He held out his arms and as she went into them like a nesting bird, he said gently, ‘So do you feel better after that? I’m not going to give up on you.’
‘I don’t want you to, Callum, I love you so much,’ she whispered.
‘So can we begin to arrange wedding number three? But first, before anything else, can I phone my mother to tell her that her wishes have been granted?’
‘Yes, of course,’ she said, glowing up at him. ‘I can’t believe I’m going to have a family again as well as a fantastic husband.’
* * *
It was the middle of the afternoon, after they’d lunched in the town with champagne laid on, when Callum suggested that they walk up to the moors and leave the sightseeing until another time, and it wasn’t long before they came to the bend in the road where they had first met, and perched on the stone wall.
‘We have been here so many joyless times,’ he said, ‘that I think it is only fitting that we come on one of the happiest days of our lives, don’t you?’
‘Yes, oh, yes!’ she agreed.
‘So can I put this on your finger?’ he asked gravely, ‘so that you don’t forget that you are going to marry me?’ He produced the emerald ring that he had thought he would never see in its rightful place and went on to say, ‘I chose it because it is the same colour as your eyes.’ As he slipped it on he said, ‘How soon do you think we can have the church bells ringing for us?’
* * *
They’d bought a gracious Victorian house beside the river with the completion of the sale in eight weeks’ time, and so had arranged the wedding to coincide with that.
Margaret had been overcome with delight to hear their news and she and Brent would be paying a second visit to Heatherdale for the occasion, needless to say.
Rhianna and Martha were to be bridesmaids, along with Julie, and Ryan was to be best man, while the staff on the orthopaedic unit was drawing lots for who should get time off to attend, as poorly children had to come first. For those who couldn’t be there, cake and champagne would be sent round from the reception.
They’d given Yoris the yurt to Julie and Brendan to save them having to pay rent on the flat, and everything was organised for the big day that Leonie had thought she would never see.
Even the weather was perfect when she opened the curtains in the yurt for the last time, as they were still living separately at Callum’s insistence because he wanted to do things properly for Leonie.
The sun was high in the sky, birds were chirping, ducks on the river were swimming their graceful way along its waters, and it was her wedding day. She had never been so happy in her life!
* * *
Callum was waiting for her at the altar, the man she would love and cherish for the rest of her life, and as she walked up the aisle, holding the arm of his stepfather, wearing a wedding dress of cream brocade with her veil floating behind and carrying a bouquet of red roses, her dream was coming true.
Callum turned, and it was there in the dark hazel of his eyes, the promise that she would never be alone again, that he would cherish her always.
EPILOGUE
IT WAS SPRING again, time for new life to appear, and Leonie and Callum Warrender were looking forward to the arrival of some new life of their own in the maternity unit of a large hospital not far away.
She was in labour, with contractions coming fast and with fear in her heart for the baby girl that they had created together. She’d been assured that her baby was perfectly healthy and there was no cause for alarm, but those who were telling her that hadn’t been around when Benedict had been delivered, small, still and lifeless.
Only Callum understood her fears and he was right there beside her, checking the baby’s heartbeat and assuring her that it was fine. But it wouldn’t be until she held their daughter in her arms and heard her cry that Leonie would be able to rejoice.
He bent to check it again and she said urgently, ‘She’s coming, Callum, our daughter. Please don’t let anything happen to her!’
‘I won’t,’ he promised, and a few seconds later the lusty cry of a newborn was heard and Leonie wept tears of joy at the sound. She held out her arms, and as he placed their child in them he said, ‘I wonder if Benedict knows he’s got a little sister?’
‘I am sure he does,’ she said softly, and in the next breath, ‘I really do love you, Callum.’
‘And I love you, my beautiful wife,’ he told her. ‘You are the centre of my existence and always will be.’
* * * * *
ISBN: 978 1 4720 4544 7
HEATHERDALE’S SHY NURSE
© 2014 Abigail Gordon
Published in Great Britain 2014
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of Harlequin (UK) Limited
Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ®are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
www.millsandboon.co.uk
Heatherdale's Shy Nurse (Mills & Boon Medical) Page 14