But the examination confirmed his worst fears. ‘You’ve broken your hip,’ he said gently. ‘I’m going to give you some pain relief now, but you need to be treated in St Piran.’ And, given her osteoporosis, fixing the fracture could turn out to be a real problem. Not that he was going to worry her about this now. ‘An ambulance is on its way.’
‘Hospital? But I can’t! What’ll happen to Smoky?’
The cat—which was almost as elderly as Mrs Harris—was sitting in her basket. She lifted her head on hearing her name and miaowed softly.
‘We could take her in and look after her until you’re home again,’ Tina suggested.
‘That’s sweet of you, love, but she’s terrified of dogs. No, I’ll have to stay with her.’
‘You need to go to hospital, Mrs Harris,’ Dragan said gently. ‘You need specialist treatment, something I can’t do for you here.’
‘I can’t leave Smoky,’ Mrs Harris said stubbornly.
‘Leave this with me,’ Tina said, and pulled her mobile phone out of her pocket.
Dragan assumed she was going to call one of her friends and concentrated on treating Mrs Harris, examining her to make sure he hadn’t missed any complications and to make sure she wasn’t going into shock from loss of blood, then giving her pain relief.
It was only when the door opened and he heard a soft voice saying, ‘Hello, Mrs Harris. Now, Smoky, shall we reassure your mum that we can find you somewhere nice to stay while she’s in hospital?’ that he realised who Tina had called.
Melinda.
Every nerve-end was aware of her. And how desperately he wanted to hold her close.
He glanced up. ‘Ms Fortesque,’ he said, as coolly as he could.
‘Dr Lovak,’ she responded, her tone equally cool.
She scooped up the cat and sat on the floor with Smoky on her lap, near enough for Mrs Harris to be able to touch her cat.
Yet more proof of why she was a brilliant vet. She understood her patients and their owners and she was sympathetic to both. When she left to rule Contarini, she’d leave a huge hole behind in the community as well as in his heart.
‘How long will you need to stay in hospital?’ Melinda asked.
‘Dr Lovak says it depends on how long it takes to heal,’ Mrs Harris said, her voice slightly shaky. ‘Am I going to be stuck on a bed in traction?’
‘Not with your hip—it’s usually treated by an operation,’ Dragan said. ‘The ambulance is already on its way, and they’ll take you to the emergency department at St Piran. They’ll give you an X-ray to see what the break looks like, and then they’ll decide how best to treat it. They might put a special pin in your thigh bone to fix it, or they might have to replace the head of your thigh bone with a special metal head. Or if the break is very bad, they might need to replace your hip completely. But they’ll get you up on your feet again as soon as possible, walking with a frame, and as soon as they think you’re able to look after yourself, they’ll let you come home again.’
‘They won’t put me in a home?’ Mrs Harris bit her lip. ‘Nursing homes don’t take pets, and I can’t be without my Smoky.’
Dragan took her hand. ‘They won’t put you in a home,’ he said. ‘The occupational health people will come out to see you, but not to put you in a home—they’ll want to see what help they can give you to make life easier, especially while you’re recovering. They can fit rails and change the height of your chair to make it easier for you to get out of it.’ They’d also check the flooring and the layout of the house to reduce the risk of her falling again, Dragan knew. The important thing was to make sure that Mrs Harris didn’t lose any of her confidence or independence; they didn’t want her ending up trapped in the house. ‘And Lauren from the practice will come and see you about physiotherapy to help you get your leg working properly again.’
‘Lauren’s lovely—she’s really kind. And don’t worry about Smoky,’ Melinda said. ‘I know several people who don’t have dogs who would be able to look after her for you until you’re back.’
‘And I can come in and help you with Smoky when you’re home again,’ Tina said. ‘Mum and I will keep an eye on your bungalow until you’re home, and I’ll call the milkman and sort everything out for you.’
‘And I’ll take pictures of Smoky in her holiday home and bring them to show you in hospital. That’s the difference between Penhally and the city,’ Melinda said, giving Dragan a speaking look. ‘People here care about others.’
That one had been aimed specifically at him, he knew.
He cared all right.
But he was trying to do the right thing for Melinda’s family. Putting her before his own wants.
Determined not to rise to the bait, he concentrated on reassuring Mrs Harris until the ambulance arrived, then gave a handover to the crew, telling them what he’d given her and advising them about her osteoporosis.
Tina locked up. ‘I’d better get back, or Mum’ll be worrying about me.’
‘Thanks for all your help,’ Dragan said. ‘You were brilliant.’
‘And I’ll let you know about Smoky,’ Melinda said, gently putting the cat into a travelling basket.
And then it was just the two of them.
There were dark shadows under her eyes. She’d clearly slept as badly as he had last night. ‘How are you?’ he asked.
‘I feel as bad as you look.’
Straight and to the point. That was his Melinda.
Except she couldn’t be his Melinda any more. ‘I’m perfectly fine,’ he lied.
‘You are such a liar.’
He coughed. ‘Isn’t that the proverbial pot calling the kettle black?’
‘I’ve already apologised for that. It was wrong of me not to tell you the truth. But what you’re doing right now is just as wrong. Dragan, you know we’re right together. I love you and I know you love me. Why torture us like this?’
‘Because,’ he said, ‘sometimes you have to put your duty first.’
She shook her head. ‘My future is with you, not in Contarini.’
‘And your family? You’re just going to abandon them when they need you?’
‘No. There’s a way through all this. We just have to find it.’ She bit her lip. ‘So what do I tell the press? They’re expecting an official statement.’
‘Tell them you’re going back to Contarini.’
‘No.’ She looked exasperated. ‘Dragan, I love you, but right now you’re driving me crazy. The best way for me to protect you from the press is to give them a statement, otherwise they’re going to keep following you and hounding you until you crack.’
‘You said they’d go away when they realised they wouldn’t get a story from me.’
She grimaced. ‘They will—but they’ll