‘Is there any treatment?’
‘Yes.’ Conner’s eyes were fixed on the screen. ‘I’m going to give Harry some antibiotics.’
‘And will they work?’
‘They should do because we’ve caught it early. You did the right thing, bringing him in.’
‘The doctor on the mainland thought it was a virus.’ Diane’s mouth tightened with disapproval. ‘Virus is a word doctors use when they haven’t got a clue what’s going on.’
‘You might be right. I usually say “I don’t know” but that phrase doesn’t win you many friends either. In fairness to your guy on the mainland, Lyme disease is not a condition every doctor will have seen.’ Conner printed off the prescription and handed it to Diane. ‘Make sure Harry finishes the course.’
‘I’ll do that.’ She slipped the prescription into her bag and hesitated. ‘Thank you.’ She looked Conner in the eye. ‘I wasn’t sure about seeing you…’
‘I don’t blame you for that.’ As cool as ever, Conner rose to his feet. ‘Make an appointment to see Logan in a few days. Harry needs to be followed up. We need to be sure that the antibiotics are working.’
Diane took Harry’s hand in hers. ‘Why should I see Logan? Are you going to be busy?’
Conner gave a faint smile. ‘On current form? Probably not. But it’s important that the patients have faith in the doctor they see.’
‘I agree.’ Diane walked towards the door. ‘Which is why we’ll be making that appointment when you’re doing surgery. Thank you, Dr MacNeil. I knew I could rely on a Glenmore doctor to get the diagnosis right.’ The door closed behind her and Flora smiled happily at Conner.
‘I think you’re a hit. That was pretty impressive. I predict that once word spreads, your surgery will be crammed with patients.’
‘And I’m supposed to rejoice about that?’
‘Maybe not. But Logan will. So, tell me about Lyme disease because I’m feeling horribly ignorant.’
‘What else do you want to know? You get bitten by a tick that clings on once it bites. Then it sucks your blood—’
‘Don’t!’ Flora pulled a face. ‘You’re telling it like a horror story. If you carry on like that I’ll never set foot outside again.’
It was the wrong t
hing to say to Conner. He leaned against the desk and gave a wicked smile. ‘As I was saying, they suck your blood and slowly become more and more engorged—’
‘You do it on purpose, don’t you? Try and shock people.’
‘I admit it’s an extremely stimulating pastime.’
‘You might not find it so funny when I’m sick,’ Flora said sweetly, and his smile widened.
‘Nurses aren’t supposed to have delicate constitutions.’
‘Doctors aren’t supposed to be bloodthirsty.’
‘I’m just delivering the facts.’
‘Well…’ She was horribly aware of just how strong his shoulders were and how much he dominated her tiny room. ‘Could you deliver them with slightly less gruesome relish?’
‘Where was I?’ He angled his head slightly. ‘Oh, yes, they were engorged with blood. Anyway, the bacteria that cause Lyme disease are usually carried in the gut and only travel to their mouth once they’ve been feeding for about twenty-four hours. So if you remove the tick as soon as you’re bitten, you’re unlikely to be infected.’
Flora shuddered. ‘So you’re telling me that a method of prevention is to drag this greedy, engorged creature off your skin?’
‘You remove it before it’s engorged. And you don’t drag. If you drag, you’ll just leave the mouth stuck in your body.’
‘Enough!’
‘The best thing is to smother it with Vaseline. It suffocates and then you can remove it with a pair of tweezers. You shouldn’t use your fingers—’