Posh Doc, Society Wedding by Joanna Neil Page A

trek.’
    ‘What have you done with Molly and Cameron?’
    ‘I left them with the local GP. They made friends with his children last week when I went over there to discuss a patient with him. In fact, he’s going to be taking over the aftercare of the man who was injured by the waterfall.’
    He walked beside her, and soon she was struggling to keep up with his long, rangy stride. Izzy studied him. ‘You mean, the man with the pulmonary embolism? You know how he’s doing, then?’
    Ross nodded. ‘His shoulder’s still a bit sore, but they fixed the dislocation at the hospital and his ankle’s in plaster. His breathing is much better, and he seems tobe making a reasonably good recovery from his surgery, but of course his GP will have to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t suffer any more blood clots.’
    ‘Yes, he will, but I’m glad that he’s doing well over all.’
    At one point they had to cross a stream, using flat rocks as stepping-stones, and Izzy hesitated for a moment, attempting to keep her balance. As she wavered, Ross placed a hand under her arm to steady her.
    ‘Thanks,’ she said, glancing up at him, her mouth making a rueful shape. ‘I was just taking my time, that’s all. The last thing I want is to spend the next few hours soaked to the skin.’ She didn’t want to notice his strength, or how capable he was, and how sure of foot he appeared to be, but it was true all the same. And as the heat from his hand at her elbow penetrated through the material of her jacket, it was more than enough to warm her through and through.
    His eyes crinkled with amusement. ‘No wine to blur your senses today,’ he said. ‘That’s a shame. I quite liked it when you were soft and dreamy and wrapped up in my arms.’
    They reached the other side of the stream and she threw him a quick glance. ‘You were out of line yesterday,’ she told him. He still was, if he thought he could sweet-talk her into getting close to him. She was more than wary on that score. ‘You didn’t tell me that your home brew packed such a punch. I thought—Fruit wine, lovely, no worries. If you do get a licence to sell your produce, at least you’ll have to state the alcoholic content and people will know exactly what they’re in for.’
    He grinned. ‘To be fair, I didn’t realise it would hit you quite so hard. You probably hadn’t eaten enough to soak it up.’
    ‘Yes, well, I won’t make that mistake again in a hurry.’
    ‘That’s a shame,’ he said, affecting a downturned mouth. ‘I couldn’t help thinking how great it was to see you looking so relaxed, and you were definitely happy to snuggle up and keep warm.’
    She shot him a warning glance, and he laughed.
    It took more than an hour of climbing over boulder slopes before they reached the point where the woman, who looked to be in her forties, was lying injured. She was resting on a narrow plateau at the foot of a ridge, and was in a bad way.
    ‘Thank heaven you’re here.’ The woman’s companion looked wretched. ‘Sarah fell onto her side and hit the rock. I’ve been trying to keep her warm, but she’s in an awful lot of pain.’ She frowned. ‘She’s very shaky, and she seems to be not quite with me some of the time.’
    ‘We’ll take care of her,’ Finn said. ‘Come over and sit with the rest of our team and we’ll give you a hot drink. You look as though you’ve had a pretty bad experience yourself. The doctors will look after your friend.’
    Izzy knelt down beside the woman. ‘Hello, there. Sarah, is it?’
    Sarah struggled to focus, but then she slowly, almost imperceptibly nodded.
    Izzy said quietly, ‘I’m Dr McKinnon, and here with me is Dr Buchanan. We’ll have a look at you and try to make you more comfortable, and then the Mountain Rescue team will take you back down the slopes and on to hospital as quickly as possible. Can you tell me whereabouts you’re hurting?’
    Sarah vaguely indicated the region of her hip. Her