His Brother's Son

by Jennifer Taylor

  ‘No, it’s fine. Don’t worry, I’m not trying to poison you,’ Becky quickly assured her. ‘Here have one of these.’

  She offered Karen the packet of chocolate biscuits which one of the doctors on the unit had given her in the hope that it would distract her from asking anything else. Karen was a good friend but Becky had deemed it wiser not to tell anyone too much since she’d taken the job at St Leonard’s. People would have been bound to gossip if the truth had got out, and that was the last thing she wanted to happen.

  She’d told everyone the story that she and Antonio had decided upon—that she was a single mother, bringing up her nine-month-old son on her own. Whenever anyone asked about Josh’s father, she answered quite truthfully that he had died not long after the baby had been born.

  Everyone had accepted it without question, and although she occasionally felt guilty about having to deceive them she felt she didn’t have a choice. She wouldn’t take any risks where Josh was concerned.

  ‘Thanks.’ Karen took a biscuit and carried on talking through a mouthful of crumbs. ‘So why didn’t you get much chance to enjoy the sun while you were in Mallorca?’

  ‘Oh, it was just a flying visit. I was there and back within a day.’

  ‘Really?’ Karen made no attempt to hide her surprise. Her blue eyes gleamed with curiosity as she stared at Becky. ‘You must have had a very good reason for not stopping. I mean, it’s a long way to go just for a few hours, isn’t it?’

  Becky sighed as she realised her mistake. She shouldn’t have said that because her friend wouldn’t have been any the wiser if she’d let her believe that she had stayed in Mallorca. She’d had five days’ leave owing to her and had planned the trip to coincide with them. Not for the first time she rued the fact that being deceitful didn’t come naturally to her. Even when speaking to Felipe Valdez she had needed to watch every word she’d said.

  ‘I had something to sort out,’ she replied quickly, not wanting to dwell on the previous day’s events. Recalling the contempt on Felipe’s face still had the power to upset her, even though she didn’t understand why his opinion should carry any weight. So long as Josh was safe, nothing else mattered. And once she found the money she needed to pay Tara, her biggest problem would have been solved.

  ‘Something to do with Josh, do you mean?’ Karen guessed astutely. ‘You mentioned something about his father coming from Mallorca—did you go there to see his family?’

  ‘That’s right.’ Becky shrugged. ‘As I said, it was just a flying visit—that’s why I didn’t stay very long. Anyway, I wanted to get home to Josh.’

  ‘You didn’t take him with you?’

  She groaned when she heard the surprise in Karen’s voice. What was that saying about the tangled webs we weave? One lie seemed to lead to another and if she wasn’t careful she would start tripping herself up.

  ‘He had an ear infection so I didn’t think it would be wise to take him on the plane. He stayed with the childminder so he was perfectly happy.’

  She could tell that Karen was going to ask her something else so it was a relief when their new trainee nurse, Debbie Rothwell, put her head round the door.

  ‘I’m awfully sorry, Becky, but can you come? Holly is crying and I’ve no idea what’s wrong with her. All the monitor readings are fine. I’ve double-checked.’

  Becky put her cup on the draining-board and smiled at the younger woman. Debbie was still very nervous about the responsibility involved with working in the IC unit and rarely trusted her instincts where the children were concerned. Whilst the monitoring equipment was invaluable it didn’t supply all the answers.

  ‘Have you tried asking her what’s wrong?’

  ‘Well, no, I haven’t, actually,’ Debbie admitted, looking even more flustered. ‘I suppose I should have thought of that first.’

  ‘Don’t worry. It takes a while to slot into the routine here,’ Becky said kindly, going to the door. ‘Let’s go and have a look at Holly and see if we can find out what’s the matter with her. She’s due to be transferred to a ward once Mr Watts has seen her, so there’s no need to be overly concerned. She’s well on the mend, I’m glad to say.’

  They made their way into the IC unit and went straight to Holly Benson’s bed. The four year-old had been admitted the previous week after suffering a stroke. She had been gravely ill at the time and the prognosis hadn’t been good. However, dedicated nursing care, plus the child’s own will to survive, had pulled her through.

  The good news was that young children were known to make an excellent recovery after they’d suffered a stroke. Nobody was exactly sure how it worked, but it had been proved that other parts of the brain took over the tasks performed by any damaged areas. With a bit of luck, little Holly would lead a full and active life.

  ‘Now then, sweetheart, what’s the matter? Does your head hurt or do you have a pain anywhere?’ she asked gently, bending down beside the child’s bed.

  Although Holly had been removed from most of the monitoring equipment, she was still attached to the machine that was checking her blood pressure and heart rate. Becky saw the child pluck at the leads attached to her, and gently moved Holly’s hand away so that she couldn’t dislodge them.

  ‘Want to get up,’ the little girl said, her lower lip pouting. ‘Want to play!’

  ‘Oh, I see!’

  She laughed as she kissed the little girl’s cheek, thinking what a good sign that was. When a child was fretting because she wanted to get out of bed, she had to be on the mend.

  ‘I’m afraid you can’t get up just yet, poppet. The doctor has to see how you are first.’

  She turned to Debbie and grinned when she saw the relief on the young nurse’s face. ‘Panic over. How do you fancy reading Holly a story while we wait for Mr Watts to make his appearance? I wouldn’t like him to think that we don’t keep our patients happy while they’re with us.’

  She moved away from the bed after both Holly and Debbie had agreed that it sounded like the perfect solution and made her way down the ward, automatically checking each child as she passed. There were ten beds in the paediatric intensive care unit and every one of them was in use. She had no doubt that the minute Holly was transferred to the medical ward, another young patient would arrive.

  St Leonard’s was the only paediatric intensive care unit in that area of London, and beds there were always at a premium. It meant that her role as a staff nurse was a demanding one, but she’d never regretted her decision to work there. The fact that she’d been able to choose to work permanent days had been a real bonus because she didn’t know how she would have managed to look after Josh if she’d had to work shifts.

  A smile softened her mouth as she thought about the little boy. Even though it was a huge responsibility, she had never regretted offering to take care of him. Josh was Antonio’s son and doubly precious because of that. She couldn’t have loved any child more than she loved him.

  Becky left the ward and went to the office. Sister Reece was on holiday that week so Becky was in charge in her absence and there was a stack of paperwork to catch up with. She opened the office door then froze when she caught sight of the man standing by the window. For one horrible moment she thought she was going to faint as the floor seemed to rush up to meet her.

  She saw him turn, saw the concern that crossed his face, saw him take a step towards her—and it was that which steadied her. The thought of Felipe Valdez actually touching her was more than she could bear.

  ‘Don’t!’

  Felipe froze when he heard the total rejection in Rebecca’s voice. Frankly, he wasn’t sure what to do. She looked as though she was ready to keel over, yet the expression on her face dared him to go to her assistance.

  He took a deep breath while he tried to think, but it was surprisingly difficult to assess the situation. Knowing that he was the object of all those waves of antipathy that were flowing across the room had thrown him off course. He could no longer take a rational view of w
hat was happening and it shocked him to realise that he was in danger of acting instinctively and without thought.

  ‘What do you want?’

  Her voice sounded cold and sharp, as though all the warmth and sweetness had been drained from it, and he frowned because it was strangely distressing to know that he was responsible for the change. He found himself wondering if he should apologise for what he had done before common sense reasserted itself. If there was any apologising to be done, it needed to come from her, not him.

  ‘I want to know why you came to see me yesterday.’

  He saw her slender body stiffen but he refused to let himself be swayed by this act she was putting on. He had known that she was a nurse because Antonio had told him that in his last letter, but it had been a shock to discover that she worked in one of the most demanding departments in any hospital.

  When he’d called at the house where she lived, a neighbour had told him that Rebecca worked in the paediatric intensive care unit of St Leonard’s Hospital. He had taken a taxi there, trying to reconcile himself to the thought of her doing such a demanding job. Yet why should he have been so surprised? Who better than Rebecca Williams to deal with sick children when she was incapable of feeling any genuine emotion? The thought made his heart ache for some reason.

  ‘You must have had a very good reason for coming to see me, Miss Williams, and I want to know what it was. Although maybe I could make an educated guess.’

  ‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she said quickly, but he could see the fear that had darkened her eyes. ‘I told you that I just wanted to meet you—’

  ‘And it was a lie.’

  He smiled sardonically when she fell silent, wondering why he couldn’t seem to derive any pleasure from her discomfort. It felt on a par with pulling the wings off a butterfly to stand there and mock her, but he couldn’t afford to weaken, wouldn’t allow himself to forget what had driven him to come. He just had to think about Antonio and anything…anything…was justified!

  ‘Please, don’t insult my intelligence, Miss Williams. We both know that you wanted something from me. Was it money that you were after, by any chance?’

  He glanced around the room, fighting the feeling of sickness that was welling inside him because he knew his suspicions had been correct. She had come to see him to ask for money and the proof of that was the way she stood there without making any attempt to deny the accusation.

  It was an effort to look at her again because he didn’t think he had ever felt more angry than he did at that moment. ‘Have you spent what Antonio left you already? Is that why you’re working here when you should be living in the lap of luxury?’

  He shook his head reprovingly, determined not to let her know how much it disturbed him to see her looking so shocked. Why should he care about her feelings when she’d cared so little about Antonio’s? It didn’t make sense.

  ‘I’m not sure exactly how much my brother left you. Our parents put two hundred thousand pounds in a trust fund for Antonio, for when he reached the age of twenty-five. I doubt he had the time to spend very much of it before he died, so you must have received quite a considerable sum. Yet you have managed to spend it all in a few short months, apparently.’

  He smiled thinly, wondering why she didn’t try to justify her actions, although maybe she knew how pointless it would be to try and play on his sympathy. It might have worked in the past because he could understand that many men must have been taken in by her beauty. Even he was aware of it and could feel himself responding on a purely physical level.

  No man could look at Rebecca Williams and not want her. Even though he despised everything she stood for, he could feel a stirring in his blood. Her delicate beauty and that air of vulnerability she projected was a potent mixture and he could understand how his brother had been fooled by it. However, that was where he and Antonio differed. He knew that beneath the beautiful outer shell was a woman who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. And what she wanted most of all was money.

  ‘I almost feel sorry for you, because I’m sure that working for your living wasn’t part of your plan.’ His voice grated because the thought seemed to sear right through him. All she’d ever wanted from Antonio had been his money!

  ‘Nevertheless, I’m very much afraid that I shall have to disappoint you even further because you won’t get a penny out of me. I am not my brother. I am not as gullible as poor Antonio was!’

  He brushed past her, feeling the tremor that coursed through his body when his arm brushed her shoulder. Revulsion, he told himself as he went to the door, simple revulsion—if anything to do with this woman could be classed as simple. He had no idea how she’d hoped to extract money from him, but he couldn’t bear to question her further. Finding out more about Rebecca Williams’s sordid life certainly wouldn’t make him feel any better.

  ‘Becky, can you come—? Oops, sorry. I didn’t know you were busy.’

  Felipe ground to a halt when a nurse suddenly appeared. He saw her look curiously at him before she turned to Rebecca and spoke more formally this time.

  ‘Mr Watts is on his way. I thought I’d better warn you because he’s in a rush. Something about having to go to Leeds to give a lecture this evening, or so Simon said.’

  ‘Thank you, Karen. I’ll be right there.’

  Felipe flinched when she spoke, wondering what had caused that ripple to run through him. He shot her an uneasy glance over his shoulder but she wasn’t looking at him. She took a stack of folders off the desk and went to the door, all the time avoiding eye contact with him.

  She smiled as she handed the notes to the nurse, but Felipe could tell the effort it cost her to act as though nothing was wrong. All of a sudden, he wished that he hadn’t come because he’d achieved nothing from his visit. He’d simply upset himself and upset Rebecca, too.

  Oddly, that last thought was the most disturbing of all. Hurting Rebecca hadn’t given him any satisfaction, as he’d hoped it would. It was an effort to hide his dismay when Rebecca addressed the other woman in a cool little voice that told him just how difficult she had found the past few minutes.

  ‘Check that all the obs are up to date, will you, Karen? You know how Mr Watts hates it if everything isn’t spot on.’

  ‘Do I ever!’ The nurse took the bundle then looked worriedly at Rebecca. ‘You will be there when he arrives? I don’t think I’m up to coping with one of his high-speed ward rounds.’

  ‘Of course. Dr Valdez was just leaving so I won’t be long.’

  ‘Valdez! Oh, I didn’t realise.’ The young nurse laughed as she turned to him. ‘What an idiot I am! I should have known the minute I saw you.’

  She gave him a considering look. ‘Yes, I can see the resemblance now, especially around the eyes. Josh has exactly the same colour eyes as you have. Isn’t it amazing how something like eye colour can be passed on through a family?’

  Felipe didn’t know what to say. He knew that she was waiting for him to answer, but there was no way that he could have formed even the simplest sentence.

  He turned to Rebecca and this time she was looking straight at him—staring at him, to be precise. Her eyes seemed to be riveted to his face and the expression in them made his heart race. He had never seen such fear in anyone’s eyes before.

  He heard the door close as the nurse hurriedly left, and almost laughed out loud. It was obvious that she was trying to be tactful because she’d sensed that she might have said something wrong, but it was far too late for that now. With a few unguarded words his life had been turned on its head.

  ‘Who is Josh?’

  He didn’t realise the question had come from his lips at first because it hadn’t sounded like his voice. It had sounded too strained, too raw, too full of emotion to be the voice of Felipe Valdez. He saw Rebecca swallow, watched her mouth open and struggled to concentrate because it was vitally important that he heard what she said.

  ‘Josh is my son.’

  She paused and
he knew that he was holding his breath as he waited for her to continue. ‘He’s Antonio’s son, too.’

  Becky could feel her heart beating, but it felt as though time had suddenly come to a halt. Felipe was standing stock still and the expression of shock on his face would have made her laugh if there had been anything remotely funny about the situation.

  She saw him swallow and tried to prepare herself for what he would ask her. He would be bound to have questions—dozens of them—and she needed to decide what to tell him. But it was hard to think when her brain felt as though it had seized up.

  ‘My…my brother had a child…a son?’

  Her heart ached with a sudden, fierce pain when she heard the bewilderment in his voice. For some reason she wanted to make this as easy as possible for him, even though she knew how dangerous it was to consider his feelings. One small slip, one unguarded word and the situation could spiral out of control.

  ‘Yes. His name is Josh and he’s nine months old,’ she told him quietly. ‘He looks very like Antonio and you, too, I suppose.’

  She gave him a tentative smile, watching the rapid play of emotions that crossed his face as he struggled to make sense of what she was saying. ‘He definitely has your colour eyes, as Karen just mentioned. Antonio’s eyes were a lot darker.’

  ‘Antonio took after our mother,’ he said roughly. ‘I favour my father’s side of the family.’

  ‘But there’s still a strong resemblance between you both.’ She felt her heart catch because until then she really hadn’t been aware of the similarities between the two brothers. Now it scared her to realise how alike they were. The last thing she could afford was to look at Felipe and see Antonio. She had to remember that they were two very different people.

  It was a relief when there was a knock on the door because she desperately needed some time to think about what had happened. She hurried to answer it, shaking her head when Debbie apologised for the interruption.