JUST BEFORE DAWN next morning, Theo pounded along the narrow lanes surrounding his home, determinedly getting the exercise he knew he needed but despised having to get. Every time he went for a run, it reminded him of his age and the swift passage of time.
When he was young, he’d played football and been a keen cricketer, but once he’d got to university he’d stopped playing regularly because he could no longer commit to a team schedule. Yet, although that was many years ago, he still considered those team sports the only exercise worth doing.
Running or jogging was rather boring, and really gave him far too much time to think.
And no matter what he started thinking about, he ended up on one subject.
Nya.
Her warm smile and gorgeous, soft skin that suddenly, after all these years, made his fingers tingle with the urge to touch.
The tenderness she showed to Hope. Her gentleness as she stroked over the baby’s head or cheek.
He was used to her brisk common sense, the way she always made him feel heard and appreciated, but noticing these other, far more personal things had his brain spinning.
Was this just another side effect of the life changes he’d gone through?
He’d be the first to admit he’d been terribly lonely. While he’d always thought it was his responsibility, not only to support and encourage his children, but also prepare them for adulthood, it had been a wrench when they’d left home. And once they had, the cracks in his marriage had widened until there was no way to traverse them.
When Femi had left, it had been almost a relief. A surcease of the constant arguments interspersed with cold silences.
At first the peace had been soothing, but then the emptiness of the cottage and his apartment in Falmouth had begun to register.
And the peaceful feeling had drained away, making him not want to go home after work.
Last night, as he’d looked around Nya’s cosy living room, decorated for Christmas, he’d realised just how cold and sterile his own place was. Nya’s personality was obvious everywhere—her warmth and humour clear in the colourful decorative items, the festive baubles—and, strangely, he’d felt his attraction to her go up a notch. It all had made him want to pull her to sit down on the sofa beside him, cuddle her and Hope close to his side, and find a kind of sweet oblivion.
Of course, he had done no such thing.
While there had been a couple of times yesterday he’d caught Nya looking at him in a way that made his heart race, there was no way to know exactly what she was thinking. Suspecting he wasn’t alone in this new awareness didn’t make it so, no matter how the idea interested him.
No doubt that was why, as he got to the next crossroads and looped back, he got a little spurt of additional energy as he realised Nya would be dropping Hope off soon.
Trying to distract himself, he went over the list of things he’d accomplished the night before.
Ordered probably more things for Hope than she’d ever need, but he’d been enjoying himself so much that he’d ended up deciding on gifts for TJ and Gillian too.
That had led him to think about what Nya had said about people being responsible for their own happiness, and admit to himself that he was allowing the past to shadow the present. Calling his children had seemed appropriate then, and their conversations had further soothed his soul.
‘Since I’m stuck here until the day before Christmas Eve finishing this collaborative project, I was hoping to come down to Carey Cove between Christmas and New Year,’ TJ had said. ‘But only if it’s no bother.’
‘It will never be a bother for you to come home, whenever you want,’ Theo said, surprised but trying not to show it. ‘But I thought you were spending the hols with your mum.’
There was a pause, and then his son said, ‘Yeah, I said I would, but I wanted to figure out if you’d be around, should I decide to come down to see you.’
Theo knew his son well, and could put two and two together. Femi would never outright lie to their children, but she was expert at hinting at things, leaving them open to interpretation. Just as she’d hinted to Theo that the children had no interest in spending the holiday with him, she probably did the same to them by insinuating Theo had no time for them.
‘Oh, I’m not going anywhere,’ he replied, feeling more cheerful than he had in ages.
Gillian had apologised for not having enough time off to visit, adding that she was spending the following Christmas in Carey Cove, no matter what.
Intellectually he knew his children loved him, but hearing evidence of it made all the difference in the world.
And when he’d told them about Hope, and his offer to co-foster her with Nya, they’d expressed their approval, although Gillian had teased, ‘What, Dad? Didn’t think you could manage a baby all on your own?’
‘Shut it, you,’ he’d replied, as Gillian had hooted with laughter. ‘I offered, but Nya looked so disappointed—because she’d wanted to foster the baby herself—that I suggested we share.’
‘Ah, I see,’ she’d replied slowly. ‘Well, that’s good, then.’
But when he’d asked her to elaborate, she’d brushed him off and changed the subject, leaving him wondering whether his children would be pleased or annoyed if he got involved with Nya.
And there he went again, thinking about Nya as he jogged up the driveway towards his door.
But if he was hoping for some indication that she’d felt the same rush of interest as he had the day before, he was quickly disillusioned.
She was her usual brisk, bustling self when she dropped Hope off, but even more so, since she whirled through his front hall like a tornado, depositing supplies. Bringing him up to speed about how the baby had slept, and how often she’d fed, as she transferred the car-seat base to his car. And then, after kissing the top of Hope’s head, she headed right back out of the door, leaving him feeling as though he’d been run over by a small but determined lorry.
‘Well,’ he murmured to Hope, watching Nya’s car turn onto the road. ‘That’ll teach me to misinterpret things, won’t it?’
And Hope made a sound that he swore was half amused, half sympathetic, and he couldn’t help laughing, even though there was no mistaking his disappointment.
Nya found herself speeding away from Theo’s house and eased off the accelerator. She was flustered, just from seeing him, catching a hint of his fresh, soapy scent. It had made her imagine him in the shower after his run, his body slick with water, the suds running down a stark contrast to the darkness of his skin.
The fantasy caused a rush of desire she was desperate to hide from Theo, and the best way was to retreat behind her work persona. But even then she wasn’t sure she’d been completely successful, since her heart was racing and she felt slightly breathless by the time she got back into her car.
‘Get a hold on yourself, Nya,’ she muttered, turning the car into the driveway of Carey House. ‘You don’t have to see him again until the end of the day.’
But her heart did another of those silly lurches at the thought, and she still felt off-kilter as she went inside.
Thankfully it was home-visit day, and having Lorna the trainee midwife with her forced Nya to keep her mind on work and off Theo Turner.
At least until they got to Marnie’s to check on her and baby Violet.
‘So tell me everything,’ Marnie said as Nya supervised Lorna’s wellness check of Violet. ‘About Theo finding a baby on the doorstep of Carey House, and how both of you are taking care of her. I didn’t have time to chat when I dropped the car seat off with you yesterday, but now I want to hear the entire story.’
Just hearing Theo’s name made Nya start, and that gained her a surprised glance from Lorna.
‘Oh...er...’ Nya stopped talking to say to Lorna, ‘Remember to make notes as you go along. Don’t try to commit anything to memory. Well-kept records will aid parents and medical practitioners alike going forward.’
‘Yes, Mrs Ademi—I mean Nya,’ Lorna said, obviously remembering that Nya insisted they be on a first-name basis. As she then turned her attention to noting Violet’s length and weight, saying them out loud, she thankfully gave Nya a chance to recover her equilibrium.
But she knew Marnie had noticed her reaction, and it took all her focus to smile and tell the younger woman about Hope. Even then, Nya concentrated on telling Marnie about the evening before, when the baby was with her, rather than the rest of the day when Theo had shared the responsibility.
Then, once Lorna was finished with Violet, Nya pulled her into the conversation and, to her relief, Marnie turned her attention to the young trainee, grilling her about her plans. While they chatted, Nya held Violet, who was just a few weeks older than Hope. It came to mind how, once upon a time, she’d dreamed of raising her children alongside those of her friends, but of course that wasn’t to be.
If Hope were to stay in Carey Cove—stay with Nya—she would grow up with Violet and have a built-in best friend and pseudo cousin.
Over the years she’d come to accept her childless state, and it was no longer a source of pain. However, today she felt a pang as she reminded herself that her custody of Hope was only temporary. Even if they didn’t find her mother, Social Services would find a permanent fosterer, and that was all there was to it.
But it was surprisingly easy to drift off into a fantasy where she and Theo were together, raising Hope. Living together, sleeping together...
‘Isn’t that right, Nya?’
It was only when Marnie nudged her that Nya realised she’d missed the entire conversation, and heat rushed to her already warm face.
‘Umm... What?’
Marnie’s eyes narrowed, and she looked as though she was about to say something, but then she glanced Lorna’s way, and just shook her head, saying, ‘Never mind. What else do you ladies have on the schedule today?’
Taking the reprieve in both hands, Nya smiled, replying, ‘Why? Are you missing the hustle and bustle already?’
‘I am, in a way,’ she said with a laugh. ‘But I’m enjoying my new job too much to leave it just yet.’ Violet chose that moment to start to fuss, and Nya handed her back to her mum with a grin, as Marnie tacked on, ‘No matter how demanding my new employer is.’
Lorna and she left not long after that, heading back to the clinic.
As they drove along, Lorna said, ‘That layette set you made for Violet is lovely, Mrs Ademi—I mean, Nya. Where did you get the pattern?’
Nya glanced at the young woman as she replied, ‘From my mother, who has a huge collection. Do you knit?’
‘A little,’ Lorna admitted. ‘But I get frustrated, I’m that slow. I’m far better at crochet.’
‘We have a fibre arts group here in the village, if you’re interested. We usually get together once a month to chat, share patterns, drink tea or wine or, if you’re Mrs Haymore, a vodka martini.’
‘Oh!’ Lorna sat up straighter and Nya knew the trainee was looking at her. ‘I noticed the postbox topper outside the village shop, and the tree on the green wrapped to look like an angel. Did one of you make them?’
Nya tapped the side of her nose, grinning. ‘The first rule of yarn bombing is—’
‘Don’t talk about yarn bombing,’ they finished together, and they were laughing as she turned back into the drive at Carey House.
Nya was telling Lorna more about the club and some of the projects they’d done over the years as they walked into Reception and saw a little crowd of people around Hazel’s desk. And in the midst of them, Theo, holding Hope.
It was impossible to ignore the way her heart flipped, and then started galloping. Thankfully Theo hadn’t noticed her yet, so Nya had the chance to both feast her eyes and also compose herself. Yet, the latter was difficult.
Theo looked so handsome, so comfortable and proud holding Hope and showing her off to the midwives, patients and Hazel that Nya almost couldn’t stand it.
Just once it would be nice to see Theo unkempt, or as frazzled as Nya felt just looking at him. Oh, she knew just how very human he was, but just now, with this new awareness of him sending carnal shivers through her body, she wished he’d put a foot wrong in some way. Maybe that would break the spell.
Then, as she hesitated just inside the door, Theo looked up and saw her, and his smile just about knocked her over.
Suddenly there was a flurry of motion, as all the midwives with patients escorted them away, and the others vanished too, as though Nya were poison. It happened so quickly it was almost cartoonish, and between her rush of pleasure at seeing Theo’s smile and her amusement a giggle broke through before she could stop it.
Who knew she was scary enough to have that kind of effect on people? Luckily Theo didn’t seem to feel the same way, because he was walking towards her, that gorgeous smile still in place.
‘There you are. We came to ask you to join us for lunch.’
‘I’d love to,’ she said instinctively, but then added, ‘But Hope’s too young to be going to the pub. In fact, she shouldn’t be around so many people yet. We don’t know anything about the circumstances of her birth, her health, or her mother’s. We don’t even know if she was born in a hospital.’
Theo nodded, not losing his smile. ‘Yes, I fended everyone off as best I could. And I thought we could order out and either eat in my office here, or at my house.’ Before she could reply, he held up his hand, continuing, ‘I know you’ve been doing home visits, and Hazel said you usually bring lunch from home, but I doubt you had time to make much of anything this morning.’
Nya was very aware of Hazel sitting at her desk, no doubt listening intently to their conversation, and was glad when the phone rang, and she had to answer.
‘I’d love to,’ she said again, ‘but—’
‘Nya, Dr Turner.’ Hazel was always unflappable, but Nya recognised the note of urgency in her voice and swung around. ‘Liz McDermott is suffering excruciating back pain. Her husband wants to know what to do.’
‘Tell him to bring her in, immediately.’
It was Theo who answered, and Hazel nodded, taking her hand away from the receiver to tell Kyle McDermott what had been said.
Turning to Theo, Nya said, ‘Placental abruption,’ making it a statement, rather than a question. Liz had been under Theo’s care for the last two months, closely monitored since the partial abruption had first been diagnosed. Liz had been on bed-rest and was almost full term now, but the danger to both mother and baby if the abruption had progressed was still very real. ‘I’ll prepare for ultrasound, and the delivery room.’
‘Contact Roman too,’ Theo said, striding across the room. ‘We may need to airlift Liz to St Isolde’s for an emergency C-section, depending on what we find.’
It was all hands on deck then.
Hazel took charge of Hope, while Nya found Lorna in the staff room, and had her assist in setting up the ultrasound machine, and laying out everything they’d need, including instruments for a caesarean, just in case.
‘I’m sure you remember from your classes that placental abruption is when the placenta begins to detach from the uterine wall.’ Nya brought Lorna up to speed as they worked, so her trainee would be prepared by the time the patient was brought in. ‘Liz McDermott, a twenty-six-year-old first-time mother, came in two months ago for a routine check-up, and reported light, intermittent vaginal bleeding. She was thirty-one weeks along. Our GP, Dr Wilde, diagnosed the abruptio placentae and referred Mrs McDermott to Dr Turner. Dr Turner recommended bed-rest, and both Mr and Mrs McDermott were given a list of symptoms to look out for.’
As she spoke she was mentally double-checking the room, making sure Theo would have everything to hand if and when needed.
Then came the sound of voices down the corridor, Liz’s shrill with fear, and Theo’s soothing tones.
With one last look around, Nya turned to Lorna, who looked a little worried. No wonder. This was Lorna’s first placement, and she’d been honest about her lack of experience.
Nya smiled, and bumped the younger woman with her elbow.
‘You’ll be fine. Just follow Dr Turner’s lead. And get the door.’