The Doctor's Unexpected Proposal. Alison Roberts

      

      CROCODILE CREEK 24-HOUR RESCUE

      A cutting-edge medical center at the heart of a community. Fully equipped for saving lives and loves!

      Crocodile Creek’s state-of-the-art medical center1 and rescue response unit is home to a team of expertly trained medical professionals. These dedicated men and women face the challenges of life, love and medicine every day!

      An abandoned baby.

      The tension is mounting as a newborn baby is found in the Outback whilst a young girl fights for her life.

      Two feuding families.

      A long-held rivalry is threatening the well-being of the community. Only hospital head Charles Wetherby holds the key to this bitter battle.

      A race to save lives.

      Crocodile Creek’s highly skilled medical rescue team must compete with the fierce heat of the Australian Outback, and the scorching power of their own emotions.

      The Doctor’s Unexpected Proposal is the second of four continuing stories from Marion Lennox, Alison Roberts, Lilian Darcy and Meredith Webber. Join them at Crocodile Creek every month until June in Medical Romance™ books.

      Dear Reader,

      Writing is a very solitary occupation, and at times, can be a lonely one. One of the best things about writing romance, for me, has been the opportunity to meet some amazing, and very talented women who share the same career. Friendships are precious all by themselves, but the creative energy that can be unleashed by a bunch of like-minded authors getting together is something amazing!

      The idea of collaborating on a special series of books was exciting for all of us and what better setting than the harsh environment of northern Australia to put together strong characters, nail-biting medical drama and passionate encounters?

      We each have our own story in the series, but we’re linked by a bigger story that runs through all our books. I loved being able to follow up on the abandoned baby and find a mother for him and I fell in love with my hero, Mike, instantly. It takes my heroine, Emily, a little longer to realize that it’s possible for fantasy to become a reality.

      CROCODILE CREEK 24-HOUR RESCUE series is also now a reality!

      Happy reading,

      Alison Roberts

      The Doctor’s Unexpected Proposal

       Alison Roberts

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      CONTENTS

       Cover

       Introduction

Dear Reader

       Title Page

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

       CHAPTER FOUR

       CHAPTER FIVE

       CHAPTER SIX

       CHAPTER SEVEN

       CHAPTER EIGHT

       CHAPTER NINE

       CHAPTER TEN

       Extract

       Copyright

       CHAPTER ONE

      THE party on the beach would be in full swing by now.

      If anyone had noticed that Emily Morgan, Crocodile Creek Base Hospital’s anaesthetist and ICU/Emergency consultant, was late arriving, they might well have guessed that she’d gone back for another peep at a special patient in the hospital nursery.

      Her colleagues would also not have been surprised to learn that she had sent the attending nurse off to make herself a cup of hot chocolate and a slice of toast while she herself watched over the baby for a few minutes.

      Dr Morgan had, after all, been a key player in the drama that had gripped this hospital over the last three days. A drama that was attracting the attention of the whole community of the large coastal town in north Queensland, no less. A newborn baby had been left for dead in the Outback and, despite the best efforts of police and bush rangers, they were no closer to finding the mother of this infant boy.

      Emily reached into the crib and straightened the soft woollen hat that covered the tiny head. She couldn’t resist continuing the contact by tracing a very gentle fingertip across a silky cheek.

      ‘They’ll be talking about you, Lucky,’ she murmured. ‘Down there on the beach. They’ll be stoking the fire with driftwood, which will smell lovely, and they’ll be barbecuing sausages and prawns, which will smell even better. Everyone who isn’t on duty will be having a drink and I should be there, too.’ Emily swallowed the lump in her throat. ‘Celebrating…’

      A celebration was definitely called for, and not just because the tiny baby that hospital staff had named Lucky looked set to survive such a rocky start to life. The last few days had been tough on everybody. The poignant mix of tragedy and triumph that was a part of every medical community seemed somehow heightened here in Crocodile Creek.

      And no wonder, with cases like Lucky’s. The baby stirred a little and a hand came free of its wrapping. Emily watched the tiny boy’s face twitch in exaggerated movements. Eyebrows rose over still closed eyes in comical surprise and then dropped into a fierce frown. Lips that were now a wonderfully healthy shade of pink puckered, and almost thoughtful sucking sounds could be heard amidst the soft beeps of the various monitors surrounding the incubator. Emily smiled. Competition amongst staff members to help with feeding this baby until they found his mother could well make life more interesting in the next few days.

      Her hand was still inside the crib. It was too easy to move her forefinger within reach of that tiny hand but it was so good to feel the surprising strength with which Lucky gripped her fingertip. For just an instant Emily could recapture the joy she had felt only hours ago, when her finger had last been held just like this.

      Joy that Lucky had been found at all after being abandoned on the outskirts of the Gunyamurra rodeo—an event that attracted hundreds of