THE GIFT OF A CHILD

by Sue MacKay

  She yawned and stretched her legs, pulled the covers tighter and snuggled further down into the bed. If only Mitch was here now to hold her while she slept, or to make love to her. Those strong yet gentle hands on her skin would stroke her alight, would take her places where all the worries couldn’t follow for a short while. That muscular body would slide over her as he entered her and she could feel his heat, her heat mingling.

  Oh, Mitch.

  A hand rocked her gently. ‘Hey, Jodi, wake up.’ A persistent voice from her dream spoke too loudly.

  She blinked, snuggled back into the pillow.

  ‘Jodi.’

  What? Mitch? For real? Not a dream? She sat straight up, and Mitch had to jerk back to avoid their heads clashing. ‘You’re not due back till later.’

  ‘I swapped flights. I was already at the airport when I called you.’ He handed her a mug. ‘Instant only. I’m sorry.’

  ‘No problem.’ She placed the mug on the floor and got out of the bed to pull on her jeans and jersey.

  Mitch didn’t even look at her. Which only went to show how bad things were. She asked, ‘Is Jamie sleeping?’

  ‘Yes. Max is sitting with him for a few minutes while I came to see you.’

  She blinked. ‘He sent me in here hours ago.’

  ‘Sent Lucas home, too. Seems Max quite likes babysitting his nephew.’ Mitch looked bewildered.

  She changed the subject. ‘How did Sydney go? Did you do everything you wanted?’

  ‘Yes, I did.’

  The coffee wasn’t flash but she drank it down before her shaking hands dumped most of it over her jeans. Then, ‘Mitch, I’d like to move to Sydney when all this is over so that Jamie can be near you. He needs both of us in his life—all the time.’

  ‘Yes, he does.’ Mitch stood up, paced the three steps to the door and turned, his face relaxed and open. ‘I’m not going to be taking up that position. I went across to talk to the general manager of the hospital and explained the situation. I also had to cancel the lease on an apartment I’d arranged and tidy up a few things so I didn’t leave a bad taste in anyone’s mouth.’

  ‘What? You’re staying in New Zealand?’ When he nodded, she asked, ‘Where? Haven’t you been replaced here?’ Why was he doing this?

  ‘The board hasn’t decided on a candidate for my job; they’re still doing interviews. I’ve been told I can stay on. So would you consider moving to Auckland rather than Sydney?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘You haven’t even thought about it,’ he pointed out.

  ‘Nothing to think about. You’re giving up your prestigious job. That’s huge.’ She would be giving up a job she enjoyed but hadn’t been able to give her full attention to anyway. And then there was Mum. Who knew what Mum would do? But one thing was certain—she’d approve of this.

  ‘It wasn’t that hard. It feels right, good even. I want to get everything right with Jamie. I want to be a great dad.’

  ‘Thank you.’ Tears blurred her vision. A part of her was happy, happy for Jamie.

  He returned to sit opposite her, took the mug out of her hands. Then he folded his hands around hers. Warmth seeped into her, giving her strength and courage.

  ‘Mitch, I got it all wrong. I didn’t give you a chance. I guess I hadn’t learned how much you’ve changed, didn’t want to admit you’re not the man I knew three years ago. I seem to have fallen into my old habits when I’m around you and so I expect that you’re doing the same. I blew it. I’m sorry.’

  His fingers squeezed her tight. ‘It’s okay. I get that. And it doesn’t matter anymore.’

  Her heart dropped. So there’d be nothing developing between them. Their up-close-and-personal encounters weren’t going to be repeated. Unless she was honest. About everything.

  She tugged her hands free and stood up, stepping around him while her brain worked overtime. Finally she said, ‘I loved you last time. I never said so because I felt vulnerable. I understood enough about you to know you wouldn’t stay for the long haul. But I loved you and when I packed your bags it nearly killed me.

  ‘I thought I’d got over you. But I hadn’t. I haven’t. Coming here, seeing you again, being with you, talking, making love, even arguing, I feel complete. I still love you. I’ve never stopped. I—I wondered if we could try again.’

  A smile broke across his mouth, his whole face, into his eyes. He reached for her and sat her on his lap. His hands cupped her face. ‘Try keeping me away.’ His lips brushed hers. ‘You’re the only woman who makes my knees knock or my heart skip. I’ve always loved you right from that first date when you spilled your red wine over my grey suit. You were so embarrassed because it was the only suit I owned and I had an interview the next morning.’

  ‘Do you have to remind me?’ He loved her. That had to be good, didn’t it?

  ‘You still owe me.’ His smile widened into a grin. Then he grew serious. ‘Jodi Hawke, I love you with all my heart. Do you think we deserve a second shot at our relationship? Will you marry me?’

  Her eyes widened while inside her heart swelled with love. ‘Yes,’ she breathed. Leaning in, she covered his mouth with hers and repeated, ‘Yes.’

  He kissed her back long and hard, before pulling away. ‘We’ve got a tough time ahead with Jamie and the transplant, but I was hoping we could get married as soon as possible. A very quiet, private service. Just you, me and Jamie. Your mum, even Max.’ He stopped, sucked a breath. ‘I’d feel more comfortable knowing we were legally together before I have the surgery.’

  ‘Yes, definitely, if that’s what you want.’ Tears spurted from the corners of her eyes. So the surgery worried him. Yet he’d do it for his child. A true father.

  There was a knock and the door flew open. ‘Mitch, sorry to barge in but you’re needed in the ED. Now.’ The man in blue scrubs nodded at Jodi. ‘Hi, I’m Aaron, Mitch’s second in charge. There’s been an accident on the Harbour Bridge involving three cars. We’ve got three priorities due within the next five minutes.’

  Jodi leapt up so Mitch could stand. ‘Go, Mitch. I’ll be with Jamie.’ She reached up and kissed him quickly. ‘Yes. Absolutely yes.’

  *

  Aaron said over his shoulder as they tore along the corridor to the stairwell, ‘Bad timing, huh?’

  ‘For me, yes; for the patients, no. An extra specialist might make a difference for one of them.’ Jodi loved him. Holy Toledo. They were getting married. Next week if he could get everything organised.

  ‘So no more plans to leave us?’ Aaron shoved the fire door open, shot through.

  Mitch was right on his heels. ‘Not in the foreseeable future.’ His future involved family now. He grinned despite the urgency driving him down the stairs to his department.

  The first ambulance was unloading as they reached the department. ‘Yours,’ Aaron told him.

  ‘Right.’ He followed the stretcher being wheeled straight into Resus.

  The paramedic handed over the PRF. ‘Janet Lees, twenty-four years old. Driver of one of the cars. Hit the side window with her head when the car spun. High blood loss from femoral artery.’

  Nurses and interns stepped up, suctioning the patient’s mouth, swapping the oxygen supply from the ambulance tank to theirs, putting in lines for fluids, applying pressure to that artery. Organised chaos reigned. Mitch oversaw everything, making decisions, ordering X-rays, working to stem the blood loss from the torn artery.

  Phoning a neurologist, he said, ‘Tom, I think we’ve got a severe brain injury due to trauma. Can you come down?’

  A couple of minutes later Tom Grady blew in like a winter wind, immediately reaching for the report form and the latest obs. And Mitch continued doing everything possible to save Janet Grady’s life.

  But an hour later he had to step back and listen to Tom. The news was grim.

  He said, ‘We’ll put her on life support and send her up to IC. The family will need time with her.’

  Mitch sucked a breath. And swore long a
nd hard under his breath. Tragic deaths happened. But he hated them.

  The family would be asked if they wanted Janet to be an organ donor. Donation was a gift. More than one gift to more than one desperate person. But how did families make this decision at the worst possible time of their lives? He’d dealt with other cases where the patient had gone on life support until the organ retrieval team had done their thing, and he’d accepted it for what it was. Death giving life. Someone’s loss giving another person a better chance at a future. Nothing wrong with that. Hell, he was signed up as a donor if something happened to him. He’d gone as far as making sure his adoptive family knew and understood his wishes. But now he suddenly found it entirely different, that the right thing to do wasn’t that easy.

  More than that, he finally really understood why parents might say no. Mitch took one last look at the young woman as she was wheeled out of his department and wondered which way her parents would react. Sometimes life sucked.

  Handing over, he headed for the shower. He threw his filthy scrubs at the basket. Missed. Shoved the tap hard to the right. Leapt under the water. Leapt out again. ‘Bloody cold.’

  Thank goodness Jodi had brought Jamie to him. Thank goodness he could save his boy without anyone having paid the ultimate price.

  The water was warming. He stepped into the shower again and tipped his face under the water, let it stream down his body. He needed to cleanse away the smells of the ED, then he needed Jodi’s arms around him.

  *

  Jodi was curled up in a chair beside Jamie’s bed when she saw Lucas walk in. ‘It’s two in the morning. Why aren’t you at home?’

  Mitch appeared behind him, looking dreadful. Not just exhausted but hollowed out. Despair oozed out of him as he met Jodi’s gaze.

  A trembling started deep inside her. ‘No.’ Her head swung from side to side. ‘No.’ She wasn’t ready. Hadn’t prepared for this enough. ‘No.’

  ‘Jodi?’ Mitch lifted her into his arms and held her tight. ‘It’s all right, sweetheart. Everything’s going to be fine.’

  She’d never be ready. Jamie needed a new kidney to survive. She’d signed the papers, understood the consequences and risks, wanted it for him. But she wasn’t ready for her boy to go under the knife. To have such major surgery. ‘He’s too little. Too frail.’

  ‘He’s tough. He’s a Hawke. He’s a Maitland.’ Mitch spoke with conviction. With tenderness and understanding.

  She shifted in his arms, looked for Lucas. ‘Tell me.’

  Lucas was sitting on the end of Jamie’s bed, watching her. ‘There’s been an accident in Nelson. Two people died and one is an organ donor. The retrieval crew are on their way down there. We’ll know more in a couple of hours. But, Jodi, you have to prepare yourself. It could be a match.’

  Under her hands she felt Mitch’s chest rising and falling far too rapidly. ‘Mitch?’

  His chest rose high and stuck there. Then as his lungs slowly let the air out he said, loudly and clearly, ‘Lucas, phone Max and get him and his team in here. He’d be coming to do the op anyway. But he’ll be taking one of my kidneys for Jamie. It’s time to do it. We were only waiting for one more counselling session. I don’t see the point. I’m ready.’

  Lucas nodded. ‘Fair enough. Your kidney is a far better option for our lad here anyway. It’s a go, then. I’ll go and make some calls.’ He stood up and looked from Jamie to Mitch to her. ‘Jodi, you’re going to have the hardest job of all of us. You have to sit around waiting.’

  For both my men. She wanted to shout at the world for letting this happen in the first place. She wanted to cry and fold into Mitch for his strength. She wanted to pick Jamie up out of his bed and run.

  Instead she straightened her spine and looked first at Mitch and then Lucas. ‘Think what I’ve got. Mitch and Jamie. How can I not be okay? I’ll be like a soccer mum, cheering and encouraging from the sidelines.’ Gulp. At least she’d got that out without a quaver in her voice to give her away. Her stomach turned over, wanting to reject the meal she’d eaten hours ago. No way. Not now. She sucked her belly in against her backbone. She was strong. And today she’d just have to be even stronger.

  ‘I’ll be back when I know more.’ Lucas headed for the door, turned back. ‘Mitch, nil by mouth from now on, eh?’

  Mitch nodded slowly and sank down on a chair, pulling Jodi with him. The reality was hitting home. This time tomorrow he’d have one kidney and Jamie would be on the road to a full recovery. ‘It’s happening.’

  ‘Faster than you’d thought.’ Jodi brushed a lock of hair behind his ear. Love radiated from her eyes. Love for him.

  ‘Better that way. The decision’s been made, nothing to wait for. It’s not as though I need to listen to that counsellor spouting on about what my emotions are going to be doing. I get it. Time to get on with the whole damned process.’ So stop raving and give Jodi your undivided attention. Support her.

  Under his hands he could feel the occasional tremor rock through her body. But she sat straight, not melding into him. There was confidence in her face, that earlier fear long gone. Amazingly brave. Because she really would go through hell when he and Jamie were wheeled away to Theatre.

  Mitch wrapped his arms around her and dropped his chin on the top of her head, smelt the lavender of her shampoo, remembered the night he’d woken up to find her in his office. She’d brought him so much. She’d given him a life worth living. How did he thank her for that? A lifetime together, cherishing her, would not be enough.

  ‘One step at a time, boyo.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Jodi mumbled against his neck.

  ‘Thinking that our wedding will have to wait a few days.’

  She sat so she could meet his gaze full on. ‘We could try to get a special licence, if that’s what you want.’

  He shook his head. ‘I think we’ve got enough to deal with.’

  ‘Mitch, we’re a family now. A piece of paper isn’t going to change that.’ She kissed her finger tip, placed it on his lips. ‘I love you. More than you can imagine.’

  He kissed her finger and tapped it on her lips. ‘And I love you. We’ve got each other, and our son. We’re as married as anyone who has said their vows.’

  His mouth covered hers to give her a kiss full of love. A kiss that would get them through what lay ahead. A kiss that sealed them together. For ever.

  *

  Max stood in the doorway, watching Mitch holding Jodi, understanding, in his role of transplant surgeon, what they were all about to go through. The time had come.

  His heart swelled—for Jamie, Jodi and Mitch.

  And for himself.

  How he’d manage it he didn’t know, but he swore that once Jamie was out of danger, he would talk to Mitch.

  Really talk to him. About the lives they’d both lived after they’d been separated. And hopefully one day in the not-too-distant future, he might be able to meet Mitch at The Shed for a friendly drink.

  *

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  ISBN: 9781460316283

  Copyright © 2013 by Sue MacKay

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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