REBELS WITH A CAUSE
A fabulous new linked duet by Scarlet Wilson
Doctors on a mission to eradicate infectious diseases … Their work is life-changing and often heartbreaking. But for these rebel heroes and bravehearted heroines their work with the DPA (Disease Prevention Agency) isn’t just about making a difference and saving lives—because they are all running from something, and facing a crisis together puts their own hearts on the line!
THE MAVERICK DOCTOR AND MISS PRIM
and
ABOUT THAT NIGHT …
Dear Reader
When I was asked by my editor if I would be interested in writing a duet I was delighted and jumped at the chance. The Center for Disease Control in the US has always fascinated me. I work in public health, and love all the work around infectious diseases and immunisation campaigns. The CDC always features heavily in any plague/outbreak/epidemic films that are made, and I was excited at the prospect of having a story along those lines and set about creating my own fictional organisation, the Disease Prevention Agency, for my Rebels with a Cause duet.
But all stories need to have fabulous characters, and I instantly fell in love with my hero in THE MAVERICK DOCTOR AND MISS PRIM—Matt Sawyer, wounded bad boy and very much like his namesake, Sawyer in Lost. He’s the kind of guy you know deep-down has real good in him. It’s just going to take a special woman to unearth it.
My sassy heroine Callie is a girl out of her depth. She takes the initial call at the DPA and assembles the team, but her mentor is taken unwell on a plane and she’s left in charge of a situation that is clearly bigger than any she’s coped with before.
Her only option is to turn to Sawyer for help. After all, he worked in the DPA previously and has the expertise she needs. So why doesn’t he want to help? It makes quarantine very interesting …
Both my characters in this story are grieving. And both deal with their grief in their own way. Needless to say I let them get their happy-ever-after. It just takes a while to get there!
Please feel free to contact me via my website: www.scarlet-wilson.com. I love to hear from readers!
Scarlet
About the Author
SCARLET WILSON wrote her first story aged eight and has never stopped. Her family have fond memories of Shirley and the Magic Purse, with its army of mice, all with names beginning with the letter ‘M’. An avid reader, Scarlet started with every Enid Blyton book, moved on to the Chalet School series, and many years later found Mills & Boon®.
She trained and worked as a nurse and health visitor, and currently works in public health. For her, finding Mills & Boon® Medical Romances™ was a match made in heaven. She is delighted to find herself among the authors she has read for many years.
Scarlet lives on the West Coast of Scotland with her fiancé and their two sons.
Recent titles by the same author:
AN INESCAPABLE TEMPTATION
HER CHRISTMAS EVE DIAMOND
A BOND BETWEEN STRANGERS*
WEST WING TO MATERNITY WING!
THE BOY WHO MADE THEM LOVE AGAIN
IT STARTED WITH A PREGNANCY
* The Most Precious Bundle of All
These books are also available in eBook format from www.millsandboon.co.uk
The
Maverick Doctor
and Miss Prim
Scarlet Wilson
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my two fabulous and entrepreneurial brothers-in-law, who have put up with me for more years than I care to remember. For Sandy Dickson and Robert Glencross, thank you for everything that you’ve done for me and my family and for taking such good care of my sisters!
CHAPTER ONE
Chicago
“OKAY, BEAUTIFUL, WHAT you got for me?” Sawyer leaned across the reception desk as the clerk glared at him.
Miriam cracked her chewing gum. “You’ve been here too long—you’re getting smart-mouthed.”
“I’ve always been smart-mouthed.”
“And get a haircut.”
He pushed his shaggy light brown hair from his eyes then tossed his head. “The long-haired look is in. Besides—I’m worth it.”
The clerk rolled her eyes and picked up three charts. “You can have two sick kids with chicken pox in room six or a forty-three-year-old female with D&V behind curtain two.” They lifted their heads in unison as the noise of someone retching behind curtain two filled the air.
He shuddered. “Give me the kids.” He grabbed the charts and walked down the corridor. His eyes skimmed the information on the charts. Ben and Jack Keating, aged six and seven, just returned from abroad with chicken pox.
He pushed open the door. Unusually, the lights were dimmed in the room. The two kids—brothers—lay on the beds with a parent at each bedside. Alison, one of the nurses, was taking a temperature. She walked over to him, her pregnancy bump just starting to emerge from her scrub trousers. “Sickest kids I’ve seen in a while,” she murmured.
He gave her a smile, his natural instinct kicking in. “You safe to be in here?”
She sighed. “After three kids of my own it’s safe to say I’m immune.”
Sawyer crossed the room quickly, leaving the charts at the bottom of the beds. Alison was right. These kids didn’t look good. Chicken pox could be a lot more serious than a few itchy spots.
“Hi, I’m Matt Sawyer, one of the docs. I’m going to take a look at Ben and Jack.” He extended his hand towards the mother then the father, taking in their exhausted expressions before turning to the sink, washing his hands and donning some gloves.
He walked over to Ben. In the dim light it was difficult to see his face, but it looked as if it was covered in red, bumpy spots. “Hi, Ben, I’m just going to have a little look at you.”
The six-year-old barely acknowledged that he’d spoken. He glanced at the cardiac and BP monitor, noting the increased heart rate and low blood pressure. At first touch he could feel the temperature through his gloves. He pressed gently at the sides of Ben’s neck. Unsurprisingly his glands were swollen. There were a number of spots visible on Ben’s face so he peeled back the cover to reveal only a few angry spots across his chest but a whole host across his forearms.
The first thing that struck him was that all of the spots were at the same stage of development. Not like chicken pox at all—where spots emerged and erupted at different times.
Alarm bells started ringing in his head. Be methodical. He heard the old mantra of his mentor echoing around him.
He moved to the bottom of the bed and lifted Ben’s foot.
There. The same uniform spots on the soles of his feet. He stretched over, reaching Ben’s