A Consultant Beyond Compare. Joanna Neil

Jessica was going through.

      She washed her hands at the sink and started to prepare a light meal for the two of them, but all the time she was busy turning over all the options in her mind. It was a difficult situation, but she couldn’t help feeling that her sister needed a breathing space, time to gather up her defences and allow her to face up to the world once more.

      ‘You can stay here for a few days at least,’ she told her, ‘maybe even a couple of weeks, while we work out what we’re going to do. I’ll do what I can to square things with Mum and Dad.’

      She knew it wasn’t quite what Jessica had been hoping for, but the girl nodded and gave her a relieved smile. ‘Thanks, Katie. I’ll show you how good I can be, and then perhaps you’ll let me stay for longer.’ Her gaze was pleading and Katie hugged her once more.

      ‘We’ll see,’ she said. ‘I’ll show you where the second bedroom is and, if you like, you can put your things away in there while I finish making supper.’

      An hour or so later, they were sitting down to eat at the kitchen table when the doorbell rang. Katie frowned. ‘I can’t think who that would be,’ she murmured, getting to her feet. ‘You go on with your meal,’ she told Jessica, who stood up as though to go with her.

      ‘It wouldn’t be Mum or Dad, would it?’ Jessica’s expression was apprehensive. ‘You said they agreed to let me stay when they rang back earlier. Do you think they might have changed their minds?’

      ‘I don’t know, but if it is them, I’ll sort it out, don’t worry.’

      When she opened the front door, though, she was startled to see the man who was standing in her porch. He was gazing around at the old stonework and casting a glance over the rough stone wall that edged the property.

      ‘Alex?’ She stared at him. ‘What are you doing here? How did you find me?’ He had changed out of the business suit and now he was wearing casual clothes, dark trousers and a jacket that was open to reveal a cool cotton shirt in a shade of blue-grey that matched his eyes. She dragged her gaze away from his rangy body and looked up at him once more, trying to cover her discomfiture.

      ‘I asked Jessica for your address when we were at the café. I wanted to make sure that I was making a safe handover.’

      Katie frowned. ‘Is that why you’re here? Do you think I might be mistreating her in some way?’ Even the thought that he might doubt her in some way was enough to bring an affronted glare to her blue eyes.

      His mouth twisted in the semblance of a smile. ‘Are you always this touchy?’ He looked her over as though she might give him a resounding agreement to that statement, and her eyes narrowed on him.

      ‘Not usually.’ She sighed and stood back, waving him into the cramped hallway. ‘I’m having a bad day.’ Running a hand through the tangle of her long, chestnut curls, she indicated the far door, which led into the kitchen. ‘Come in, won’t you? I apologise for my bad manners. I’m really not myself today.’

      ‘Thanks.’ He stepped inside the house and looked around, taking in the low ceiling and the narrow passageway. Katie hoped he hadn’t noticed the spot in the far corner where the paint was peeling from the wall. Through a doorway to one side of the hall the living room was visible, and it was possible to glimpse from there the overgrown garden through the French doors. ‘This is cosy,’ he murmured. ‘Have you lived here for long?’

      ‘Um…a couple of months. I’m still decorating and trying to make the place my own, but I’ve been busy and I’ve had to make choices about where to start.’

      He nodded. ‘I guess it isn’t easy when you’re working.’ He gave her a sideways glance. ‘Though by all accounts that won’t be much of a problem from now on, will it?’

      Katie gave a shrug. ‘I’ve already had a quick skim through the job vacancy columns in the newspaper. Apparently they need someone in the rehab unit at the local hospital. That would be a start, I suppose.’

      ‘But it would also be a complete waste of your talents. You’re a doctor. You should be using the medical skills you acquired after all those years of training.’

      Perhaps he had a point there, but Katie wasn’t in the mood to be judged and found wanting. She stiffened. ‘I don’t see why that should concern you.’ She pushed open the kitchen door and ushered him through.

      Jessica was sitting at the table at the far end of the room, her fork poised in her hand, but she laid it down on her plate and blinked as Alex walked into the room.

      ‘Alex?’ Her face lit up in a shy smile. ‘You found me? I didn’t think we would see you again so soon.’

      ‘No, it is sooner than expected, I must agree with you there. I’m glad that you seem to have settled back in here without too much upset.’ He sent a quick glance around the room. ‘It’s homely in here, very clean and cheerful.’

      Katie had placed a bowl of roses on the worktop, and she had set out groups of fine glassware and ceramics at intervals on shelves around the room. It wasn’t much, but it made the difference between what might have been purely a functional kitchen and what she considered to be the heart of the home. What had he been expecting, something austere and unwelcoming?

      She sent him a dark, cynical glance. ‘See? She’s perfectly well. I haven’t locked her in a cupboard or banished her to bed without so much as a bowl of gruel, if that’s what you were thinking.’ Her mouth made a derisive slant. ‘Are you satisfied now that you’ve seen for yourself that she’s all right?’

      He turned, his grey-blue gaze homing in on her. ‘Actually, that isn’t the reason I’m here.’

      ‘Oh.’ Katie swallowed hard. Perhaps riling him wasn’t such a good idea after all. He had done nothing but help out today, and she was beginning to sound like an ungrateful harridan. That wasn’t at all like her, and she couldn’t for an instant fathom why he should be having this effect on her. Perhaps this awful day was beginning to get to her. She said slowly, ‘It wasn’t?’

      He shook his head and reached inside his jacket pocket. ‘When I cleared up the equipment after we had helped the man by the roadside, I must have accidentally scooped up your notebooks. I found this when I restocked my medical bag. There are some addresses and phone numbers in there, and I thought perhaps you might need it.’ He handed over the small leather case.

      ‘Oh, I…uh…Thank you.’ Katie tried to accept it with good grace. ‘It must have dropped out of my bag when I was looking for my phone. I thought I had put everything back.’ He was wrong-footing her at every turn, and she found herself wishing for all the world that she could rewind the day and start over again. Maybe she would do things differently, given the chance.

      She flicked through the pages of the small notebook. ‘I’m so glad that you brought this back to me. I would have been lost without it.’

      ‘You’re welcome.’ He nodded to Jessica and then turned, as though he was getting ready to leave, causing Jessica to raise her brows behind his back and gesticulate wildly to Katie as though she was wrong to let him escape. When Katie didn’t react, Jessica shook her head, and obviously thought she was a hopeless case.

      Katie frowned. Then, just in time, she recovered herself and said quickly, ‘Do you have to go right now? I think Jess would be glad of the chance to talk to you for a while, and there’s some tea in the pot. You could help yourself to some supper, too, if you like. There’s plenty left.’ She drifted a hand over the tabletop. ‘I made too much pizza, and there’s plenty of salad, if you would like some. Please, sit down and help yourself. I expect you’ve been too busy these last few hours to think about food.’

      He seemed to hesitate, but only for a moment. ‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘I must say it’s been a while since I’ve eaten, and this does look good.’ He pulled out a chair and sat down, then frowned at the triangular segments of the pizza. ‘Did you really make this yourself?’

      Did