City Surgeon, Small Town Miracle

‘No. None.’ She scowled. ‘Have you finished?’

Was he? His gaze dropped to her mouth. If he leaned forward, just a little, he would discover if reality was as delicious as his memories of their kiss. Temptation wrestled with good sense.

Then the opportunity was gone as Terri pulled back out of his light hold.

‘You won’t get your coffee unless you get out of my kitchen,’ she said tartly. ‘Why don’t you sit at the table?’

He stifled a sigh and retreated, slipping onto one of the chairs and allowing himself to follow her with his eyes. Watching her was like indulging in a visual feast. Filling the jug, getting out the mugs, spooning in the coffee. Commonplace, everyday things.

But there was nothing commonplace about his reaction. He shifted on the chair, easing the snugness of his jeans. To take his mind off her, he looked around the room. Ochre walls made the little room cheerful. At the end of the bench a distressed dresser displayed an eclectic collection of china. The cupboards had been stripped back and varnished to show off the warm grain of Baltic pine.

‘You’ve made the place nice. A vast improvement on when I lived here.’

‘Thanks.’ She smiled slightly and switched off the jug. ‘I must admit I prefer butterscotch paint to wall-to-wall centrefolds.’

‘God, were they still up?’ An unexpected wave of self-consciousness threatened to heat his face as though he was an awkward adolescent.

‘Every single anatomically enhanced one of them.’ She slid him a cheeky look. ‘If I’d known you were coming back I could have saved them for you.’

He snorted, his momentary embarrassment evaporating. ‘I like my women more natural these days.’ Like you. The unspoken words reverberated in his head.

She smirked at him, obviously comfortable again now that he was at a distance. The devil in him wanted to see that composure shaken again, to know that he wasn’t the only one affected by this inconvenient attraction. ‘There’s another reason why I was so hard on you that night on the beach.’

She eyed him warily. ‘There was?’

‘Oh, yeah,’ he drawled. ‘I fancied the pants off you.’

‘No!’ Her mouth opened in a perfect circle of shock. She blinked at him then burst out laughing. Nervous laughter that only lasted for a moment before she stopped and stared at him again.

‘Yes.’ He grinned, enjoying her reaction.

‘Oh, come on.’ Her movements were jerky as she turned back to the bench to pick up a spoon. The staccato clatter of metal on china filled the room. He could imagine her marshalling her defences. After a moment, she said, ‘You barely knew who I was.’

‘Oh, I knew all right,’ he murmured as she turned with the hot drinks in her hand. The only sign remaining of her agitation was the heightened colour in her cheeks. ‘You used to haunt your uncle’s racetrack.’

She handed him a steaming mug.

‘Thanks.’ He considered her over the rim as he took a small sip. ‘Your brother warned me off.’

‘Ryan? Did he?’ She wrinkled her nose in disbelief.

‘Sure. He warned off a few of us. He’d have dismembered me if he’d known some of the things I’d thought about you.’ Things he’d have liked to share with her…would still like to share with her.

‘I never realised. I must make sure I thank him for his interference.’ She shook her head, her lips curved with amusement. ‘And here I thought I was the most unpopular girl in school. All the boys wanted to be my friend but never my boyfriend.’

‘It was self-preservation.’ He grinned, raising the mug to take another mouthful. Flirting with her was fun- regardless of whether it was a good idea. It had been a long time since he’d done something just for the fun of it. ‘I half expected a visit from your brother after I kissed you that night.’

‘You thought I’d run home and tell?’ She gave him an old-fashioned look and signalled for him to follow her along the hall. Over her shoulder, she said, ‘Why would I advertise the fact that you’d rejected me?’

‘I wasn’t rejecting you,’ he said as she led the way into the lounge.

‘Oh, yes? I was kissed by the local heart-throb and then told he didn’t want to babysit. That was a rejection in my book.’ She curled into one of the overstuffed chairs and looked at him with a small enigmatic smile on her lips.

‘Local heart-throb?’ His cheeks warmed. This woman could really throw his system for a loop. ‘Give me a break.’

‘Tsk. I’m telling this story, not you.’ She waved an airy hand, dismissing his protest. ‘My poor seventeen-year-old ego was thoroughly battered.’

Luke grinned at her. ‘You seem to have recovered just fine.’

‘Some scars don’t show.’ She arched an expressive brow at him.

He felt his smile slip. God, she was so tempting. The offer to make amends was ready to leap off his tongue. With an effort he stifled the unruly impulse. That was not the sort of familiarity he needed to cultivate with Terri.

Shaking himself mentally, he looked around the room, his eyes settling on a collection of photographs on the mantelpiece. He stood and crossed the room to pick up one of the pictures. An unsmiling man stared out of the frame. Tanned, good-looking. Intense. He glanced at Terri. ‘Is this your husband?’

‘Yes.’ Her fingers curled around her mug and she blew on the liquid as though cooling it was the most important thing in the world.

The easy relaxed atmosphere was gone in an instant and he was sorry to have been the one to destroy it. He hesitated then said, ‘Mum told me he was killed in a landmine explosion.’

‘Yes.’ Her monosyllabic answers discouraged further questions. She was obviously troubled and he wanted to get past the barrier she was putting up.

‘Yesterday…’ He put the picture back and moved to the sofa. ‘You cut me off when I was going to offer my condolences.’

She shrugged. ‘Nothing will undo what’s happened.’

‘You were with him when it happened,’ he said gently as he sat down.

‘Yes.’ Her expression was shuttered.

‘Were you injured?’

‘I walked away.’ She hadn’t really answered the question and he sensed there was much more to the story.

‘It must have been traumatic.’

‘You could say that.’ She hunched over her mug, resolutely keeping her gaze averted.

The healer in him wanted to help, find the key so she would let him in. Anguish radiated from her and he couldn’t let it rest. ‘Any ongoing problems?’

Her head snapped up and she glared at him. ‘Why? Are you worried about working with me?’

Remembering his own grief after Kevin’s death and then with Sue-Ellen, his heart ached for her. ‘Maybe I’m worried about you, Terri.’

‘It’s not necessary and it’s not your place.’ Her lips barely moved as she grated the words out. ‘I’ve done the counselling. Learned to live with it. I don’t like giving people, acquaintances, chapter and verse on my life’s tragedies.’

He ignored the sarcasm, hearing the residue of pain behind it. He knew well the twin burden of grief and guilt. Regrets over Sue-Ellen’s death still tugged on his conscience.

‘What about friends?’ he asked softly. ‘We’re friends, at least, aren’t we?’

She stared at him coolly. A tiny tremble of her chin betrayed her before she set her jaw.

‘Well, if you need to talk…’ He opened his hands, making a small conciliatory gesture.

‘You’ll be the first to know,’ she said flippantly with a toss of her head.

‘I’m sure I won’t, but the offer stands. Any time.’ He smiled gently. He’d failed to reach her. Worse than that, he suspected he’d caused her more suffering with his well-meant probing.

There was a small silence and then she said, ‘Was there a particular reason for your visit tonight, Luke?’

He stifled a sigh. His communication skills with the opposite sex were not good at the moment. He’d alienated Allie and now he was doing the same with a colleague and friend. ‘I wanted to see how you were after last night.