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CHAPTER ONE
LIFE COULD BE so damned unfair
There were days Sienna Burch hated being a paediatrician, today being one of theo buy a patch of land in a sleepy backwater and grow to, billowy skirt
Like hell
While colleagues had warned her she’d been on a hiding to nowhere froitis, she also knew parents trusted her to do all she could for their adored child She always did that But they also expected her to win, and unfortunately, that outcole time
Another yawn pulled at her It would be too easy to shuffle further down the SUV’s seat and drop into a deep sleep right here in her garage Far too effortless Elbowing the door open, she gathered her handbag and jacket up froht
Bed? Or food? She needed both And a shower Food took time because she’d have to clean up afterwards Unless she went for the easy, not so healthy option of a toasted sandwich and only one pan to rinse out There was haue lapped her lips Yes, she did allow herself a few se, she headed for the kitchen, flicked on lights, dropped the blind
Boom, boom, boom
‘What the—?’ Music loud enough to wake the dead thuht?’
The new guy next door nearly always had o when he was at ho roohts Hopefully he’d notice she was hohter and voices ‘He’s having a party Wonderful’ How did that happen when he was new in town on a temporary contract at the Rescue Helicopter base, tehbour for three months?
Not that Sienna had lances of a well-honed body filling out jeans in a way that should have hi contract with the manufacturers Not her type at all Oh, yeah, then what is? With her crazy schedule she rarely had civilised hours to have fun in
The guy seldom seemed to be home either Not unless he liked permanently closed s and doors Another blast of ht tonight Hoas she going to sleep with that going on?
Forget toasting a sandwich Bread and cheese while tugging clothes off and getting under the shoas the way to go Her bed was beckoning with relentless persistence Only thing was, her uished cries of Caleb’s parents as they’d switched off life support Fro through this anguish, that it took ti adequate sleep
Thuht the voluht down her bed, covers up to her neck, pillow over her head, Sienna closed her eyes and counted sheep Not that those dumb animals ever helped her out, but she needed to zone out, find oblivion
Then her dad piped up in the
fog filling her head Of course he did
‘Relax Enjoy life and all it’s got to offer What’s happened to roings and fly?’
His words taunted her whenever she was too tired to fight them
‘Not tonight, Dad Please’
An hour later, Sienna tossed the pillow and covers aside to swing her legs out of bed The headache pills she’d taken with her bread were not working as the drums in her head were louder and harsher than ever Those weren’t the worst beats Next door there had to be a whole band of dru with each other; the noise level was so unbelievably high The voices had also increased in volume
All she wanted was eight hours straight being comatose Hours where Caleb didn’t feature, where his parents’ sobs didn’t break her heart Hours in which she couldn’t think about her prohten up soht this apart or no one could be allowed to change it Yet it see to
Click, click Her vertebrae pulled her straight Tian to soften She didn’t do conflict, unless she was fighting for a patient’s life Yes, well, her patients needed her to get soht Click, click Thatto shut down Now
Harry sat on the edge of the deck, a warht had been and gone If only he could say the same for his visitors Unfortunately they all seerief in loud
A tight-knit group, they’d naturally turned to each other today when they heard the news of the loss of their top pilot after the helicopter he was flying back fro the round The cause of the crash was as yet unknown, and likely to be for weeks, if not h alert Bet the creould be too, come tomorrow
Lights came on in the apartlow
Oh, oh Trouble on the horizon? Harry shrugged and sipped the beer, not really enjoying it yet reluctant to set it aside His hands always had to be busy If only he had so to do to fill in the hours before this lot were ready to head ho the new boy on the block, he hadn’t known Gavin Bradley well, but the guy was a legend in the eency air service—his reputation for spot-on retrieval in difficult conditions ran the length of the country He would be missed very much
A shadow crossed the end of the drive, turned in his direction The shadow beca with confidence and yet at the sairl with little care to burden her Then she ca griht be a beautiful face if she wasn’t carrying the weight of the world on her back Apparently this was the girl next door Only he could see now her girl days were long gone, morphed into soroin without any input from his brain
Harry slowly drew another mouthful of beer—it really was foul—and put the bottle down on the deck beside hiet to meet’
That delicious mouth flattened further ‘This is not a social call’ Her voice was husky—and laden with barely contained anger
‘That’s a shame’ In more ways than he cared to ad than he’d first thought Her flawless skin covered perfect facial bone structure ‘I’m Harry, by the way’
That startled her ‘Sienna Burch,’ she snapped Hadn’t she expected to be introducing herself?
‘So what can I do for you, Sienna?’ Though he kind of had an idea as getting her knickers in a twist It was late on a working night, and the guys inside were a little loud
‘Could you please turn the et so, but that didn’t quieten his pulse A bit of a challenge in the ?
Over the past weeks he’d been vaguely aware of her coot around to introducing hi unusual in that when he was on a short stint in a town he was unlikely to return to His breath caught He had to be slipping—because behind whatever was tightening her face this particular woman was a stunner, and he was partial to stunners Fess up, he liked woht beautiful ones If that made him shallow then he could live with that It suited hison
‘Excuse me The music?’
‘I’ll give it a go, certainly’ Now he could hear one of the girls crying behind hi Apart from initial tears everyone had been stoic, but he’d known it was only a rief in the teary fore in and turn the o home?