Did his smile lose its sparkle? Maybe, although it didn’t waver as he went on, ‘Well, I’m here now, so you can start by offering me a cup of tea. I’m as dry as a desert.’
Doris sniffed. ‘I’m not sure you deserve one.’
He grinned and gave her a slow, lazy wink. ‘You’re just saying that. You love me really,’ he said, and Gemma watched old Doris Trefusis melt under the megawatt charm.
‘Go away with you,’ she said, blushing and flapping her hand at him. ‘I’ll bring it in—Dr Tremayne’s half expecting you. I might even be able to find you one of Hazel’s fairings if those doctors have left you any. She made an extra batch specially when she knew you were coming home.’
‘What, to help lure me back in?’ he said drily, glancing at Hazel Furse, the practice manager, with a wry smile. Then, as if he’d only just become aware of her presence at the back of Reception, he turned and met Gemma’s eyes, his face suddenly expressionless.
‘Gemma.’
That was all, just the one word, but it stopped her heart in its tracks. Oh, Sam. Were your eyes always so blue? Like a Mediterranean sky at night, cobalt blue, piercing through me.
‘Hello, Sam.’ Her voice sounded forced, and she had to swallow the sudden lump of emotion in her throat. ‘Welcome home.’
His jaw tightened, and he nodded. ‘Thank you. Hopefully it won’t be for too long. Mrs Furse, would you be kind enough to tell Dr T. I’m here, please.’
‘Sam! Good to see you! I saw you drive up. Come on in. Doris, I don’t know if you could rustle up some tea…’
‘It’s all in hand, Dr Tremayne. Kettle’s already on.’
Without another word to her, Sam turned his back on Gemma and limped into Nick’s surgery, the older man’s arm slung round his shoulders, and the door closed behind them.
She let her breath out then, unaware that she’d been holding it ever since he’d come in, holding back a part of herself that was too vulnerable, too tender and delicate and scarred to let him see.
He was back. Sam was back, but not the way she’d always dreamed of, had waited breathlessly for ever since she’d returned to Penhally last year in the hope that he might find out she was here and come back to her. Instead he’d come back for yet another family crisis, another duty visit, another call on his endless good nature and sense of responsibility that nobody else ever seemed to recognise.
But he hadn’t come back for her, and she realised now, after seeing him, after the way he’d looked at her, that he never would. And the pain was devastating…
‘Are you all right?’
She opened her eyes and saw Kate Althorp, one of their midwives, watching her with concern in her all-too-intelligent eyes.
‘I’m fine, Kate.’
‘Are you sure? You look a little pale.’
‘I’m fine,’ she said again, more firmly, because if Kate didn’t let her go and get on, she was going to do something stupid like burst into tears in Reception. And there was no way she was letting anyone see her show so much as a flicker of emotion.
Even if her heart was being torn in two…
Sam stood at the window and stared back along Harbour Road at the devastation left behind by the flood last autumn, putting Gemma’s face out of his mind. ‘What happened to the Anchor Hotel?’ he asked, although in truth he didn’t care. It and its patrons had never appealed to him, and he was sure it had been mutual.
‘It’s been demolished—the new additions that were never properly built—and they’re rebuilding it. There were a lot of properties damaged around the bottom of Bridge Street and Gull Close. There are lots of people still out of their homes.’
‘It must have been quite something.’
‘It was. It’s a miracle the bridge survived. The noise was tremendous.’
‘I’m sure. I missed all the news, I’m afraid—I was in hospital.’
‘Yes, I know, your mother said you’d had an accident on your bike. I see you’re still limping a bit. How are you?’
‘Really?’ He shrugged. ‘Better. Frustrated by the slow progress, but better. So—I gather your crew are all married now?’ he said, changing the subject to one he was more comfortable with, and Nick smiled, his lean face relaxing slightly.
‘Yes, they are. And Jack and Lucy have both got families. In fact Lucy’s decided she doesn’t want to come back, so there’s a job here if you’re at a loose end…’
Sam snorted softly and shook his head at his old friend and mentor. ‘I owe you a great deal, Dr T., but not that much.’ Not while his wife was working here. ‘Anyway, I’ll be busy.’
‘Yes, of course. How is your mother? She was pretty bad when I saw her yesterday evening, on her way in, but I phoned this morning and they said she’s doing well.’
‘Yes, she is, thanks. They’ve got her in the specialist stroke unit, and they scanned her straight away and put her on mega clot-busters, and she’s improving already.’
‘That’s excellent. We’re lucky to have the stroke unit. It’s a real asset, but she’ll still need some support for a while. Is that going to be a problem for you?’
‘Not really.’ He’d spent the last few months torn between physio and a desk job he loathed, trying to earn his keep at the charity he’d been working for when he’d been blown up and wondering where the hell to go from here. Next to all of that, this further infringement of his personal choice was small potatoes.
But his mother’s life—well, that was certainly going to change, and if she had her way, change his with it. ‘She’s OK,’ he said, trying to sound convincing. ‘It’s her left side, mostly her hand and her face, but that’s just the visible stuff. I have no idea what else might have been affected or what she’ll get back with this intensive treatment. Hopefully she’ll make a full recovery, but I expect the full extent will reveal itself in time. I would have thought there are bound to be some after-effects.’
‘Any idea of the cause?’
He shook his head. ‘Not as yet. They’re looking into it—she’s having an echocardiogram and a carotid scan, and she’s on a monitor, but so far they’ve drawn a blank. Her blood pressure’s dreadful, too, and she’s put on weight. Her diet’s always been atrocious—she’s addicted to chocolate, always has been, and the only reason she isn’t enormous is that she hardly eats anything else. God alone knows what Jamie’s been surviving on, there’s no food in the house to speak of, and she’s obviously depressed.’
‘We’ll sort her out, Sam, once she’s home. Don’t worry. And how’s your brother coping?’
Sam turned away from the window and eased into a chair with a sigh, toying with one of Hazel’s biscuits. ‘By running away from it, I think, but he’s been worrying her for a while. He’s a nightmare. It’s all too familiar, I’m afraid. Been there, done that, as the saying goes. I gather he’s in trouble with the police as well, just to add insult to injury.’
‘He is. He’s got in with a bad crowd—Gary Lovelace amongst others.’
Sam frowned. ‘Lovelace?’
‘Yes—do you remember him? Proper little tearaway as a child, and he’s no better now. He’s a year older than Jamie, I think.’
He trawled his brains. ‘I remember the name—probably the father’s. Always in and out of the slammer for one thing or another. Petty stuff mostly, if I remember. So Gary’s leading my little brother astray, is he? Damn.’
‘I think