by Sarah Morgan
‘Then she’s a brave woman.’
‘She is brave. Brave and beautiful.’ A strange look crossed Daniel’s face. ‘I never thought I’d feel this way, to be honest. Never thought I’d have the courage—never thought I’d feel this way about a woman.’
Patrick opened his mouth to deliver the usual onslaught of brotherly banter but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, he found himself thinking of Hayley. ‘I’m pleased for you,’ he said gruffly. ‘And I’m sorry I’m giving you the children tonight. You must be looking forward to romance.’
‘Stella is thrilled to be having the children,’ Daniel said dryly. ‘You know what she’s like.’
‘Yes. You’re lucky.’
At that moment Stella bounced through the doors, her eyes shining. ‘Patrick! Has he told you our news?’
‘Alfie told him our news,’ Daniel drawled, and Stella giggled. She was about to speak when the door opened and Hayley entered.
‘Oh—I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had anyone with you.’ She coloured prettily and would have left but Patrick beckoned her into the room.
‘Hayley, this is my brother, Daniel, and Stella—his wife-to-be. The children are going to stay the night with them. Guys, this is Hayley—she’s Alfie’s housekeeper. And she just happens to be a midwife, too.’
‘She worked in America, isn’t that a coincidence?’ Alfie was bouncy and cheerful. ‘You should taste her turkey, Uncle Dan. I want Dad to keep her for ever. No more gluey pasta. No more burnt everything.’
Hayley’s face grew scarlet and she busied herself retrieving Posy’s toys from the floor. ‘I’m just here for two weeks, Alfie.’
Patrick’s eyes lingered on the curve of her bottom as she stooped. Then he started thinking about the tiny pair of silk knickers he’d found on the floor of his hotel bedroom…
Dragging his gaze from her curves, he discovered his brother watching him with amusement.
‘You look hot and bothered, Ric.’ Daniel’s eyes gleamed wickedly. ‘Something wrong?’
‘It’s always difficult juggling kids and work,’ Patrick said smoothly, and Daniel’s grin widened.
‘Well, we’re taking the kids off your hands for a night, so that should make things easier for you.’
Apparently oblivious to the byplay, Hayley zipped up the bag and Alfie hugged her.
‘Tomorrow can we play Monopoly? I want you to stay longer than two weeks, Hayley. Promise you will.’
‘Well, no…’ Flustered, Hayley hugged him back. ‘I can’t do that, Alfie, but—’
‘I know.’ Alfie looked crestfallen. ‘You have to track down the friend you met when you were in America.’
Seeing Hayley’s stricken expression, Patrick intervened. She’d had enough embarrassment for one day. ‘Alfie, get your things together. Posy needs to get to bed.’
‘It’s Christmas night, Dad. It doesn’t matter if she’s late.’
‘If she’s late she’ll be cranky in the morning.’
Patrick felt Stella’s eyes on his face, questioning. Clearly Alfie’s unguarded comment hadn’t passed unnoticed.
Damn. He wasn’t ready to field her questions—didn’t know what his answers would be.
‘So…’ He took the bag that Hayley had packed and thrust it towards Daniel. ‘I’m sure you want to go home and I have to get back to work.’
‘You were supposed to be off over Christmas,’ Stella murmured, and Patrick shrugged.
‘Sally went into labour.’
Stella gasped. ‘No. Really? I must go and see her for a minute. Which room is she in?’
‘She’s in the water.’
‘That’s what I came to talk to you about.’ Hayley pushed her hair behind her ears. ‘Tom wants her out of the water, but she’s refusing.’
Patrick wondered if she knew she always played with her hair when she was nervous. ‘I don’t want her to deliver in the water either. I’m with Tom on that.’
Stella rolled her eyes. ‘Obstetricians unite. What do you think, Hayley?’
The door opened again and Tom stood there, panic on his face. ‘She wants to push, Hayley. And I can’t get her out of the water.’
Patrick noticed that his colleague immediately turned to Hayley. She’d gained his trust over the hours she’d been with them. And that didn’t surprise him. She’d gained his trust, too. There was no doubt in his mind that she was an exceptional midwife. Even now she didn’t panic. She kissed Alfie briefly, congratulated Daniel and Stella again and then walked briskly back along the corridor with Tom, talking quietly and calmly.
‘I’ve got to go.’ Patrick thrust slapped his brother on the shoulder and kissed Stella. ‘Thanks, guys.’
Having hugged his children, he followed Hayley and Tom along the corridor. When he opened the door he sensed the change in the atmosphere. Tom was beside himself and Sally was pushing. In the water.
‘Please, angel.’ Tom was white-faced. ‘Out of the water.’
‘If you move me now, I’ll kill you,’ Sally gritted, screwing up her face as another contraction hit her. ‘Oh, God, Tom, how could you do this to me? It’s agony!’
Tom looked stricken and Hayley touched his shoulder gently. ‘This is part of labour,’ she said softly. ‘Don’t take it to heart.’
Patrick had entered the room, prepared to find ways of persuading Sally out of the water, but, watching Hayley, he held back.
‘What do you want me to do?’
‘Nothing.’ She gave Sally another sip of water. ‘You can stay around and give Tom some support.’
Patrick caught his friend’s desperate look. ‘There’s no reason why she shouldn’t deliver in the water, Tom—’
‘We don’t do that.’
‘Not normally,’ Patrick agreed. ‘But Hayley has delivered babies in the water, and it’s what Sally wants. And to be honest, it’s too late to get her out. Let’s go with it. I’ll be right here all the time. If there’s a problem, I’ll intervene.’
‘Thanks for being so positive,’ Sally groaned, and Patrick grinned.
‘I’m an obstetrician. What do you expect?’
‘Oh, go and get a coffee or something.’ Sally grabbed Hayley’s hand. ‘I don’t want this to be unsafe and I’m not thinking clearly. What do I have to do? I want you to tell me everything. I don’t want you to assume I know anything.’
‘You’re doing fine.’ Hayley waited for another contraction to come and go and then checked the foetal heart. ‘The baby is fine, too. Don’t push, Sally, not unless you have the urge.’
‘Just get the baby out,’ Tom muttered, but Hayley ignored him, all her focus on Sally.
‘You’re doing so well. The head is nearly out, Sally. So now we’ve come this far, the baby needs to be born under the water. And I’m going to be as hands-off as possible because that’s best for both of you.’
Tom looked as though he was going to pass out, but Patrick was fascinated.
He watched as Hayley calmly soothed Sally, offering encouragement and guidance but in such a low-key way that it appeared that she wasn’t helping in any way. But Patrick saw the skill in what she was doing.
‘I want to push,’ Sally groaned, and Hayley nodded.
‘Push, then.’
Realising how rarely he saw calm, normal deliveries, Patrick felt a lump build in his throat as Sally and Tom’s baby was born into the water with a minimum of fuss.
Hayley brought her gently to the surface and into Sally’s arms.
‘Congratulations. You have a daughter.’ The baby gave a little wail and then Sally was crying and when Patrick looked at Tom he saw that his colleague’s face was wet.
‘Congratulations,’ he said huskily, and Tom pressed his fingers to his eyes and then bent to hug his wife.
‘You clever, clever girl.’
Smug and proud of herself, Sally glanced up from admiring her daughter. ‘You see? Sisterhood. We women can do it without you.’
Hayley grinned. ‘Actually, we could do
with their help to get you out of the pool now, Sally. Then we can clamp the cord and cut it.’ She reached for a towel and gently dried the baby. ‘We need to keep her warm.’
As Hayley calmly checked the baby’s Apgar score and finished the delivery, Patrick found himself watching her work.
‘I’ve never witnessed such a calm delivery,’ he said softly, and she smiled as she tucked the baby up warmly against Sally’s breast.
‘It’s the way it’s supposed to be.’
‘Only without the water,’ Tom muttered, and Sally grinned.
‘I told you I wasn’t going to get out of the water.’
‘I thought you were joking. If I’d known you were serious I would have made you give birth in the middle of a desert.’
‘Everything looks fine, Sally,’ Patrick said quietly, ‘but, given that you delivered under the water, I’d like a paediatrician to check the baby.’
‘I’d like that too.’ Sally smiled at him. ‘Thank you for letting me do it. Thank you for not panicking and thinking about your legal position.’ She turned to Hayley, her eyes misting. ‘And thank you for making it all so special. When I have my next baby, I want you there.’
‘Next?’ Tom was incredulous, his expression comical as he dragged his hands through his already untidy hair. ‘Sal, a moment ago you were saying never again.’
‘That was then and this was now.’ Sally’s happiness was infectious. ‘I want lots of babies, Tom.’
Patrick grinned. ‘And she wants them all underwater.’
Chapter Six
IN THE car on the way home, Hayley shut her mouth tightly and kept it shut. Once or twice she felt Patrick glance towards her but she kept her eyes straight ahead, staring at the snow that swirled across his headlights.
He seemed unconcerned by the horrendous weather conditions, his hands firm and confident on the wheel as he negotiated the snow and ice. ‘You were amazing with Sally.’
‘Mmm.’
‘Is that all you’re going to say? “Mmm”?’ His tone was amused and she sneaked a look at him and then immediately regretted it as her body responded in its usual predictable fashion.
She concentrated her attention back on the snow.
Was it normal to feel like this about a man? After her outburst earlier he was probably terrified to be alone with her. The situation was so embarrassing it made her squirm.
She shifted slightly to the far edge of her seat so that she was as far away from him as possible.
‘Hayley, you’re worrying me.’ He eased the four-wheel drive through the gate and pulled up in front of the barn. ‘Are you ill? Tired?’
Actually, she did feel tired. Bone-achingly weary, but that was hardly surprising, was it?
‘I’m fine.’ They were the only words she allowed herself but he gave a sigh and switched off the engine.
‘You’re upset about earlier.’ With the engine off the cold immediately penetrated the car and he looked at her profile for a moment and then sighed. ‘Come on. We can talk inside.’
Hayley Hamilton, you are not talking, she reminded herself fiercely. You are not saying a word. Nothing.
She slid out of the car, took a moment to balance herself and then Patrick put his arm round her and guided her to the door. And she couldn’t pull away because she knew that any sudden movement was guaranteed to land her flat on her back on the ice.
So she endured the warmth and strength of his arm but still kept her mouth zipped shut.
Even when he closed the door on the cold Christmas night, she didn’t move her lips.
Instead, she hurried across to the dining table, which was still covered in empty plates and abandoned crackers.
‘What are you doing?’ Patrick watched as she noisily stacked plates and scooped up jokes, toys and paper hats. ‘Leave that.’
‘I’ll just take it through to the kitchen,’ she said brightly, balancing a stack of plates and walking away from him.
‘In that case, I’ll help you.’ The muscles in his shoulders flexed as he removed his coat. ‘It will be quicker if two people do it.’
‘I don’t want you to help! I’m the housekeeper. This is my job.’ She disappeared into the kitchen, hoping that he wouldn’t follow. She wanted to be left alone with the washing-up and her humiliation.
But he didn’t leave her alone. ‘You’ve also worked all day as a midwife,’ he said mildly. ‘We’ll do it together, Hayley.’
Together.
Why did he have to use that word? She was trying not to think ‘together’.
‘Fine.’ She hurried back to the table, horribly conscious that it was just the two of them in the barn—horribly conscious of the width of his shoulders and the way he kept looking in her direction.
Swiftly she gathered glasses and after several trips to the kitchen the beautiful contemporary dining area was once more clear. Patrick had turned on the Christmas tree lights and chosen a CD. A female with a sexy, smoky voice sang about love and loss and Hayley returned to the kitchen, clattering as loudly as possible to drown out the soulful notes.
‘I’ve never known you so quiet.’ He stood in the doorway, a concerned look on his face. ‘What’s wrong?’
Oh, for goodness’ sake! How could he ask her that? What’s wrong?
Wasn’t it obvious?
She gritted her teeth and finished loading the dishwasher. ‘Nothing is wrong.’
‘Is this about what happened earlier?’
‘Of course not. Why would you think that?’
‘Hayley, you have no reason to feel embarrassed.’
‘Of course, no reason at all.’ Hayley crashed the door of the dishwasher shut and set it to rinse. ‘It isn’t embarrassing to proposition a man at work. It happens to people all the time.’
‘You didn’t proposition me.’ His tone was mild. ‘You thought I was propositioning you.’
‘Thanks for reminding me of the details. I’m well aware that I misread the situation, but do you mind if we don’t talk about this?’
‘And I would have been propositioning you if the wife of my closest friend hadn’t been on the point of delivering and my children hadn’t been across the corridor.’
‘I really think we should just—’ She broke off and stared at him. ‘What? What did you just say?’
‘I said I would have been propositioning you. You didn’t misread the situation, Hayley. I was worried that you were tired, that’s true. I thought you might want to hand Sally’s care over to another midwife and get some rest, that’s true as well.’ His tone was soft. ‘But I want you as much as you want me.’
‘Oh…’
‘And I’ve already missed the cut-off point for a fourminute warning, so I’m giving you about…’ he glanced at his watch ‘…three seconds.’
‘Three sec—’ The words vanished under the pressure of his mouth and Hayley moaned as his tongue traced her lips, sending shock waves of excitement through her body. She had no idea how he’d crossed the room so quickly, but as his hands slid into her hair and his mouth grew more urgent on hers, she didn’t care.
He powered her back against the table, his hands biting into her thighs as he lifted her up and lowered her onto the surface. A mug toppled and smashed on the kitchen floor, but neither of them noticed. Hayley was incapable of noticing anything except the hot burn of sexual desire in Patrick’s eyes. The fact that he wanted her so badly increased her own desperation and she gave a whimper of need and arched her hips, but he was already there, his hands unzipping her jeans and stripping them from her legs.
His breathing was uneven as he brought his mouth back down on hers, his kiss so disturbingly erotic that Hayley’s mind blanked. Heat pooled in her pelvis and she tried to shift against him, instinctively trying to relieve the delicious burning that had become her entire focus. The dangerous throb and ache became so intense that she sobbed against his mouth and he muttered something against her lips and then slid his fingers inside the elastic of her panties.
His touch was unerring, his fingers so impossibly skilled that Hayley was left in no doubt that he knew more about her body than she did. Without warning she exploded in a climax that made her cry out in shock, the sound muffled by his mouth, every contraction intensified by the fact that his fingers were deep inside her. His mouth still on hers, he gently removed his hand and Hayley was dimly aware of him altering her position slightly—and then there was a brief pause before she felt the hard probe of his erection against her hot, molten core. He entered her with a smooth, decisive thrust, the strength and power of his body robbing her of breath. And he felt so shockingly good that she arched her hips, responding to the rhythm he set. His mouth stayed hot on hers, his body virile and demanding as he slid his hand under her hips, hauling her closer still, increasing the contact that was already driving both of them wild.
Neither of them spoke—not a word was exchanged—all communication channelled through their bodies and expressed through the ragged drag of their breathing.
When he finally lost control Patrick’s hands tightened on her hips. His rhythm altered and that subtle change was sufficient to boost Hayley over the same precipitous edge until both of them were tumbling, spinning, falling through a kaleidoscope of sensations.
Hayley had long since lost track of time but eventually Patrick dragged his mouth from hers and dropped his head to her shoulder, his breath warm against her neck. ‘That was…’ His voice husky, he struggled to finish his sentence. ‘Sublime.’
She lay there, too drugged to move, her body still trembling. It was only when he shifted above her that she felt the hardness of the kitchen table pressing into her back.
Patrick registered her wince of discomfort with a wry smile of apology. He hauled her upright in a decisive movement and scooped her into his arms as if she weighed nothing.
Hayley wound her arms round his neck. ‘You’ll do yourself an injury.’ Eyeing her jeans on his kitchen floor, she wondered whether she was destined to leave clothes in every room this man inhabited.
‘You don’t weigh anything.’ He took the stairs that led to the bedrooms, pushing open the door that led to his room. As he laid her down on the bed, Hayley realised that he was still wearing his coat.