‘I don’t know, really. I suppose subconsciously I must have thought about it when I lived with Will and Molly. But I didn’t really get interested until I did some medic training in the army.’
‘How did you come to live with Will?’ Ally blushed as he turned to look at her. ‘Sorry. Forget I asked. I know you hate talking about it.’
He gave a short laugh. ‘I’m surprised the gossips haven’t given you the story already.
’
Ally’s voice was quiet. ‘I’m not a gossip, Sean.’
His eyes held hers. ‘I know you’re not.’
Her heart thudded under the intensity of his gaze. Was he going to kiss her? He hadn’t kissed her for ages. Not since the night of the bonfire party. She was horrified by how much she wanted him to. What was the matter with her?
‘I was a bit of a handful when I was young.’ He stared at the horizon and gave a wry smile. ‘Actually, that’s an understatement. I was the boy from hell. I suppose it’s not surprising that I was moved from one foster-home to another. No one could put up with me for long. I was totally wild.’
Ally’s heart contracted, thinking of how lonely and desperate it must have been for him with no family of his own. No wonder he’d been a handful. It was amazing that he’d grown up to be so well balanced. Part of her longed to ask if he’d ever tried to contact his mother, but he was opening up more than he ever had before and she didn’t want to jeopardise that with intrusive questions.
‘So where did Will come into it?’ Suddenly she wanted to put her arms round him and hold him tight. To love him like he’d never been loved before.
Love him?
Her breath caught. Dear God, she was a total fool but she did love him. As well as the strong, tough man, she’d had glimpses of the scared boy, protecting his emotions, and she loved him, too.
‘Well, he and Molly—’ Sean broke off suddenly and frowned down at her. ‘Are you all right?’
No. She wasn’t. She was in love with a man who never wanted commitment. The realisation made her feel strange.
‘I’m fine.’
‘Right…’ Sean stared at her for a moment and then carried on. ‘He and Molly had fostered once before but they didn’t do it regularly. Then one day I got into trouble and Will bailed me out.’
Ally gave him a curious look. ‘What did he do?’
Sean stared at the mountains and gave a short laugh. ‘I’d broken into a warehouse, only I misjudged the drop between the window and the floor and I hurt myself. My friends took me to the surgery and Will was the duty doctor.’
‘And he sorted you out?’
‘He stitched my leg, jabbed me and then gave me the sternest talking to I’d ever had. We talked for hours.’ Sean kicked some loose stones on the path and gave a wry smile. ‘I kept waiting for him to call the police but he never did. He called Social Services and read them the Riot Act.’
‘For not keeping a proper eye on you, and placing you with the wrong families?’
‘Something like that. Anyway, the long and the short of it was that he and Molly took me in. And that was that.’
‘Only you’d spent too long running wild, with no one bothering about you, to be able to trust them.’
Sean turned to look at her. ‘What makes you so astute?’
She swallowed. ‘I don’t know. It’s just the obvious reaction, I suppose.’ And he was still running, she knew that much.
‘Well, I did learn to trust them eventually but it was Will who steered me towards the army. I always loved fitness and the outdoor life and I suppose he thought the discipline and training would do me good. He was right.’
‘But he must have been thrilled when you decided to be a doctor.’
Sean’s eyes softened. ‘He was.’
‘He loves you.’
‘I know that.’ Sean’s voice was gruff and he straightened and shifted his rucksack more comfortably on his shoulders. ‘And what about you? Your childhood was idyllic by comparison, wasn’t it?’