Lucy pulled her car into a lay-by at the top of the hill and gazed at the view below her. The small town stretched out along the banks of the river, surrounded by hills and fields, peaceful and welcoming in the sunshine.
Ever since she’d seen the job advert, she’d known that she wanted to be here. Tomorrow she would be starting at the health centre, a proper permanent contract as a GP. Please let it work out, she thought.
The last two years had been chaotic – a series of agency jobs and locum posts all over London. Great training, great experience, but she’d felt helpless trying to deal with the problems of people she didn’t know and would never meet again. And she hated cities. She’d only stayed because of Rob. Ha!
She tried to forget the evening she’d come home from a long and difficult day to find that note from Rob… Sorry, it isn’t working any more.
He’d taken his things, he’d be in touch about the bills…
For the next few weeks, she’d functioned on autopilot. Then she’d seen the advert and suddenly – magically – felt better. It was as if this was where she was meant to be. Maybe it really would become home.
She started the car and headed down the hill to her new future.
Well, the weather certainly isn’t on my side, she thought a few days later as she got home and stripped off her sodden waterproofs, and towel-dried her hair.
The day she started her new job, the country had been hit by the worst storms in living memory. High winds brought down trees, power cables and phone lines. Roads and streets were flooded. Many people had been forced to leave their homes, and those who remained battled against darkness and rising waters.
Today she’d had to wade through floodwater to visit patients in a care home. The senior partner
