Lillian met them at the door, smiling in delight when she saw Beth. ‘Beth! Oh, how lovely to see you. Adam never told us he was bringing you along tonight.’
‘I thought it would be a nice surprise for you.’ Adam laughed as he bent and kissed Lillian’s cheek. ‘You’re looking well. I think blooming is the word.’
Lillian chuckled as she smoothed her elegant navy maternity gown over her stomach. ‘I haven’t felt as though I was blooming, I assure you! I was horribly sick for the first three months but things have got a bit better of late.’
‘Isn’t this your third baby?’ Beth asked, following her inside.
‘Third and fourth!’ Lillian laughed when she saw her surprise. ‘That’s right, it is them. We’re having twins.’
‘Congratulations!’ Adam hugged her then turned as James came out of the sitting room to greet them. ‘Lillian was just telling us your news. You kept that very quiet when I spoke to you the other day.’
James laughed good-naturedly as he looped an arm around his wife’s shoulders. ‘I thought it might sound as if I was bragging. Anyway, if you got your act together, Adam, it could be your turn to enjoy all those sleepless nights in the not-too-distant future.’
Beth shifted uncomfortably when she saw a shadow cross Adam’s face before he made some light rejoinder. They moved into the sitting room and Lillian took her away to be introduced to anyone she hadn’t met. Fortunately, there were a lot of people there from St Jude’s so she didn’t feel out of place. Adam was talking to a group of James’s friends, and he appeared to be happy enough. However, Beth knew that the remark had touched a chord by reminding him how much he had missed of Hannah’s first few years of life. The fact that the little girl’s future hung in the balance must simply add to his pain.
Conversation flowed throughout the evening. Beth was kept busy at one end of the room and Adam always seemed to be talking to someone at the other. They finally met up again when Lillian announced that supper was served in the dining room. Adam nipped smartly into the queue by the buffet table and smiled at her.
‘You were saving me a place, I hope?’ he teased, grinning when a couple of people behind started catcalling about queue-jumpers.
‘So it appears,’ she agreed with heavy irony.
He wasn’t the least abashed. ‘I am supposed to be the guest of honour.’
‘Only because James couldn’t think of a better excuse to throw a party.’
‘Ouch, that hurt!’ He clutched a hand to his heart. ‘You’d think I’d know by now not to go expecting compliments from you, Beth. You shoot from the hip, as the Americans say.’
They reached the buffet table just then and he handed her a plate. Picking up a napkin-wrapped bundle of silverware, he studied it consideringly. ‘I wonder if it’s safe to let you loose with this. I don’t fancy a knife between the ribs.’
‘Guns and knives indeed. You’ve obviously been mixing with the wrong sort of people,’ she declared loftily, filling her plate with some of the delicious food on offer. Lillian must have pulled out all the stops because the table was groaning under an array of delicacies guaranteed to tempt even the most discerning palate.
‘Which is why it’s probably a good job I’m back in Winton.’ He grinned as he piled slices of delicious looking roast beef onto his plate. ‘You can save me from going any further down the road to ruin.’
‘Oh, you can rely on Beth to keep you on the straight and narrow,’ James put in from where he was standing behind the table, playing the genial host. ‘She kept us all in order when she was on the coronary care unit. She was the best sister I’ve ever worked with. I pray every day that she’ll change her mind and come back to us.’
‘Hands off! You’re not poaching her back, Dickinson. I need her at the surgery,’ Adam warned him, laughing.
‘Maybe not just at the surgery either,’ Lillian chipped in, smiling pointedly at him.
Adam laughed. ‘“No comment” is the phrase, I believe.’
He passed off the moment in his usual easygoing manner, without betraying a hint of discomfort. How Beth wished that she could treat it so casually, but her heart was thumping like crazy.
She picked up the pepper pot and abstractedly sprinkled the condiment onto her plate. There were all sorts of reasons why Adam needed her, ranging from the work she did at the surgery to taking care of Hannah. However, all of a sudden none of them seemed to be quite sufficient. How lovely it would be if he needed her simply for herself.
The thought slid into her mind with such lightning speed that she gasped. Adam looked curiously at her. ‘Are you OK?’
‘I think a bit of pepper must have gone up my nose,’ she explained hastily, putting the pepper pot back on the table.
‘No wonder.’ His brows rose as he looked pointedly at her plate. Beth blushed when she saw the liberal amount of black pepper that she had sprinkled over her food.
‘I…um…love pepper,’ she said lamely, then quickly changed the subject. ‘Shall we sit down? We’re holding up the queue.’
‘Sure.’ Adam didn’t say anything more as she led the way across the room, but she could see the tiny smile that had curled the corners of his mouth and knew that he hadn’t believed her explanation. The one comforting thought was that he couldn’t possibly have guessed what had been going through her mind.
She sighed as they sat down. She had to get a grip on herself. Her main concern at the moment had to be Hannah. How she felt about Adam had to take second place to her niece’s welfare.
‘This is delicious, almost as good as that take-away we had the other night.’ Adam smiled at her. ‘Let’s hope that this evening doesn’t come to quite such an exciting end, though.’
Beth returned his smile, relieved to settle on such a safe topic. ‘Did I tell you that Brian phoned to thank us for what we did? He said that Elaine and the baby were both fine, although the consultant had decided to keep them in hospital for a couple of days just to be on the safe side.’
‘So she didn’t make it to her son’s birthday party after all?’
‘I’m afraid not. Brian had to organise it by himself.’ Beth laughed as she recalled their conversation. ‘He told me that it was harder sorting out a group of under-fives to play musical chairs than it was finalising a multi-million-pound deal!’
‘I can imagine,’ he agreed ruefully, then suddenly sighed. ‘I have a lot to learn about looking after children. I know how to care for the ones who are sick, although it’s different when it’s your own child who is ill, I have to say. But it’s the everyday things which I have no experience of, all those little things that you need to do to make sure they’re safe and happy.’
‘It isn’t that difficult,’ she said quietly. ‘You’ll learn if you really want to.’
‘You still have doubts, don’t you, Beth? You don’t really believe that I mean it when I say that I intend to be here for Hannah?’
His voice had hardened, hinting that he was annoyed that she seemed to doubt his sincerity. Even though she didn’t want to promote an argument Beth, knew it would be wrong to dismiss her concerns.
‘I admit that you’ve settled into the job at the surgery seemingly without any problems, but it’s early days yet, Adam.’
‘And I might regret my decision in the future?’ He stared at the floor. ‘I won’t lie to you and claim that it will be easy. It is a big step to take but I’m sure that it’s the right thing to do for a number of reasons. You’ll just have to trust me on this, Beth.’
She sighed when she heard the edge in his voice. ‘I’m sorry if it seems as if I don’t believe you. But my main concern is that Hannah doesn’t get hurt in the future—that, plus whether you’ll be able to donate bone marrow to her, of course.’ Her voice quavered because the thought was so difficult to deal with. ‘If she doesn’t get this transplant, she might not have a future to worry about.’
‘Don’t! I can’t bear to imagine anything happening to her.’ His expression was bleak. �
�I couldn’t stand to lose her when I’ve only just found her.’
‘Sorry.’ Beth glanced at him. ‘It must have been a shock when you discovered that you had a daughter, though.’
‘It still is. I wake up each morning and find myself wondering if I’ve dreamt it.’ His smile was tinged with sadness. ‘I wish I’d dreamt part of it anyway, the bit about her being ill.’
‘If only you’d seen her last year,’ she began, then broke off. ‘Sorry again. That was a crass thing to say in the circumstances.’
‘I’d give anything to have known about her sooner but I can’t turn back the clock. Those years are gone so I have to focus on the future.’
‘Did you never wonder if I was telling you the truth about Hannah?’ she asked curiously. ‘I mean, I just confronted you with the fact that she was your child and you seemed to accept it without question.’
‘No one would lie about a thing like that, especially not in the circumstances,’ he said bluntly. ‘Anyway, I only had to see that photograph of her to know who she was. Hannah looked exactly like my sister, Sarah, at the same age.’
‘I didn’t know that you had a sister,’ she exclaimed.
‘She died when she was ten. She had a congenital heart problem and was always delicate.’ His smile was sad. ‘Sarah was seven years younger than me so I was very much the big brother figure to her. Her death hit me hard. It was that which made me decide to go into medicine. I wanted to help save the lives of children like Sarah.’
‘I had no idea. Claire never told me anything about your background. I wish she had, though.’
‘I wish she had, too. Things might have turned out very differently for all of us.’
He didn’t say anything else because one of James’s friends came over to speak to him just then. Beth gathered together their plates, wondering what he had meant by that last remark. She sighed as she took the plates through to the kitchen, where Lillian was loading the dishwasher. He had probably meant that he would have got to know about Hannah sooner, but would she have contacted him after Claire died if the child hadn’t been taken ill?
It was strange to think that everything that had happened in the past six months hinged on her niece’s illness. If just one link in that chain of events had been broken she might never have met Adam. The thought made her shiver as though the spectre of something dreadful had walked over her grave.
‘Has Adam been commandeered by someone else after a vicarious thrill?’ Lillian asked with a grin as Beth handed her the dirty plates. ‘Everyone wants to hear about his aid work, even though none of us could face the kind of life he leads,’ she explained when Beth looked blankly at her.
‘I know I couldn’t,’ she agreed, struggling to shake off the awful thought that their paths might never have crossed.
‘That could cause problems, I imagine?’ Lillian observed, looking quizzically at her.
‘Problems?’ Beth flushed when she realised what the other woman was getting at. ‘Oh, Adam and I aren’t involved that way.’
‘No? Then which way are you involved?’ Lillian laughed. ‘Come on, Beth, confess! Adam is gorgeous. I defy any woman to remain immune to his charms. If I wasn’t so happily married—and decidedly pregnant—I would succumb myself.’
‘It isn’t what you think, Lillian—honestly. Adam is Hannah’s father. I’d been trying to find him for ages when he suddenly turned up at the surgery where I work. I had no idea that he was Dr Wright’s nephew.’
‘Hannah’s father? Really?’ Lillian was obviously stunned by the news. Beth quickly filled her in on the details then shrugged.
‘So you can see that the situation isn’t quite what you thought it to be. The only real link that Adam and I have is Hannah.’
‘But you’d like it to be more than that, wouldn’t you?’ Lillian shook her head before Beth could say anything. ‘No, you don’t have to answer that. James is always telling me to stop interfering in other people’s affairs. I just hope that everything works out for you and Hannah. You two deserve some happiness after the last twelve months.’
‘You won’t repeat what I’ve told you, will you?’ Beth asked quickly, wondering if she should have told the other woman about Adam’s relationship to Hannah without asking him first. It was something they hadn’t discussed but she must do so soon.
‘My lips are sealed,’ Lillian began, then broke off as there was a loud crash followed by a wail of ‘Mummy’ from upstairs. ‘Sounds as though the natives are getting restless. I’d better go and read the kids the Riot Act. I bribed them to stay out of the way with a video and two huge tubs of popcorn. Maybe Dr Spock wouldn’t have recommended it as an example of good parenting, but it works for me!’
Beth laughed as Lillian hurried away. She turned to go back to the party then stopped when she found herself confronted by Ian Patterson. She’d heard the doorbell ringing while she’d been talking to Lillian but she hadn’t realised that Ian was one of the guests who had arrived.
‘Hello, Beth. I’m surprised to see you here. Did James need to boost the number of spare women, then?’
‘Probably,’ she replied, refusing to rise to the bait. She walked to the door but he made no attempt to get out of her way.
‘What’s the hurry? Surely you’ve got time to stay and chat? I’m sure nobody will miss you for a few minutes.’
His gaze swept over her assessingly. ‘My, my, you have made an effort tonight. Maybe you should have tried harder when we were together instead of spending all your money on that kid. Then I might not have been so keen to get rid of you.’
‘It was me who got rid of you, Ian. Remember?’ she said sweetly. ‘And I have to say that it was the best thing I ever did.’
‘I wonder if you’ll still feel like that in a couple of years time?’ His face twisted into an ugly smile. ‘I can’t see many men wanting to take on someone else’s child, unless you’re pinning your hopes on that lout you were with the other night. I couldn’t believe it when James told me he was a doctor. It’s amazing the kind of person they allow into the profession nowadays.’
‘It certainly is. Funny, I never thought you and I would have much in common, Patterson, but it seems that we agree on one point at least.’
Beth froze. She looked up and saw Adam standing in the doorway. That he must have heard every word that Ian had said was obvious from his expression. She felt a shiver run through her as he came into the room and smiled at the other man because it wasn’t a pleasant smile by any means.
‘Let’s see if we agree on something else. I think you owe Beth an apology, don’t you?’ he said in a conversational tone that was underpinned with steel.
‘I…um…I have nothing whatsoever to apologise for!’ Ian blustered, going red.
‘I disagree.’ Adam’s smile didn’t waver but the tone of his voice was little short of dangerous. Obviously, Ian must have thought so, too, because he treated Beth to a look of pure loathing.
‘I apologise.’
‘There. That didn’t hurt a bit, did it?’ Adam looped his arm around her shoulders and led her to the door where he paused. ‘A few words of warning. If I ever hear you speaking to Beth like that again, it won’t be an apology that I’ll be expecting from you.’
Beth didn’t say a word until they were back in the sitting room. James had put on some music and everyone was dancing. She waited until they had reached a quiet corner then slid out from beneath Adam’s arm.
‘I’m so sorry that you had to overhear that,’ she began, mortified that he should have witnessed such a nasty scene. She couldn’t believe that Ian would have said such horrible things to her.
‘Hold it right there.’ He placed a gentle finger against her lips. ‘It isn’t your fault that your ex-fiancé has a talent for making a fool of himself. Now, let’s forget all about him and get on with enjoying ourselves. How about chancing your luck and dancing with me?’
She hesitated as the music suddenly changed to an old rock and roll classic. ‘I d
on’t know how to rock and roll, I’m afraid.’
‘Neither do I so we should be perfectly matched,’ he declared, taking hold of her hand and leading her into the fray of gyrating couples. However, instead of trying to twirl her round he simply put his arms round her waist and began to shuffle around the floor, betraying a remarkable deftness as he steered her past all the flailing bodies.
‘This is cheating!’ she declared, laughing up at him.
His eyes crinkled as he smiled at her. ‘I won’t tell if you don’t,’ he said in a tone that made the music and everyone else fade into the background.
Beth felt her pulse leap as she stared into his warm blue eyes for a second longer before he drew her closer, cradling her head against his shoulder as they circled the floor. The music must have changed at least a dozen times but Adam made no attempt to follow the tempo as they moved to their own rhythm.
She caught Lillian’s eye as she passed her and James dancing together, and smiled when her friend winked at her. It was obvious what was going through Lillian’s mind and equally obvious what Ian was thinking when they passed him, too.
Beth averted her eyes as Ian scowled at her, not wanting anything to spoil the mood. Maybe it was silly to let herself get carried away, but what harm could there be in enjoying Adam’s company?
The feeling of contentment stayed with her for the rest of the evening. They left the party shortly after midnight and Adam drove them back to her flat, keeping up an undemanding conversation about the people they had spoken to. He drew up behind the surgery and switched off the engine.
‘I’ll see you up to the flat,’ he offered, leaning over to open her door for her.
‘I could make us some coffee, if you like,’ she suggested, not wanting the night to end just yet.
He smiled at her, his eyes very warm as they rested on her. ‘That sounds good if you’re sure it won’t be any trouble.’
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