The Surgeon's Family Wish

He nodded. ‘My mother thinks I should be looking for someone to take Eloise’s place, that I’ve been on my own long enough. But who is to say that the right wife for me would be the right mother for Lucy?’

Annabel averted her gaze from his. She would have settled for being just a one-parent family, given the chance, and no child of hers would ever have been subjected to the awful feeling of rejection that had tarnished her life. But she understood what this caring father was saying.

‘I would imagine that is a problem that faces many single parents when they consider remarrying,’ she said slowly, ‘but a child can be just as miserable with its birth parents as with someone not of its own blood. I don’t know you all that well, Aaron, but you strike me as a person who would rarely make a wrong decision, either in your work or in your personal life, because you are cool and calm in everything you do.’

She wasn’t to know that he was feeling anything but cool and calm at that moment. She was getting to him as no other woman had since he’d lost Eloise, and it was much more than just sexual chemistry.

In the car earlier she’d told him about her loveless childhood and he’d wanted to hold her close and soothe away the hurt from a friendship point of view, nothing more. And now, with a wisdom that no doubt came from her own experience, she was putting him right about his own life. Making him see that it could be possible to find happiness with someone else.

Sitting beside him with cheeks warming at her own temerity, Annabel was facing up to the fact that she liked this man a lot. She’d had respect for him from the moment of their meeting, even though on that awful morning he’d been brusque and dubious of her capabilities. But now it was something deeper than that. To compare Randy Graham with Aaron would be like putting a fake next to the real thing.

It wouldn’t be wise to let her feelings run away with her, though. The fact that they were having this discussion showed that Aaron saw her as merely someone to talk to. He would never have said what he had if he’d any yearnings towards her. And was it surprising? He must see her as the person she had become, a washed-out, grieving loner, and for the first time in months she wanted to be different.

Aaron was smiling to conceal his own thoughts.

‘I don’t know about me. But you have a wisdom all of your own. It’s good to be able to talk to someone who understands.’ He took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

It was just a friendly gesture, but she felt some of the chill leave her blood and for a crazy moment wondered what it would be like to sit in this charming room with him every evening after a hard day on the wards and in Theatre, with Lucy sleeping contentedly above.

His mother came in at that moment carrying a tray with coffee and pastries on it, and Aaron got to his feet.

‘Lucy is waiting for a goodnight kiss,’ she said, smiling up at him. ‘I won’t pour the coffee until you come down.’

When he’d gone Mary said, ‘And how are things with you, Dr Swain? Are you settling in all right in your new surroundings?’

Annabel wasn’t sure whether she was referring to the dismal flat or Barnaby’s itself, so she just said, ‘Yes, fine, thank you, Mrs Lewis. And it’s not Dr Swain when I’m out and about. It’s Annabel.’

Aaron’s mother smiled. ‘And my name is Mary,’ she said, straightening an imaginary crease in her skirt with a plump hand. ‘So what do you think of my son?’

Annabel’s eyes widened. What was that supposed to mean?

‘I don’t know Aaron all that well, er...Mary, but from what I’ve seen of him I think he is a doting father and a good doctor.’

‘I keep telling him he should marry again,’ the other woman said wistfully. ‘I won’t be here for ever and...’ She’d left the sentence unfinished but it made her concerns clear.

‘I can understand how you feel,’ Annabel told her, squirming inwardly, ‘but that is up to him, isn’t it?’

They could hear his feet on the stairs and Mary sighed. ‘Yes, I suppose you’re right. We’re happy enough as we are, but the future does worry me sometimes.’

Not as much as it worries me, Annabel thought wryly, but their anxieties had different sources. She would be happy if she could find some direction in her life. Except for the job that she adored it was empty, and likely to remain so, with the hurt inside her that Aaron seemed to be so strangely aware of.

Maybe she should have told him her problems in return for him telling her his. He might have had some words of wisdom to impart, but her feelings were still too raw to bring out into the open and where his loss had been due to a cruel twist of fate, hers had been self-inflicted up to a point. She was a doctor, for heaven’s sake, and should have taken better precautions against pregnancy. Instead of letting her longing for a child overcome common sense.

* * *

As Aaron drove her home Annabel was thinking that it had been a strange and unsettling evening. She’d been allowed into the warm circle of a close family, depleted though they were, and at the same time had experienced the pleasure to be had from gracious living.

Maybe it had done her some good, seeing how other people lived. If it had lifted her out of the doldrums, Aaron would have done her a favour by inviting her to his home.

But before leaving him she had to get one thing clear. She was certain there had been no ulterior motive when he had mentioned the problems of remarriage, but she had a strong feeling that his mother’s remarks had been aimed differently. That she had been sounding her out as a prospective candidate for the position of second wife and stepmother to Lucy.

Grateful for the shadowy interior of the car and aware that they would be back at the flat within minutes, she said casually, ‘While you were upstairs with Lucy I got the impression that your mother was vetting me for the marriage market.’

He groaned and, taking his eyes off the road for a moment, scrutinised her face, searching for a guide to her feelings on the matter.

‘I’m sorry about that, Annabel,’ he said quietly. ‘She means well, but Mum is letting her anxieties about the future take over. I invited you to dine with us as a thank you for what you did for Lucy.’

So let’s get that straight, he seemed to be saying, and she had to admit she was just a bit disappointed. Was she so muted down and drab that he didn’t see anything attractive about her?

When he stopped the car in front of the flats she turned to him and said softly, ‘It’s been a lovely evening, Aaron. I’ve really enjoyed it. Thank you so much for inviting me.’

He observed her with an eyebrow raised questioningly.

‘What? In spite of having to listen to my problems and then having my mother follow them up with her broad hints about my solitary state? For all she knew, you might be married or already have someone in your life. Have you?’

His tone had been apologetic, but that last question had come like a bullet from a gun, as if her answer was going to matter.

‘No. I haven’t,’ she told him, not knowing whether to be annoyed or amused at the question. ‘I’m not married, engaged, in a partnership or anything else. Being alone has its advantages. I’m free to do whatever I please.’

‘But you haven’t always been alone, have you?’ he asked, amazed how relieved he was to know she was free.

‘No. I haven’t. But I am now.’

Aaron said no more. There was something in the tone of her voice that told him not to pursue it. Instead, he asked in a lighter tone. ‘Well? Are you going to ask me in?’

She smiled. ‘No. I’m not. I know you’re bursting to see the inside of my rabbit hutch, but I don’t think it would be a good idea.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because you have some preconceived idea that it’s going to be dreadful.’

‘Right, then. I’d better be off. Have a nice weekend, Annabel,’ he said, adding with a boyish grin that was oddly appealing. ‘Keep taking the vitamins.’

As she was opening the passenger door of the car he leaned across and kissed her lightly on the cheek. As she gazed at him in surprise he said, ‘Just a kiss between friends. Nothing to do with the marriage market.’ And leaving her standing beside the door of the accommodation complex he drove off.

* * *

She’d seen another side to Aaron tonight, Annabel told herself as she lay on her hard single bed in the flat’s bedroom. The brisk mantle of efficiency that he wore at Barnaby’s had fallen from his shoulders and he’d let her see that he had his problems just like anyone else.

It was a terrible thing that had happened to his family. He and Mary had both suffered a double tragedy. Aaron had lost his wife and father and his mother her husband and daughter-in-law.

They’d been taken from them in a matter of minutes and he must have wished a thousand times that he’d never gone back to the hotel. But as they were both well aware, lots of people would do lots of things differently if they could see into the future.

If she’d known the misery she was letting herself in for when she’d been attracted by a lazy smile and an even lazier accent, she would have behaved differently. Husband-stealer she was not, and Randy had shown himself to be much less of a man than she’d thought he was when it had all come out.

It was strange how one man could deceive his wife without batting an eyelid and another should still be grieving for a woman who had died four long years ago.

Yet that was how it was. Aaron had made it painfully plain that he had no designs on her. To such an extent that she almost wished he had.

She sympathised with his mother’s efforts on his behalf but he shouldn’t be put in the humiliating position of advertising for a wife. It was a cold-blooded procedure and although he had barely touched her, something told her that when Aaron took a new wife, if he ever did, there would be nothing cold-blooded about it.

CHAPTER THREE

IF HE’D been light-hearted back there at the flats Aaron was not so as he drove home. Annabel wasn’t the only one thinking it had been an unsettling evening. He felt that they’d all behaved out of character except Lucy.

For his own part, his interest in the doctor who’d saved Lucy’s life had increased rather than diminished while she’d been their guest. He’d seen her in a new light. For one thing, she’d taken trouble with her appearance. He didn’t flatter himself that it had been on his account, but it had certainly registered, and for another, he’d admired the dignified brevity with which she’d described her family life while within the loving circle that was his.

Annabel had been like a flower opening up before his eyes and he hoped that she wouldn’t have closed up again when they met on the wards at Barnaby’s on Monday.

He’d had no intention of burdening her with his past and present griefs, but Lucy and his mother had set the ball rolling and he’d had to say something. Once he’d started it had been oddly comforting to be talking to an outsider who’d listened with sympathy and understanding, while making no demands on him.

And an ‘outsider’ Annabel must have certainly felt when he’d been so keen to emphasise that she’d been there merely in the role of someone to whom thanks were due. She must have thought him tactless and rude, though she’d shown no sign of it.

And then there’d been his mother! Sounding Annabel out and showing how anxious she was for him to find himself another wife, when he had no such intentions. It wasn’t like her. She was the kindest and most thoughtful of mortals. But something had got into her and they were going to have to talk it through.

All was silent as he let himself back into the house and as he stripped off and flung himself on top of the covers of his bed Annabel’s face kept coming to mind.

‘No. I haven’t got anyone in my life,’ she’d told him back there in the car, and he’d known immediately that that hadn’t always been the case. Had it been a past relationship that had taken the colour from her cheeks?

Whatever it was, he had a strong feeling that if he’d become more interested in her during the evening, his mother’s comments would have put the flattener on any stirrings Annabel might have been experiencing. If she gave him a wide berth on Monday morning, he wouldn’t be surprised...

* * *

But he was to see her again before Monday. On Saturday afternoon Aaron took Lucy into the town for some new shoes, and as they were leaving the shop he saw Annabel cross the road, looking in the window of an estate agent.

‘We meet again,’ he said from behind her a few seconds later, and she swung round in surprise.

‘Yes, we do,’ she agreed, adding with a special smile for Lucy, who was fishing her new shoes out of the bag for her to see, ‘You’ll be surprised to see that I’m looking at property.’

‘Yes. What has prompted that?’

She had a smile for him now and Aaron thought if she had been upset the night before it obviously hadn’t persisted.

‘What do you think?’ she replied. ‘Going back to the flat after spending the evening in your palatial residence.’

‘Really? So last night did do you some good.’

She could have told him that she’d also woken up feeling ready to face the day, which had to be a step in the right direction, and that the carrier bag she was holding held some smart new clothes. But it wouldn’t do for Aaron to think he’d had that much influence on her.

Lucy was dangling a pair of black school shoes under her nose and Annabel bent to admire them.

‘So do I take it that you’ll soon be going back to school?’ she said as eyes blue as the sky looked up into hers.

‘Yes,’ Lucy said. ‘On Monday. I’ve been away a long time. I’ll be behind in my work and all my friends will have forgotten me.’

‘I’ve told Lucy that the teacher knows she had a nasty accident and won’t expect her to catch up straight away,’ Aaron said gravely as his eyes met hers above Lucy’s blonde head.

‘Yes, of course,’ Annabel agreed, ‘and I’m sure that your friends won’t have forgotten you. I imagine that they all think you very brave having such a serious operation and coming back to school looking just the same as before.’

‘Can I tell them that the doctor who mended my head is my friend?’

‘Er...yes, by all means,’ Annabel said, aware of the amusement in Aaron’s dark eyes. She watched it change to surprise as she suggested, ‘Maybe we could take Lucy’s class on a tour of the hospital. It would increase her standing and they would know what to expect if ever any of them have to be admitted.’

‘Good thinking!’ he exclaimed. ‘I’m sure that she would love to show them where you ‘‘mended’’ her head. But getting back to your house-hunting. Have you seen anything that appeals to you?’

‘Not yet. I’d like something small and classy with open views.’

‘There’s a small coach house for sale next door to my place,’ he said. ‘It isn’t cheap, but it’s certainly classy.’

He could have gone on to say, It belongs to a friend of mine who spends a lot of time abroad. When he’s away I show prospective buyers round. But he was already wishing he hadn’t spoken.

For one thing his mother would be sure to read something into the suggestion, even though it had been totally spontaneous, and Annabel also might think it came from what had been said the previous evening. So instead he followed it up with, ‘Though on second thoughts I think it would be too big for you.’

‘No harm in having a look though, is there?’ she said with her newfound enthusiasm carrying her along.

‘No. I suppose not,’ he agreed reluctantly. ‘You could ring the agent and ask for a viewing.’

‘Supposing I like it,’ she said slowly, aware that he was having second thoughts, ‘how would you feel having me living next door? Seeing me all day at the hospital and having me almost on your doorstep for the rest of the time.’

‘It wouldn’t bother me,’ he replied unconvincingly. ‘There’s a high hedge between the two properties and we don’t see much of the present owner.’

‘That’s because Uncle Richard is always away,’ Lucy chipped in. ‘Why can’t you show Annabel round his house, Daddy? Like you do with all the other people?’

Annabel had to hand it to him. Aaron had been caught out but he didn’t bat an eyelid. He merely said, ‘If Annabel wants to view Uncle Richard’s house, Lucy, she is better seeing it with someone she doesn’t know. I wouldn’t want to influence her.’

‘I think you already have,’ she told him coolly. ‘Maybe I’ll give it a miss after all.’

She bent and kissed Lucy’s soft cheek.

‘I’ll be thinking of you on Monday,’ she told her. ‘I hope you have a good day and I won’t forget what I said about your class being shown round the hospital.’

For her father Annabel had a curt nod.

‘I’ll be seeing you, Aaron,’ she said, and he knew from the tone of her voice that it was more of a threat than a promise.

You certainly handled that well, he told himself as he walked Lucy back to the car. It was your suggestion that Annabel look at Richard’s house, but the words were barely out of your mouth before you were backing off. Go on at this rate and she’ll be thinking she’s got something catching. If you wanted to put her off you made a first-class job of it. For someone who always knows exactly where he’s heading, you’re acting like an indecisive ditherer.

* * *

It was Sunday afternoon and a boisterous wind was lifting the dead leaves in the garden of the house next door as Aaron stared thoughtfully through his study window.

Richard Clements, who lived there, was a television producer and often away. He would appear out of the blue, then a couple of days later be off on his travels again.

He was unmarried, which Aaron often thought was just as well. For any woman he took up with would be left alone for long periods while he was working. Yet he always seemed to have some female company around when he came home for one of his brief stays.

The winter dusk was falling and as Aaron was about to turn away the lights came on suddenly next door. His eyes widened when he saw Richard framed in the window opposite and with him, of all people, was Annabel.

So he hadn’t put her off, he thought incredulously. She was doing the opposite to what he’d expected, viewing Richard’s house. If the russet-haired charmer who was his friend and neighbour was on his usual form, she would be eating out of his hand.

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