‘An extremely clever one. Most people wouldn’t have had such a good understanding of the reactivity series to cause that explosion. Anyway, I thought you were relieved that I’d found another doctor.’

‘I was, but I never thought for a moment it would be—I mean, Conner?’ Flora’s expression was troubled. ‘He’s right, you know. The locals won’t be happy. What if they make life difficult for him?’

‘They always did. He’ll cope. Conner is as tough as they come.’

‘I can’t believe he’s a doctor. How did you find out? I mean, he vanished without trace.’

‘I stayed in touch with him.’ Logan lifted his gaze to hers. ‘He’s my cousin, Flora. Family. I knew he was a doctor. When I knew I needed help, he seemed the obvious choice.’

‘Are you sure? He used to be very unstable. Unreliable. Rebellious. Disruptive.’ Attractive, compelling, addictive.

‘You’re describing the teenager.’

‘He created havoc.’ she looked at him, wondering why she had to remind him of something that he must know himself. ‘He was suspended from school three times. If there’d been an alternative place for him to go, I’m sure he would have been expelled. Not only did he blow up the science lab, he set off a firework in the library, he burned down the MacDonalds’ barn—the list of things he did is endless. He was wild, Logan. Totally out of control.’ And impossibly, hopelessly attractive. There hadn’t been a woman on Glenmore who hadn’t dreamed of taming him. Herself included.

She’d wanted to help.

She’d wanted…

She pushed the thought away quickly. She’d been a dreamy teenager but she was an adult now, a grown woman and far too sensible to see Conner as anything other than a liability.

‘His parents were going through a particularly acrimonious divorce at the time. There were lots of rumours about that household. My aunt—his mother—left when he was eleven. That’s tough on any child.’ Logan turned his attention back to the pile in his in-tray. ‘Enough to shake the roots of any family. It’s not surprising he was disruptive.’

‘He isn’t interested in authority.’

Logan threw the pen down on his desk. ‘Perhaps he thinks that those in authority let him down.’

Flora bit her lip. ‘Perhaps they did. But if that’s the case then it makes even less sense that he’s back. He couldn’t wait to get away from Glenmore the first time around and he stayed away for twelve years.’

‘Is it that long?’ Logan studied her face thoughtfully. ‘I haven’t been counting, but obviously you have.’

‘It was a wild guess,’ Flora muttered quickly, ‘but either way, it’s been a long time. And the question is, why has he picked this particular moment to come back?’