The Doctors’ Baby

by Marion Lennox

  ‘In comparison to a moth-eaten mongrel who does nothing but sleep and whose only party trick is to trip people over when they least expect it? Wow, that’s saying something.’ Lori watched as Em’s deft fingers gently massaged Robby’s legs. ‘Robby’s doing really well.’

  ‘He is.’ Em smiled down at baby Robby, who smiled just as happily up at her. Even when she hurt him he smiled at her, she thought, and her heart twisted again. Damn. Robby and now Jonas were twisting their way into her heart. Bernard was facing some pretty stiff competition these days.

  ‘Robby’ll have two brothers and a sister as of tomorrow,’ Lori told her, and watched her face change.

  ‘You mean Anna’s kids are coming here while she has the operation?’

  ‘Yep. Anna and Jonas were here two hours back, collecting the kids but organising a longer-term stay for them. Apparently the surgeon wants to operate as soon as possible and, now she’s made up her mind, Anna can’t see any reason for putting it off. So it’s tomorrow. In fact, I think she would have liked to get it over with this afternoon.’

  ‘I don’t blame her.’ Em nodded as she thought it through. ‘So Jonas is dumping the kids on you.’

  ‘That’s hardly fair,’ Lori said mildly. ‘He’ll be back and forth, visiting Anna, he’s offered to work for you-which I think is a really good idea-and he’s hopeless with kids. He hardly knows them.’ She shrugged. ‘And we’re lucky. For once, the homes aren’t full. Kate and Anna-the twins who’ve been with me while their parents sorted themselves out-left me yesterday, no one’s been sent down from Sydney and Robby is all I have left.’

  Then, as Em finished Robby’s dressing, Lori scooped the baby up and hugged him tight. ‘That leaves just me and Robby tonight, doesn’t it, scamp?’

  But not quite. Robby pursed his lips and his little mouth puckered. He held himself rigid against Lori, twisted his tiny body and held out his arms to Em. It was absolutely transparent where his affections lay.

  Damn.

  Lori handed him over, but her pucker of concern remained. ‘He’s still attached to you, Em.’

  ‘Maybe it’d be best if I didn’t see him any more,’ Em said, but her heart flinched at the thought. She had to harden it. Long-term commitment to a baby wasn’t an option. ‘Now Jonas will be here every day-at least I assume he’ll be here, checking on his niece and nephews-he could do the dressing changes.’

  ‘Which leaves Robby with no one.’

  ‘It leaves him with you. He has to reattach some time, and it mustn’t be to me.’

  ‘I don’t know to who, then,’ Lori said. ‘It’s a disaster if he attaches long-term to me. I’m just an interim home mother. I must get his aunt to agree to long-term foster care.’

  ‘She still won’t?’

  ‘No. She has the attitude that the town will think she’s uncaring-that it’s a betrayal of her sister to put Robby into foster-care.’

  ‘So she’ll leave him in an orphanage instead!’

  ‘When in doubt, do nothing,’ Lori said, and there was a trace of weariness in her voice which Em caught.

  ‘Maybe we could have Jonas talk to her,’ she suggested. ‘He can charm blood out of a stone, that one.’

  ‘He can at that.’ Lori looked at her friend, and her attention focused. ‘Are you sure you’re not interested in him?’

  ‘I’m not interested in him.’

  ‘You know…’ Lori looked her up and down, noting how tightly her hands were holding the little boy in her arms, and noting also the signs of strain around her eyes. ‘You know, I don’t believe you.’

  ‘You’d better.’ Em glowered. ‘If you find Jonas so attractive, why don’t you have an affair with him yourself?’

  ‘Oh, great.’ Lori grinned placidly. ‘No, thanks. I have my Raymond, and he’s a far sexier being than even your Bernard!’

  That brought a chuckle. ‘I don’t know about that,’ Em said innocently, thinking of Lori’s boyfriend, Bay Beach’s local accountant, with a grin. ‘They look about the same around the middle. And with the weight Ray’s carrying, I bet they snore the same.’

  She got a glower back-and then a chuckle of agreement. ‘OK, you’re right,’ Lori said fondly. ‘Poor Raymond. But he has taken on board what you said about the dangers to his heart. He’s been on a diet for weeks now.’

  ‘That’s great,’ Em said, mildly surprised. Lori’s Raymond was verging on truly fat, and she worried about him, but she thought he’d taken on the role of fat and jovial for ever.

  ‘It’s not much use, though,’ Lori told her, still smiling. ‘It’s just lucky I love him tubby. He’s using the doughnut hole diet.’

  ‘The doughnut hole diet?’

  ‘Doughnut holes are the bits you get when you cut the middle out of the doughnut.’ Lori nodded sagely. ‘So, instead of eating donuts, Ray now only eats doughnut holes. He figures all the calories stay in the doughnuts themselves.’ She chuckled. ‘And yet still I love him. If I wasn’t so tied up with my kids I’d even marry him-but he’s content enough with the arrangement as it is.’

  ‘Lucky Ray.’

  ‘Lucky me.’ Her friend’s smile died. ‘Seriously, Em, you’ll be sharing a house with Jonas for the next three months. If I were you-’

  ‘If I were me I’d be very careful,’ Em said solidly. ‘Unlike you, I can’t indulge in a love life. Seriously, Lori, do you know what would happen if I fell in love with Jonas Lunn?’

  ‘No.’ Her friend sighed resignedly. ‘I don’t. But I have a feeling you’re about to tell me.’

  ‘Yep.’ Em was on her bandwagon now, and there was no stopping her. ‘It’s one of two things. First, I could fall completely irrevocably in love, my passion would be returned in full by the wonderful Jonas, and I’d drop everything and follow the man of my dreams wherever he went.’

  ‘Not necessarily. He could stay here.’

  ‘Oh, come on, Lori. Do you seriously think a man like Jonas could ever be happy practising medicine in Bay Beach?’

  ‘Maybe not, but-’

  ‘Or, two,’ Em continued ruthlessly, ‘we could have a mad, passionate affair, then he leaves, I break my heart, and I sit around for the rest of my life like Miss Haversham in that Charles Dickens novel.’

  ‘What, surrounded by rats and wedding cake?’ Her friend eyed her dubiously. ‘Unlikely! Bernard would stir himself to eat the cake, and your patients would queue even if you were wearing your fifty-year-old wedding dress. Em, you don’t think you could be going overboard here?’

  ‘No.’ Em hardened her heart.

  ‘There is a third option,’ Lori suggested.

  ‘Which is?’

  Robby had fallen asleep in Em’s arms. Lori lifted him out, tucked him into his cot and kissed him goodnight. Then she stood back and eyed her friend in concern.

  ‘You could just have fun,’ she told her. ‘You could just lighten up, have a fling and enjoy yourself. Heaven knows, you deserve it.’

  ‘I-’

  ‘The world won’t end if you have an affair,’ Lori said sternly. ‘And you might just have a very good time. Think about it. Now, go home. I’m sorry, love, but my Raymond’s coming to dinner and I need to cook. My time without too many kids in this house is precious, because I intend to have a love life, even if you don’t. Love lives are fun. Think about it.’

  And with that she kissed her friend on the cheek and propelled her out the door.

  Leaving Em thinking about it.

  When she walked into the apartment, Jonas was there and, just like Lori, he was cooking dinner.

  The sensation was so unexpected that it brought her up short. She stood in the doorway while the smell of steak filled her nostrils and the aura of his presence filled her senses.

  ‘Um…why are you here?’ she managed at last, and he threw her a grin over his shoulder.

  ‘I live here. It’s the doctors’ quarters,’ he told her, quite kindly. ‘The nurses showed me through. I’ve unpacked into one of the spare bedrooms, I�
�ve introduced myself to your doormat that calls itself a dog and I’m now thoroughly at home. And I’m cooking us both dinner.’ Then, at her look of bewilderment, his grin widened. ‘I had Lori ring me when you left the home so I knew when to put the steak on. I was starving!’

  ‘So Lori knew?’

  ‘Of course Lori knew,’ he told her. ‘Otherwise how could I have timed the steak?’

  That much was unanswerable. Em thought a few unutterable thoughts about deceiving friends and fought to keep her composure. ‘You could have eaten without me.’

  ‘Why? You’re not vegetarian, are you?’ he asked, his face falling. And then the smile returned. ‘But, hey, Lori would have told me, and even if you are it’s no matter. I’m starving enough to eat two steaks by myself, and I have a heap of crispy herbed potatoes in the oven.’

  ‘Crispy potatoes…’ The aroma throughout the kitchen was wonderful. Almost unbelievable. She stalked suspiciously across the room to the oven and pulled the door wide, but it was just as Jonas had said. There they lay, masses of tiny potatoes, baked golden and mouth-watering, and smelling of rosemary and sage and something she couldn’t identify.

  ‘Didn’t you believe me?’ he asked, wounded, and she struggled to know how to answer him.

  ‘You can cook,’ she managed finally, and he lifted his brows in mock indignation.

  ‘Lady, I’m a surgeon. If I can repair a heart valve, I can follow a recipe.’

  ‘It doesn’t always follow,’ she muttered, thinking of men she’d known in the past.

  ‘Then welcome to the new order.’ He motioned to the table. There was a salad, already prepared, and a bottle of wine. ‘Sit.’

  ‘I don’t drink.’

  ‘Because you’re always on call?’ He’d guessed it. ‘But I’m on call tonight. So sit! And enjoy the novelty.’

  So she sat while Jonas piled her plate high with steak and potatoes, and poured her a glass of wine and himself a soda water.

  ‘See?’ he said virtuously, sitting down himself. ‘I’m in an alcohol-free zone for the night, so you can drink all you want.’

  ‘I’d better not.’ No way. Two glasses of wine with this man before her-and his smile-and she’d not be responsible for her actions, she thought dazedly. All this and the man could cook?

  But he was looking toward her dog, who hadn’t moved since she’d arrived. Well, why would he? He’d been fed today and there was an hour or so before he had to shift to her bedroom.

  ‘Does Bernard ever move?’ he asked, motioning over to where her big red dog lay sprawled under the kitchen sink. Waiting for something to drop. Only if it didn’t drop right on his lolling tongue, it’d be wasted. Some things weren’t worth burning calories for.

  Em shook her head, smiling. ‘Does Bernard move? That’s like asking if a doormat moves.’

  ‘Oh, I see. You chose him for his scintillating conversation, then.’ Jonas grinned, his wide, lazy smile reaching up and lighting his eyes. ‘Great. I can see I’ll fit right in. A woman who demands a lot from her men…’

  She blushed bright pink at that. Good grief! Get the conversation back to medicine, she told herself. That way was safest.

  ‘I…I thought you’d be spending the night with Anna.’

  That put a damper on the conversation. Jonas’s face looked shuttered. ‘Maybe I should be,’ he told her. ‘But I’m not wanted.’

  ‘Is she OK?’

  ‘Yes.’ He bit into his steak and concentrated on his food, but Em knew it was just a ruse to get his thoughts into order. ‘She is,’ he said finally. ‘She’s under control. She’s home with her kids, packing and being as normal as possible, while she waits to go into hospital tomorrow.’

  ‘Are you happy to use Patrick?’ Em asked.

  ‘He’s an excellent surgeon,’ Jonas told her, still absently concentrating on his steak. ‘When I met him I realised I know him a bit. He’s older than me, but we trained in the same hospital. Yeah, I’m happy for Patrick to operate and, what’s more important, so is Anna.’

  ‘And he was reassuring?’

  ‘The margins all look clear. The lump itself is less than a centimetre across. He wants to do a lumpectomy and node clearance, but he’s pretty confident that nothing’s spread.’

  ‘And how does that make you feel?’ Em asked.

  ‘Better.’ He lifted a potato, examined it-then laid it down on his plate again. ‘No,’ he told her honestly. ‘It doesn’t. It makes me feel lousy-I feel so damned out of control.’

  There was a long silence, broken only by Bernard’s inevitable snoring. They finished eating before either spoke again. Em knew that Jonas needed time to come to terms with today’s events. The last thing he needed was idle chatter.

  So she finished eating, then cleared and stacked the dishwasher while he sat and stared at the table. And stared some more. But she found she didn’t mind the silence. She and Grandpa had never needed to make small talk, and somehow, with Jonas, it felt the same.

  Like all the little stuff had already been said…

  ‘Thank you for making dinner,’ she said at last, the kitchen cleared and the evening closing in on them. She was bone weary, and he still needed space. She touched his shoulder lightly as she passed. ‘Bernard and I are going to bed. Is there anything else you need?’

  He looked blindly up at her. ‘No.’

  ‘It’ll be fine,’ she told him. And then she looked across at the phone. ‘Ring Anna.’

  ‘What?’ He glanced at his watch. ‘It’s after ten o’clock.’

  ‘You think she’ll be sleeping?’

  ‘No, but-’

  ‘Ring her, Jonas,’ she said softly. ‘I haven’t had so much wine that I can’t cope here. If she wants you to go, then you go.’

  ‘I told you-I’m on call.’

  ‘If Anna needs you, consider it a call. But ring her.’

  He looked at her strangely, his eyes blankly inscrutable. ‘I guess you’re right,’ he said at last.

  ‘I think I am.’

  He caught her hand and held it, for a whole fraction of a second. It was a short enough time, but it was enough. Em froze at his touch, and could only draw back in relief when he let her go. If he knew what he did to her…

  But for Jonas, the sexual tension simply didn’t seem to be there. All his thoughts were on his sister. ‘Thank you,’ he told her, and gave her a weary smile. ‘You’re right, of course.’

  ‘I have to be,’ Em said, and if her voice dragged a little at the thought, who could blame her? ‘I don’t have much choice.’

  Because, choice or not, the invincible Dr Mainwaring wasn’t feeling very invincible at all!

  She picked up Bernard, hitched him over her shoulder in a fireman’s hold as she’d done every night for ten years, and took her pyjama-bag to bed.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  EM HEARD him telephone.

  She lay in bed and listened to his muted tones, and then she heard the receiver being softly replaced. She half expected him to take his car and leave, but he didn’t. Anna must have rejected his offer to come and spend some time with her.

  Instead, Em listened to the sounds of him going to bed, in the room right beside hers.

  The sensation was so strange it seemed surreal. Jonas Lunn, sleeping in her house!

  She’d have to get used to it, she told herself. She might have three months of it.

  Whew!

  And then came the thought, slipping in when least expected.

  Maybe she could have an affair!

  The thought was like lightning, forking at her out of the darkness. It had been Lori’s suggestion.

  Lighten up and have an affair? She let the thought drift through her tired mind. Let her sexless, overworked life become, for these short few months, just a little more exciting?

  Could she do it?

  She wasn’t an affair sort of girl.

  And Jonas wasn’t an affair kind of guy, she told herself crossly into the dark. Especially with the lik
es of her. Anyone could see he could have just about any woman he wanted.

  And as for her… She was plain and unadorned, she thought crossly, and that was the way she liked it. She was built for service rather than decoration.

  She was destined to sleep with snoring dogs rather than attractive men.

  But today he’d kissed her.

  As anyone would have, she told herself even more crossly. He’d been under incredible strain while Anna had had her tests, and he was grateful. So he’d kissed her.

  End of story. There was therefore no earthly reason why she should be lying here in the dark, touching her lips and remembering what the feel of Jonas’s mouth was like against hers…

  Boy, she needed a cold shower. And the man was here for three months!

  So get a hold on yourself, she told herself furiously. You’re behaving like an idiot. Leave the man alone. Use him professionally but nothing more. Now, shut up, stop thinking crazy thoughts and go to sleep.

  Her mind didn’t obey orders.

  It didn’t stop thinking crazy thoughts-and it didn’t go to sleep.

  It couldn’t.

  In the next bedroom, Jonas was working overtime in the thinking department as well.

  First there was Anna.

  Tomorrow she faced the surgeon, and his gut wrenched at the thought of it. Hell, she still felt like a kid to him-his baby sister-and all the reassurance in the world couldn’t stop him wanting this to be happening to be anyone else-even to him. He’d want anyone to be facing this rather than Anna.

  She wasn’t a kid, though, he told himself. Her voice on the telephone tonight had been calm and sure.

  ‘It’s OK, Jonas. I’ve told the children what’s happening. I’ve packed a suitcase for each of them and one for me. No, I don’t want you to come back tonight. There’s nothing more you can do, so leave me be.’

  Leave her be…

  He couldn’t. He felt sick, doing such a thing, and it felt like his mother’s rejection all over again. His mother had walked out on them, and now Anna was pushing him away as hard as she could as well.