‘We’re having a party, Granny,’ Michael piped up. ‘Only Mummy said that it’s a secret.’
Beth laughed. ‘Not any longer it isn’t!’
Now that she was sure that the cut was clean, she covered it with some antiseptic-impregnated gauze then added a large adhesive dressing printed with cartoon characters.
Michael was entranced by the dressing. Beth chuckled as she followed him out to Reception and watched him leaving the surgery, bent almost double so that he could look at his knee.
‘One more satisfied customer, wouldn’t you agree?’ she said to Eileen behind the desk.
‘I certainly would. If only they were all so easy to please…Well, look who’s here! Where did you spring from, stranger?’
Beth looked round to see who the receptionist was speaking to and felt a frisson run down her spine when she saw the tall, dark haired man who had just entered the surgery. He was handsome enough to have warranted a second or even a third look but it wasn’t that which kept her staring at him. There was just something strangely familiar about him, yet she knew for a fact that they had never met.
‘I arrived late last night—very late, in fact!’ He gave a deep chuckle as the middle-aged receptionist rushed round the desk and gave him a hug. ‘But it was worth it to be on the receiving end of a greeting like that! It’s good to see you Eileen. You’re looking great.’
Beth felt another ripple run through her. Not only did he look familiar, he sounded familiar, too! But where on earth had she heard that voice before?
She reran the mellifluous tones through her head but she couldn’t place them. She was still trying to pin down the elusive memory when the man turned towards her and Beth saw a frown cross his handsome face.
‘I know this must sound crazy but have we met?’ He stared at her then shrugged. ‘You look so familiar but I can’t for the life of me recall where I’ve seen you before.’
‘You’ll have to do better than that!’ Eileen laughed as she linked her arm through his and led him to the desk. ‘You don’t honestly think that Beth is going to fall for that old line? It’s got whiskers on it!’
‘I’m out of practice. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!’
He chuckled softly as he reached Beth, his dark blue eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled at her. Now that he was standing in front of her she could tell that he must be at least six feet tall, with broad shoulders and a powerful chest tapering down to slim hips and incredibly long legs. He was casually dressed in khaki chinos and a matching shirt, and although the clothes were clean they were very creased.
Beth had a strong impression of a man to whom material possessions meant very little. Everything he was wearing was functional but basic, from his clothes to the inexpensive watch strapped to his broad wrist by means of a plain leather band. Whoever he was, he certainly didn’t feel the need to impress people by his appearance, she decided, surprised by the speed with which she had made such a judgement.
‘OK, then, I’ll try again—but this is for Eileen’s benefit, mind you. I know better than to fall out with the one woman around here who knows how to make a decent cup of coffee.’ He held out his hand and for some reason Beth found herself obediently taking it.
‘Of all the surgeries in all the towns in all the world, I have to run into you here.’ He grinned engagingly at her. ‘Now, if you could just tell me who you are and put me out of my misery I shall be eternally grateful. If we have met before then I apologise for not remembering where and when. Jet lag does tend to liquidise the brain cells, I’m afraid.’
‘I don’t believe that we have met,’ she replied, laughing at his rueful expression. ‘Although I have to confess that I had a feeling that I’d seen you somewhere before when you walked in.’
‘Maybe we met in another life,’ he suggested lightly. However, she wasn’t blind to the frown which had crossed his face while she’d been speaking.
The telephone rang and Eileen regretfully excused herself to answer it. It was obvious that the receptionist was intrigued by what was happening but Beth decided that it might be better to call a halt. She had work to do and that had to come first, pleasant though this interlude had been.
‘Who knows?’ she replied with a smile as she started to withdraw her hand. However, the stranger held onto it.
‘You still haven’t told me who you are.’
‘So I haven’t. Sorry. I’m Beth Campbell, the new practice nurse—’ She stopped when she heard his swift intake of breath, feeling her heart start to race when she felt his fingers tighten around hers.
‘You’re Claire’s sister, aren’t you? No wonder you seemed so familiar when I first saw you. You look a lot like her.’ The blue eyes swept over her before coming back to her face, and she saw the regret they held. ‘I was so sorry when I heard that she had been killed. I was out of the country at the time and I didn’t find out what had happened until months later. It was a shock even though I hadn’t seen her in years.’
‘You knew Claire?’ Beth whispered. She withdrew her hand abruptly, afraid that he would feel the tremors that were racing through her. Her mind was starting to fit together all the bits of the puzzle about who he was but she simply couldn’t believe what it was telling her.
‘Yes. We worked together in London, way back. We were good friends at one time, too. I’m Adam Knight, by the way. Maybe she mentioned me?’
‘Yes, she did.’ Beth could feel the ground tilting beneath her feet and knew that she had to get away before she disgraced herself. ‘I’d better get back to work. I’ve still got patients to see.’
‘And I’d better let Chris know that I’m here. I’d have been here earlier only I wanted to stop by the hospital to see how uncle Jonathan was doing,’ he replied easily, but she could see the puzzlement in his eyes and knew that he had been surprised by her brusqueness.
‘Dr Wright is your uncle?’ she asked hollowly. That Adam Knight was not only here in Winton but actually about to start work at the surgery was too much to take in. She felt as though she had woken in the middle of some sort of crazy dream.
‘Yes. Funnily enough, that’s how Claire and I met. She overheard me saying that I had an uncle in Winton and told me that she had grown up not far from here.’ Adam sighed. ‘It’s strange how these things happen. I’m not sure if you can call it coincidence or fate.’
Neither was she!
Beth murmured something, although she couldn’t recall what she’d said a moment later. She hurried back to her room and closed the door, needing a few minutes to compose herself before calling in her next patient. But how easy was it going to be to deal with this situation?
Discovering that Adam Knight had links with the surgery changed everything. How could she risk asking him for help now when she had no idea how he might react? Maybe she was doing him an injustice, but she had always suspected that he must have known why Claire had wanted to see him, and that was why he hadn’t replied to her letter.
He hadn’t wanted to face up to his responsibilities, that was what it had boiled down to. In the circumstances, she’d known all along that asking him for help was a long shot. However, it was one thing to approach a stranger with the request but another entirely to broach it to a colleague. Frankly, the situation could become intolerable if he refused. This job was important to her and she didn’t want to risk losing it…
More important to her than Hannah was? a small voice whispered.
She took a deep breath.
Nothing was more important than Hannah. Neither her job nor Adam Knight’s feelings were of any consequence weighed against that. It was Hannah who mattered. Nobody else!
Somehow