Marrying The Boss (19 page)

Later that afternoon Kate was at the cottage
when a familiar black four wheel drive pulled up in the front
drive. Kate shaded her eyes against the last rays of the setting
sun as Spencer got out.

He walked up the front steps, carrying a
large covered basket. "I've just been to the Jacksons to check on
them. Martha's feeling much better and Bill is doing as he's told,
for the first time in his life. Martha is so grateful; she made me
promise to bring you this."

"
What is it?" Kate followed him
inside.

"
Baked goods. Martha insisted on making you
a thank you gift. I tried to talk her out of it, but—"

Before he could finish the telephone began
to ring. Excusing herself, Kate picked up the receiver. "Hello, Dr.
Martin speaking."

She listened to what the caller was saying
before nodding, glancing up at Spencer's intent
expression.

"
It's Anne Rangi. They've just found Wirimu
unconscious in bed. He's not breathing and they can't find a pulse.
Anne has rung for an ambulance and they've started CPR."

Spencer nodded quickly. "Tell her I'm on
my way right now."

Kate relayed the message and hung up. "Do
you need me?"

"
Yes. Jamie's staying at Serena's tonight,
so he'll be fine. The track to the farm can be difficult, even in
the summer, so we'd better take my vehicle."

After driving down the narrow country
roads for twenty minutes, they turned into the long, winding
driveway. When Kate got out of the vehicle, she discovered the old
farmhouse crowded to overflowing and an ambulance already parked
outside. Every room seemed filled with people and chatter. Small
children of all sizes and ages ran in and out among the groups of
adults. If the event wasn't so tragic, they whole scene would look
magical.

Grabbing her bag, Spencer acknowledged the
many called greetings as they hurried inside. Wirimu Rangi's
children and grandchildren had come from their nearby homes on the
farm to see the old man safely on his way. It was also a sign of
respect for the old man's high standing in the local Maori
community.

"
Grandpa's in here, Doc." A small, dark
eyed boy appeared to take her hand. "Come on, I'll show
you."

He pulled at her hand, leading her into
the main bedroom at the front of the house. Spencer followed,
pausing to speak to the two ambulance officers standing quietly at
the back of the room. Kate approached the bed where an old man was
stretched out, his lined face peaceful. His wife, Leah sat
cross-legged on the end of the bed, next to her husband's feet.
Anne stood against the far wall.

"
He's gone, Leah." Spencer said
quietly.

The old lady began to rock gently from
side to side. "After sixty years, now he decides to leave
me."

"
I don't think he wanted to leave you."
Spencer put an arm around the old lady's thin shoulders. "By law a
doctor has to look at him. Do you mind if it's me?"

"
No, he always liked you." Leah leaned
forward to hug her husband's lower legs. "You know, I told him and
told him to leave that old stump alone. Let the boys handle it. But
he wouldn't listen."

She swiped a hand over her eyes. "He was
so tired tonight, he went to bed early. That's why I got Anne to go
and see you today. After he came back from hospital, I just knew
something was wrong. I should've phoned you earlier, but he
wouldn't let me. Said he didn't want to bother you."

"
He was a very stubborn man." Spencer
nodded, as he used his stethoscope and penlight to confirm that
Wirimu had indeed passed away.

He looked up. "I'm sure it was quick and
painless—his heart probably stopped beating while he was
asleep."

He sensed Kate coming to stand beside him.
"He wouldn't have suffered."

Beyond the open window behind them, a guitar
strummed softly. A beautifully poignant Maori song of loss and
farewell lifted into the night air on several voices, both male and
female.

Kate closed her eyes, swallowing against
the thickening in her throat. She felt the sadness of parting tight
in her chest. She felt drawn towards Spencer's sure solidness so
close beside her, silently offering his unspoken
support.

"
Wirimu had a good life, Leah," Spencer
said quietly.

"
I know. But he let that old stump get the
better of him. He wouldn't like that. Knowing it was still out
there, laughing at him. He hated to let anything beat
him."

"
I'm guessing that stump will be gone
before daylight," Spencer replied. "I see plenty of strong, young
men just standing around here with nothing better to
do."

Leah's
head came up. Her dark, moist eyes
gleamed with determination. "One last thing old Wirimu gotta do.
Right, Doc?"

"
Right." Spencer nodded. "I'll deal with
the details. You take care of yourself. Get some sleep if you can.
Call me if you need anything else."

Kate followed him out of the hushed
bedroom, wiping the tears from her cheeks. The ambulance officers
appeared and they promised to take good care of the old man's
body.

"
We've done all we can," Spencer said then,
briefly slinging a comforting arm around Kate's shoulders and
pulling her close to him.

Anne followed them out into the hall. "So,
it was his big old heart, Doc?"

"
Probably, Anne. We can't tell without an
autopsy, but given his recent history, I doubt it's
necessary."

Kate slipped quickly from Spencer's
slackened hold. "The end would have been very quick. He didn't
suffer."

"
That's good. But I'm gonna miss him."

"
He had a good life." Spencer watched Kate
swallowed against her tears.

As he made some notes before
preparing to start the paperwork, one of Anne's many aunts came
bustling out of the kitchen. "Cuppa, you two? You hungry? We got
plenty. All the
whanua
are coming. It's gonna be a good send-off."

"
I thought most of the family was already
here." Kate looked into the crowded kitchen. There scarcely seemed
room for one more.

"
Nah, there's still more to come. You'll
see." Anne laughed softly, her sad face lighting up. "There's none
of the cousins here yet. It'll be a great big
tangi
. We're really gonna celebrate the
old man's life."

Spencer looked down into Kate's pale face
and shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but you look like you've
got enough to handle. Perhaps another time for that
tea."

"
Yes." Kate sighed. "But, thanks, Anne.
We'll notify the police and organize everything else. I know you'll
take good care of your grandmother."

They said their goodbyes and stepped
together into the warm summer evening as several more cars made
their way up the rutted driveway towards the house.

Kate dashed a hand over her eyes. "First
we get to deliver Mandy's baby and now this. It doesn't seem fair
that he had to die."

"
I guess it's just how life works," Spencer
mused quietly. "Don't try to understand it."

"
Yes, you're right, of course."

As she and Spencer walked away, the
hauntingly sweet music followed them to the car. Kate felt both
warmed and saddened by the sight of the ever growing Rangi family
gathering to celebrate the life of their grandfather, when she
herself, felt so very much alone.

Spencer was right. Everyone came to his
place on Saturday afternoon. Not only Kris, Cheryl and the whole
medical team from the surgery, but also groups of neighbors and
people who'd been attending the race meeting.

Though she watched the parade of the
horses, and cheered both the winners and the losers, Kate didn't
take an active part. She preferred to keep to the sidelines, being
more than happy to blend into the crowd.

She saw Spencer at a distance, but he
didn't seem to have time to approach her. He was always surrounded
by a large group of people who moved with him wherever he
went.

Kate was on call for the day, so she
confined herself to a glass of chilled fruit juice and kept one ear
tuned for the musical sound of the mobile phone clipped to the
waistband of her jeans.

It took her by surprise when Spencer
suddenly appeared out of the crowd to move in beside her. "If you
get called away, you can always come back."

"
Thanks." Kate inhaled carefully. "But I
think I'll turn in early. I'm not on call tomorrow, but it's been a
busy week."

"
If you like. You saw old man Preston early
this morning." Spencer slanted her a questioning look. "Over on
Peake Road."

"
That's right." Kate shook her head. "He
remarked that I looked more like a schoolgirl. Mr. Preston then
insisted on seeing a male doctor. When I told him I was the doctor
on call and the only one he was likely to see, he got a little
upset. But he calmed down after a while and we managed."

She frowned, thinking of the frightened,
lonely old man living alone in his run down house. The contrast
between Spencer Preston and Wirimu Rangi's old house crowded with
his loving family and friends was disturbing.

She drew a ragged breath. "Mr. Preston
phoned to report a severe headache, but the pain had resolved by
the time I arrived. He allowed me to do a brief physical
examination and I found that he's dangerously hypertensive, which
would account for the headache."

She pulled a wry face. "But when I tried
to discuss monitoring his blood pressure and the need for
medication to control it, he wasn't interested. I'm very worried
about him - from what history I could coax out of him, I think he's
been having TIAs," she said, meaning transient ischaemic attacks.
"And is a major candidate for a stroke. But I got the feeling he
didn't really want me there to attend to his health problems. He
just wanted some company. He had the tea made and had set out a
plate of sultana scones."

Spencer turned his mouth down at the
corners. "His wife died early last year. He's one of our oldest
patients. He was one of the first when Jake set it up. I don't
think Spencer has ever gotten over Fiona's death."

"
Ah, I see. Does he have any other
family?"

"
No. Spencer once told me that Fiona
couldn't have any children. So they just had each other. It seemed
to be all they ever needed. They meant the world to each
other."

Kate swallowed. "That's a shame. He seemed
to be a really sweet old guy. He deserves better."

"
I'm afraid Spencer won't thank you for
trying to get involved in his life. I tried a couple of times when
I first came here. He said, if he wants anyone's help, he'll call.
He's very independent."

"
Yes, I got that impression too." Kate
turned to look around the crowded garden. "But I also got the
feeling he was afraid of dying alone."

"
Don't worry, if Spencer liked you, he'll
call again soon." Spencer shrugged. "But only when he's ready. He
likes to think he's in control. His scones are excellent, by the
way."

He took a step back then hesitated. "Why
don't you come and have something to eat? You must be
hungry."

"
All right, I think I could manage
something." Kate fell into step beside him, walking towards the
tables where platters of meat and bowls of crisp salad were being
laid out.

But her mind kept going back to an old man
living all alone in his cottage with nothing and no one for
company, but his memories. Surely something more could be done.

In the next moment her phone rang. Kate
answered it and stood listening for a long moment before issuing
her instructions to the caller.

"
Need any help?" Spencer asked after Kate
ended the call.

"
No, it sounds straightforward. A slight
head injury. I can manage."

"
If you're sure." Spencer stepped aside,
watching her closely.

Again Kate got the impression he wanted to
say more. Tell her something she was sure she didn't want to hear.
Was he trying to find some way to fire her because he no longer
wanted her around?

"
I'll be fine." Grateful for the excuse to
escape from his narrowed gaze, she quickly excused herself before
hurrying to her car.

Sitting on the stool beside her
middle aged male patient, she tied off the last stitch in the long
cut over his left ear and sat back to admire her handiwork.
"You know, Mr.
Braddock, you really should be more careful. This could have been
very serious."

Her patient grinned sheepishly. "Sorry,
Doc. Just didn't see that damn open window in the alley beside the
pub. I got all turned around and it's pretty dark in there
sometimes. I felt it, though, when it whacked me in the side of the
head. Nearly ripped my ear off."