The Surgeon's Christmas Wish. Annie O'Neil

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СКАЧАТЬ was hardly an advertisement to your presence on the slopes. Even if it looked as though someone had poured Giselle Bundschen’s body into the woman’s form-fitting all-in-one. He’d been lucky he’d seen the red bobble on her hat.

      Fraser was relieved to note that the building’s old-fashioned exterior hid an incredibly modern clinic. The Deer Creek website had shown photos of first-aid and examination rooms kitted out with everything a doctor needed up here. Well, everything but a full operating theatre and accompanying staff. Mind you, those were close enough, down at the Valley Hospital. Just a scenic trip down to the proper town on the gondola, or in an ambulance if the weather suited, and, voilà—everything a surgeon could dream of.

      A petite redhead with a pixie cut leaned through a pair of swinging double doors, “Dr. MacKenzie? That was fast.”

      What was the nurse’s name again? They’d only had a quick phone conversation and he’d been paying more attention to the details of the patient. Lisa? Lise? Liesel! Liesel the nurse and Tara the doctor. He’d better get those right.

      Liesel’s voice sounded definitively Antipodean, despite her Germanic name. Australian, he would’ve guessed. If looks were anything to go by, she seemed a cheery sort. They’d work well together. Cheerful and easygoing. Just the sort of relationship he liked.

      Fraser’s knowledge of his new boss was pretty limited, too. Taking the job had been a last-minute move, just like the decision to leave his previous post. And the one before that.

      Never mind. He was good at his job. Emergency medicine was second nature to him after his time in the forces. He had no concerns in that department.

      If his employers didn’t think seeing the world was a good enough reason to move on after a season on their hills, then—well—it was time to move on. Hopefully, the new boss wouldn’t come loaded with it’s-time-to-put-down-your-roots advice.

      At the very least, he was hoping to learn something new from her. A quick internet search at the airport for Dr. Tara Braxton’s background showed an impressive tenure at one of America’s best orthopedic research hospitals. Then—poof—nothing until he found her in the clinic here at Deer Creek. The picture-perfect mountain resort was a far cry from the lofty heights of New York City’s medical elite if ever there was one.

      “Dr. MacKenzie, the little boy and his mother are in Exam One.” The nurse’s warm Australian voice brought him back into the room.

      “Yes, sorry, love. Excuse the lack of shoes. I was just—”

      A fresh blast of piney mountain air flooded into the waiting room, along with a familiar-looking woman. She didn’t look pleased. Miraculously, her mood didn’t detract from her take-your-breath-away beauty. Tall and slender, clearly a regular on the slopes and without a speck of make-up. Enhancing that level of natural beauty wasn’t necessary. Apple-red lips, glossy black hair and creamy skin with his particular favorite, a smattering of freckles across the nose. Did those eyes of hers sparkle like starlit ebony when she was in a good mood? Fraser had seen his share of beauties in his time, but this woman hit every mark. Too bad relationships were off limits for him. The impact she’d had on him in this handful of seconds was like a fully weighted sucker punch. If ever someone had presented a need to re-examine the rulebook, this woman was it. In spades.

      “I am going to have to have a word with the snow patrol. They need to start at dawn,” the woman growled in Liesel’s direction, oblivious of Fraser and his approving gaze. “Someone’s got to crack down on these hillside hooligans!” He watched with amusement as her eyes moved from Liesel’s bewildered face to himself. Here it comes, here … it … comes! The not-so-slow dawn of recognition.

      “You?”

      “If ‘hillside hooligans’ or ‘mountain menaces’ are to whom you are referring, then you’ve got me.” Fraser grinned broadly. He watched as she physically recoiled from him. That was a new one.

      He pulled himself up to his full height as she fixed him with a potent glare. Wow. Usually a smile won the ladies over. This one clearly had her own set of hurdles to jump. He dropped the smile and jokey tone. He was a doctor and a patients’ needs came first. Posturing was a bunch of nonsense. She was going to have to get a grip and act like a grown-up.

      “I am sorry for having distressed you, but I’m afraid I’ve got an emergency here at the clinic. So, if you’ll excuse me?” He turned towards the examination room Liesel had indicated held the patient.

      “What? Wait a minute!” The woman’s voice hardened. “This is my clinic, so I think you’ll find any patients waiting here will be for me. Me or a Dr. MacKenzie, who’s meant to appear later in the—”

      Tara felt her mouth go dry for the second time in less than five minutes.

      “Wait a minute. You’re Dr. MacKenzie.”

      “Nice to meet you.” Fraser instinctively glanced at the exam room, hoping this interrogation would end fairly quickly. Then again, this wasn’t strictly the best way to meet your new boss. “Dr. Braxton, I presume?”

      Fraser offered her another smile, this time secretly enjoying the pretty flush of scarlet creeping into Tara’s cheeks as he extended a hand towards her. Good. He did have an effect on her.

      Tara curtly took his proffered hand and offered a quick one-two, business-only shake. Was she always this spirited or was it exclusive to nearly being run over by a new colleague? He suspected the former.

      “Excuse me, doctors.” Liesel’s voice broke through the tension-thick air. “We’ve got a little boy in here with a black eye, a potential concussion, sore wrist and a very worried mother.”

      Tara wished she could scrub away the flush of heat from her cheeks. Unlikely, as Liesel’s comment only caused it to deepen. Fraser MacKenzie had actually taken her breath away and she wasn’t happy about it. Not in the slightest. Particularly as she had worked so hard to separate work and emotions. The last thing she wanted to compromise was her professional duty. And she was most certainly not going to let a gallivanting snow jockey get the upper hand.

      “Of course. Sorry, Liesel. Why didn’t you radio me?”

      “I tried, but you didn’t respond.” Liesel glanced at the clipboard she held in the crook of her arm. “The little boy’s mum, a Mrs. Carroll, was so anxious I rang Dr. MacKenzie on the off chance he was nearby and he said he’d race over.”

      “He raced over all right,” Tara muttered under her breath, as she moved her hand down to her belt to check her radio. The little green light wasn’t shining.

      “Dead batteries?” His smile was friendly but Tara was sure she could hear a patronizing tone in Dr. MacKenzie’s voice. “Could’ve happened to anyone.”

      “Batteries often freeze at high altitude, as I’m sure you know.” Tara quirked an eyebrow at him and forced the corners of her lips to turn upwards into a bright smile.

      Why couldn’t he just keep his mouth shut? Tara felt like kicking herself—and kicking Fraser MacKenzie. Did his eyes really need to twinkle with delight when he rubbed in what a schoolgirl error she had made? This was hardly a competition for who could be the better doctor.

       Batteries frequently froze up here at high elevation. Fact.

      Even so, it was a stupid mistake. СКАЧАТЬ