LITMIR.BIZ

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

      To Sheila and Joanne … for giving me this chance and for believing in me

      And to the usual suspects for their continued friendship, encouragement and support

      Dear Reader,

      It was such an honour to be asked to contribute to this Christmas Weddings anthology.

      If you are new to Medical^™ romances and new to my books, then I hope you will enjoy stepping into the fictional world of Strathlochan, around which many of my books are set – on this occasion meeting Frazer and Callie.

      Callie has a difficult journey to make, not only due to her frightening brush with illness, but also because the impact of her past experiences makes it hard for her to trust. In Frazer, has she found a man she can believe in? Can she trust him – and herself – and step towards a happy and loving future?

      Most of us know of someone whose life has been touched by breast cancer. It makes us all stop and think. And remember the things that are most important … like those special in our lives who give love and support no matter what. I hope I have captured some of those feelings in my story.

      Thank you for reading this anthology. I hope you will come back and enjoy more of my books in future. Encouraged by my wonderful editor, I am currently working on some exciting new projects, but I hope to be back in Strathlochan telling Annie’s story very soon.

      Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a new year filled with good health, good friendships and happy-ever-afters.

      Best wishes,

       Margaret

      www.margaretmcdonagh.com

      CHAPTER ONE

      TODAY was the first day of the rest of her life, and Callie Grogan was determined that nothing would go wrong.

      On the cusp of dawn she left her car in the parking area and stood to stare across at the hangar looming adjacent to the building which housed the air ambulance base on the outskirts of town. Streamers of mist whispered low over the icy ground, while frost edged the fences and the bare branches of the trees and bushes around the perimeter. A line of mini-icicles hung off the gutters along the roofline of the single-storey building. Her breath misted the air and she stamped her feet, wishing she had pulled on an extra pair of socks before putting on her boots. As it was, she was wearing thermal underwear, a pair of jogging bottoms and a long-sleeved fleece under her flight suit. Yes, it was winter in Scotland, but she hadn’t expected Strathlochan to be this cold.

      A grey, wet November had given way to a December which had brought with it a blast of unexpected cold. Winter had taken a firm grip, with hard frosts, fog, ice and even the threat of early snow. Not ideal conditions for flying, but ones that increased the need for emergency care with an upsurge in accidents and weather-induced incidents.

      Under a lowering sky, the hangar doors peeped open, and as she approached the building she could see the engineering crew, who had worked on routine maintenance overnight, preparing the helicopter for the day’s work. When the threat of ice lifted, they would steer it out onto the forecourt, from where they could take off within a couple of minutes of an emergency call coming in.

      Callie felt a renewed burst of excitement. She couldn’t wait to begin her shift. After a terrible eighteen months, this was her chance for a whole new life. She was healthy. She’d thrown herself into work, determined to be the best she could possibly be. She was also alone. But that was nothing new. Aside from the brief misjudgement with Ed, she had always been alone. From now on she always would be. It had taken time, she had been at her lowest ebb, but she had put her life back together. Now she planned to make the most of the unexpected opportunity moving to Strathlochan had given her.

      She had been working as a paramedic in Glasgow when she had learned of the new air ambulance base opening further south, and she had lost no time in applying for a position. Having completed her additional training and safety courses to work on the helicopter, she had imagined she would have to spend time on the road ambulances before a vacancy became available. The news that she was top of the list and headed for the flight team straight away had delighted her. Until she had arrived in town and heard all about the playboy doctor who was to be her flight partner. Frazer McInnes.

      Callie had been in Strathlochan for a week now. A week that had thankfully coincided with Dr McInnes’s holiday. A week which had been full of learning, orientation and finding her feet. Several times she had been out on flights as an observer. She had spent time with the land ambulance crews, whose base was combined with that of the fire rescue service and was situated a few hundred yards along the road from the air base, with easy access to the town and the motorway. After learning her way around the area with them, she’d visited the hospital, especially the A and E department, familiarising herself with the layout so she would be prepared when delivering a casualty for urgent treatment.

      She had known what a long and fine tradition the Scottish ambulance service had in providing medical air cover throughout the country, both to the mainland and the islands, with helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. How the new air ambulance base in Strathlochan had come into being was something she had discovered from her new boss, Dr Archie Stewart, during their first detailed briefing.

      ‘The publicity surrounding Sir Morrison Ackerman’s funding of the new self-harm and eating disorders clinic near the town sparked local campaigns for further investment in Strathlochan’s medical facilities,’ Archie had explained. ‘Strathlochan has grown immensely over the years, and serves a large rural population scattered over a vast area, not to mention the busy motorway, road

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