City Surgeon, Small Town Miracle

In the silence that Megan left behind, Terri and Allie eyed each other.

‘I suppose you want me to go,’ Allie said colourlessly.

‘Stay for a bit longer if you want to.’

‘Can…can I?’

‘Sure. You can help me in the garden for a while. I hate seeing a willing pair of hands go unused…even an unwilling pair,’ Terri teased gently.

She kept up a steady patter of information about different plants and answered Allie’s occasional question. As Terri had hoped, working in the garden helped the girl to relax a little.

‘There.’ She sat back on her heels and looked at the garden bed they’d finished preparing. ‘Haven’t we done a great job?’

Allie looked at it doubtfully. ‘It’s just dirt.’

‘Ah, yes, but it’s happy dirt that’s going to nourish and pamper my next crop of tomatoes which will taste extra-good. Better than anything you’ll buy in a supermarket.’ She smiled then glanced at her watch. ‘Let me clean up and then I’ll walk you home.’

‘I can go by myself.’ Allie sounded belligerent, ready to defend her position.

‘I’m sure you can,’ said Terri mildly. ‘But today’s special because it’s your first visit and I’d like to take you home.’

‘O-okay.’

As they walked across the yard together, Terri had the impression that Allie wanted to say something. After another handful of paces, the girl finally blurted out, ‘So, if this was my first visit…’

‘Yes?’

‘Does that mean it would be okay if I visited again? Please?’

‘I don’t see why not as long as it’s okay with your dad.’

‘It won’t bother him,’ she said flatly. The corners of her mouth pulled down.

‘Why do you say that?’

The slender shoulders twisted into a shrug. ‘Because it wouldn’t.’

‘I’m sure that’s not true, Allie.’

Another shrug. The girl had turned the gesture into a whole new language of subtle nuances. No wonder her father was concerned. Terri felt for both of them. Allie seemed to be stuck in denial about her mother’s death. Which left Luke with the sad task of helping her face the sorrow.

‘Anyway, maybe I can help with your garden some more.’

‘If you’d like to.’ Terri smiled.

‘I-I used to help Mummy sometimes.’

‘Did you? Well, I’d be delighted to have you come and help me sometimes, too.’

Luke was sitting on the patio when he saw Allie and Terri come through the line of bushes. Allie was talking animatedly to Terri, much more like her old self.

And Terri was…well…Terri. Looking gorgeous in shorts cut just above the knee and battered tennis shoes. The thin knit material of her old T-shirt clung in all the right places. Her hair draped in a ponytail across one shoulder, the ends curving around her breast.

He stood, shoving his hands into his pockets, and walked across the lawn to meet them. Terri lifted her head and gave him a small smile. A moment later, Allie saw him, her face falling. He suppressed a sigh.

‘Had a good time?’ he said to his daughter, ignoring her sudden mood change.

‘Yes. Terri said I could visit again as long as it’s okay with you.’ Her tone was terse. ‘So may I?’

He raised one brow and his daughter’s eyes slid towards Terri in a shamefaced look.

‘Please?’

Luke glanced at Terri, who gave him a small nod. ‘All right,’ he said slowly. ‘As long as you understand that Terri might have to say no sometimes.’

‘Yes.’

‘Okay, then.’

Her quick thanks were perfunctory but the grin she gave Terri was more open. ‘Thank you, Terri.’

‘Thank you for your help in the garden.’ Terri smiled.

Luke cleared his throat. ‘Nana’s nearly ready for dinner, Allie, so how about going in to wash up?’

He watched his daughter disappear then turned to find Terri watching him, her dark eyes filled with soft sympathy. He realised abruptly that it was not the look he wanted to see when she focussed on him.

‘Allie’s struggling with her mother’s death, isn’t she?’

Shock and hope jolted through him. Had Terri managed the impossible? ‘Did she talk to you?’

‘Not really. I just got the impression that she hasn’t accepted what’s happened.’

‘You’re right. She hasn’t. I can’t seem to reach her or get her to open up at all.’

Terri looked towards the house, her face pensive. She opened her mouth as though to say something, then must have thought better of it.

‘Whatever you were thinking just then…tell me,’ he demanded. She gave him a startled look. ‘Please,’ he said, moderating his tone, ‘Don’t worry about offending me, just say it.’

He could see her hesitate but after a small silence, she said, ‘Your daughter seems almost…angry with you.’

Conscious of a sense of disappointment, Luke slowly released the breath he’d been holding. Unreasonable though it was, he’d expected Terri’s answer would provide a break-through for him with his daughter.

‘Too true.’ He gave her a wry grin.

‘But it’s more than that, Luke. Watching her with you just now, it’s like she’s made up her mind not to let you get close.’ She gazed off into the distance again. ‘Maybe she’s punishing you for something.’ Her words came haltingly, as though she was choosing each one with great care. ‘Or…’

‘Or?’

Her deep chocolate-brown eyes came back to his, the expression in them puzzled. ‘Or maybe it’s herself she’s punishing.’ She shook her head. ‘But for what, I can’t imagine.’

‘Neither can I.’ He silently turned over what she’d said. Perhaps there was an answer in her impression. He just had to find it, use it to untangle whatever was going on in Allie’s mind. After a moment, he said, ‘I don’t know what the answer is but you’ve obviously worked some magic with her today.’

‘Me? I haven’t done anything.’

‘I think you’d be surprised. It’s the most enthusiasm I’ve seen in her for a long time so thank you.’

‘Poor little girl,’ she said softly as she stared in the direction that Allie had disappeared.

Luke ran his eyes over Terri’s profile, taking in the thick spiky black lashes that fringed her eyes, the lovely apricot tint of her cheeks. Her lack of awareness of a tiny smudge of dirt high on her cheekbone was endearing.

Without thinking, he reached up to brush it away for her.

She jerked back, her eyes wide and alarmed. ‘What are you doing?’

‘You have a bit of dirt just…’ He indicated on his own face as she so obviously didn’t want his touch.

‘Oh. Well. Thanks.’ She scrubbed it as she eyed him warily. ‘I, um, I’d better go, then. Bye.’

‘See you tomorrow, Terri.’

‘Yes, tomorrow.’ She swung away. Her long easy stride carried her quickly out of his view. With a small sigh, he turned towards the house. Terri making sure Allie got home safely was laudable but now his excuse for dropping in at the cottage was gone. He smiled wryly at his disappointment.

Probably just as well.

‘How are you going, Joe?’ asked Terri a few days later as the patient on the bed wriggled slightly.

‘Okay. Got an itch.’

‘Hold still just a little longer. I’m nearly finished.’ Using the dissecting forceps, she pulled back the last section of the skin flap and pushed the curved needle through the subcutaneous tissue. The needle holder made soft ratcheting clicks when she grasped the sharp tip to pull the thread through. With the final neat stitch secured, she snipped the ends and disposed of the needle in the sharps bin.

Luke wasn’t on the same roster as she was today. She should have felt relief but when she tried to define her feelings, they weren’t at all clear cut. If anything, she felt…flat. As though some indefinable ingredient for sparkle