Accustomed to thinking of herself as ‘past it’, his compliment made her feel strange. Or maybe it hadn’t been a compliment. ‘I’m interested in people. I like looking for the reasons they do things. It’s why I do the job.’ Even as she said the words she realised the flaw in that theory. If she was so interested in why people did what they did, why hadn’t she spotted the signs that her husband was cheating on her? Maybe she wasn’t so observant after all. Or maybe she hadn’t wanted to see what was under her nose.

Feeling the tension erupt inside her, Jenna hit a button on the computer and exited Mrs Parker’s file, wishing she could control her thinking. She had to stop asking ‘what if?’ She had to move on. That was what she was doing here, wasn’t it? She was wiping out the past. ‘Why do you do the job, Dr McKinley?’ Would he tell her that he was an emergency specialist in hiding?

He was leaning against the wall, his broad shoulders threatening the safety of the asthma poster stuck to the wall. ‘At the moment I can’t remember. You’d better ask me that question again when I haven’t been up for half the night doing calls. I’m always in a snarly mood when I get less than three hours’ sleep.’

‘That’s understandable. Could you sneak off and sleep at some point today?’

‘Unfortunately, no. Like I said to you on the quay—it’s just the four of us. When we’re busy, we’re busy. We can’t hand it over.’

‘Who called you out last night? Locals or tourists?’

‘One tourist with chest pains, a toddler with a febrile convulsion, and one of our own with a very nasty asthma attack.’ He frowned. ‘I called the mother a few moments ago to check on her and she told me the child is still asleep, but I’m going to call in later. I didn’t like the look of her in the night. I gather you have an interest in asthma?’

‘Yes. I ran a clinic in London.’ Jenna was interested. ‘Was there an obvious trigger? Did she have an infection or something?’

‘They’d got themselves a dog from the rescue centre. I’m assuming it was that.’

‘They didn’t know that animal fur was a trigger?’ Jenna pulled a face, understanding the ramifications of that statement. ‘So is the dog being returned?’

‘It’s a strong possibility. They’re thinking about it, but obviously the child will be upset.’

‘It would be wonderful to have a dog,’ Jenna said wistfully, and then sat up straight, slightly shocked by herself. A dog? Where had that thought come from? Why on earth would she want a dog?

‘Maybe you could give this one a home?’