The Doctor’s Rebel Knight

      by

      Melanie Milburne

      

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

       Jacob tipped up her chin with his finger. ‘Want to tell me what happened?’

      Fran chewed at her lip. ‘I was all set to go in…Well, I was parked out in front, at least…’

      ‘And?’

      She swallowed tightly. ‘I started to walk up the path when I heard the sirens; I guess it was you on your way to the fire. The fire engine was on your tail, and all the noise…it just got to me. I panicked—really panicked. I thought I was going to pass out.’

      ‘You poor kid,’ he said gently. Jacob put his hands on her shoulders. ‘Have you had panic attacks before?’

      ‘Yes…’ Her cheeks went bright red. ‘Everyone expects doctors to be able to cope with anything. We see blood and gore and death and serious injury all the time. But I just can’t seem to walk into a hospital without breaking out in a cold sweat.’

      He stepped back and took her by the shoulders again. ‘What if I come with you the first couple of times? Would that help?’

      She looked up at him in wonder. ‘You would do that?’

      ‘I’ll try not to make it too obvious,’ he said. ‘I can come and go, depending on how you are coping.’

      ‘But what will people think of you being there like some sort of bodyguard?’ she asked.

      Jacob picked up her hand and pressed a kiss to the middle of her palm. ‘Just take things a step at a time, Fran. No one is making you commit for life. It’s just for now. Enjoy it for what it is.’

       Dear Reader

      One of the greatest privileges I have experienced as a published author is to be asked to be part of the Heart Foundation in Hobart. Each year a fundraising ball is held in June, and it is Hobart’s premier event.

      A couple of years ago I was asked to be part of the silent auction, donating a book dedication and/or the use of a person’s name as an upcoming character. HER MAN OF HONOUR was that award-winning book—which was, of course, a great thrill.

      In 2008 a lovely reader won the bid for the chance to have her name used in one of my books. While I have used her name, the character is not based on her in any other way, and everything else is the work of my imagination and was in no way influenced by a real person. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

      I hope you enjoy THE DOCTOR’S REBEL KNIGHT, for I certainly loved writing it, and am once again delighted to be a part of the Heart Foundation’s work in Tasmania.

       Melanie

      Melanie Milburne says: ‘I am married to a surgeon, Steve, and have two gorgeous sons, Paul and Phil. I live in Hobart, Tasmania, where I enjoy an active life as a long-distance runner and a nationally ranked top ten Master’s swimmer. I also have a Master’s Degree in Education, but my children totally turned me off the idea of teaching! When not running or swimming I write, and when I’m not doing all of the above I’m reading. And if someone could invent a way for me to read during a four-kilometre swim I’d be even happier!’

       Recent titles by the same author:

       Medical™ Romance

       TOP-NOTCH DOC, OUTBACK BRIDE SINGLE DAD SEEKS A WIFE

       (Brides of Penhally Bay)

       THE SURGEON BOSS’S BRIDE

       Did you know that Melanie also writes for Modern™ Romance? Her stories have her trademark drama and passion, with the added promise of sexy Mediterranean heroes and all the glamour of Modern™ Romance!

       Modern™ Romance

       THE FUTURE KING’S LOVE-CHILD

       (The Royal House of Karedes)

      BOUND BY THE MARCOLINI DIAMONDS

       Next month, look out for Melanie’s Modern™ Romance CASTELLANO’S MISTRESS OF REVENGE

      Chapter One

      ‘I ABSOLUTELY loathe going to the beach with you,’ Carolyn Atkins grumbled with a rueful grin. ‘Compared to you, I don’t just look like the side of a house, I look like the whole damn street.’

      Fran smiled softly at her older sister. ‘Well, you would go and get yourself pregnant with twins. That was just asking for trouble, if you ask me.’

      Carolyn rubbed her hand over the generous swell of her abdomen, a slight frown starting to pull at her brow. ‘I know…but I would feel a lot happier if we had a permanent doctor in town right now.’

      ‘Please, Caro,’ Fran said, a scowl swiftly replacing her smile as she clipped Rufus back on his lead. ‘We’ve been through this every day since I arrived. I’m not cut out to be a doctor now. Maybe I never was in the first place.’

      ‘That’s total rubbish, Fran,’ Caro said as she dusted the sand off her slip-on shoes. ‘You were fabulous at your job. You loved it. You were a borderline workaholic, for pity’s sake. It was all you could talk about until—’

      ‘Yes, well, that was then and this is now,’ Fran said quickly, giving her beach towel a rough shake. ‘I want to forget about it while I’m here. I’m supposed to be having a holiday before you have the babies, remember?’

      Caro’s shoulders went down on a sigh. ‘Honey, I’m worried about you. I know you don’t want to talk about what happened, but don’t you think it might help you move on better if you discuss it just a little bit?’

      Fran picked up the bottle of sunscreen and wiped the sand off it with a corner of her towel before she said, ‘For your information, Carolyn, recent studies have shown that people who received post-trauma counselling were no better off than those who had been given none. In fact, there was even some suggestion those who received the counselling were worse off—they got more post-traumatic stress symptoms.’

      Caro screwed up her mouth in a wry fashion as she fondled her dog’s floppy ears. ‘You might not want to be a doctor any more but you obviously still keep up to date. That sounded as if you just read it from the latest medical journal.’

      Fran slung her beach bag over her shoulder as they started up the sand back to the house with Rufus, who had a piece of driftwood in his mouth in the hope one of them would throw it just one more time. ‘I need this time here away from it all, Caro,’ she said in a heavy voice. ‘It’s not just about the…the incident. Breaking up with Anton was so unexpected. I feel such a fool for not seeing that coming.’ It wasn’t quite the truth but Fran was so tired of being badgered by her friends and family about her decision to leave medicine.

      Caro stopped halfway up the path, seemingly to catch her breath, although Fran suspected she had done it for the sake of her damaged leg. It had been weeks now since the cast had come off and her limp was no better. She tried to disguise it as much as she could but there were days when it ached unbearably.

      Today was one of those days.

      ‘Honey,