Reunited By Their Baby

Diane nodded. ‘I thought it might be that. To be honest, I’ve been dreading it. My mum was terrible when she went through the change, had these awful hot flushes and she was so bad tempered too. I’d hate to think that I’ll be like that.’

‘There’s no reason why you should take after your mother,’ Beth said consolingly. ‘Every woman is different, plus there’s HRT these days, which can help enormously to alleviate the worst symptoms.’

‘Is it safe, though? I’ve read so many conflicting reports about HRT that I’m not sure if I want to take it or not.’

‘That’s your decision and I certainly wouldn’t try to force you to take it,’ Beth assured her. ‘However, in my opinion, it’s extremely safe and very helpful too.’ She stood up, not wanting to appear to be pushing Diane into making a decision right then. ‘Let’s take some blood and see what that shows before we go any further.’

Beth took the sample, deciding it was easier to do it herself rather than ask Diane to wait to see Jane Barton, their practice nurse. Once the tubes were clearly labelled, she popped them into an envelope ready for the courier to collect at lunchtime. ‘We should have the results back in a week or so. In the meantime, I’m going to prescribe a course of iron tablets to help with the tiredness. I think you may be a little anaemic—the blood results will show if you are—and the iron will help.’

‘Let’s hope so. It’s a busy time of the year for us and I could do with a bit more energy. I’ll definitely need it when our Sam and Lauren have the baby,’ Diane declared, sounding much brighter than when she had arrived.

‘It won’t be long now,’ Beth agreed, thinking how much it could help to talk through a problem. She sighed inwardly, wondering if she should have talked to Daniel about the problem she had with Callum before she had agreed that he could work at The Larches. Maybe it would have helped a bit, she acknowledged, but at the end of the day it was something she had to resolve by herself. She fixed a smile to her mouth, not wanting to think about her own worries. ‘Are you looking forward to being a grandmother?’

‘That I am. It seems an age since there was a little one running around the place,’ Diane said with a laugh. ‘Steven, my youngest, is seventeen now and at least a foot taller than me. He’s certainly not a baby any more!’

Beth laughed as she saw Diane out. She worked her way through the rest of the list then went to Reception to wait for the courier. There were several more tests that Jane had collected so she handed them over as well. They closed for lunch but there was an open surgery in the afternoon, plus a visit by the local optician. Hemsthwaite Surgery might be smaller than The Larches and open for fewer hours, but it was still very busy and she would enjoy working there, she decided as she went to lock the door after the courier left.

Her hand was hovering over the catch when she saw a car turn into the car park and she frowned, hoping it wasn’t an early arrival. It was only when the driver got out that she realised it was Callum and her heart seemed to skip a beat. What on earth was Callum doing here?

Callum wasn’t sure if he should be doing this. He had intended to give Beth some space but the urge to see her had been too strong to resist. He locked the car then started to walk towards the surgery, his stomach lurching when he saw Beth standing by the door. It was hard to read her expression from this distance but he had the feeling that she wasn’t exactly thrilled to see him. It was only the thought of how it would appear if he turned around and went back to the car that kept him walking towards her.

‘What are you doing here, Callum?’

There was no welcome in her voice and he sighed under his breath. Obviously, the situation hadn’t improved as much as he had hoped it had. Beth was still loath to have anything to do with him and although he could understand it in a way, it was starting to grate on him. His tone was harsher than it might have been, less conciliatory. Beth wasn’t the only one who had suffered: he had too.

‘I came to thank you for not raising any objections about me being offered the locum post,’ he said flatly. ‘However, I can see that I’m wasting my time. Jack the Ripper would probably receive a warmer welcome than me!’ He swung round, deciding that it would be better if he got back in his car and left. He wasn’t helping his case, was he? He was simply putting Beth’s back up and that was the last thing he could afford to do.

‘Wait!’

Callum slowed, although he didn’t stop altogether. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that Beth had stepped outside and was standing on the path. There was such a look of indecision on her face that he felt his heart suddenly go out to her. That she was torn between sending him packing and talking to him was obvious and he hated to know that he had put her in this position. He didn’t want to make life difficult for her but unless they found a way to resolve this situation, it was going to continue to be stressful for both of them. The thought made him turn round and retrace his steps.

‘Look, Beth, I didn’t come here to start an argument,’ he said quietly. ‘I simply came to thank you. Daniel told me that I could have the job as long as you didn’t raise any objections and I’m just grateful that you agreed.’

‘Why? That’s what I don’t understand, Callum. Why do you want to work here? Why do you want to stay in Beesdale for that matter?’

There was a tremor in her voice that made Callum feel worse than ever. That she was upset was obvious and there was absolutely nothing he could say that would help...apart from telling her the truth, perhaps?

The thought of baring his soul made his stomach clench. Was he prepared to do that, to admit how he felt about becoming a father in the hope that it would convince her to let him see their daughter? What if he said too much? What if the words somehow slipped out and he found himself admitting how he felt about her? The thought gave him hot and cold chills because he wasn’t sure if he could cope if Beth rejected him.

‘Callum...?’

‘Have you had lunch yet?’ Callum cut her off, knowing that he needed time to work out what he was going to say if he was to avoid a disaster.

‘Lunch,’ Beth repeated, blankly.

‘Mmm. I’ve got to drive over to Leeds this afternoon to pick up the rest of my stuff from the airport. There wasn’t room for it in the plane I flew back on so it had to be sent as freight. I was planning to have lunch on the way so do you fancy joining me?’ he said, as though inviting her to have lunch with him was the most natural thing in the world to do. Maybe it should be, he thought suddenly. After all, if they could forge some kind of normal relationship then surely it would help?

‘I’m not sure it’s a good idea,’ she said flatly.

‘Why not? Look, I know you’re angry with me, and I understand why, but I want this to work, Beth. I want to be here for Beatrix, not just now but in the future as well. Maybe I had doubts about becoming a father in the past, but now that it’s happened, I know it’s what I want.’ Callum felt a wave of emotion rise up and almost choke him but he forced himself to carry on. ‘The last thing I want is Beatrix growing up, thinking that I don’t care about her. I know how destructive that can be, believe me!’

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