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beat of feeling that this situation had a personal rather than purely professional edge. She was totally focussed now. ‘Would you mind undoing your jeans for me, please?’

      She laid her hand on a very flat abdomen, pressing gently to examine a lower quadrant. ‘When did you last have something to eat?’

      ‘I’m not sure. We stopped for lunch but I was more worried about whether Ellie and Emma were eating. Which they weren’t…’

      ‘Don’t worry. If I know my mum, she’ll be filling them up with something like fish fingers and ice-cream right about now. Hmm…that hurt, didn’t it?’

      ‘A bit…’ The admission was reluctant.

      ‘That’s right over your spleen and I’d say it’s enlarged. It can rupture, you know, in a severe case of malaria.’

      ‘Yeah…thanks for that.’

      ‘I’m going to take some blood as well. I can do a blood glucose here but I’ll have to send the rest away to check on your renal function.’

      She helped him roll up the sleeve of his woollen jumper and pulled a tourniquet tight above his elbow. He didn’t flinch when the needle pierced his skin. A high pain threshold? She’d need to take that into account the next time she was pressing on his abdomen.

      ‘Blood sugar’s low normal. Could just be a result of you not eating recently.’

      ‘You happy now? Can I have my meds?’

      Sophie handed over the packet of pills and filled a glass of water from the basin in the room. She would hardly call her state of mind any shade of happiness.

      What on earth was she going to do now?

      ‘Let’s see how steady you are on your feet,’ she said, finally. ‘I’ll take you to my parents’ house which is just past the car park. Between us, I’m sure we can sort something out about a place you can stay. Not that North Cove has much in the way of hotels, but there are a few B&Bs and a guest house or two.’

      The rain had settled into a steady downpour and the pace that Finn seemed capable of managing was nowhere near fast enough to stop them both getting noticeably wet by the time Sophie led him through the back door of what had been one of the original farmhouses in the area. The door led into a huge kitchen that smelled of hot food and home but it was empty at the moment so she kept going to the living room across the hall. There she found her father, putting another log onto the open fire.

      ‘Dad? This is Finn Connelly.’

      Jack Greene straightened. He was still looking a bit pale, Sophie noted, but that could be due to the startling arrival of two children he was biologically related to as much as his earlier dizzy spell today.

      Oh, man… Her life was suddenly spinning out of control and she didn’t like it one little bit.

      ‘Where’s Mum?’

      ‘I’m here…’ Judy appeared through the door. ‘I was just tucking up the girls.’ She met Sophie’s stare with one of her own. ‘I didn’t know how long you were going to be, Sophie. They were exhausted, poor little loves. And there was your old room with its two beds. They were asleep almost as soon as their heads touched the pillows.’ She smiled at Finn. ‘I hope you don’t mind, but I gave them some dinner that wasn’t particularly healthy. Fish fingers and ice-cream.’

      Sophie’s gaze flew to catch Finn’s and there was a moment of silent communication.

       Told you so…

       Yeah… I get it. You’re always right…

      He spoke, however, to Judy. ‘That’s fine. You’ve done better than I have today, finding something they actually wanted to eat.’

      ‘Oh, my goodness. You’re soaked. Come over here by the fire. I’ll get you a cup of tea.’

      ‘I’m a bit warm,’ Finn said. ‘I might stay here.’ He sank down onto one end of the huge, worn leather sofa.

      Jack was staring at the newcomer with a frown on his face. ‘You don’t look right, lad.’ He shifted his gaze to Sophie. ‘What’s going on?’

      ‘Malaria,’ she said.

      ‘What?’ Jack pushed his glasses back up his nose. ‘That’s ridiculous. How did you diagnose that on the spot? When have we ever had a case of malaria in North Cove?’

      ‘Finn’s a doctor,’ she told him. ‘And this is a relapse, not a primary infection. He diagnosed it himself but his signs and symptoms certainly fit the clinical picture. Fever, headache, fatigue. Oh, and a rather tender spleen. I’ve taken bloods. I’ll get them off to the lab myself on my way home.’

      She could feel the curious glance coming from Finn. Had he thought she still lived here, with her parents? She was thirty-four, for heaven’s sake. Would he still consider living with his parents?

      No. His parents clearly weren’t in the picture if he had been his brother’s only relative. And he’d said he hadn’t seen his brother in years, either.

      Okay. Her father wasn’t the only curious one.

      ‘So you’re a doctor?’ Jack moved to sit on the other end of the couch. ‘A specialist? Where do you work?’

      ‘I’m an emergency medicine specialist. I spent five years or so in a London A&E but I’ve been in Australia for the last few years. I’m hoping to sign a new three-year contract with the Flying Doctors service there.’

      Glances were exchanged between Sophie’s parents as the implications of his statement sank in. They would both realise how unlikely it was that he would be taking two young children to Outback Australia.

      ‘I’ll help you make some tea,’ Sophie said to her mother. ‘We need to find somewhere for Finn to stay for a day or two as well. He’s not in a fit state to drive.’

      She hoped that Finn would be filling in the gaps for her father while she was in the kitchen doing the same thing for her mother. She kept it short and to the point and Judy listened quietly as she put cups and saucers onto a tray and waited for the kettle to boil.

      ‘Well…’ she said finally. ‘I’m not waking those girls up to get dragged off to a B&B. They’ll have to stay here, for tonight at least. Find the biscuit tin, would you?’

      A plate was put in front of Sophie with a clatter. A sure sign that Judy Greene was not happy.

      A moment later and her father came into the kitchen. He didn’t look happy, either.

      ‘That lad needs to be in bed,’ he said. ‘I’d probably admit him if he was my patient but I don’t expect he’s going to like that idea.’

      ‘He doesn’t need admission. He needs somewhere to rest for a few days with someone checking up on him frequently. What about Mrs Murphy’s guest house?’ Sophie suggested. ‘It’s just up the road.’

      ‘You’d put a sick man in a guest house?’ Judy sounded horrified. ‘And Colleen Murphy? She’d be round here first thing tomorrow morning, and one look at those girls and she’ll know exactly what’s going on. Like I did.’ She shook her head as she poured boiling water into the teapot to warm it. ‘That hair…’ She swirled the pot and tipped the water out before reaching for the tea caddy. ‘And if Colleen knows, the whole town’ll hear about it soon enough.’

      The teapot hit the bench with a thump. ‘He’ll have to stay here, in our guest room. Unless you want to take him home, Sophie?’

      ‘Why on earth would I want to do that?’

      Judy spoke quietly. ‘Because he’s the uncle of your daughters, perhaps?’

      ‘They’re not my daughters.’ It felt as if the walls were closing in around Sophie. ‘And he’s not much of an uncle, by all

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