Free The Taming of Dr. Alex Draycott by Joanna Neil Page B

wrong time to leave her.’
    ‘I’m sure she’ll be fine. Martha from across the way is coming over to visit her this afternoon, so at least she’ll have company. Anyway, she knows to ring me if there’s a problem…but I’ll go and have a word with her right now, and then we’ll set off.’ He paused a moment, then added, ‘You might want to ask Martha about looking after the children during the school holidays, if my aunt’s going to be out of action for a while. She used to foster children, so I know she’d like the opportunity.’
    ‘Really? That’s great. I’ll talk to her about it.’ She marvelled at his thoughtfulness. She’d been trying to work out what to do for the best, and he had come up with a solution. Having him around was turning out to be a boon.
    ‘Good. And as to what we were saying before…I’ll come round and give you a hand with some of the jobs you have to do around here. I’m quite handy with a paintbrush and I’m not too bad on fixing roof tiles either. Between us, we should soon have this place looking good.’
    ‘Oh…that’s really thoughtful of you.’ The words left her on a soft breath of surprise and, impulsively, she reached out to touch his arm. ‘That’s a wonderful offer, but you don’t need to do that. I took it on, and it’s my problem. I’m the one who should deal with it.’
    ‘I don’t see it as a problem. I see it as a project. I’ll be really glad of the chance to help you renovate this place on my days off. It’ll be good to have something to do that’s completely different from work at the hospital.’ He smiled as he walked towards the door. ‘And it will give us the chance to spend more time together.’
    She stared at him in shock, stunned by his offer. Did he really want to spend his weekends with her?
    By the time he came back from Jane’s house, they were all ready to set off. James was wearing his super-spy slimline shades, and Sarah had her favourite drinks bottle with the curly plastic straw.
    Callum drove along the main road towards the coast, pointing out the various landmarks along the way. Soon, the rolling hills of the Quantocks gave way to Exmoor’s rugged landscape, with majestic headlands, towering cliffs and beautiful bays. The sea was a perfect blue.
    ‘I thought we’d stop at a little cove near here,’ he said, as he turned the car onto a road leading towards the sea. ‘It’s sheltered by the cliffs, so you can get some shade from the sun, and when the tide’s out, as it is now, it leaves behind lots of pools where you can find baby crabs.’
    He parked the car and looked back at James. ‘Did you bring a bucket?’
    James nodded, holding up a huge blue bucket, shaped like a castle. ‘For the crabs,’ he said.
    ‘Good. A boy after my own heart,’ Callum said. He glanced at Sarah. ‘Are you all right with crabbing? Not squeamish, are you?’
    Sarah shook her head. ‘But Auntie Alex isn’t too keen. She doesn’t like their little pincers.’
    He laughed. ‘I might have guessed.’ He sent Alex a sympathetic look. ‘Not to worry. You can collect shells and seaweed instead, if you like.’
    ‘Thank you so much,’ Alex answered, her tone dry. ‘I can’t think of anything I’d like more.’
    He nodded. ‘You will, once you get the hang of this “taking things easy” exercise.’
    ‘Of course I will,’ she murmured. ‘I have vague memories of it, from when I was in my teens, I think.’
    ‘What it is to be focussed,’ he said softly. ‘Is your career really the be-all and end-all of everything?’
    They climbed out of the car, unloading rubber rings, a huge beach ball, the bag with towels and a change of clothes, and another bag with camera, drinks bottles and assorted paraphernalia.
    ‘Do you remember good times by the sea with your parents?’ Alex asked Callum as they walked down the cliff path to the sand below.
    ‘Some,’ he said. ‘But mostly I went with Aunt Jane and my uncle. They’d let me