Marrying The Boss (8 page)

She nodded, her chest tight with the
thought of what could have happened to the boy if they hadn't been
called in. "Then Ryan was very lucky you were
available."

He turned his four wheel
drive
into
the car park. "I'll make the time tonight to see him again. It's
your first day and you're still getting your bearings."

And becoming more confused by the hour,
Kate thought distractedly before she said simply, "Thank you. But,
please let me know about Ryan's progress."

"
Of course. I'll let you know tomorrow."

A strained kind of silence developed between
them. Once back in the surgery, Kate was grateful to escape and
distract her inner thoughts with the worries and concerns of her
afternoon list of patients.

She was gaining in confidence as she worked
her way steadily through her afternoon list and getting to know the
people she saw. She looked up some hours later to discover it was
after six in the evening. Cheryl was shepherding her last patient
out.

She threw down her pen, reaching to switch
off her computer. "Bath and then bed, I think."

Despite her weariness, the day had been
immensely satisfying. She smothered a yawn. After a good night's
sleep, she could look forward to a fresh day tomorrow with renewed
eagerness. She enjoyed her work; it gave her a much needed
focus.

"
Go home, Dr. Martin. You've done enough
today." Cheryl put her head around the door, catching Kate in a
second yawn. "I'll finish tidying up then I'm off too. Dr. Morgan
has the duty tonight."

"
I'll see you tomorrow, then." Kate stood
up. "And thanks for your help. I know the first day with a new
doctor is never easy."

"
No problem." Cheryl smiled her
appreciation. "You're so easy to work for, it's a pleasure. Now, go
home. You've earned it. Night."

"
Good night." Kate didn't need any further
urging.

There was no sign of
Spencer
as
she crossed the reception area. As Kate said goodnight to Kris, she
felt a sense of gratitude she hadn't encountered him. She didn't
want to encounter those dark questioning eyes that seemed to
understand more than she wished him to know. And held questions she
had no way of answering.

Letting herself out the back entrance, she
unlocked her recently purchased hatchback and got behind the wheel
with a relieved sigh.

So much for her first day. It had
certainly been frantic. But she had enjoyed her time. As she put
the car in motion, she wondered what tomorrow would
bring.

Arriving at the cottage, she locked the
front door behind her before entering the bathroom and turned on
the taps. While the water was running, she walked into the compact
kitchen to pour herself a glass of chilled white wine and set out a
plate of plump, fresh strawberries she'd left on the windowsill to
sweeten in the warm sunshine.

Now she was finally home, she didn't feel
like anything more substantial. What appetite she'd possessed had
been smothered in tiredness.

"
Just as well you weren't silly enough to
agree to go running tonight." She spoke sternly to her frowning
reflection in the misty bathroom mirror.

As she turned away, a wanton picture of a
determined Spencer pounding through the warm twilight surfaced in
her mind. When he invited her to join him, a small part of her
desperately wanted to go running with him. Thankfully common sense
and her inner wariness had prevailed over such a foolish idea.

"
Be happy with doing sit-ups in front of
the television," she muttered, discarding her clothes and stepping
into the bath. She lay back, sliding down into the steaming water.
"You can't get into any real trouble with sit-ups."

As the water flowed up over the ivory curve
of her breasts, she reached out to pick a strawberry from the plate
balanced on the edge of the bath. She took a bite of the sweet
fruit then lifted the wineglass to her lips.

"
Heaven." She sighed, dropping her head
back.

The cool wine ran down her parched throat.
Closing her eyes on a soft groan, she began to sink lower into the
water, letting the heat work its magic on her tired limbs. Thirty
minutes later, she was still drifting pleasantly, hovering
precipitously on the brink of sleep when the telephone
shrilled.

"
I'm not answering it," she grumbled,
slipping lower into the water, trying to block out the sound. She
didn't want to move, but the insistent ringing continued unabated.
"All right, all right. I'm coming."

She rose up in her bath, pushing wet hair
out of her eyes. Of course, it could be a medical emergency. The
sudden thought nudged her from the cooling water. Pulling a towel
around her naked body, she padded through into the kitchen.

She lifted the receiver. "Kate Martin."

"
Hello, Kate? It's Spencer."

"
Spencer..." Kate gasped, nearly dropping
the receiver. Her brows drew together. "Ah hello, Dr. Stelanos.
I...is it Ryan? Has something happened? Is he worse?"

"
No, Ryan's fine. I saw him earlier and
he's looking more comfortable. I'm actually phoning because I was
hoping you weren't doing anything this evening." His tone sounded
impatient. "You don't have any plans?"

Kate wondered what he was asking. "No, no
plans. Just a bath and an early night. It's been a long
day."

"
Fine. I know this is rather short notice,
but I was hoping you could come over."

"
Come over?" Kate stalled for time. She
knew he could hear the consternation in her voice.

As invitations went, it was decidedly
abrupt. She was at a loss to know what he could want with her
at—she cast a swift glance at the kitchen clock—eight thirty on a
Monday night.

"
Sorry, I'm not explaining myself very
well," Spencer muttered roughly. "Look, I'd just got back from
checking on Ryan and found my elderly aunt has taken a fall in the
kitchen. She's been trying to convince me she's fine. But I want to
admit her to hospital for some tests and overnight observation as
she did lose consciousness briefly after hitting her head when she
fell."

He paused then said, "I need someone to
look after Jamie until I get back. Alexia is very stubborn and
she's point blank refused to go anywhere in an ambulance. I'll have
to drive her, but I shouldn't be more than a couple of hours.
Jake's out on a call and Edith and Kevin have both switched off
their mobiles." She heard his sharply indrawn breath. "Look, I
hoped you could see your way clear to helping me out. I'm well
aware that—"

"
Of course I will," Kate interjected
quickly. "I'll be over right away. I just need to throw some
clothes on. Can you manage? Right now I'm standing here in just my
bath towel, dripping all over the floor."

She caught her breath, listening for an
answer. Her exposed skin dimpled suddenly with the chill of
gooseflesh. "Dr. Stelanos? Did you hear what I said?"

The silence lengthened. Kate's heart began
to hammer in her chest. "Hello?" she questioned the silence
again.

"
Sorry, no problem," he replied at last.
"I'll see you soon. Take the same path over the hill Jamie and I
used the other day. You can't miss the house." He paused. "And
Kate..."

"
Yes?" Kate's mind roiled with many
medically related questions she should be asking, but they refused
to reach her tongue. She pulled her towel closer around her against
the chill feathering across her bare skin.

"
Thank you. I'll owe you one for tonight. I
won't forget this."

"
Please, you don't owe me anything," she
replied quickly. "It's the least I can do in the circumstances. I
promise I won't be long."

Mumbling a quick goodbye, she hung up
before Spencer could say anything more. She would help out, even if
it drew her closer to the man and his son; closer than she ever
wanted to contemplate. "I guess I can't do anything about that
now."

The thought gave her only a tiny measure of
comfort. In her bedroom she pulled black jeans and a white cotton
sweatshirt over a lacy peach bra and matching panties. Ruffling her
fingers through her damp curls, she grabbed her house keys and let
herself out into the warm scented twilight.

Kate found the path to Spencer's house
easily enough, a well-worn trail that snaked up the hill through
the stands of moon shadowed trees. A cheeky pair of tiny birds with
beautifully fanned tail feathers flew down to accompany her,
chattering and darting overhead as she hurried along.

The path finally ended in extensively fenced
paddocks. In the moonlit darkness she could see horses inside the
enclosures. A few whickered softly as she hurried along the path
that skirted the paddocks.

The house itself looked to be quite old.
It stood on an up-land of flat ground. Built of mellow, honey
colored stone, single storied, sprawling and solid, it appeared to
be part of the landscape around it. Kate was enchanted. She'd had
been expecting something plainer, perhaps more masculine and
functional. Her footfalls echoed on weathered planking as she
stepped up onto the wide, elegant veranda that embraced the house.
Somewhere beyond the house a night bird called, a sad and lonely
sound.

Lobo lay sprawled across the front door
mat, his head on his paws. He rolled his eyes as Kate stepped
cautiously around him, but he didn't move. The front door jerked
open as she reached up to knock.

"
You really were in the bath.
Damn
,
I'm sorry about that." Spencer's gaze flicked over her damp hair.
He stood in the doorway, wearing jeans and a black cotton shirt.
His face looked tired and drawn. "Thank you for coming at such
short notice. I really appreciate your helping out like
this."

There were faint shadows beneath his eyes,
no longer shielded by his glasses. His dark hair was again
disordered, as if he'd been running his fingers through it. The
stark look of strain and worry in his expression made Kate's heart
contract with concern.

That odd shiver rippled once more through
her senses, stirring up doubts. She drew her bottom lip between her
teeth. Now that she was here, she really felt like running away
again. She was becoming too deeply involved with this man and his
son and there could be absolutely no future in it.

Don't
be stupid, it's an emergency.
She forced her
thoughts away from the need to comfort Spencer and back onto the
practical reasons for her arrival.

"
It's the least I could do," she said,
slipping off her sandals.

Spencer stood back. Lobo got up, stretched
and yawned before following them inside.

Kate looked around. "Where is your aunt?
Can I do anything for her?"

"
She's resting." Spencer's mouth turned
down. "There's nothing more we can do. I have her lying down with a
blanket and a pillow on the back seat of my truck. She hates
ambulances and she won't listen to reason."

He shook his head. "She insists she's
fine. I'm afraid Greek women are taught to suffer in silence and
Alexia is a very stubborn old woman. She's still trying to get up
and walk away. I finally persuaded her to take some analgesic and
lie down."

Looking into his face, Kate could see that
same inflexible streak reflected in his angry eyes and set
expression. For a moment he appeared to be overwhelmingly Greek. An
arrogantly stubborn and dominating man determined to have his own
inflexible way in everything, despite anyone's
objections.

The thought sent an unwelcome ripple of
awareness feathering down her spine. Another very good reason why
she should be backing well away from this troubled situation right
now. This man would always demand what he wanted and she had no way
to give.

She took an involuntary step backwards.
"But, you think there's something more she's not telling
you?"

"
Yes. She's trying to hide it, but I know
she's in considerable pain. At first I thought she'd fractured her
hip."

"
How did it happen?"

Spencer led the way further into the
house. "She tripped over the cat as she was cleaning up after
making dinner. Despite her protests, I've examined her thoroughly
and there's extensive bruising over her hip, so we really ought to
exclude a possible fracture. And having lost consciousness, she
needs to be on neuro observation for the next twenty four
hours."

"
Of course, hospital rest is the only
choice for her. If she stayed here, she's likely to do more damage
to her hip by attempting to handle her normal routine. Can you
convince her to stay in hospital?"

"
Alexia thinks I'm making too much of this.
She'll fight me all the way." Spencer's mouth drew tight. "But,
I'll win in the end. I have to."

"
Good luck," Kate offered tightly. "Let me
know if there's anything more I can do."