CHAPTER ONE

      SHE COULD HAVE been beautiful with that fine clear skin and those huge grey eyes. However, the severely cropped black hair and strictly functional clothing did nothing to enhance her appearance. As he took stock of the woman seated in front of his desk, Daniel Saunders found himself wondering why Eleanor Munroe had failed to make the most of her considerable assets. Was she deliberately trying to disguise her femininity for some reason, playing down the fact that she was a highly attractive woman?

      ‘Right then, Dr Munroe, we may as well get straight down to business.’

      Daniel dismissed that strangely unsettling thought as he picked up her CV. He skimmed through it once more, although he already knew the facts by heart. Dr Eleanor Munroe was thirty-five years old, with a birthday coming up the following month. She had read medicine at Cambridge and graduated with a First Class Honours degree. After completing her rotations at St Linus’s Hospital in London, she had opted to go into general practice and had trained at a busy practice in Kent and subsequently been hired by them too. She had supplied references from the head of the practice and had added a codicil to the bottom of her CV that gave Daniel permission to phone and speak to her referee directly.

      Although it was unusual to do that so early in the proceedings, Daniel had taken up the offer and he had to admit that he’d been impressed by what he had heard. According to her former employer, Dr Munroe was above reproach and any practice who hired her would be extremely fortunate to secure her services. It appeared that Eleanor Munroe ticked all the boxes on paper, at least, but he still needed to be sure that they could work together.

      ‘A most impressive CV, Dr Munroe,’ he said, glancing up. ‘Backed up by the conversation I had with your former colleague. He was highly complimentary and even mentioned that you were in the running for a senior partnership. It makes me wonder why you decided to leave your last post when you were so successful there.’

      ‘I left for personal reasons, Dr Saunders.’

      Her voice was cool, distant even, so Daniel had no idea why the hairs on the back of his neck sprang to attention. He glanced at her CV again, needing a moment to collect himself. He hadn’t felt this aware of a woman in a very long time, not since Camille, his wife, had died, in fact. That it should happen now, and with seemingly so little reason, surprised him. He cleared his throat.

      ‘I see. So what attracted you to the post here at The Larches? You do understand that it’s only temporary? Beth—Dr Andrews, that is—is planning to return once her maternity leave is over. Barring any unforeseen changes to her plans, she will be back at work next September.’

      ‘I understand that. It was perfectly clear from your advertisement.’ Eleanor Munroe pinned him with a chilly stare. ‘I wouldn’t have wasted your time or mine by applying for the post if I wasn’t happy with the terms.’

      ‘Quite so.’ Daniel summoned a smile although he couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable at the frosty rebuke. She certainly wasn’t a pushover, he decided, storing that titbit away for future reference.

      ‘Right, now we’ve established that, let me tell you about the practice,’ he continued briskly, needing to take control of the proceedings once more. He wasn’t normally indecisive when it came to his work—he was always single-minded and focused. However, Dr Munroe seemed to possess the ability to unsettle him and he wanted to get back on track. ‘The Larches, whilst being a rural practice, is extremely busy, mainly because we cover such a wide area of the Yorkshire Dales. As you will know from our advertisement, as well as the main surgery here in Beesdale we run a branch surgery at Hemsthwaite. Between the two sites we have roughly four and a half thousand patients on our books. So if you thought it would be easier working here than in your previous post then I’m afraid you were mistaken.’

      ‘I didn’t apply for the job because I thought it would be the easy option,’ Eleanor Munroe said brusquely. ‘On the contrary, I am looking forward to being kept busy should I decide to accept the position.’

      Daniel could feel his eyebrows rise and struggled to control them but Dr Munroe’s confidence was more than a little startling. There had been no trace of doubt in her voice that she would be hired, no hint at all that she saw this interview as anything more than a formality. Eleanor Munroe obviously knew her own worth. And what was more, she intended to make sure that everyone else was aware of it too!

      * * *

      Ellie could feel perspiration trickling down her back. That had come out completely wrong! She knew it wasn’t a given that she would be hired for the job. Despite first-class references and glowing endorsements, there were other factors to consider, the main one being that Dr Saunders needed to be sure they could work together. That seemingly arrogant statement would hardly have endeared her to him, would it? If she could have taken back the words she would have done so, but there was nothing she could do now except brazen it out.

      Ellie sat up straighter, curbing the urge to run her hand over her newly short hair. She had never worn her hair so short before but she had decided to make a lot of changes to her life and changing her appearance had been first on her agenda. Once she had sorted out her new hairstyle, she had bagged up all the pretty, feminine dresses, the jewel bright tops, the high-heeled shoes, and given them to a charity shop. Her wardrobe now consisted of serviceable tailored trousers and shirts—neat, tidy, professional. Now that she was concentrating on what she wanted, she didn’t need any more frippery.

      ‘Well, there’s no doubt that anyone who works here will be kept extremely busy,’ Daniel Saunders said evenly, although Ellie could tell that her comment had been added to the minus column on her score sheet.

      She bit back a groan, not wanting him to guess how mortified she felt. She wanted this job—no, not wanted it, needed it. If she moved to Yorkshire it would be the first step towards rebuilding her life. Maybe the future wasn’t going to turn out the way she had thought it would but she intended to have a good life and on her terms too. Even though she’d been betrayed in the worst possible way, she was going to use what had happened to her advantage. She had always been a rather cautious person, preferring to stick to what she knew, but not any more. No, she intended to travel and see something of the world while she furthered her career. Maybe what had happened had been a blow but she would get over it. She was determined about that!

      Ellie was so lost in her thoughts that it was a moment before she realised Dr Saunders had asked her a question. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, feeling the embarrassed colour run up her neck. She hated to be caught unawares. She thrived on order and preferred to be prepared at all times. However, there was something about the man seated opposite that unsettled her.

      ‘I asked if moving up here would create any problems for you, Dr Munroe.’ Daniel Saunders shrugged, drawing Ellie’s unwilling attention to the width of his shoulders. He was casually dressed in navy chinos and a light blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and, despite herself, Ellie couldn’t help noticing how the blue of his shirt brought out the midnight blue of his eyes and highlighted the steel-grey streaks at his temples before she forced her mind away from such nonsense.

      ‘Problems?’ she repeated uncertainly. ‘In which way, Dr Saunders?’

      ‘You may need to consider someone else’s views. It’s a long way from Kent to Yorkshire and a lot of people might not be happy about relocating so far away.’

      ‘I don’t need to consider anyone else, I assure you.’ Ellie