The Doctor's Cinderella. Susanne Hampton

George’s cup was chipped, stained and the handle missing most days and he truly had no idea how fortunate he was to have the love and devotion of a woman as wonderful as Dorothy for over sixty years.

      Ryan knew that he would never have that same unconditional love and, in his heart, he knew why. He would never trust anyone to get that close to him again.

      * * *

      Ryan walked back into his office leaving Dorothy Dunstan speaking with Molly. He hoped that she had listened to his instructions and would adhere to the strict diet, and the headaches would in time subside. There was of course a very good chance that the cause of her daily headache was George, and if that was the case there really was no medicinal cure. The only cure would be to leave him. And a woman like Dorothy would never consider that an option.

      As he closed his door, Ryan’s thoughts unexpectedly turned from Dorothy to Molly. Molly, with her uncontrolled mop of brown curls and contagious smile. And feisty attitude. The agency had told him Molly Murphy would be temping at the office to replace Maxine, his office manager of six years who had slipped and broken her arm in her Zumba class. Immediately he had formed a picture in his mind of a pleasant and efficient Irish woman in her late fifties or early sixties to replace his very efficient but now injured gym junkie and almost sixty-year-old office manager. With an image of the Irish replacement having a love of home knits, wonderful cooking skills and a slight brogue accent, Ryan felt confident the woman would meet the needs of the family-focussed practice for four weeks. She would be the wholesome motherly figure like Maxine whom his patients would like and adapt to quickly.

      Then Molly had arrived and she didn’t come close to his vision. In her mid to late twenties, she had no Irish accent, and she didn’t seem the type to sit home knitting. She had shot his clichéd assumptions out of the water. She certainly was a conundrum. And more than a little difficult to read. He had observed her open and comforting rapport with patients during the morning and decided that her chosen path in a medical support role matched her natural affinity with people and his patients would quickly warm to her, but there was something that didn’t add up. Her administration skills appeared more than competent but her medical expertise appeared more aligned to that of a doctor or nurse. He had overheard her speaking to more than one patient and the level of detail she provided exposed the true depth of her knowledge. The agency had not provided a résumé as his request had come at short notice but Molly came highly recommended and very quickly Ryan could see why.

      He couldn’t deny he was curious about her. There was definitely more to Molly Murphy than met the eye.

      At odds with her empathetic nature was a woman who had come out fighting like a cornered alley cat when he’d mentioned her dubious footwear. He was grateful that he hadn’t raised the matter of her arriving drenched to the bone with only minutes to spare.

      He shook his head a little as he crossed to his desk and opened up the emails on his computer. Not many people surprised Ryan McFetridge any more. He treated most people with a level of distrust until they could prove otherwise and he believed that he could fairly easily and accurately sum them up. But he didn’t feel his usual level of confidence about his summation of Molly. He wasn’t sure what he felt but it did unsettle him that he felt something.

      He closed his emails. There was nothing of interest, just a reminder about a medical association event he had agreed to attend the next evening and some pharmaceutical promotions. Running one hand through his short black hair, he opened the afternoon patient roster as he routinely did after every morning’s appointments were completed. He did a double take and, far from being annoyed, his interest was piqued when he saw changes to the layout of the next day’s patient listing. He hovered the cursor over the first name and the medical history and purpose of the appointment appeared. He tried it again on the next patient and again the function allowed him access to the notes of the previous three visits without going into each patient’s records. It was an abbreviated medical history with a link to archived notes. He smirked. Molly Murphy had been doing some upgrades. The reference to these details was an impressive feature and a function of the software package that he had never accessed because he hadn’t been aware it existed. Molly certainly knew the program well. And Ryan was more than impressed. He had not asked for improvements, nor had the busy schedule provided her with additional time on her hands to do this out of boredom. Molly had used initiative to make improvements. Again, she had surprised him and that never happened. Not any more.

      Molly Murphy, he thought, you might just be the perfect for-ever woman...for my practice, he quickly qualified.

      Ryan McFetridge had no need for a for-ever woman in any other area of his life. And particularly not a woman like Molly. She appeared very different from the women with whom Ryan kept company. Her manner with patients was genuine. The empathy showed a warm heart beneath her shapeless clothes. The women Ryan preferred wore clothes that hugged their shapes but underneath there was no sign of a heart. And that suited him. A night of mutual satisfaction with a woman who was not wanting or expecting more was all he wanted.

      Because Ryan McFetridge had nothing to give. Nor did he want anything back.

      He rested back in his large black leather chair, a touch of melancholy colouring his mood as he swivelled to look out through the rain-spotted window to the overcast streetscape. It was cold and miserable, with few people in sight, but for some inexplicable reason Ryan felt different. His mood was lighter. And Ryan had not felt anything close to that in a very long time. He brushed aside the coincidence of his mood lifting on the same day that Molly had started work. It was just that. A coincidence. It couldn’t be anything more.

      His sole focus outside his work was his daughter. She was his motivation to keep going. To build a legacy to ensure she never needed or wanted for anything. That responsibility weighed heavily. And he would never let her down.

      Or ever let anyone hurt her.

      Ever again.

      * * *

      Swivelling back on his chair and returning his focus to his computer screen, he realised Molly Murphy knew her stuff and he couldn’t help but wonder about her background and her qualifications. And why she was working in a role that Ryan suspected was far less than her capability. He knew so little about her. He had to admit to himself he had noticed she was not wearing a wedding ring. He didn’t know why he’d even looked. But with Molly he was curious to know more. Although the absence didn’t mean there was no significant other in her life. And he reminded himself that she could potentially have children, although they would be relatively young.

      But none of it mattered, he continued to remind himself. She was his office manager. Nothing more. Nothing less. But it still didn’t stop thoughts of her occupying his head. She was pretty in an almost fragile way but she had spunk and clearly knew how to take care of herself. And now his practice. There was something about Molly that reminded Ryan of the weather outside...unpredictable and challenging.

      And Ryan McFetridge had always loved winter.

      He drummed his fingers on the edge of his mahogany desk. It was inlaid with a deep burgundy leather and not in keeping with the rest of the more modern decor but it had been a graduation gift from his parents. As they had both since died not long after he’d opened his practice in Adelaide, he loved having something to remind him of them every day. His childhood had been happy and filled with love and encouragement and one of Ryan’s many regrets was that Lizzy had never met her paternal grandparents.

      He rested his chin on one hand as he began to scan through his emails. He needed to get back on track and stop being distracted by random thoughts, especially those of his new staff member. Pondering the unknown was pointless and wasting time. He reminded himself firmly that Molly Murphy’s past, present or future after the immediate four-week placement was not his business. With common sense born from the realities he had faced over the years since Lizzy had come into his life, Ryan knew, no matter what effect Molly was or wasn’t having on him, he had to keep it purely business.

      * * *

      Despite her best intentions, Molly’s own curiosity continued to niggle at her new-found peace of mind. Lingering doubts were replaced by an unsettling and growing