well before then.’ Fliss could also be back in here with yet another of the massive chest infections she was prone to, but Sienna wasn’t bringing up that subject. The girl knew it as well as she did.
‘My grandparents are coming in two weeks. I don’t want to be in here then.’
This discussion could go round and round endlessly. Sienna gave her a smile. ‘Let’s get you cleaned up, and start monitoring your obs. If everything’s all right, you should be able to go home tomorrow.’ She’d been about to say ‘go back to Great Barrier Island’ but realised in the nick of time it wasn’t her place, that Yvonne didn’t need her adding to her problems.
‘Whatever.’ Felicity tugged the mask back over her face, closed her eyes and turned her shoulder towards Sienna.
Sienna made a mental note to talk to the children’s clinical psychologist before leaving at the end of the day. Felicity needed help beyond her scope.
Early that afternoon Sienna hung seven-year-old Andrew Dixon’s file on the hook at the end of his bed and turned to his parents. ‘Andrew’s responded well to his surgery. His bloods are back to normal, indicating there’s no more infection.’ The burst appendix had temporarily knocked the boy for six. ‘As for his appetite, it’s coming on in leaps and bounds.’
‘When can we take him home?’ asked his exhausted father.
Sienna smiled. ‘Tomorrow morning after I’ve checked to make sure everything’s still going how it should.’ She loved giving out the good news.
Andrew’s mother was on the verge of tears. ‘Thank you so much for everything you’ve done. I hate to think what would’ve happened if we hadn’t got him here in time.’
‘Don’t torture yourself with that. You did get him here, and soon he’ll be creating mayhem at home and you’ll be trying to shush him up.’
‘Thank goodness for the rescue helicopter. The pilot’s great and the doctor awesome. He was so calm even when it was so serious.’
Sienna’s heart leapt. ‘Who was your doctor?’
‘Harry someone. I’m going to write to the head of the rescue base saying how good he was.’
‘That’s always a nice thing to do.’ Harry won people over so easily, no doubt his charm and smile coming into play. He hadn’t won her over. No, but she’d hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him all week. Sienna studied these two in front of her. ‘Andrew’s going to sleep for a while. Why don’t you take a break?’ They’d sat at his bedside most of the past two days and nights. ‘Go to a café and have a decent meal. Not a hospital one that’s unrecognisable. I’ll be here and the nurses will keep a close eye on your boy.’
‘But what if he wakes and asks for us?’
‘Your phone numbers are on file.’ And the nurses were adept at calming upset children. ‘Go on. Get out of here and have some couple time.’
‘Couple time? What’s that?’
Don’t ask me.
‘Remember you’re about to return home to three boisterous kids,’ Sienna said. She’d met Andrew’s siblings yesterday, and the ward hadn’t been quite the quiet haven it was supposed to be while they were here. ‘Time to yourselves is what you both need.’ Sienna all but shooed them out of the room.
Andrew’s father nodded as he passed her. ‘You’re right. A short spell to ourselves will do wonders. We’ll be at that café on the corner if anything changes.’
‘It’s not going to.’ Sienna watched the couple walk away and for a moment wished there was someone special in her life to go have a meal and coffee with, to help her let go of all the hang-ups from a normal day on a children’s ward. Someone like Harry? Definitely not. He was too sure of himself for her liking. So if she wasn’t liking him, why this sensation of slipping on ice whenever she was near him? She’d seen first-hand how caring a doctor he was with Fliss, and that always scored points with her. He just wasn’t such a caring neighbour. Was that a big deal? They might’ve got off on the wrong foot, and a simple conversation could correct that. Did she want to fix it? She was single for a reason, wasn’t prepared to risk the hurt of being dumped again. Her life was contained, probably too contained, but it was comfortable. Safe. Boring?
‘Go home, Sienna. Take time out for yourself.’ Dale appeared in front of her, refocusing her errant brain.
‘It’s just gone two. I’ve got hours to go. Anyway, I told Andrew’s parents I’d be here while they take a much needed break.’
‘I’ve got it covered.’ The head of Paediatrics was studying her as if he’d never seen her before. ‘You’ve put in ridiculously long hours this week, as always.’
‘That’s how the job goes.’
‘Most of us have a life outside these four walls that we actively try to participate in with family and friends, not spend our energy avoiding.’
But she didn’t have family close by.
You do have friends in town.
Who were equally tied up with work as she was.
‘Spread those wings, Si. Lighten up a bit.’
Yes, Dad.
‘Take the whole weekend off. I’ve got your patients covered,’ Dale remonstrated like a harassed parent. ‘You’re not doing yourself or anyone else any favours working all these ridiculous hours.’
I need to make sure I’m busy all the time.
But he was right. She had put in uncountable hours throughout the week, and even for her she was overtired. It was time to relax. And honestly, not to have to think about medications and results and children in pain sounded like bliss. It’d be a rare treat—if only she knew what to do with it. ‘I’m out of here.’
Walking off the ward in the middle of the afternoon should’ve been exciting. Instead it was...worrying. Hours stretched ahead. Her father was right: she was far too ensconced in her life of all work and no play. But how to change? Where to start?
At home, standing on her narrow deck, Sienna couldn’t come up with anything to do with this precious time out. It felt alien. The sun was still in the sky. The birds still tweeting. Had she really become so rigid in how she lived that she couldn’t think outside the square?
Too serious, my girl. You need to relax sometimes.
Staring across her front lawn, Sienna noted the grass needed cutting. While the area was pocket-sized, the thought of hauling out the electric mower didn’t excite her. Not that it ever did, but keeping the grass under control was one of those things she did to feel on top of her world. Pathetic.
Deliberately turning away, Sienna glanced across at the adjoining apartment. If Harry was at home she might be tempted to take a bottle of wine over and apologise for being such a grump last week. Her fingers tingled and she flexed them to relax the tension taking hold in her muscles. She did want more excitement outside of doctoring in her life, right? But with an attractive man who managed to get under her skin even when she was mad at him? Why not? Go for broke. Or go put her head under the pillow and not come out for a month. That should work.
Spinning around, she headed inside, away from that lawn, those shut windows, the car that needed a wash. In the lounge she automatically flicked a straight curtain straighter.
Stretch your wings.
Yeah, right. Like how? Picking up her phone, she checked for messages, pressed speed dial for her friend Anna. ‘Hey, sorry I’m so late returning your call but it’s been one of those days.’
Anna laughed. ‘When isn’t it with you?’
‘Says the lawyer who never goes home before midnight. So what’s up? Want to have a meal downtown tomorrow night?’ Girlfriends united. Boring if fun. Why did she glance across to Harry’s place? Nothing would ever happen between them.
‘We can celebrate. As of this morning you legally own every last nail and tile in your swanky apartment.’
‘I’d forgotten you were filing my petition today. So Bernie’s finally paying up? After three years arguing? Unbelievable.’ Sienna’s heart stuttered. ‘This is great news. I’ll never have to think of him again.’ The lying, cheating fiancé who’d decided he preferred to live with the woman he’d reconnected with at his school reunion than marry her when for years he’d sworn he loved her more than his high-end car and multi-million-dollar home.
‘It’s all wrapped up, plus there’s a bonus. He’s paying your legal costs and money for half that rental property you bought jointly.’
‘My shout for tomorrow night. Cortado’s.’ Their favourite place for major celebrations. Putting the phone down, Sienna again checked the time, but only minutes had passed. ‘Now what?’
Go for routine.
In Titirangi over an hour later she pinged the locks on her car, swung a leg over her cycle and headed up the winding road leading to Piha Beach. Almost immediately the high humidity had her in a sweat. Good for the muscles, not so great for her breathing, but she kept pedalling hard. This would get whatever was eating her out of the system. She was not thinking about Harry, right? Not picturing that good-looking face or the smile that increased the speed with which her blood moved through her veins. Not at all.
A car swerved around her, the passenger jeering about her butt as it passed.
‘Get a life, will you?’ she snarled between breaths. Why couldn’t people leave others to get on with what they enjoyed? What was so much fun about being rude to strangers?
Cycling was her time to relax, because she concentrated entirely on riding and often forgot what had got her on the bike in the first place. Except today it wasn’t working.
What did Harry do for relaxation? Apart from hold noisy parties for upset colleagues, or stay out overnight maybe? Did she really care? Unfortunately she might. Though she shouldn’t. He was on a temporary contract and would soon be gone again. It had taken months for her to trust Bernie enough to get close to him, not weeks, so she could forget all about getting to know this man. Hard to do, that. He just seemed to pop up in her mind whenever there was a free moment.
The front wheel wobbled in thick gravel. So much for concentrating on riding. Shoving the neighbour and the world out of her mind, she focused on getting to the top of the busy road without taking a break.
Harry had muscles in all the right places and made whatever he wore look superb. Of course she’d noticed. It would be rude not to. Some sights weren’t made to be ignored. Bet he did some form of sport or worked out. Was she so desperate for changes in her life she was hallucinating about the neighbour? Except Harry wasn’t a fantasy and her reactions to his physique were all too real. Oh, yes, real and solid and tempting. Damn it. Next stop, the library for a pile of books to keep her entertained until this feeling passed. Probably about when Harry left town.
Wheel-wobble. Again. Her cycling had taken a turn for the worse.
Deep breath, focus, right pedal down, left up. Left down, right up. That’s it. Careful, sharp bend and steep decline. Squeeze the brake, change gear. Concentrate.
It worked. Until the road straightened and the incline lessened, giving her nothing to concentrate on so hard. Nothing except the man persisting in getting in her head space. What would he be like in bed? He exuded confidence in everything else that she’d seen so it followed that—
Toot-toot.
Sienna swerved abruptly, away from the centre of the road, and towards—over—the edge. Her front wheel dropped abruptly, alarmingly. Her body flipped forward, her hands gripping the now useless handlebars, her legs still pumping, even though she was in freefall; down, down, down. Bushes tore at her, twisted the cycle left then right, and on downward. The momentum compounded the speed. More bushes, bigger now, snagging at her, tearing across her face, her arms. Then she was upside down, slamming the ground with her shoulder, tossed sideways, with the cycle she still held on to with a fierceness she couldn’t explain now twisted between her legs. Pain tore through her, then a thud.
Bounce. Bounce.
Slowing.
A tree blocked her path.
Thump.
Blackness engulfed her.
CHAPTER THREE (#u097dfc34-06d5-5fea-80f0-e933de4426dd)
SIENNA BLINKED HER eyes open, gasped at the pain filling her body from every direction. ‘What happened? Where am I?’ There were dark clouds in her head, along with pulsing, banging symbols of pain. Dragging her eyelids up, she stared at the scene in front of her. Trees, bushes...
Darkness took over again.
‘Hello?’
She was having a nightmare. Any second now she’d wake up and find herself on her bike heading down the hill towards the beach. Bike. Hill. Rolling over and over.
‘Can you hear me?’
A groan escaped her constricted throat. She’d gone off the edge of the embankment, a sheer drop down to these bushes. The pain was really making itself known, as if her body had a grudge with her. In her legs and back, her arms, the left shoulder—sucking in a breath, she tried not to think about what that might mean. She needed to toughen up, check herself out instead of panicking. Work out what the damage was and make a plan for getting out of here.
Moving could be detrimental. Spinal damage is a real possibility.
‘Are you all right down there?’
That persistent voice was annoying. ‘Go away. I’m trying to think here.’
‘I don’t know if you can hear me but I’ve phoned for help.’
So the voice wasn’t in her head. There really was someone up on the road. She wasn’t alone. As she opened her mouth to holler a reply her lungs filled with air and her upper body moved. Pain splintered her and the blackness rolled in again.
Thwup, thwup, thwup.
The bushes flattened and the trees swayed. A helicopter filled the little view Sienna had of the sky when she next pulled her eyes open. A bright red-and-yellow rescue chopper. Gratitude swamped her. Whoever that man was who’d called for help, she owed him big time.
A figure attached to a thick rope was lowering in her direction. Help had arrived. In a pair of red overalls. She’d be out of here in no time. Then she’d be able to get patched up and back on her feet.
If my injuries aren’t serious.
A shudder tripped through her, her tightening muscles sending warning signals of pain to her brain. It was tempting to move, to try to sit up, to prove she was all right. The doctor in her kicked in. Stay still. Let the rescue crew do their job. But waiting had become difficult. What if she’d broken her spine? She was a paediatrician. She didn’t have time for learning to walk again, or never walking...
‘Hello, this is becoming a habit.’ A familiar, husky voice broke through her fear. ‘Harrison Frost, your neighbour.’
Harrison. ‘Not Harry, then.’ Harrison was way sexier than Harry. Ah? Hello? Head injury talking? Sex while smashed up on the side of a hill? Why not? That’d certainly be creating a new norm for her. Don’t forget, she told herself, that if she hadn’t been thinking about him she wouldn’t be lying here afraid to move.
‘Good, you’re cognitive. And yes, I go by Harry most of the time.’ The guy was snapping open the hooks that held him to the rope and giving the thumbs-up to someone above in the chopper, at the same time speaking into a radio. ‘Take it away.’
What were the odds he’d be the one coming to her rescue? But then, nothing seemed to be going right for her lately, so those were as short as the two-year-old with pneumonia she’d treated this week. She could only hope Harry was more forthcoming in his attitude as a doctor than as a neighbour. ‘You didn’t bring the music.’ Anything to keep from the pain getting stronger with every breath.
‘I would’ve if I’d known it was you who’d taken to flying off the side of roads.’ Harrison shucked out of his backpack. ‘Right, let’s check you out. You haven’t moved since coming to a stop against the tree?’ He began disentangling the cycle from her legs.
‘Of course not.’ Unless she’d moved while out cold. ‘I need a neck brace first. My left shoulder is possibly broken. My right ankle is giving me grief, but as for internal injuries I’m certain I’m in the clear.’ The pain throbbed up and down both legs. Bruising from the bike when she’d landed?
‘Leave those decisions to me. Obviously nothing wrong with your head. You’re stringing sentences together and enunciating clearly.’
‘I am a doctor.’ And it was his fault she’d ended up in this mess, tramping through her mind the way he had.
A small smile lifted one corner of his mouth. ‘Right now I’m the doctor, you’re the patient, and I get to make the diagnoses, starting with doing the ABCs.’
Her airway was fine, the proof in her relatively easy breathing when pain wasn’t interfering. ‘Might have known you’d be bossy.’
His smile hit her hard. ‘It goes with the territory and stroppy patients.’
Putting as much indignation into her voice as she could muster, she growled, ‘I’m stroppy?’
‘Yep.’ Harrison’s eyes were focused on her chest, purely to check she was breathing normally.
A twinge of regret came and went. She didn’t want him thinking of her as anything other than a patient. Not really. But it was nice to be noticed by a good-looking guy occasionally. ‘Have you always worked on the helicopters?’
‘No, I’m an emergency specialist so I’ve spent most of my time in emergency departments. Working on rescue choppers is different. It takes some getting used to not having a whole department filled with every bit of equipment I require.’ He might be talking trivia but there was nothing trivial about the way he was checking her over.
She could get to like this man. If she didn’t already.
‘I can imagine.’ He was right. She had to let go and trust him to look after her, but it was hard. She never gave control to anybody over even the most insignificant thing. And this wasn’t insignificant. Thump, thump, went her head. Her mouth opened but she couldn’t give him the go-ahead. She just couldn’t.
As he carefully removed her helmet, Harry asked, ‘Have you lost consciousness at any time?’ Seemed he had no difficulty taking charge, regardless of what she thought.
As he’s meant to.
‘Twice. I think. Maybe three times.’ And about to again if the clouds gathering in her skull were any indication. She’d been trying too hard to say what was needed without slurring or forgetting what she had to tell him and it was taking its toll.
‘Pulse is rapid. I’d say you’re in shock.’ Firm yet gentle fingers touched her neck, her skull, her jawline. If only they could stop the pain.
She guessed she couldn’t have everything.
Please let me be able to walk away from this.
Fog expanded in her head, pressing at her skull.
‘Sienna, can you hear me?’ Was that Harry? Harrison. ‘Yes.’ But there were drums in the background. The humming in her ears also added to the noise.
Firm fingers slid over her skull, pressing lightly, feeling for trauma. ‘From the state of that helmet you hit something with your head. At least the helmet did what it was meant to. There doesn’t appear to be any damage to your skull, though you probably have mild concussion.’ Then he was listening to his radio, and confirmed what she heard loud and clear. ‘The weather’s closing in. The guys above say we have to hurry or we’ll be stuck here until the storm passes.’
‘What storm?’ Come to think of it, she was feeling chilly. But that would be shock. Wouldn’t it?
Come in, Dr Burch. You know your stuff.
‘Am I cold or is the reaction to my crash setting in?’
‘Both,’ answered Harry, slipping a neck brace into position. ‘This’ll keep your head still.’
A male voice came through the radio in his shirt pocket. ‘Sorry, have to back off now, Harry. Hang in there. I’ll return as soon as viable.’
The tree she’d come to a halt against rustled and leaves dropped onto her. ‘Don’t let them go.’ She had to get to hospital and sort out her injuries.
‘Not a lot of choice,’ Harry told her before easing her cycling shoes off. ‘Can you feel me touching your toes?’
‘Yes.’ Relief swarmed through her.
‘Wriggle them.’ There was a reciprocating relief in his dark eyes. ‘Good.’
Neck immobilised, tick. Feeling in feet, double tick. ‘My shoulder?’
But Dr Harry was working his way up her legs, as in how a doctor would, not a lover. As she’d said earlier, this just wasn’t her day. ‘Your ankle’s okay. Lots of bruising would be about as bad as it gets.’
Those fingers... Sienna sighed. Gentle, and warm, and enticing. As if she could succumb to their hidden promise.
Where did that come from?
Had to be the bang on her head. Her brain had been derailed. Whatever, it was good to let these wonderful sensations take over. They relaxed her, made her forget a little of why she was here, and had her thinking one bottle of wine wouldn’t be enough to take across to his apartment.
Dr Deep Voice continued. ‘Unfortunately I didn’t bring my X-ray machine to check your shoulder.’
Typical relax-the-patient talk. ‘Funny...not.’
‘For someone who’s knocked herself out, bashed up her body and got into difficult terrain, you have a lot to say. But I can tell you the shoulder’s not dislocated, and from the normal angle I’d hazard a guess it’s not broken either.’
‘I’ll give that box a half-tick, then.’
Large, oh, so gentle hands prodded her stomach, moved up towards her ribcage. Deep concentration tightened his face.
‘Ow!’ She gasped as sharp pain struck. ‘What—?’
‘Take it easy.’ He pressed her back against the ground with that firm hand she was beginning to recognise for its warmth and strength.
Sienna hadn’t realised she’d moved. ‘Tell me.’
But he’d turned away to talk into the radio that had crackled into life against his expansive chest. ‘Yo... What’s happening up there?’
‘Weather bomb coming in fast. You’re going to have to hang in on your own for a period yet. We’ll be back ASAP.’
She mightn’t know the voice but she sure knew that warning. ASAP meant ‘in a while, even a long while’. ‘Isn’t there another way out of here?’ There was a road just above them.
Harry was shaking his head. ‘Afraid not. You picked about the worst spot on this road to fall off. The slope is all but vertical. Hauling you up it is not an option. We’re going to have to wait it out. The thermal blanket will protect you from the wind and keep you warm.’
The wind had picked up, and now rain slashed at them, driving in sideways. Sienna shivered. Every part of her body hurt, some worse than others. She wanted to cry from it all but instead drew a deep breath and held on—just. Things kept going from bad to worse, and she only had herself to blame. ‘But if there aren’t any broken bones or internal injuries I can give getting to the top a crack. Better than lying here.’
‘You banged your head, remember?’ He was removing nasal prongs from a container. ‘Do you remember what happened?’
‘I—’ lost focus and rode into the middle of the road then executed an abrupt dodging movement when a car came up behind her ‘—made a mistake.’
Thinking about my job. About you.
Really? She’d been thinking about Harry while riding? Yes. She had. Which went to show how easily she could be distracted. ‘Are you giving me oxygen?’ Of course he was.
‘Your breathing’s a little rapid. Best we get that settled.’
‘Got an electric blanket in that pack?’ Shivers were taking over.
‘Sure have.’ He locked that dark gaze on her. ‘Relax. We’ll get you out of here, and in the meantime I’ve got you. Don’t worry about a thing.’
Had she been that transparent? Worry about her injuries despite his optimistic assessment was building like a volcano about to erupt. This could’ve been a disaster, might’ve been the end of everything, and she was afraid of tempting fate by accepting she hadn’t been seriously injured before the hospital gave her the all-clear. With effort she hunted for something to talk about that might keep those concerns a little quieter. ‘You’re Australian.’
‘Well spotted.’
‘Where from?’ Hard to concentrate when her mind was trying to shut down, but the longer she stayed awake the more she might learn about this man. Because despite—or was it because of?—being stuck on the side of a hill going nowhere in a hurry, she wanted to learn more about him, to make up for the weeks they’d been neighbours and strangers.
‘Melbourne.’ He wasn’t making it easy.
‘City or beyond?’
‘City. The swanky part of town. Boys’ college, box seats at the MCG, and all the rest of it.’ A lime would be sweeter than that tone.
‘Why Auckland now?’
Answer fast before I fall asleep.
‘It’s where the next job came up.’
That woke her a little. ‘You move around a lot?’
Like my dad does?
‘Depends on what turns up.’
If she could move she’d shake him, but then she’d already known how irritating he could be. Worse, he was sounding more like her father with everything he said. ‘You ever just talk for the sake of it?’
To keep your patient distracted from her situation?
‘I have been known to.’
She gave up. That darkness was pressing in, relieving her of any control. Don’t think about that. Sienna groaned and slurred out a question that was totally irrelevant to anything. ‘What time is it?’
* * *
‘Five thirty.’
Harry continued tucking the thermal blanket around Sienna, all the while keeping an eye on her. It wasn’t hard. Even injured and stranded out in the middle of a storm she was beautiful, and stirred his blood relentlessly. Once they got out of this mess he was going to have to do something about Dr Frosty, who wasn’t as frosty as he’d first presumed.
She used it to cover real emotions. Emotions he’d noticed flitting across those stunning blue eyes during the time they’d been together on the hill. He’d seen how her decline into sleep had briefly halted when he’d answered her question about moving around a lot in the affirmative. Had someone important kept moving away from her when she needed them? A partner; husband; lover? He could keep guessing or get on with being the emergency doctor he revelled in being. ‘Have you got an underlying condition I should know about?’ he asked without any hope of getting an answer. The shock had caught up and she was that far gone now.
But, ‘N-no-o.’ Sleep slurred her speech.
He could relax on that one. ‘Good. You’re safe at the moment. Our pilot’s one of the best and he’ll return the first instant he can. We’ll get you out of here in one piece, Sienna.’ But only when it was safe to do so. Another helicopter crash was not on the cards.
‘Safe?’
He nodded. As if she saw that. ‘Very safe.’
Her eyes opened, surprise momentarily replacing the other emotions swimming there. ‘Am I really—?’ She swallowed, tried again in that slurred whisper. ‘In one piece? You weren’t feeding me the happy-clappy line to keep me calm until we’re away from here?’
‘I wouldn’t insult you. Nor would I feed you expectations that could be stomped on once you’re in hospital. You have mostly bruises,’ he repeated his earlier diagnosis to shore up her failing confidence. ‘Lots of them. I still don’t think there’s anything to worry about regarding your shoulder except severe bruising. Possibly some rib damage, but I’d say you’ve come off lightly.’ When her eyes widened with hope, he rushed in. ‘Not lightly enough that I’m about to haul you up the bank with a rope around your waist. We’re still at the bottom of a precipice with a summer storm rampaging around our ears.’ Was that hail? It wouldn’t surprise him, given the ferocity of the wind and rain pounding them. Thunder backed him up; no lightning flashes but then the clouds delivering the icy pellets were hiding that. Auckland was known for its short, sharp seasonal storms. In this case, not what the doctor ordered, but then when did anything ever go completely right on a job? It was the nature of the urgent scenarios to throw spanners in the works. Big ones mostly. And often through weather.
Digging into the pack, his fingers closed around a concertinaed umbrella which he pulled out and opened to hold above his patient, shielding her from the worst, angling it so a gust of wind didn’t turn it inside out. It would be best if Sienna slipped into unconsciousness again so she didn’t feel discomfort and had no idea of the time ticking by as they waited for the chopper to return. He could only hope it was today. The weather reports had forecast more storms over the next twelve hours at least.
Beside him Sienna moved. Trying to roll over? Harry placed his free hand on her good shoulder. ‘Easy. Don’t move.’ Their ledge wasn’t as wide as he’d like. Sienna had been extremely lucky that that tree had halted her tumble.
‘Mmm...umm...’
So she was out of it, unaware of where she was, and more importantly getting a break from the pain. Good. He tied the umbrella to the base of the tree so it sheltered her face before taking running checks again. Concussion seemed to be her most worrisome injury, and he could handle that. Relief that she hadn’t fractured any major bones or suffered serious internal injuries spread through him, though from her reaction when he’d touched her ribcage it was possible she’d cracked one or two ribs, or torn cartilage from the bones. But she’d be able to lift a glass of wine when he took that bottle next door. Because he was going to. Without a doubt. It might be tempting a snub, but he’d risk it. Thanks to this accident they were inextricably linked, and he’d use that to his advantage. He wanted time with her that much. And after today she couldn’t deny he existed.
On his haunches, hunched under the edge of the umbrella, Harrison studied the captivating face he’d first admired a week ago. Shock and pain had dimmed her raw beauty, but there was no denying the fine features and that classic facial structure sucking him in. ‘So we’re both doctors.’ Was that attraction stirring his groin? No. Too weird, that idea. This was purely because Doc Not-So-Frosty had a figure that demanded attention from all working parts of a man’s body, and a face to take the edge off anything she might say.
Again Sienna moved. Again he held her still. ‘Shh, easy does it.’ He kept his voice low and soft, sleep her best option for now. When she didn’t relax he sat next to her, stretching his legs the length of her body so they were touching side by side, and began soothing her hand, making light circles with his fingers. Slowly, slowly, the tension fell away from her muscles and she stopped moving her hands and feet. Had she been unconsciously checking again to see that she hadn’t damaged her spine? It had been her biggest fear when he’d arrived, and who could blame her? Cycling accidents were notorious for shoulder injuries, but spinal damage was up there too.
His radio barked into life. ‘Harry, are you receiving? This is Ginger.’
Their pilot. ‘Harry receiving loud and not so clear. What’s up?’
‘You’re stuck there for a while yet, I’d say. What’s the situation with your patient?’
‘GCS four.’ Not bad considering how rapid her descent must’ve been, and the bone-jarring—if not breaking—halt against the tree. But the score could change rapidly, dropping to a dangerous level if Sienna got too cold or there was internal bleeding going on he hadn’t discovered. But all indicators said she was lucky there. He turned his back on her, just in case she wasn’t as out of it as he believed. ‘Don’t let that fool you. I want her out of here ASAP. Her temperature has taken a dive since the hail came across.’
‘Roger. Understood. I’m talking to the weather gods every few minutes but so far they’re ignoring me.’
‘Keep at it.’
‘I’ll get back to you in thirty unless the all-clear comes through. Hang in there and keep her safe, man.’
As if he’d do anything else. Keeping safe came first, especially for his patients. Not so much for himself. He’d always been a bit of a risk-taker, snowboarding off mountain ranges and deep-water diving in shark-infested waters; though with that one there’d been a team of experts at his back. Not that his parents would’ve noticed if things went pear-shaped. His brothers understood his apparent recklessness, though they didn’t condone it, but to their credit they left him to his own decisions, something he appreciated almost more than anything. They weren’t meant to feel guilty for him copping all the blame their mother had dished out for disasters big and small when they were young—and not so young. He was the cause of her disappointment with how life had served her, so his brothers had been spared the vitriol. Because they’d been wanted, planned for. Unlike him.
Harry swallowed the familiar bile. These days, since his mother had taken over control of the multinational company his grandfather had created, the family was more divided than ever. He and his brothers were together in their need to get on and make lives for themselves, while their parents fought endless battles between themselves over who was in charge of the company. His siblings had found love with wonderful women and dived right into their own families, putting distance between themselves and the parents who might’ve wanted them but didn’t show much affection towards them. Finding a woman to love and have a family with was not something Harry planned on doing. His one and only serious relationship years ago had turned out to be as nasty as his parents’ one, and confirmed his belief he did not want that for the rest of his days. Just as he didn’t want to be told to try harder, become greater, aim higher. If someone couldn’t love him for who he was then he wouldn’t bother. He’d learned to be happy with his single status; he just wasn’t always so careful with himself.
He reached for Sienna’s wrist. What was her pulse now? Her wrist was slight and her skin satiny. If anyone around here had a high pulse rate it was him.
‘So you’re a doctor, and a cyclist. What else interests you?’ he asked into the wind-tossed space in an attempt to distract himself from the heat tripping up his arm from where his fingers still touched her skin. Lowering her arm, he pulled back. ‘I know loud music isn’t one of your favourites, Doc Frosty.’
He barked a harsh laugh. Doc Frosty and Dr Frost stuck together on a hillside.
Ever since the night she’d stormed up his drive he’d been aware of her. Or rather, of how often she wasn’t at home. It made sense now he knew her profession. Putting in long hours came with the territory. Which was one reason he loved his work. There was no time for anything else other than light, short relationships with women and easy-going friendships.
Those odd moments of longing for something he couldn’t explain that came in the middle of a night shift when there was nothing happening but waiting in the tedious dark for a call that he always hoped wouldn’t end badly for the victims were to be ignored. The unsettling need for something, someone, had to be banished. He was his own person and, once free of his mother’s blame game and his wife’s endless demands to be someone he wasn’t, he’d vowed he’d never let someone else dictate how he lived, or where, or why.
His brothers lived the lives of their choice, and encouraged him to do the same, though they weren’t always keen when he leapt off mountains with nothing more than a board strapped to his feet for safety. They and their families were his support system, the people he loved most. There wasn’t room for anyone else. He’d tried once. Never again.
His eyes tracked across Sienna’s exhausted face. Yes, she cranked up his libido something wicked. No, she wasn’t going to become important to him other than as a patient at this point in time. Yes, he wanted to learn more about what made her tick. No, he didn’t have any intention of spending time with her.
No longer than it took to share a bottle of wine, at any rate.
CHAPTER FOUR (#u097dfc34-06d5-5fea-80f0-e933de4426dd)
‘HOW LONG HAVE we been waiting for your lot to return?’ Sienna stared through the semi-dark at Harry. His rugged face was in shadow while the lantern he must’ve had in his pack gave an eerie glow to their surroundings. He was so close it wouldn’t take any effort to touch him. What would his skin feel like under her fingertips? Warm? Exciting?
Then he blinked and sat up straighter before reaching for her wrist, his finger instantly on her pulse. ‘A little over an hour. Not long, considering.’
Definitely warm...and exciting. ‘Hmmm...’
‘What does “hmmm” mean?’
That she liked the spiky sensations going on up her arm from where he held her. ‘Thank goodness you got here before the weather packed in or who knows what shape I’d be in by now? First thing I’m going to do once back on my feet is buy a lottery ticket. Who knows? My luck might still be running.’
His gaze cruised over her in a not-so-doctorish manner when she said ‘shape’. A manner she could get to enjoy very quickly. His chuckle was delicious: more warmth, as well as comforting, and as if he was with her. ‘I’ll drive you to the shop when we’re off the hill and the ED guys have tidied you up.’
Sienna shifted her numb butt and got stabbed with aches throughout her body for her effort. Her head pounded but thankfully her vision was clear. All the better to observe this annoyingly interesting man. Sticking her tongue firmly in her cheek, she asked, ‘You hanging around Auckland for a day or two more, then?’
‘Up until Christmas.’
‘Then where are you going?’
‘I’m starting to doubt you’ve got concussion. Your recall is superb. Remind me never to tell you anything important.’
A smile accompanied his words so she remained relaxed. ‘As we hardly ever speak that’s not likely to happen.’
Harrison grunted. ‘Here’s the thing. We seem to keep getting thrown together so I’m figuring we might as well get to know each other a little. Only as neighbours,’ he added quickly.
‘Sounds like a plan as soon as I’m mobile again.’ Fingers crossed that’d be tomorrow, not months down the track due to serious damage.
‘We can share a bottle of wine on the deck.’
So he was okay with the wine idea. She must’ve talked in her sleep. They couldn’t have been having similar thoughts about getting together for a drink. Could they? How soon could he visit?
Downplay this.
She hadn’t said anything in her sleep about how he made her blood sing, had she? Better concentrate on staying wide awake from now on.
He went quiet, and the haze in Sienna’s head began to rule despite her worry about what she might say next. But the fog didn’t take over as it had earlier. Had she run out of puff? Or was it that she was awake enough that images of her neighbour were rolling in? Leading her into temptation? As if. Stuck out here was so not the place for anything other than waiting to be lifted off.
Harrison sat beside her, his long legs stretched out, his hands relaxed on his thighs. Hard to ignore. He was more than attractive. There was something dependable about him that activated all her buttons when she stopped thinking how exasperating he could be. The pounding started up again in her skull. Not Harrison’s fault. Not even thoughts about him were to blame. She was falling asleep.
Falling. Over and over.
Sienna awoke with a jerk, and groaned.
‘Hey, easy.’ That hand she was getting inordinately fond of touched her good shoulder.
Something niggled from her dream. ‘What if no one had seen me go off the edge of the road?’
‘Let’s not go there. You were seen and here I am.’
She could have broken her back, been left for days till someone found her, or worse.
‘You need to relax, my girl. Spread your wings and fly.’
Sienna’s eyes flew open. Her father was right. She had been missing out on so much. What if she had broken her back? That would finish everything. This had been a wake-up call she needed to heed. ‘Bring that wine over the first time we’re both at home.’ Then she’d return the favour a few days later. If they got on well enough to repeat the date. Date? Not likely. Calling that a date only underlined how sad her life had become. Whether or not they had anything else to do with each other afterwards, spending an hour with Harrison meant she’d be making a start on getting out there to do things she’d only ever thought about. How was this for another? ‘I’m going to sign up for flying lessons.’ Plummeting down a hillside had a lot to answer for. But if that had gone horribly wrong there wouldn’t be any crazy ideas to put into action.
‘You want to become a private pilot?’ Bafflement darkened Harry’s voice. Then he reached for her wrist again. Did he think she was slipping into gaga land because of that knock on her head? He could be right, but she didn’t think so.

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