‘Of course he will. I’m just being silly, aren’t I?’ Margaret blew her nose. ‘The consultant told me that he has high hopes the operation will be a complete success, so I have to remember that and not get upset. I certainly don’t want your uncle to see me weeping and wailing.’
‘It’s the last thing he needs,’ Emma agreed, admiring her aunt’s steely determination. ‘Uncle Jim will need plenty of rest after he’s had the operation, though. I hope he understands that.’
‘Oh, I shall make sure he does,’ Margaret said firmly. ‘He’ll be in hospital for about twelve days and after that I intend to take him away to the cottage. Jim will need at least six weeks to recover from the operation and I won’t be able to keep him out of the surgery for that length of time if we’re at home.’
‘Which is where I come in,’ Emma said quickly, stifling a small pang of regret. Maybe she had been looking forward to a much-needed rest after a gruelling six months spent working overseas, but this was an emergency. If she ran the practice while her uncle recuperated, he would be less likely to worry. It was a small price to pay for all the love her aunt and uncle had lavished on her over the years.
‘I’ll take charge of the surgery while you’re away,’ she began, but her aunt shook her head.
‘Oh, no, you don’t need to do that, dear. Daniel will be here, so if you could just help out if it gets really busy, that would be more than enough.’
‘Daniel?’ Emma repeated, somewhat at a loss.
‘Yes. I’m sure I told you last night when you phoned that Daniel had agreed to step in earlier than planned. Or did I? I was so worried, you see.’
‘Daniel who?’ Emma put in hurriedly before her aunt could drift off at a tangent again.
‘Daniel Kennedy.’
Emma swung round when a deep voice answered her question. Her green eyes widened when she saw the tall, dark-haired man who was standing behind her. Just for a moment shock stole her ability to speak as she stared at him in dismay. It had been five years since she’d last seen him, and a lot had happened during that time, yet all of a sudden it felt as though she was right back to where she had been all those years ago—madly in love with the man she wanted to spend her whole life with. The thought scared her witless.
‘Hello, Emma.’ Daniel smiled at her but there was a wariness about the look he gave her, Emma realised, as though he wasn’t sure how she would feel about seeing him again.
He was right to wonder, too, Emma thought grimly as she rose to her feet. Maybe she had believed at one time that Daniel was the man for her, but she didn’t believe it any longer. The truth was that Daniel had used her, slept with her and then cast her aside when he had discovered she’d been getting too serious about him. It had taken her a long time to accept what he had done, but nowadays she was under no illusions. Daniel had never truly cared about her. He’d only ever cared about himself.
Emma took a deep breath. Maybe she hadn’t expected to see him here, but she would deal with it. She was no longer the naïve and trusting young woman she had been back then. She had grown up now and she had seen too much of the world to be dazzled by a man like Daniel Kennedy ever again!
Daniel felt as though his smile had been pasted into place. He had been dreading seeing Emma again for a number of reasons, although he wasn’t about to delve into them right then. He held out his hand, playing the role of old friend to the best of his ability even though he knew it wasn’t true. He and Emma had been a lot more than friends at one time.
‘It’s good to see you again, Emma. How are you?’
‘Fine, thank you.’
She shook his hand and a frisson ran through him when he felt the coolness of her skin. Just for a moment he was reminded of all the other occasions when he had touched her. Her skin had been cool then but it had soon warmed up as he had stroked and caressed her. The memory sent a surge of heat coursing through him and he hurriedly blanked it out, knowing how foolish it was to go down that route.
‘This must have come as a shock to you?’
‘It has.’ She glanced at her aunt and drew him aside. ‘Aunt Margaret just told me that Uncle Jim has been putting off having the bypass done. Is that true?’
‘Yes, it is.’ Daniel sighed. ‘You know how dedicated Jim is. I expect he was worried about what would happen to the practice if he took any time off.’
‘That’s so typical of him. He puts everyone else’s needs before his own.’ She gave him a hard look. ‘Did you know that he was delaying having surgery?’
‘No. I knew Jim had angina, of course, but he never admitted how bad things had got until last week,’ Daniel answered truthfully. ‘I suspect he only told me then because he needed my help. He’d finally agreed to have his op at the end of the month and he wanted me to cover for him.’
‘Really?’ Emma frowned. ‘I don’t understand why he asked you to take over the practice. He knew I was coming home, so why didn’t he ask me?’
‘I can’t answer that. You’ll have to ask Jim, although I suggest you leave it until after he’s had his operation.’ He shrugged when he saw her mouth tighten. It was obvious that she didn’t appreciate his advice but he refused to let it deter him. ‘Jim needs peace and quiet more than anything else at the moment. What he doesn’t need, Emma, is for us to be conducting some sort of personal vendetta.’
‘Don’t flatter yourself,’ she snapped back. ‘The days when I cared enough to fight with you, Daniel, are long gone.’
‘Good. Then it won’t cause any problems if I’m in charge of the practice in your uncle’s absence.’
‘The only problem I have is understanding why you’ve agreed to do it. I mean, working in the middle of nowhere is hardly a step up the professional ladder, is it, Daniel?’
Daniel flinched when he heard the scorn in her voice. It didn’t make it any easier to know that he only had himself to blame for it either. He’d been so desperate to convince her that there was no future for them that he had led her to believe that all he was interested in was his career. Now he was reaping the consequences.
‘It’s all good experience,’ he said quietly. ‘Plus, I’m very fond of your aunt and uncle. I’m happy to help in any way I can.’
‘How very altruistic of you.’ She smiled but her green eyes were chilly. ‘Of course a cynic would wonder if there was an ulterior motive to your generosity. Still, I’m sure the truth will come out at some stage.’
She turned away before he could reply, not that he could think of anything to say in his defence. Emma wouldn’t believe him if he told her that he wasn’t interested in personal advancement and never had been. All of a sudden he bitterly regretted those claims he had made about going into private practice one day, but what else could he have done? Accepted what she’d been offering him, knowing that it could ruin both their lives?
Daniel’s heart was heavy as he excused himself and made his way along the corridor. There was a coffee machine at the bottom of the stairs and he fed some coins into it. It disgorged a stream of insipid-looking liquid into a plastic cup but he didn’t care how it looked or tasted even. He took it over to the window and stood there staring out across the town. Avondale was a pretty little market town in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales. During the summer months, the population virtually doubled thanks to a steady influx of tourists, but at this time of the year there were few tourists willing to brave the inclement weather. He had first come to the town to do his GP training and that was how he had met Emma. She had just completed her rotations and was enjoying a well-deserved break before she took up a junior registrar’s post in Scotland with a top surgical team.
Daniel knew that competition for surgical posts was always fierce, and that it was particularly