A Gentle Giant. Caroline Anderson

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СКАЧАТЬ think so? Of course it’s very pretty in September, but in January it’s quite different. They can be cut off for weeks at a time.’

      He was only trying to put her off, she realised, so she ignored his comment.

      ‘Can I come in?’

      ‘Only if you promise not to stare,’ he told her, and she blushed again.

      ‘I wasn’t staring. There was nothing else to look at!’

      He grinned. ‘Don’t mind me. I’m just not used to being watched all the time. Of course you can come in.’

      He led the way, introducing her to Mr Reeve, a tall, solid young man in his late twenties.

      ‘I expect you’ll want to wash your hands,’ he said to Rob, and the doctor went over to the sink in the corner of the living-room-cum-kitchen, stripped off his coat and scrubbed thoroughly.

      The shepherd handed him a towel, and then opened a door. ‘Josie’s in bed,’ he told them, and they followed him out to the back of the little single-storey cottage. ‘Doctor’s here, hen,’ he said gently, and the woman turned her head and smiled sleepily, pushing herself into a sitting position.

      ‘Sorry, Doctor, I dozed off. Thank you for coming. I’m sorry to call you out—it’s probably nothing, but I just felt I ought to check.’

      He smiled reassuringly. ‘That’s what I’m here for, Mrs Reeve. Let’s have a look, can I?’

      The woman eased back down the bed, and he pulled back the covers and felt her abdomen all over, his huge hands all but covering it.

      ‘How often are the contractions?’

      ‘Half an hour or so—nothing very bad, but they were stronger than the others, the practice ones you told me about—oh, there’s one starting!’

      He kept his hands still, and then nodded. ‘I’m fairly sure they’re still just the Braxton-Hicks, but if I can just take a look we’ll be sure. What was the show like?’

      ‘Just a slight pink stain—nothing much, but I didn’t know what to expect.’

      ‘More than that, probably, but not everybody has one.’ He flipped open his bag, pulled on a pair of gloves and examined her deftly while her husband shifted awkwardly near the door. Jamie smiled at him.

      ‘It’s lovely here, isn’t it?’ she said quietly.

      He seemed relieved to be given something else to focus on. ‘Aye, we love it. Couldn’t live anywhere else. Can’t stand the city.’

      She grinned. ‘Neither can I—dirty, stinking place. Give me the country any day of the week.’

      She turned back to Mrs Reeve, who was now respectable again.

      The doctor was stripping off his gloves and shrugging back into his jacket. ‘No problem. Your cervix hasn’t started to open yet, as I thought, but I doubt you’ll be long. That’s a fair old baby you’ve got there, you know.’

      She smiled. ‘Takes after Sandy, I expect,’ she said fondly.

      ‘You’re sure of your dates?’

      ‘Oh, aye. There was only that one month, because the month before Sandy was away bringing the sheep in, and he was too tired …’

      She flushed and trailed to a halt, and Dr Buchanan stifled a smile.

      ‘Just try and rest a bit for a few days, and call me if you’re the slightest bit worried. Don’t worry about wasting my time. I’d rather be called too early than too late, all right? I’ll see you on Tuesday at the clinic.’

      As they walked back to the front of the house, Sandy took the doctor on one side and murmured something to him. Judging by the way he blushed and shifted from foot to foot, it was something he would rather Jamie didn’t hear, so she took herself out to the Land Rover and waited there.

      A few seconds later the doctor emerged, shook hands with the young shepherd and climbed up into the cab.

      As they pulled away, a broad smile broke up his rugged features, and he turned to her, his eyes twinkling.

      ‘He’s had a quiet week on the farm, and they’ve been taking advantage of the fact to do a little honeymooning. He wondered if he might have done her any harm!’

      Jamie chuckled. ‘Judging by his smile, you set his mind at rest!’

      He nodded, and the smile faded. ‘On that score, but I’m still concerned about the baby’s size, and to a certain extent its position. The head’s engaged, and all I can feel is hands and feet and bottom, So I think we may end up with a malpresentation. Of course there’s nothing to stop it turning; it’s still pretty active. I’ve told him to bring her in to the branch surgery on Tuesday and bring a urine sample—I just want to check she’s not become diabetic during her pregnancy, but she hasn’t got any of the other symptoms. It could be deceptive, of course, but I think I’ll get her sent along to the hospital for a scan.’

      Jamie’s brow creased into a frown. ‘Do you think she’ll have problems with delivery, then?’

      He shrugged. ‘Could be. Her pelvis isn’t bad, but that baby seemed big enough now, and she’s still got six weeks to go.’

      ‘Trudy next?’

      ‘Uh-huh. That’s back the way we’ve come and on a bit further.’ They headed down the track, turned left at the end and made good speed along the narrow, twisting road back to the coast. Then they ran along beside the loch again, sometimes so near to the water that Jamie felt she could touch it. The darkness was creeping in, and with it her tiredness, but the peace and tranquillity took the edge off her discomfort and she relaxed back against the seat and closed her eyes.

      Seconds later she was being shaken gently awake by a massive hand cupping her shoulder, and as she straightened she found herself inches away from his startling slate-grey eyes.

      ‘I went to sleep—I’m sorry,’ she said breathlessly, and he nodded slightly. ‘It’s the drive—I left early this morning.’

      He nodded again. ‘You should be tucked up in bed somewhere, not gadding about the countryside. We’re at Trudy’s house—do you want to come in, or stay here and rest?’

      She looked around. They were parked outside a little terraced cottage in the middle of a village—if you could call it that. Out here, where neighbours were few and far between, a cluster of five or six houses probably did count as a village, Jamie thought, and it was here that Trudy lived.

      ‘Come in?’

      ‘Come on, then.’

      He swung down from the seat, hefting his bag like a handful of feathers, and strode up to the door.

      It was answered by a small girl who looked about seven at the most, but turned out to be Trudy, small for her age because of her temperamental health.

      ‘Hello, Dr Rob!’ she said with a gappy smile, and he ruffled her hair СКАЧАТЬ