dance?’
‘Stella!’ Her mother sounded shocked. ‘You can’t ask Dr Matthews that sort of thing.’
Connor grinned. ‘Of course she can. And, yes, I like dancing.’
He’d always liked dancing but it hit him suddenly that he might not like it as much from now on. The way he’d felt dancing with Kate had been like nothing he’d ever experienced before and he had this curious certainty that he never would again.
The way she’d felt in his arms.
That connection.
The sheer power of something sensual that was so big Connor couldn’t recognise it. So alluring he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it since. He’d tried to tell himself he’d imagined it but what if he hadn’t?
What if there was something he hadn’t known was missing from his life because he hadn’t even known it existed?
And what if it only existed because the other half of the equation had been Kate?
Connor actually shook his head again to clear the fleeting distraction. Estelle’s mother noticed the subtle movement and drew in an audible breath.
‘There’s something wrong, isn’t there? That’s why Stella couldn’t just get plaster on her leg and go home?’
Connor had been planning on introducing himself, examining Estelle and then taking her mother somewhere for a private conversation. Both mother and daughter were staring at him now and then they looked at each other.
‘I don’t want you talking behind my back,’ Estelle said firmly. ‘It’s my leg and I want to know what’s wrong with it.’
Her mother caught Connor’s gaze. ‘Stella’s thirteen, going on thirty,’ she said with a wry smile. ‘There’s no point hiding anything. And it’s just the two of us. Stella’s dad died when she was a baby.’
With a slow nod Connor took an X-ray from the folder he was carrying. He held it up so that the light from the window shone through it.
‘You know you’ve broken your tibia, which is the bigger of the two bones in your lower leg. The fracture itself isn’t that serious, although it’s bad enough to need a pin to stabilise it. What worried the doctors in the emergency department initially was that it hadn’t been caused by any trauma. You were just climbing some steps, yes?’
Estelle nodded. ‘I heard it snap. It was really gross.’
‘You hadn’t had a knock from your surfboard or anything before that?’
‘No.’
‘It’s not brittle bones or something, is it?’ her mother asked. ‘It can’t be, surely. She gets knocked all the time. That surfboard is bigger than she is and she goes out in some wild waves sometimes.’
‘For a bone to break without trauma being involved means there’s something wrong,’ Connor agreed. ‘And when this X-ray was taken it showed a mass in the tibia. Can you see the way the line of the bone isn’t straight on the edge there? And how much wider the whole bone is in that spot than above and below it?’
‘A...mass?’ The word from Estelle’s mother was a horrified whisper.
‘What’s a mass?’ Estelle queried. She was staring at her mother. ‘Oh, my God...you mean, like... cancer ?’
Connor’s heart sank at the fear in their voices but he couldn’t be any less than honest. ‘A mass is when cells are growing and dividing in a manner that isn’t normal. A collection of abnormal cells like this is called a tumour. We don’t know yet whether the tumour is benign or cancerous. Given your history, Estelle, and what we know of your general state of health so far, the chances are very good that this tumour is benign.’
‘You’ll do a biopsy, right?’ Estelle was nodding. ‘I’ve seen it on telly.’
‘We’ll certainly do a biopsy and find out exactly what we’re dealing with. Because you already need surgery to pin the fracture, that’s when we’ll do the biopsy. I’m going to send you for an MRI first, though.’
‘Why?’
‘It’s an advanced test that can show better detail of not only the bone but all the soft tissue around it,
‘Stella!’ Her mother sounded shocked. ‘You can’t ask Dr Matthews that sort of thing.’
Connor grinned. ‘Of course she can. And, yes, I like dancing.’
He’d always liked dancing but it hit him suddenly that he might not like it as much from now on. The way he’d felt dancing with Kate had been like nothing he’d ever experienced before and he had this curious certainty that he never would again.
The way she’d felt in his arms.
That connection.
The sheer power of something sensual that was so big Connor couldn’t recognise it. So alluring he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it since. He’d tried to tell himself he’d imagined it but what if he hadn’t?
What if there was something he hadn’t known was missing from his life because he hadn’t even known it existed?
And what if it only existed because the other half of the equation had been Kate?
Connor actually shook his head again to clear the fleeting distraction. Estelle’s mother noticed the subtle movement and drew in an audible breath.
‘There’s something wrong, isn’t there? That’s why Stella couldn’t just get plaster on her leg and go home?’
Connor had been planning on introducing himself, examining Estelle and then taking her mother somewhere for a private conversation. Both mother and daughter were staring at him now and then they looked at each other.
‘I don’t want you talking behind my back,’ Estelle said firmly. ‘It’s my leg and I want to know what’s wrong with it.’
Her mother caught Connor’s gaze. ‘Stella’s thirteen, going on thirty,’ she said with a wry smile. ‘There’s no point hiding anything. And it’s just the two of us. Stella’s dad died when she was a baby.’
With a slow nod Connor took an X-ray from the folder he was carrying. He held it up so that the light from the window shone through it.
‘You know you’ve broken your tibia, which is the bigger of the two bones in your lower leg. The fracture itself isn’t that serious, although it’s bad enough to need a pin to stabilise it. What worried the doctors in the emergency department initially was that it hadn’t been caused by any trauma. You were just climbing some steps, yes?’
Estelle nodded. ‘I heard it snap. It was really gross.’
‘You hadn’t had a knock from your surfboard or anything before that?’
‘No.’
‘It’s not brittle bones or something, is it?’ her mother asked. ‘It can’t be, surely. She gets knocked all the time. That surfboard is bigger than she is and she goes out in some wild waves sometimes.’
‘For a bone to break without trauma being involved means there’s something wrong,’ Connor agreed. ‘And when this X-ray was taken it showed a mass in the tibia. Can you see the way the line of the bone isn’t straight on the edge there? And how much wider the whole bone is in that spot than above and below it?’
‘A...mass?’ The word from Estelle’s mother was a horrified whisper.
‘What’s a mass?’ Estelle queried. She was staring at her mother. ‘Oh, my God...you mean, like... cancer ?’
Connor’s heart sank at the fear in their voices but he couldn’t be any less than honest. ‘A mass is when cells are growing and dividing in a manner that isn’t normal. A collection of abnormal cells like this is called a tumour. We don’t know yet whether the tumour is benign or cancerous. Given your history, Estelle, and what we know of your general state of health so far, the chances are very good that this tumour is benign.’
‘You’ll do a biopsy, right?’ Estelle was nodding. ‘I’ve seen it on telly.’
‘We’ll certainly do a biopsy and find out exactly what we’re dealing with. Because you already need surgery to pin the fracture, that’s when we’ll do the biopsy. I’m going to send you for an MRI first, though.’
‘Why?’
‘It’s an advanced test that can show better detail of not only the bone but all the soft tissue around it,
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