Partners by Contract (9 page)

‘Thanks.’

‘Was Mrs Proctor very upset?’ she asked huskily, her heart thumping heavily against her ribs. If Con did come back to work, even in a restricted way, she was off. She had no choice. She just couldn’t function in the same environment as him.

‘More with herself than you, I suspect.’

‘I should have been more tactful.’

‘I don’t agree.’

The forbidding tone in his voice made Phoebe glance up sharply, to discover his expression was equally stern.

‘She needed a wake-up call,’ he continued. ‘Things could have turned out much worse if you hadn’t acted so
swiftly. I rang the ward earlier—Sam seems to be responding to the antibiotics.’

‘Now that he’s getting them,’ Phoebe snorted with a rueful shake of her head. ‘When he didn’t respond to the first course I just thought the infection was penicillin-resistant. It never occurred to me his mother wasn’t giving him the medication I’d prescribed.’

A mild chest infection had turned to pneumonia, and when Phoebe had arrived in answer to an urgent call from Lyn she’d found a terrified mother and a limp, unresponsive child with severe breathing difficulties. ‘It’s not as if the alternative medicines she was pumping him full of did any harm...’

‘They just couldn’t cope with the infection.’

Phoebe nodded. ‘He had a febrile convulsion in the ambulance, which didn’t help matters. I’m more used to mothers complaining when I don’t prescribe antibiotics for a viral throat or a cold. It didn’t occur to me that this one had serious concerns about what I was prescribing. I should have picked up on it. Some of the things she was saying...’

‘It’s always easy to see the signs with the comfort of hindsight. It wasn’t your fault, Phoebe,’ Connor cut in a shade impatiently. ‘So don’t beat yourself up. The kid’s going to be all right, that’s the main thing.’

‘You’re right.’

The lines radiating from his eyes deepened attractively in amusement. ‘Almost always,’ he confirmed.

‘Only almost...?’ she teased with mocking, wide-eyed wonder.

His embryonic smile abruptly faded. ‘You of all people should know I make mistakes, Phoebe,’ he returned harshly.

The way his eyes drifted to her lips and stayed there
was all the explanation she needed—had she needed one. Connor was thinking about kissing, and one particular kiss!

Will returned, whistling and jingling his car keys. ‘Still here, Phoebe?’ he said, looking surprised. ‘Changed your mind about dinner?’

‘Definitely not!’ Was running away habit-forming? If so, she was in trouble!

* * *

If it hadn’t been for the fact that she felt guilty about leaving Will in the lurch Phoebe probably wouldn’t have gone into work that morning. Her head throbbed, her joints ached and her throat felt raw.

If she’d known how things were going to work out she would definitely have stayed in bed, she decided, staring at her patient and listening with growing unease to the flow of fulsome compliments which nothing she said seemed able to stem. Damn Con for being right!

‘I was wondering if we could go out for a drink some time?’ Rob’s gaze dropped self-consciously from hers, but not before she’d seen his expression.

Oh, heavens!

Phoebe gulped, her mind racing. How could she get out of this and leave the man his dignity? ‘I’ll check with the others, but I’m sure they’d all love to have a drink with you some time. We usually go to the King’s Head...’

‘We...?’ Rob looked bewildered.

‘Alan, Will, Trish and the girls.’

Their eyes met and Phoebe gave a tiny apologetic grimace. The animation died from Rob’s face and he cleared his throat.

‘I see.’ His smile was bitter. ‘You don’t want to go out with me, do you?’

‘The thing is, Rob, patients often feel a closeness with
their doctors or nurses, and that closeness can make them feel, quite falsely...’

‘Of course. Silly of me to think...’ He shook his head and got to his feet.

Phoebe’s heart ached for him. Why, oh, why didn’t I see the signs? Because all you can think about is Connor came the shameful answer.

‘We shouldn’t wait too long for that drink, Rob. I’ll be leaving soon, you know.’ Which would obviously be the best thing all round.

‘Yes, well, I just wanted to say thank you for everything, Doctor.’

After he’d gone Phoebe buried her head in her hands on the desk and sighed. Could I have handled that worse...?

A tap on the door heralded Sally’s entrance. ‘That was your last patient, Phoebe.’

Phoebe couldn’t summon up the energy or enthusiasm to lift her head. ‘Good!’ she muttered, disconsolately flicking the corner of her blotter with her thumb.

‘Actually Connor was just wondering if you’d give him a lift home.’

Connor...Connor...Connor.
He was constantly there. She couldn’t even escape him when she was asleep!

‘You can tell Connor to do his dirty work himself—no, on second thoughts, tell him I’m not a taxi service!’ She pushed her hair from her eyes and pulled herself upright. ‘He’s nothing but a liability,’ she added, warming to her theme.

It was at this point that she registered the fact that Sally was no longer alone. There he was again, going where he wasn’t invited—places he wasn’t wanted. The hell of it was that just looking at him made her weak with lust!

‘Thanks, I’ll take it from here.’ Connor smiled at the
embarrassed-looking receptionist and ushered her out of the room before knocking it closed with his crutch. ‘That’s a very politically incorrect thing for a person in the caring profession to say about a man on crutches. I think you’ve shocked Sally.’

Phoebe regarded him with deep dislike, which only served to deepen the gleam of sardonic amusement in his eyes.

‘I thought you were more enlightened, Phoebe.’

‘Very funny, I’m sure,’ she cut in, not appreciating his levity. ‘And don’t look at me like that—you
are
a liability.’ Phoebe was dismayed to hear the note of petulant defiance in her own voice ‘I’ve tripped over the pile of get-well gifts in the hallway twice so far this morning.’

‘Can I help it if I’m universally loved?’

No more than I can help loving you. ‘You should be home in bed!’ she choked.

‘No, I shouldn’t. I should be mobilising gently, which is what I’m doing. I think maybe you’re the one who should be home in bed,’ he observed, casting a critical eye over her flushed cheeks and overbright eyes. ‘You’ve got the flu.’

‘I have
not
got the flu,’ she contradicted belligerently. ‘I’ve got a simple head cold.’ She sniffed loudly to illustrate this point. ‘It’s my day off tomorrow. I’ll spend the day in bed. Besides, it can’t be flu. I had the jab.’

‘You look feverish.’ Not as feverish as he felt, thinking about various ways they could spend the day in bed together. He set aside his crutches and, leaning against a filing cabinet, tugged the constricting knot of his tie free. The top button of his shirt followed, not that it made him feel any cooler.

‘I’m fed up to the back teeth with people telling me I shouldn’t be here!’ she retorted crankily.

‘It’s called concern, Phoebe,’ he said, looking more amused in a slightly distracted way than annoyed by her tetchy behaviour.

Phoebe grunted noncomittally, unable to deny this but unwilling in her present frame of mind to concede his point.

‘I saw Rob on his way out...he didn’t look too happy.’

‘If you say I told you so, I’ll personally dismember you limb by limb,’ she promised grimly.

Her bloodthirsty relish made him laugh out loud. Connor had a deeply attractive laugh, warm and spontaneous. It was the sort of laugh that made it hard for a person to stay angry. Phoebe determinedly gritted her teeth and thought dark, nasty thoughts about him.

‘My lips are sealed. Don’t feel too bad—he’ll get over it.’

‘Because his feelings for me are shallow and superficial?’ Phoebe, who had been telling herself the same thing only moments earlier, choked. ‘You’re so amazingly callous, Connor.’

Her hostility had finally succeeded in wiping all traces of humour from his face. ‘At least I haven’t been ill-judged enough to encourage a patient to fall in love with me.’

Phoebe inhaled sharply and, drawing in herself up to her full height, smiled coldly up at him. ‘Taking into account my tendency to mess emotionally with vulnerable male patients, how relieved you must be that I refused the partnership offer,’ she observed with icy dignity.

‘You are perfectly aware I didn’t mean that,’ Connor seethed. ‘About the lift...’

Phoebe laughed. ‘You’ve got to be joking.’

‘I was about to say I’ll ask Ellen for a lift.’

‘I don’t know why you didn’t ask Ellen to begin with,’ Phoebe said. ‘There wasn’t much chance of her saying no.’

The spasm of disapproval that flickered across his face in response to her acid tone only increased her anger and resentment.

‘It seems to me you aren’t willing to give poor Ellen a fair go.’

Phoebe could hardly believe what she was hearing. Poor Ellen—that was rich! Sleeping with the woman had obviously made inroads into Connor’s objectivity!

‘I’m sorry if that bothers you, but fortunately I’m not in the business of making you happy!’ sheer frustration prompted her to childishly retort.

‘You’re constantly going out of your way to undermine her in front of the other staff.’

‘Is that a direct quote? Or are you just reading between the lines?’

‘This isn’t like you, Phoebe. Frankly, I’m disappointed.’

‘It’ll be hard,’ she choked, ‘but I’ll try to go on, knowing what a big disappointment I am to you.’

‘I hardly think this sort of drama is called for, Phoebe. Ellen is an excellent practice manager.’

‘Well, you would say that, wouldn’t you?’ she flared recklessly.

Connor’s electric blue eyes narrowed dangerously. ‘Meaning what?’

‘Meaning your relationship with Ellen hardly makes you the most dispassionate of judges!’

‘Is it just the idea of me dating Ellen that makes you act like a total bitch, or is it the idea of me dating anyone? I’m getting the distinct impression that you interpret me having any sort of social life as me not respecting Pen’s memory! Just because you’ve decided life’s got to be one long penance...’

‘That’s a ludicrous thing to say!’ she gasped. ‘And totally untrue.’

‘If that’s so, tell me, Phoebe, what have you been doing with your life? Why are you still working as a locum? I’ll tell you why, shall I? You’re in some sort of limbo.’ He paused, his flared nostrils drawing in oxygen greedily as his chest continued to heave with emotional conflict. ‘When are you going to get it through your head that Penny’s dead, you’re alive...we’re alive!’ he blazed.

Phoebe’s anger hit boiling point. ‘Who are you trying to convince, Con, me or you?’ she enquired in a quivering voice. ‘Sounds like a classic case of transference to me,’ she hissed. ‘If you’ve got a guilty conscience, don’t blame me! My interest in your sex life is nil—a big fat zero!’ That had told him!

Her triumphant smile faded as she encountered the scepticism on his lean countenance. The antagonism drained away as if someone had just released her anger valve. She felt weak and totally discouraged.

‘You can sleep with the entire female population of the village for all I care!’ she declared wearily. Now that, Phoebe, was about as sophisticated as pulling tongues at him—and if the expression on his face was any indicator, about as convincing, too.

‘If you say so.’

He had the temerity to sound indulgent! ‘I do say so,’ she snarled through gritted teeth.

She didn’t have the pleasure of throwing him out because with an infuriating sneering smile he made his exit under his own steam.

* * *

‘These are for you, from Co—’ Sally’s eyes widened in dismay. ‘I wasn’t supposed to tell you they were from him.’

Phoebe frowned at the large paper bag Sally thrust into her hands as she was about to leave. She tipped the contents
out onto the counter. A box of flu tablets, decongestants, vitamin C and last but not least a mega-sized bar of chocolate spilled out—Connor was obviously working on the ‘hit it with everything and something might actually work’ theory.

‘Why weren’t you meant to tell me they were from him?’

‘He said you wouldn’t take them if you knew he’d sent them,’ Sally encouraged by the little smile that played about Phoebe’s mouth, didn’t mention the bit about her being the most perverse female he’d ever met. ‘He also said I was to tell you to take loads of fluids and plenty of rest.’

‘Did he, indeed?’

‘Isn’t it thoughtful of him? Are you all right, Phoebe?’ she added anxiously as the young doctor abruptly buried her face in a tissue.

‘I’m fine. Just a cold, Sally...’ With her head bent, Phoebe hurried out to her car.

‘I’m only crying because I’ve got a cold and I’m suffering from sleep deprivation,’ she announced aloud as she belted herself in.

Even I don’t believe that and I want to! A giant wave of despondency hit her as she inserted the key into the ignition.

CHAPTER FIVE

T
HE
next morning Phoebe slept until after ten. Still wearing pyjamas, she padded barefoot through to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. She still felt fragile but a hundred times better than the previous day. Yesterday her nose had been red, not pink. Yesterday she wouldn’t have been able to smell the brewing coffee which filled the tiny kitchenette of the equally tiny cottage that had come with the job with a sharp nostril-twitching scent. The doorbell rang and she groaned, sorely tempted to ignore it. After a brief struggle conditioning won out over inclination.

‘Damn!’ she sighed, clicking her tongue in annoyance. No wonder I caught a cold.

Thanks to the increased workload because of the wretched flu outbreak, this was her first full day off for nearly a fortnight. The situation was stressful enough to lower anyone’s resistance to a stray bug. She deliberately avoided speculating on any other significant factors which might have contributed to the vulnerable state of her immune system.

She wasn’t wearing her most welcoming expression as she peered suspiciously around the edge of the door. Identifying her unexpected visitor, she stepped backwards with an uncoordinated jerky movement, causing the door to swing wide.