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      CHAPTER ONE

      ‘I CAN manage without you just for the summer. I want you to go off and breathe mountain air and forget all about medicine and your patients.’ Anna turned off the motorway and followed the signs for the airport. She was all brisk efficiency, mentally ticking off things to be done when she got home. There were lots of them. Too many. Her life was manic, but she loved it that way. ‘And when you come back your lungs will be better and you’ll be totally refreshed and raring to go.’

      At least she hoped he would be because she couldn’t keep this pace up for much longer.

      David McKenna glanced across at her with a tired smile. The smile said it all. ‘We both know that that isn’t true. The truth is that you should be looking for a new partner. I’m getting too old for this, Anna,’ he said gruffly. ‘Your dad and I set up the practice almost thirty-five years ago. It’s time for new blood.’

      ‘That’s right.’ His wife, Elizabeth, nodded agreement, a determined look in her clear blue eyes as she leaned forward from the back seat to join in the conversation. ‘It’s time for us to enjoy retirement and our grandchildren.’

      Anna glanced in her rear-view mirror and laughed. ‘You don’t have any grandchildren.’

      ‘Not yet,’ Elizabeth agreed placidly as she settled back in her seat and adjusted her seat-belt. ‘But it’s going to happen shortly.’

      Anna carefully fixed her eyes back on the road and clamped her jaw closed. Safer to do that than voice an opinion on that particular subject. The McKennas only had one son and he showed absolutely no inclination to settle down. He was far more interested in pursuing a glamorous career as a high-profile media doctor and dating everyone female.

      And he drove her nuts. Always had done. Always would do.

      Anna ground her teeth and tightened her grip on the steering-wheel. The mere thought of the man was enough to raise her blood pressure to dangerous levels. Every time she turned on the television, Sam McKenna was on the screen, giving his opinion on something medical. Dr Smooth. Dr Handsome. She doubted he even remembered what it was like to be a real doctor. He’d spent far too long in front of the cameras to remember how to diagnose anything other than an ingrowing toenail.

      Reminding herself that dwelling on Sam McKenna wasn’t good for her health, she turned her attention back to the present and braked neatly as a car cut in front of her. ‘You can’t possibly talk about retiring, David,’ she said briskly, adjusting her speed to ensure a safe following distance. ‘The patients love you and you’re a brilliant doctor. And you know you enjoy it. You just need to get yourself well again.’

      The practice needed him. The practice he and her father had built from nothing. She needed him. She didn’t want her life to change. She liked it just the way it was.

      David looked at her thoughtfully. ‘It will be interesting to see how you find working with the locum I’ve arranged,’ he said idly. ‘We both know you’ve been carrying the lion’s share of work for months now. You might find you prefer a younger person who can share the load fairly.’

      Anna shot him a quick glance, her brown eyes searching. There was something in his tone that wasn’t quite right. But the look he gave her seemed completely innocent so she decided that she must have imagined it.

      ‘I don’t want younger,’ she said firmly, flicking the indicator and turning towards the airport. ‘I want you. With all your experience. Which reminds me—we’ve been so busy, you still haven’t told me anything about this locum. You just arranged it all. I hope he knows something about medicine.’

      But she wasn’t really worried. She trusted David’s judgement in everything. If David thought the locum would cope then she had no doubt that he would.

      ‘Of course he does. And you’ve been far too busy to bother you with the details,’ David said vaguely, glancing at his watch and casting a pointed glance at his wife. ‘We don’t have time for you to dither in the airport,