Marrying The Boss (6 page)

"
I'm sorry?" That mobile, dark eyebrow
winged up as he drank his coffee.

"
Despite your name, you're obviously
Australian." She tried again. "I just wondered why you've chosen to
live here in New Zealand."

"
My family immigrated to Australia from
Santorini when I was barely three years old." His dark gaze roamed
her face. She managed to keep her expression politely enquiring as
he continued to speak. "I've lived in a few different countries
over the years. But when I was working in Melbourne the hours
became impossible with no time for a decent family life. Jake
offered me the partnership here and I knew this was a great place
to bring up kids. Even Katerina enjoyed it in the beginning. The
skiing and the tourist night-life were her thing for a
time."

His face hardened. "They were close enough
to town to keep her entertained for a year. Then she got restless.
But I like it here, so I've never been tempted to move on. Start
somewhere new."

"
It certainly is beautiful." She turned to
look out the kitchen window towards the towering shape of the
distant volcanic mountain that gave the town its name. It looked
awesome in its remote and splendid beauty.

Right now its stark brooding mass was bare
and stony, it’s head shrouded in cloud cover, but she guessed that
in the winter the elegant, sweeping cone would be covered in snow.
Spencer was right this would be a great place to bring up children.
Feeling his eyes studying her back view, she busied herself filling
the sink with water and liquid soap before washing her coffee
mug.

"
So, what about you?" He moved in beside
her to rinse his own mug.

"
What about me?" She looked up, finding him
too close again.

"
I’m curious about your reasons for coming
all the way from the States to New Zealand," he replied. "Edith
told me your references were excellent. You could’ve been accepted
anywhere much more urban. Why chose such a rural town? Surely,
after a big city like Chicago, it would be too quiet for a woman
like you."

"
What do you mean, ‘A woman like me’?" She
frowned, toweling dry her mug before placing it back on the shelf.
"You don’t know anything about me."

He was judging her again by some odd
standard of his own. And obviously found her wanting. Why did it
matter anyway?

She lifted her shoulders against a tight
throat. "I’ve never had a place I could call home. I was orphaned
when I was very young. I felt a desire to see something of the
world and this seemed like a great opportunity." She managed the
white lie with barely a tremor in her voice.

"
I see." He placed his mug on the shelf
beside hers. "But you may find you’ll begin to miss the bustle of a
busy lifestyle in a few months. No doubt you’ll want to move on.
Make sure you give us plenty of notice."

He now seemed determined to find some
fault in her. Was he again comparing her to his restless ex-wife
who’d walked out on their marriage?

"
I can assure you I don't have any plans to
move on." She held her temper. "I don't miss the city at all. In
fact, I—"

"
Ah, here she is." The kitchen door opened
and Edith Michaels walked in, followed by an older man, almost as
tall and powerfully built as Spencer.

"It's
really great to finally meet you."
Edith kissed Kate's cheek. "This is Jake Morgan, our other senior
partner. I see you've already encountered Spencer."

She hurried to peer around her
colleague
's
strong frame. "Hey, I should've known you'd be eating Kris's cake."
She punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Have you two left any for
the rest of us?"

"
Good morning." Kate moved to shake hands
with Dr. Morgan as the other two commenced a friendly argument over
the rather decimated remains of the cake.

"
Morning, Kate. I've been hearing good
things about you." Jake Morgan nodded as he looked down at
her.

Kate saw him frown, his gaze doing a swift
double take of her features before lifting a questioning look
beyond her left shoulder. Without turning, Kate became vitally
aware of Spencer moving to stand close behind her. The masculine
heat of his body seeped into hers. She forced down the raw image of
his body moving even closer, pulling her back against his strong
thighs.

She struggled to breathe.

Spencer didn't speak, only cleared his
throat in a rather pointed manner, before moving back almost
immediately, leaving her feeling bereft.

What was it that the two men saw in her
face? The troubling question nibbled away at the edge of her
composure.

"
Yes, well, that's excellent." Jake sucked
in a breath, seeming to collect himself as he continued smoothly,
"Edith has certainly sung your praises and, after looking over your
resume, even Spencer thought you'd work out. That settled it. I'm
glad you were available to join us. Your references are
outstanding. But, we're a very long way from a big city like
Chicago. Are you sure you'll be happy here?"

"
Thank you, Dr. Morgan." She glanced at
Spencer's thoughtful face. "I wanted to come here. I'm sure I'll be
fine."

Spencer leaned back against the counter
again, watching her. His remote gaze didn't flicker.

"
If I can help anyone in any way, then I'll
be more than happy to assist them." She dropped her eyes. "I just
hope I can live up to such a grand billing."

"
Oh, I'm sure you will. Just pull your
weight around here. That's all any of us ask." Dr. Morgan hurried
to assure her. "Do that and you won't hear any complaints from
me."

"
Or me," Spencer added quietly.

"
Now, there are a couple of questions."
Jake crossed the kitchen to pour himself a mug of coffee. He turned
back. "Don't worry. I won't ask anything too hard. Just like to
know where you're at with your reading. We keep up to date around
here as much as possible. I'm afraid it doesn't always allow time
for much of a social life."

"
Please, ask me anything you wish." Kate
kept her eyes from Spencer's as he began to move around the
kitchen, talking with Edith as she drank her coffee. "And I don't
lead a very active social life."

"
Excellent." Jake smiled. "I'm sure we can
manage to give you a few hours off here and there. We usually let
Spencer hold the monthly staff barbecue at his place in the country
after the races. Not too many neighbors to disturb if we decide to
throw an all night rowdy."

"
Thank you." She felt supremely conscious
of Spencer still watching her. "That sounds like fun."

He certainly disturbed her. More than she
was comfortable with. She made a mental note to contact the estate
agent as soon as possible. Even if she was reduced to living in a
town flat, it was better than this constant state of nervous
tension whenever the man was around.

Somehow she managed to concentrate on
answering Dr. Morgan's rapid fire questions, but she could sense
Spencer listening to every word. Once she was forced to ask Jake to
repeat his question. Spencer's quiet presence was a distraction she
found hard to ignore.

"
Well, I think that covers everything."
Jake nodded several minutes later. "I'm only sorry we didn't get
time to put a face to the name before this."

He shook his head. "Spencer and I worked
for over fifteen hours on that terrible accident. The trials of a
running a semi-rural practice," he mused, in a tone that told her
he wouldn't have it any other way.

He walked across the kitchen to stare at
the cake. "So, normal surgery hours are eight in the morning until
five thirty, Monday to Friday. We cover the nights in rotation with
the other two practices here in town. Weekends we run a Saturday
morning surgery."

He waved a hand. "There's a roster for
that. The rest of the weekend is covered for emergencies only.
You'll find we have our own x-ray facility and pharmacy. The more
intricate surgery cases we can't handle here are taken by ambulance
or helicopter to the nearest base hospital."

"
Orderly and clean cut." She nodded. "Just
the way I like it."

"
Good. I'm afraid this cake has far too
many calories." Jake patted his flat waistline, shaking his head
regretfully. "Okay, everyone, we have patients waiting. Spencer,
hang on for a moment, will you? I've just had a call out and before
I go I have something I need to discuss with you."

"
Well done," Edith said, as they left the
kitchen together. "I knew you would work out, when we first
interviewed you. Welcome to the team. Kevin and I have been here
six months and we're loving it."

"
Thank you. I'm relieved Dr. Morgan didn't
ask something I couldn't answer."

"
Oh, Jake's all right." Edith smiled.
"Spencer can have his moments, but on the whole they're a great
team to work for. Kevin says we're very lucky to be here. See you
later."

Kate smiled as the other woman walked away.
She was about to continue to her own rooms when the reception area
suddenly erupted into chaos. A young woman began to scream.
Spinning towards the sound, Kate saw she was heavily pregnant and
staring down at the large, damp patch spreading rapidly over her
clothes.

The young woman glanced up and caught
Kate's gaze. She looked terrified.

"
Oh, my God," she moaned. "My waters have
just broken."

"
Dr. Morgan just got called out to an
emergency," Kris said, as she and Kate hurried to assist the
frightened young woman. "Mandy's been waiting for some time to see
him."

"
Help me get her into my room, then." Kate
instructed the receptionist. "Hello, Mandy. Let's see if we can
make you more comfortable. Can you stand up for me?"

"
I think so but my back is so sore." Mandy
looked thoroughly miserable. She managed to struggle awkwardly to
her feet.

"
I'm Dr. Martin. How far along are you
now?" Kate asked as they helped her into the consulting room and
onto the examination couch.

Kris
left to tidy Reception and Cheryl
slipped into the room. The nurse stood at the head of the couch
holding Mandy's hand, trying to reassure her.

"
I'm about thirty-eight weeks," Mandy
mumbled in a miserable tone. "I feel like an overweight elephant."
She laid her hands over her distended abdomen. "I've had dreadful
backache all night. I had no idea my baby was on its way, but now
my waters have broken and I just know I can feel that the baby is
ready to come—everything's happening at once, Dr.
Martin!"

Kate grasped her free hand. "I'm afraid
babies are like that, and my name is Kate."

"
Thanks, Kate." Mandy squeezed her fingers
tightly. "What's going to happen now? Oh, I think I'm having a
contraction!"

Kate returned her tight grip. "Please try
to hold on. We need to check the baby's position first."

"
I'll try," Mandy nodded jerkily.

"
Good girl. I'll be as quick as I can."
Moving down to the foot of the couch, Kate quickly completed a
complete pelvic examination and found that Mandy was already fully
dilated. The baby's head was engaged and birth was
imminent.

"
I need to push. I can't hold on," Mandy
managed to gasp as another pain curved her body upwards.

"
Everything looks in order." Kate glanced
up. "You need to breathe, Mandy. You can do this, we can do it
together.
Breathe
! And push when you need to. Breathe in and
push."

Kate found she had no choice but to begin
delivering the baby. Gently the child's soft, damp head crowned,
but as she slid her fingers down the baby's neck to check for the
umbilical cord, she was alarmed to find several loops coiled around
the baby's neck. Her alarm turned to dismay when she discovered
they were so tight she couldn't pull then over the baby's head to
enable a safe delivery.

She looked up quickly. "You're going to
have to hold on for a while, Mandy. Whatever you do, don't push. Do
you remember your breathing exercises? You need them right
now."

"
I don't know," Mandy cried tearfully as
she began to pant awkwardly. "I can't do this. Call my husband. I
need Matt to be here!"

"
Yes, you can do it, sweetie. Breathe and
pant. Good girl." Kate quickly lifted her eyes to meet Cheryl's.
"I'm going to need an extra pair of hands. Hurry and see who you
can find for me. And get Kris to call for Mandy's
husband."

"
I'll be as quick as I can." Cheryl nodded
and slipped out of the room.

It seemed like hours before the nurse
returned, but Kate knew it had only been a few minutes. Spencer was
following close behind. He closed the door.