‘Hello, Moses. It’s nice to meet you. My name is Meg.’
The man gave her a wide smile, his white teeth flashing against his black skin. ‘Pleased to meet you, Dr Meg.’
He started the engine, giving Meg no chance to correct him about her true status as the engine roared to life. The noise inside the truck was deafening for a few seconds before the gears engaged, and they set off with a shuddering lurch which pitched her sideways into Jack Trent.
Meg flushed as she quickly righted herself. ‘Sorry.’
‘Don’t worry about it.’ Jack placed a booted foot against the dashboard and braced himself as they jolted over another rut. His hand shot out and he grasped Meg’s arm as she bounced on the seat. ‘I know it isn’t very ladylike, but try bracing your feet against the dashboard. It’s the only way to keep yourself steady, I’m afraid.’
Meg did as he’d suggested and after a few moments found that he was right. It was easier to maintain her balance once she had something to brace herself against.
‘Thanks,’ she said with a grateful smile. ‘It’s a lot better like this.’
He shrugged dismissively, turning to stare out of the window as though, now that his duty was done, he intended to leave her to her own devices. Meg took a small breath, refusing to let slip the words she could feel welling up inside her. If he wanted to make it clear that he didn’t care about her comfort then that was up to him. She certainly didn’t intend to make a fuss if that was what he expected!
They travelled in silence for a couple of miles before Jack spoke again. Meg stiffened but, oddly, there was no hint of the expected hostility in his voice.
‘Working out here will be quite a revelation for you, I imagine. I remember the first time I went overseas to work, not long after I qualified. I felt as though I should go straight back to med school because I was constantly being assailed with things I’d never dreamed I would have to deal with.’
He turned to look at her and his grey eyes were warm with the memory as he smiled. ‘I used to lie in bed at night and pinch myself because I couldn’t believe the things I’d seen and done throughout the day!’
‘Then you’ve never regretted getting involved in aid work?’ she queried, emboldened to ask by the fact that he seemed to have dropped the air of aloofness for once.
‘Never.’ He shook his head, pushing back a lock of hair which had blown over his forehead. Both of the truck’s windows had been rolled down, although the breeze that flowed into the cab was almost as hot as the air inside it. Meg could see damp patches forming on the front of Jack’s shirt where the cotton was sticking to his chest and knew that her own clothes were sticking to her as well.
When they lurched over another pothole and her arm brushed his, she could feel the heat of his skin burning into her and knew that the warmth of her skin had flowed into him. It was a strangely disturbing thought that their bodies’ heat was mingling that way.
She cleared her throat, not wanting to think about it. Why should just the touch of this man’s arm seem so very intimate? It didn’t make sense. ‘So you don’t regret not devoting more time to your career, then?’
‘You mean that if I didn’t go on these aid trips then I could be at home, earning more money?’ He gave a dry laugh. ‘No, I don’t regret it. Money isn’t all that important to me, if you really want to know. I believe there are more important things in life than buying a bigger car or a more luxurious house, oddly enough!’
Meg frowned as she heard the acerbic note in his voice. Maybe he was just making sure that she understood he had higher ideals than that, yet there had seemed to be something more to that statement than had first appeared.
‘I don’t find it at all odd,’ she replied quietly. ‘I agree with you, in fact. Money isn’t everything. It certainly doesn’t buy true happiness. That comes from within yourself, from knowing that you are doing the things you want to do and that you are happy with the choices you’ve made.’
His brows rose steeply. ‘A very altruistic attitude, Meg. I didn’t realise that you felt that way.’
She shrugged, not sure that she liked the mocking note in his voice which seemed at odds with the searching look he gave her. ‘You don’t know anything about me, not about the sort of person I am, anyway. References and CVs aren’t very much to go on when judging someone’s character, are they?’
‘Maybe not. But then I doubt if anyone relies solely on what’s written on a piece of paper, even in a work situation. I think most people rely on their instincts when they meet someone new.’
And his instincts had told him that she wasn’t the sort of person he wanted to work with? It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him but she managed to contain the words. What was the point in asking him a question like that when she knew what the answer would be? It certainly wouldn’t make her feel better to hear him state bluntly that he’d taken an immediate dislike to her.
She turned away before he saw the hurt in her eyes. She’d never been faced with this sort of situation before because she’d always got on well with the people she’d worked with. However, it was different with Jack Trent. Maybe it was foolish to be so sensitive but she couldn’t help it.
‘Is something wrong, Meg?’
She shook her head, hating the fact that he seemed to have sensed that she was upset. ‘Of course not. I’m just hot, that’s all.’
She took a tissue out of her pocket and mopped her forehead. Jack sighed as he settled back in the seat.
‘It will get even hotter than this.’
‘Then I shall just have to get used to it, won’t I? I’m sure I’ll survive, Dr Trent.’
‘I’m sure you will.’
There was an odd note in his voice, which made her look at him. However, he wasn’t looking at her but staring straight ahead, his gaze locked on the road as it wended its way through the bush. How, then, did she know instinctively that what had happened had upset him?
She had no idea yet she sensed it was true. Jack was upset because she’d been upset, and the knot of pain which had settled in the pit of her stomach eased a little. Maybe his attitude towards her wasn’t set in stone after all, and she would be able to convince him that he’d been wrong to have doubts about her. The thought was enough to make her spirits lift.
He cleared his throat and she turned to look at him again, feeling her heart immediately sink when she saw that the aloof mask was firmly in place once more. What a fool she was to have imagined that he might have had a change of heart so soon!
‘It will take a couple of days once we get under way to assess the kind of problems we’re going to be dealing with. As you know, my main area of interest is eye disorders, but I shall be doing my share of general surgery, as well as dealing with whatever medical problems we encounter.’
‘That was something I was going to ask you about,’ Meg put in quietly, deliberately confining her thoughts to work because it seemed wiser. She was there to do a job, not to make friends and influence people, and she would be better off remembering that. ‘I know a lot of these overseas aid trips specialise in various fields and I wasn’t sure if that was what we would be doing.’
‘Ideally it would be wonderful if we could specialise. Diseases of the eye, for instance, are a huge problem in a lot of developing countries. I would like nothing better than to spend the next three months devoting my time solely to that area. However, it just isn’t practical,’ he explained levelly. ‘Oncamba has been cut off from the rest of the world for so long that the people