The Doctor, His Daughter And Me. Leonie Knight

have such an unsettling effect on her. She’d programmed herself to keep him at a distance and now he was sitting a handspan away from her.

      At that moment she wondered if she’d made a mistake. She wished she could drive straight home.

      But she couldn’t.

      Though Ryan was grateful for Tara’s offer to help him out, he got the impression she wished she was anywhere but sitting next to him in her car.

      What could he do to help her relax? After all it wasn’t his fault his car had broken down and she’d offered him the lift. She might be taking him back to his motel, but it wasn’t as if he then expected her to sleep with him.

      Where had that come from?

      The thought did hold some attraction, though. He glanced in her direction and dismissed the idea from his mind. The scowl on Tara’s face suggested she’d more likely suffer being thrown into a pit of deadly snakes than have the slightest physical contact with him.

      But why?

      He’d been pleasant and polite without being over-friendly. He’d made no demands on her, and he hoped he’d dealt with his ex-wife in a non-confrontational way.

      But she’d changed. The openness they’d always shared in their relationship had been replaced by a cautious hesitancy; the love of life she’d had in bucketloads seemed to have dried up; taking risks and trying new things had been supplanted by the rigid routine enforced by her disability. And she certainly wasn’t to blame. No one was to blame. Ryan repeated the words that had become a mantra in the months following the accident.

      No one was to blame.

      Did Tara believe that?

      He truly wanted to find out and, if the barriers were still up, shielding the intimacy they’d had in the past, then maybe he should just try for friendship. Now he had seen her again he knew he at least needed to talk to her. And perhaps he had the ideal opportunity tonight. After all, the worst that could happen was that she’d simply refuse, and he could live with that.

      They were pulling into the driveway of the motel so he didn’t have much time.

      ‘I really appreciate you helping me out, Tara. Can I repay you for the lift?’

      ‘Pardon?’ She glanced briefly in his direction before bringing the car to a halt in front of the office.

      ‘I want to repay you.’

      ‘What do you mean?’ Her stare was ice-cool.

      ‘Liz gave me some leftovers from lunch and I have way too much to eat myself. Would you like to share them with me?’

      The stare turned into a frown and then she looked straight ahead, moving the gearstick from ‘Park’ to ‘Reverse’.

      ‘Which unit is yours?’

      Any kind of thaw seemed a long way away, and Ryan accepted the fact he’d just been handed a refusal. Nothing lost, nothing gained.

      But then her expression changed. Still cool but the ice was melting.

      ‘Okay. I have that patient I mentioned earlier I wanted to discuss with you. Would you mind—?’

      ‘Of course not.’ Ryan had the feeling he had nudged a little closer to first base.

      And what could be more innocent than two colleagues discussing a patient over a bite to eat? Tara shouldn’t feel threatened by that. Ryan’s face broke into a smile as he realised what he’d thought was going to be a gloomy end to his long day had the potential to shine.

      CHAPTER THREE

      PART of the reason for Tara’s decision to share a meal with Ryan was because over the last two weeks, since he’d catapulted back into her life, she’d been thinking about him constantly. She also had some questions she needed answering, and it wasn’t the sort of discussion that could take place in the lunch room at the clinic.

      Her all-consuming concern was … why?

      Why was he back when she’d worked so hard to make her life as good as it could be without him?

      Why had he accepted a job in Keysdale when he could choose any job he wanted?

      Why had he married, fathered a child and then divorced a few short years later?

      And the last question she could only answer herself—why did she care so much when she’d thought she was well and truly over him?

      She tried to rationalise by telling herself it was perfectly reasonable that she held a gnawing suspicion about his motives. But were those emotions that were surfacing from another time in her life an indication she still had feelings for her ex-husband?

      It scared her.

      She was also annoyed that her balanced, well-ordered world was beginning to tilt on its axis a little. Her life was complicated enough as it was and she didn’t need any more problems.

      To clear the air she definitely needed to at least talk to Ryan, so she could clarify her own feelings. All she knew now was that the man sitting next to her with a genuine smile on his face, had forced her to revisit a time when she’d been married to the only man she’d truly loved. While he’d been married to a stranger, settled more than two hundred kilometres away and living the life she’d always hoped he’d have, she’d overcome the pain and uncertainty of wondering if he sincerely believed, as he’d told her a hundred times after the accident, she was more important than anything else in his life.

      Ryan cleared his throat as he opened the car door and she wondered if he’d been watching her.

      ‘I’ll get your chair and then I’ll unload all my stuff.’

      ‘Thanks,’ she said quietly, forcing a smile.

      Ryan was a quick learner. In just a few minutes he had the chair where she could easily transfer into it and was rummaging in the back of the car, unpacking his bags and boxes.

      ‘Would you mind carrying the food?’

      ‘Fine.’ He definitely did learn fast, and was doing his best not to make a big thing of what Tara couldn’t do and focusing on what she could.

      After locking the vehicle, Tara propelled herself to the small entry of Ryan’s unit and waited while he unlocked the door, went inside and turned on the lights. She cast a quick glance around the compact living-dining area and noted that her host was obviously not expecting guests. The small desk in one corner was littered with papers and a large overnight bag decorated the single settee. She could see jeans and a couple of tee shirts strewn on the bed, with a cup and a juice box sitting on the bedside table. At least the bathroom door was closed. She didn’t want to conjure up any thoughts of Ryan that tipped outside the boundaries she’d decided to impose for any contact outside work.

      ‘Sorry about the mess.’

      Ryan’s clichéd reply brought a small smile to Tara’s face. He’d always been messy.

      Ryan put the food in the kitchen, stowed the rest of his gear in the bedroom and closed the door. He was staring at her intently.

      ‘What’s so amusing?’

      Damn. She’d let her guard down. She restored what she hoped was a neutral expression. The last thing she wanted to do was to tell Ryan her thoughts.

      ‘Nothing at all. However, I should ring my parents and let them know I’ll be home late.

      ‘Yes, of course you must. I’ll go and get changed while you do and then we’ll eat.’

      Tara watched him disappear into the bedroom and sighed, hoping she’d have the courage to start to put her life back on course. She rang her parents’ number.

      As Ryan pulled on a pair of jeans and a crumpled polo shirt a jumble of thoughts he’d previously managed to suppress scuttled through his mind.