Bachelor Cure (11 page)

‘Maybe women have,' he admitted finally. ‘But no one's told me.'

‘Aw, gee… Poor little you. Hasn't anyone told you they find you very sexy?'

And Mike couldn't help himself. He burst out laughing.

‘Tessa Westcott, you are incorrigible. I thought lady doctors—especially lady doctors trained in emergency medicine and who've seen everything the seamier side of life can throw at them—are supposed
to be as sensible and hard-headed and as romantic as a brick.'

‘They are,' she told him, and she grinned right back. She was crazy, but there was a very strong part of her that was enjoying being crazy. She'd just burned her bridges back to the States. In fact, she'd just abandoned a very sensible career plan and a very sensible boyfriend, albeit a very lukewarm one. If she wasn't a little crazy tonight, then she never would be.

‘They say the only thing a sensible, committed female doctor with career ambition should love is a goldfish,' she said blithely. ‘But I've thought it through, and I think you're much better than a goldfish.'

‘Gee, thanks.' Mike looked at her for a long moment, and then walked two steps forward and took her hands in his. He had to make her see. ‘Tess, this is crazy.'

It wasn't crazy at all. Taking her hands was a mistake. A huge mistake! The craziness disappeared right then and there as their hands touched.

‘Crazy or not, it's the way I feel,' she said. Heaven knew how she kept her voice light, but somehow Tess managed it.

‘Well, stop feeling like it.' He released her, but he didn't move. They were only inches apart, but Tessa's eyes were just above his from her perch on the bench. Hell, how to make her see that this link—what she said she could feel and what he could definitely feel—was totally, absolutely out of the question.

‘Tessa, what I'm saying about work is true,' he
managed. ‘That's all I want. I have room for nothing else.'

‘I'm very small,' Tess murmured. ‘Couldn't you squash me in around the edges?'

‘No.' He stopped smiling completely and took a step back. His face said the joke had gone far enough.

‘You're not a priest,' Tess said gently. ‘I'd love to know why you have room in your life for nothing but medicine.'

‘I've seen what can happen when people forget their responsibilities.'

‘I'm not asking you to forget your responsibilities.' Tess, too, had stopped smiling now. She jumped down from her bench and stepped forward—stepped forward so she was almost touching him. Her face said she had gone this far so she might as well try the whole bit.

‘Mike, I'm not asking you to marry me,' she said, and somehow she forced her voice to stay light. ‘What I'm saying is that there's something between us. Something…' She shrugged. ‘I don't know what. It's a feeling I can't define. It's a feeling I've never felt in my life before and I want, more than anything, to explore it. That sounds wanton, doesn't it? As if I'm a loose woman. I'm not, Mike. I'm just… I just feel…'

And then her voice firmed, as if she was suddenly sure of her ground.

‘I feel as if you're a part of me. That's crazy, isn't it? But that's the way it is. So, tell me, Mike,' she demanded. ‘Tell me that I'm a fool. Tell me that you feel nothing.'

‘I don't want—'

‘I'm not asking what you want. I'm asking what you feel.'

And then, before he could answer, she took one more step forward, put her arms up around his neck, stood on tiptoe—and she kissed him for all she was worth. And it was done so suddenly that there was nothing he could do to stop it.

It was
some
kiss.

It was a kiss of pure bravado, but it was more than that. It was a kiss that was full of questions, and it was a kiss full of wonder.

Tess had never done such a thing in her life before. Her act might have seemed wanton—forward—but there was nothing of that in her kiss. Her lips were gentle, sweet and unsure, as if she really wanted to touch him. It was as if her body was drawn to him like a bee to honey, and she was half expecting to be drawn so far into the sweetness that she'd drown.

And he…

The last thing he wanted to do was to kiss this woman. He didn't. And yet her lips were touching his and her body was soft and yielding and…and so lovely!

When her mouth touched his, the kiss slammed home the knowledge that this was something outside his ken. She was so desirable…

Sure, he'd kissed other women. Hell, he'd made a vow, but that vow hadn't been one of chastity. His vow had been one of emotional detachment. He'd made love to women before, but they'd always known the rules. No involvement. There had never been any
promises of tomorrow. There was only passion on his terms.

But this…this wasn't on his terms. This was on no one's terms because, as their lips met, it was like two pieces of a shattered whole being joined. More, it was like tinder to fuel. Apart they were nothing—cold and useless. Together they were fire.

Mike's body stilled in shock, but Tessa's arms came around him again, soft and yet urgent, pulling him against her, and suddenly nothing in his life had ever felt so right, so complete. There were forces working here that were beyond his control, he thought wildly. This was beyond anything he'd ever known before. The desire to respond to this lovely thing…this woman who was so unknown…was almost overwhelming.

Her lips were soft and warm and urgent. She smelt of flowers, of sunshine and of warmth, and he could no more resist her loveliness than he could stop himself breathing.

He wasn't breathing. He wasn't sure what he was doing.

He couldn't help himself. He
must
respond. His hands fell to hold Tessa against him, glorying in the way her breasts pressed against his chest. His mouth responded to her kiss, tasting her…wanting her.

And wanting more…

Dear God, what could he do with this? He'd never known he could feel this way. His vow had been made without knowing this wonder, and if he'd known… If he'd known he had this need—that somewhere in the world was a woman like this—could he
have made his vow? But he'd made the vow, and the vow still stood.

Somehow he managed to pull back. Somehow he managed to put her away from him and hold her at arm's length, and he stared down at her with eyes that were confused and desperate.

‘Tess, no…'

‘Well, now I know,' Tess managed, in a voice that was barely above a whisper and held an obvious tremor.

‘Know what?'

‘You're certainly not gay.' She tried to smile but it didn't quite come off. ‘Wow!'

‘Wow' was right. And where to go from here?

The phone. Glory be, the phone. Its shrill ring sounded from the living room and Mike headed there like a drowning man headed for a life-raft.

‘Hello?'

‘Dr Llewellyn?' It was Mavis, at Reception. ‘Is that you?' It obviously didn't sound like him.

‘Yes.' Mike cleared his throat, and with a superhuman effort managed not to look back to where Tess was standing, watching from the doorway. ‘Of course. Mavis, what is it?'

‘I've just had a call from Kylie Wisen,' Mavis told him and her voice was apologetic. It was as though she knew she was interrupting something, and she'd just love to know what. ‘You know Kylie?'

Mike's head clicked into medical mode with a visible effort and he gave his mental case file a quick search. ‘Kylie. That's Bill and Claire Wisen's kid.
Seventeen years old. Peroxided hair and half a dozen earrings.'

‘That's the one.' Mavis sighed. ‘She's looking after her sister's two-year-old while her sister and her husband go out to dinner and then go on to the shire ball. But…'

‘But?'

‘But the little one—Sally McPherson—has stuck her big toe in the bath outlet.' Mavis sighed again. ‘I'm really sorry, Doctor, but they've tried everything to get it out and I think you'll have to go.'

Go? Of course he had to go. Thanks be…

‘I'll be there in five minutes,' Mike said strongly, still not looking at Tess. ‘Mavis, ring Kylie back and tell her I'm coming. Tell her the most important thing is not to let Sally pull. If the toe gets swollen from tugging then we'll be in all sorts of trouble.'

He replaced the receiver and finally turned to face Tess again.

‘I need to go,' he said.

‘I know.' Her eyes didn't leave his face. ‘I heard. Can I come?'

‘Tess…'

‘The sooner I get to know the people of this town, the better it'll be for both of us.' She glanced at her watch. ‘I have an hour before I promised Louise I'd mom-sit, and you have an hour before you need to go your ball. Strop's not much company—so let's go unstick toes.'

‘I—'

‘Don't you want me?' She let her face fall, like a child deprived of a lolly.

Hell, he couldn't work with her, he thought desperately, watching her face and trying to figure out whether to laugh or to groan. He couldn't!

But he sure as hell couldn't tell her he didn't want her.

‘Fine, then,' he said in a voice that indicated he'd been goaded beyond belief. ‘Fine. Let's go do some medicine. It might get your mind off sex.'

‘Hey, my mind's not on sex,' she teased gently, her eyes laughing up at him. And then the smile died a little. ‘My mind doesn't get past your face.' Then she gave an honest little shrug and her smile came back in full. ‘Well…for the moment.'

 

Sally was still attached to her bath. They arrived to find neighbours, two members of the fire brigade, a mechanic and a hefty plumber complete with dangerous-looking tool set, all trying to wedge into one small farmhouse bathroom. Mike had obviously been the last of a long line of people appealed to.

Sally McPherson was two years old and in deep distress. She was huddled naked and sobbing in the empty bath, and her sobs were those of a child who'd gone past expecting help. The noise in the little room was overwhelming.

‘Let's clear this room,' Tess suggested firmly, as Mike went straight to the little girl. He saw her need. The child was sitting alone in the empty bathtub, and why the hell wasn't anyone in there holding her?

‘Right.' Mike reached in and held the little girl's shoulders, gripping her tight. ‘OK, Sally. We'll get you out of here soon, but first let's get you warm.'

‘We need Sally's parents and the plumber,' Tessa said brusquely, and Mike gave her a wondering glance. She'd snapped straight back into medical mode. What had taken place between them belonged somewhere else. She was now crisp, decisive and every inch a doctor trained to cope with trauma. ‘The rest of you, I'd like you to stay outside until you're needed. Now, who's Sally's mom?'

‘She's not here,' a girl with peroxided blonde hair and too much make-up told her. ‘I'm Kylie, the kid's aunty. My sister and her husband have gone out to dinner and I don't know where they've gone. It was supposed to be the pub but it's burned down so they went somewhere else.' She glared aggressively, as though expecting Tess to turn on her and say it was all her fault.

‘One of the neighbours is doing a ring-round of their friends to try and find them,' the plumber volunteered. He turned to Mike who was lifting the child forward to take the strain from the toe.

‘Doc, I've been thinking,' he said. ‘The hassle with the outlet on old baths is that the outlets don't screw. Usually it's a cinch if a kid gets stuck because you just turn the whole outlet around while someone turns the kid at the same time—so they both come out together and at least you can work on getting the thing off when they're out of the bath. This is an old type, though. It's a permanent fixture—glued fast.'

‘Then we'll have to chip it out,' Mike said. He was practically in the bath now, gathering the child to him. ‘She's freezing. I want blankets and hot-water bottles. Fast.'

‘I figured you'd say chip it,' the plumber said in satisfaction. ‘I've got the tools here ready. I would have done it before but I didn't like to when the kiddy was so distressed and thrashing about, like. I reckon, though, what's best'd be if I get underneath the house and cut through the pipe. Then if I chip it from underneath I won't upset the kid as much. With luck the whole thing will lift up. It'll just be a matter of supporting the kid while we do it.'

‘Do it,' Mike said, his eyes on the little girl's face. They needed to get her out of there fast. She was showing signs of going into shock.

‘Could you hop in the bath and cuddle her?' Tess asked Kylie. She cast a quick glance at Mike, and Mike nodded his agreement. Warmth and reassurance were what this child needed more than anything.

‘What…hop in?' The teenage babysitter was clearly horrified.

‘Do as she says, Kylie,' Mike ordered, and Tess almost grinned as the teenager gazed at Mike in dismay but then did what she was told. Mike had some authority in this town. There weren't many people who could tell a teenager to sit in a bath in front of witnesses and be obeyed.

In two minutes they had the sulky teenager sitting right in the bath, with the child lying back on her lap. Without her mum to comfort the child, it was the best they could hope for. While Mike examined the toe, Tess sent a couple of the women to find hot-water bottles, and she replaced the single towel around the child's body with a big fluffy blanket.

‘She's been pulling,' Mike said softly, looking
from the swollen toe to the white, drained face of the little girl. The fact that the child was now silent was ominous. The old medical adage was, ‘Never worry too much about a child who's screaming. If a child's quiet, then worry.'

‘I think we might administer some pethidine, Dr Westcott,' Mike said, and Tess nodded. She retrieved what he needed from his bag and prepared it.