MALLORY reached for the next hold, feeling her muscles stretch. This was what she liked most about climbing, testing her body to its limits and then getting to the top and knowing she’d achieved it all by herself. She tensed and pulled up, then let the crampon do its work and make her toehold safer, before reaching up for the next hold. She liked taking risks, yes, but she always calculated them first. She didn’t climb in blizzards or driving rain or when the temperature was below zero and the rocks were covered in black ice—well, not unless she was part of a group, doing something she secretly regarded as training for Everest, her long-held dream. And even then only when she had an ice axe and crampons.
Should she accept Will’s offer? And was he right? Did she deserve a second chance? Maybe. If it had happened to someone else, she wouldn’t have judged that person too harshly. But she’d prided herself on being the perfect doctor, on never making mistakes. On being good enough to meet the standards her father and brothers had already set.
‘Concentrate on the rocks,’ she told herself crossly. She had to think about the climbing. If she didn’t, she’d slip and fall. She knew the way it worked—she’d done it often enough. Just think about climbing, and let her subconscious go to work on solving her problems. By the time she’d reached the top of Helvellyn, she’d have the answer.
She gave all her attention to the rocks, focusing on the climb, judging each handhold and foothold with a practised eye. When she reached the top, she sat down and looked out over the valleys below her. Ullswater glimmered in the pale January sun to one side of her, Thirlmere to the other. It was a beautifully clear day without so much as a hint of a cloud, so she could see Blencathra in the distance and the peak at Skiddaw. It was freezing cold. She couldn’t feel the tip of her nose and the exposed part of her face had probably been whipped red raw by the wind, but she couldn’t help smiling. Because she’d just come home.
Home.
It wasn’t really home—she wasn’t sure if anywhere was home right now—but the peaks of Cumbria had called her north in the dark days before her resignation. And it could be home, at least for a while, if she acted as Will’s locum.
Though Will Cooper was another problem. There was a definite pull between them. If they’d met in other circumstances…But no. He was in plaster and pins. And that was enough to keep her common sense working. If she worked with him—and it was a big if—their relationship would be strictly business.
Her mobile phone shrilled. She pulled it from her inside pocket and answered automatically without bothering to look at the display first. ‘Mallory Ryman.’
‘Hey, there, Wonder Woman.’
Mallory chuckled. Of all the people she could have done with talking to right now, her sister-in-law Renee was top of the list. ‘Hey, there, Renny-babes.’
There was a pained sigh. ‘Repeat after me. Ruh-nay.’
‘Ren-nee-ee,’ Mallory teased. ‘How are you?’
‘Fine, honey. And where are you?’
‘Top of Helvellyn. Views to die for. You’d love it.’
‘With all that hard work first? Give me a Jacuzzi any day!’
Mallory’s grin widened. Renee was an unabashed hedonist. Her suggested solution to Mallory’s dilemma had been to spend a week together at a spa. Flotation tank, Indian head massage, facial, Jacuzzi, the works. Followed by some serious shopping. ‘Spent all Mikey’s money yet?’
‘I’m working on it,’ Renee teased back. ‘Seriously, honey, you haven’t been in touch for over a week. The menfolk are muttering. And, um, Geoff’s been up to see us.’
‘Right.’ Mallory coughed. ‘You didn’t tell him where I was?’
‘We don’t actually know where you are, do we, honey? Just that you’re somewhere in the Lakes, getting your head together. Anyway, I had a little chat with him. So he knows you’re not going to change your mind.’
‘Thanks, Renee.’
‘And you did the right thing. He’s a lovely guy, but he’s not the one for you. He’s too tame. You need Spiderman.’
‘Don’t you mean Superman?’
‘Nope, I mean Spiderman. You need a climber. Someone who understands why you do what you do—and wants to do it with you.’
‘Mikey’s a climber and you wouldn’t be seen dead in crampons,’ Mallory pointed out.
‘Yeah, but I understand why he does it. That makes a difference. So, has the climbing helped?’
Mallory sighed. ‘Yes and no.’
‘Want my take on it?’ Without pausing for an answer, Renee continued, ‘You’re a good doctor, Mallory. You’re cutting yourself to pieces over a mistake—but it’s the wrong mistake you’re focusing on.’
‘What do you mean, the wrong mistake?’
‘Your patient. It could have happened to Mikey, to Jonno, to your dad. The Rymans aren’t perfect. No, honey, your mistake was working too close to home.’
‘The New Forest isn’t exactly close to Gloucestershire.’
‘In the States, honey, that’d be doorstep distance. But that’s not what I mean. Charles is your father’s best friend, so you were personally involved even before you started seeing Geoff. And I don’t think you should come back here and be Doctor and Daughter either. You’d be worrying that the boys would be watching you and judging you all the time. What you need is a fresh start in a practice that isn’t linked to your personal life. So you’re there on your own merits. And your partners will stay that way—working partners.’
‘Maybe.’ Mallory sighed. ‘I can’t live off my savings for ever. I’ve got to get a job at some point.’ She grimaced as she remembered the balance that had flashed up when she’d withdrawn some cash earlier that day. ‘Sooner rather than later.’
‘So get the one you’re trained for.’
‘I’ve, um, been offered a locum position.’
‘Up there?’
Mallory quickly filled Renee in on the Will situation. ‘I told him what happened and he said I needed a second chance.’
‘You do,’ Renee said emphatically.
‘And it solves his problem, too—if I do it, he won’t have to worry about finding a locum who’ll do the hours he needs.’
‘Then go see the practice,’ Renee said. ‘See what you think. If you like them, give it a try. If it doesn’t work out, you can always move on. No one’ll think any less of you.’
‘I suppose you’re right.’
‘Course I am, honey. I’m always right.’ Renee chuckled. ‘Let me know how it goes. And I won’t breathe a word to the boys. Your mom thinks the same as I do. So you tell them when you’re good and ready, OK?’
‘OK.’
‘You take care, now.’
‘You, too. And, Renee?’
‘Yeah?’
‘Thanks.’
‘Any time, honey.’
By the time Mallory had come back down Helvellyn and driven back to Darrowthwaite, it was getting near the end of surgery.
‘I’m sorry, neither of the doctors will be able to see you today,’ the receptionist told her bluntly. ‘Their lists are