The Boy Who Made Them Love Again

by Scarlet Wilson

  He’d wanted to play every sport known to man. And he’d done that for a while. But once he’d become sick, sports had been a no-no. Anything that could have caused injury, breaks, anything that had expended too much energy. All had been forbidden. So Ryan had only been able to dream about the sports he’d yet had to master. And surfing had been one of them.

  Only once had the brothers had the opportunity to try surfing together. They’d been dragged to yet another official engagement by their parents—only this time it had been in Hawaii and the boys had disappeared to the beach as soon as they’d got there.

  He’d never forget the look on Ryan’s face as he’d finally managed to stand upright on the surfboard. The expression of pure joy and exhilaration, captured in a few fleeting seconds on his teenage brother’s face, was a picture that was seared into Luke’s brain. A moment in time, frozen and remembered for ever.

  Luke tore his eyes away from the crashing waves. Sometimes the memories were just too hard.

  Abby headed back down the corridor, her heart beating furiously in her chest. She wasn’t sure if it was the effect of Luke holding her again, or from the stress of having to tell him about Reuben.

  She ducked around the corner and stood for a second with her back against the wall, letting the feel of the cool concrete spread between her shoulder blades and back, easing her hot, trembling skin. She took a few deep slow breaths to calm her frantic heartbeat. At least he understood. At least he knew what it felt like to have someone that you love suffer from the condition. She didn’t need to explain to him what type of cancer it was, the statistics around it, the treatments and, worst of all, what Reuben’s chances were, because he knew all that already. Fifteen years ago the statistics had been much grimmer—Luke’s brother was proof of that. Things were a lot more positive now, but there was still always the chance that her child would be the unlucky one. Abby shook the thoughts from her head. She couldn’t stand it when the crows of doubt crept into her head and haunted her. A few months ago she’d had a dream that she was standing next to a graveside, watching a little white coffin being lowered into it, and she’d woken screaming and covered in sweat.

  Why? She had no idea, because Reuben was doing well, brilliantly, in fact. But there was always just this tiny sliver of doubt, right at the back of her mind, chipping away at her. The slightest temperature and she’d be awake all night, worrying it was some hideous infection rather than a mild sniffle. But then again she was a mother and she was only human.

  James Turner rounded the corner and just about walked into her. ‘Dr Tyler, I was looking for you.’ He seemed oblivious to her anxiety.

  ‘You were? Is everything all right?’

  ‘I’m just about to move Jennifer Taylor from your emergency department, but she’d like to speak to you before she moves.’

  ‘The First Lady, the First Lady wants to see me? But why? I’m not her doctor.’

  ‘I know that, Dr Tyler.’ He shrugged his shoulders. ‘What the First Lady wants, the First Lady gets.’

  Abby nodded and glanced at her watch. Nearly three o’clock. Only a few more hours before she could clock off and head home to Reuben, only this time she would have Luke in tow. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what that would feel like. What would it be like to have a man under her roof? A man who was going to stay the night, and possibly for the next four days?

  ‘Dr Tyler?’ James Turner’s voice was abrupt, he was obviously losing his patience.

  ‘Sure, sure, I’m coming.’

  Abby strode back into the emergency department and towards Jennifer Taylor’s room. The security service man at the door gave her a little nod as he stood aside to let her enter the room.

  Jennifer was on the phone and she was in tears. ‘Yes, yes, I know. I understand, really I do.’ She sniffed back a new wave of tears as Abby grabbed some tissues and crossed to the edge of the bed. ‘Yes, Charlie, I promise, I’ll get them to phone you if I go into labour. Love you.’

  She hung up the phone and grabbed the tissues from Abby, blowing her nose furiously. ‘I’m sorry Abby,’ she motioned for her to sit down at the side of the bed.

  ‘What are you sorry for? Was that your husband?’

  She nodded tearfully.

  ‘Is he mad at you?’

  Jennifer shook her head. ‘Charlie? Never. No, he’s in the middle of a peace agreement, they’ve been negotiating it for the last two years and it’s just about to be signed. So he really needs to be there. But he wants to be with me.’

  Abby nodded. ‘I’ll bet he does. I’m surprised he doesn’t want you near him in Washington.’

  Jennifer laughed. ‘That’s the last place he wants me right now. No, he’s spoken to Dr Fairgreaves and knows that I will get the best possible care. It’s actually lucky that I’m here.’

  ‘Lucky?’

  ‘Yes. If this had happened in Washington, some idiot would have leaked it to the press already. At least here I’ve got a modicum of privacy.’

  Abby smiled. It was really the last thing she’d expected her to say. ‘So you’re happy that the First Son or Daughter is going to be born in Pelican Cove?’

  ‘I couldn’t be happier.’

  Abby mulled it over. Jennifer Taylor was full of surprises. ‘So what can I do for you?’

  Jennifer rolled her eyes. ‘I’m bored, Abby. They …’ she motioned towards the door ‘…are driving me crazy. They won’t let me out of the room, they won’t let me open the window, they won’t let me look out the window.’ She flopped her head back against her pillows. ‘There’s a good chance I’m going to be here for at least four days. I can’t take much more of this seclusion. I need something—or someone—to distract me.’

  Abby smiled and looked around the little room. It was cheery enough, but was built for practicalities, not for comfort. She also knew that the room Jennifer Taylor was being moved to was almost identical.

  ‘How about I bring you some movies from home, and some books? What do you like?’

  Jennifer breathed an audible sigh of relief. ‘Perfect, Abby, thanks. Movies, I like older ones, from when I was a teenager, particularly action ones—Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford or anything sci-fi. And books, definitely romance. You’ve got some, haven’t you?’

  ‘Oh, yes, by the bucketload.’

  ‘You’re a lifesaver. Thanks, Abby. I know there are things I should be worrying about. But I want some normality, some distractions. So, now I’ve got the somethings to distract me, what about the someone?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Well, what’s the gossip in Pelican Cove? Tell me. Tell me about the people and their lives. It’s so nice just to talk to someone normal—about normal things.’ She waved her arms around. ‘Everybody that’s usually around me has a political agenda. Either that, or they’re trying to write me a political agenda. I want normal. I want to know girlie stuff. I’m away from Washington now. I’m in a beautiful part of the country I’ve never seen before. I don’t want to be the First Lady right now. I want to be an expectant mom, waiting for her first child.’

  She leaned over and touched Abby’s hand. ‘So, Dr Tyler, what’s the story with you and our Dr Storm?’

  Abby stiffened, taken aback by the question. ‘Well, nothing really. We were friends a long time ago,’ she stumbled.

  ‘That’s not what he says. He says you were more than friends.’

  ‘He said what?’ She was horrified. Luke had been discussing their past relationship with the First Lady?

  ‘Don’t look so worried. I’d noticed something between you and I asked him about it. He looked really down.’

  ‘He did?’ Maybe she wasn’t so angry with him after all.

  ‘I told him he was a fool to let you slip through his fingers.’

  Abby half smiled. ‘You did?’ How could a woman that was only a few years older than her seem so worldly wise?

  ‘Yes, I did.’ Jennifer leaned over and grabbed a barrette from the nearby table, c
oiling her hair up at the back of her head and pinning it in place. ‘He strikes me as quite a lonely soul,’ she said, looking thoughtful. ‘And knowing who his parents are, it doesn’t come as such a surprise.’

  Abby was startled. ‘You know Luke’s parents?’

  ‘Of course I do. His father’s a senator. Didn’t you know that?’

  Abby nodded her head. ‘Yes, yes, I did. I met them at birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I was with Luke for four years but his parents weren’t the most engaging people I’ve ever met. Kind of ironic since they’re both politicians. When they spoke to me it was almost as if their minds were on something else—the next thing on their list. Let’s just say that Luke didn’t seem to have a very good relationship with them. We certainly didn’t get invited around every week for Sunday dinner.’

  ‘I’m not surprised. Senator Storm is charm himself, but it’s all superficial. And as for her …’ She gave her head a little shake then gave Abby’s arm a little squeeze. ‘Meeting you was probably the best thing that could have happened to him, Abby, and it’s time to get to the bottom of whatever he’s hiding from you.’

  Abby looked incredulous. ‘What on earth makes you think … ?’

  Jennifer Taylor tapped the side of her nose. ‘I’m not the First Lady for nothing.’

  Abby stood up and gave her a smile and she headed to the door, ‘No, you’re certainly not.’

  The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. Luke went between the ER and the cath lab, checking on Dr Blair. Abby spent most of her afternoon treating a nine-year-old who’d been stung by a jellyfish. She’d done the best she could following the latest protocols for carefully removing the tentacles, helping to prevent more venom release and treating the child with painkillers and steroids before arranging the transfer to San Francisco Children’s Hospital for further treatment. And at the end of the day it didn’t matter what she did, she already knew that the scarring would be significant.

  Luke came and stood outside with her while she watched the ambulance pull away and draped his arm around her shoulders again.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  She gave a wistful little nod. ‘I guess.’ She watched the ambulance set off down the coastal road, ‘I just wish that I could help more.’

  He gave her shoulder a little squeeze. ‘C’mon, Abby, you do the best job that you can. How can that be bad?’

  She turned and shot Luke a smile that made his heart stop. He could almost feel the static in the air between them. If he just bent forward he could kiss her, right here, right now, in the middle of the ambulance bay outside the ER. Would she let him? Or would she object?

  Her hair caught in the wind and fluttered in front of her face, blocking his direct access to her pink lips. She gave her head a shake and moved the strands from in front of her eyes, tucking them behind her ears. Their gaze was broken, the moment lost.

  Something twisted in his stomach. Five years ago he would have been able to kiss Abby whenever he wanted. Now he couldn’t. He’d no right to kiss her. He’d no right to hold her the way he was doing. He glanced at his arm resting easily on her shoulders, almost as if it was something he did every day. And there it was again—the feeling that he was missing something. That he’d let something really important just slip through his fingers. For someone on the outside, Jennifer Taylor wasn’t too slow.

  He turned slightly, guiding Abby back in towards the doors, and glanced at his watch. It was nearly six o’clock. ‘Have we finished for the day?’ he asked.

  Abby nodded, glancing down at her pager. ‘They’ll call me if any paediatric emergencies come in that they can’t cope with.’ She turned to face him as they reached the desk. ‘How’s Dr Blair?’

  ‘Textbook, no problems. Routine care, but the staff will call me if they have any concerns.’

  ‘Have you got your case?’

  Luke gave a little nod and pulled it from behind one of the desks. He shook his head slowly. ‘Before you see the contents, all I can say in my defence is that I packed it for a conference, not for coming to Pelican Cove. I might be a little overdressed.’

  ‘I can’t wait to see. Come on, let’s go.’ She grabbed her jacket and headed towards the nearest exit. Luke expected her to head towards the car park but instead she headed for the coastal footpath that Reuben and his childcare worker had walked along earlier.

  ‘What, no car?’

  Abby smiled. ‘I have one at home but here I don’t need one. We’re only about two minutes along this path.’ She walked ahead along the path, which, although it lay well back from the cliffs, gave a spectacular view over the whole of Pelican Cove. From here Luke could see the boats sitting in the harbour, the houses dotted along the coast, the sandy beaches and even the pelicans on the rocks beneath.

  ‘Wow, Abby, this is some view. You must love walking to and from work every day. You don’t get this in Washington or San Francisco.’

  ‘No, you don’t.’ She stopped and gazed towards the ocean. ‘That’s why I love it here—why I intentionally came to stay here when I knew I wanted to adopt.’ She spread her arms out across the harbor. ‘This is the kind of life I want for my kids,’ she said. ‘Not granite, stone, skyscrapers and streets that aren’t safe to play in.’

  ‘Kids? Plural? Are you planning on adopting some more or having some of your own?’ It was a weighted question.

  Abby shrugged her shoulders. ‘Whatever happens happens. If it’s only Reuben and me for as long as I’m blessed with him, then that’s fine. If I meet someone and have some kids of my own, then that’s fine too. If I don’t ever meet someone, then I might decide to go down the route of adoption again. It’s worked out pretty great for me this time.’ She’d moved down the path a little and then stopped just short of a white picket fence. The fence surrounded a gorgeous shingled house that looked out over the ocean. It was painted blue and white and was large and spacious, much bigger than Luke would ever have expected, and looked like a true family home.

  He could see Reuben playing in the garden with his childcare worker, jumping from a wooden-built swing to a little playhouse built in exactly the style of the main house, complete with little tiles on the roof.

  Abby noticed him watching her blond, bouncing son. ‘Like I said earlier, Luke, families come in all shapes and sizes and I’m happy to take what I’m given.’

  The words stuck in his throat. This was where he should take the opportunity to talk, to tell her what a failure he’d been when the mumps had struck, and why he shouldn’t be part of anyone’s family—that when his brother had needed him most he had failed him.

  It had killed him that he’d been so infectious he hadn’t been allowed to visit his brother. The irony of it was he had been immunised against mumps as a child, but the vaccine obviously hadn’t been effective. So, when he had been struck down with the highly infectious acute disease, the last person he had been allowed to visit had been his immunocompromised brother.

  And with the mumps virus had come fever, swelling of his salivary glands and more importantly orchitis, inflammation of the testes. And Luke had been unlucky, in more ways than one. His sperm-producing cells had been damaged, leading to permanent infertility. At the time, it had all seemed so irrelevant. He’d just lost his brother. He hadn’t really been interested in his family-making capabilities. But as time had progressed and he’d met Abby, a woman who wanted to have a family of her own, he’d known he couldn’t take that away from her.

  And he still wasn’t ready to face up to his infertility. He’d followed the doctor’s instructions for a year after the virus struck. Suffering the embarrassment of delivering samples of semen to check if his fertility status improved. Then the offer of counselling, when it hadn’t. At that point, the last thing he’d wanted to discuss had been his lack of baby-making facilities. For him, it was linked. He’d failed in the parenting role for his brother and someone was making sure he wouldn’t be in that position again.

  He looked out over the cov
e again, watching the early-evening surfers catching the waves. This was where Ryan should have been. Leading the charge on the crest of a wave and riding his way to happiness and fulfilment.

  Luke gave a little smile as he watched them, the strong sea winds raking through his hair. His eyes caught a glimpse of Abby’s neat butt as she turned up a path away from the sea. He could almost hear his brother shouting in his ear: Go for it, Luke! Another smile spread across his face as he turned and followed her up the winding path.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  IT WAS just how he’d imagined it would be. A beautiful, light, airy house with gorgeous views over the ocean. Complete with white picket fence surrounding the garden. And the family to complete it.

  It disturbed him a little. She was living in the house he’d always imagined her having. And everything about it was perfect, from the beautiful wooden floors and wide open spaces to the bright, carefully planted flowerbeds and sandpit in the front garden. Abby led him through the wide hallway to the kitchen at the back of the house. It was huge, with thick wooden worktops, a white Boston sink and a couple of easy chairs looking out of the patio doors over the back garden.

  ‘Abby, just how big is this house?’

  She gave a little smile. ‘Big enough.’

  ‘No, seriously, Abby, my apartment in Washington could fit in here six times over.’

  She leaned back against her sink, crossing her arms over her chest. ‘Well, there’s this, the kitchen/diner, then I have two separate sitting rooms at the front and a study, a cloakroom and a laundry room. Upstairs there are five bedrooms, two en suites and a family bathroom.’

  ‘Wow. This place is huge.’ He cleared his throat a little. ‘Without being cheeky, did you win the lottery?’

  She laughed. ‘I wish. Why would you think that?’

  ‘Because this house is pretty near “Millionaires’ Row” in Mendocino Valley. This place couldn’t have come cheap.’